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3 - Minutes, 8/20/03CITY OF BOULDER, COLORADO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING SUNIMARY FORM NAME OF BOARD/COMMISSION: Boulder Urban Renewa( Authonty DATE OF MEETING: August 20, 2003 NAME/TELEPHONE OF PERSON PREPARING SUMMARY: Mane Zuzack, 303-441-4278 NAMES OF MEMBERS, STAFF AND INVITED GUESTS PRESENT: Commissioners Present Phil Shull, Rick Epstem, Susan Connelly, Ira Banon, Michael Leccese, Jerry Lee, Franqoise Pomsatte, Terry Rodngue, Richazd Wobbekmd Staff Members Present Frank Bruno, City Manager; Brad Power, Marie Zuzack, BURA Report of the Executive Director • 28`h/30`h Street Area Plan Status Report Brad Power said that the scope and schedule for the Area Plan pro~ect is bemg revised. It is bemg broken into smaller, more manageable pieces, and staff will carry the effort forward without a consultant Plannmg staff will update the Board on the revised schedule within a month. • Update on Crossroads Mall Redevelopment Power stated that the Board will review Westcor's Concept Plan at the September 17 meeting. The Planning Board will review rt the next evenmg. A Site Review applicatron is expected in eazly 2004, wrth demolihon to begin soon thereafter. New Business • Discussion with the City Manager of the Draft Economic Vitality Policy and Future Redevelopment Issues Frank Bruno stated the Draft Pohcy #3 mcluded m the Boazd meetmg packet has smce been revised to mclude suggeshons from last week's Economic Vrtality Action Group (EVAG) meeting Draft #4 mcludes a more direct pohcy statement and a clearer presentahon of the first five achon items as the immediate first steps, which are followed by a list of economic vrtahty tools. The proposed economic vitality coordmator and urban redevelopment specialist w~ll have a short-hme frame to show a return on the mvestment m both posirions. Evaluation cntena will be developed to measure the~r success The policy also proposes an Economic Vitality Achon Board (EVAB), which the City Manager would appomt An urban redevelopment board would be a subset of the EVAB. It would fulfill state requtrements for usmg urban renewal tools and be appomted by the mayor If BLJI2A feels comfortable with it, he would use the BURA Revolving Loan Fund to fund the urban xedevelopment spectal~st position He will present the draft pohcy to the pubhc and civic groups m September and to City Council in October. He will ask Council to adopt the policy as a complete package He wi11 check-in with Council penodically on the progress of implemenhng the policy, and they will have opportunihes to make ad~ustments at those times. He hopes to have both posihons filled by the first of next year. Commissioner Wobbekmd expressed concern that the economic coordmator pos~t~on is funded by "soft" money. This leaves a troublmg opening for elimmating the pos~hon. The coordmator may be domg well, for mstance, by preventmg loss of businesses, but it could be a while for a revenue mcrease to be apparent. In the meantime, fundmg could cease. Also, the temptation w~ll be to pull fundmg when the economy improves. Bruno responded that his transmittal cover memo will reflect that economic vitality efforts must be on-gomg, even in good economic times And metncs for the position will recogn~ze the value of preventmg losses Commissioner Epstem asked how the urban redevelopment subset would function wrth~n the larger EVAB. Bruno replied that the subset would be members of EVAB, but because of statutory requirements they may meet more regularly and be more formally orgamzed when conducring urban renewal business However, they maybe called upon individually to meet with other EVAB members outside of an urban renewal context The EVAB membership and meettng schedule will be flexible and fluid They may have quarterly meetings, with additional meetings convened for selected members as needed Commissioner Rodngue asked whether the EVAB meetings would be subject to "sunshine" laws, since they will not be elected or appointed by Council. Commissioner Barron wondered whether "sunshine" requirements would apply if BUR~1 members participate in an ad hoc EVAB meeting. Bruno said he isn't sure of the specifics on that yet Commissioner Connelly inquired whether BURR was intentionally not mentioned as the urban redevelopment board Bruno replied that he wants to take a fresh approach and plans a name change later. But he senses that Council respects the BURA Board, and he and EVAG strongly support continuing to have an urban renewal tool in the economic vitality toolktt Commissioner Epstein suggested that "redevelopment" is a good word to include to the new name Commissioner Connelly suggested that new titles be found for the economic coordinator and urban redevelopment specialist as well Bruno agreed. Commissioner Epstein stated that creating a work plan with specific tasks for next year is as important as creating a position When will that happen? He also noted that the position may have a range of roles to play, since much redevelopment is purely private. Success shouldn't be defined just as creating public/private projects Brimo agreed. He will not develop a work program until the specialist is lured and can participate in creating rt. Commissioner Rodrigue asked whether City Council will understand that adopting the policy me~ris that redevelopment projects will actively be pursued and presented to them for approval to proceed Bruno said he thinks they will. The transmittal will also reference that objective. Commissioner Rodngue said he thinks Council should discuss this new, more aggressive direction and make a definitive decision. i Commissioner Poinsatte suggested that the policy place more emphasis on realizing quality, sustainable redevelopment. Quality is the key, and there are plenty of good examples that can be presented to' Council. Commissioner Wobbekmd said that developers can do this if they have a timely approval process It is very important to streamline our review processes. Bruno said that timeliness and efficiency were added to lus most recent draft policy. Commissioner Lee stated that the policy was a good step in the right direction, but he isn't sure what real authority or teeth it will have. We must change perceptions about Boulder as a place to do business, and this is something we can do. We won't be able to keep every business in town for legitimate reasons, but there aze others out there to attract. We need to better appreciate those who stay. It will be good to have two new staff people that business people can call on, since the city manager is busy with many responsibilities Commissioner Shull said the policy includes a lot of positive ideas, but without much money, wh t can the City do to assist businesses? The policy acknowledges the importance of helping applicants get tough the City review maze gmckly, but on the other hand, the City is raising development review fees and utting staff, so that it will take longer to get an approval. These are contradictory messages. A cultural shift vJould help a great deal, but a policy can't do that Bruno replied that he agrees the City needs a new ethic and he will be attempting to develop one. Staff cuts are inevitable, but he will be working to re-allocate resources and re- structure Commissioner Leccese suggested that the connection between redevelopment and "fuming the ship" be made more explicit Commissioners Shull, Wobbekind and Lee said that they aze only m favoring of using the BURA ~evolvmg Loan fund for the redevelopment specialist if the specialist will have the support to take real action. Commissioner Poinsatte said she thought Council would expect action I Motion: Commissioner Poinsatte moved that the BURR Board support the draft Economic Vitality Policy and recommend it be presented to the City Council for consideration, and the Board Supports using the BURR Revolving Loan Fund to staff urban redevelopment efforts that will further' BURA's objectives, for up to two years. Commissioner Barron seconded. Vote: Aye, 9-0 The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. I Time of Future Meetings, Committees or Special Hearings: September 17, 2003 Regular Meeting