Community Meeting #2.1

Community Meeting #2.1 Thursday, October 20, 2016, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eliot Elementary School, 475 Old Gilroy Street, Gilroy, CA 95020 Meeting Summary The City of Gilroy held its third community meeting for the Downtown Gilroy Station Area Plan at Eliot Elementary School on October 20, 2016. Approximately 65 members of the public attended the meeting. The purpose of the workshop was to continue the discussion on the Plan s three Land Use and Circulation Alternatives and High-Speed Rail (HSR) vertical alignment options; and gather input from the community on the preferred elements to create a Draft Preferred Alternative. The Draft Preferred Alternative will be presented before the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council in the next few months. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTORY PRESENTATION David Bischoff of the City of Gilroy welcomed community members and explained that the purpose of the meeting is to collect feedback on planning for the future of Downtown. Mr. Bischoff introduced City staff, the Citizen Advisory Committee, and PlaceWorks, who is the prime consultant for the project. He also introduced California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) staff members, who were invited by the City to host one of the open house stations at the meeting. Mr. Bischoff encouraged community members to ask CHSRA staff any questions they had about a potential East Gilroy HSR station. One community member asked if CHSRA chooses an East Gilroy HSR station location over the Downtown station location, how will the work for the Downtown Gilroy Station Area Plan be affected? Mr. Bischoff answered that the Plan will still be useful and will provide guidance about future growth (e.g., office and commercial development) in Downtown. Bruce Brubaker of PlaceWorks gave a presentation, summarizing the Downtown Gilroy Station Area Plan project, including project background, project schedule, and the project s three Land Use Alternatives. He also reviewed the community meeting s main open house activity and introduced the discussion topics for the six open house stations. The presentation is available on the project s website at http://www.gilroyhighspeedtrain.org. OPEN HOUSE After the presentation, participants were divided into six groups of approximately ten people each to rotate among the six informational open house stations set up around the room. The

open house stations presentation boards can be found on the project s website at http://www.gilroyhighspeedtrain.org. Notes taken at each of the open house stations can be found at the end of this summary report. The following describes the content discussed at each of the stations: Station 1: Emerging Vision Land Use Residential Discussion about the distribution, type, density and amount of proposed housing in the three land use alternatives and review of the initial ideas around housing in the emerging vision. Station 2: Emerging Vision Land Use Commercial Discussion about the distribution, type, and amount of proposed commercial development in the three alternatives (i.e., retail, lodging, and office uses). Station 3: Circulation Bicycle Discussion about the three enhanced bicycle network alternatives and review of the differences between north-south bicycle circulation options. Vehicle Discussion about potential new vehicular connections throughout the Plan Area, including: 1) First Street connection to Murray Avenue (with redevelopment of South Valley Middle School between the City and School District); 2) vehicle crossing of Chestnut Street over Miller Slough; and 3) vehicle connection under rail at Princevalle Drain. Parking Discussion about preferred potential parking locations for Downtown businesses and HSR passengers. Station 4: Land Use and Circulation at Swanston Lane and Railroad Street Swanston Lane Discussion about the opportunities for new land uses for both vertical HSR alignment options, especially for properties along Monterey Street and Swanston Lane. Railroad Street Discussion about the different circulation patterns required for each vertical HSR alignment and the implications for the properties along Monterey Street, Railroad Street, Alexander Street, and the two alleys in this area. 2

Station 5: Vision and Character Discussion about preferred locations for gateways, parks, and the arts center; and appropriate building scale, types, and form in Downtown. Station 6: High-Speed Rail Overview Discussion about the HSR station planning process from station location selection to project delivery; the environmental planning process; and visioning/community engagement for Gilroy s future HSR station. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS REPORT After all groups rotated through all open house stations, the facilitator of each open house station presented a summary of collective feedback from the discussions. The following is a summary of each facilitator s report back: Station 1: Emerging Vision Land Use Residential Significant variation on amount of additional housing needed: o One group felt no additional housing needed above that already planned (approx. 1,400 units) o One group felt planned housing should be doubled o Most groups felt that the areas shown on the Emerging Vision for housing were acceptable Need to ensure adequate classroom space is available for the children living in the additional units. One group felt that in order to preserve the existing character of the neighborhood, additional housing should be located in east Gilroy rather than in Downtown Preference for new residential buildings heights to range from four to six stories with a higher preference for four stories Station 2: Emerging Vision Land Use Commercial General desire for office, but some were uncertain whether office demand would come to Gilroy because it has not happened yet, despite City efforts. Some thought HSR could act as a catalyst for this type of development. Office development should be located around and south of the HSR station. Flexible mixed uses (residential or office) were discussed. Further north in the historic downtown, parcels are smaller and many thought it would be difficult to get large 3

