Redevelopment Commission

TOWN OF GILBERT REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 18, 2023, 6:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS 50 EAST CIVIC CENTER DRIVE GILBERT, ARIZONA 85296 COMMISSION PRESENT STAFF PRESENT Adam Baugh (via Teams) Chris Payne, Town Attorney TJ Claassen, Chair Amanda Elliott, Redevelopment Program Manager, Casey Kendel, Vice-Chair Office of Economic Development Cassandra Updike Sydney Bethel Price, Redevelopment Project Manager Boe Bigelow Jim Torgeson, Councilmember PRESENTER Kristen Devine, Planner II, Development Services CALL TO ORDER OF THE STUDY SESSION Chair Claassen called the study session of the Redevelopment Commission to order at 6:00 p.m. 1. DR23-101 CLEMENTS GARAGE REDEVELOPMENT: Site plan, landscaping, grading and drainage, elevations, floor plans, lighting, and colors and materials for approximately 0.58 acres, generally located at the southeast corner of Gilbert Road and Cullumber Avenue and zoned Heritage Village Center. Kristen Devine (480) 503- 6742. Chair Claassen noted that Vice Chair Kendel will lead this item as Chair Claassen has to recuse himself for matters related to Clements Garage redevelopment. Commissioner Bigelow also recused himself. Kristen Devine, Planner II, started her presentation and explained that the Clements Garage redevelopment site is located southeast of Gilbert and Cullumber. The applicant is proposing to redevelop the existing Clements Garage building that is currently located on the site. The input Planner Devine was seeking is regarding landscape deviations, elevations and any other general feedback that may be on the project. The site is approximately 0.37 acres and is zoned Heritage Village Center. The proposed development is 10,090 square feet with 5,500 square feet of patio space. There is a three-foot-tall patio wall that buffers the patio from the sidewalk along Gilbert Road. Along this wall will also be two cabanas that face inward toward the patio that the restaurant tenant will utilize. Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting October 18, 2023 1 The restaurant is accessed by entering the patio area off Gilbert Road, and the retail space also has access off Gilbert Road from its patio. There are additional entrances to the businesses from the rear of the property. Within the Heritage District, there is a requirement that a minimum of 50% of the ground floor of a building or permanent outdoor dining area shall be within 10 feet of the property line. Although the primary building does not meet this criterion, the outdoor patio area and cabanas do meet the intent of this requirement. Landscaping for the site is separated into two different categories: internal and external. Red push pistachio trees are proposed along the street frontage with Murphy Agave, Mexican feathergrass, and deergrass within the retail tenant patio. Internal landscaping for the restaurant tenant is proposed to include a variety of palms, Swan Hill fruitless, olive trees, umbrella plants, giant bird of paradise, and blue hibiscus plants. The Heritage District design guidelines include a list of permitted landscaping within the district. Still, the applicant is proposing a number of deviations for the external landscaping, which is located along Gilbert Road and the retail patio. The exterior landscape is separated from the interior landscape section. The applicant is proposing to add a singular ghost gum tree at the restaurant patio entrance and then a row of Sierra apricot shrubs along the north side of the retail patio. The bulk of the deviation requests come from the plant life internal to the site on the patio space for the restaurant tenant. The requested plant deviations are Swan Hill, fruitless, olive, date, foxtail, fern, ponytail, sago palm, umbrella, plant casa, blue flax lily, creeping fig, vine, giant bird of paradise, turtle, natal, plum, blue Hibiscus, dwarf pittosporum and Arizona Rosewood. The applicant is proposing a 26-foot, eight-inch, one-story, mixed-use, two-tenant building. The restaurant tenant will be approximately 5,500 square feet with a 5,000-square-foot patio, and the retail tenant will be about 3,400 square feet with a 500-square-foot patio. Both of the patios are located off of Gilbert Road. Portions of the existing Clements garage building will remain and be incorporated into the design of the new building. The primary colors and materials being used are masonry, brick and stucco, and various shades of brown and cream. The applicant is proposing wood shutters and Spanish tiles as accent materials for the building. They are used to accent the recessed portions on that east elevation, and the tiles are also located at the base of the two cabanas that front Gilbert Road. The south elevation of the project incorporates windows from the existing building into the new project and adds a six-foot site wall to enclose the patio space at the front of the site. The north elevation is made up primarily of brick but includes four recessed stucco areas, and staff feels like those could be great locations for murals. The applicant has also ensured a 360-degree architecture and has included a combination of permitted materials from the design guidelines, including brick and stucco with tile and wood accents. Commissioner Baugh inquired about incorporating existing windows into the new design. The applicant replied that the existing front facades of the building are being used, including the window structure, and then they are incorporating that into the design of the building. Overall, Commissioner Baugh appreciated the way they have incorporated the existing building and the Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting October 18, 2023 2 design of the project. Commissioner Updike questioned whether the landscaping aligns with some of the newer water-wise initiatives. The applicant will reach out to the water resources department regarding new water-wise initiatives. Vice Chair Kendel raised concerns about the landscaping, in particular the sego palm, which has sharp needle-like palms. ADJOURN STUDY SESSION Vice Chair Kendel adjourned the study session at 6:19 p.m. CALL TO ORDER OF THE REGULAR MEETING Chair Claassen called the regular meeting of the Redevelopment Commission to order at 6:19 p.m. ROLL CALL Amanda Elliott, Redevelopment Program Manager, called the roll and determined that a quorum was present. