From Pacifica Tribune/Jane Northrop 11/1/11. City Council took the lead on a conceptual plan for the redevelopment of the city owned Beach Blvd. property a week ago Monday. The council members also unanimously agreed to fund the necessary environmental studies to prepare a draft environmental impact report. The preliminary plan includes a boutique hotel, restaurant, retail shops, housing units and a library. Underground parking will be provided. The plan is expected to change as the project progresses.
The plan was developed after a study session City Council held on Sept. 14 where members of the public were asked to conceptualize what they wanted to see in the Beach Blvd. redevelopment area. City staff worked with Leland Consulting Group to draft preliminary site plans, options and a timeline. "This is an expression of what we can expect," said Pacifica City Manager Steve Rhodes. City Council authorized the expenditure of $200,000 to pay for environmental studies to see if the site can accommodate the plan and to determine what future work is needed. A soils stability study and a soils hazmat analysis will be managed by the Leland group. The plan requires zoning and general plan amendments, which will be accomplished by city planning staff. A draft environmental impact report will report the outcomes of the studies and the land use changes.
The environmental work is expected to take about a year to complete. Once that work in complete, the project will proceed through the regulatory revisions and reviews. A developer will be recruited in 2013 with ground breaking expected in 2014. The development will be built and infrastructure improved over an 18-month period for a completion date expected in 2015. By taking the lead on a conceptual plan and the environmental studies, the city will be in a stronger bargaining position to solicit potential developers. Interest should be piqued because the project will be ready to move forward after the environmental studies are completed.
The project is estimated to have a property value of $34.8 million and generate $498,800 in tax revenue. The 35 room hotel would generate $63,000 in property tax and $136,800 in temporary occupancy tax per year. The restaurant would generate $10,500 in property tax and $11,000 in sales tax. The 90 housing units would generate $270,000 in property tax. The shops would generate $5,000 in property tax and $2,500 in sales tax.
Under the preliminary plan, City Council would still meet on the site, but in a new building on the northeast corner of the property that will also house the new library-media center and community meeting rooms. Members of the two library foundations and library staff members attended the last City Council meeting. Several spoke about how excited they were to see plans included for a new state-of-the art library. A recent needs assessment had determined Pacificans to be woefully underserved by the current state of the libraries. Eric Ruchames, representing the Pacifica Library Foundation said, "It's very exciting to have this land come into better public use. We know this is the first step toward getting a bigger library. Thanks." Caroline Barba, a member of Friends of the Library, said, "I'm excited about having a site for the library to be able to have all the programs we could." Margaret Goodale said she wanted the council members to consider an educational attraction, such as the conceptual Ocean Discovery Center once hoped for by many on that site, to be included in the plans in order to bring in tourists."
Posted by Kathy Meeh
22 comments:
The hippies where yelping like a bunch of seals trying to get another fish..
Library we get a new library.
This is just another city council dog and pony show.
Vreeland wanted the James Vreeland city hall put on this site.
The hippies will want this scaled down and scaled down till it is only a library and meeting center for council.
Houses=traffic
stores=traffic
revenue for the city=bad
pacifica thrive and make money=bad
people who make money=evil capitalists
So, if the library and community center goes-in at the Sharp Park site, what happens to the current library property there?
Hey maybe the city can let SKYFIELD USA develop that site?
It's dog and pony show time. They spend money to look like they're doing something. There are no buyers and no builders for this stuff, even on the distant horizon. We are not on the Peninsula Corridor where multi-use is happening slowly. Big boom in apartment building since home ownership is pffft but that would bring out a whole new pack of NIMBYs. And why the hell do we still have 2 libraries?
Haven't seen much of Vreeland this year but the idea of a Vreeland Municipal Center should put the roses back in his cheeks.
