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   Presentation by Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council RE: New Port Richey 3D Model

   discussed

   Sarah Vitale and Marshall Flynn from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council presented a 3D visioning/rapid redesign concept for the area south of US 19 and Main Street, focusing on resilient urban design, floodable parks, elevated buildings, mixed-use development, and stormwater management. Council members discussed the concept favorably, raising ideas about narrowing Main Street, integrating with the planned Keiser University development, and using CRA incentives.

   📍Cascades Park, Tallahassee📍Corner of US 19 and Main Street📍Main Street Landings📍Sims Park🏢Hacienda Hotel🏢Keiser University🏢Spectrum Bay News 9🏢Tampa Bay Climate Science Advisory Panel🏢Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council🏢Walgreens👤Chip Waller👤Larry Shallis👤Marshall Flynn👤Nathan👤Peter Altman👤Rory Leep👤Sarah Blazonis👤Sarah Vitale#CRA (Community Redevelopment Area)#No-name storm of 1993#Rapid Redesign visioning project#Senate Bill 1094 (Peril of Flood, 2015)#Suncoast Parkway extension (Citrus County prior project)#TIF financing#Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition

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   [00:00:34] We do, Mr. Mayor. [00:00:35] As you can see, we have two representatives with us today [00:00:39] from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. [00:00:44] As all of you also know, they are a six-county planning [00:00:49] agency for the Tampa Bay region. [00:00:52] Our local representative to that board is Councilman Peter Altman. [00:00:57] The purpose of the council, in large part, is to promote regional stewardship. [00:01:04] They support integration of resiliency into local plans. [00:01:11] Resiliency meaning climate change and sea rise level increases. [00:01:20] In that respect, they have prepared a presentation for us [00:01:24] this evening on some resiliency design from a visioning [00:01:28] perspective of what could happen in the city. [00:01:33] Unless I've forgotten something, we'll allow them, Sarah Vitale and Marshall [00:01:38] Flynn, to jump into the presentation. [00:01:42] Good afternoon, everyone. [00:01:43] My name is Sarah Vitale. [00:01:45] I'm a senior planner with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. [00:01:48] And I'm joined by my colleague, Marshall Flynn, who is our GIS and IT director. [00:01:54] We're here today to share an exciting project that we've been [00:01:58] undertaking over the last few months. [00:02:00] It's essentially a visioning exercise in resilient design. [00:02:04] So taking a look at your downtown and reimagining what's possible on the site [00:02:09] south of the corner of US 19 and Main Street. [00:02:14] So we'll go through our visioning process. [00:02:17] We'll discuss Main Street as it appears today through a SWOT analysis. [00:02:21] That's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. [00:02:25] Then we'll look at our Main Street that we went through the rapid [00:02:28] redesign process. [00:02:29] I'll describe that. [00:02:31] And we'll discuss some of the design inspirations behind our rapid redesign. [00:02:35] And then go into some next steps and have a discussion of those next steps. [00:02:41] So what is visioning? [00:02:43] Visioning is taking a conceptual idea and turning it into something that's visual. [00:02:48] So design visualization is very effective when there's a need to rethink [00:02:53] what's possible, plan for uncertainties, or [00:02:56] explore different ways to realize a community's goals. [00:02:59] So one of the services that we offer to our member governments is design [00:03:03] visualization or a visioning exercise. [00:03:07] So these rapid redesign projects provide a starting point for [00:03:10] further planning and design. [00:03:12] Marshall and I specialize in mapping and [00:03:15] visualization through three dimensional modeling. [00:03:19] So we create 3D models of a site to compare planning alternatives, [00:03:23] test ideas, and develop consensus around those ideas. [00:03:27] So these are examples from a previous project we completed in Citrus County, [00:03:32] where we visualized the land use impacts of the extension of the Suncoast Parkway. [00:03:37] So when we were approached with the idea to redesign this area of your downtown, [00:03:43] we thought this would give us a great opportunity to share some more innovative, [00:03:47] urban design concepts, and propose ways to turn some of the area's challenges, [00:03:52] particularly flooding and stormwater issues, into opportunities. [00:04:01] If Nathan will assist us, we have a quick video to show you. [00:04:04] Right now it doesn't look like much, but New Port Richey City Councilman Peter Altman [00:04:08] says this property could represent