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS At this time, members of the public may comment on matters not on the agenda. Accordingly, the Commission's response is limited to responding to criticism, asking staff to review a matter commented upon, or putting a matter on a future agenda. There were no citizens in attendance wishing to speak. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. Meeting Minutes – Consider Approval of Minutes from the Regular Meeting held on July 19, 2023 MOTION: Vice-Chair Kendel moved to approve the minutes of July 19, 2023, seconded by Commissioner Updike. Motion passed 5-0 via roll call. COMMUNICATIONS Executive Session – The Public Body may convene into an executive session at one or more times during the meeting as needed to confer with the Town Attorney for legal advice regarding any of the items listed on the agenda as authorized by A.R.S. §38-43.03.A.3. Council Liaison Jim Torgeson shared the following: Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting October 18, 2023 3   On September 19, Gilbert Town Council approved a resolution authorizing the acquisition of 18 acres of land west of the U.P.R..R. adjacent to the Heritage District, known as the Long Range Planning area, in the 2018 Heritage District redevelopment plan.  The acquisition of the 18 acres creates a comprehensive solution for stormwater management for the protection of public health, provides future development opportunities in the Heritage District through the relocation of a well site, and supports the direction and vision of the 2018 Heritage District redevelopment plan.  On September 22, 2023, Gilbert kicked off Harvest in the Heritage District, a collection of themed events and experiences inviting locals and visitors to explain downtown Gilbert. There are three art installations, including Halloween pumpkin fun located south of the American Legion, Dia de los Muertos, located at the green space west of the Barrio Queen and east of Clever Koi, and will hold a mid-autumn celebration with lanterns and ribbons of gratitude outside of the Gilbert Park and Ride. More information is located at discovergilbert.com/harvest.  Gilbert Fall Concert series at the Water Tower Plaza takes place every Thursday during the month of October from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Information about the concerts may be found on the gilbertaz.gov website.  Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Page Park in downtown Gilbert, Hocus Pocus Two will be showing as part of the Movies in the Park series. Redevelopment Program Manager Amanda Elliott provided a presentation regarding a Heritage District Workshop in August with Town Council and shared the following:  The original intent for the workshop was to provide opportunities for staff to collaborate, identify any overlap with projects, and examine a list of decisions that are needed from either commissioners or the Council are being reviewed.  A project catalogue was created, which will not replace the comprehensive capital improvement projects list, as it is more of an internal document to help coordinate.  Two facilitators for the tours and workshops were obtained. The downtown tours took place on Monday, August 21, 2023. There was an extensive list of attendees, including the mayor, Council, and staff. And we visited three cities.  Three questions were asked at the Phoenix visit: What kind of regulatory requirements does Phoenix have in place to reduce constraints and increase development opportunities? How do you garner community support as your area develops? And what does it ultimately take to be clean, green, and safe?  The following questions were asked at Scottsdale: How do you use long-range planning to manage a divergent and evolving downtown? What safety best practices are necessary for an active downtown and entertainment district? And how do you gain merchant support for tourism?  The final downtown that was visited was Mesa, the following questions were asked: How can partnerships help or constrain opportunity? How can you leverage residential to drive retail? What are the downtown pitfalls policymakers should be aware of? Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting October 18, 2023 4   The last stop was in the Heritage District for a facilitated dinner where Joe Johnson from Joe's Real Barbecue and Liberty Market, David Beckham, who owns the Gilbert shops, and the Redevelopment Commission Chair Clawson, also joined the dinner, which was parlayed into a workshop.  At the workshop a redevelopment update from Sydney Bethel Price about the catalogue, the project coordination, district management, and the five-year update was received.  Lego exercises with Council were done using current development standards and taking them through exercises on three different sites to have them build in all the requirements on a site and see how they were able to arrange that site.  Urban Three talked about the fiscal implications of patterns of development, using data visualization.  The Council was asked to help explore opportunities for the development standards in the village center. Afterwards, the Council did a parking slot, and Andrew Vidor, with Walker Consultants, shared the parking master plan, which will be circulated to the Commissioners. ADJOURN REGULAR SESSION Chair Claassen adjourned the regular meeting at 6:37 p.m. __________________________________ TJ Claassen, Chairman Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting October 18, 2023 5