City of Santa Clara
Meeting Minutes
Downtown Community Task Force
Draft
6:00 PM Zoom Webinar11/18/2021
Pursuant to California Government Code section 54953(e) and City of Santa Clara Resolution 21-9013, the Downtown Community Task Force meeting will be held by teleconference only. No physical location will be available for this meeting; however, the City of Santa Clara continues to provide methods for the public to participate remotely:
Via Zoom:
https://santaclaraca.zoom.us/j/91975789377
Meeting ID: 919 7578 9377 or
By Phone: 1(669) 900-6833
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The DCTF Chair, Adam Thompson called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.
Adam Thompson, Dan Ondrasek, Rob Mayer, Debra von Huene, Ana Vargas-Smith , Mathew Reed, and Butch Coyne
Present 7 -
Atisha Varshney, and Chan ThaiAbsent 2 -
A motion was made by Vice Chair Ondrasek to excuse Member Thai from the beginning of the meeting and Member Varshney from the meeting. The motion was seconded by Member Mayer. Member Thai joined the meeting at 6:45 pm.
Aye: Thompson, Ondrasek, Mayer, von Huene, Vargas-Smith, Reed, and Coyne
7 -
Absent: Varshney, and Thai2 -
CONSENT CALENDAR
There were no items.
GENERAL BUSINESS
11/18/2021Downtown Community Task Force Meeting Minutes 1 Preferred Plan Height/Massing and Development Capacity Recap A recap of the Precise Plan height/Massing and development capacity was provided by the Consultant. The DCTF commented that live/work was difficult to execute and should not be mandatory; buildings should be taller at the corner of Franklin and Monroe and lower as you head north and south; and there should be Objective Design Standards to guide parking garage design.
2 Community Feedback on Place Making Strategies
The consultant provided a presentation on the feedback received from the Placemaking virtual workshop held on October 21, 2021 and the DCTF members provided feedback on the comments to the consultant.
Public Comment:
Donna West stated the housing by Castro Street in Mountain View is really nice
Skip Pearson stated that Washington Street should be a gateway with up to 6 stories and buildings on Franklin Street above 2 stories should be stepped back.
Ed stated that the farmers market on Jackson needs seating, planter boxes, benches, and art.
3 Precise Plan Implementation Tools
The DCTF members discussed Implementation Tools and questioned if bonus height in return for benefits would be economically feasible, and how would implementation be coordinated with property owners.
11/18/2021Downtown Community Task Force Meeting Minutes 4 Discussion on returning Main Street to the Downtown street grid sooner by spurring the redevelopment of Blocks C, D, E, and F.
DCTF Member Ondrasek provided a presentation on how to return Main Street to Downtown, focusing on Blocks C, D, E, and F. The presentation provided an overview of research Reclaiming Our Downtown (ROD) had done on various cities moving their City Halls to Downtown and their outcomes. The DCTF discussed the information and provided feedback and questioned how much square footage a City Hall would take up in Downtown, could it be done in a mixed use configuration, would it build a parking garage that could be shared, and what would the economic benefit be.
Public Comment
Patricia Leung was concerned about the proposal,specifically taking energy away for Downtown, that the current city hall is historically significant, and the feasibility of it.
Mary Grizzle advocated for studying a city hall move to Downtown.
Skip Pearson stated that the existing city hall land is worth 10-15 million dollars.
Donna West stated that city hall employees are not going anywhere, and the building is public.
Connie
Jonathon Evans stated that some city halls do not bring any life with them, e.g. San Jose City hall plaza lacks people no one wants to go there.
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
There were no public presentations.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Member Coyne, and seconded by Member Mayer to adjourn the meeting at 9:49 p.m..
The next regular scheduled meeting is Thursday, December 16, 2021 at 6 p.m.
Aye: Thompson, Ondrasek, Mayer, von Huene, Vargas-Smith, Reed, Coyne, and Thai
8 -
Absent: Varshney1 -
11/18/2021Downtown Community Task Force Meeting Minutes The time limit within which to commence any lawsuit or legal challenge to any quasi-adjudicative decision made by the City is governed by Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, unless a shorter limitation period is specified by any other provision. Under Section 1094.6, any lawsuit or legal challenge to any quasi-adjudicative decision made by the City must be filed no later than the 90th day following the date on which such decision becomes final. Any lawsuit or legal challenge, which is not filed within that 90-day period, will be barred. If a person wishes to challenge the nature of the above section in court, they may be limited to raising only those issues they or someone else raised at the meeting described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Santa Clara, at or prior to the meeting. In addition, judicial challenge may be limited or barred where the interested party has not sought and exhausted all available administrative remedies.
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