Planning Commission Agendas & Minutes

AT THE WORK SESSION OF THE HAMPTON PLANNING COMMISSION HELD IN THE LAWSON CONFERENCE ROOM, 8TH FLOOR, CITY HALL, HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015, AT 3:00 P.M. Commissioners Tommy Southall, Gregory Williams, Carlton Campbell, Teresa Schmidt, Mary Bunting, and Chairman Gaynette LaRue were present. Vice-Chair Andre McCloud joined the session at 3:20 p.m. In response to a question from Commissioner Williams regarding the possible deferral date for LF Enterprises, Chief City Planner Mike Hayes stated there was not enough time to allow changes to be made once the City Council sent the applicant’s application back to the Planning Commission. There will be a new proposal by April. The case was on the agenda because the case had already been advertised. The applicant has asked for a deferral. Community Development Director Terry O’Neill stated there may be a difference of opinion as to whether this case should be deferred to March or April. Assistant City Attorney Bonnie Brown explained the deferral process. The Planning Commission had recommended approval of the application for LF Enterprises to the City Council at the January 8 meeting. City Council remanded the case back to the Planning Commission for further review., which restarted the time schedule set in the zoning ordinance. The Planning Commission has the authority to defer a case up to 100 days. In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell, Mr. Hayes stated he and the applicant had spoken about the changes at a community meeting. A lot of the information is still outstanding and proffers are important. In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell regarding the comparison of the LF Enterprise request and the HRHA presentation for Lincoln Park, Mr. O’Neill stated that the Lincoln Park plans were only conceptual plans with vision documents and were not presented for approval by the Planning Commission. The Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority (HRHA) has taken those plans with any feedback received and is now doing its due diligence. In response to Chairman LaRue as to what the applicant is doing, Mr. Hayes stated that the applicant (James Crocker, LF Enterprises) will be at the Planning Commission meeting for discussion if necessary. The Commission could recommend denial of the application; however, the applicant is okay with having the case deferred until April. Worksession 20150205 Page 1  In response to Chairman LaRue’s question regarding the status of the Arts District, City Planner Alison Alexander stated work is still being done for the Arts District and it has just gone back to City Council for direction. This process will only go to City Council and will not involve the Planning Commission. The coverage area for the proposed Arts District extends from Downtown Hampton to Hampton University and then extends to Phoebus. Chairman LaRue stated she is currently working with a group to have an arts and cultural center in the old courthouse building. In response to Commissioner Williams on whether the process of an Arts District began with establishing a home for artists in the Armory, Commissioner Bunting stated different venues showed interest in the Armory property, but for various reasons the City Council did not accept any of the inquiries. The recession hit shortly thereafter. In response to Commissioner Williams regarding a question about the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, Ms. Bunting stated the property covers 75 acres with 25 of those acres having a reverter clause. The reverter clause allows those 25 acres to go back to the original company. The company is now defunct and the heirs are deceased. As these 25 acres are in limbo a trustee has been appointed. The City bought the other 50 acres and has had a series of processes done on this land from the Environmental Protection (EPA) and Department of Environment Quality (DEQ). HRHA involved the adjacent neighborhoods in their plan regarding this property. The Master Plan that was devised for the 75 acres can be scaled down to the 50 acres. The City is currently trying to clean-up the property and 1.7M dollars has been set aside for the demolition. Mr. O’Neill stated that Sunshine Torrey and Brian DiProfio from the Budget Office are present if the Commissioners have any questions regarding the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Commissioner Campbell stated it appears that the results of the voting correlates between the community meeting held at the high school and the on-line voting that was done. Ms. Alexander stated in response to a question from Commissioner Campbell that the application for the adult day care (UP No. 14-00021 by Caring Family Home, 2236 Todds Lane) is before the Commission because of the requirement that one must Worksession 20150205 Page 2 have a use permit in conjunction with a day care. This location was previously a doctor’s office. No community meeting was held as the applicant held one for her current location and no one attended. Mr. O’Neill stated there are a couple of urgent zoning ordinance amendments (ZOAs) that will be coming before the Commission. One of them is a good prospect for the city that is being coordinated by the Economic Development Department. It would involve a potential rezoning or a change in requirements for the Zoning Ordinance. Some of the Zoning Ordinance Amendments are due to an old Zoning Ordinance. The other ZOA deals with halfway houses and would bring Hampton in line with other localities. In response to a question from Vice-Chair McCloud, Mr. Hayes stated LF Enterprises did not have enough time between the City Council meeting and the Planning Commission meeting to get everything in for review. The application approved by the Planning Commission came back to the Planning Commission from City Council for some additional work. