MEMORANDUM. Attachment 4 CITY COUNCIL DAN BUCKSHI, CITY MANAGER DATE: JANUARY 15, 2019

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1 Attachment 4 MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: CITY COUNCIL DAN BUCKSHI, CITY MANAGER DATE: JANUARY 15, 2019 SUBJECT: MAJOR ACTIVITIES UPDATE FOR CITY COUNCIL RETREAT ON FEBRUARY 26, 2019 In addition to the original four priorities, there has been one priority added and there are several other major activities that are currently underway and will continue to require attention and resources to ensure completion. The resources required for each of the major activities for standardization purposes and to provide the Council a general idea of level of work effort required for each are categorized as: 1.) High (Greater than 160 hours of staff time), 2.) Medium (Between 80 hours and 160 hours of staff time) or 3.) Low (Less than 80 hours of staff time). Below is an update on the progress and resources required of the following major initiatives: West Downtown Specific Plan North Downtown Specific Plan Design Review Guidelines Update Climate Action Plan Blueprint Phase II Long term budget approach Your Parks, Your Future Transportation Demand Management West Downtown Specific Plan: On September 4, 2018, the City Council adopted the West Downtown Specific Plan and associated amendments to the General Plan. On December 18, 2018 the City Council reviewed additional information regarding the interplay between state density bonus law and the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments (specifically how affordable housing density bonuses are calculated when an increase in residential density is afforded through the proposed developer-provided community benefits provisions of the West Downtown Specific Plan). After review, the City Council directed staff to draft language for:

2 1. A General Plan Amendment to Chapter 4: Land Use element re: applicable standard for Community Benefits that protects Council s discretion from development waivers permitted by state DB law; and 2. Zoning language amendments to ensure density established by zoning is the basis for calculating the 35% density bonus afforded by state law (and the corresponding percentage of the units that must be made affordable). The PC hearing for review and recommendation on the GPA and proposed zoning ordinance amendments is scheduled for January 21 st /February 14 th (date not confirmed yet) and the City Council hearing is scheduled for March 6, The resource level for this initiative falls in the Low category. Once these two items are adopted by the City Council, staff will begin preparation of the Community Benefit s Program. Table 3-1 in the Specific Plan presents a list of community benefits that could potentially be provided by new development. The list is intended as a first step toward a more comprehensive community benefits program to be developed within six months after the Specific Plan/General Plan amendments as well as the specific plan zoning ordinance amendments are adopted. The Community Benefits program will identify: (a) the top priority community benefits in each part of the Plan area (and potentially specific benefits that are desired on the larger development opportunity sites); (b) the relative value of different community benefits in terms of bonus floor area, height, and density; and (c) the logistics for awarding bonuses (for example, a point system vs negotiated benefits, providing benefits on-site vs paying into a fund for benefits to be provided elsewhere in the Plan Area, etc.). The Community Benefits program will also apply to the North Downtown Specific Plan (see below for remaining NDSP work program items, timeline and resource needs). Development of the Community Benefits program and eventual adoption by the City Council by resolution will take effort from the two Long Range Senior Planners, the Planning Manager, the Community Development Director and the City Attorney s office. North Downtown Specific Plan: The Public Draft of the Specific Plan and EIR were released on June 18, They were reviewed by the Commissions and Council in July and August. The project team has reviewed, analyzed and consolidated all comments and is revising the Specific Plan accordingly. The team is preparing the response to all comments on the EIR. The team is also preparing companion amendments to the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance to implement the North Downtown Specific Plan. The Final Draft Specific Plan, Final EIR, and proposed amendments will be brought to the Planning Commission for recommendation to Council after the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments to implement the West Downtown Specific Plan have been approved by Council. This is anticipated to occur in April. These will then be brought to City Council in May for adoption. The resource level for this initiative falls in the Medium category. 2

