HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 06 17 AIS CCI Downtown Design Citizen Involvement PlanAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 6/3/2014
Meeting Type: Regular Meeting
Staff Contact/Dept.: Neil Obringer/DPW
Staff Phone No: 541-736-1032
Estimated Time: 20 Minutes COMMITTEE FOR CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT (CCI) Council Goals: Promote and Enhance our
Hometown Feel while Focusing on Livability and Environmental
Quality ITEM TITLE: SPRINGFIELD DOWNTOWN DISTRICT DESIGN PROJECT CITIZEN
INVOLVEMENT PLAN
ACTION REQUESTED:
The Committee for Citizen Involvement (CCI) is requested to review, comment and approve the Downtown District Design Project Citizen Involvement Plan.
ISSUE STATEMENT: Staff seek Planning Commission input, acting as the Committee for Citizen Involvement (CCI), on the Downtown District Design Project Citizen Involvement
Plan. The objective of the citizen involvement process as described in the attached plan
is to ensure that citizens, in particular those affected by this project, have an opportunity to be involved in all phases of the planning process. The CCI is asked to review,
comment and approve the Downtown District Design Citizen Involvement Plan.
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Downtown District Design Citizen Involvement Plan
DISCUSSION: The Downtown District Design Project will coordinate a public planning process to produce a set of coherent and consistent design standards to improve the overall image,
attractiveness and economic vitality of the City’s heart.
The project will engage a variety of Downtown stakeholders to identify design elements
to be regulated and to prepare draft standards for review and adoption by the City Council. Through the public involvement process, the project will also identify potential “do it now” project initiatives and partners, and coordinate with ongoing
efforts such as the Downtown lighting installations and other design-related initiatives identified by Council.
New standards will be adopted by the Council as amendments to existing regulatory codes (e.g. Springfield Development Code, Municipal Sign Code), manuals, and plans
to guide construction of public and private improvements and other redevelopment
activity.
The Citizen Involvement Plan for this project identifies strategies which staff will use to
guide the involvement of stakeholders and the public during the course of work product development.
Staff will be available for questions during the work session.
1 | Downtown District Design- Draft Citizen Involvement Plan
Downtown District Design
Citizen Involvement Plan
The Springfield Downtown Design Citizen Involvement Plan is meant to ensure that all
interested parties have the opportunity to contribute, become informed and provide
input during the course of the Downtown District Design project.
Background -
Project Description and Intent: The Springfield City Council is interested in adopting new
Downtown Design Standards to ensure that development projects, new uses and new
public improvements will make positive contributions to improve the look, feel and
functionality of Downtown. This project will coordinate a public planning process to
produce a set of coherent and consistent design standards to improve the overall
image, attractiveness and economic vitality of the City’s heart.
Revitalizing Downtown requires actions by many partners. One way the City of
Springfield can contribute to making a better Downtown is through its administration of
design standards through the building and land use permitting process. This project will
review and update the existing City codes, design manuals and plans that regulate
design in the Downtown to produce new standards that recognize and build upon the
qualities that make Downtown Springfield a distinctive destination with a strong identity,
such as:
Physical features (e.g. building heights and setbacks, sidewalk and street widths,
paving materials and treatments, signs, lighting, street tree canopy, planters,
streetscape furniture, bike vehicular parking facilities)
Urban design qualities (e.g. human scale, building façade articulation and
transparency, City image, legibility, wayfinding, overall walkability, requirements
to buffer adjacent residential neighborhoods and to address historic, cultural
and natural resources)
Attachment 1, Page 1 of 7
2 | Downtown District Design- Draft Citizen Involvement Plan
Design qualities that influence sense of safety, comfort, walking behavior and
level of Downtown user/visitor/shopper interest (e.g. natural surveillance, lighting
levels, crime prevention through design, protected bikeways, weather
protection, outdoor seating and food vendors, plazas, water features and public
art, retail district design best practices)
The project will engage a variety of Downtown stakeholders to identify design elements
to be regulated and to prepare draft standards for review and adoption by the City
Council. Through the public involvement process, the project will also identify potential
“do it now” project initiatives and partners and coordinate with ongoing efforts such as
the Downtown lighting installations and other design-related initiatives identified by
Council.