the future of city development. [00:04:12] The city just recently purchased the corner of 19th and Main, and [00:04:16] we'll hold some other property. [00:04:18] And so this entire block is a good place for us to have an exercise. [00:04:23] Altman approached the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council about putting together [00:04:27] a rapid redesign exercise. [00:04:29] It shows how potential sea level rise, storm surge, and [00:04:32] inland flooding could be taken into account when planning development. [00:04:36] Here's an example of a storm pond in the middle of more dense development. [00:04:43] Elevated buildings and porous pavement are among the features included. [00:04:47] It gives the city something to consider. [00:04:49] It's conceptual in nature, so it's a really what if, but [00:04:52] it takes into account resiliency, which clearly is very important these days. [00:04:56] According to a report from the Tampa Bay Climate Science Advisory Panel, [00:05:00] sea levels have risen nearly eight inches in the region since 1946, and [00:05:05] could go up another two to eight and a half feet by the start of the next century. [00:05:09] And that's why officials say it's important to start preparing now. [00:05:13] And I think doing nothing would be really the biggest fear. [00:05:16] That's why the council's executive director says it formed a resiliency [00:05:20] coalition last year. [00:05:21] It's made up of 29 local governments. [00:05:24] So while this is the first exercise of its kind, chances are it won't be the last. [00:05:30] Sarah Blazonis, Spectrum Bay News 9. [00:05:35] So the first step in a visioning exercise is to gain a better understanding of the site. [00:05:44] So we did a deep dive into what defines the character of New Port Richey's downtown, [00:05:49] and really what is so special to the people that love this community. [00:05:56] So we conducted a SWOT analysis, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, [00:05:59] and threats. [00:06:00] And there were a lot of clear strengths. [00:06:03] The connectivity from US 19 all the way through your main street, [00:06:08] we thought was a unique asset. [00:06:10] The river that runs north to south, really a strong landmark and a great natural asset [00:06:18] and feature to your downtown. [00:06:20] Sims Park, a new addition in a very nice community space. [00:06:23] The public library, city hall, all of these very centrally located, [00:06:28] easily walkable destinations. [00:06:31] And then the economic development and growth potential [00:06:34] on the north and south of Main Street. [00:06:36] You see that occurring with Main Street landings. [00:06:39] There's a budding nightlife and retail scene, murals and public art, [00:06:44] the historic Hacienda Hotel, many more great assets in this area, [00:06:49] and a lot of great potential for your downtown. [00:06:54] So some of the weaknesses. [00:06:56] We noticed there's a lack of a defining feature [00:06:59] at the corner of US 19 and Main Street. [00:07:01] I know that there's the tiny sign in front of the Walgreens, [00:07:05] but there's nothing that's quite grand, that's really welcoming [00:07:09] and identifies your entrance of your downtown, [00:07:12] because the downtown really does start at US 19 and Main. [00:07:16] And then later down the road as you get farther east towards Main Street, [00:07:20] towards the bridge, you notice that there's that welcoming sign [00:07:23] and you start to feel the character of the area change in subtle ways [00:07:27] and then drastically as you cross the bridge, [00:07:29] it feels like a very different sort of experience. [00:07:32] So we identified that as a potential weakness or areas for opportunity. [00:07:39] And we look towards other cities that have that big grand entrance, [00:07:43] that landmark that really welcomes you to that specific area, [00:07:47] makes you feel like you're a part of an identity of a place. [00:07:51] We also noticed the amount of pervious surface area, [00:07:55] a ton of space here, right at the corner of US 19 and Main, [00:08:00] that doesn't provide an environmental, a cultural, or economic value. [00:08:06] It puts a huge strain on the stormwater system. [00:08:13] Before I get into opportunities, let's discuss some of the threats. [00:08:17] Inland flooding, storm surge, and sea level rise pose an increasing risk. [00:08:23] On the left is an aerial of the area. [00:08:25] On the right is that same look, but through the filter of elevation. [00:08:30] So the darker colors are the low-lying areas. [00:08:32] Clearly the river, Sims Park, that lake area, low-lying areas. [00:08:37] And then when you simulate a storm surge, [00:08:41] so that's a Category 3 storm surge, [00:08:46] and we've also compounded with sea level rise, we're looking at the year 2045, [00:08:51] and what the potential impact could be in this