3 Design Review Guidelines 2019 Update At the October 2, 2018 City Council meeting, Council directed staff to prepare an update to the 1996 Design Review Guidelines, and bring a draft to Council within 1 year. As part of this effort, staff would conduct outreach to stakeholders and incorporate the 2018 Addendum (Objective Design Standards for multi-family residential). Work has begun on the project with a team of 5 current and long-range planners. A City Working Group has been formed with 2 members of the Design Review Commission. The first meeting of the City Working Group is planned for January 14 th, where we will be reviewing a draft list of design topics, discussing approaches for how to organize the document, and reviewing potential outreach activities throughout the course of the project. The resource level for this initiative falls in the High category. Climate Action Plan In 2012, the City Council adopted the Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP addresses climate change by setting a goal of reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 15% from 2005 levels and reducing emissions at municipal facilities 39% from 2005 levels by the year The adopted CAP suggests a goal for 2030, but no goal or strategies for beyond 2020 were officially adopted. In 2016, the state passed SB32, which sets a state goal of reducing emissions 40 percent from 1990 emission levels by the year In the long-term, the state is aiming for an 80 percent reduction by the year On March 6, 2018, Council provided unanimous direction to set a new Council Priority to update the CAP with new greenhouse gas reduction goals for On October 16, 2018, Council indicated interest in including the topic of reducing plastic waste (plastic straws) in the CAP. The City has no overall sustainability plan, and the CAP is narrowly focused on greenhouse gas emissions. By broadening the CAP update slightly to include other sustainability topics of interest (e.g. plastic reduction, air quality, or others), the City can explore what other sustainability goals to set, their costs and benefits, and prioritize them against other efforts. The 2012 CAP cost approximately $85,000 and was funded through a grant. No grant funding has been identified to support a CAP update. Staff has identified resources available through PG&E s East Bay Energy Watch program that could help reduce the cost of the greenhouse gas inventory portion of the work. The cost of a CAP update is estimated to be about $200,000 based on estimates from other jurisdictions. Once funding has been identified, staff can issue an RFP for a consultant to complete the following broad tasks: Complete or review greenhouse gas inventories for the community and municipal facilities for the year 2017 Review and revise past greenhouse gas inventories and baseline year for consistency with current methodology 3

4 Create a monitoring tool to track progress between greenhouse gas inventories (conducted every 5 years) Conduct community and stakeholder engagement, including working with an Advisory Committee Develop the Climate Action Plan, including new greenhouse gas reduction goals and strategies, funding options, and a cost benefit analysis Conduct Environmental Review to meet the Bay Area Air Quality Management District s standards for a certified CAP and CEQA requirements Additional potential tasks pending Council direction to include these topics: o Develop adaptation goals and strategies o Develop broader sustainability goals and strategies for other environmental topics (e.g. waste reduction/plastic reduction, air quality, or other topics) The CAP update is estimated to take years and will be overseen by a CED Administrative Analyst (.5 FTE). The municipal greenhouse gas inventory and municipal CAP will need input and feedback from Public Works staff, such as Analysts, Maintenance Services, Fleet, and Park Maintenance/Open Space. The community greenhouse gas inventory and community CAP will need input and feedback from Community and Economic Development (Planning, Transportation Planning, and Building), Traffic Engineering, Public Works, and the City Manager s Office. The resource level for this initiative falls in the High category. Existing Climate Action Plan Implementation: In addition to the CAP update, staff will continue their ongoing work to implement the 2012 CAP to meet or exceed our 2020 goals. Major initiatives that are already incorporated into staff work plans that support the overall CAP and the lead departments are identified below. These initiatives are either already funded in the budget or are using grant funding: Transportation Demand Management/Rethinking Mobility Transportation Planning Shared micro-mobility 2.0 pilot Transportation Planning, Economic Development Measure J compliance checklist Transportation Planning Mobility Hubs (bus shelters) Transportation Planning Explore installation of electric vehicle chargers at City facilities Community and Economic Development (CED), Public Works, City Manager s Office Cleaner Contra Costa Supported by a grant, conduct community outreach over 2 year period to residents on actions to address climate change using a new online software. Launch Spring CED Heather Farm Community Center Lakeside Room Lighting Conversion (fluorescent to LED) Public Works Civic Park Community Center aluminum roof conversion (cool roof) from ceramic tile to aluminum Public Works The resource level for this initiative falls in the High category. 4

5 Blueprint Phase II On November 20, Staff shared with Council a report out of the finished Phase One of the Development Services Blueprint for Success. The first phase of the Blueprint received kudos from the community as well as acclamations from outside audiences, including two CALED Award of Merits and invitations to speak at both the CALED conference and the national APA conference in However, process improvement work on such a wide scale is never finished, and there is still work to be done. Council has directed staff to explore two areas of particular interest for Blueprint Phase Two: the Building Permit process and the process of moving between staff approval and the Design Review Commission. With those goals in mind, staff plans to begin drafting Phase Two of the Blueprint in early The Blueprint drafting process last round consisted of two steps: first, the drafting of a Development Services Action Plan, which defined development services, cohered the cross-departmental stakeholders into one Development Services Team, and outlined the major categories to tackle in the Blueprint document itself; and second, the drafting of the Blueprint for Success, which consisted of a listening tour of stakeholders, customers, and staff that fed into 60+ specific suggestions of improvements to the development review process. Then, an 18-month implementation period began, running from January 2017 to approximately July 2018 (with additional follow-up running through November 2018). This round, staff plans to use the existing Development Services Action Plan and proceed straight to the engagement of community stakeholders, customers, and staff in creating a new list of action items in a Blueprint Phase Two document. Additionally, staff plans to rely more heavily on the use of data to inform goals and progress benchmarks. While it is still early in the process to make precise resource estimates, the Blueprint work has been intensive and involved staff at every level of the Community and Economic Development and Public Works Departments, as well as project management from the City Manager s Office. This includes: A bi-weekly management-level Development Services Team meeting Monthly planning and staffing for a public Development Services Forum All-staff contributions to initiatives like process improvement SMART goals Individual additions to staff work plans based on specific action items, like the drafting of a new ordinance or checklist, or the implementation of the next phase of Accela permit tracking software From a budget perspective, all three departments have contributed in some way to Blueprint goals, such as the funding of technology tool OpenCounter to offer new options to Permit Center customers. This work has fit into existing budgets so far. However, several anticipated items for Blueprint Phase Two, including the suggestion of improvements to the physical Permit Center area and technology-intensive work to upgrade the City s database capabilities, may require additional investments outside of the standard budgets to complete. Next steps in the Blueprint Phase Two process include: February-April: 5

