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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINAL_Arcadia GP_CommunityWorkshopRESULTS__REQUSTEDDOC1 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   City of Arcadia Community Festival May 31, 2008 Summary Event Information On Saturday, May 31, 2008, more than 150 Arcadia residents, business people, and others attended a General Plan Update Community Workshop to learn about the City’s General Plan update program and to offer input on issues important to the City over the next 15 to 20 years. Participants also learned about topics such as housing affordability and resource conservation approaches. The event was held at the outside courtyard between Arcadia City Hall and the Police Department Headquarters. City staff and the General Plan consultant team led the event and were available to answer any questions participants had. The workshop was structured around the following stations, each of which included educational materials and activities structured to gather ideas and opinions. • Welcome and Orientation • Land Use • Housing • Sustainability • Traffic and Mobility • General Issues The format for the event was an open house with several stations covering a variety of topics pertinent to the General Plan update. The event was part of the Police Department Open House and Safety Fair. Participants began by signing in at the Welcome and Orientation booth, where they received basic information and context for the event’s activities. Workshop attendees then were invited to participate at the interactive exhibits focused on land use, housing, traffic, and sustainability issues. Participants were also asked to record any other issues important to them regarding Arcadia today and Arcadia’s future. This respond presents the workshop results, including summaries of each station activities, illustrations of mapping exercises, and unedited summaries of participants’ written comments. Thanks to all of those who attended and shared their ideas. 2 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   Station Descriptions Station: Arcadia General Plan Festival Welcome Booth Description: At this station, City staff welcomed participants, gave a brief orientation about the General Plan workshop, and collected contact information so participants could be informed about subsequent General Plan events. General Plan 101 A General Plan 101 board displayed on an easel and a handout provided participants information about the General Plan and reasons for the General Plan update. 3 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   Hearts and Bugs for Arcadia For this activity, participants were handed two sets of stickers: heart sticker to identify (on an aerial photo) what they love in Arcadia and bug stickers to point out what “bugs” them in the city. The attached maps show the results. Heart clusters show up around the Arboretum, Arcadia County Park, the library, residential areas north of the 210 freeway, the parking lot of Santa Anita Park, the golf course, Westfield Mall, Methodist Hospital, and the community center. Comments expressed people’s appreciation for Arcadia’s clean, safe streets, good schools, and strong park and recreation programs. Bug stickers swarmed around the parking lot of Santa Anita Park (indicating the proposed Shops at Santa Anita project), Westfield Mall parking areas, the high school, the golf course, and the freeway. Comments related to the bug stickers revealed people’s concerns about trash on the streets, traffic and congestion, pace and scale of new development in the city, and pedestrian safety. 4 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   Comments made regarding hearts and bugs included: Hearts: • Walking around our friendly neighborhood with our dog; clean streets; beautiful greens • Quiet and safe • Chuck E. Cheese • Funnest city; lots of places to go • Public works and schools • I love Arcadia, there’s nothing negative • Methodist Hospital • Parks and recreation department programs are good • Safe community • Excellent schools • Parks/residential neighborhoods • Support photo-enforced stop lights Bugs: • People leaving trash on the street (disposable paper cups or napkins) generally in multifamily neighborhoods (Fairview between La Cadena and Holly Ave) • Don’t like crime • Traffic-2nd Ave/Camino Real/Huntington/Duarte Rd-more traffic spills onto residential streets (people speeding in 25mph); wish better bike routes-Santa Anita (bike lane) and Camino Real • More streets with sidewalks • Traffic from race track • Parking poorly configured at Mall/not enough parking • Traffic on Baldwin at Duarte Rd. • Overly developed without well thought out mitigation measures (Caruso) • Signs should be in English • Likes the park on Fairview, but would like it to be gated and secured • Big ugly house look like hotels • Would like a calendar listing of all city events including Chamber of Commerce • Smoking in residential areas • Taking too many short cuts to raise money-grow organically • Traffic on Ashmont and Mayflower • Can’t get a Wii • Urgently need a stop sign on the corner of Naomi and Pamela • Need to light-up the pedestrian path for safety at California and Santa Anita Arcadia Vision Participants were also given a card to identify issues important to residents. This card included the following questions: 5 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   ƒ What makes the City of Arcadia unique? ƒ What are the two most important issues the City of Arcadia is facing? ƒ When you think about Arcadia’s future, what are you most optimistic/pessimistic about? The responses on the cards will help the City identify issues that are of concern to the Arcadia community, as well as identify the characteristics of Arcadia that the community treasures. This information will be used in the formation of General Plan policies and programs, as well as in creating a vision statement for the General Plan update. When asked what makes Arcadia unique, the most common responses were: • Clean, safe, and attractive residential neighborhoods and streets • Good school system • Good library, recreation programs, and public services • Open spaces, parks, and the San Gabriel Mountains, including Santa Anita Park and the Arboretum • Small town feeling The following issues were identified by participants as the most important issues facing the City of Arcadia: • Development at Santa Anita Park (the Caruso project) • Scale and pace of development 6 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   • Traffic congestion and pedestrian safety • Aesthetics • Crime and vandalism • Poorly planned growth and development When thinking about Arcadia’s future, people are most optimistic about the following: • The strong school system and plans for new schools • The Community Center and programs offered there • New housing projects • The Gold Line coming to Arcadia • Safe, walkable neighborhoods • New city hall People are most pessimistic about the following things when thinking about the future: • The Caruso project—more mall retail, congestion, and expense • Traffic • Casino-type gambling • Water supply and consumption • We all need to be concerned about water in our future • Unplanned growth in the southern part of Arcadia • Smog Station Name: Arcadia 2020 Description: The Land Use station was structured to have participants respond to three separate visions for land use and aesthetic changes along the Live Oak Avenue corridor and to identify desirable future uses within an area called Downtown and Beyond, with a focus on lands surrounding the potential future Gold Line station. Live Oak 2020 The Live Oak Avenue corridor has been mentioned as an area of potential change to be addressed in the General Plan. To understand residents’ views on this area, a display showed potential future scenarios for Live Oak. The scenarios depicted three types of corridor development, ranging from current low-scale development conditions but with an enhanced streetscape, a corridor consisting of two- and three-story commercial buildings, and a mixed-use pattern of development along the corridor. A card was made available for residents to vote on which scenario they preferred and to provide accompanying comments. Participants provided the following input on the three scenarios: 7 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   Comments on Scenario 1 (20 votes): • Looks like a friendly, homely neighborhood where I’d like to stop and shop • I like the trees and park-like site; small stores are good too • Don’t think housing is a good idea • Trees add to the atmosphere • Parallel parking (traffic calming)/shopping/restaurants would be nice • Avoid any more congestion • Other options would bring in too many people • Housing would be detrimental, especially if low income • No angle parking; heavily travelled street Comments on Scenario 2 (28 votes): • Parallel parking (traffic calming)/shopping/restaurants would be nice • It has trees and lots of stores with medium-size buildings • More green areas will be good • Mixed use may be best • No angle parking; heavily travelled street 8 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   • Classier looking • Buildings should not go any taller than 2 floors Comments on Scenario 3 (3 votes): • Probably best place for housing in Arcadia Downtown and Beyond – Year 2025 Downtown and Beyond was defined to be those neighborhoods and districts contained within an area extending north from Huntington Drive to the I-210 freeway and south to Bonita Avenue, west to Santa Anita Avenue, and east to the city limit. Also included was Santa Anita Race Track. People were asked to indicate, using a series of iconic stickers, what types of uses they envision for Downtown and Beyond over the next 20 years. Choices provided included housing (low-density and multi-family housing), offices, medical offices, shopping, entertainment, and restaurants. Participants also had the option of specifying other unique uses that would be desirable. (See the exhibit on following page.) When asked to identify uses desired for Downtown, several people asked whether Arcadia really has a downtown. Around the proposed Gold Line Metro Station, people placed stickers indicating desirable housing locations to the north and northwest of the station, along 1st Avenue and Newman Avenue. Popular selections were shopping and entertainment uses (roughly the same number of stickers). Comments included: • Consider school impacts associated with housing • Shopping and restaurants that complement the Gold Line • No more malls or shopping • Some folks bought recently and may be upside-down on commercial mortgages north of station • 2nd and Duarte: retail uses, not housing 9 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   With regard to Santa Anita Race Track, participant were asked to imagine what might happen if horse racing declines as a business to the degree that Santa Anita may no longer be an economically viable use. The most common responses suggested entertainment uses, including a concert hall or sports arena. The second most popular choice was single-family and multi-family housing. One sticker indicated a preference for mid- to high-rise office buildings. Comments included: • No more malls/shopping • No low-income housing, only single-family, one-story housing • Keep the race track • Make a green space or lake or Central Park Station Name: Housing Arcadians Description: This station presented facts about how much housing costs in Arcadia and preferences for the type and location of future housing development. 