Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022
Attachment 1: Summary of
Community Engagement
Part I: Workshop #3 Summary (3/24)
Part II: Summary of Online Survey
Part III: Summary of Pop-Ups
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 2
Introduction
The City of East Palo Alto hosted its third community workshop for the Ravenswood Business District (RBD) / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update on Thursday, March 24, 2022, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm. The focus of this workshop was on community benefits, including prioritizing benefits that could be provided by new development projects in the RBD. The workshop included an overview presentation, smaller group discussions in Zoom Breakout Rooms, and a group discussion complemented by polling and budgeting exercises. In total, a maximum of 95 people attended the workshop, but this number fluctuated since people joined and left throughout the meeting.
This workshop was held virtually with participants logging in or dialing in by phone to an online Zoom meeting.
Spanish interpretation services were provided during the meeting. Recordings and digital copies of the workshop materials were later posted on the project website: https://www.cityofepa.org/planning/page/ravenswoodbusiness-district-4-corners-specific-plan-update A copy of the presentation and video recording in Spanish are also online. Para leer los comentarios del taller en español, consulte el apéndice al final.
Meeting Agenda
The workshop began a formal presentation by the consultant team (led by Raimi + Associates), followed by smaller group conversations in breakout groups. The evening concluded with a large group conversation, a final budgeting exercise, and a group Question and Answer session. The agenda of the meeting was as follows:
(6:30p) Welcome & Introduction by Mayor Abrica
(6:40p) Overview Presentation
(7:30p) Small Breakout Group Conversations
(8:30p) Report Back and Group Discussion
(8:45p) Final Budgeting Activity, Next Steps, and Final Questions Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners
Specific Plan Update
Part I: Workshop #3 Summary (March 24, 2022)
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 3
Profile of Meeting Attendees
A voluntary, online poll was conducted at the start of the workshop to better understand who attended the meeting. These questions drew an average of 44 respondents (out of approximately 60 attendees at the time the poll was taken):
• Approximately half of the respondents were residents (of RBD or East Palo Alto) • One-third of respondents have lived or worked in the City for more than ten years • Nearly all of the respondents had participated in previous events such as public workshops, office hours, or City Council meetings
The following figures provide the detailed results of the polling activity.
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 4
Outreach & Noticing
Public noticing for the workshop began in February
2022. Digital announcements and materials were
posted on a variety of forums, including:
• Via email as a newsletter blast to a large
database of community members
• On the City calendar and website
• On City of East Palo Alto social media sites
• To business owners, organizations, and schools
in and around RBD / 4 Corners
• Announcement on “East Palo Alto Neighbors”
Facebook page
• Targeted Facebook ads
In addition to digital noticing, physical
noticing was conducted including:
• A physical mailer that was
distributed to every permanent
address in the City of East Palo Alto
• An updated notice board installed
at the corner of Bay Road and
University Avenue
• Flyers posted around the RBD
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 5
Workshop Summary
Presentation Highlights & Key Takeaways
Raimi + Associates, project lead for the Specific Plan Update, took the audience through a presentation that covered a range of topics including:
• A recap of the 2013 Specific Plan, including the vision, project goals, and development assumptions; • Updates and highlights of the work to date, including previous engagement events, major council direction including the two study scenarios, and project timeline; • A summary of the existing baseline community benefits structure, highlighting current local mandates, impact fees, subsidies, and their relation to the two scenarios selected by Council; • Identifying priorities for other community benefits in addition to the baseline, and trade-offs from both a spatial and financial perspective.
Input on community benefit priorities from the meeting participations was obtained in three ways:
1. A poll asking participants to prioritize which “category” of community benefits was most important to them.
2. Small group discussions where participants were asked to discuss and provide comments on the specific community benefits identified thus far in the community engagement process.
3. A poll asking participants to prioritize specific community benefits divided into 2 categories: 1) benefits that take up “space” in the RBD, and 2) benefits that cost “money.” Category Prioritization Exercise
At the conclusion of the presentation, participants were asked to identify their two most important community benefits from amongst five categories. The results showed an equal split between affordable housing and jobs and workforce development for the top choice, while parks and open space received a similar number of votes:
Breakout Group Discussion Results
Following the formal presentation, attendees were divided into four smaller groups, each group facilitated by staff or members of the project team. These breakout groups were not recorded to maintain participant anonymity.
The purpose of these discussions was to provide an opportunity for community members and stakeholders to react and respond to topics introduced during the presentation, and most importantly share their own insights regarding the different benefits, and the priorities that the city should consider when evaluating potential development projects. To guide the conversation, breakout groups were organized around five key topics:
Affordable Housing; Jobs and Workforce Development; Community Preservation; Parks, Open Space, and Conservation; and Mobility. The following guiding questions were asked for each topic:
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 6
1. Are the desired outcomes identified in the presentation correct? What’s missing?
2. Are the priorities related to space and money identified in the presentation correct? What’s missing? Which of these benefits are most important and why?
Specific feedback from the breakout groups can ben found in the Appendix.