6 o Gather input from a stakeholder group that includes two City Council members, two DRC members, staff, and representatives of the development community to inform the scope of Phase Two o Combine the above qualitative input with quantitative data, and then use it to set the vision and goals for Blueprint Phase Two April-June: o Draft the Development Services Blueprint Phase Two document with a subgroup of the Development Services Team o Visit appropriate bodies to receive feedback July: o Bring the finalized Blueprint Phase Two to Council for approval o Host a kickoff meeting with staff for Blueprint Phase Two July 2019-December 2020: implementation of Blueprint Phase Two, with ongoing reports to City Council and feedback from the development services community The resource level for this initiative falls in the High category. Long Term Budget Approach As part of the FY18-20 budget adoption process, the City Council was informed staff would take the following steps (in bold font) to develop future budgets, specific actions and resource needs are defined below: 1. Conduct outreach and solicit feedback from the community Conduct National Research Center/ICMA survey, provides opportunity to benchmark to prior year survey results & other communities Conduct presentations to community groups on City s financial status Conduct department budget presentations for Council (June August 2019) The resource level for this initiative falls in the High category. 2. Identify service level priorities Benchmark with other agencies Conduct internal review of services Council / Community input 3. Work with staff to analyze operations and identify opportunities for efficiencies Some portions of Focus/Flexibility initiative tie to this Solicit Innovation ideas from staff 6

7 4. Complete an updated comprehensive fee study for general services (last completed in 2010) Consultant will assist with this effort, best practice to review every 5-8 years 5. Identify revenue opportunities (Medium) Research viable revenue measures requiring community vote Departments to conduct review of operations for other revenue opportunities (ticket surcharge, new fees to recover/offset costs, etc.) More aggressively pursue grant opportunities Your Parks, Your Future Background: The City Council established four priorities for and addressing the City s infrastructure needs was among these areas of strategic emphasis. Through several meetings, Council determined that staff should focus on the following four facilities: Civic Park Community Center and Assembly Hall, Heather Farm Park Community Center, Clarke Pool, and Shadelands Art Center within the context of broader park master planning process. On February 6, 2018, the Council approved the Critical Community Facility and Park Planning Work Plan, and approved the project budget. Subsequently, the Council approved the Advisory Committee membership on March 20, On June 5 th City Council directed the City Manager to enter into a Consultant Services Agreement for the Critical Community Facility and Park Planning project with RRM Design Group. Subsequently, the project was rebranded as Your Parks, Your Future to enhance the outreach and connection with the community. Work Plan and Schedule: The first phase of the work plan is underway, with a focus on the programming and building needs. The second phase will focus on park planning and completion of the two master plans. The two phases are outlined below: Phase 1 Tasks: June 2018 April 2019 Create and implement a Community Outreach and Engagement Strategy (in process) Commence Advisory Committee Meetings (in process) Complete Parks Inventory and Site Assessment (complete) Develop Arts and Recreation Programming and Facility Planning (in process) As Phase 1 nears completion, staff will seek direction from Council on the next steps, and any possible funding options would be discussed at this point. Phase 2 Tasks: October 2018 October 2020 Parks Master Planning 7

8 Environmental Review Staff resources: One limited duration Senior Planner dedicates 50% of their time to this project. The resource level for this initiative falls in the High category. Transportation Demand Management/Rethinking Mobility At the December 18, 2018 City Council meeting staff presented the Rethinking Mobility Transportation Strategic Plan project, and informed the City Council about the project s overall purpose and goals, the project schedule, outreach plan, and the Council s role in developing the plan. In early 2018, the City was also conducting outreach on the Downtown Parking Experience. One of the focuses of the Rethinking Mobility Transportation Strategic Plan will be parking demand management, and so at the December 18 th meeting staff requested and was granted approval from the City Council to merge the outreach processes. The Council also agreed to postpone any operational parking changes until the TDM Plan is approved by the City Council. Staff and the consultant will spend the next few months further familiarizing the public with the plan, sharing information about existing travel behavior with the community, conducting targeted stakeholder meetings, and further engaging with the City s commissions and City Council on the needs, opportunities, and challenges of the local transportation network. The resource level for this initiative falls in the High category. 8