HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/10/1991, 3 - CITY HALL EXPANSION PROJECT - STUDY PHASE III�II�II�I�II��III MEETING DATE:
jDec.ci"Jor san tins osispo 10, 1991
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITS NUMB:
FROM: John Dunn, City Administrative Officer
David F. Romero, Public Works Director E::;oXe
PREPARED BY: David Elliott, Administrative Analyst �f
SUBJECT: City Hall Expansion Project - Study e
CAO RECOMMENDATIONS:
1) Review and approve the "City Hall Building Program" docu-
ment, which will guide any future City Hall expansion;
2) Review the schematic building plans and elevations prepared
to date for the City Hall expansion and provide comments for
consideration when the project is reactivated at some future
point;
3) Review the Civic Center master plan and refer it to the
Downtown Design Committee for its consideration as part of
the Downtown Physical Concept Plan;
4) Defer further work on the City Hall expansion until cir-
cumstances are appropriate for reactivating the project.
5) Transfer $440, 000 not spent for project design from the
capital outlay fund control account to the general fund.
DISCUSSION:
Background. In January 1989 the City hired Fred Sweeney of Grant
Pedersen Phillips Architects to work on the study phase of the
City Hall expansion project. The study phase work has included
programming, conceptual/schematic design, and preparation of a
Civic Center master plan. During budget study sessions in Spring
1991, staff concluded that because of current economic conditions
and budget restraints the City should postpone further work on
this project. The purpose of the presentation at the December 10
Council meeting is to document Council -consensus and direction on
this project for guidance when work resumes in the future,
sometime after the 1991/93 Financial Plan period.
Previous Review. Throughout the study phase staff and the
project architect have presented progress reports or work pro-
ducts to the City Council, the Planning Commission, the Architec-
tural Review Commission, and representatives from community
groups and other agencies. Following is a list of various
presentations:
1/89 Study session with the Architectural Review Commission
3/89 Study session with the Planning Commission
3/89 Study session with the Architectural Review Commission
3/89 Briefings with individual councilmembers
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City Of San tins OBISp0
Nii% COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City Hall Expansion Project - Study Phase
page 2
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4/89 Study session with the City Council
2/90 Public hearing with the City Council, Planning Commission
and Architectural Review Commission
6/90 Work session with County administrative staff
6/90 Work session with representatives from the Citizens Advisory
Committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission
6/90 Work session with representatives from the Chamber of
Commerce, the BIA Parking Committee and the Parking Manage-
ment Committee
6/90 Work session with representatives from the Arts Council, the
Land Conservancy, and the County Historical Society
6/90 Work session with reprentatives from Obispo Beautiful and
surrounding property owners
1/91 Work session with the Downtown Design Committee
2/91 Study session with the City Council
4/91 Briefings with individual Councilmembers
Community Consensus. Overall, representatives from community
groups and other agencies seem to agree that the City Hall
expansion and the Civic Center improvements are necessary to meet
the City's future needs. They feel that both the City and County
should develop enough space to keep as many government offices as
possible downtown. While acknowledging the uncertainty of plan-
ning beyond the year 2010, they have urged the City to think
beyond the immediate future and avoid the economic consequences
of moving offices out of the downtown. To ease the traffic
concerns and parking demand anticipated with such expansion, they
i advocate a flexible and innovative blend of circulation options,
with particular emphasis on pedestrian paths. While favoring a
mix of public open spaces and land uses in the Civic Center area
to promote round-the-clock activity, they prefer keeping the
ceremonial heart of San Luis Obispo at Mission Plaza, with the
Civic Center area functioning as a subordinate public space.
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' Study Phase Work Products. The study phase work products (build-
ing plans and elevations package, program report, and master plan
report) were distributed to the Council under separate cover
during the fourth week of November. Fred Sweeney will discuss j
these products and answer questions at the December 10 Council
meeting.