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:29 p.m. Worksession 20150205 Page 3 AT A PUBLIC HEARING AND REGULAR MEETING OF THE HAMPTON PLANNING COMMISSION HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 8TH FLOOR, CITY HALL, HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, ON THURSDAY, FEBRURARY 5, 2015 AT 3:30 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Gaynette LaRue called the Planning Commission meeting to order. II. ROLL CALL A call of the roll noted Commissioners Tommy Southall, Gregory Williams, Carlton Campbell, Vice-Chair McCloud, Teresa Schmidt, Mary Bunting, and Chairman Gaynette LaRue were present. III. MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Andre McCloud, seconded by Commissioner Carlton Campbell, to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2015 work session and Planning Commission meeting. A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows: AYES: Williams, Campbell, Southall, McCloud, Schmidt, Bunting, LaRue NAYS: None ABST: None ABSENT: None PUBLIC HEARING PROCEDURES Mr. Terry O’Neill, Secretary to the Commission, read key points of the Hampton Planning Commission Public Hearing/Comment Rules in order for the affairs of the Commission to be conducted in a courteous and orderly manner. IV. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS Mr. O’Neill read the public hearing items advertised in the Daily Press on January 22, and January 29, 2015. A. Rezoning Application No. 14-00009: by LF Enterprises, LLC to rezone 8.0+ acres at 960, 1014, 1018, and 1020 Big Bethel Road (LRSNs 4001445, 4001446, 4001448 & 4001447) from Limited Commercial (C-2) District with conditions and One Family Residence (R-11) District to Multiple Dwelling (MD-3) District with conditions for a maximum of sixty townhouse style, multi-family residences. The Hampton Community Plan (2006, as amended) recommends mixed-use and low density residential for this area. The Planning Commission recommended approval of this item at its December 3, 2014 meeting. At its January 14, 2015 meeting the City Council referred this item back to the Planning Commission for further study and recommendation because the applicant made substantial changes to the PCMinutes20150205 Page 1  application materials since the Planning Commission meeting. Proposed revisions include changes to the elevations and conceptual plan. Secretary to the Commission Terry O’Neill stated the applicant has requested a deferral of this item. Since this item has been duly advertised for a public hearing, action has to be taken. The application can be approved, disapproved, or a deferral granted; staff’s recommendation is to defer this item until the April meeting of the Planning Commission. In response to a question from Chairman LaRue, Chief Planner Mike Hayes stated he had nothing to add unless there is additional information that would need to be explained. The applicant, James Crocker of LF Enterprises, stated they are in the process of redesigning this project for the fourth time and trying to please the community, the Planning staff, City management, Council members, and all involved. They are trying to do the first high-value project that the Planning Commission has ever voted on and that most planners have never worked on, and it is a challenge. Mr. Crocker stated the hopes are to have a new project approved by the Planning Department and move the project forward to the April Commission meeting, Changes have been made and they have gone way beyond in trying to please the surrounding community so there will be a consensus when they come back before the Planning Commission. There were no public speakers. On motion by Commissioner Tommy Southall and seconded by Commissioner Gregory Williams to defer this item until the April 2, 2015 Planning Commission meeting to afford the applicanat and staff additional time to work on completing the package. A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows: AYES: Williams, Campbell, Southall, McCloud, Schmidt, Bunting, LaRue NAYS: None ABST: None ABSENT: None B. Use Permit Application No. 14-00021: by Caring Family Home, LLC DBA Gateway Adult Center to operate a day care 3 at 2236 Todds Lane [LRSN 3003913]. The property is zoned Limited Commercial (C-2) District, which permits a day care 3 subject to securing a use permit. The applicant is requesting permission to operate a day center for a maximum of 40 adults. The Hampton Community Plan (2006, as amended) recommends Mixed Use for this area. PCMinutes20150205 Page 2  City Planner Alison Alexander presented Use Permit Application No. 14-00021 by Caring Family Home, LLC DBA Gateway Adult Center to operate a day care 3 for a maximum of forty (40) adults at 2236 Todds Lane. This is a request for a use permit to allow for a day care 3 for an adult day care facility for no more than forty (40) adults ages eighteen (18) and over with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The intent of the Gateway Adult Center is to help individuals with disabilities maintain an active lifestyle in the community and maximize their independent