10 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   A citywide aerial photo was provided to allow participants to indicate where they live (with a blue sticker) and areas they feel new housing would be appropriate (with a yellow sticker). As the exhibit shows, residents from across Arcadia participated, with slightly more residents living south of Huntington Drive represented. When asked to indicate an appropriate location for new housing (with the General Plan team asking for responses specifically with regard to multi- family housing), many residents indicated two general locations. In the southern part of the City, a cluster of stickers emerged along Las Tunas Drive and Live Oak Avenue. In the core of the City, clusters of stickers were located around Santa Anita Park and around the intersection of Santa Anita Avenue and Huntington Drive. While many participants expressed weariness about more homes in Arcadia, many understood the need for housing for valued professionals such as police officers, teachers, and nurses. Many participants indicated that they never considered additional housing along the Live Oak corridor, and that seeing the exercise made them think that it could be achieved if the design was appropriate and impacts such as traffic were addressed. Housing Affordability An informational exhibit was presented comparing housing prices in Arcadia and housing affordable to certain workers based on salaries, including policemen, fireman, teachers, and nurses. Participants commented that they are not surprised at the housing costs since they are well aware of the costs required to live in Arcadia. They felt that the federal guidelines for what is considered affordable (30% of household income) is unrealistic not only in Arcadia but for Southern California as a whole. 11 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   Housing Type: Visual Preference Survey A three-sided display exhibited pictures of 18 different multi- family housing types. The housing types featured different densities and diverse design styles. Housing types shown ranged from traditional two-story apartments and townhomes, to more intense mixed use developments. The survey sought to gauge participants’ tolerances for different types of multi- family housing. Each participant was given two green voting tickets (“I like this one”) and two red tickets (“I don’t want this in Arcadia”) to indicate their preferences among the 18 options provided. A member of the General Plan team was available to answer questions and engage participants. During the exercise, many people indicated to the facilitator that when they looked at the pictures, they were also looking for amenities such as green space and patios. As an example, housing example #X 12 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   garnered XX% of all votes as many participants commented on the courtyard/green space. Participants also showed a preference for more traditional design styles, shying away from modern styles such as that shown in housing example XX. Mixed-use developments, such as housing examples #XX and #XX, received mixed reviews. Most participants either adamantly disliked the styles shown or indicated strong preference for it. While several residents liked the proximity of homes to shops and services, the modern feel of mixed use and the idea of a “new type of housing” in Arcadia kept many from voting for this type of development. Many residents disliked mixed use overall and indicated that mixed-use styles would not be successful in Arcadia, as people value their single family homes. INSERT Display with photos and scores The most popular housing styles and approaches were options 7 and 14, and the least popular were options 2 and 17. Housing Visual Preference Survey Results For each photo Option # Total Votes # of Yes votes % of All Yes Votes # of No votes % of All No Votes % yes % no HE #1 17 13 8% 4 2% 76% 24% HE #2 24 1 1% 23 13% 4% 96% HE #3 21 9 5% 12 7% 43% 57% HE #4 10 7 4% 3 2% 70% 30% HE #5 21 17 10% 4 2% 81% 19% HE #6 15 2 1% 13 7% 13% 87% HE #7 26 26 15% 0 0% 100% 0% HE #8 32 16 9% 16 9% 50% 50% HE #9 13 5 3% 8 4% 38% 62% HE #10 16 12 7% 4 2% 75% 25% HE #11 11 8 5% 3 2% 73% 27% HE #12 12 0 0% 12 7% 0% 100% HE #13 8 4 2% 4 2% 50% 50% HE #14 31 28 16% 3 2% 90% 10% HE #15 12 5 3% 7 4% 42% 58% HE #16 15 5 3% 10 6% 33% 67% HE #17 50 4 2% 46 26% 8% 92% HE #18 11 7 4% 4 2% 64% 36% TOTALS 353 173 180 49% 51% 13 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   Station Name: Keeping Arcadia Green: Sustainability Description: The sustainability station presented information to participants and measured their preference for environmental sustainability programs. As the City faces specific state mandates and a potential water shortage, this