Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/05/05 - Minutes - Special Meeting TRES HERMANOS CONSERVATION AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 1, 2005 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Norton-Perry called the Tres Hermanos Conservation Authority Board of Directors meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in the Chino Hills City Hall Council Chambers, 2001 Grand Avenue, Chino Hills, CA. ROLL CALL: Gwenn Norton-Perry, Chairman (CH); Bob Zirbes, Vice Chairman (D.B.); Carol Herrera (D.B.); Curt Hagman Also present were: Linda C. Lowry (DB); James DeStefano (DB); Douglas N. LaBelle (CH); Deborah Fox, Legal Counsel. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Member Herrera led the Pledge of Allegiance. 2, PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR: 3.1 APPROVED MINUTES OF MARCH 21, 2005 – As presented. 3.2 RECEIVED AND FILED TREASURER’S STATEMENTS FROM 2004 TO MAY 2005. 4. DISCUSSION ITEMS: 4.1 Discussion with Lewis Operating Group – ULI Inland Empire and Majestic Realty regarding Development concepts with the THCA jurisdiction. Randall Lewis said that it was important to determine the goals and balance conflicting goals. Lewis would attempt to poll the community and cities to determine the goals for the property. Clearly, one of the goals of the property would be to maintain some rural space and open space and it would be up to each community to determine how much would be preserved. And, what are some of the other goals and ways that the Cities could achieve their goals and whether the cities could make money from the project to help pay for schools, fire departments, parks, etc. i.e. what are some of the fiscal needs of the communities now and in the future and what could this do on the housing side. In Southern California the housing crisis is probably worse than ever so the object would be to determine what was missing in the community and what the residents wanted in the community. It is such a nice area some of it should be preserved as open space because it would be a shame not to; it is such a nice area that the cities would want to have some high-end housing that would still preserve the open space and would fulfill the needs of people who live in the two communities, love their communities and who would like to move up within their communities. His sense was with the populations of D.B. and Chino AUGUST 1, 2005 PAGE 2 THCA Hills there would be a lot of people who would want to move in the other directions – they’ve lived in the community for 10-20 years and would like to move down in the community from a 3000 square foot house to an active adult product. Lewis’s approach is to determine how to build community in the context of what surrounds the area. In Chino for instance, Lewis built homes in the center of the communities, opted for homeowner’s associations, opted toward diversity of product types and his guess was that the same would hold true for this location because the property was so large that it could encompass “something for everybody.” On the commercial side both cities could use additional revenue and there would probably be some commercial opportunities for the area. Richard Lewis spoke off mike and I believe Carol Herrera spoke here as well.. 5. ACTION ITEMS: 5.1 Review and Approve a proposal for consulting services (RFP) for the Tres Hermanos Area. CM/LaBelle said that the reason for this step is that the Authority was formed back in 1999 and as Member Herrera said the purpose for it was to get the two cities together through the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) and jointly plan the future development of the area. While it is owned by the City of Industry’s Urban Development Agency it is within the corporate boundaries of the two cities. So the purpose of the Authority was to promote the concept that if the two entities could get together through this mechanism and jointly plan the outcome it would make the process much more efficient for the two cities as well as, for the owner of the property. The land use in both communities is very similar and the Authority has been in abeyance for a number of years awaiting a variety of things to occur relative to the acquisition of various properties by the Industry RDA. A year ago the Authority took action to recommend to the respective city councils that funds be appropriated for a marketing study essentially to go out and have a marketing firm look at various development opportunities given the constraints, marketplace and what are financially the most feasible alternatives. Obviously included in the process would be the property owner. Both city councils independently appropriated $25,000 for the RFP that is before the Authority this evening for consideration. ACM/DeStefano will be the contact person for the consultants. Randall Lewis asked if the Authority had attempted to define the relationship of the two cities. He pointed out that the Authority should try to plan what was best for the property and then solve some of the city issues and reach an agreement about what city would get which amenities and reach agreement on the project approvals process. For this type of property it would most likely accommodate life-style villages. These types AUGUST 1, 2005 PAGE 3 THCA of process details should be resolved early on to make the project approval process as smooth as possible. On the market side is very rare to find market consultants and developers of planning that know everything and it is difficult enough to know a lot about housing, or a lot of about retail or a lot about office. He said he would give a lot of thought to the selection process to leave money available for the consultant to bring in experts from out of their discipline. Certainly from the homebuilders perspective the Authority is not looking for a bunch of subdivisions but a great community and it is very rare to find companies that understand community building and how to craft it. When the cities do the RFP they should make sure they have the resources and the intent to get people who don’t say, “oh, we can do anything” but to make sure that the consultants really can do the quality work. And, he would be surprised if there was one firm that could do it all. Chair/Norton-Perry asked Mr. Lewis if he had come across a situation similar to this situation with two