functioning. This center will initially operate Monday through Friday from 8:30AM to 3:30PM, with the possibility of expanding hours in the future. The applicant has requested 40 clients for this day care. The property is C-2, Limited Commercial District, which permits a Day Care 3 subject to securing a use permit. The site provides sufficient parking for day care services. Most of the surrounding properties are also a C-2 zoning. The proposed location and the adjacent property used to contain doctor’s offices. The adjacent property has been purchased by the Hampton City School Board. There are ten (10) conditions that have been attached to this permit that include the hours of operation, the capacity, location, and revocation clause. The building is fairly large and larger than the applicant needs. In the future the applicant may lease out the rest of the building. The Hampton Community Plan (2006, as amended) recommends mixed-use for this area. In line with the Hampton Community Plan, this proposal recommends providing high quality community services and facilities, as well as facilitating a greater partnership in the workforce by promoting quality daycare services. The proposed day care facility is consistent with the Hampton Community Plan (2006 as amended), which recommends providing high quality community services and facilities, as well as facilitating a greater partnership in the workforce by promoting quality daycare services. The care provided by the Gateway Adult Center allows the day-to-day care givers of individuals with disabilities to enter the Hampton workforce, while knowing those who depend upon them are learning valuable social and daily living skills. The proposed day care center would be an acceptable use and is compatible with surrounding land uses. The proposal would meet all zoning requirements for permitting day care centers, and the project is consistent with the land use recommendation and policies of the Community Plan. Staff recommends approval of Use Permit No. 14-00021 with ten (10) conditions. PCMinutes20150205 Page 3  In response to questions from Commissioner Campbell, Ms. Alexander stated the use permit applies to the entire site, but the operation is only allowed to occur in the portion of the building as requested on the application. The applicant may not expand the operation without first coming back before the Planning Commission. The applicant has a similar operation off Executive Drive and is moving the operation to this location in order to expand. There were no public speakers. The applicant, Jeanny Murphy, stated unless there were questions she had nothing to add. In response to a question from Commissioner Schmidt, Ms. Murphy stated she will not be continuing to operate at her current location. They have outgrown their current location and need a larger facility. After discussion the Commission approved the following resolution: WHEREAS: the Hampton Planning Commission has before it this day a proposal by Caring Family Home, LLC DBA Gateway Adult Center to permit a day care 3 in an existing building at 2236 Todds Lane [LRSN 3003913]; WHEREAS: the Hampton Community Plan (2006 as amended) recommends mixed use for this property, and the Plan recommends policies that will encourage providing high quality community services and facilities in Hampton’s neighborhoods and facilitating greater participation in the workforce by promoting quality day care services; WHEREAS: the site is currently zoned Limited Commercial (C-2) District, which permits a day care 3 with an approved use permit; WHEREAS: ten conditions are attached to address, among other things, hours of operation, capacity, location of the day care operation, and a revocation clause; and WHEREAS: no one from the public spoke for or against this proposal. NOW, THEREFORE, on a motion by Commissioner Carlton Campbell and seconded by Commissioner Gregory Williams, BE IT RESOLVED that the Hampton Planning Commission does recommend to City Council approval of Use Permit Application No. 14-00021, subject to ten (10) conditions. A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows: PCMinutes20150205 Page 4  AYES: Southall, Williams, Campbell, McCloud, Schmidt, Bunting, LaRue NAYS: None ABST: None ABSENT: None V. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR’S REPORT A. Youth Planner Presentation Senior Youth Planner Michael York presented the Youth Planner Report for February. The Hampton Youth Commission (HYC) began the New Year by looking back and reflecting on the year they have had thus far. The Youth Commission participated in 3 activities that allowed them to share their thoughts about the direction the organization is headed. These activities, Rap or Rhyme; Shaping the Past; and Reflection were creative and abstract in order to ensure that the Commissioners were giving feedback in a way they were comfortable with, while also ensuring its meaningfulness. It helped in improving communication; establishing a plan of action for strengthening the HYC; having more effective meetings; and increasing productivity. Since the Youth Commission’s topic for this year is transportation, a goal has been set to reach out to Hampton’s youth population to gather qualitative data to forward to relevant stakeholders with the potential outcome of policy creation. After the meeting’s conclusion, youth staff identified that providing the HYC with further facilitation training would enable them to effectively carry out an input session. On Monday, January 