station was designed to assist the City determine how willing residents will be to participate in specific programs. Eco- Meters Two “eco-meters” were presented as displays; they related to reducing the City’s carbon footprint and the need for water conservation. Reducing greenhouse gases is important, as those gases cause global warming. Arcadia, like every other jurisdiction in California, is going to be required to take steps to reduce its carbon footprint. Because the City is or will be facing serious water shortages, the activity also measured the willingness or interest of residents to incorporate water-saving strategies into their everyday activities. Each topic showed a spectrum of activities that participants could do to further the specific topic. The activities included had varying levels of effectiveness. Participants were asked to indicate with a sticker which approaches they preferred (for example, how far they are willing to go to conserve water). Water Conservation Overall, the community members leaned more towards the “yes” side of the spectrum in regards to water supply issues. The most strongly supported issues were: • Running only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher • Fix leaky faucets and plumbing joints • Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks • Turn the water off when shaving, brushing teeth, and shampooing hair Community members had more evenly mixed responses to the following issues: • Support mandated percentage decreases in water • Use a bucket for vehicle washing 14 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   • Support alternative water structure rates • Replace your lawn with drought-tolerant California native plants During the Fair, respondents seemed to have a good understanding of this topic without too much explanation. Everyone seemed familiar with the concept of saving water and why it might be something that they would need to do. Many people said that they already have implemented many of the water-saving steps on the list. With regard to both this and the carbon footprint board, not everyone answered all questions. Some people only responded if they had an affirmative response, which affects the overall response results. Carbon Footprint Overall, community members’ responses were evenly mixed for almost all questions related to Arcadia’s carbon footprint. The most strongly supported ideas were: • Do your shopping with reusable bags rather than new paper or plastic ones? • Change incandescent light bulbs in your house to energy-efficient bulbs? The responses made it clear that the public has much less understanding of what a “carbon footprint” is or why someone would want to reduce it, as compared with the issue of saving water. Many participants chose “Maybe” rather than commit to a “Yes” or a “No,” which might indicate that they did not really understand the suggested measure. Perhaps, too, they felt like they would need more information about the cost of implementing a particular measure before they would say they would be willing to commit to it. 15 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   Station Name: Getting Around Arcadia: Traffic and Mobility Description: This station gave participants the opportunity to identify circulation and mobility issue areas. Resident input on traffic and mobility issues helps focus the discussion of issue areas in the General Plan. How We Get Around First, participants were asked to identify frequently traveled routes to work/school/play in Arcadia on an aerial map. Different colors indicated different types of routes: • Work: blue • School: yellow • Shopping Areas: red • Recreation Facilities: green • Entertainment Locations: purple Work Routes: • 210 Freeway • Sunset Boulevard between Campus Drive and Live Oak Avenue • Golden West Avenue between Fairview Avenue and Live Oak Avenue • Michillinda Avenue between Campus Drive and Mountain View Avenue • Holly Avenue between Las Tunas Drive and Fairview Avenue • Santa Anita Avenue between Winnie Way and Andrea Lane • 2nd Avenue between Santa Clara Street and Live Oak Avenue • Live Oak Avenue between Golden West Avenue and 2nd Avenue • Arthur Avenue between Holly Avenue and into Irwindale • Campus Drive between Sunset Boulevard and La Cadena Avenue 16 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   School Routes: • Highland Oaks Drive • Santa Anita Avenue • 2nd Avenue • Longden Avenue between 2nd Avenue and Santa Anita Avenue • Huntington Drive around Methodist Hospital and City Hall Shopping Area Routes: • 210 Freeway • Myrtle Avenue • Duarte Road • Winnie Way • Campus Drive • Huntington Drive • Michillinda Avenue. • Orange Grove Avenue. • Sierra Madre Boulevard. Recreation Facilities Routes: • Loganrita Avenue between 210 Freeway and Live Oak • Longden Avenue between Baldwin and Mayflower • Baldwin Avenue • Magna Vista Avenue • Duarte Road • 2nd Ave between Christina Street and California Street Entertainment Location Routes: • Huntington Drive • Santa Anita Avenue Arcadia Traffic Hotspots Next, residents were asked to identify areas where traffic congestion and accidents are an issue, and to also identify areas where pedestrians face challenges. Different color stickers represented different traffic issues: 17 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   • Traffic congestion: blue • Traffic accidents: red • Dangerous streets/intersections: yellow • Crosswalk issues: green Participants noted congestion on Baldwin Avenue adjacent to Westfield Mall and down to Norman Avenue. Congestion was also marked by stickers at the intersection of Huntington Drive and Holly Avenue. Additional comments were made about congestion at the four-way stop at Colorado Boulevard and Santa Cruz Road and traffic on Ashmont, Santa Anita Avenue, and by the high school, where designated drop-off areas are needed.  