Redevelopment Commission

TOWN OF GILBERT REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 20, 2021 COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 50 E. CIVIC CENTER DRIVE GILBERT, ARIZONA COMMISSION PRESENT: TOWN OF GILBERT STAFF PRESENT: Peter Sciacca, Chair Daniel C. Henderson, CEcD Economic Development Director Ryan Hamilton, Vice Chair (WebEx) Amanda Elliott, Redevelopment Program Manager Boe Bigelow (WebEx) Amy Temes, Principal Planner Casey Kendel John Baird, Assistant Town Attorney Jocelyn Smith, Administrative Assistant COUNCIL PRESENT: Kathy Tilque, Councilmember Options were available to attend the meeting in person or participate remotely. CALL TO ORDER Chair Sciacca called the regular meeting of the Redevelopment Commission to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Amanda Elliott called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS Chair Sciacca opened the floor to the public for any comments on items not on the agenda. The Commission’s response is limited to responding to criticism, asking staff to review a matter commented upon, or asking that a matter be put on a future agenda. There were no communications from Citizens. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. Meeting Minutes – Consider Approval of the Minutes for the Regular Meeting of November 18, 2020. MOTION: Vice Chair Hamilton moved to approve the meeting minutes of November 18, 2020, seconded by Commissioner Kendel. The motion passed 4-0. PUBLIC HEARING Items will be heard at one Public Hearing at which time anyone wishing to comment on a Public Hearing Item may do so. Comments will be heard from those in support of or in opposition to an item. Once the hearing is closed, there will be no further public comment unless requested by a member of the Commission. After the Public Hearing, the Commission may act on all items not requiring additional staff, public, or Commission comment with a single vote. Chair Sciacca opened the Public Hearing and invited staff to make a presentation.  2. Z19-01 HERITAGE DISTRICT DESIGN GUIDELINES Amendment to the Town of Gilbert Land Development Code by amending: Chapter I Zoning Regulations, Division 2 Land Use Designations, Article 2.4 Heritage Village Center Zoning District, Division 3 Overlay Zoning District, Article 3.4 Heritage District Overlay Zoning District, and Division 6 Use Definitions; Chapter II, Design Standards and Design Guidelines, Article 1.8 Heritage District Design Guidelines; and the Glossary of Terms related to development standards within the Heritage Village Center Zoning District. Amanda Elliott, Redevelopment Program Manager, presented Z19-02 Heritage District Design Guidelines. She advised that design guidelines are recommendations towards good practice in design. They are meant to provide inspiration for developers and residents to articulate the design within our downtown. The Design Guidelines currently in place were created in 2010 and provide an exceptional foundation for the built environment we see today in the Heritage District. The need for new Heritage District Design Guidelines comes from the 2018 Redevelopment Plan adopted by Council. Through that plan, there was extensive public outreach over a period of five years, which was cataloged in the appendices of that Plan. The process for the Design Guidelines included a Stakeholder Group comprised of residents, developers, Council, Redevelopment Commission, business and property owners, and tenants. A Technical Committee was also formed with Town of Gilbert staff from each department. In 2018, a set of goals was created for the Design Guidelines: To be comprehensive, solve challenges faced by all departments, be easy to navigate, utilize more imagery to demonstrate what we are trying to achieve, and be future focused. From February 2019 to April 2020, staff worked with a consultant to take the input received from the Redevelopment Plan, Steering Committee, Technical Committee, and what we have learned from our previous design guidelines to create a new set of design guidelines that are image based and less text laden. Once a draft was developed, it was brought to the Redevelopment Commission in two study sessions, it was opened to the public for comment, and the draft was presented to the Planning Commission on January 6, 2021. A website landing page was created to keep the public informed with a page-by-page video. A workbook was created so that staff could respond to public comments and make clarifications. The workbook was shared with those who submitted comments and was available to the public on the landing page. Staff responded to the public comment with 89 accepted, 162 declined (including those that did not require a text edit), 24 not applicable, 31 were brought to the Redevelopment Commission in study session, and 12 were discussed internally by staff. The Heritage District Design Guidelines are broken up into five sections: Introduction, Blend, Congregate, Dwell, and Create. Each section includes a description, map, imaging and visioning, and street cross section. Based on public input and subsequent staff conversations, the street sections will refer back to the Redevelopment Plan. BLEND - This section on streets is intended to provide a unified feel of the Heritage District while also celebrating the uniqueness of each area. There were no changes made since the last Redevelopment Commission study session on the Historic, Connect, Active, Festival, Local or Flex Alley street types. However, there were public comments on the Local Alley with regard to trash receptacles and lighting, and staff has removed those items. CONGREGATE - Public spaces throughout the Heritage District are critical to the ecosystem and livelihood of downtown. There were no changes to the Water Tower, Living Room, Commons, or Veterans. Based on discussions and input from the Redevelopment Commission, staff continued to include the triangular building closest to Gilbert Road in Veterans Park, added Page Park, removed the dog run from Legacy Park, and noted that the Paseo cross sections vary in different areas of the Heritage District. DWELL - This section covers the diverse neighborhoods that make up the Heritage District. The changes from the previous version include updates to the Dwell map, removal of the Bungalow style homes in HVC zoning along Gilbert Road, and removal of the northwest corner of Gilbert and Elliot Roads so that the Lacy Tract is truly reflective of the single-family zoning. Through discussions on the various architectural styles of Lacy Tract, it was Redevelopment Commission January 20, 2021 Page 2 noted that other architectural styles not listed may be approved by the Redevelopment Commission and text was updated regarding lot combinations. The previous text under