Preparing to Review City-owned Property June 28, 2017 WORKING DRAFT Prepared for: Mayor DeBoer and the Holland City Council Prepared by: Denny Ellens William J. Johnson Soren Wolff Phil Meyer REPORT CONTENTS 1. Cover Page 2. Executive Summary 2 3. Powerpoint Presentation 4. Appendices 7 a. City Council Resolution 8 b. City Property Map 10 c. City Property Inventory 11 d. Summary Disposition Map- Slide 22 14 e. Legal Opinion: Ron VanderVeen 15 f. Exploratory Questions- draft 19 g. Existing City Plans 20 h. Design Principles and Evaluative Criteria 31 i. Urban Design Principles and Evaluative Criteria CHECKLIST- draft 33 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Preparing To Review City-owned Property working draft: 6-20-17 Prior to convening the formal Property Review Committee as established under City Council Resolution of March 15, 2017, Mayor DeBoer has presented a Request to a small Task Group to provide background and guidance regarding consideration of potential disposition of public properties City-wide. Immediately upon considering this request, it became clear that in order to be in position to consider a property s future disposition, it was first necessary to fully understand the community s Vision, Principles and Process for evaluating future land use/development decisions. Based on the history of Downtown s evolution over the past three decades and experience in other settings, the Task Group has brought together Vision and Goal statements from official City documents, Principles and Evaluative Criteria of the physical DNA of Downtown that have proven successful in realizing a nationally recognized, locally cherished and distinctive physical environment, and the key components of processof how the community has worked collaboratively and the characteristics of process that have and can continue to serve the community well in reaching for a common vision. The City must be diligent in embracing and refining those key components of process that set the stage for being prepared for development opportunities and proposals. Those components include: Vision- identifying and updating the dream, the hope for the community. Strategy- bringing clarity to how do we get there? Concepts- an exploration of opportunities for a site and within context. Master Plan- providing basic standards, goals, criteria, needed actions and regulation. Development Plans- the opportunity for the next building which should be offered in the context of Vision, Strategy, Concepts and Master Plan. It is important to note that this Preparing to Review document is consistent with and supportive of the following City-adopted priorities: City Vision: The City s adopted documents contain the following broad guidance: City Vision: A Vibrant, world class community in a beautiful lakefront environment where people work together, celebrate community and realize dreams. City Mission: Maximize livability. Master Plan Guiding Principle: Inviting all to enjoy a thriving and resilient Holland. Overall Goals as recently updated in the City of Holland Master Plan: Environment: The City of Holland s natural environment will be clean and accessible. 2
Transportation: The City of Holland will have a safe, connected transportation that serves multiple modes. Public Services: The City of Holland s public services will be high quality, efficient, and cost effective. Parks and Recreation: The City of Holland will have visually appealing, year-round, and diverse activities and spaces that are accessible and connected for all people. Housing: The City of Holland s housing stock will be energy efficient, wellmaintained, and include various designs. Urban Design: The City of Holland s neighborhoods will be aesthetically pleasing, treelined, walkable, and mixed-use with recognizable development patterns. Economy: The City of Holland s economy will consist of diverse industries based on technology and design that attract and retain talent and are fueled by a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Social Services and Community Health: The City of Holland will foster a safe and healthy community for all residents. Properties: The evaluation of each public property (City and BPW) began with a detailed inventory which included such information as address, parcel number, parcel size, current zoning, and land use under existing conditions and as potential use consistent with the City Master Plan, and the variety of site specific conditions and constraints that may impact future use. Such factors as physical or environmental conditions found on the site, availability of utilities, legal procedures necessary to move a property into an available status, and the concerns and/or expectations of adjacent and nearby property owners. The list of 170 public properties assembled by City staff goes a long way toward accomplishing such an inventory. As a decision is made regarding the disposition of each property, the City should thoroughly review this detailed inventory and consult with Counsel as to appropriate legal procedures for such disposition, procedures which vary depending on a number of factors. As focus turned to Downtown properties through this analysis, the Task Group drew from and expanded on the substantial content of the Downtown Strategic Plans as adopted in 1995, 2007 and 2015. In fact, the presented Principles and Criteria are a response to the call within Extending the Vision, the 2015 Update of the Strategic Plan for Downtown where, on page 16, there is a recommendation to provide a description of the physical DNA of Downtown as the foundation and context for future growth. The process of work undertaken by this Task Group quickly identified those public properties where there appear to be greatest opportunity and/or demand for consideration of future change in use. In summary, the Task Group recommends the City: Consider being the catalyst for developing an Airport Business District in cooperation with the West Michigan Regional Airport Authority/adjacent private property owners; Consider disposing of several smaller City owned parcels which have no current or anticipated future public use. This could involve a simple RFP process. 3