The new standards will be adopted by the Council as amendments to existing
regulatory codes (e.g. Springfield Development Code, Municipal Sign Code), manuals
and plans to guide construction of public and private improvements and other
redevelopment activity.
Project Deliverables: The Downtown District Design Standards project will produce
three major deliverables:
Public Realm Standards (Engineering Design Standards – EDSPM)
Downtown District Code Chapter (Springfield Development Code)
Code and Plan Amendments Package (Municipal Code, Downtown Sign Code,
Downtown Refinement Plan, Springfield Zoning Map)
Staff also proposes to publish a final document that combines all applicable standards
into one user friendly, color-illustrated Downtown District Design Standards guide and to
develop a ”roll out” public information strategy to communicate the new standards in
a way that promotes Downtown Springfield.
Attachment 1, Page 2 of 7
3 | Downtown District Design- Draft Citizen Involvement Plan
Citizen Involvement Plan -
Purpose of the Citizen Involvement Plan (CIP)
The purpose of the Citizen Involvement Plan is to ensure that citizens have an
opportunity to be involved in all phases of the planning process. To comply with the
requirements of Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goals and Guidelines for Citizen
Involvement Goal 1, the City adopted a Citizen Involvement Program in 1990 that
guides how the City provides for citizen involvement in the planning process.
Proposed Citizen Involvement Strategies
This project will solicit stakeholder and citizen input during key phases of the project to
ensure that a range of perspectives and values are considered. The project team will
utilize a broad set of involvement strategies including:
1. Downtown Citizen Advisory Committee
2. Technical Advisory Group
3. Outreach to Stakeholders and the Public
4. Public Events
5. Project Website
6. Public Hearings
1.) Downtown Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC)
The CAC has been in place since the committee was appointed by the CCI on
October 7, 2008 to provide City planning advisory functions associated with Downtown
revitalization. They have played a critical role guiding development of the Downtown
Urban Design Plan and Implementation Strategy, and providing input on initiatives to
improve the physical appearance, safety and vitality of Downtown. The CAC
contributes considerable knowledge, valuable experience, history and continuity to this
project.
Background: When the Downtown Urban Design Plan project was initiated at the July
7, 2008 Council work session, the Council directed staff to consider the appointment of
the existing Downtown Urban Renewal Advisory Committee (DURAC) members to serve
on the Downtown Citizen Advisory Committee. The DURAC was originally appointed by
Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA) in December 2007 to advise SEDA
on urban renewal issues. DURAC members were recruited through notices in the local
media and the City’s website.
On several occasions since then, the CCI has appointed new members to the CAC to
fill vacancies and has approved minor adjustments to membership recruitment
categories to expand the expertise and community representation on the CAC.
Attachment 1, Page 3 of 7
4 | Downtown District Design- Draft Citizen Involvement Plan
On May 7th, 2013 the Committee for Citizen Involvement approved the following citizen
categories to be represented on the Downtown CAC:
Downtown Citizen Advisory Committee Positions
Category # of Positions
General Public 4
Chamber of Commerce 1
Historic Commission 1
Springfield Downtown School 1
Plan Area Business Owner/Renter 1
Washburne District 1
Community Development Advisory Committee 1
Willamalane 1
NEDCO Downtown Program Coordinator 1
Area Resident 2
Designer 2
Realtor/ Developer 1
TOTAL Positions 17
Staff is actively recruiting to fill 5 vacancies on the CAC.
DPW staff will convene the CAC as needed during the project to advise and provide
input into the development of work products for this project and will forward
recommendations to the Planning Commission.
