AGENDA #4g
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Design Workshop and Visualization Model for Downtown
DATE: November 12, 2001
Attached for the Council’s consideration is a resolution authorizing the Manager to engage the services of a facilitator for a downtown Design Workshop and contract for the preparation of a computer-generated visualization instrument. The attached budget ordinance amendment for $38,000 would fund the workshop and computer model and cover other associated costs, including purchasing software and materials.
The Design Workshop and model will serve as tools for the Town to shape a vision for developing select publicly and privately owned downtown sites, issue a Request for Proposals to develop Parking Lots 2 and 5, and examine design guidelines.
The Council goal of encouraging new residential, office and retail downtown development was established at the Council’s January 2000 retreat, and is stated in both the 2000 Comprehensive Plan and the 2000 Downtown Small Area Plan. Actions taken over the past three years toward achieving this goal include the 1999 design workshop for Parking Lot 5, and the Council’s recent discussions with the University of North Carolina on a downtown employer-employee housing project.
At the Council’s August 29, 2001 work session on the employer-employee housing issue, the Council requested a report providing options for developing a Downtown Design Workshop, followed by a Request for Proposals, including a schedule for the process and proposals for public involvement.
On October 10, 2001, the Council adopted a resolution establishing goals for the Design Workshop (please see Attachment 1). The Council also adopted a resolution authorizing the Town to implement a process for developing the workshop and Request for Proposals for Parking Lots 2 and 5, and authorizing the Town Manager to develop a proposal for Council’s consideration regarding a visual modeling instrument, including potential vendors, cost, and locations.
DISCUSSION
This memorandum reviews the funding needed to initiate the process leading to the spring Design Workshop and offers a budget amendment. The Design workshop will make use of an interactive visualization model built using three-dimensional and digital imaging computer technology.
The scope of the Design Workshop and visualization instrument are discussed below.
On October 10, 2001, the Council approved the conceptual outline and schedule for conducting a Downtown Design Workshop. The workshop will be held on two weekends, the first in April and the second four weeks later.
The workshop will be designed to maximize public participation in the visioning process, using as much as possible the computer-generated model as a tool to increase public awareness about the project and get people thinking about their own vision for the study area. The model will be completed in early February, at which time it will be posted on the Internet and be made available on a computer set up at a Town location such as Town Hall or the Library.
The workshop will enable people to work with others and sketch a vision for the future development of the areas outlined in red on Map 1. General concepts will be sought for the privately owned properties and University of North Carolina properties within these areas. The workshop will seek to define in greater detail the community’s preferences for the development of Parking Lots 2 and 5.
As noted in our October 10th report, the workshop will enable community input on these issues:
· The appropriate mix of uses for specific sites in the study area as shown on Map 1;
· The level of development intensity desirable at key locations;
· The location of parking on Parking Lots 2 and 5;
· The inclusion of public spaces on Parking Lots 2 and 5 and in the study area in general;
· A graphic depiction of the scale, height and mass of the existing buildings and desired built environment for Parking Lots 2 and 5; and,
· Visualization of desired building mass, height and other design elements for other Downtown Small Area Plan “opportunity areas” as shown on Map 1.
The workshop sessions will include a presentation of the images generated with the visual modeling instrument in order to illustrate the effects of varying factors such as building height and scale and setbacks. We anticipate that the workshop be similar to the approach used in the 1999 design workshop for Parking Lot 5 where volunteers with design experience help incorporate input from participants to develop preferred development scenarios. The participants would be asked to address the Council’s adopted goals. The details of each weekend’s events would be determined with the help of the facilitator.
We propose that the first weekend would provide for community input on the desired built environment for the proposal areas outlined in red on Map 1, addressing issues such as scale, building mass, setbacks and public spaces including parks. The day’s events could include a walking tour of the study area to provide people a feel for the area prior to discussions on urban design and desired development.
The second Saturday session would be held four weeks following the first session in order to provide the participants’ ideas in the model. The second session would provide for public input on the updated model proposing how the Town would seek the development of Lots 2 and 5 in issuing the Request for Proposals. People also would have the opportunity to react to the model’s depiction of a proposed building scale for the other proposal areas on Rosemary Street.
As a follow-up to the second workshop session, the Planning staff would write a summary document for the Council taking the output from the workshop and public comment. The report would be accompanied with an updated model articulating a vision for Parking Lots 2 and 5 based on the public input from the second workshop session.
The purpose of the model would be to:
· Create an interactive visualization tool depicting existing conditions and development scenarios of Town-owned parcels and select privately owned parcels on Franklin and Rosemary Streets;
· Generate public input by presenting views of several “what-if” development options such as varying the building heights and setbacks, and adding streetscape improvements;
· Examine the adequacy of existing regulations;
· Incorporate the development concepts for Parking Lots 2 and 5 as proposed in design workshop;
· Enable final concepts to be viewed on CD-ROM for distribution as Request for Proposals for development of the two lots;
· Create tools for staff to use in the future for depicting policy changes - for example a proposed change in building height limit; and,
· Enable future development proposals to be incorporated in the base imagery.
The model would provide the Town a means to generate public interest in the workshop by making it available prior to the workshop on the Town’s web site. The Town could also set up a computer workstation dedicated solely to presenting the model and promoting the spring design workshop. The workstation could be set up at Town Hall or another highly visible location such as the Library.