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Future Direction. Attached to this agenda report is an eight- j
page document which summarizes the comments received and the con-
clusions reached during the study phase. The last part of this
document outlines proposed direction for the design phase of the
project, including issues which must be resolved later during the
design development portion of the design phase.
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iliiiilti�►i�IIIlIP1Q lllllll city of San LUIS oBispo
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City Hall Expansion Project - Study Phase
page 3
Nest Steps. If the Council follows the staff recommendation on
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December 10, all project work by staff and the architect will
stop. The Civic Center master plan will go to the Downtown
Design Committee for review, possible revision, and incorporation
into the Downtown Physical Concept Plan, which will eventually
return to the Council for adoption.
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Staff cannot recommend when project work should restart, because
that depends on the City's future financial position and the
priorities of the Council. Staff does recommend that the Council
reconsider the project schedule during preliminary goal-setting
meetings for the 1993/95 Financial Plan. At that time, financial
trends may be clearer, and the Council may be in a better posi-
tion to decide if and when work should resume with the design
phase.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The 1987/89 and 1989/91 Financial Plans designated $600, 000 for .
the study and design phases of the City Hall expansion project.
The cost of the study phase has been $160,700. That leaves about
$440,000 designated for this project in the capital outlay fund
control account. Since there are no scheduled uses for this
money in 1991/93 , staff recommends transferring $440, 000 from the
capital outlay fund control account to the general fund.
Estimating construction costs at this point is difficult without
answers to those questions which must be considered during the
design phase. When the architect can determine the general
I building size, the number of floors, and what building codes will
apply, he will be able to calculate an accurate and meaningful
cost estimate.
CAO COMMENTS:
Although the City must now defer this project, eventually the
City Hall building must expand to accommodate the immediate and
future needs which previous studies (including the adopted
Facilities Master Plan) have documented. Substantial review and
comment by community groups have revealed strong consensus for
such an expansion, particularly on two points. First, keeping
local government offices in one location will provide good
service to the public, long term government productivity, and
continued economic vitality for the downtown. Second, building a
high-quality, well-conceived addition will enhance the histori-
cal, cultural and architectural context of the Civic Center and
the surrounding downtown area. Achieving these objectives will
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illllil city of San i 13 OBISpo
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City Hall Expansion Project - Study Phase
page 4
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require, at an appropriate future time, deliberate and pro-
fessional continuation of the work already completed.
attachment: City Hall Expansion Project - Study Phase Summary
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enclosures: building plans and elevations package
program report
master plan report
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CITY HALL EXPANSION PROJECT
STUDY PHASE SUMMARY
MMODUCnON
During capital planning and budgeting sessions in 1985, manage-
ment team members mentioned an overcrowding problem at City Hall
that was growing worse each year. Besides a shortage of office
space, there also seemed to be a disruptive lack of meeting and
storage space. Three independent studies conducted in 1986, 1988
and 1989 confirmed an existing need for about 14, 000 additional
square feet and an eventual need by the year 2010 for another
13, 000 square feet to house City Hall activities. (The existing
City Hall building contains about 20, 000 square feet. ) To
provide immediate relief, the City undertook three projects.
First, it remodeled the building at 955 Morro Street and gained
about 6, 000 square feet of office space. Second, it began
remodeling the existing City Hall building to use the space there
more efficiently. Third, it moved the water conservation offices
into the Old Library next to City Hall, where that program
occupies about 1,700 square feet.
After examining several options to fulfill long-term space needs,
the City decided to further explore building a new City Hall
addition on the Old Library site. In January 1989 the City
awarded a contract to Grant Pedersen Phillips Architects for
preliminary programming work on a new addition and various Civic
Center site improvements. At a combined City Council/Planning
Commission/Architectural Review Commission meeting in February
1990, Fred Sweeney, the project architect, presented the findings
and conclusions of the programming work along with preliminary
designs. In April 1990, the City amended the contract and
authorized the project architect to continue with conceptual and
schematic design, refining his preliminary work and resolving
questions which arose during programming.
