1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California

Chair Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Commissioners Present: Chair Smith, Commissioners Collins, Snow, and Stein

Commissioners Absent: Commissioner Greenberg

Staff Present: Community Development Director Anderson and Advance Planner Bryant

PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS:

Chair Smith commended the Bicycle and Safety Committee for approving improvements to crosswalks on Tiburon Boulevard.

There was none.

DISCUSSION ITEM

1.    GENERAL PLAN UPDATE: DOWNTOWN ELEMENT; TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR A REPORT TO THE TOWN COUNCIL REGARDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GENERAL PLAN GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS FOR THE DOWNTOWN ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN.

Advance Planner Bryant stated that this matter was previously scheduled for March 26, 2003, but due to the lack of a quorum a formal meeting was not held. However, he noted that important feedback was received from members of the public who attended the session. The purpose of this meeting is to obtain policy direction from the Commission and not to discuss specific language. After the Commission's comments are forwarded to the Town Council and their feedback is obtained as well, a draft update of the Downtown Element of the General Plan will be prepared. At that time, specific language will be discussed.

In response to Commissioner Stein, Advance Planner Bryant stated that the first step was to discuss this matter at the Planning Commission level since it was anticipated that this was where most of the comments from members of the public would be presented. Community Director Anderson further stated while the last General Plan Update done in the 1980s was somewhat different because of State deadlines, the process was generally similar.

Chair Smith asked whether the current Plan was significantly deficient and Advance Planner Bryant responded that it was not. Chair Smith then asked whether there was a specific plan for the proposed promenade along the waterfront. Community Development Director Anderson responded that there was not. Additionally, he noted that while approximately 95% of the downtown shoreline was already a public park or public easements on the water side, it was recognized that there would be some physical problems in completing the link. Therefore, the question is how much public access is enough. Is 100% public access necessary?

Commissioner Stein stated that his concern mainly related to traffic and circulation in the downtown area. Advance Planner Bryant noted that a traffic study has been conducted not just for the downtown area, but the total buildout of the peninsula and the conclusion was that there would be no new significant impacts.

In response to Chair Smith, Community Development Director Anderson stated that there has been some discussion regarding accessing the Main Street Parking Lot from Juanita Lane, but noted that there were some practical concerns because of the short length of the stacking lane on Beach Road and circulation patterns.

The hearing was opened to public testimony.

Andrew Thompson stated that at some point in the future, access and egress to the Main Street Parking Lot from Juanita Lane will be seriously considered since it makes sense and will reduce congestion on Main Street.

Jim Allen, Belvedere Land Company and representative of the Chamber of Commerce, reiterated the concerns he raised at the last meeting regarding the proposal to prohibit office uses on the ground floor and the importance of carefully defining office vs. retail use.

Jim Herman, concerned resident, questioned whether there was a committee appointed to either define or preserve the character of the downtown area. If not, he asked whether one should be appointed. In his opinion, character must be created in order to have a viable economic downtown. Commissioner Stein noted that the Downtown Design Guidelines were meant to address the character of the area.

Chair Smith stated that through the General Plan update, the character of the downtown area will be carefully reviewed to determine the positives and the negatives and to come up with an overall strategy plan.

Mr. Allen stated that another concern of the Chamber of Commerce was that the Town was trying to prohibit office uses on the ground floor in order to increase retail use, thereby increasing sales tax revenues. However, the Chamber of Commerce does not feel their contribution to the sales tax revenue has been paid back in terms of services. He reiterated the need for the Town to have more frequent garbage pickups during the weekend, and provide additional trash cans and public bathrooms throughout the area.

The hearing was closed to public testimony.

Commissioner Stein stated that most of the comments he heard at the March 26^th meeting related to the fact that the proposed affordable housing overlay was still not sufficient. While he somewhat agreed, he had some concerns. Noting the last paragraph on page 16 of the Issues Paper, he pointed out that extending the affordable housing overlay designation to include properties that are not identified in the Housing Element would either create potential development on paper which can not be realized on the ground, or in worse case scenario replace commercial uses with residential uses. Additionally, he noted that while the State mandated that wealthier towns locate affordable housing in areas of high density and low square footage, this was extremely difficult in Tiburon without subsidy. Even 1,600 square feet units were questionable. As proposed, it is being recommended that affordable housing be located on very desirable residential sites. Therefore, notwithstanding the comments made at the previous hearing, he agreed that this would be a difficult issue to address.

Commissioner Stein also noted that some of the comments received seemed to imply that affordable housing is the same as senior housing. Although there is such thing as affordable senior housing, frequently people mistakenly connect those terms. Another housing segment to consider was affordable workforce housing.

Advance Planner Bryant clarified the reference to 1,600 square feet units was simply included to determine how many units could be developed on a property, and should not be considered as a definite size for affordable units.

Chair Smith supported exploring all types of possible allocations for affordable housing, as well as ways to obtain density increases through incentives. He also agreed that options to improve the economic vitality of the downtown area needed to be explored.

Noting some of the comments made at the last meeting, Commissioner Stein stated that if affordable housing is to be developed in the downtown area, someone will have to seriously consider the actual feasibility of doing so.

Chair Smith stated that his interpretation of limiting office use at the street level was to incorporate Tiburon Boulevard and Beach Road more into the downtown area by adding more retail, parking, and activity at the street level. Advance Planner Bryant concurred.

Commissioner Stein stated that there were two ways to approach the Downtown Plan. One would be to let the market dictate what uses should be allowed and the second would be to create a strategic plan, which could take 20 or 30 years to implement. He believed that tourist-serving retail uses and parking improvements are essential to the viability of the downtown area.

