Richardson City Council Work Session August 21st, 2023
OPENING & TAX RATE HEARING
All councilmembers are present as well as City Manager Don Magner and City Secretary Aimee Nemer.
No public speakers or comments are submitted for the visitors’ section.
The first item is a public hearing on the proposed tax rate of .56095%. Several public comments have been submitted for this public hearing. The first comment is regarding the tax rate and solar panel tax rebate opportunities. The second comment opposes a tax rate increase. City Manager Don Magner notes that the tax rate is not increasing. Feedback is also received from the Collin and Dallas Truth in Taxation websites hosted on countytaxrates.com . Of the eight submissions from this site, three support the tax rate and five oppose the tax rate.
Mayor Dubey asks for Council’s comments. They have none. City Manager Don Magner reviews the timeline for the budget development process. Next Monday, Aug. 28th, a public hearing on the budget will be held.
City Manager Don Magner then discusses the Drainage Fund, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Funds, and the Economic Development Fund. No increases were made to drainage rates this year, but either a reduction in services or a rate increase is likely for next year. TIF Funds are providing $33M in incentives and programs for TIFs this year. The Economic Development Fund is receiving $2M from the General Fund this year. The public hearing is closed with no additional comments. A vote to ratify the tax rate will also take place on Aug. 28th.
SIGN CONTROL BOARD CASE
The next item is consideration of Sign Control Board Case #23-01. For these cases, Council may either accept the Sign Control Board’s decision by approving the minutes of the meeting, or they may call the case for a hearing before Council. The Sign Control Board minutes regarding this case reflect unanimous approval. Building Official Brent Tignor presents the case. The applicant in this case is requesting a sign that is 30 ft. tall and 147 sq. ft. in area, which is larger and taller than the current ordinance allows. This is for the Arapaho Central Park shopping/business center at 1002 N. Central Expy. Councilman Dorian asks questions about visibility and colors of the sign. Brent answers that the new sign will not create visibility issues and the color is complimentary to the building color. Councilman Barrios asks how typical it is for sign requests to ask for double the size allowed by ordinance. Brent answers that this new sign is smaller than the biggest signs along the same corridor. Council unanimously approves the Sign Control Board’s decision.
NEW CITY HALL/MUNICIPAL CAMPUS DRAFT CONCEPTS
The final item is a presentation on the draft concepts for the new city hall. Capital Projects Director Jim Dulac presents. 500 responses were submitted to an online community survey. Roughly 200 people participated in the two open houses. Most of the responses indicate that stakeholders want the layout of the city hall campus to minimize the impact on existing trees. The top three amenities that respondents would like to see are shaded areas, landscaped areas, and outdoor stage/event space respectively. The top three preferred visions for the campus are dense trees with shade, native landscaping, and an open lawn for community events respectively.
Anne Stimmel, a consultant with Architexas, continues the presentation. She presents a draft plan for a 3-story building. The first floor would contain Council chambers, meeting rooms, community services, and numerous other departments that are mostly customer facing. Two options for a municipal campus layout are presented. Option A includes a main entrance/exit from Arapaho that cuts through a centrally focused walkable fountain plaza. City hall would be moved to the NE corner of the campus, across the plaza from the library. Option A also creates a green lawn space where city hall currently sits in the center of the campus and provides parallel parking spaces surrounding the lawn for potential food truck use. This option also connects a walking trail all the way around the campus. Option A also creates areas for future development at the SW corner of the campus and on the other side of Arapaho. The consultant states that the cons for Option A include impacts to existing trees, though this design does include a substantial amount of trees/landscaping/green space. The other con noted is that the green space creates more distance between some of the parking and building entrances. (JN: With ADA compliant spaces still available, I think it’s ok not to prioritize parking lots in this new design.)
Both options preserve the pecan tree in the plaza and include native landscaping. Due mostly to parking ordinance, both options also provide well over 600 parking spaces.
Option B would keep the city hall building in its current location south of the plaza. This option creates areas for future development at the SW and NE corners and across Arapaho. This option would not have a main entrance from Arapaho. Entrances would be from Belle Grove and Civic Center Drive with an optional smaller entrance from Eastbound Arapaho. A possible architectural feature in Option B is creating an opening that provides a view of the plaza from the parking lot via a cutout through city hall. Option B does preserve more of the existing trees and keeps a similar layout, but the design is described as less efficient overall. (JN: If we assume the areas designated for future development are developed, I think Option A’s green space feels more connected, but both options have comparable green space.)