Several key themes emerged from these discussions:
• Overall value and fairness. The community wanted to better understand how much developers will make from the city allowing additional developmentin the RBD, and what is the fair allocation of benefits for the community in relation to that amount. This would help some residents decide how best to prioritize amongst various benefits and ensure that the City and its residents directly benefit from the new development.
• Deeply affordable housing. Affordable housing emerged as a key priority, with strong support for the deeper levels of affordability, especially 35% AMI. There was some differing opinions regarding the size of new housing (the ratio between studios, 1-bed, 2+ bed). Some felt that more family and multigenerational housing was needed while other thought that smaller units for young professionals is missing in EPA and therefore should be built in the RBD. • Building community wealth. Home ownership was discussed as a key building block for the EPA community to truly share in the wealth creation of RBD development, and as a way to ensure long-term stability in the neighborhoods.
• Lifelong pipelines to employment. Access to well-paying jobs is critical to the health and welfare of EPA residents. Starting in youth and moving through adults, participants expressed that developers in RBD should actively provide opportunities for education and internships/apprenticeships. Others requirements including free training, pilot hiring programs, and stricter local hire expectations were also highlighted by participants.
• Spaces for activities that residents want to pursue. Discussions concerning jobs and workforce development emphasized a strong preference for physical spaces within RBD that could accommodate new or displaced local businesses and workers, but especially the wide diversity of potential businesses unique to EPA’s residents.
• Developer accountability. The community wants to be sure that the businesses that move into new buildings are accountable to the agreements made with the developers of the properties. • Parks and mobility were covered in less detail, but comments included sensitivity of new open spaces to wildlife, fostering safe and accessible public spaces, and considering fees to mitigate traffic concerns.
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 7
Final Polling
After the breakout group sessions, one final polling exercise was conducted where participants were asked to identify their priorities for community benefits using a 100-point budget. Using Mentimeter, individuals were asked to vote on the specific community benefits that were most important to them. As was mentioned above, instead of voting by topic, the final poll organized the list of community benefits into 2 categories: 1) benefits that compete for physical space in the RBD; and 2) benefits that compete for money from development projects. The following tables summarize the results of this prioritization exercise.
As is shown above, jobs and housing are the most essential benefits for this community. This is consistent with the results from previous community engagement efforts. Participants in this workshop expressed that they would like to see developer-provided and subsidized space in the RBD / 4 Corners used for:
SPACE
Received the
Strongest Support
• Local entrepreneurs
• Affordable housing units
• Public parks and trails
• Local restaurants
Received Moderate
Support
• Ecological areas
• Larger housing units
• Grocery store
• Youth Center
Received Lower
Support
• Commercial kitchen
• New City Hall/services
• Outdoor sports fields
• Senior Center
• Other
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 8
Similar to the first exercise, jobs and housing again emerged as the most essential benefits for this community.
Participants in this workshop expressed that they would like to see money/financial resources allocated in the RBD / 4 Corners towards:
MONEY
Received the
Strongest Support
• Workforce training (jobs)
• Local businesses (jobs)
• Home ownership (housing)
• 35% AMI Housing (housing)
• Wetland restoration (parks)
Received Moderate
Support
• Public recreational amenities (parks)
• 50% AMI Housing (housing)
• Trees and beautification (parks)
• Citywide congestion projects (transportation)
• Citywide bike/ped projects (transportation)
Received Lower
Support
• Exceeding local hire (jobs)
• Neighborhood traffic calming (transportation)
• Donation to community groups (community)
• Regional transportation projects (transportation)
• Other
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 9
Appendix
Affordable Housing
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 10
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 11
Jobs & Workforce Development
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Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 13
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 14
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 15
Community Preservation
Ravenswood Business District / 4 Corners Specific Plan Update: Community Input on Benefits Attachment A - City Council Session – May 17 2022 16
Parks, Open Space, and Conservation
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Mobility
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Part II: Summary of Online Survey
An online survey was conducted through SurveyMonkey to provide an opportunity to residents to provide feedback who could not attend the virtual workshop or the in-person workshops. Approximately 40 respondents were recorded, and feedback generally mirrored the results from Workshop #3, with a few differences:
• Greater interest in wetlands restoration
• Higher vote totals for subsidized commuter shuttles
• More support for creating (larger) units with more bedrooms In the online survey results, the choice of the most important benefits categories was aligned with other results, with #1 Housing, #2 Jobs and Workforce, and #3 Community Preservation.
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Voting Results for Space:
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Voting Results for Money:
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Part III: Summary Results from Pop-up Events
Three separate pop-up workshops were held during April 2022 to discuss benefits priorities with residents.
Generally, the same priorities were voiced during these activities as during the others, with the notable difference of:
• Emphasis on anti-displacement over many other items
• Strong desire to improve local schools and boost their funding • Concerns around safety related to use of future waterfront parks and open space • Higher interest in parks and trails, and outdoor sports fields These images display the results of participant voting on the budgeting exercises (not all participants chose to participate in the voting activity – many provided verbal comments to the project team members):
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