area, just in flooding. [00:08:56] So inland flooding and then also the storm surge. [00:09:01] And this is a view of the current drainage system. [00:09:05] The stormwater lines in that light blue are inadequate [00:09:10] to contain all of the impervious surface area runoff. [00:09:16] Now to opportunities. [00:09:18] In 2015, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1094, [00:09:22] titled The Peril of Flood. [00:09:24] And this new law, it requires that coastal management elements [00:09:28] of a local government's comp plan address the coastal flooding issues [00:09:33] and the impacts related to sea level rise. [00:09:36] So we think that as CRA development plans, as comp plans are updated, [00:09:41] this is an opportunity to really take a look at some of those risks. [00:09:45] And also CRAs and TIF financing are tools to improve resilience through development. [00:09:55] So now let's take a look at our rapid redesign in more detail. [00:09:58] So this is the existing area, and we wanted to focus on this part of your downtown. [00:10:05] So we're looking at US-19 in Maine. [00:10:09] These are existing structures. [00:10:12] And this is the aerial view of that. [00:10:16] You notice all the impervious surface area, not just in parking, [00:10:19] but also in the rooftops of buildings. [00:10:22] It's quite a significant amount of impervious surface area. [00:10:27] So now the new site plan, that's the view of that. [00:10:31] So you see a dramatic difference in terms of the amount of pervious surface area, [00:10:36] green space and water features. [00:10:41] And then here's a land-use view of that. [00:10:43] So if we're moving north through US-19, we have a hotel space proposed. [00:10:49] We have a mixed-use commercial space at that corner. [00:10:53] Wrapping around, there's a pocket little park that greets people [00:10:57] and lets them see that just south of that is a much larger park [00:11:02] that is designed to flood, designed to capture water. [00:11:06] If you keep moving down Main Street, there's a little mixed-use commercial. [00:11:10] We left one of those existing commercial buildings in its place. [00:11:14] And there's also a mixed-use commercial and residential concept [00:11:18] that brings you through Main Street over to where the bridge is, [00:11:23] through the rest of Main Street. [00:11:25] South of that, we propose a public boat dock space. [00:11:30] And then just at the very south in yellow is a residential, [00:11:33] either condominiums or an apartments-style building. [00:11:41] Video. [00:11:42] So we did our visioning. [00:11:45] Obviously, I've showed you some 2D imagery, but this whole model is in 3D, [00:11:50] so we can look at it at any angle we'd like to. [00:11:54] So a large focus was thinking about elevation. [00:11:58] So all of the first floors of these different buildings are floodable. [00:12:02] We've moved the most important systems onto the second or third floor [00:12:08] in the event of a storm surge or flooding incident. [00:12:15] We took a look at the potential for including different uses [00:12:20] on the rooftops of buildings. [00:12:22] So you'll notice there's a renewable energy source there with solar. [00:12:25] There's green roofs. [00:12:27] There's a look at our multi-use parking garage, which has a green roof. [00:12:33] It has green walls. [00:12:35] It has a pool and also tennis courts. [00:12:40] Now we're panning over to the corner of Main Street and US 19. [00:12:46] And here our focus was welcoming corner orientation of the building [00:12:52] with this archway landmark that's defining an entry point of your downtown, [00:12:57] so adding to the pedestrian experience [00:13:00] and helping to reinforce a sense of place for the area. [00:13:08] So traveling on Main Street, [00:13:10] there's a pocket park trying to utilize as much green space as we can. [00:13:18] Panning over to you'll notice that the parking is intentionally placed [00:13:21] in the rear of the lot versus in the front [00:13:24] because we believe it's a much more enjoyable pedestrian experience [00:13:28] to walk by, interesting facade of retail versus a series of parked cars. [00:13:33] So now panning over the lake. [00:13:36] And here it's, you know, it's a park, but it's a stormwater system too in disguise. [00:13:42] So there's a lot of cultural activities that can occur in this space. [00:13:49] And behind it, you'll see that that's the apartment buildings we've proposed, [00:13:53] which I'll get to again later. [00:13:56] And this is the parking lot. [00:13:59] We'll pan north towards Main Street. [00:14:04] You'll notice that the buildings are intentionally, like I said, [00:14:08] very close to the street with the parking in the rear. [00:14:14] That's the Main Street landings along that corner. [00:14:19] And you'll notice that the buildings are intentionally [00:14:22] very close to the street with