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City Council Focuses on Downtown Today's Problems, Tomorrow's Opportunities A unifying theme that joins business, government and the collective imagination of City residents is a vital downtown. The City Council reviewed the work of its Planning Commission and consultants Tuesday evening, bringing renewed energy to our collective visualization. Not to suggest anyone – and particularly not any of the City Council members – is ignoring the social, administrative and economic issues that have dogged both political process and our electorate’s imagination of what downtown could be. Nor have we failed to consider the importance of flexibility of plans in an era of evolution: economic, retail, residential, transportation and the nature of work itself. Perhaps not surprisingly downtown was the central focus of the Council’s business this week and all of these issues were part of the discussion. Certainly the most inspiring conversation concerned amendment of the Downtown Plan. The council received the recommendations of its Planning Commission and consultants regarding revisions to the Downtown Recovery Plan (DPR). The focus of the proposed revisions is the area between Pacific and Front streets from Laurel to Cathcart and between Front Street and the San Lorenzo River between Laurel and Soquel. Some key elements include: Changes in building-mass and height standards, permitting significantly taller construction and modifying the upper-story setback requirements. These include moving from floor-area-ratio (FAR) requirements to a “volumetric” approach for larger-site development for projects proposed by Devcon and the METRO Pacific Station sites. The building height standards would also be increased on the river side of Front Street, although somewhat less than in the Pacific Ave. blocks. Preservation and improvement of the Maple and Elm Street corridors as well as pedestrian access from Pacific Ave to the river and emphasis on developing future the river-facing construction to promote its use and aesthetics. Permits up to ½ of the residential parking for new residences to be off-site if within 300 ft. (about 1 block) of the property Requires downtown projects to engage in a three-stage design review process. See the Report to Council for detailed information regarding the proposed amendments. While implicit in these proposals, the influence of rapid changes in the structures of retail, residence and work were not discussed in depth. Tuesday’s other Council actions regarding Downtown Santa Cruz address today’s issues related to the economic efficiency of current one-way streets, constitutional rights in a pan-handling economy, mechanisms for the improvement of the social/economic environment and the enforcement citation crimes in the downtown, and investment in marketing downtown retail. The Council: Renewed the agreement to allocate approximately a quarter of a million dollars to the Downtown Association (DTA) to market downtown. Ended the Downtown Hosts program and replaced it with allocation of those funds to create a Downtown Rangers program, empowered to issue citations for violation of ordinances including constraints on the selling of goods on downtown sidewalks. Necessary funding will be provided through a continuing assessment on downtown properties and an additional $179,000 allocation by the City to the Downtown Management Corporation. Adopted a first reading of ordinances regulating vending and non-commercial activity on downtown sidewalks and streets, again modifying these structures to address the short-falls of prior ordinances in moderating the sales of goods, busking and political activity. Declined to change the direction of downtown one-way streets between Cathcart and Church streets and on Walnut and Lincoln Streets. The proposal came to council on the recommendation of the Downtown Commission based in part upon its endorsement by the DTA – which subsequently reversed its position. Overall, the easiest of these overarching issues (and seemingly most important as it affects the large majority) continues to be housing and, more specifically, the want of housing. The plans’ focus on housing is central to its attractiveness. As imagined, five or more stories of housing could be built in designated areas on Pacific – an only slightly smaller scale between Front Street and the river. Changes in retail, especially the growth of online retail in many product areas and the expected increase in “neighborhood” retail needs as the number of residents and their expected average incomes increase, change the equation of the kind of retail that is likely to thrive. Of course these projections all depend on economic elements of the City itself. How will housing costs change the social and economic make-up of the population that frequents downtown? Will technology companies like Looker, Product Ops and Full Power continue to succeed in downtown? Will Creative Class workspaces such as Next Space, Cruzio Works and the new Satellite Teleworks Center continue to thrive and grow? The twenty-year future of the structures of downtown – both the “cityscape” of external appearance and systems and the built environment of residence, office and retail – will largely depend on these economic forces. Having hired particularly excellent planners and having a rather extraordinarily engaged and insightful Planning Commission suggests these opportunities will be fully studied and, with the collaboration of the Council, implemented. The Council returned the draft to the Planning Commission with comments. Key council comments related to “affordability” of housing, improving the relationship between downtown and the opportunities provided by the San Lorenzo River, and the importance of creating a desirable and well-utilized commercial space. Everyone has their own image of what Downtown might be. We need to solve the intractable problems. But the vision of what it might become can draw us together towards solutions.
Overall, the easiest of these overarching issues (and seemingly most important as it affects the large majority) continues to be housing and, more specifically, the want of housing. The plans’ focus on housing is central to its attractiveness. As imagined, five or more stories of housing could be built in designated areas on Pacific – an only slightly smaller scale between Front Street and the river. Changes in retail, especially the growth of online retail in many product areas and the expected increase in “neighborhood” retail needs as the number of residents and their expected average incomes increase, change the equation of the kind of retail that is likely to thrive. Of course these projections all depend on economic elements of the City itself. How will housing costs change the social and economic make-up of the population that frequents downtown? Will technology companies like Looker, Product Ops and Full Power continue to succeed in downtown? Will Creative Class workspaces such as Next Space, Cruzio Works and the new Satellite Teleworks Center continue to thrive and grow? The twenty-year future of the structures of downtown – both the “cityscape” of external appearance and systems and the built environment of residence, office and retail – will largely depend on these economic forces. Having hired particularly excellent planners and having a rather extraordinarily engaged and insightful Planning Commission suggests these opportunities will be fully studied and, with the collaboration of the Council, implemented. The Council returned the draft to the Planning Commission with comments. Key council comments related to “affordability” of housing, improving the relationship between downtown and the opportunities provided by the San Lorenzo River, and the importance of creating a desirable and well-utilized commercial space. Everyone has their own image of what Downtown might be. We need to solve the intractable problems. But the vision of what it might become can draw us together towards solutions.