Loading...
12.03.19 UHCAMC Packet UNIVERSITY HILL COMMERCIAL AREA MANAGEMENT COMMISSION December 3, 2019 4:00–6:00 p.m. Broadway Conference Room, 1777 Broadway AGENDA 4:00 p.m. Roll Call Staff 4:00-4:05 Approval of the November 5, 2019 Meeting Minutes Board 4:05-4:15 Public Comment 4:15-4:30 Matters from Staff • 2019 Hillanthropists of the Year Nominations • Timing for 2020 Board Application/Appointments • Pleasant Street Sale Public Hearing Scheduling & Business Outreach 4:30-6:00 Matters from Commissioners Board • Review Draft Letter to Council with 2020 Priorities 6:00 p.m. Adjourn Attachments: - Draft November 5, 2019 UHCAMC Minutes - Draft UHCAMC Letter to Council re 2020 Priorities Commission Members Lisa Nelson, Chair Term ends:2020 Robin Luff First Term: 2021 KC Schneider Term ends: 2022 Cheryl Liguori Term ends: 2023 2019 Commission Priorities 1. Seek funding to replace the aging UHGID streetlights 2. Support the Hill Hotel project 3. Continue to pursue strategies to address transients 4. Continue to pursue Alley Plan implementation 5. Collaborate with CU programs and organizations. Upcoming Meetings January 7, 2020 March 3, 2020 Staff Liaison Sarah Wiebenson, Hill Community Development Coordinator wiebensons@bouldercolorado.gov UHCAMC Charter The University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission (UHCAMC) is appointed by the Boulder City Council under B.M.C. Section 2-3-20 to advise on parking and related improvements in the University Hill General Improvement District (UHGID). The five members must consist of three district property owners and two at-large members. All must be residents of the City of Boulder. CITY OF BOULDER, COLORADO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING MINUTES UNIVERSITY HILL COMMERCIAL AREA MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEMBERS, STAFF, AND INVITED GUESTS PRESENT: BOARD MEMBERS: Nelson, Schneider, Luff, Liguori STAFF: Bowden (left at 5:22), Wiebenson, Dammann PUBLIC: none PERSON PREPARING SUMMARY: Rachel Dammann, 303-441-4191 TYPE OF MEETING: Regular Meeting November 5, 2019 Meeting called to order at 4:07 p.m. Roll Call: Completed Approval of the August 6, 2019 Minutes and September 3, 2019 Minutes Nelson moved to approve the August 6, 2019 minutes. Schneider seconded. All in favor. Nelson moved to approve the September 3, 2019 minutes. Schneider seconded. All in favor. Public Comment Wiebenson read Blackwood’s email with updates from the University Hill Neighborhood Association (UHNA). There was a Council candidate forum on September 30 at Café Aion. There were concerns that the candidates seemed to have limited knowledge of Hill neighborhood issues. They hope to reschedule a meeting on trash and graffiti. They are monitoring the Marpa House at the Landmarks Board. The UHNA executive committee wrote to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to support leasing the Harbeck House. The Beach Park art project is back on track. A newsletter went out. Bowden said multiple leasing proposals for the Harbeck House were received before the submittal deadline of November 1. Nelson reported on a recent outpouring of information and frustration on the neighborhood listserv. There were a lot of questions. The city’s Neighborhood Liaison, Brenda Ritenour, is aware of and supporting additional dialogue on the issue. Schneider thinks the City needs a summit or forum to bring all the parties to the table to talk about this. Nelson responded that this is the intention of the neighborhood HRWG, which is gaining traction and CU is starting to be more engaged. Matters from Staff: Wiebenson gave an update on vacant spaces in UHGID. The number of ground floor vacancies have recently increased to six. Luff is working on a pop-up idea. Liguori mentioned a cupcake shop as an idea. Staff will be power washing on the Hill before homecoming. The new lighting control center will take 5 days to install, starting on November 11. This is the pre-work 2 needed before starting the two-year light pole replacement project. An additional $50,000 to $75,000 would get the lights installed in one year, instead of two, which might save on costs overall. New businesses – Gaia Masala Burger, Pop’s Chicken, D.P. Dough, That One Restaurant. News box sweep: the CV intern took photos and is following up with the distributors to enforce city maintenance standards. Providers are responsible for cleaning and refilling every 30 days. The first Hillanthropy clean-up of the year took place this past Sunday. They cleaned up glass at the fronts and trash in the alleys. They also handed out door hangers with information on the Inquire Boulder app and Hillanthropy clean up program. Tree removal update – 18 trees are slated for removal in 2019, and a total of 46 trees in all must be removed because of Emerald Ash Borer. The work is scheduled for when students are on break. Wiebenson shared a map of the tree removal locations with commissioners. CV and Forestry went door- to-door this past week to inform adjacent businesses. There have been no questions or comments to-date. CU will assist with messaging to the student population. Trees will not be immediately replaced because of the season and because of irrigation work needed. Schneider reiterated that maybe all the trees don’t need to be replaced. The commission did not wish to pursue an art installation on the tree stumps. Wiebenson reiterated that there is $5,000 remaining in Hill Reinvestment Strategy funding for 2019. Liguori suggested incentivizing completing the alley safety light installation. 