the parking in the rear. [00:14:26] Along that corner, just masks to know that it's there, [00:14:31] but we're only visualizing the new development. [00:14:35] And this is a public space, [00:14:38] imagining an opportunity for the community to connect with the water, [00:14:42] with kayaks, with small boats. [00:14:46] Now we're moving westward on Main. [00:14:50] We'll get another look at some of the mixed-use residential, [00:14:54] commercial office structures that could be there [00:14:57] along the southern portion of the park. [00:15:00] of Main Street. Large, wide sidewalks, street trees, signage, crosswalks, these are all [00:15:09] the types of design techniques that were intentionally placed within the site. [00:15:15] Here we are back at, you know, the corner of US-19 and Main Street. [00:15:29] So thank you, Nathan, we can move on. [00:15:41] Some of the highlights, you know, the hotel space, rooftop garden, green walls, water [00:15:48] absorbing features, trying to think outside of the box here with renewable energy and [00:15:53] solar panels, and then an elevated parking garage. [00:16:00] Along the backside of the hotel, you'll notice there's a note of pedestrian, bicycle, and [00:16:07] transit activity on the corner of that lot. [00:16:14] Here's another look at some of the parking structures. We could imagine a two to three [00:16:19] story parking garage that does not just serve as a parking garage, it absorbs water with [00:16:25] the green roof system, it provides recreation activity with the tennis courts on the roof [00:16:31] of it, or the pool on the other side of it. So this could be some sort of shared parking [00:16:36] structure with the hotel and also with the public. There's a lot of possibilities here. [00:16:43] Here's a look at Bioswale, so taking advantage of green infrastructure technology, areas [00:16:49] that have plantings that absorb water, and then also beneath the cars, taking advantage [00:16:55] of a pervious pavement material that absorbs water more than a regular pavement material [00:17:02] would. [00:17:03] Here's a look at the, it could be a condominium building, intentionally it's a residential [00:17:10] use, it could be apartments, but the idea here is to be creative with how we hold water [00:17:16] on the site. So there's an intentional water feature designed between the buildings, and [00:17:21] then you'll see that the first floor is designed to flood. There's no living space there, it's [00:17:27] just the parking. [00:17:32] Here's that corner commercial, a welcoming feeling when you're driving up towards this, [00:17:38] you know, hey, I'm about to enter downtown New Port Richey, it's very clear to me. [00:17:47] And here's a look at the boat dock, so helping people become more in touch with the water, [00:17:52] offering a different sort of recreational opportunity in this incredible natural feature [00:17:58] that intersects your city. [00:18:04] So a lot of the inspiration here was trying to rethink infrastructure, so turning challenges [00:18:09] into opportunities. Moving away from single-use infrastructure, let's say a transportation [00:18:15] network, a sewer, an electricity grid, a single-use system, to something that adds more value [00:18:20] for your investment. So our design concept explores the possibility of multiple purpose [00:18:25] infrastructure, blue and green infrastructure, that is, infrastructure that provides cultural, [00:18:32] community, recreation, health and exercise benefits, along with stormwater and resilience [00:18:38] benefits. And the floodable park is a key component of this. [00:18:44] Which the design inspiration came from another park in Florida, you may be familiar with [00:18:49] this park, it's in Tallahassee. It was funded with local penny sales tax, Cascades Park. [00:18:55] It's a stormwater facility that doubles as a unique urban park in downtown Tallahassee. [00:19:02] And it was a super fun site. They cleaned it up and transformed their flooding issues [00:19:08] into an incredible productive community space. [00:19:13] So instead of looking at water as a negative thing, they embraced the water, and it's become [00:19:18] a key design feature and programming element in the park. [00:19:22] Playing off the water theme, there's Great Kids Water Park, and the Cascading Waterway [00:19:28] creates a beautiful lakeside experience for its visitors. [00:19:33] And Cascades Park has since sparked a lot of new economic activity and development in [00:19:37] the area. This is a visioning, rendering exercise that was created for a site that borders the [00:19:44] park, that is on schedule to wrap up with construction later this year. [00:19:51] I'll let Marshall introduce this next video. [00:19:56] Okay, this is a demonstration basically of the actual flooding that's going to happen. [00:20:03] It basically is showing how the pond can be drained so that it can retain