12th, Alternatives Inc. provided the Hampton Youth Commission with comprehensive training on the ins and outs of facilitation. Commissioners participated in practice facilitation scenarios to enhance their skills and technique in preparation for the upcoming Winter Retreat. The HYC had their Winter Retreat on January 26. The purpose of this retreat was to give the HYC the opportunity to observe HRT buses firsthand in order to develop the proper questions to ask during upcoming qualitative input meetings. Many of the Commissioners had never ridden on public transit and this gave them an opportunity to get the bus rider’s experience. Mapping their route involved the use of social media. A work session was held after the bus ride and the Commissioners expressed a changed perspective from this experience. It was discovered that there is a big issue with stereotyping of public transportation. A work plan was created to address transportation. Brainstorming upcoming events will involve getting local youth in the process along with youth/adult stakeholder collaborations. There was an increase in the HYC Facebook page activity after this retreat. PCMinutes20150205 Page 5  A new executive team was elected with Cherelle Cotton as the new chair. In response to questions from Commissioner Campbell, Mr. York stated that facilitation was provided by Charles from Alternatives, Inc. The route for the HYC bus trip was planned by using an on-line trip planner, which included Google maps and HRT on-line services. The trip went from downtown Hampton to the Peninsula Town Center area and then to Hampton University for their retreat. The purpose of the trip was to know what they were dealing with since most had not ridden a bus. Commissioner Williams stated the bus trip was interesting and he reflected on when he last rode a bus. He stated he might have to get on a bus to understand what those citizens who use public transportation now go through. When he grew up, riding the bus was the mode of travel. When asked by Vice-Chair McCloud if part of the transportation element for the youth was in how to get them to events and if these youth were using public transportation, Mr. York stated the next event hosted by the Youth Commission is in planning stages and is directly related to public transportation. Mr. O’Neill stated that previous youth commissions have tried to explore the idea of transportation on a number of fronts. On one occasion they partnered with Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) to see if it was economically viable to provide the youth shuttle service to events. That turned out to be too expensive. Also explored was for the Youth Commission to get free tokens through the grant process to give to youth in the community so they could ride the HRT system free. That process was a little more successful but required more resources than the Youth Commission had. The last attempt was to partner with the City of Hampton and Parks and Recreation to provide activity buses for transportation to large events. The resulting problem was where to pick up the youth coming from all parts of the City. Mr. O’Neill stated a lot of things have been tried and he is looking forward to seeing what this Commission comes up with. Vice-Chair McCloud stated he applauds the Youth Commission on what they are doing. He stated his concern is getting the youth in the community involved and not in just what the Youth Commission is involved with. Now that the Youth Commission has an idea of what is involved in public transportation, the HYC might spend some time in conversation about ways of looking into getting opportunities to youth who can afford public transportation and getting the youth involved in the community. The HYC may not be able to do any more than what has been attempted in the past, but that they might consider this in their meetings since they now understand public transportation. PCMinutes20150205 Page 6  In response to questions from Commissioner Schmidt, Mr. York stated the HYC had been meeting on the 5th floor of City Hall on Monday evenings, but recently moved to the Rupert Sargent Building. He stated the HYC has discussed attendance and where to meet. Meeting in different schools as suggested by Commissioner Schmidt could be an alternative. Mr. O’Neill stated the Commission has moved their meetings around and tried different things. It is his belief they would still be open to doing that. In the past the Commission used to partner with the management of Coliseum Mall and met in a vacant storefront at Coliseum Mall. This was reasonably successful because it was a place that teenagers, youth, and young adults would go to. They have gone to different schools and discussed topics relevant to a particular school or neighborhood. All of these have been successful on some level. Some of the feedback received was that the youth liked to meet at one specific time, night, and place where they could go and discuss an issue or topic if they so needed. In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell, Mr. O’Neill stated the Teen Center had been used when the activity buses ran there after school. Chairman LaRue stated the HYC should be proud of any success they have accomplished. VI. ITEMS BY THE PUBLIC There were no items by the public. VII. MATTERS BY THE COMMISSION Mr. O’Neill stated the Planning Division anticipated that one of the cases might be deferred and there might be some time to do a presentation. Because of this and if allowed, Chief