2.) Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
A Technical Advisory Group (TAG) will be invited to provide technical guidance and
specialized knowledge to inform and review the development of new design
standards. Meetings with the TAG will also help forge partnerships for implementation.
The TAG will consist of representatives from groups, organizations and agencies
interested in Downtown. TAG members will contribute specialized expertise and
understanding of policy, legal, operational and/or planning issues. They also will serve
as project liaisons with their respective groups and help identify opportunities to
coordinate projects.
Attachment 1, Page 4 of 7
5 | Downtown District Design- Draft Citizen Involvement Plan
TAG members will be identified during the 1st phase of the project, but may include
representatives from:
Willamalane
Springfield Public Schools
Lane Transit District
ODOT
NEDCO/Main Street
SUB
Historic Commission
City of Springfield Staff
The project team will utilize input from the CCI, Oversight Team, project kickoff meeting
attendees, and other internal and external stakeholder to help identify TAG participants
and then coordinate individual and group TAG meetings, as needed, during the course
of the project.
3.) Outreach to Stakeholders and the Public
The project team will meet with stakeholders in the project area and work to foster
communication with those individuals and groups who may be impacted by the
project. The purpose behind this activity is to allow stakeholder input to inform
development of project outcomes. This involvement strategy will allow staff to explore
specific issues and concerns posed by individuals and delve into needs and
expectations on specific topic areas.
As part of this involvement strategy, staff will develop communication materials that
provide background information on the purpose and intent of the project for
distribution to stakeholders.
Specific outreach activities will be developed during the 1st phase of the project, but
will likely include:
1. Focus group meetings
2. Presentations at Main Street program meetings
3. Distribute communication materials to interested stakeholders
4. Conduct outreach to Title VI populations using phone, paper and face-to-face
communication strategies
5. Group listening sessions with stakeholder groups
Attachment 1, Page 5 of 7
6 | Downtown District Design- Draft Citizen Involvement Plan
Database for Outreach
A database will be developed during phase 1 of the project and will be used to
support outreach activities to stakeholders and the public during the project. The
database will be developed using input received from the kickoff meeting, from
contact information that has been compiled as part of previous downtown planning
efforts, and during outreach events held for this project. The complete list of database
categories will be developed further during the 1st phase of the project, but an initial list
will include the following groups:
Chamber of Commerce
Property owners
Business owners/renters
Downtown residents
Willamette Heights neighborhood residents
Washburne Neighborhood Association
Washburne neighborhood residents
Agencies (Willamalane, SUB, ODOT, LTD)
SRDC
NEDCO
Other nonprofits
Youth
City residents
Potential developers
Underserved populations (those with disabilities, low income, non-
English speakers)
Community leaders
City staff
City council
Planning Commission
Historic Commission
Arts Commission
BPAC
CDAC
DAC
Library
Parking Advisory Committee
Public Safety
Attachment 1, Page 6 of 7
7 | Downtown District Design- Draft Citizen Involvement Plan
4.) Public Events
The project team will conduct an event(s) to get input on the proposed design
standards, such as an open house at city hall or outreach at community events.
Specific public event activities will be developed during the 1st phase of the project,
but may include:
1. Open house event(s) with the following focus:
Review of existing design standards and proposed categories
Review of proposed amendments and design standards
2. Display outreach at local community events, such as the Springfield Farmers
Market and Summer Fair
5.) Project Website
The project will utilize the existing Downtown Planning website to communicate project
updates and provide draft work products for public review. The current website will be
updated to include information about the Downtown Design Project scope of work and
opportunities for involvement and input. The website will be updated on a regular basis
to reflect the changing status of the project and its work products/outcomes.
6.) Public Hearings
Public hearings provide opportunity for community members to submit formal
comments to the Planning Commission and City Council regarding the project prior to
formal adoption. The Planning Commission and City Council will both conduct public
hearings on this project. The final schedule of public hearings will be determined during
the course of the project.
Attachment 1, Page 7 of 7