19 Staff Report - Commercial Design GuidelinestowN u,MEETING DATE: 1/20/04
ITEM NO. q
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
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DATE: January 14, 2004
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN UNCIL
FROM: TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: CONSIDER THE SCOPE OF WORK AND BUDGET FOR PREPARATION
OF COMMERCIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES.
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the Scope of Work and budget for preparation of Commercial Design Guidelines
BACKGROUND:
The Advanced Planning Work Plan was reviewed by the Town Council in September 2003. Staff
identified the Commercial Design Guidelines as the highest priority of the new advanced planning
projects as it was consistent with the Council's direction to expedite the issues of energy
conservation and screening of roof mounted equipment along with other important commercial
design issues. Council agreed with the priority rankings provided by staff. The scope of work, work
schedule and budget for preparation of the Commercial Design Guidelines are now being forwarded
to the Council for approval.
DISCUSSION:
In September the General Plan Committee discussed the process to prepare the draft Commercial
Design Guidelines. The Committee recommended that a staff team of planners and the Consulting
Architect, Larry Cannon of Cannon Design Group, prepare the draft Commercial Design Guidelines
as this approach enabled work to start immediately following acceptance of the Advanced Planning
Work Program. The second approach was to go through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process
which would take about three months. The rationale behind the General Plan Committee's
recommendation was: (1) the Cannon Design Group would be intimately familiar with the design
guidelines which will be invaluable as the consultant reviews plans for commercial buildings; and
(2) the Cannon Design Group was originally hired because the firm has the capacity to prepare
PREPARED BY: BUD N. LORTZ
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Reviewed by: S3 Assistant Town Manager Attorney Clerk i; Finance
t/ Community Development Revised: 1,/14/04 3:31 pm
Reformatted: 5/23/02
PAGE 2
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: CONSIDER THE SCOPE OF WORK AND BUDGET FOR PREPARATION OF
COMMERCIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES.
January 14, 2004
design guidelines, is competitive in their costs and is capable of providing excellent guidance to
project applicants. In addition, preparation of design guidelines is a specialty of the firm. Council
concurred with the General Plan Committee's recommendation and the public process has been
started. Staff and the Consulting Architect have done background work and an existing conditions
evaluation has been prepared. The General Plan Committee has had four meetings since the
adoption of the Advanced Planning Work Plan, including presentations on existing conditions in
commercial areas of the Town and sustainability/green building techniques.
Cannon Design Group will be working as an extension of staff, with staff overseeing the process and
review of the administrative draft. There is an extensive outreach component so that input on the
scope of the document and the draft document itself can be obtained from design professionals,
energy experts, residents and commercial property owners.
The Commercial Design Guidelines will incorporate relevant criteria from existing commercial
documents including the Los Gatos Boulevard Design Standards, the Commercial Design Guidelines
for the Central Business District and the Development Standards for the C-2 Zone and present one
cohesive document for the Town's commercial areas. The commercial zones, exclusive of the CM
district, .will be divided into sub-areas so that guidelines can be tailored to. specific issues and
common development and design characteristics of each area. The Scope of Work includes a break
down of the areas to be included and the steps that will be taken to prepare the draft document.
Topics that will be addressed through the development of the Commercial Design. Guidelines
includes screening of rooftop equipment and design criteria such as exterior colors and materials,
signs and architecture. In addition, procedures for review of exterior changes to commercial
buildings and auto dealerships will be considered for possible changes to streamline the process.
Staff and the Consulting Architect have-developed an aggressive schedule to meet the Council's
objective in addressing sustainability and green building techniques in a timely manner. The General
Plan Committee will be meeting bimonthly, and special meetings will be scheduled if needed to keep
the project on track. Staff will work closely with the General Plan Committee through each step of
the process and will check in with the Council as appropriate. The time frame for preparation of the
draft design guidelines is four months. Based on the work activities and General Plan Committee
reviews that are scheduled, the draft Commercial Design Guidelines are expected to be ready for
public review in May 2004. The General Plan Committee reviewed the draft Scope of Work and
work schedule and has forwarded a recommendation to the Council for their approval.
