TO:
Honorable Mayor Powell and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Nadine Nader, Assistant City Manager
Richard Thompson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT:Title
(1) Approval of a Contract With the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Advisory Services in an amount not to exceed $125,000 to conduct a 5-day panel during the week of January 11, 2015 to assist the City with visioning and stakeholder outreach for the Downtown Area and appropriation of funds from the unreserved General Fund balance;
(2) Form a two person City Council subcommittee for ULI pre-engagement Items: developing stakeholder list and development of questions; and
(3) Consider directing staff to hire a consultant to prepare a Downtown Plan or Specific Plan after the ULI study is completed.
APPROVE; APPROPRIATE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
(1) Approval of a Contract With the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Advisory Services in an amount not to exceed $125,000 to conduct a 5-day panel during the week of January 11, 2015 to assist the City with visioning and stakeholder outreach for the Downtown Area and appropriation of funds from the unreserved General Fund balance;
(2) Form a two person City Council subcommittee for ULI pre-engagement Items: developing stakeholder list and development of questions; and
(3) Consider directing staff to hire a consultant to prepare a Downtown Plan or Specific Plan after the ULI study is completed.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This project is not budgeted. The recommended action requires an appropriation of $125,000 from available General Fund balance.
BACKGROUND:
At the September 30, 2014 City Council Study Session, the City Manager presented a staff report on the Urban Land Institute's Advisory Services and provided a brief, high-level overview of the history, mission and services offered through the program.
In addition, a representative from ULI gave a detailed PowerPoint presentation to City Council on the different options offered through their Advisory Panel. Specifically, the differences between the 3-day Panel and the 5-day Panel options were broken down and presented to City Council for consideration. City Council directed the City Manager to negotiate a contract with ULI and return to the City Council for approval.
Additionally, there was brief discussion regarding the next steps on the Downtown Plan or Downtown Specific Plan given that the outcomes of the RFP were to be presented for consideration at the City Council meeting on October 21, 2014. At that time, the City Council made reference to the possibility of deferring that item until ULI completed its work so that the results of the panel would inform the decision on the direction of the Downtown Plan or Specific Plan. However, some Councilmembers wanted the opportunity to consider proposals tonight.
The following report provides the negotiated contract with ULI as well as a brief discussion of staff's recommendation regarding a plan for the Downtown. It also discusses the need for a Council subcommittee.
DISCUSSION:
Downtown Manhattan Beach is the heart of the community and the City Council has focused significant attention and resources in this area to ensure its on-going vitality.
To that end, the City Council directed the City Manager to negotiate a contract with ULI to hold a 5-day Advisory Panel comprised of various land use experts to engage stakeholders and evaluate the appropriate mix of uses based on market conditions by recommending innovative solutions to complex development challenges.
The attached contract provides standard terms for the ULI engagement. ULI has recommended that the 5-day panel take place during the week of January 11, 2015. Staff consulted with ULI to identify dates before the end of the year, and although ULI said they would be able to hold the panel in December, the preference was to hold it after the holidays to ensure a top-notch, experienced land use expert panel be present for this engagement, as well as provide the opportunity for ample community participation.
Council Subcommittee
Prior to the ULI engagement, it is the responsibility of the City to complete several items so that the panel of experts is prepared for the 5-day engagement. These items include but are not limited to:
· Identifying and inviting stakeholders
· Preparing a draft scope in the form of 5-8 questions which will assist in recruiting the correct panelists.
· Preparing a briefing book for the panelists
· Scheduling and arranging the tour for the panelists
In order to efficiently establish a stakeholder list that is representative of the community and also develop the questions, Council should consider forming a subcommittee of two Councilmembers to address these items. In addition, staff is recommending that each Councilmember provide a list of 10 stakeholders (with 5 alternates) to include on the list. It is imperative that the right group of stakeholders be involved with this effort.
The goal is to interview approximately 100 stakeholders. In addition, ULI recommends the City host a reception in the late afternoon on the first day of the interview process (Monday) with the purpose of allowing people in the community not scheduled for interviews to feel part of the process by being able to informally meet with panelists. Those interviewed are also invited to this reception to allow for more interaction among the community and with the panelists.
Downtown Plan Road Map
On August 12, 2014, the City Council directed staff to issue an RFP for a plan for the Downtown area. Staff issued an RFP for a consultant to prepare a Downtown Specific Plan and selected PMC. Attached are the two proposals by PMC; the original Downtown Plan Proposal and the Specific Plan Proposal (Attachments 2 and 3). As background, the City received proposals from three firms for the Specific Plan, which are available for review.
Subsequently, the Council received a presentation from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) on September 30, 2014, and directed the City Manager to negotiate a contract with ULI to address the "Vision" and outreach portion of the planning effort. At that meeting, the City Council also discussed the possibility of deferring action on the Downtown Plan/Specific Plan Proposal until after ULI completes its work. The Council however did not make a decision to do so, and thus staff has brought this item forward for Council consideration, although staff's recommendation is to defer action on the development of a plan so that the ULI effort may better inform the Downtown planning effort.
In terms of timing, based on the PMC proposal, it is anticipated that the initial visioning component of PMC's work effort would take approximately 6 months. The ULI effort is expected to expedite the process by several months and result in reducing the cost of completing whichever Plan the Council chooses.
Staff has confirmed with PMC that they can still initiate the work under the proposal after the ULI study is complete and staff anticipates that PMC will adjust the scope as needed and integrate ULI's study into its work at considerable cost and time savings. Additionally, staff has been in discussions with PMC to provide input into the ULI process to ensure that the future plan for the Downtown is integrated with the ULI study.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council take the following actions:
(1) Approval of a Contract With the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Advisory Services in an amount not to exceed $125,000 to conduct a 5-day panel during the week of January 11, 2015 to assist the City with visioning and stakeholder outreach for the Downtown Area and appropriation of funds from the unreserved General Fund balance;
(2) Form a two person City Council subcommittee for ULI pre-engagement Items: developing stakeholder list and development of questions; and
(3) Consider directing staff to hire a consultant to prepare a Downtown Plan or Specific Plan after the ULI study is completed.
Attachments:
1. Professional Services Agreement with the Urban Land Institute
2. Proposal by PMC to prepare a Downtown Plan - June 19, 2014
3. Proposal by PMC to prepare a Specific Plan - September 10, 2014