This document summarizes the comments received and the con-
clusions reached during the study phase of the City Hall expan-
sion project, which includes programming, conceptual design and
schematic design. This document also outlines directions for the
design phase of the project, including issues which must be
resolved during design development. This summary accompanies the
written building program and the schematic plans and elevations.
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City Hall Expansion Project.Study Phase Summary
page 2
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
• Improve public access and use of City Hall.
• Improve service to the public.
• Provide adequate long-term office, meeting and storage space
for City Hall work activities.
• Improve the working environment for City Hall employees.
• _ Establish the Palm Street corridor as a beautiful and useful
Civic Center.
• Preserve the character and integrity of the existing City
Hall building.
GENERAL PROJECT SCOPE
• Construct a new City Hall office building addition on the
Old Library site.
• Remodel the existing City Hall office building.
• Build various Civic Center site improvements (including
refined open space and pedestrian links) .
DIRECTION FROM THE CITY COUNM PLANNING COMMISSION AND
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMISSION
Direction on Building Appearance. Scale and Balance
• Protect and enhance the historical, cultural and architec-
tural context of the Civic Center and the stature of the
existing City Hall building.
• Promote a sense of solidity and perpetuity so that the
building and site declare "San Luis Obispo City Hall" .
• At the business entrance near the corner of Palm and Morro,
keep the foyer height as low as possible in order to a)
reduce the overall scale of the building addition b) incor-
porate the terraced effect of the existing City Hall and c)
emphasize the formal main entrance.
• Reduce the height of the elevator tower; set the tower
farther back from Palm Street or move it to the Osos street
side of the building.
• Place a large building element toward the Osos Street side
of the Palm Street building facade for balance.
Direction on the Building Program
• Provide ample natural light in the workspaces.
• Design workspaces for flexibility and expansion.
• Stress quality and longevity while avoiding extravagance.
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City Hall Expansion Project-Study Phase Summary
page 3
Direction on the Building Program (continued)
• Keep interior layouts simple, open and flexible. Avoid
compartmentalization.
• Carefully discriminate between needs and wants by continual-
ly asking how each proposed improvement benefits the public.
• Include a one-stop service counter for community develop-
ment, public works and finance customers.
• Include more building area than the 47, 000 square feet
proposed during preliminary programming; place most of the
additional area up against the AT&T building.
• As much as possible consolidate all unused space into one
location and lease this space out until needed for future
growth.
• Think about growth and expansion after the year 2010.
Either provide more building area now or carefully plan how
the next expansion might evolve.
• Improve the council chamber, with particular attention to
acoustics, sight lines, lighting, visual presentation and
accessibility for disabled people.
• Reexamine functional relationships between various City Hall
activities and incorporate conclusions in the program
document.
• Provide enough flexibility in the building to incorporate
possible future social functions like child care.
Direction on Circulation and Entrances
• Make circulation around the .site and through the building
logical and simple for all officials, employees and visit-
ors.
• Make all areas of City Hall (and particularly the business
entrance, the council chamber and the public service count-
er) easily accessible to disabled people. If appropriate,
go beyond minimum code requirements and establish an affir-
mative standard of enlightened development for accessibil-
ity.
• Incorporate an elevator for disabled accessibility but
consider locating it at the Osos Street side of the building
rather than the formal entrance.
• Retain the concept of two main entrances: one formal en-
trance leading to the council chamber and one business
entrance leading to the one-stop public service counter.
• Plan the two main entrances (one formal entrance and one
business entrance) carefully. Emphasize the formal en-
trance; don't let the business entrance dominate.
• Build up the formal main entrance to City Hall even more
than the original architect intended.
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Oty Hall Expansion Project-Study Phase Summary
page 4
Direction on Circulation and Entrances (continued)
• Build the sidewalk bulbouts on Palm Street so that they
extend in front of the main entrance to City Hall and main
entrance to the new library across the street. Use this
design element to better unify and align these two entran-
ces.
