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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory 2010-02-11 DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 11, 2009 City of Kitchener The Downtown Advisory Committee met this date, chaired by Glenn Scheels; with the following members in attendance: John Smola, Alan Doherty, Mark Garner, Bernie Nimer, Christina Weylie, Peter Hammond, Don Zehr, Lisa Polonski, Tamara Minns, Bryan Larkin Staff in attendance: Cory Bluhm, Kim Feere, John McBride, Siobhan Delaney, Tony K, Rod Regier, Sandy Curzon, Dianne Garrington, Tracey DeVille Discussion Items Minutes & Agenda Approval of Minutes Approved: On motion by Bernie Nimer, Seconded by Mark Garner the minutes of December 10, 2009 were approved. Advisory Committee Updates The following update on the Economic Development Advisory Committee: The Planning Division provided a presentation and discussion o opportunity surrounding the employment lands and the connection with the Official Plan. The presentation included plan for forecasting, inventory and policies for the next several years. It was also noted that these factors will be reviewed every 5 years. The following Safe & Healthy Advisory Committee update was provided: Festival of Neighbourhoods planning was discussed including the o event planning and committee sponsorship. The Crime Prevention Council provided a presentation and led a o discussion on the involvement SHAC could have with their strategic direction and the connection with work plans. The committee also recognized the connection with DAC and will work on a joint meeting to discuss common strategies The following Arts & Culture Advisory Committee update was provided: The Prosperity Council provided an update regarding arts funding and o strengthen of the arts for the city and region. They advised they will be seeking a total of $3M in funding from all local levels of government. They are also looking to create a resource group for the arts community and will be seeking $230,000 in funding for this initiative. ACAC raised concerns surrounding this initiative and will be bringing forward motions to Council to encourage proper administration of the group. Members of DAC also raised concerns in maintaining a leadership role and the presence of this in the downtown. The Committee was also informed that currently the city funds the arts community with approximately $4M annually. New Business 2.1 Kitchener Public Library Update Sonia Lewis provided an update on the Kitchener Public Library (KPL) renovation and expansion. She advised that the KPL draws 1000 people per day to the main downtown branch and research shows that the expansion will bring in approx. 2000 people per day. She provided the following recap: - Renovation and expansion of existing library – 25,000 sq ft. - Development of parking garage in partnership with the region, city and library Ms. Lewis advised that the civic district vision and proposals have been taken into account with the redesign of the library; the heritage value and character have also been taken in to account as well as Gold LEED standard design and advised that the building will be developed as a sustainable building. She showed the committee the proposed design of the building from the Ahrens Street perspective, outlining what will be preserved and what will be done to compliment the future urban square. The Queen Street facade does preserve the original building; however, the windows will be replaced to achieve LEED Gold standards. The design also compliments their neighbours, the Governor’s house and gaol and the design will include that the ramp to the parking garage does not detract from the heritage properties beside it. The committee was advised that the gaol wall is shared with the current access to the parking in the rear of the KPL, which will be changed to accommodate a courtyard feature in the space beside the gaol wall therefore making it much more attractive. She advised that the design is in the final phase and the tender will be sent out soon, the construction will be from this fall to the fall of 2013, through a phased in process. Rod Regier advised the Committee that during the construction / renovation of the KPL, a partnership has been formed with the Kitchener Market to accommodate displaced programming in the available market space. Dianne Garrington, Market Manager, advised that the space is nearing completion and programming is scheduled to start during the March break. The committee provided the following comments / questions: In terms of the green roof, what is the main design and purpose, will it be accessible space? - It is a garden on top of the roof, landscaping plans are still under development, as part of our strategy to fulfill the LEED Gold, this design will reflect that. The basic design is a thin layer of topsoil then a thin layer of planting. It will not serve as a space for people, it’s purpose is rain water retention; however, the Ahrens Street side will have a small green roof visible nd form the 2 story of the building. The Committee thanked Ms. Lewis for her presentation. 2.2 Short Stay Parking Update John McBride provided an overview of the short term status of parking in the downtown, specifically an update on the review. Every 2 years, they look at parking needs based on a mid-week day. In June 2009 the survey was done to determine the needs and make adjustments are required. He advised that due to the construction downtown last summer there were some lots closed, affecting some of the numbers. Stats in 2009, showed peak occupancy of 95% and an average occupancy of 69% which is high. He advised that the major areas are running at full occupancy for the peak times of the day. There has been a gradual increase in how long people are parking for. That indicates that the land/business uses are changing and encouraging a longer stay than in the past. Some of the spaces that decreased in 2009 were when King Street was under construction; however, when King Street work is complete it will have added a few extra spaces. We try to maximize the on street parking, it is highly valued we try to put as many spaces as we can there. Off street spaces do not include the garage, there are a little over 1300 spaces with an average occupancy of 57%. If we did not include the lot at king and Madison we would be at 95% occupancy. Numbers in 2009 for off street parking are down a little but we did loose a little with changes to the core but have tried to increase spaces as well. We want to cater to short term customer parking with our lots in the core. This allows us to maximize usage and revenue and accommodate any demand that might occur. Last June we had almost 1900 monthly parkers, we have seen an increase in long-term parking, but that is also reflected in the duration stats. He advised that 9 of the surface lots are at peak occupancy the remainder at approx. 