HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 06 03 CCI WSCity of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD COMMITTEE FOR CITIZEN,
INVOLVEMENT HELD TUESDAY, June 3, 2014
The City of Springfield Committee for Citizen Involvement met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225
Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at 6:30 p.m., with Greg James presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Chair Greg James, Vice Chair Nick Nelson, Commissioners Johnny Kirschenmann, Stacy Salladay, Denise
Bean, Steve Moe and TimVohs. Also present were Current Development Manager Greg Mott, City Attorney Lauren
King, and Management Support Specialist Brenda Jones and members of the staff.
ABSENT
None
STAFF REPORT
1. SPRINGFIELD DOWNTOWN DISTRICT DESIGN PROJECT CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT PLAN-
Niel Obringer, DPW Management Analyst presented the staff report to the Committee for Citizen Involvement
(CCI) is requested to review, comment and approve the Downtown District Design Project Citizen Involvement
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.
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)
City of Springfield
Committee for Citizen Involvement Minutes
June 3, 2014
Page 2
• 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)
• 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.
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.
Commissioner Vohs asked Neil if the ……………………Neil responded that the buildings downtown are unique ..
Moe its
Vohs many times you can feed off of one project
Neil added
Bean was on the…….. Committee with Neil and at the time they keep responding that design standards are
needed.
James how does the downtown CAC play into this plan?
City of Springfield
Committee for Citizen Involvement Minutes
June 3, 2014
Page 3
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.
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.
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.
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Committee for Citizen Involvement Minutes
June 3, 2014
Page 4
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
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
City of Springfield
Committee for Citizen Involvement Minutes
June 3, 2014
Page 5
• Library
• Parking Advisory Committee
• Public Safety
Commissioner James and Commissioner Bean asked that Neil add the Springfield School District and the Wildish
Theater, Museum Director.
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
Commissioner James and Commissioner Nelson responded that the Springfield Art Walk and Summer Fair
Commissioner Bean added that the Springfield Greeters are a very large and active group as well as the City
Club, Terri Beyer.
Commissioner James asked how the Downtown Visioning will fold into this project. Neil answered that they are
working to see what other groups that are going that can fold into this project as well.
Commissioner Nelson asked how the …………..with the new NETCO director.
James asked what the timeline is for this project. Neil responded that the dates depend on the response they
get from the City Council.
James thought it would be beneficial to have Neil come back in about 6 months for an update to the Planning
Commission. Neil responded that the group has a rough draft of timelines which the planning commission is
part of that, but he will make sure that in 6 months he will make sure to bring an update to the planning
commission.
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.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Minutes Recorder – Brenda Jones
City of Springfield
Committee for Citizen Involvement Minutes
June 3, 2014
Page 6
______________________
Greg James
Planning Commission Chair
Attest:
____________________
Brenda Jones
Management Support Specialist