• If possible, face the business entrance toward Morro Street
instead of Palm Street or at an angle toward both Morro
and Palm Streets.
• Locate the business entrance near the Palm Street parking
garage to take advantage of an existing resource for cus-
tomer parking.
Direction on site Development
• Set a positive and commendable example for development in
the downtown.
• Prepare a master plan for the civic center area to identify
needs and opportunities for open space, pedestrian circula-
tion and preservation of view corridors.
• Include attractive, useful and small-scale public open
space.
• Articulate more clearly the intended uses for open spaces.
• Carefully refine the open spaces to fit their intended uses,
with particular attention to accommodating pedestrian
traffic.
• Preserving the tall redwood trees is commendable, but do
some study to determine 1) their existing health and ex-
pected longevity and 2) their chances of surviving construc-
tion and thriving under different conditions.
• Don't let the location of the redwood trees dictate building
design. Over the long run, an efficient building shape
along with newly planted trees may be more sensible.
Direction on Traffic Management (Parking and Transit)
• Move the bus transfer facilities out of the Civic Center as
soon as practical.
• Address immediate parking needs through a trip reduction
plan which can serve as a model for large-scale downtown
development.
• Acknowledge the need for short-term parking (1/2 hour or
less) near the business entrance at Palm and Morro.
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City Hall Expansion Project-Study Phase Summary
page 5
CONCLUSIONS OF PROGRAMMING, CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND SCHEMATIC DESIGN WORK
Conclusions about Building Appearance, Scale and Balance
• To protect the form and eminence of the existing City Hall
building and to allow adequate open space, the new building
addition should be no taller than three or four stories
above the existing City Hall ground floor and should have a
footprint no larger than 12, 000 square feet.
• The architectural texture and detail of the new building
addition should derive from the existing City Hall building.
• Moving the exterior elevator (needed to make the main
entrance accessible for disabled people) to the Osos Street
side of the formal main entrance would help balance the
entire Palm Street facade and eliminate a previously pro-
posed elevated walkway in front of the new addition.
• The building interior and exterior should incorporate and
accommodate public art.
Conclusions about the Building Proaram
• A building with 55, 000 square feet (the existing City Hall
plus a new three-story addition) would accommodate all
currently programmed City Hall activities through the year
2010.
• A building with 62, 000 square feet (the existing City Hall
plus a new four-story addition) would:
a) accommodate all City Hall activities through the year
2010
b) Provide additional space for growth beyond the year
2010
C) allow more flexibility in locating large departments
and accommodating future growth
d) allow the City to lease excess space until needed for
future growth.
• Consolidating most of the future growth area into one
location would allow the City to lease about 5, 000 square
feet of office space to another government agency.
• The ground floor area nearest to Osos Street would be most
appropriate for leasable space because it could be easily
isolated from the remainder of the building and could be
provided a separate entrance.
• Ground floor spaces in the existing City Hall and a new
addition must have adequate ventilation and natural light to
work well as offices.
Qty Hail Expansion Project-Study Phase Summary
page 6
Conclusions about the Building Program (continued)
• The business entrance leading to the one-stop public service
counter should be located on the ground floor near short-
term parking, either on the street or in the Palm Street
Parking Garage.
• Employees from community development, public works and
finance departments with significant customer service
responsibility should have workstations on the ground floor
close to the one-stop public service counter.
• The city clerk offices should be located near the formal
entrance to best accomplish public information activities.
• The personnel offices should be located on the second floor
and near an entrance for the convenience of applicants.
• Restoring the council chamber to its original size and
rotating it 90 degrees would strengthen the ceremonial axis
formed by the front steps, the entrance doors, the lobby and
the rotunda.
• Rotating the council chamber 90 degrees would also improve
sight lines, bring all public seating closer to the council,
and make the chamber more accessible to disabled people.
• For maximum interior efficiency and flexibility, all work-
stations for employees below management level should be open
offices.