offices. Smaller offices (real estate and insurance offices for example) were discussed and supported. Preferred types of retail include restaurants/cafes and smaller scale retail. Some desired chain stores, while others desired mom-and-pop stores. Most thought there would be a need for additional new retail with the residential and office development shown, but the historic downtown should still be a focus for retail. Many wanted to talk about concerns about parking issues. It was explained that new uses will need to park cars on site, or as part of a parking district. The locations shown for lodging uses were generally supported. Someone pointed out that a lot of space south of Tenth is used for auto dealers. After discussion, two comments were made: over the next few years use and sales of autos could change so we don t know if this use will continue; and could there be a better place in Gilroy to site the auto dealers to be replaced with transit-oriented uses. Station 3: Circulation Preference for a spread out enhanced bikeway network through the entire project area, rather than few enhanced bikeway connections concentrated around the Downtown core/hsr station North-south enhanced bikeway connections should be located on secondary streets rather than primary streets like Monterey Street to increase safety and help prevent conflicts with vehicles and pedestrians Bikeways should be located along streets with retail rather than office Positive feedback about a separate multi-use path along an aerial HSR rail alignment, but the multi-use path would have to be carefully designed to be aesthetically pleasing and safe More vehicle extensions/connections within Downtown is preferred to increase connectivity through the Plan Area and help offset increased congestion Consider locations for bike parking, especially at the HSR station and in front of retail stores Downtown parking should be centralized near Fourth or Fifth Streets HSR parking should be located closer to the station for commuter convenience. Longterm parking could be located further away from the station. Station 4: Land Use and Circulation at Swanston Lane and Railroad Street Swanston Lane Potential development opportunities include open space, schools, parks, supermarkets, 4

clinics, and offices. A modified at-grade HSR vertical alignment would act as a physical barrier and create more potential for crime (i.e, graffiti). The aerial alignment would cause less impact to area businesses and neighborhoods and avoid the physical barrier. Consider how the rail alignment and redevelopment of parcels will affect the homeless population. Railroad Street Depressed east-west streets would eliminate on-street parking, which affects existing businesses. Station 5: Vision and Character Five-story buildings are appropriate for Downtown near the station, but there should be consideration of creating a transition of building heights from historic Downtown (two to four stories) to the station. Consider planning beyond the Plan Area to create a transition of building scale from residential areas into Downtown. Consider planning for a satellite community college to locate in Downtown to help attract development. Monterey Street at Third Street would not be an appropriate location for a gateway into downtown as there is little differentiation in land use and building type north and south of that location. Better to site gateways on side streets (e.g. Sixth and Tenth Streets) near Monterey Street. Shown locations for new parks/plazas are appropriate, but also consider other locations for open space such as on building rooftops. Plaza at a dead-ended/closed and level Martin Street is a good opportunity. Station 6: High-Speed Rail Overview CHSRA staff provided and collected comment cards to collect any community input. NEXT STEPS Mr. Brubaker thanked community members for their attendance and participation in the community meeting. He reminded community members that their input will help inform the Draft Preferred Alternative and that the Draft Preferred Alternative will be presented at public meetings of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council in the next few months. 5

CHSRA staff informed meeting attendants that they will be holding more community meetings in Gilroy, likely next year. All meeting materials, including the presentation and presentation boards are available on the project s website at http://www.gilroyhighspeedtrain.org under the Meetings page. 6

Notes from Open House Stations Station 1: Emerging Vision Land Use Residential 7

Station 2: Emerging Vision Land Use Commercial 8

Station 3: Circulation 9

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Station 4: Land Use and Circulation at Swanston Lane and Railroad Street 12

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Station 5: Vision and Character 14

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