communities working together to develop in the last bastion of land. Mr. Lewis responded that he had seen nothing like this. There is no piece like this in Southern California with the exception of the end of the Irvine Ranch. Demand forecasting in this business is very complicated and imprecise. It is an A+A+ site. It is a pretty area on its own and the two cities have such good reputations and those are attributes for retailers because the shopping dollars in this area are so strong. From a residential side to be this close to Pasadena and north Orange County and the San Gabriel Valley is a real plus. This is sort of the last great piece that anyone from Orange County and San Gabriel Valley would say this is my area and I’m willing to drive this far. He felt the consultants would also be very very surprised at the demand in Chino Hills and D.B. When they opened the preserve the first two-thirds of the buyers came from Chino Hills and Chino and were moving up, down and laterally and he felt that would be true of this area as well. Chair/Norton-Perry said the Authority wanted to get the upper hand on this opportunity knowing full well that Industry owned the property. She asked if there were any groups such as the ULI that might assist the Authority in providing resources (money and people) for top-notch planners and consultants. Randall responded that probably no one would provide money. If the Authority found the developer the developer would find the money. A group like ULI is more likely to do what is known as a plan analysis. He said he was not sure the Authority would want someone from Cleveland for example, trying to figure out what was appropriate for this area of Southern California. $50,000 is a good start toward what the Authority is trying to do. Carol Herrera off-mike. Mr. Lewis responded that he was not sure whom the Authority would be going out to for assistance and the Authority would have to ask them about their capabilities. And, it might be something that the consultant would contract out for. The other piece of the equation AUGUST 1, 2005 PAGE 4 THCA would be to get someone who really understood how to maximize the open-space. CM/LaBelle said that the Authority was patterned after a couple of cities that had gotten together on a similar basis to jointly plan an area, a portion of which was in one city and a portion in another. The intent was to come up with a better plan that would spread the benefits and costs proportionately so at the end of the day both cities became winners in the planning process. One of the tasks outlined in the Scope of Work is to identify the best land use alternatives. Member Herrera said she would hate to see the Authority throw money out the window and she would certainly want the landowner to be involved in the planning process. CM/LaBelle responded that getting the landowner’s involvement through the RFP process was critical. Member Zirbes said that he has always believed that the two cities needed to work together and discuss with each other what would be acceptable for this prime piece of property. Everyone involved knows that this would be a gold mine for both cities but what is missing is the City of Industry. He felt that discussion of a $50,000 RFP sent the wrong signal that development is planned because the property owner has not indicated that they have any intention whatsoever other than letting the property remain in its current state and he felt the Authority should be talking about the processes that Mr. Lewis spoke about as to how to get the two cities coordinated and how the planning commissions could work together so that as the Authority moved forward with the property into negotiations that would be the time to reach out for an RFP. And whether that is six months, six years or sixty years from now the marketplace will have changed but what is needed is for the property owner to be a willing participant and pay for the RFP. Member Zirbes said he felt the first step was for the Authority to lay out the basis before moving forward of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable and establish compatible processes for both planning commissions. Member Zirbes asked Mr. Lewis if he felt his position was a valid position for the Authority to not spend public dollars when the property owner had no intention of building. Mr. Lewis said it made sense for one important reason that Member Zirbes mentioned. Projects do not happen overnight and they do not happen all at once. If Industry said tomorrow that it wanted to develop the property could not be developed in less than three years and it would more likely be five years. Whenever Industry gives the green light it is a 10-15 year project and whenever consultants are brought on board they do not want to be telling cities what should be done in 2009 but rather 2015 because the mid-point of the development would probably be 2015 and not 2010. He said he would be shocked if the project were to start before 2008 even if Industry was on board. Ten to 15 years from now it could be a very different world and he would challenge the consultant not to be thinking in today’s world. AUGUST 1, 2005 PAGE 5 THCA ?? agreed that working together to make this a joint operation no matter what comes down the pike and to agree upon the implementation process would be the first step. INAUDIBLE DISCUSSION. Member Herrera and Curt Hagman? were speaking about getting the basics resolved about how the two cities would work in tandem through the process. Member Zirbes said he would favor a different type of RFP that speaks to how the two cities should work together if and when the City of Industry moves forward and the two cities could work together on such a proposal. Chair/Norton-Perry ????? TOMMYE, I TURNED THE TAPE OVER AT THIS POINT AND THERE WAS NOTHING RECORDED ON SIDE B SO I DON’T KNOW THE OUTCOME OF THIS DISCUSSION. PERHAPS CAROL COULD HELP – I COULD NOT HEAR WHAT SHE AND SOME OF THE OTHERS WERE SAYING EVEN THOUGH I TRIED TO FILL IN THE BLANKS ACCORDING TO THE RESPONSE. THE TAPE QUALITY WAS VERY BAD AND INAUDIBLE IN MANY PLACES. SORRY. 6. AUTHORITY MEMBER COMMENTS: None Offered. 7. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to conduct, Chairman Norton-Perry adjourned the meeting at ?? p.m. _______________________________ DOUGLAS N. LA BELLE, Authority Secretary ATTEST: GWEN NORTON-PERRY, Chairman