Planner, Donald Whipple will present an overview of the update to the Coliseum Central Master Plan. A week long community outreach design charrette process for update to the Coliseum Master Plan was held two weeks ago. A few of the Commissioners attended one of the meetings. As this event is in the middle of the update process of the Master Plan, it involved brainstorming ideas and exploring possibilities. This process typically takes about six months to complete and come back to the Commission with an update to the plan in the form of a community plan amendment. The current plan was developed almost eleven years ago. Chief Planner Donald Whipple stated that two weeks ago Urban Design Associates (UDA) was here to conduct a design charrette. A charrette is an intensive 3 to 3 ½ day time-frame where there is a follow-up on the first third of the process; the first third is the gathering of input and talking to stakeholders, property PCMinutes20150205 Page 7 owners, and members of the community to assess what changes have occurred in the last 10 years. Shown today will be design concepts and ideas generated from this charrette. The land use plan shows the middle of the district; Peninsula Town Center; most of the retail synergies; the Coliseum Crossroads; the Coliseum; and the Convention Center. Also shown are the mixed use locations, auto-oriented sites, and the Sentara medical campus. The 2004 Master Plan Redevelopment Policies are:  Create dense connected and pedestrian-friendly activity centers in identified areas.  Encourage residential development wherever possible, in appropriate forms that relate to the neighboring land uses.  Organize land use in terms of scale of development rather than type, and cluster uses compatible in character.  Develop and connect open space and natural areas within the District to provide amenities for residents and visitors alike.  Create new public streets with sidewalks and street trees that connect the varying land uses together. A lot of the focus was on the need to infuse new urban scale, denser, residential units into the district which is primarily a destination point right now with the Coliseum and the Convention Center. There majority of the hotels and the retail centers are located in the Coliseum Central area. Since the plan was adopted, the City has done mostly infrastructure improvements mostly in the form of streetscape improvements. Working together with the Coliseum Central Business Interest District (CCBID) over the last ten (10) years), there are five main gateway features that have been completed: the Coliseum Central walls, the iconic art sculptures, the landscaping, and the swirling silks. In addition, there have been private investment projects: the suburban mall transformed into the Peninsula Town Center; redevelopment of the Mercury Plaza Shopping Center; new housing – apartments off Marcella and at H2O; senior housing by Eaton Middle School; new medical offices; the Boo Williams Sportsplex; and other new development across the street from Sentara Hospital. Internally there is work being done on the zoning ordinance to improve the design guidelines from a legal and zoning aspect which is also in implementation project called for in the Master Plan . PCMinutes20150205 Page 8 Changes in the Market since 2004  The marketplace was different in 2004 than it is now.  Development lending is more difficult.  The internet has changed the way many people shop which has changed traditional retailing.  Increasing numbers of people are looking for walkable urban districts to live and work in. What has remained strong is multi-family residential and service retail (i.e. restaurants). In retail the demand for restaurants, entertainment, and some big-box retail continues. The demand for apparel and other small retail is very limited. The reports on the hotels state there is need to reposition underperforming hotels and to build a second convention center hotel. The urban multi-family housing close to amenities is strong and is where most of the residential growth (mostly apartments and townhouses) is occurring. There is limited opportunity seen for neighborhood serving office space. In response to these changing trends, new ideas and design concepts have been developed to get conversations started and obtain feedback. Peninsula Town Center Initiatives  Improve signage to lure people in and advertise what is there.  Build gateway elements and a tower visible from long distances.  Stage outdoor performances and events to attract shoppers.  Develop the out parcels along Coliseum Boulevard.  Build new housing.  Locate a new hotel on site. Staff and UDA had an opportunity to meet and discuss with the new owners of the Peninsula Town Center some of the challenges they face and new plans. Discussed was how to get better visibility into the site and better use of signage. Another item was better marketing of events to attract shoppers. The Chapman Apartments within the Center has been very successful and the owners would like to build upon that success. There is also consideration of placing a hotel on the site and development of outparcels fronting on Coliseum Drive. The developers of Peninsula Town Center did a great job of connecting the existing streets into the site; however, a lot of the streets dead end and do not go PCMinutes20150205 Page 9 through the site and this presents some challenges. The Target store is the top performing retailer in Peninsula Town Center. When looking at the Town Center from