Dangerous streets and intersection noted on the boards included Duarte Road between Golden West Avenue and La Cadena Avenue, Campus Drive by Arcadia High School, and Huntington Drive on either side of the police station and Methodist Hospital. Additional comments were made about stop signs needed at the corner of Naomi Avenue/Pamela Road and El Dorado Street/2nd Avenue, a left-turn signal for Huntington Drive turning onto 1st Avenue, a light signal facing the wrong way on Denise, and northbound U-turns on Baldwin Avenue at Camino Real Avenue. Participants did not use many stickers to denote locations of traffic accidents. Traffic accident stickers were primarily placed in areas also noted for congestion, like Huntington Drive and Baldwin Avenue. Participants marked crosswalk issues on the boards on Huntington Drive by the police station and Methodist Hospital, by Holly Avenue Elementary School, and on Huntington Drive by Westfield Mall. A crosswalk was also suggested in the comments for Holly Avenue at Leroy Avenue. Barriers to Walking or Biking An additional activity helped the City understand the level of interest in walking and biking in Arcadia. Participants identified barriers to walking or biking by identifying on an aerial map the routes they use to walk or bike. To 18 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   get more details on barriers to walking and biking, a survey card was made available to participants to answer questions on barriers related to these activities. Walking routes denoted on the board included Huntington Drive to La Cadena Avenue to Arcadia to Duarte Road and back on Huntington Drive towards Westfield Mall. The loop around the golf course and County Park was also noted, both as a popular route and as a problem area. Biking routes highlighted by participants included El Monte Avenue, Longden Avenue, and around the golf course and County Park. Participants marked Santa Anita Avenue and Catalpa Road as two problem areas for pedestrians and cyclists. Additional comments included sidewalks needed on Camino Real Avenue and Golden West Avenue, and the need to allow bicycles on the Gold Line trains. Impressions of the transportation work station were a good turnout overall, with lots of people eager to discuss traffic and pedestrian issues in Arcadia. Traffic congestion along the major corridors is a major concern. Participants were also worried about traffic in school areas where staff or volunteers are not directing traffic before and after school when children are present. People are split when it comes to opinions of walking and biking in Arcadia: some feel safe walking in their neighborhoods while others are concerned by a lack of sidewalks. Everyone agreed that striped bike lanes are needed for additional safety on the roads. Station Name: Neighborhood of Ideas Description: This station allowed participants to share thoughts, concerns, or questions on topics that may not have been related to the other activities at the workshop. The Neighborhood of ideas provided a location for participants to add additional comments whether directly related to the General Plan or any other issue or opportunity that motivated them to attend the event. Neighborhood of Ideas Comments from participants included the following: • Preserve the high quality of housing in the areas where we have home owner associations 19 City of Arcadia General Plan: Community Festival   • No over building of residences and multi-family units • Affordable housing for young single adults and couples earning around $120,000 • Safety: the amount of crime seems to have increased • Safety: crime stats for assaults lead in Arcadia over neighboring cities • Safety around pavilion market plaza (Duarte/Baldwin) • Safety: attract/retain talent in police and fire department • Crosswalks near recreation center • Pedestrian crosswalk need lighting system • Install running paths at your bigger city/county parks • More and better organized dial-a-ride operation • We need more mailboxes and more parking places • Bandstand/shell at City Hall • El Dorado and Arcadia downtown: not enough street lights, too dark • Need more outreach on emergency preparedness and CERT training • Tighter regulation on what Westfield does to their property • Regulate growth for business growth, don’t “sell” Arcadia short, make sure we get “net” benefit • Green city • We need to see more recycling in apartment buildings • Need more hazardous material pick up and locations • Less traffic on Foothill Boulevard • Reduce traffic and population • Traffic problem on Baldwin and Santa Anita • Safety and traffic control are important • More kid activities • Safe crosswalks for children at schools • Better traffic control at high school • “Special education” for disabled kids • Cheaper lunch prices at school • Quality schools and open spaces and activities for residents • Love schools/nice neighborhoods/small town feel Festival Giveaway As appreciation for their participation, participants received a General Plan mug and City of Arcadia re-usable shopping bag.