• Listed below are tentative space requirements for various
employee categories, based on industry standards as well as
the City's experience using systems furniture at 955 Morro
Street:
Executive employees 200 square feet
Management employees 150 square feet
Mid-management employees 120 square feet
Professional employees 120 square feet
Technical employees 90 square feet
Secretarial employees 60 square feet
Clerical employees 40 square feet
Interns/Inspectors 40 square feet
These space requirements lie at the high end of accepted
standards and might prudently be reduced to hold down
building size and cost.
Conclusions about Circulation and Entrances
• To promote efficient and understandable interior cir-
culation, a new building addition should connect to the
existing building and the floor levels of the two buildings
should align.
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City Hall Expansion Project-Study Phase Summary
page 7
Conclusions about Circulation and Entrances (continued)
• In the public corridors, shallow and distinctive niches
should define public entries into department spaces.
• An exterior elevator would make entrances to the council
chamber and second-floor administrative areas easily acces-
sible to the disabled without awkward and imposing exterior
ramps.
• Placing the exterior elevator on the Osos Street facade of
the building would make leasable space on the ground floor
easily accessible to the disabled.
• Building design should emphasize the existing Palm Street
entrance (the front steps and entry doors along with the
rotunda and council chamber) as the ceremonial focus of City
Hall.
Conclusions about Site Development
• The existing parking lot site behind City Hall should be
reserved for future long-term building expansion.
• The required building size and configuration would allow
preservation of the two mature redwood trees.
• To provide ample natural light in the workspaces, the area
occupied by the redwood trees should remain as open space
regardless of whether or not the redwood trees are pre-
served.
• As opportunities arise, the City should acquire the un-
developed and underdeveloped parcels across Palm Street from
City Hall for an appropriate future use, currently visual-
ized as a public plaza with underground parking.
Conclusions about Traffic Management (Parking and Transit)
• Underground on-site parking would be inefficient and prohi-
bitively expensive.
• Developing the parking lot behind City Hall into a multi-
level parking garage with interconnected floors would be
inefficient because the square shape would require a high
proportion of ramping area to parking area. Although a two-
level garage without connections between floors (top floor
access would be from Mill Street; bottom floor access would
be from Osos Street) migh t be feasible, this site should be
reserved for future expansion.
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City Hall Expansion Project-Study Phase Summary
page 8
Conclusions about Traffic Management (Parking and Transit)
(continued)
• If a trip reduction plan can achieve an average vehicle
ridership of 1.5, total calculated parking demand for City
Hall would be about 110 parking spaces. The lot behind City
Hall has 50 spaces, so development of the expansion project
would require about 60 spaces off-site.
• The site directly across Palm Street next to the new library
would accommodate about 60 surface parking spaces or 100
spaces in a two-level garage.
• Site development should maintain two-way auto traffic on
Palm Street and limit curbside parking in order to widen the
sidewalks and provide more pedestrian improvements.
DIRECTION FOR THE DESIGN PHASE
• Identify organization changes and additions which alter
projected space requirements.
• Compare projected to actual workforce growth and adjust
space requirements.
• Reassess the space requirements for various employee catego-
ries to determine if total programmed square footage can be
reduced.
• Design typical, standardized open workstation layouts for
all employee categories.
• Determine the financial feasibility and desirability of
building beyond program requirements to accommodate long-
term growth.
• Determine if more than 5, 000 square feet can be consolidated
and leased out until needed for future growth.
• Review the design options created during the study phase
(including the need for and specific use of a fourth floor)
and select a preferred option.
• Determine if any portion of the existing building or the
addition should be designed to essential services building
codes.
• Review the effectiveness of trip reduction strategies and
adjust parking demand calculations if necessary.
• As needed, acquire off-site property for parking.
• Incorporate advanced and proven energy conservation strate-
gies into the building design, going beyond basic code
requirements if appropriate.
• Develop a strategy for 1) determining the presence and
extent of archaeological artifacts and 2) preserving any
artifacts found.