the Target parking lot it looks like all there is across the parking lot is another typical strip commercial storefront. Suggestions to accentuate some of the streets in the center would be to add a new hotel with some height; a gateway element to a few of the side streets; and a centrally located tower element. Proposed are additional retail and residential sites to include a hotel. Riverdale Plaza Riverdale Plaza has not seen any activity in the last ten years. It is a large site that is prime for redevelopment. What could happen from a market standpoint is to transform Riverdale into a mixed-use district with medium densities. This large site is ideally located for multi-family residential development to include apartments, condos, and townhouses. Future market conditions may allow structured parking to increase density. This site can easily accommodate office towers and retail is encouraged along the Mercury Boulevard frontage. The mixed-use also includes a residential alternative which would have residential on the upper floors with service retail on the lower floors. This is not something that would happen overnight and would take time to build out the whole site in phases. Additional streets could be extended through the site to create small urban blocks. The blocks could be interchanged and the land use could change with the market which would afford some redevelopment alternatives such as destination retail or additional corporative offices. Coliseum Crossing Staff and UDA also met with the owners of Coliseum Crossing. They have recently acquired some additional property and are looking at redesigning the south end of the center with new leasable spaces that front along Cunningham Drive to complement Peninsula Town Center. Mixed-use residential and/or office space could also be added to the site with residential units above the first floor commercial space. Coliseum South Coliseum South is the area which contains most of the city’s hotel inventory. This is the area being looked at for how to reposition underperforming hotels into upgraded properties that offer higher quality hotel rooms for the Convention Center visitors or those properties could be repositioned as another use, such as offices, restaurants, or multi-family residential. Valuable interstate frontage is attractive to office uses. The new owners of former Holiday Inn property are PCMinutes20150205 Page 10 considering a mix of uses: multi-family residential, a new hotel, and some support retail; office use is also an alternative. On the east side of Coliseum Drive, the former Best Products site shows the potential for a new Convention Center hotel; repositioning land for new apartment and townhouse units and possible new restaurants. Coliseum Crossroads District Work began last summer exploring new opportunities to capitalize on the growing family oriented amateur sports industry for the 19 acre site. Potential lands uses included: building an indoor sports facility and aquatics facility along with added entertainment and dining opportunities for convention goers; building additional hotels; and creating a festival park for outdoor special events. When asked what could be done with the area if some of these sports uses did not move forward, the consultants stated what was lacking was a formal activity space. When there are large indoor gathering spaces such as the Coliseum and the Convention Center, and with an aquatic center and field house being considered, what is really needed is a quality, active public open space such as a formalized public park or event space. Hampton already has a lake by the Coliseum and Convention Center that currently is not being fully utilized. The Cordish Company is looking at the 11-acre site as a potential 2nd convention hotel that could include residential units in a mixed-use building, or a small indoor performance theater with support restaurants. This site has also been identified as a potential corporate office site. Sentara Hospital Area The 2004 plan identified the need for housing in this area to help support the young professionals in the medical field. Updated concepts reflect the potential new residential units on lands adjacent to the hospital property. Other land uses could include future medical offices and other hospital support uses. In addition to the public meeting two weeks ago, staff is working with Marketing, Inc. to get the word out through social media and the internet via the following website (http://hampton.gov/coliseumcentralupdate) and to get feedback. This presentation is also being taken out to the various community organizations, including faith-based groups, PTA’s, neighborhood organizations, and other boards and commissions who may not have been able to attend any of the sessions two weeks ago. PCMinutes20150205 Page 11  The input and feedback will be given back to UDA and a follow-up public meeting will be held to fine tune some of these ideas and suggestions later this spring. In response to a question from Commissioner Schmidt, Mr. Whipple stated that UDA is looking at each initiative area and the option for a hotel(s) is being looked at in several areas, but the entire plan is being looked at as a whole. The most appealing sites for hotels would be ones closest to the Convention Center. This is all driven by the market. There is merit to having a hotel on the Peninsula Town Center site as it is a destination site and additional visitors on site will help activate the site for shopping and dining. Each