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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Final Report for Rec & Civic Fac Assess for Camp Parks • CITY OF DUBLIN HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION AGENDA STATEMENT MEETING DATE: October 13, 2005 SUBJECT: Presentation of the Final Report for the Recreational and Civic Facilities Assessment for the Camp Parks Project Area ATTACHMENT: "Uniquely Dublin: A Vision for a Community Place," report prepared by consultants Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. (MIG) (Commissioners Only) RECOMMENDATION: 1. Receive Staff presentation of Final Report and accompanying Staff Report 2. Rank the themes (or a combination of the,themes) based on the preference of the Commission FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None DESCRIPTION: On June 1, 2004, the City Council approved a consultant contract for RTKL Associates, Inc. (RTKL) to guide the City through a Strategic Visioning Process for future private development at Camp Parks on 182 acres. The main components of the Strategic Visioning Process were three community meetings. The first and second meetings were a Planning and Design Charrette with community leaders to solicit, discuss, analyze, and evaluate design alternatives for the property. The Charrette was attended by the invitees as well as a number of guests and interested citizens. The consultants then developed five conceptual alternatives for the group's consideration, and a follow up workshop took place on Monday, October 4, 2004 where the group examined the pros and cons of the five alternatives and voted for their first, second, and third preferences. Following the Charrette process, the City Council held several public meetings to discuss various components of the Camp Parks Master Plan alternatives. At these meetings, the City Council provided some very specific direction on what they believe will and will not work for the site. One of the items discussed was possible future park and public facilities in the Camp Parks Project Area. The discussion centered around the requirement to provide a certain amount of neighborhood and community park space to serve the residents generated by the project as well as the City's desire to have additional space provided to accommodate a unique facility, public space, or community amenity. Councilmembers indicated an interest in having the eventual Camp Parks project plan incorporate a centrally-located park space that can serve as a focal point for community events and festivities, provide a geographical link between the western and eastern portions of Dublin, provide a grand entry into the project site, and provide a unique space for a range of programming opportunities. COPIES TO: ITEM NO. 8.1 G:\HERITAGE COMMISSION\AGENDA_STMTS\2005\10-13 MIG Report.doc On March 15, 2005, the City Council directed Staff to solicit a consultant to determine what type of uses might be desirable for this unique space as well as the amount of space (land and building, if appropriate) needed to accommodate the use. The City Council directed Staff to seek a consultant to conduct research on recreational and civic amenities which currently exist in the greater Tri Valley area and to also identify facilities that are not currently available and might be appropriate for Dublin. Staff issued a Request for Proposals to firms who conduct this type of feasibility analysis, and on May 17, 2005, the City Council approved the execution of a contract with Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. (MIG) to complete such a study. • Staff has worked closely with MIG over the past several months as they have collected data about the community, conducted research in the Tri Valley area, the Bay Area region and in other target markets to assess trends and successes in unique community facility development and operations, evaluated the regions' community facilities including facilities such as arboretums, children's museums, zoos, destination recreation facilities, cultural facilities, large scale park components and other like facilities. The research included a review of facilities, their construction cost, operating cost, and revenue generation potential. CONSULTANT RECOMMENDATIONS: Instead of simply creating a list of facilities that existed elsewhere, MIG's report, "Uniquely Dublin: A Vision for a Community Place, " examined the concept of"placemaking" and formulated a strategy for the City of Dublin to consider when examining the Camp Parks property. The concept of placemaking, developed as the practice of creating human-scale places that respond to community needs and increase community connections. Through the use of placemaking principles, many towns and cities have grown their public spaces into vital, distinctive community places that are well-integrated into the societal fabric and places that enrich people's experience of public life. The MIG Report describes creating a community-gathering place through identifying a combination of unique indoor and outdoor spaces that share a common theme, thereby creating a vibrant public space that welcomes residents of all ages and interests. To illustrate the theme concept, MIG presented three possible themes in the Final Report: Arts and Culture, Food, and Games. The Report describes the elements that could be contained within that theme and the amount of acreage that would be ideal to accommodate the facilities described. The themes, and the elements suggested to be included in each theme, are intended to be guidelines only and are not a definitive list of what is feasible. Theme Concepts Contained within each theme are "core elements", which should be present in some form in any community space. The core elements include a festival/event space, café and/or concessions, children's play area, small gathering spaces, picnic areas, open spaces and/or gardens, water feature(s), paths and walkways, administrative/operations offices, storage and restrooms, and parking. Additionally, as the Council has indicated the desire for a lake if water supply issues can be worked out, a lake has been included as a core element. It is estimated that these core elements alone could occupy nearly 30 acres. In each of the three themes presented in the report, MIG describes how the core element facilities can be presented in different configurations and combinations depending on the theme. Described in further detail in the attached report, "Uniquely Dublin: A Vision for a Community Place," the table below compares the three possible themes and the general assumptions that accompany each theme: -2- Theme Concept Theme Elements Acreage Requirements Cost Estimate Arts and Culture Theme Core Elements 30 acres 38 park acres Outdoor Amphitheater 1 acre 50,000 s.f building, Indoor Arts and Culture 5 acres contingency cost, design/ Building(performance permitting cost= hall, gallery, studios, $48 million practice rooms, classrooms) Sculpture Garden 2 acres Food Theme Core Elements 30 acres 41.25 park acres Community Gardens or 3 acres 10,000 s.f building, Urban Farm contingency cost, design/ Greenhouse and Small 5 acres permitting cost= Botanic Garden $31.5 million Farmers Market 1 acre Outdoor Kitchen and Patio 1/4 acre Specialty Restaurant(s) 2 acres Games Theme Core Elements 30 acres 54 park acres Games Demonstration 2 acres 30,000 s.f building, Area contingency cost, design/ Game Playing Areas 2 acres permitting cost '/4-size golf course with 12 acres $49 million clubhouse Carnival/Rides area 5 acres Games Museum/ 3 acres Clubhouse It should be noted that the cost estimates can vary widely when examining such broad theme concepts, and are provided for a sense of scale only. Only once a public space is programmed with specific facilities in a specific location can a realistic cost estimate be prepared. The cost of developing one or more of these themes depends greatly on the eventual size of the building(s), facilities, etc., which can be adjusted to suit the needs of the community. By way of information, the Army has made a commitment to the Valley Children's Museum to provide space within the 187-acre area they are considering for private development. The total acreage required for a 30,000 s.f. museum as envisioned by the Valley Children's Museum is 3 acres. The Valley Children's Museum was also suggested as an amenity for this unique public facility through the process of the stakeholder interviews. A museum of this nature could easily be incorporated into any of the three possible themes laid out in the report. • SUMMARY: • The MIG Final Report presents some exciting new ideas for the City to consider when thinking about a future public space at the 187-acre Camp Parks site. The main reason for the City to go through this exercise at this time was to be able to inform the Army of the City's expectations in terms of the amount of acreage that is devoted to public uses in the eventual Master Plan for the site. The City Council received the MIG Final Report at the September 20, 2005 City Council meeting. The Council did not take action on the report but instead directed Staff to take the report to the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission, Parks and Community Services Commission, Senior Center Advisory Committee and Youth Advisory Committee for input. -3- RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission receive the report entitled "Uniquely Dublin: A Vision for a Community Place, " and rank the themes (or a combination of the themes) based on the preference of the Commission. The Commission's preference will be presented to the City Council at a future meeting of the Council. • • -4-