Skyfield USA? More illegal aliens?
this plan sucks, the hotels that we have are never fully occupied, if they want to put condo's and a new libary there, ok, i don't see how it makes sense to build anything that close to the ocean due to beach erosion, and i'm sure that the hotel tax numbers are EXTREMELY exaggerated, but if "they" say it is fine,
for the person above that said that we don't need two librarys, i beck to disagree, our town is very spread out, and it is not fair that people that live in one area should have to drive all the way over to the other side of town for a library. if they want to build a new library to replace the one already over there fine, but don't screw those of us that live in the linda mar area and use the libary all the time (as i do) by making us drive all the way over to the other side of town, the sanchez libary is ALWAYS busy and seems quite utilized in the neighborhood to me...not that anyone's listening, but just to make my point
Pay heed to the budget process set to begin early next year. We argue about things that are immaterial. $2,000,000 additional budget cuts. Where will they come from? What we think about doing today should have been done 10 years ago, and we're arguing about one or two libraries! Go ahead, live in denial. Obviously this whole town is in a state of denial. Anything we do now is too little, too late. I predict public works and police are outsourced next year. Are we a city? In my opinion, no!
The city doesn't have a good record of partnering with the private sector when it comes to business development. That makes me nervous.
On the other hand, I'm glad to see the city finally realizing the need to bring Pacifica out of its self-inflicted, economic coma. The idea that you can build an economy based on trails has failed.
And at least the city manager understands there might be some flexibility required regarding what gets built, in case no developers go for this particular idea.
"I predict public works and police are outsourced next year."
Dave Bertini saw where Pacifica PD was heading, and bailed.
Dave Bertini was passed over for Police Chief so in a huff he took his ball to go play somewhere else.
We can't afford two libraries, particularly in these times when they are becoming as anachronistic as post offices.
I think a library and new city hall is perfect in that spot, the WWTP.
"...a library and new city hall is perfect in that spot..." Sure "Republican" (1103), fits right in with your ideological mantra. Maybe make the balance "open space" with a Vreeland city hall statue-- make everything no charge, "free" on the site.
Denial in abundance. That's about the only thing Pacifica has in abundance. Some might say we have an abundance of open space but actually we don't have it anymore--the feds do. We'll be lucky to hang on to one library and the branch on Hylton is most central. It isn't that we don't deserve more or wouldn't use more--unless the library becomes self-funded, we can't afford more!
For Pete's sake, Bertini wasn't huffy. He's smart and saw in the personnel changes that the city was laying the groundwork for outsourcing the PD to the county. They went with someone closer to retirement and without Bertini's deep roots in this town and the PD. Deep roots would be harder to dig out. No criticism of Jim Tasa at all. None. Just change management going on at city hall. And outsourcing isn't an unspeakable evil. The Sheriff's Dept likes to hire the local officers. Pay, benies, opportunities are better. Outsourcing the PD and anything else that isn't nailed down will be required to buy us a couple more years while we wait for "things to improve".
Pinning a lot of hopes and spending a lot of money on the old WWTP being developed. I sure hope someone is looking real hard at whether that property has erosion and flooding issues that make developement, particularly for public use, unfeasable. Is part of the currently planned $200,000 study going to address these questions? Or do we wait for a potential buyer to make the deal contingent on another city-funded study? That entire area has had sinkholes and other signs of instability
for years. Wasn't there a problem with some other small project on Beach Blvd.? Are we spending money to get usable answers or just to look busy and mollify the public?
Bertini joined the police force after high school. Tasa joined a couple years after Saunders did so probably mid to late 80's.
It seems like the sultan of spin, who calls city PD and FD "grand larcenists" is now going after Bertini.
Pointing out that Bertini was passed over for Chief is not spin or "going after" him, it's just fact. But saying that "They went with someone closer to retirement" because they are "laying the groundwork for outsourcing the PD to the county" is speculation - the Big Spin.
"Passed over" is a loaded phrase. The truth is always in the "why". We're all just speculating but it seems the city did a little personnel planning. It happens, even here. Top heavy with 3 captains pending Chief Saunder's retirement. Saunders' delayed his retirement as the economy tanked. Outsourcing the PD has been an obvious step since the meltdown began and the city filled the job with that in mind. Tasa will turn out the lights. No criticism of Saunders, Tasa or Dave Bertini. Bertini is on the way up and has growth opportunity in Menlo Park. The city made a good move for all concerned under the dismal circumstances and needs to get on with the rest of it.
Of the three captains under consideration for chief, Bertini was least experienced, and Tasa was the most experienced. I don't think there's anything more to the decision than that.
Experience is never the only criteria, particularly with outsourcing on the agenda, but either one of them could surely hold down the fort til the sheriffs arrive. Hardly a choice appointment for someone in mid-career like Bertini. Good luck and thanks to all of them.
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