all the water [00:20:08] from a flood or surge, and also the connected pipes that go from the bottom of the parkway [00:20:16] can go into the pond as well as also feed into the river when that gets high. [00:20:22] So this is just a demonstration of that where you can see how it picks up all the flood [00:20:28] and surge because if you drain the pond, it has room for it. Otherwise, it's just going [00:20:35] to go over the land as it is. [00:20:39] So again, you can see how the pond is already drained, and then that hole is basically over [00:20:45] there to the right of the car. That's part of the drainage system. There would be a grate [00:20:49] over it, of course, but you can see the water is actually going down into it, and it prevents [00:20:54] the surge from rising up too high. And of course, as Sarah mentioned, the buildings [00:21:00] are elevated. So that's pretty much the look of how that works. [00:21:07] I don't know if you know, you don't know what that is probably. No, we had a no-name [00:21:15] storm in 1993. She doesn't know. No, she wouldn't know. [00:21:20] That was back when Rory Leep was a meteorologist. [00:21:24] Basically, everything west of 19 was underwater. [00:21:31] I need a shelter for Andrew. I remember that as a baby, but it was a horrible one. [00:21:37] So in closing, what's next for this area? And I know that there's a few proposals that [00:21:43] are being discussed, including Kaiser University coming in. So with all of that in mind, we [00:21:50] pose some discussion questions. What does the city want to accomplish for Main Street [00:21:54] by 2025, by 2030, if we want to think outside of that time frame? What types of development [00:22:01] do you want to see for the site? What style? What sort of land uses? How can this development [00:22:08] integrate resilient urban design? And how can visioning support your planning process? [00:22:16] And with that, we'll open it up for discussion, but thank you for having us here to share our work. [00:22:22] One of the things that I've been questioning is the overall width of Main Street in that [00:22:43] section. From basically Rowan Road all the way to River Road, it is or could be two lanes. [00:22:55] And through the downtown, it definitely is. And there's something vaguely anti-people [00:23:05] about suddenly opening it up into a four-lane highway for that remaining people. So if I [00:23:14] had a magic wand, if you will, I'd cut that street down to two lanes, perhaps using the [00:23:23] lanes for parallel parking. Perhaps not. And then working as the buildings along that area [00:23:33] come up for replacement, start moving them closer to the street to make it more walkable. [00:23:41] I think the Kaiser University thing is going to happen. There's discussion that we'll be [00:23:49] having in the next couple or three months about the stormwater issues. [00:24:07] Yeah, I mean I really love the way it looks, the whole design. I love having that other [00:24:12] street in the back going down towards the river. I think that's the way to do it. [00:24:17] I think about, as far as from a resiliency standpoint, I know that the building itself [00:24:26] is probably set in how they are going to do it, but I know they were kind of open to surface [00:24:32] area, pavement, that kind of thing. They were open to looking at that kind of stuff. [00:24:40] And the work that I know you brought up, too, about that. So that would be really neat to see that. [00:24:46] But it's definitely an awesome look. [00:24:50] Since I've been working with them, and fortunate because the FRA had the resiliency aspect [00:25:07] that was at the conference to get them to do it, I just want to acknowledge. [00:25:21] So that would be neat to see. [00:25:30] Very professional, nice presentation. [00:25:38] Seeing the Kaiser University is something to get excited about, but then seeing that [00:25:42] parking lot kind of just scared me. [00:25:46] One of the most impactful visual looks is from above to see all of the parking. [00:25:51] All of the sunburst parking. [00:26:09] All into the resiliency aspect of it. [00:26:12] Most importantly, there's a lot of money for us to be able to garner. [00:26:22] So I hope that the Kaiser folks will get a chance to review this and see it, [00:26:27] and I would hope that they could work with whoever would design the parking garage or whatever. [00:26:33] I think the city's got the ability to provide the incentives, not just for the big developer, [00:26:39] but for the Larry Shallises and the Chip Wallers and the folks that are along there. [00:26:46] Before you sell what you have for what it's worth, we've got this idea to build a pond in the middle, [00:26:55] create a new park, and take care of some parking. [00:26:58] Through our CRA and our capital investment, I think that can incentivize not just the new guys, [00:27:05] the big fish that you try to bring