initiative area will be focused on with a view towards what is best for the overall district. Mr. O’Neill stated Mr. Whipple had given a brief overview of the market analysis which is done upfront because it helps to understand the question of what and how much is needed before doing any brainstorming. The question of hotels relies on what the market tells us is too much or too little and where the best location would be. It helps in the determination of how much land should be allocated for those kinds of uses. It is driven by some foundation of what the market, both now and in the future, is telling us. An example would be the square footage of retail space; the number of residential units; or number of hotel rooms, etc. To Commissioner Schmidt’s point, projects need to have a reflection on the reality of the market. Mr. Whipple stated this process also applies to the numerous office buildings shown. Each of the initiative areas shows some office space, but the market would not support all of the offices in each of the initiative areas or all of the multi-family shown in all of the initiative areas. The various options provide choices for the different land uses being recommended. Commissioner Campbell stated he had an opportunity to attend the Thursday evening session. One comment made that he remembers from that session was the presenter mentioned that it is hard to see what Hampton has to offer by just driving by. He saw a billboard that mentioned dining, shopping, and living, but nothing was said about lodging and it is his belief that lodging should be marketed more. In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell, Mr. O’Neill stated many of the property owners and stakeholders were met with. Part of the input gathering process is to meet with key property owners and stakeholders and ask what they would like to see, what is or is not working, and try to reflect some of those PCMinutes20150205 Page 12 ideas in the drawings that were presented. None of the property owners have signed and sealed an approval of these concepts. Ideas were put on the table that evoked discussion and debate. Some ideas will survive the process and some will end up on the cutting room floor. Some ideas might not be good ideas whether they are not supportable by the market or a property owner may have different plans. This information is shared but the drawings are not the final documents. This process helps in providing ideas. In response to a question from Commissioner Williams regarding whether this was the first of many updates or just one for Coliseum Central, Mr. Whipple stated an update was done for the Phoebus Master Plan, although not as old, but because of the changing dynamics relative to Ft. Monroe. Work had started on the Crossroads which has been upgraded into a full update to the Coliseum Central Master Plan. Like the Buckroe Master Plan, the plans are getting to be seven to ten years old and it takes about six to eight months to do an update. As one is started it is time to revisit all of them. Mr. O’Neill stated there are six adopted master plans and two updates that have been done so that leaves four more to be done. Time is coming up to do a five-year review on the Hampton Community Plan (as amended in 2006) which was last done in 2011. That is why this is a continuous process and it takes time to do them right. Vice-Chair McCloud thanked Mr. Whipple for the presentation. Commissioner McCloud stated the City is losing money because people come to venues and do not stay in Hampton due to the quality of hotels in Hampton. It is his belief that the average citizen does not realize this. Hampton has hotels but does not have the quality of hotels it needs to keep people here. Commissioner Bunting stated those issues are being looked at, but there are good quality products in Hampton. There are also dated products and they do not reflect where the convention goers, or sports tourism parents, and families want to stay. Until Hampton has more modern products to complement its quality offerings, Hampton will lose some of the visitation. Vice-Chair McCloud stated he just does not think the citizens realize that people come for events but leave to go somewhere else to stay. They don’t use Hampton’s hotels, retail, or restaurants. He stated it is his hope that the marketing will help alleviate this situation. PCMinutes20150205 Page 13  Ms. Bunting stated Hampton wants 100% and will not be satisfied until Hampton gets 100% of those coming to venues staying in Hampton. Aggressively working on this issue, Hampton currently captures 60% of these visitors. In response to Chairman LaRue’s question regarding if having plans in place makes them a tool to present as an economic development tool, Mr. O’Neill stated that would be correct. An example is Peninsula Town Center. One of the reasons for what was done with Coliseum Mall came out of the 2004 Coliseum Central Master Plan recommendations. Through the City’s process the mall owners were willing to invest in the Peninsula Town Center when shown that plans were well along with the Power Plant/Bass Pro area and the new hotel and Convention Center projects. As a promotional tool these pictures can be instructive in showing people a vision of what is being created. There are times when Economic Development includes these pictures in their promotional documents to show where Hampton is going. Chairman LaRue stated there have been many changes over the last ten years, especially when the recession hit in 