REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Vision Statement, Success Criteria, and Needs Assessment for the Civic Center Modernization Project
Report
BACKGROUND
On February 24, 2015, Council approved a Community Engagement Plan for the Civic Center Project (RTC 15-0111). The Engagement Plan outlines a series of engagement activities including interviews, focus groups, community workshops, online surveys and City Council meetings that will be used to gather input before making decisions on land use alternatives and a financing strategy for the project. The Engagement Plan also identifies specific work products that will be developed during the process including space plans, a market analysis, costs estimates and land use scenarios.
Engagement activities for the project were used to help develop the draft Vision Statement, Success Criteria and Needs Assessment. Prior to developing these documents, outreach activities included interviews with all Councilmembers, five focus group meetings, a community workshop, and outreach to staff in every City department. In addition, two topics were posted on the City’s Open City Hall online forum to get feedback on library facilities and the vision and success criteria for the Civic Center. All of the input received was considered in developing the draft Vision Statement, Success Criteria, and Needs Assessment. With literally hundreds of comments received, the drafts reflect a high-level summary of themes that were heard during the outreach process.
On May 19, 2015 Council approved draft versions of the Vision Statement, Success Criteria, and Needs Assessment and directed staff to conduct additional community outreach and return to Council for final approval (RTC 15-0114).
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 7.1C Capital Improvement Policies
C.1.3 High priority should be given to replacing capital improvements prior to the time that they have deteriorated to the point where they are hazardous, incur high maintenance costs, negatively affect property values, or no longer serve their intended purposes.
C.1.5 Priority will be given to the repair and replacement of existing infrastructure as compared to the provision of new or expanded facilities
C. 1.The decision on whether to repair or to replace an existing capital asset will be based on which alternative is most cost-effective or provides the best value to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15262 exempts projects involving only feasibility or planning studies from environmental review. Appropriate CEQA review will be conducted prior to construction of any facilities under the Civic Center Modernization Project.
DISCUSSION
After Council adoption of the draft Vision Statement, Success Criteria and Needs Assessment, staff posted three new topics on Open City Hall so the community could indicate their level of support for the documents as written and make suggestions for improvements. The feedback received for each of the topics is discussed below. Overall support for the draft documents was high, so there are no significant changes proposed. In reviewing suggestions for improvement, staff tried to identify themes from comments that were made by multiple participants. In some cases these themes seemed to be already covered and no changes are proposed.
Vision
The Vision Statement for the project is intended to help guide the development of project alternatives as the outreach process continues to unfold. It serves as a statement of the City’s intentions as the Civic Center Project is developed further. The draft Vision Statement is organized around three themes that emerged through the outreach process. These themes are that the Civic Center will function to: serve, welcome, and lead the community.
The City received 28 total responses on this topic including 23 written comments. A complete copy of all responses is included as Attachment 1. Results for the following survey question are provided below.
Please indicate the level to which you support the draft Vision Statement:
|
Strongly Support |
5 |
|
Somewhat Support |
8 |
|
Neutral |
11 |
|
Somewhat Oppose |
4 |
|
Strongly Oppose |
0 |
The strongest themes that were included in the written comments included keeping trees and not selling land at the Civic Center. Attachment 2 is a redline copy of the draft Vision Statement with minor revisions to address these concerns. Other comments that were mentioned multiple times included: sustainable design features, support for the Charles Street Gardens, cost concerns, a desire for lots of open space, and a concern about building scale. Staff feels these topics are already covered in the Vision Statement.
Success Criteria
Success criteria for the project will be used to evaluate project alternatives once they are developed. Having success criteria defined before alternatives are developed will help shape future alternatives, and will also result in a more objective analysis as alternatives are being weighed and considered.
The City received 17 total responses on this topic including 12 written comments. A complete copy of all responses is included as Attachment 3. Results for the following survey question are provided below.
Do you support the draft Success Criteria as a way to help rank project alternatives once they are developed?
|
Strongly Support 7 |
|
|
Somewhat Support |
4 |
|
Neutral |
3 |
|
Somewhat Oppose |
3 |
|
Strongly Oppose |
0 |
The strongest theme that was included in the written comments was not selling land at the Civic Center. Attachment 4 is a redline copy of the draft Vision Statement with minor revisions to address this concern. Other comments that were mentioned multiple times included: sustainable design features and support for the Charles Street Gardens. Staff feels these concerns are already covered in the Success Criteria.
Needs Assessment
A Needs Assessment has been developed to help inform the space planning process. The space plan will define how much building space is needed to continue to deliver high-quality services to the Community as well as to help quantify site needs such as parking, open space and community gathering spaces. The Needs Assessment was developed to not only consider current service delivery methods, but to try and identify opportunities for improved service delivery in the future.
The City received 19 total responses on this topic including 16 written comments. A complete copy of all responses is included as Attachment 5. Results for the following survey question are provided below.
Do you support the draft Needs Assessment as a way to reflect community needs in the Civic enter space plan?
|
Strongly Support |
6 |
|
Somewhat Support |
5 |
|
Neutral |
2 |
|
Somewhat Oppose |
4 |
|
Strongly Oppose |
1 |
The strongest themes that were included in the written comments were not selling land at the Civic Center and more open space. The need for more open space is already covered in the need assessment. Not selling land is unrelated to developing a building space program so no changes are proposed. Other comments that were mentioned multiple times included support for the Charles Street Gardens, and concerns about planning for too much parking. Staff feels the concern about the Charles Street Garden is already covered in the Needs Assessment. Attachment 6 is a redline copy of the draft Needs Assessment with a minor revision to address the concern about parking needs.
FISCAL IMPACT
N/A
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve the final Vision Statement, Success Criteria, and Needs Assessment documents as presented in Attachments 2, 4 and 6.
2. Approve a modified version of the Vision Statement, Success Criteria, and Needs Assessment documents as directed by Council.
3. Other action as directed by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1: Approve the final Vision Statement, Success Criteria, and Needs Assessment documents as presented in Attachments 2, 4 and 6 to the report.
Staff
Prepared by: Kent Steffens, Assistant City Manager
Reviewed by: Jane Chambers, Interim Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Open City Hall Summary for the Draft Vision Statement
2. Vision Statement Recommended Changes
3. Open City Hall summary for the Draft Success Criteria
4. Success Criteria Recommended Changes
5. Open City Hall Summary for the Draft Needs Assessment
6. Needs Assessment Recommended Changes