into town, but also to say this is your lot. [00:27:10] Now, we take away your parking requirement, and to some degree we take away your onsite drainage requirements. [00:27:20] Unfortunately, a lot of them don't have them because, sort of like our downtown, [00:27:25] they all got built without any retention pond back before the rules were in place. [00:27:30] To build anything new, to take it down, they would have to go through that process, [00:27:35] and they wouldn't have much left. [00:27:38] So, if we're looking at making value and making good investments, [00:27:42] I'm really hopeful that the private sector can come to us and say, hey, we saw this and we love it, [00:27:48] and so we'd like to do that as well. [00:27:53] This, we'll build it, and I think we have the ability to incentivize them. [00:27:59] So, number one. [00:28:12] We're proud of the event. It's topical. [00:28:15] I mean, it may be just a little slip of the tongue. [00:28:22] People drive by the highway all the time and they see nothing but blight, [00:28:26] and so we've got to do something. [00:28:31] First to hear Chopper's response to that over the... [00:28:42] Chopper? [00:28:43] There's just a few things that stuck right out to me, [00:28:47] and we've got to go back to our own ordinances and stuff, [00:28:51] but the whole idea of putting parking on the first floor is thinking 25, 20 years ahead of, [00:28:59] and it's something we do, but we have to do. [00:29:01] But once we do that, then we have to change our code as far as how tall the building's going to be, [00:29:06] because I think right now it's only three stories in our downtown. [00:29:10] So that's being progressive and us taking a step forward and putting our minds together and saying, [00:29:16] hey, maybe we can go three floors, but you can go four floors if your first floor is parking, [00:29:22] and that might be an approach that we take, especially out of the 19 corridor. [00:29:27] You've got this building right up to the sidewalk of Main Street. [00:29:35] We're going to retain, I don't know if we've come up with the exact number, [00:29:39] some feet, 40, 50 feet, somewhere in there, [00:29:42] and there's mention of a park, but I want a little retail that ties the Main Street to the downtown, [00:29:50] pulls people in, just a couple small retail places, [00:29:53] maybe have the look of the Hacienda or the architecture downtown. [00:30:00] a lot of that property in the back to, [00:30:04] we'd have to purchase it and then make a park out of it. [00:30:07] So, you know, I was checking Rob's pocket [00:30:10] and he doesn't have that kind of money right now. [00:30:14] So, you know, we have looked at, [00:30:16] because we have some property back there, [00:30:18] maybe not as large as the part for water retention [00:30:21] and stuff that you had there, maybe about half that. [00:30:24] But those are the things. [00:30:25] And also, we stopped there at that, [00:30:27] I just wanted to make it a little fun about the... [00:30:34] Can't get that sailboat out and underneath the bridge. [00:30:36] Oh, that's true. [00:30:38] That is strictly going upstream. [00:30:40] And it's only gonna go from one bridge [00:30:42] to the other bridge, you can't get out. [00:30:44] Short sail. [00:30:44] Just a little sidebar, you know, [00:30:46] we live here, so we know that. [00:30:47] That is an interesting option, though, [00:30:50] for doing something with a kayak launch. [00:30:52] Yeah, which we have in another one of our parks, [00:30:56] Francis Park. [00:30:56] But the idea, I love your ideas, [00:30:59] and I've been a proponent, [00:31:02] before even Kaiser came, that whatever comes, [00:31:05] I don't want a Walmart or a Kmart [00:31:07] where you see all parking lot [00:31:08] and then the building right back there in the back. [00:31:11] Exactly what you've come up with. [00:31:12] But most important, we've got to look at ourselves [00:31:15] as the parking situation and utilizing the first floor, [00:31:18] maybe as parking. [00:31:19] And it'll help the people down the road here [00:31:22] when the surges come and hurricanes and stuff. [00:31:27] Thank you. [00:31:28] Can you guys put the difference on those, [00:31:30] to the microphone? [00:31:31] Oh, I'm sorry. [00:31:32] If you split the difference on the, [00:31:38] the projections for sea level rise [00:31:40] between now and the turn of the century, [00:31:43] and, you know, between two and eight, [00:31:46] well, call it five or six, [00:31:49] five or six feet, and then any sort of king tide, [00:31:54] that area is going to be either underwater [00:31:59] or really close to it. [00:32:01] And so the idea of, yeah, doing something with parking [00:32:06] or something else that can get washed out [00:32:09] on the ground floor starts to make a lot of sense. [00:32:12] It's just looking, you know, for the people down the road, [00:32:15] not necessarily