CONCLUSION:
The General Plan Committee reviewed the draft Scope of Work and work schedule and recommends
that the Council approve the Scope of Work and authorize the expenditure for preparation of the
Commercial Design Guidelines (Attachment 1).
PAGE 3
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: CONSIDER THE SCOPE OF WORK AND BUDGET FOR PREPARATION OF
COMMERCIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES.
January 14, 2004
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act and no action is
required.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The budget for the Commercial Design Guidelines is approximately 540,000 (see Attachment 3).
Funds will be appropriated from the General Plan update fees.
Attachments:
1. Scope of Work (two pages)
2. Work Schedule for Commercial Design Guidelines (three pages)
3. Budget for Commercial Design Guidelines (one page)
Distribution:
Larry Cannon, Cannon Design Group, 180 Harbor Drive, Suite 219, Sausalito, CA 94965 -
BNL:SD
V DEV'.SUZA.,NE`,Cuuncil\Reports\FY2003-04\cdg-budgetwpd
Work Scope Outline:
Commercial Design Guidelines
Areas that will be included in the Commercial Design Guidelines are as follows:
❑ C-1 District (North Santa Cruz Avenue)
❑ C-2 District (Downtown)
► Subdistrict C-2A: South Section north of Main Street
► Subdistrict C-2B: North Section near Saratoga - Los Gatos Road
► Subdistrict C-2C: South of Main Street
❑ LM District University Avenue north and south of Blossom Hill Road
❑ C1 and CH zones Los Gatos Blvd (commercial centers/commercial pads, office)
❑ CH zone Los Gatos Blvd. Auto dealerships
❑ Outlying CI: Shopping centers including Rinconada Hills, Vasona Station,
Downing Center & Walgreen's Center; mixed use guidelines
1. Existing Conditions Inventory (reviewed at 11/12/03 GPC meeting)
• Reconnaissance of the commercial areas
• Photographs
• Summary of common development and design characteristics
• Summary of common problems
• Identification of issues
2. Review Existing Town Standards and Guidelines
• CBD Streetscape & Improvement Guidelines
• Commercial Design Guidelines for the. CBD
• Development Standards for the C-2 Zone
• Design Standards for the Rear of Commercial Buildings- Located Adjacent to Parking
Lot #4
• Los Gatos Boulevard Design Standards
• General Plan
3. General Plan Committee Meeting(s)
• Discuss issues, development and design characteristics and issues for each sub-district
4. Preliminary Design Guidelines (for each District)
• Other building type examples (e.g., other auto dealerships)
• Basic Design Principles
• Major Guidelines
Attachment 1
5. General Plan Committee Meeting(s)
• Preliminary design guidelines discussion
• General discussion of all areas to provide context and then more detailed consideration
of each individual area (including how Committee should seek input from property and
business owners)
6. Focused Meetings (to discuss existing conditions, issues and guidelines in general)
• Los Gatos Blvd. auto dealerships (Group or Individual)
Others as deemed necessary
7. Draft Design Guidelines
• Final draft of text and graphics. Staff will work out format and content ahead of time.
Draft will be provided to General Plan Committee for ratification of format and
contents as appropriate.
• Determine whether all guidelines will be forwarded to Town Council/Planning
Commission as a whole or whether individual sections or subsections (e.g., auto
dealerships) will be completed to final draft form before moving on to another section.
If section-by-section, conduct a final review of total package to clean up any
inconsistencies.
8. General Plan Committee Meeting(s)
The General Plan Committee will meet once at least monthly to review, discuss and
provide direction. Each meeting will be oriented to a specific geographic area. There
may be some advance issue identification so Committee members can perform their
own field reconnaissance.
Public Review Draft Design Guidelines
10. Public Hearings
• Planning Commission
• Town Council
11. Issues/Topics to be Considered
• Minor exterior changes to commercial buildings (streamlining of review process)
• Exterior changes to auto dealerships (special design guidelines and streamlining of
review process)
• Screening of rooftop equipment
• Energy conservation building techniques (e.g. solar panels, thermal glazing, passive
and active heating and cooling systems)
• Building setbacks, colors and materials, signs, and architectural styles
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