Design Review Board

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Contact: Catherine McCoy Meeting Minutes 360.570.3776 Design Review Board Thursday, September 25, 2014 6:30 PM Room 207 1063 Capitol Way Building - Information Only 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Carver called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Chair Thomas Carver, Boardmember Jami Heinricher, Boardmember Angela Rush, Boardmember Robert Findlay, Boardmember Joseph S LaValle, and Boardmember Darrell Hoppe Excused: 3 - Vice Chair Jane Laclergue, Boardmember David Goularte, and Boardmember Duane Edwards OTHERS PRESENT City Staff: Keith Stahley, Director, Community Planning and Development Department Presenters: Rick Browning, State of Washington, Department of Enterprise Services Allyn Stellmacher, ZGF Architecture Eddie Kung, ZGF Architecture Jim Keller, Site Workshop 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. BUSINESS ITEMS 3.A 14-0919 1063 BLOCK REPLACEMENT INFORMATION & DISCUSSION Presentation: Mr. Browning introduced the project team to the Design Review Board members. Mr. Stellmacher presented a PowerPoint Presentation providing a project overview. Mr. Keller explained the site landscaping and its connection with the Olmstead plan. He noted the State left out the understory planting when they installed the City of Olympia Page 1 Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 25, 2014 landscaping. He highlighted the bike parking near the front door of the building. Public Comments and Responses: Following the design team’s presentation Mr. Carver asked for questions or comments from the public. Jim Lazar referred to his letter submitted to the DRB regarding their jurisdiction over the project. He did not agree with the staff 's and state’s perspectives that the site and the project are not subject to the City’s design review process. He noted the site abuts three “pedestrian A streets”; awnings are required along pedestrian A streets, and must be at a pedestrian scale; and the awning at the south side of building doesn’t provide protection because it’s 30 feet in the air. He urged the design team to consider rain protection improvements around the perimeter of the building. Walt Jorgenson referred to an article and his letter previously submitted to the State in March. He expressed concerns about little opportunity for public comment, and asked what public participation opportunities would be available in the future. He encouraged the DRB to take advantage of opportunities to weigh in on the project. He asked the design team what changes to the building reflect public input. Rich Browning responded that canopies do not provide continuous protection from the rain but there is protection around much of the building. He said DES and the design team will take these comments under consideration. He noted DES is planning an October workshop for public comments about the project. This meeting will focus on the public realm. He noted the Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee and the State Capitol Committee have also held public meetings and have taken feedback. Mr. Stellmacher will continue to work on the weather protection issue. Mr. Browning noted weather protection may also be provided through a link through the building. Mr. Browning added that the property is included in the Capital Campus Master Plan. He will provide a legal opinion to the City from the State Attorneys General Office regarding the status of the property relative to the City’s design and zoning requirements. Ms. Heinricher asked if the Beall Mosaic is being moved to another location. Mr. Browning responded that incorporation of the mural has not been authorized as of yet. The legislation authorizing the design of the building also stipulates that the GA building will be demolished at some point in the future. Mr. Kung added that the design team is continuing to work on finding an appropriate location for the mosaic in the building. City of Olympia Page 2 Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 25, 2014 Mr. Hoppe asked what the occupancy count of the building will be. Mr. Brown responded about 800. Mr. Hoppe asked about the parking plan and transportation. Mr. Browning responded that the two buildings will demolished. This project improves parking capacity on campus, at least on paper. A campus-wide parking and transportation study is available on the DES, 1063 Building web page. A parking report was prepared that includes very detailed occupancy counts and gives a detailed picture of parking utilization both during and outside of legislative session. When not in session, there is plenty of parking capacity. Things get tight during session and may exceed practical capacity. The State will need to more aggressively manage parking by managing how spaces are allocated, cost of parking, restriping, satellite parking and shuttles, and shifting away from the drive-alone rate currently at 75%. Mr. Browning noted the Governor has set a target of 65%. DES has included a request for funding to implement parking management in its budget request. DES is hoping not to build new parking for this project. Mr. La Valle stated encouraging alternative means of commuting will gain the project LEED points. Ms. Heinricher noted the interior pass-through could be very important for improving the pedestrian experience and said it would be tragic if the whole building was closed off due to security issues. She asked if there will there be a coffee bar. Mr. Browning said all food provided will be through the Commission for the Blind. Mr. Findlay asked about the height of the building compared to the mixed use building at the northeast corner of Union and Capitol Way. Mr. Kung explained the building will be no more than 59 feet. Ms. Rush asked if the wall along Capitol Way can be softened. Mr. Stellmacher said the details have not been resolved for that wall and corner. Mr. Kung explained the wall also serves as a retaining wall. Ms. Heinricher asked about use of art. Mr. Browning added DES is looking at alternatives to break-up that wall. This building is not specifically a “State Patrol Building”. Mr. La Valle complimented the project. Capitol Way is an important street for the City; Union is less important. Need to think about wrapping the corner and the importance of covered walkways. The pass-through idea within the building is great. Extend the Union entrance treatment up Capitol Way or move the entrance to Capitol Way. Ms. Rush added that the bit of setback helps create some space and keeps the building from overwhelming the street. Rain protection might actually impinge on the spaciousness of the streetscape. City of Olympia Page 3 Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 25, 2014 Mr. Stellmacher stated a canopy wrapping the corner and utilizing some wood on the corner helps soften and make the Capitol Way side of the building more appealing from a pedestrian perspective. Ms. Rush noted this building will make a great impact on the approach to the campus coming up Capitol Way from downtown and appreciate the focus on the corner. The break in building materials helps. She noted the extra five feet gives the opportunity to install large trees along Capitol Way. Ms. Heinricker said she appreciates the connection to the campus group, and suggested there could be a sculpture at the southeast corner of the building. Mr. Browning said there will be .5% for public art, however, no decision to employ an artist has yet been made. Mr. Carver thanked the design team for presenting and explaining the project. The information was provided. 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m. City of Olympia Page 4