Commissioner Collins stated that it would be beneficial to know which pedestrians are being targeted – residents or tourists?

Chair Smith also stated that the concept of water taxis would be interesting to explore.

Commissioner Stein noted that another issue to address was parking space time limits. He noted that Sausalito had done a study and concluded that three-hour parking was the best for Sausalito. He also commented in support of exploring the concept of the Town leasing private parking lots for public use. The Town could pay the lease by metering the parking spaces. Commissioner Stein concluded by asking that the concept of a parking structure be further investigated. He concluded his remarks by asking if we can brainstorm the parking issue intelligently.

In response to Chair Smith, Advance Planner Bryant stated that staff was looking for the Commission's comments on the Issues Paper.

Chair Smith stated that in his opinion, the downtown area was underutilized. Tiburon has so many valuable resources that are not being used. An example was Tiburon Boulevard. He believes the proposed increase in FAR will have a positive effect on the vibrancy of the downtown area. Therefore, he encouraged serious master planning of the downtown area.

In response to Commissioner Stein, Advance Planner Bryant stated that his interpretation of "Master Plan" was reviewing the properties in the downtown and describing how each property will be developed as opposed to creating a more regulatory framework. Additionally, he stated that if a Master Plan approach was taken, any existing office uses would become legal non-conforming uses. However, said uses would be phased out if and when changes on individual properties take place.

Mr. Thompson stated that while a Master Plan approach was a good idea, the Tiburon Peninsula was not really an attractive community to many retailers because of the small population. Therefore, retailers prefer to locate their businesses along Highway 101.

Mr. Allen noted that the same problem in attracting retailers was faced at the Boardwalk.

Mr. Thompson recognized that office uses supported the retail use, particularly at off peak times.

Commissioner Stein made the following comments: 1) opportunities for additional hotel use should be further explored (Page 28); 2) the viability of a drugstore in the downtown area is questionable as the price of delivery of drugs is so high (Page 28); 3) Policy DT-7 regarding fast food chains is appropriate, as well as the proposed modification to specifically prohibit restaurants with drive-throughs; 4) prohibiting restaurants that offer standardized menus, ingredients, food preparation, etc. is problematic because it would prohibit restaurants such as Il Fornaio’s which may desirable in Tiburon (Policy DT-7); 5) rather than connecting the pedestrian path along the water line, a more logical approach would be to use Main Street; and 6) while sidewalk cafes are desirable, they may not feasible due to sidewalk widths (Page 47).

Commissioner Collins asked whether convention facilities were a possibility. Community Development Director Anderson stated that the Town Manager has discussed this concept with property owners in the context of an Economic Development Program. However, nothing was being done at this time. Furthermore, he noted that there were some constraints with the concept, i.e., limited sites and population.

Commissioner Collins made the following comments: 1) there is a need for tourist-oriented uses that would also serve the locals, i.e., a coffee shop; 2) other issues such as bicycles, pedestrians, public transportation, and double parking at the ferry terminal should be further addressed in the parking discussion; 3) kiosks or directories should be provided which gives the time it takes to get to places; 4) completion of the promenade along the water line is not necessary; and 5) public facilities could be coin-operated.

Commissioners noted that current public transportation services were not very convenient.

Commissioner Snow concurred with comments made, particularly with prohibiting fast food restaurants and allowing specialty restaurants. Noting the first paragraph on Page 29, he suggested that the word "respect" be replaced with "preserve the quality". With regards to completion of the promenade along the waterfront, he asked whether BCDC had any requirements. Community Development Director Anderson stated that since the 1970s BCDC has required that with every expansion application some kind of waterfront public access be provided and the Town has always been supportive of such requirement. However, with 95% of the downtown waterfront currently accessible to the public, the Town questions the need to provide the last 5%.

Commissioner Snow also agreed that the feasibility of outdoor seating was questionable. Community Development Director Anderson agreed, further noting that not only were sidewalk widths an issue, but also traffic noise was a constraint.

Chair Smith did not share the concern that triggered Policy DT-7 since the typical franchised restaurants, i.e., McDonalds, are normally located along the highway. He then noted that he was a member of the Skate Park Task Force. In their discussions, Task Force members generally agreed that children and teens are an underserved segment of the population. Chair Smith suggested exploring providing more educational or recreational uses attractive to families and children in the downtown area. With regard to affordable housing, he stated that there were other opportunities that could be explored, i.e., Reed School. Said on-site affordable housing could be allocated to school staff.

Mr. Allen stated that in attempting to build affordable housing, he found that it was nearly impossible due to land and permitting costs. Unless subsidized, construction of affordable housing is nearly impossible. Chair Smith agreed, further noting that the only way to build affordable housing would be to provide density bonuses, i.e., doubling or tripling the allowed density.

In response to Advance Planner Bryant, Commissioners clarified that proposed modifications to Policy DT-7 were appropriate, but that further clarification of language regarding restaurants that have standardized menus, ingredients, etc., was needed so that franchise restaurants such as Il Forniao are not prohibited. It was also clarified that the Commission believed the proposed language regarding office use on ground floors was appropriate.

In response to Commissioner Stein, Advance Planner Bryant stated that as long there was an office use for office use change, the use would remain and no permits would be required.

ADJOURNMENT

Having no further business, Chair Smith adjourned the meeting at 9:30 PM.

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PAUL SMITH, CHAIR

Tiburon Planning Commission

ATTEST:

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SCOTT ANDERSON, SECRETARY