The model would enable people to view potential proposal sites from an aerial perspective, and click on various locations to view the proposal options (see Attachment 2 for an example of the imagery) as if they were standing on the sidewalk looking at the building.
Another component of the software presentation would be to incorporate “photo-merges,” a technique that digitally incorporates proposed buildings and other elements in a photo of the actual site. The photo-merges would provide the public to review the impact of adding buildings of varying heights, such as two, three, and four-story structures. We propose to include an example of how a building that is built to the 90-foot secondary height limit would relate to existing buildings.
We propose that the existing conditions depicted in the model include the area within the black line shown on Map 1, attached. The Study Area would extend to include buildings on both sides of Franklin and Rosemary Streets, from the Carrboro Town Limits to Henderson Street.
The development scenarios depicted in the model would provide the basis for the workshop discussion by enabling participants to view the effects of factors such as building heights and setbacks. The model would be updated to incorporate visions for Parking Lots 2 and 5 for reaction at the second Design Workshop session. The Council would decide the final scenarios for Lots 2 and 5 to include in the Request for Proposals.
We believe the model is an effective method for visually articulating the Council’s desired future use of Parking Lots 2 and 5 when the Town issues the Request for Proposals for development of the sites. The model could be distributed on CD-ROM, be presented in print form, and posted on the Internet. People viewing the model on CD-ROM or the Internet would be able to click and view Town’s vision from above and at street level.
The project would enable Town staff to manipulate model to create own “what ifs” in the future by providing access to several base images that can be used to make future presentations using Photoshop techniques. Architects could use the existing conditions in the model and as basis for presentations of downtown development proposals. Planning staff also would have an interactive means to present the context of proposed downtown projects by clicking on the aerial view and zooming in to the site in question.
BUDGET
We estimate the workshop will cost $10,000 for a facilitator and materials. We would seek to engage Peter Batchelor as the facilitator in December, and begin planning the workshop in January.
Based on discussions with a vendor, we estimate that the model and photo-merges would cost approximately $27,000. The Town would not have to purchase the software used to generate the model. However, software is needed to present the project on the web and for enabling staff to use the photo-merge technique in the future and for staff presentations. We propose purchasing the Adobe Web Collection, which includes PhotoShop, GoLive, LiveMotion, and Illustrator, which costs approximately $1,000.
We recommend the Council consider adopting the attached resolution authorizing the Manager to engage the services of a facilitator for a downtown Design Workshop and contract for the preparation of a computer-generated visualization instrument.
We recommend the Council adopt the attached budget ordinance for $38,000. We recommend this as a one-time use of Fund Balance to pay for this as an investment in community facilities, even though we know that there will be financial difficulty in this fiscal year.
Some of the benefits of the workshop and model include:
· Providing a means to implement the Downtown Small Area Plan by promoting the development of “Opportunity Areas” identified in the Plan;
· Generating public input on the future use of Parking Lots 2 and 5, and on the adequacy of existing development standards, in particular the height limit for the Town Center-2 zoning district;
· Enabling the Town to market the development of Parking Lots 2 and 5 by issuing a Request for Proposals based on the output of the design workshop;
· Incorporating the Town’s vision for Parking Lots 2 and 5 in a computer model; the model would be packaged on CD-ROM to distribute to interested developers, who would be able to view the vision at the street-level and from an aerial perspective;
· Enhancing the Planning Department’s presentations of downtown development proposals by enabling planners to use the model to show views of existing conditions in an interactive format;
· Developing staff capacity by enabling planners to use PhotoShop techniques to present visualizations of, for example, proposed changes in design standards; and
· Creating an option for developers and architects in the future to use a copy of the base three-dimensional model of downtown for presenting proposed downtown projects from various vantage points.
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MANAGER TO CONTRACT FOR SERVICES FOR A DOWNTOWN DESIGN WORKSHOP (2001-11-12/R-6)
WHEREAS, the Chapel Hill Town Council has authorized a process for developing a Downtown Design Workshop and Request for Proposals for the development of Parking Lots 2 and 5; and
WHEREAS, on October 10, 2001, the Council established goals to serve as the framework for community input at the Design Workshop; and
WHEREAS, a computer-generated model would provide a means to encourage and gather community input on the potential use of Parking Lots 2 and 5 and select privately owned Downtown parcels; and
WHEREAS, the model would be used to illustrate the Council’s vision for Parking Lots 2 and 5 in issuing the Request for Proposals; and
WHEREAS, the model would enhance Planning staff presentations of Downtown development proposals;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby authorizes the Manager to engage the services of a facilitator for a downtown Design Workshop and contract for the preparation of a computer-generated visualization instrument as generally outlined in the Manager’s memorandum of November 12, 2001.
This the 12th day of November, 2001.
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2001 (2001-11-12/O-2)
BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Budget Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Concerning Appropriations and the Raising of Revenue for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2001” as duly adopted on June 25, 2001 be and the same is hereby amended as follows:
ARTICLE I
Current Revised
APPROPRIATIONS Budget Increase Decrease Budget
GENERAL FUND
Planning 1,098,234 38,000 1,136,234
ARTICLE II
REVENUES
GENERAL FUND
Fund Balance 1,631,201 38,000 1,669,201
This the 12th day of November, 2001.