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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-07-24; City Council; ; Discussion on the issue of Engaging Voters in the Site Location Decision for a New City Hall and Civic Center~ CITY COUNCIL ~ Staff Report Meeting Date: To: Frnm: Staff Contact: July 24, 2018 Mayor and City Council Kevin Crawford, City Manager Gary T. Barberio, Assistant City Manager Gary.barberio@carlsbadca.gov 760-434-2822 CAReview ~ Subject: Discussion on the issue of Engaging Voters in the Site Location Decision for a New City Hall and Civic Center Recommended Action City staff recommends completing the planned technical analysis and community engagement already underway for the new city hall and civic center before deciding whether or not to put the siting decision to a vote of the registered voters of the City of Carlsbad. If the City Council concurs with staff's recommendation, no additional action by the City Council is required at this time. Executive Summary On April 17, 2018, the City Council directed staff to complete the work necessary to begin construction of a new city hall by 2023. The city has retained a consultant team and begun work to assess the scoping and space needs for city administrative and legislative functions ("city hall") and to explore the community's needs, values and priorities for a new civic center gathering space that could be located in conjunction with the new city hall. At its June 26, 2018 meeting, the City Council directed staff to place an item on a future City Council agenda for discussion ofthe issue of engaging voters in the site location decision for a new city hall and civic center. Discussion The City of Carlsbad currently operates out of a number of bu ii.dings spread across the 39 square mile city. Many are old and no longer meet the needs of the workforce or the community. In addition, operating out of many locations creates operational inefficiencies and is confusing for the public. In January 2016 the City Council decided to make planning for a new city hall one of its annual goals. In 2017, the City Council affirmed this goal. During this time, city staff completed a financial analysis and determined which city owned sites could be considered for a new city hall and civic center. In April of 2018, the City Council expanded this goal to not just complete the planning and choose a site, but to break ground on a new city hall within five years, 2023. July 24, 2018 Item #20 Page 1 of 6 Locations Four city owned properties have been identified as potential locations: • Existing city hall location (including Cole Library, the community garden and adjacent vacant lots) • Western parking lot of Senior Center/Pine Avenue Community Park (would include underground parking that could be shared with the Village and Barrio on nights and weekends) • Current location of city's Faraday Administration Center plus the vacant property next door • Former Farmers Insurance site at the corner of El Camino Real and Faraday Avenue (closest to the geographic center of the city) Decision-Making Process Following are the main milestones associated with the site decision making process currently in place: • On Jan. 23, 2018, the City Council approved a contract with MIG, Inc., to provide scoping and space analysis services for a new city hall. • Concurrent with determining the space needs for a new city hall, staff initiated a broad public engagement process to identify the needs, priorities and values associated with a new civic gathering space in Carlsbad. • The information from both efforts will be used first to present to the City Council proposed site evaluation criteria to assist in choosing a site. This is currently scheduled for Fall 2018. • The scoping and space needs analysis, along with all of the needs, values and priorities identified during the initial public engagement process for this project will then be utilized to create conceptual site plans, showing how each site could accommodate a new city hall and civic center. • The conceptual site plans and site evaluation criteria will be presented to the community for feedback in early 2019. • Community feedback, the site evaluation criteria results and the conceptual site plans will then be presented to the City Council for consideration in spring 2019. Site Evaluation Criteria vs. Locations The project team decided early on to focus the community engagement efforts on broad questions about values, needs and priorities, not solely locations. This approach was chosen to allow the project team to fully explore not just the site preferences but the reasons for these preferences. By understanding the underlying values driving community preferences for the location, the project team believes it has the greatest opportunity for creativity and consensus building. July 24, 2018 Item #20 Page 2 of 6 Public Engagement Process The project team is currently gathering community input through the following: Engagement Process Planning The project team had informal discussions with community members representing a variety of local interests to gain insight into the engagement process design. This early feedback, coupled with best practices from the International Association of Public Participation, helped guide the overall engagement process design. Workshops The project team held two public workshops to enable community members to provide input into the values and priorities associated with a civic gathering space. This included feedback on the four potential locations and possible criteria for choosing a location. The workshops were widely advertised, including a newsletter delivered to every household in the city and a follow up direct mail invitation to property owners and residents near the four prospective sites. Online Input From the broad array of ideas generated at the workshops, the project team designed an on line survey to gauge the community's reactions and preferences. Concurrently, community members were given the opportunity to take surveys geared to those who utilize the public services provided at city administrative buildings and those who participate in City Council meetings and other gatherings in the City Council chamber. Spanish Language Outreach A Spanish speaking member of the project team met with Spanish speaking community members at the Library Learning Center to discuss the same topics covered through the workshops. The project videos and online civic center survey were provided in Spanish and promoted to Spanish speaking community members through targeted social media ads. City Council Meeting to Discuss Site Evaluation Criteria In the Fall, the project team plans to present the space needs analysis and community input to the City Council. The team will seek approval of proposed site evaluation criteria to be used to assist in the site