2020 Meeting Schedule January – check-in with The Hill Boulder on district marketing March – update on tree replacement, light pole replacement, capital improvement planning. Review draft concepts for tree replacement/landscaping May – update on Citywide Retail Strategy implementation July – parking/access discussion (short-term and long-term plan if Pleasant Street sale is approved) September – annual retreat with UHGID stakeholders November – 2021 priorities and letter to Council 2020 Commission Focus Matrix Wiebenson reviewed the commission focus matrix in the meeting packet. Bowden said there might also be joint board meetings to talk about over-arching ideas like parking pricing. Retreat Review Wiebenson reviewed the notes from the October retreat. Matters from Commissioners: Commission Letter to Council Commissioners proposed that the Chair write a draft letter to Council and email it to staff to share with commissioners via email for comments. Nelson will write the letter and the commission can finalize it at the December meeting. 2020 Commission Priorities Discussion • Hill Hotel. Schneider recommended meeting with Council members. • Strengthen connection to Council and CU o Request periodic council member attendance at meetings 3 • CIP o Alley enhancement o Unified color for painting over alley graffiti o District has not been refreshed since 1996. Districts should be refreshed every ten years. • Safety o Transients • Neighborhood issues connected to viability of commercial district. Better code enforcement, etc. Support the Hill Neighborhood HRWG efforts to create a more positive culture on the Hill. Meeting adjourned at 5:58 p.m. Next Meeting: December 3, 2019 APPROVED BY: UNIVERSITY HILL COMMERCIAL AREA MANAGEMENT COMMISSION Attest: Rachel Dammann, Secretary Lisa Nelson, Chair December xx, 2019 Dear Mayor Weaver and Boulder City Council members, Thank you for the invitation to provide input as part of your process to determine Council priorities for 2020. The University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission is pleased to provide the following responses to your questions. We have also provided our priorities for 2020. 1. What do you think the City’s top three priorities should be for the 2020-2021 work plan? a. Move forward with the proposed Hill hotel. b. Adequately fund much needed capital improvements to support safety and vitality of UHGID. c. Designate the Boulder Police Department Hill team as an essential service to ensure adequate staffing for the Hill commercial and residential areas, and support additional staffing for BPD homeless outreach team. 2. How do your suggestions connect back to the work of your specific board or commission? We are appointed to advise Council on parking and related improvements to UHGID, the overall health and welfare of the University Hill Commercial Area and immediately adjacent areas, and the long-term future and sustainability of the University Hill Commercial Area (B.M.C. Section 2-3-20). a. The construction of the Hill hotel will provide significant one-time and ongoing economic benefit to UHGID and the city according to a recent economic impact study. Proceeds from the sale of the Pleasant Street parking lot to the hotel developer could then be leveraged in a public private partnership to develop a privately operated parking garage on the 14th Street surface parking lot. Taken together, the hotel and parking garage development will result in increased viability and vitality for UHGID, which is central to the work of our commission. b. UHGID has urgent unmet immediate and long term capital improvement needs. Adequate funding to meet these needs is necessary for the repair, replacement and maintenance of lighting, landscaping and alley improvements that are critical for a clean and safe commercial district. c. Safety is a top priority for our commission. The BPD Hill team, which serves both the commercial and residential areas of the Hill, is currently understaffed. Designating the Hill team as an essential service will enable the police to maintain adequate staffing levels to better serve UHGID and the Hill community. In addition, a top concern for property owners, business owners, residents and visitors is the frequent and ongoing presence of transients in and around the commercial district, which could be better addressed with more support/staffing for the BPD homeless outreach team. Our commission is staffed through the Community Vitality department. Our priorities are consistent with and mutually supportive of the following Community Vitality initiatives: • AMPS implementation o Parking pricing o Neighborhood Parking Permit (NPP) Program evolution o Pay Station replacement and other technology upgrades • Equity o Building and maintaining healthy commercial districts for everyone, with an emphasis on access to affordable goods and services that complement the city's affordable housing initiatives o Approval of a Citywide Retail Strategy o Affordable commercial pilot programs • Capital Planning and Walkable Neighborhoods o Addressing existing needs through CIP o Participation in any planning and outreach related to the Hill Hotel to further the mutual goals of walkable neighborhoods and a sustainable, vibrant local economy 3. Are there additional boards or commissions that should weigh in on those issues? a. At this time we are not aware of any additional boards or commissions that may play a role in these issues. As stated in our 2020 priorities, we support the Hill Reinvestment Working Group efforts to address pressing issues in the commercial district and the surrounding neighborhood. Below please find the UHCAMC priorities for 2020: 1. Request for a Council liaison to be appointed to inform and support UHGID revitalization goals in conjunction with Council priorities. 2. Support the Hill Hotel. 3. Increase safety on the Hill through improved lighting, alley enhancements, strategies to address transients, and additional police coverage. 4. Fund capital improvements supporting safety and revitalization of district including tree replacement, lighting repair and replacement, and alley enhancement. 5. Support Hill Reinvestment Working Group efforts to create a more positive culture in the surrounding neighborhood to improve the vitality of the commercial district. Thank you for your time and consideration. University Hill Commercial Area Management Commissioners Lisa Nelson, Chair Cheryl Liguori Robin Luff KC Schneider