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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000/07/19 - Minutes - Spcl Adj/Joint w/PC July 19, 2000 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Special/Adjourned Joint meetinfi A. CALL TO ORDER A special/adjourned joint meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga City Council and Planning Commission was held on Wednesday, July 19, 2000 in the Tri Communities Room of the Civic Center, located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. The meeting was called to order at 4:10 p.m. by Mayor Alexander. Present were Councilmembers: Paul Biane, James Curatalo, Bob Dutton, Diane Williams, and Mayor William J. Alexander. Present were Commissioners: Rich Macias, John Mannerino, Pamela Stewart, Peter Tolstoy and Chair Larry McNiel. Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; Pamela Easter, Deputy City Manager; Duane Baker, Assistant to the City Manager; James Markman, City Attorney; Linda D. Daniels, Redevelopment Agency Director; Mitch Slagerman, Sr. RDA Analyst; Jan Reynolds, RDA Analyst; Flavio NL~nez, Assistant RDA Analyst; Brad Buller, City Planner; Larry Henderson, Principal Planner; Kevin McArdle, Community Services Director; Joe O'Neil, City Engineer; Shintu Bose, Deputy City Engineer; Bill Makshanoff, Building Official; Deborah Clark, Library Director; and Debra J. Adams, City Clerk. B. ITEM OF BUSINESS B1. CONSIDERATION OF A MASTER PLAN FOR LAND USE AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR A PROPOSED REGIONAL COMMERCIAL CENTER LOCATED SOUTH OF BASE LINE ROAD, NORTH OF FOOTHILL BOULEVARD, EAST OF DAY CREEK CHANNEL AND WEST OF 1-15 FREEWAY Jack Lam, City Manager, introduced Linda Daniels, Redevelopment Agency Director, who would be making further introductions relating to this meeting. Linda Danieis, RDA Director, stated there were many people in the room that are interested in this project. She stated Lewis Investment Company and Forest City were present to show their proposed project. She added that American Beauty was also present to present their conceptual plan in conjunction with the shopping center. She introduced Brian Jones of Forest City. Brian Jones, Forest City, introduced all those present from Forest City, Lewis Investment Company, American Beauty and PDS West. He stated they would be presenting the master plan for the area between Base Line and Foothill Boulevard. Mr. Jones talked about Forest City. He told why they have come to Rancho Cucamonga stating he felt people are no longer interested in "vanilla" shopping centers, but want something that offers a variety of things and has a sense of neighborhood. He stated they want to include open space, quality design and construction, easy transportation within the center, i.e., trolleys, shuttles, and operational and management control. He stated they welcome City Council and Planning Commission ideas. Joint City Council/Planning Commission Minutes July 19, 2000 Page 2 David Paoli, of Paoli Field Architect, talked about the design concepts of:the shopping center. He talked about other projects they have developed. He wanted to take the Council and Planning Commission on a tour of their new Main Street. He talked about what would be surrounding the mall from the residential to the open space. He explained that the layout of the center would be a block pattern or grid. He continued to present the conceptual plan (copies are on file in the City Clerk's office). He talked about the entertainment components. He felt this project would create a strong sense of place. Brian Jones, Forest City, stated they and Lewis Investment Company are committed to making this a first class project and that it would be a "world class" project. He felt this would be something that no other City has. Linda Daniels, Redevelopment Agency Director, stated staff is looking for feedback from the Council and Planning Commission as to the master plan and design concept so: they can create plans to present which can go through the planning process. She stated they would like to get a consensus from the Council and Planning Commission on this project. She added this is a first of many meetings to come. Commissioner Macias felt this was a magnificent project and congratulated them on the work that had been done so far. He felt landscaping was a paramount issue and was very important to soften the devastation of the parking lot. He brought up the vehicle traffic going through the middle of the mall and felt possibly the main street should be pedestrian traffic only. He felt there should be pedestrian specific areas. Commissioner Stewart stated she echoed what Commissioner Macias stated and applauded the cultural areas. She encouraged tenants that would be different than what the Mills and Montclair has. She asked if they have thought about a phasing plan for construction. Colm Macken explained how the phasing would be done by showing it on a map. Commissioner Stewart felt phasing was very important. She agreed about the parking issue on Main Street. Commissioner Mannerino felt the trolleys on Main Street would eliminate some of the traffic. He felt this was a low density mall compared to the Mills, and that it would generate less revenue than the Mills. He asked staff if this would generate enough revenue to make this successful. Brian Jones stated this center is over a million square feet and that revenue would not be a problem. Commissioner Tolstoy felt this would add to the excitement of what is going on in the City. He liked the outdoor concept and liked having entertainment outside. He felt this would ,be exciting to people. He echoed what the other commissioners had said. He liked the idea of the misters to help keep people cool. He felt the wind factor should be considered also. He hoped there would be good entertainment features that would draw people to come to the mall. : Commissioner McNiel stated at first the Planning Commission was not very excited about an outdoor mall, but now stated he likes this concept. He stated he is concerned about the parking. He talked about moving the southern section of the mall down and having more parkiqg in the center of the mall. He asked if this would create any problems. David Paoli talked about the plan and felt they didn't really want parking in the middle because they didn't want to lose the storefront image. City Council/Planning Commission Minutes July 19, 2000 Page 2, Commissioner Tolstoy felt Main Street is innovative and felt they should be innovative with the parking lot so that it is not like the Mills. Commissioner Macias stated he is not so sure he agrees with Commissioner McNiel. He felt it should be pedestrian friendly. Commissioner Tolstoy felt Santa Clarita has an excellent parking plan. Commissioner McNiel stated he liked the architecture he sees today and would like to see it not change. Councilmember Dutton stated he would like to see a trolley car/cable car/tram situation from the parking lot to the stores. He stated he liked what he saw in Sacramento with their mall. He stated he likes the master plan for the 500 acres. Councilmember Willlares stated she would like to see more meetings to ask more questions. She stated she wants to be sure that this is the quality and level of project that the pictures show in the conceptual plan. She was concerned that they would go backwards instead of forward and that the project would become less than what the drawings showed. She stated she personally has a problem with square grids. Councilmember Curatalo stated he is very pleased with the plan and realized that there are a lot of things that have to come together. Councilmember Biane felt this was a very exciting project for the area. He felt the slow traffic through the center would allow people to pick up laundry, or stop for a coffee or bagel. He felt this was very important. He liked the outdoor concept and felt it would allow for expansion down the line. He felt it could possibly even by covered at some date if it needed to be. Mayor Alexander stated it was important to keep the standards the City has previously set. He stated the people doing this have a wonderful track record. He liked the village concept in the community and also felt the entedainment aspect is important to the project. Linda Daniels, Redevelopmerit Agency Director, stated there has been direction given and that quality is important not only to the mall, but the residential area as well. She stated it was important for Lewis, Forest City and American Beauty to continue working together in order to keep the master plan what it is now. C. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC C1. Bob Lundy, Route 66 and Rancho Cucamonga Welcome Center, stated he would like to compliment everyone on a wonderful proposal. He felt the 1-15 is a tourism corridor. He felt this project being on the ~-15 corridor could provide for international tourism. Mayor Alexander advised Mr. Lundy he would get other opportunities to express his thoughts throughout this process. Brad Bullet, City Planner, stated American Beauty is anxious to proceed forward. He stated a public hearing for this plan will be coming next. Joint City Council/Planning Commission Minutes July 19, 2000 Page 4 D. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Moved by Commissioner McNiel, seconded by Councilmember Dutton to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, City Clerk Approved by Planning Commission: August 23, 2000 Approved by City Council: September 6, 2000