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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem R• A MEMORANDUM April 10, 2000 TO: MAYOR YOST AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: KEITH TILL,CITYMANAGER 1.),,f SUBJECT: Status report on miscellaneous matters, including DWP and Boeing property, tree projects and Main Street business retention 1. DWP — The City has been advised that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has approved the sale of the 10-acre site to a local investor group. The price was said to be $4.5 million. Once approved by the DWP Board of Commissioners, the sale would have to be ratified by the Los Angeles City Council. By way of background, this is the site off of First Street, between Ocean Avenue and Marina Drive, that the City Council designated for a 300-unit hotel in the mid-1980s. This designation was in the form of a Specific Plan, which was based upon a citizen's committee recommendation. The citizen's committee had been assigned the task of evaluating options for maximizing open space/park land at the site. The committee determined that the economics of a hotel could feasibly provide for 70% of the site to remain open space. The Specific Plan essentially pre-zoned the site for these purposes. The DWP failed to act on the Specific Plan over the following 10-year period. In 1995, Mayor Richard Riordan directed DWP to sell all surplus properties in response to a budgetary crisis. The Seal Beach City Council responded by directing that the Specific Plan be revisited, since about a decade had passed and conditions changed. On the recommendation of a number of citizens, the city council reduced the size of the hotel by half, to 150 units. No more than 30% of the property can be developed, and 70% is to remain passive open space. Lawyers for DWP protested that this was unreasonable and threatened to file suit. Testimony from the public, echoed by the City Council, suggested DWP focus on quality rather than quantity. DWP eventually acquiesced. Now a residential project is being advocated by some, but Coastal Commission staff has advised it would take the position this would be in conflict with the Coastal Act's provisions for visitor-serving commercial uses within the coastal zone. A suggestion that the City advocate for a public purchase of the entire 10 acres— most likely by competing for Park Bond or Water bond funding— has been raised but not formally acted upon by City Council. Agenda Item A Status Report -Miscellaneous Matters - April 10, 2000 Page 2 DWP has not announced a future hearing date on the sale of the property. The City has been advised that a purchase and sale agreement is still in negotiation. COUNCIL ACTION: Receive and file. Consider setting future date for more thorough discussion of options. Provide guidance to staff regarding additional information desired. 2. Bixby Towne Center—Representatives for Target Stores have submitted plans and plan check fees totaling more than $31,000. They are expected to begin construction this spring, with an estimated opening date of May 2001. The Country Suites by Ayres conditional use permit application is scheduled to be heard by the planning commission on May 3, 2000. The Islands Restaurant CUP is anticipated to be heard on May 17, 2000. Trees and grass are currently being planted on the berm along Lampson which buffer the new driving range. Additional site improvements are being reviewed. Currently under review are provisions for widening Seal Beach Boulevard and the design of the bike path and 100-foot deep landscape setback at Lampson and Seal Beach Boulevard. Improve- ments to the tennis club site are being re-examined by the neighborhood advisory committee, whose recommendations, along with those of the Parks and Recreation Commission, will be provided to City Council within the next couple of months. The police department and representatives of the Cable TV Foundation will be meeting with a Bixby architect soon to review preliminary design concepts for a police substation and tv studio. COUNCIL ACTION: Receive and file. Provide guidance or direction as desired. 3. BOEING PROPERTY—A consultant retained by Boeing has prepared a site plan designating seven lots ranging in size from four to eight acres and a road through the interior of the property connecting Seal Beach Boulevard with Westminster Avenue. The site plan application would be preliminary to considering plans from any potential buyers Boeing might identify. Because the zoning is for light manufacturing and no specific tenants or users have been identified, it's a fairly straightforward process for the City at this point. The configuration of the road is probably the most significant element, although the staff's preliminary review indicates it's probably a sensible concept. Our previous discussion with Boeing representatives have centered on the desirability of users complementary to Boeing's existing high-tech headquarters. A high-tech, light industry park seemed to make the most sense, though not necessarily generating the income that commercial users would. Incidentally, we are informed that both Costco and Home Depot have expressed interest in two of the seven parcels. However, a press Status Report - Miscellaneous Matters - April 10, 2000 Page 3 release from Boeing's real estate division indicates it will be marketed as a high tech business center. Boeing has previously indicated an interest in selling just 25 acres of the approximately 45 acres of"surplus" property, and has not made clear to us that it has made firm plans to change this amount. In any case, an environmental review would be prepared once specific development plans are proposed. A preliminary draft of the proposed site plan is attached. Boeing's representatives indicate their intent is to submit a site plan and parcel map for Planning Commission review in the next two weeks. This would also require City Council approval. CITY COUNCIL ACTION: Receive and file. 4. TREES FOR SEAL BEACH FOUNDATION—This is a newly formed non-profit organization formed to raise private funds to beautify the City with landscape improvements, the initial focus being on Ocean Avenue. The group has pledged a minimum of$50,000 toward a tree-planting program along Ocean, with a goal of expanding onto Main Street, and eventually planting more trees citywide. There has been some concern expressed over the foundation's initial design concepts involving possible changes to the street and parkway. Still in the conceptual stage is the possibility of mixing bulb-out landscape areas with different types of trees and landscape. The foundation has already dedicated $15,000 toward design and engineering work, with the City budget covering half the cost for that portion from 1d Street to Main and about 3 of the cost for Main to Electric. Addressing the drainage, curb and gutter problems in this area is long overdue. With the infusion of private monies, the problem achieves higher priority under the partnership program. Any significant recommendations by the foundation that involve changes to street width or design would first have to be presented to the neighborhood affected, then to City Council for final consideration. CITY COUNCIL ACTION: Receive and file. Provide comments or direction as appropriate. 5. MAIN STREET BUSINESS RETENTION —A recent meeting with the Chamber and Business Association director Kim Masoner and local business owners resulted in a plan to promote shopping on Main Street. We've asked public TV coordinator Robin Forte-Linke to produce a public service announcement (PSA)that would encourage residents to"shop Main Street if you want it to stay the way it is." Status Report - Miscellaneous Matters - April 10, 2000 Page 4 A number of the smaller shops and service businesses are struggling— a not-uncommon situation for small specialty shops trying to compete with the larger shopping centers. The strategy is to repeatedly air two PSA's stressing the message that everyone should patronize a Main Street business at least once a week — or face the prospect of corporate chains buying out the independents and "sanitizing" the architecture with larger unappealing buildings. They are looking for a tactful, even humorous way to get the message across, appealing to everyone's sense of responsibility to do his or her share to preserve the most important symbol of the City's character. CITY COUNCIL ACTION: Receive and file report. Provide comment or direction as needed.