2008 and 2009, after these plans had started. It is a good thing that efforts have been initiated to update the plans. Mr. Whipple stated an important point is that once a plan is adopted, any time a change of land use is proposed, the plan is used as a guiding policy to help staff shape their recommendation(s). In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell regarding the Teen Center’s transformation into a performing arts center, Commissioner Bunting stated the goal with the Teen Center building remains to get young people into the building. One of the things found in trying to get attendance up is that there is a “branding problem”. The Teen Center does not convey what is going on inside the building. Just because it is a teen center does not make it a place where one wants to go. One of the things noted in the research about young people is that the Teen Center was directed toward high school years. Children hit thirteen in middle school and middle school does not have the activities that high schools do and the middle schools do not get out until 4:00 p.m. In rebranding the Teen Center, it will be made available to 13 year-olds and not just high school students. One thing that is common about middle school age and high school age students is that they are into self expression whether through art, dance, or music. In rebranding the center the idea is to give the students a facility that highlights the things they want to do. There has been confusion in people thinking that youth are not being focused on. That is not the case and the idea is to focus on what excites them. The center will be a performing, creative arts kind of center. They want to provide a stage for open PCMinutes20150205 Page 14 mic, singing, or poetry. Some conversion was done over the summer and a stage was put in. There was already some equipment from the recording studio. Marie St, Clair, who had a successful program, has been moved from West Hampton to the center to help provide a foundation. Other instructors are being brought in. There has been open mic nights, singing, dancing and the recording studio is being used. More programs will be continually added. Some of the programs need adult participation and mentoring. The building is not exclusively a space for teens, the goal is to highlight what is offered and get the young people in and give them a creative expression outlet. An increase in numbers has already been a result. Ms. Bunting stated she will check to see if the activity buses are still running. Because some things were not ready an opportunity to send out information at the beginning of the school year was missed. Next year information will be provided at the beginning of the year for every middle and high school student informing them and their parents what the center has to offer. Jim Wilson, Director of Parks and Recreation, has asked for shuttle money to help with after hour activities. If the activity buses are not running, Ms. Bunting stated she would work with the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Shifflette to gel them running. The problem with the activity buses was that they were able to get the students from their schools to the center, but not all of them had ways to return home. An option would be to get the student back to his/her school. At one point the school system had a performance learning center in the building which was a program to help students who had either dropped out or had a barrier for being in school. They could go there and work on their credit work during off school hours. There used to be a considerable amount of space during the day and into the evenings. Through budget considerations the school system consolidated a lot of the alternatives program and went to the campus at Lee. This freed up space and daytime hours at the center. The second phase of the process will allow for more adult use of the center during the daytime hours when children are in school and allow for double utility of the building. The first and highest priority is to get the children to the center. In response to a question from Commissioner Campbell, Ms. Bunting stated that there are fees for specialty classes and the community buildings generally have a $15 annual fee. If a young person has financial barriers there are scholarships available. The upstairs gym in the building is still there, but when the building was purchased at a good price from Sentara, one of the deed restrictions was that the PCMinutes20150205 Page 15 gym would be limited for the youth and not the adults because Sentara was establishing another fitness center near Sentara Careplex. It has been many years since this was done so there might be a willingness by the CEO of Sentara Careplex to revisit those restrictions. In response to a question from Chairman LaRue, Ms. Bunting stated the goal is to focus on the young people and start at age 13 and give them a good experience so they would want to continue when they get into high school. The program has been expanded and there are family times like open mic or spoken word night where some of the adults might come and identifications are not being checked. The focus is for when children get out of school for the day. When students are given positive experiences they are more likely to continue down the road. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5: 01 p. m. Respectfully submitted, I Terry Neill Secretary to the Commission APPROVED BY: Gayndite LaRue Chairman PCMlnutesM 15 0205 Page 16