selection process. Conceptual Designs In early 2019, the project team will seek community feedback on the conceptual designs, to include a new city hall and a greater civic center, for each of the sites. This will be done through a similar process as the early engagement, including an in person component and an on line component. July 24, 2018 Item #20 Page 3 of 6 City Council Meeting on Conceptual Designs and Site Decision In spring 2019, the project team will present the conceptual designs and the community's feedback. The City Council at that time will have the option of choosing a site or requesting changes to the conceptual designs. Public Vote Option At its June 26, 2018 meeting, the City Council voted to place on a future agenda the topic of a public vote on the new city hall and civic center location. Following are options for engaging voters in the siting decision: 2018 General Election Ballot Measure It is technically possible to prepare a ballot measure in time for the Aug. 10 deadline for the November 2018 election. The County of San Diego Registrar of Voters estimates the cost to be between $25,000 and $45,000. The City Council would need to add the ballot measure to a special meeting agenda, and city staff would need to re-prioritize other work to free up the resources needed to prepare/gather the materials needed, which include a city attorney analysis and a ballot title and summary. There would be very limited time for community members to provide arguments in favor and in opposition. 2018 General Election Advisory Vote Ballot Measure The deadlines and cost would remain the same as the regular ballot measure. The Registrar of Voters would have the option of deleting the measure from the ballot at its discretion based on the overall length of the ballot. Future Planned Elections Attached as Exhibit 1 is a list of currently planned upcoming elections, including special elections, primary elections, general elections and mail elections. The city has the option of "consolidating" a ballot measure with one of these existing elections, which would be less costly than a stand-alone special election. The exact cost would vary depending on a number of factors. Special Election The City Council can call a special election at any time. The election would need to be scheduled no fewer than 88 days in advance, and the city would incur the full cost of the election. The County of San Diego Registrar of Voters would provide a cost estimate based on current registered voters. The special election in February 2016 for Measure A cost approximately $650,000. Survey Option To find out the levels of support for each location, the City Council could also contract with a professional research firm to conduct a random sample quantitative survey of Carlsbad's adult population (or the sample could include only registered voters). With a sample size of 1,000, July 24, 2018 Item #20 Page 4 of 6 the margin of error would be about plus or minus 3 percentage points. The cost would be approximately $10,000 to $15,000. Considerations Many options exist to involve community members in the decision about the location of the future city hall and civic center and the options range greatly in cost. In this discussion it is very important to consider that public engagement outreach for this project is already underway. A change in the public engagement or decision-making process would need to be clearly communicated, and the project team would need to determine how to address the input already received, which is qualitative in nature. Recommendation City staff recommends completing the planned technical analysis and community engagement already underway for the new city hall and civic center before deciding whether or not to put the siting decision to a vote of the registered voters of the City of Carlsbad. Based on the outcome of that process, some sites could be eliminated for failing to meet the technical and community-generated criteria. Or, one site could emerge as a clear technical and community favorite. Once the conceptual site plans are completed, the City Council will likely be presented with a number of policy decisions when considering each location. The City Council will also be in possession of all of the information resulting from the technical analysis and the extensive public engagement process. This would be a more appropriate time to consider the issue of, and the options for, engaging voters in the decision about where to locate the new city hall and civic center. If the City Council concurs with staff's recommendation, no additional action by the City Council is required at this time. Fiscal Analysis There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. Environmental Evaluation (CEQA) Pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21065, this action does not constitute a "project" within the meaning of CEQA in that it has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and therefore does not require environmental review. Public Notification This item was noticed in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting date. Exhibits 1. Established Election Dates (2018 through 2024) July 24, 2018 Item #20 Page 5 of 6 Exhibit 1 Established Election Dates* (per E.G. Sec. 1000, 1200, 1201, 1202 & 1500) 2018 through 2024 YEAR DATE TYPE OF ELECTION March 6 (mail ballot) Misc. Special April 10 Misc. Special 2018 May 8 (mail ballot) Misc. Special June 5 Primary Election August 28 (mail ballot) Misc. Special November 6 General Election March 5 Misc. Special 2019 May 7 (mail ballot) Misc. Special August 27 (mail ballot) Misc. Special November 5 Misc. Special March 3 Primary Election April 14 Misc. Special 2020 May 5 (mail ballot) Misc. Special August 25 (mail ballot) Misc. Special November 3 General Election March 2 Misc. Special 2021 May 4 (mail ballot) Misc. Special August 31 (mail ballot) Misc. Special November 2 Misc. Special March 8 Primary Election April 12 Misc. Special 2022 May 3 (mail ballot) Misc. Special August 30 (mail ballot) Misc. Special November 8 General Election March 7 Misc. Special 2023 May 2 (mail ballot) Misc. Special August 29 (mail ballot) Misc. Special November 7 Misc. Special March 5 Primary Election April 9 Misc. Special 2024 May 7 (mail ballot) Misc. Special August 27 (mail ballot) Misc. Special November 5 General Election ( DEADLINE FOR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS TO CONSOLIDATE (E -88 Days) December 8, 2017 January 12 February 9 March 9 June 1 August 10 December 7, 2018 February 8 May 31 August 9 December 6, 2019 January 17 February 7 May 29 August 7 December 4, 2020 February 5 June 4 August 6 December 10, 2021 January 14 February 4 June 3 August 12 December 9, 2022 February 3 June 2 August 11 December 8, 2023 January 12 February 9 May 31 August 9 Prepared: October 2, 2017 July 24, 2018 Item #20 Page 6 of 6