for us, but the people 20 or, you know, [00:32:17] looking further down the road. [00:32:19] Well, what's nice though, [00:32:22] commercial doesn't have to be as high as a residential. [00:32:25] So the idea you have of putting the commercial [00:32:27] out on the street allows you to have [00:32:29] that walkable surface level operation, [00:32:34] because you can shore that up. [00:32:39] And how far out Walgreens is right now is far out. [00:32:43] That's how close Kaiser wants to be to 19 too. [00:32:47] So, you know, they're thinking along our lines too. [00:32:52] The, can we talk about the boat ramp again? [00:32:55] Because I know I've asked, [00:33:00] well, when we had that rezoning issue [00:33:02] and our councilman who isn't here [00:33:05] had talked about some activity there, [00:33:07] if he'd have known what the rezoning would have been, [00:33:10] it might've been a different story. [00:33:11] But the city has the ability to go after a grant [00:33:18] for up to $250,000. [00:33:20] And I know the city manager is looking at some proposals. [00:33:23] Hopefully they'll come back to us [00:33:25] because we don't have a lot of time to determine. [00:33:28] But the, went for a grant once before [00:33:33] to do Sims Park boat ramp, [00:33:34] and did not get a high enough score [00:33:38] because the score only rises when you add water access. [00:33:42] So the, just to share with you, [00:33:45] since we were all here in a public meeting, [00:33:47] the thought process from the folks [00:33:49] that put the grant in before [00:33:50] in our engineering firms had been, [00:33:53] if we add a ramp space that we can then incorporate this in [00:34:00] as part of the Sims Park boat ramp [00:34:02] and call it an expansion and qualify ourselves [00:34:06] for about $250,000 worth of funding. [00:34:10] It doesn't make the project cheaper. [00:34:11] It still costs more, but you know, [00:34:13] the only way to get the kind of matching dollars [00:34:16] is to add water access. [00:34:19] And with the Gray Preserve and the small boats [00:34:21] and the john boats, [00:34:22] and if the usage of the lesser engine boats [00:34:28] came around the other side, [00:34:29] it might actually help with, [00:34:30] which is a very confined space we're already in over there. [00:34:34] So I think we might have, [00:34:36] we might see that in the near future to discuss. [00:34:41] Actually received the proposal from the consultant today. [00:34:45] Is this, to use this much property, [00:34:48] are we buying the lot to the south of the Bacorn Drive? [00:34:52] It would be recommended that we acquire that property, yes. [00:34:57] Is there any discussion going on with the property north [00:34:59] of the boat ramp now? [00:35:01] Yes, there is. [00:35:03] Both properties to the north or just north? [00:35:05] Correct. [00:35:08] Well, while you guys are here on that topic, [00:35:10] I want to share something that another [00:35:11] large home land acquisition person [00:35:18] who came to visit us a week or two ago had said [00:35:21] with respect to the bigger boat ramp, [00:35:23] which was with the condos and the more dense development [00:35:29] that's being proposed, [00:35:30] that the water access and the lack of parking [00:35:37] and the lack of storage for folks that live in the condo, [00:35:39] that's the biggest question when we're looking at folks [00:35:42] at Main Street Landing, there's no storage room, [00:35:45] there's no place to put anything. [00:35:47] And I think he recommended to the city [00:35:51] that we consider some kind of a lift and drop operation [00:35:55] over there that would allow folks [00:35:56] to get boats into the water. [00:36:00] So you can't do that stuff [00:36:02] without enough space to move around. [00:36:04] So, you know, depending on how much density [00:36:07] and population and how much money the folks [00:36:10] that move in here have in their pockets, [00:36:12] I mean, a number of folks that have looked [00:36:16] at the higher value properties and want to know, [00:36:19] how do I get a boat into the water? [00:36:24] So we've always said the river is our big thing. [00:36:27] And it seems like that's where our opportunity lies to me. [00:36:33] Interesting thoughts. [00:36:35] Matt, anything else? [00:36:37] No, I agree that had we seen this [00:36:39] or there was any idea of what they want to do [00:36:42] when we were doing the rezoning, [00:36:44] I think it definitely could have changed [00:36:45] and it's obviously something we can revisit. [00:36:49] At the time, it was just, hey, I want to change it, why? [00:36:51] I don't know, just case, you know, kind of thing. [00:36:54] So seeing this, that would make a big difference, [00:36:58] I'm sure, with everybody. [00:37:01] Chopper, any final thoughts?

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3. 3Communications▶ 37:02
4. 4Adjournment▶ 39:57