80%. This is an indication of high demand and high usage in the core. Looking at metered and on street are a little outside the core, these are more of a control of long-term parking in the residential areas; they do not generate any significant parking for the core. Where next, he provided an overview of the current and planned parking garages. He advised of the challenges that will surface with the development of the civic district parking garage, and it potentially going to be built in phases to avoid as much disruption as possible. The committee was informed that the Benton / Charles garage is scheduled to open in the fall of this year. He advised that the parking garage proposed for the Charles / water streets will potentially done through a private partnership. The Committee provided the following comments: If the library entrance is opposite Roy Street, then where is the exit? - There is a single land entrance/exit opposite Roy. The primary entrance will be towards the Centre in the Square – to take advantage of the traffic lights already in place. What time of day was the study done? - The timing of the study is 8 am to 6 pm and that includes all vehicles – delivery trucks etc. How much retail at the new garage? - It will be 700 sqft and a two story with a total of 1100 sqft Do you think that surface parking is going to be freed up because of these garages? - Yes, we consider surface parking an interim use and it is not the best use of the land we want more density and better use, we hope to see those redeveloped at some point The Committee was advised that as the monthly usage is going up we are seeing an impact on business because for example with a large employer moving into Market Square has now impacted business for short term parking. There is a large amount of hourly parking in the Charles / Benton – at least 200 spaces and we will monitor that and if they are not being used we will increase the number of monthly parking spaces. What about painting lines on the street? – We don’t do that because then it can limit the amount of cars that you could get in there What about the snow piling we loose spaces there, if we need parking then why is this happening? – We can look at getting that fixed and maintained properly 2.3 Downtown Strategic Plan Progress Report Cory Bluhm went over the 2010 list of actions that DAC provided the downtown team for the year and Mr. Bluhm advised on the current status and progression of this. - Facade grant program – 9 apps received and advised that by mid-February we should know which 9 are successful - Vitality – 3.3 patio program is underway right now to prepare for the upcoming season, what happened with the standards for fencing – we have provided a standard approach – some bias buy and rent out the furniture and that is something that is looking at but has not yet been finalized. - King street next phase – report went to Council, draft schedule is written and will be confirmed shortly Cory Bluhm handed out a questionnaire for the committee and asked that they fill it out and get it back to him. These survey’s are designed to assist in the direction that DAC will be going for the remainder of the year. This is also helpful for staff as a sounding board for staff workplans. This can assist in staff research as well. 2.4 Kitchener Market Update Dianne Garrington advised the committee that: - Leases – 8 vendors signed and ready working with one vendor now, the renovations for the market place will be complete the end of February, the additional decorating on the upstairs is complete. The KPL program is ready to go, new signage within the next couple of weeks. - The market gets calls from interested vendors on a daily basis and that is positive for the growing brand within the community - Wednesday market will be reintroduced this year. The lower market is growing, the floor plan is being redone and that will create room for new vendors - The mini market concept has been placed on the back burner for now as the Wednesday market will take that place, it may be something we can look at in the future. - The market place is going to be a great draw to the market, and there are partnerships happening to promote the vendor What kind of public response has there been with the vendor issues? – The public discussion on different groups has been positive for the most part, since the media has also made sure to get the rounded comments from vendors involved. What direction are you taking with the vendors – introducing leases for the first time, hours of operations, terms of the arrangements, responsibility of the vendor, responsibility of the owner, the same as anyone renting commercial space. Has there been an increase in traffic since these changes. And what type of marketing is going in to the Wednesday market? – Traffic has increased, we have been keeping track, we are getting more people for lunch other than students, the marketing for wed is being put together now and we are looking at that. Is there anything that the market has done to help encourage the empty spaces on either side of the plaza? – Those buildings have been given a push to fill that, we are working with the realtor for those properties, there is good support from that aspect, the east end has a higher occupancy rate for the downtown then the west end. 2.5 Brainstorming Session The Committee entered into a brainstorming session based on promoting major events, promoting restaurant industry and innovative web promotion. The following was provided: Promote Downtown Restaurant Industry: Discover Kitchener Event o Dinner and a Show Event o Put our best face forward o Food Festivals o Food stations at major events o Taste of Kitchener Event o Innovative Web Promotion: Info Hub o Address cloud of safety o Divide site between users who want to be a promoter / o presenter and attend Database flags potential business / downtown offices that they o may want to participate eg. Something on your block / street and or something that matches your sector Depository of interested businesses o Make the Kitchener website the destination for downtown o Amalgamate the existing resources o Business access to promoting o Downtown as a living lab o Simple and straight forward, month at a view, view with events, o add to outlook option, each event click for more information Promoting Major Events The Film Festival with dining o Spinning off of other successes o List of services o Contests / tweets o Annual pre-promotion of reoccurring events o Midnight madness sidewalk sales o Communicated with organizations on how to register o On motion, the meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.