Develop a process for evaluating several City owned parcels in the middle of the City which may or may not have a current or future public purpose and determine City preferences and expectations for their future use and disposition. Use of a process which explores potential Concepts for land use in relationship to surrounding uses can provide much more focus and intentionality to a Request for Proposals or Offering of property. Review all City-owned parcels in the Downtown Area that could potentially serve as Catalysts for new/redevelopment projects; proceed through a concept phase of exploration; and then establish an RFP process to guide such potential catalytic opportunities. Note that where parcels could be coordinated with or catalytic for private property development, the decision to proceed with such an arrangement should be consistent with the Downtown Strategic Plan and the Vision, Principles, Criteria and Process described herein. Principles and Evaluative Criteria: The work of this Task Group became more detailed with those properties offering significant future potential alternative use. The Group examined the Principles and Evaluative Criteria that have provided and are recommended to continue to provide a foundation for reviewing development proposals and opportunities. Initiated with a focus on public properties, a simple review of public and private properties susceptible to change within the Downtown area causes our recommendation that these Principles and Criteria apply to both public and private properties. Foundational considerations for setting expectations for all potential redevelopment include: How Holland has worked (Culture/Process); Context; and Connectivity. Urban Design Principles include: Mixed use; Walkable Community; Site Planning; Building Design; Automobile environment; and Sustainability. Under each Urban Design Principle, there are more specific criteria that expand and apply the Principle to consideration of design of a specific project. This document focuses on application to public and private properties in the core area of Downtown. Principles apply more broadly throughout the City, and Criteria should be modified according to changing contextual situations as you move beyond the core of Downtown and to other areas of the City. 4
Process: A stated City goal is to work cooperatively and actively with private developers on significant commercial, mixed-use projects. The following Process components are vital: The City should provide a briefing at the outset of a project, alerting the Team to the PROCESS, PRINCIPLES AND EVALUATIVE CRITERIA that will be used to evaluate and approve any proposed plan; The intent is for the City to CHAMPION the key qualitative principles felt to be essential in sustaining the hard-earned Quality of Life (DNA) throughout the City and Downtown; Qualitative principles need special attention EARLY in the process before plans become hardened; The Process also needs to give deliberate, CONTINUING attention to these Principles through the rigors of design development and construction drawing phases of implementation; and The Process should feature a COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT strategy. Key Assertion: The intent is not to limit the Development Team s objectives but to INCREASE PROSPECTS, encouraging the TEAM to work creatively on their own terms towards unusual levels of success, towards win-win outcomes. How Far Did We Go? This effort is intended to capture the spirit, vision and basic framework for encouraging continued redevelopment of public and private properties. There may be an additional layer of detail that captures important aspects of this work that the City may deem necessary to require of developers, to provide specific standards and expectations. These could be both procedural and substantive, and could be in the form of zoning and site plan requirements, consideration of some level of form-based code, an application where some City incentives are being requested, or developed within standard operating procedures. Notably not covered within the scope of work provided herein is the need for greater clarity regarding Principles and/or Policies that define expectations for: Mix of incomes, types of units, density of development, and target population for new housing; An appropriate balance between retail, office, entertainment, residential uses and other uses within the Downtown; and Potential future changes in the parking system relative to free vs. paid, time-limited, and even the future impact of autonomous vehicles. 5
Powerpoint presentation will be inserted in final report here. 6
APPENDICES A. City Council Resolution B. City Property Map C. City Property Inventory D. Summary Disposition Map- Slide 22 E. Legal Opinion: Ron VanderVeen F. Exploratory Questions- draft G. Existing City Plans H. Design Principles and Evaluative Criteria I. Urban Design Principles and Evaluative Criteria CHECKLIST- draft 7
APPENDIX A. City Council Property Review Committee Resolution 8
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APPENDIX B. City Property Map 10
APPENDIX C. City Property Inventory 11
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APPENDIX D. Summary Disposition Map 14