Lacy Tract, the single-family historical neighborhood, stated that lots shall not be combined. The General Plan allows for 5-8 dwelling units per acre, although staff felt the text in the Design Guidelines should be amended to state lots shall not be combined to greater than 6,999 square feet. This will allow individuals to combine lots while ensuring that they meet the General Plan density. If we allowed for larger lot combinations, that would then lower the density where we are trying to encourage density within the Heritage District. There were questions from the public on the need to bring a custom home build or remodeling project to the Redevelopment Commission because it no longer meets the standards in the Design Guidelines. The directors of the Economic Development and Planning departments, Building and Plan Review Manager, and staff met to discuss the process for a custom home remodel in relation to the Design Guidelines. A resident would submit their documents to the Building department as they have in the past and Building would review to ensure that it meets the Design Guidelines. In the case of a deviation for materials or architectural styles that do not meet the Design Guidelines, the applicant can seek approval from the Redevelopment Commission (RC) for an exception. It would be brought into a minor Design Review with Planning, then go to the Redevelopment Commission for a decision. It would then immediately go back to Planning. This RC review process would be approximately six to eight weeks. CREATE - This section contains the appendices. Since the last draft, Signage was removed as it is already included in the Land Development Code. Staff had polled the Redevelopment Commission to ask if the Heritage District Landscape Character should be included in the Design Guidelines. Since there was a 50-50 split on the Commission, staff did include it, although none of the language in the Landscape Character states "shall". It is meant to be inspirational and can be easily located here. The next steps are to bring an updated draft to Planning Commission in February and potentially to Town Council on March 2, 2021. COMMISSION QUESTIONS/COMMENTS Chair Sciacca asked about the average lot size in this area. Amy Temes, Principal Planner, advised that the small lots on Page Avenue are approximately 3200 square feet and the standard lots in that area are between 6000 and 7500 square feet depending on the lot. Chair Sciacca noted that a 50' by 150' lot would be 7500 square feet. Is there a reason why we did not choose 7500 versus 6999? Ms. Temes stated the description of the SF-6 zoning is 6000 square feet maximum. The Lacy Tract and other Heritage District areas are a little bit different, so we wanted to allow for bigger lots or lot combinations. Adhering to a strict application of the Code would only allow 6000 square feet. We are trying to avoid really large lots that are inconsistent with the plat and the General Plan. Chair Sciacca appreciated the clarification. He felt 6999 would work if two 3200 square foot lots were combined. He asked for Commissioner Bigelow's thoughts as he does redevelopment in the area and his insight would be valuable. Commissioner Bigelow thought the way it was presented is exactly what it should be. There is a lot of disproportion and odd shaped lots in the area. Chair Sciacca thought that in order to combine lots, people would have to go through the County Assessor for a minor land division. Ms. Temes stated those lot combinations or splits occur within the Town of Gilbert and would go through the Engineering department to be properly addressed and compared to our various codes. Redevelopment Commission January 20, 2021 Page 3 Commissioner Kendell asked if the lots being discussed were vacant. Ms. Elliott stated those lots predominantly have homes on them. There is one lot on the corner of Washington and Ash that no longer has a home. The intent is that if an individual wanted to combine lots, demolish their home and build a new home to these standards, they would be able to do so. Chair Sciacca asked if combined lots could possibly have two utility meters and if that would fit within these Guidelines. Ms. Temes stated a single-family lot can only have a single meter. Two meters would make it a duplex. Even if two or three small lots were combined, they would first need to do a lot combination as you cannot build a structure on top of lot lines. There are several lots in this downtown area that have homes built on top of lot lines. They are very old homes that have been there a very long time. To build a new home or redevelop on one of these lots today, they would need to properly combine the lots, remove the lot line from the center, and go through the proper permitting process. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Sciacca asked that the lines be opened to the public for comment. There were no requests to speak. With no further questions or comments, Chair Sciacca called for a motion. MOTION: Vice Chair Hamilton moved to recommend to the Planning Commission adoption of Z19-01 Heritage District Design Guidelines; seconded by Commissioner Bigelow. Motion passed 4-0. COMMUNICATIONS 3. Report from the CHAIR on current or future events. There was no report. 4. Report from COUNCIL LIAISON on current or future events. Councilmember Tilque wished everyone a Happy New Year. Last week, Mayor Peterson was sworn in along with Scott Anderson and herself as Councilmembers. The Public Safety Training Facility will be opening in the next month or so. Round two of the AZ CARES Act business grants will be opening soon. Round one provided over $4 million in grants for small businesses. There were approximately 234 businesses that received grants and almost 2900 employees that were impacted. She thanked the Economic Development department and the Chamber of Commerce for all the work they are doing to assist small businesses. Unfortunately, our newly-appointed Redevelopment Commissioner, Maisha Hagan, had to resign. We hope to have a new appointee in early February. Councilmember Tilque congratulated the Redevelopment Commission, the Economic Development department, and especially Amanda Elliott for leading this effort on the Design Guidelines. It has been a long haul and she appreciated all of the extra effort put into the public process as well as the Commission’s input and support to make sure we have guidelines in place to develop our downtown. Redevelopment Commission January 20, 2021 Page 4  5. Report from COMMISSIONERS on current or future events. None. 6. Report from STAFF LIAISON on current or future events. None. ADJOURN Chair Sciacca adjourned the meeting at 6:28 p.m. ___________________________________ Peter Sciacca, Chair Redevelopment Commission January 20, 2021 Page 5