Option A would remove roughly 102 trees, 8 of which are currently in decline, while adding back 188. Option B would remove 70 trees, 8 of which are currently in decline, while adding back 167. So, Option A would net us 86 trees while Option B nets 97 trees. These trees would be drought-resistant Texas native trees. Another round of community feedback will take place on Oct. 10th at the temp city hall and Oct. 28th at the Heights Rec Center.
COUNCIL FEEDBACK & CLOSING
Councilman Corcoran gives feedback on one of the guiding principles the consultant presented earlier. This was the guideline of “creating investment and development opportunities along Arapaho”. He does not think the focus should be on new development, but rather on the people who will be using this space. He states that these designs seem to over prioritize future development opportunities instead of opportunities for additional trees. He prefers Option B due to slightly less parking. The consultant states that zoning requires parking minimums to be roughly 600 for this plan, which is the main reason for so many parking spots. He also notes that it’s strange to see Option A have a long list of pros and just a few listed cons while Option B lists a long list of cons with a few listed pros.
Councilman Dorian compliments the prioritization of native landscaping. He supports a 3-story building. He also likes both options and has a hard time deciding which one he likes better. City Manager Don Magner explains that the biggest factor between the options currently is whether to move city hall or not. All other details can be adjusted and considered but that is the main determination. Option A moves city hall. Option B does not. Councilman Dorian decides he likes Option A but states that preserving trees is a priority.
Councilman Barrios states that the field in the NE corner of the campus has sentimental value for many residents. Many people take pictures and enjoy the wildflowers in that area. He expresses concern about Option A regarding the main entrance cutting through the fountain plaza. Especially if we establish left and right turns in/out of this entrance, he is concerned vehicles will be accelerating through the plaza faster than is safe. He also asks whether moving the building vs not moving it saves any money. Staff replies that the only potential savings would be keeping more of the current parking footprint, but that savings aren’t very significant. Councilman Barrios will state his preference at the end of Council feedback. He also brings up the Laura Bush Native Texas Park at the SMU campus and asks if we might consider something similar. The consultant answers that they are planning to incorporate that once they reach that level of detail in the project.
Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul asks if the trees planned for removal are all trees or if that includes any other type of vegetation. The consultant answers that the ones labeled as ornamental trees are crepe myrtle style trees. Option A removes 27 ornamental trees and 75 hardwood trees. Option B also removes 27 ornamental trees but removes 43 hardwood trees. He thinks Option A offers more flexibility than Option B especially if we ever consider building underground or structured parking in the future. He also thinks Option A preserves more of the green space since there aren’t as many parcels designated for future development. He also likes the increased presence of the city hall building in Option A. Option A is his preference.
Councilman Hutchenrider prefers Option A because he feels it activates more of the entire campus. He also likes the increased presence for city hall in Option A. He states that the road cutting through the fountain plaza is a good thing for showing visitors the fountain plaza as soon as they enter. He also states that we can implement strategies to improve safety as necessary. He strongly prefers Option A and sees no benefit to Option B. He also likes the 3-story building.
Councilman Corcoran responds that Option A does prioritize future development less than Option B, which he did express was a desire earlier. He may be able to support Option A, but he also shares Councilman Barrios’ concern about the safety of the entrance cutting through the plaza. He also notes, however, that having a driveway could increase accessibility for disabled people who need it. He wants safety to be prioritized. Don Magner reminds Council that any of the features of either options can be adjusted, including having a road through the plaza at all. Councilman Corcoran also asks if they could grant a variance to reduce some of the parking. The consultant replies that the variance process can be pursued.
Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul asks what the projected height of the city hall building will be. The consultant answers that a 3-story building would be roughly 60 ft. tall.
Councilwoman Justice likes the way Option A activates the space but shares the concern about the road dissecting the plaza. She is strongly against the road but prefers Option A without the road.
Mayor Dubey likes keeping the current parking footprint to save costs, which Option B would do. He also likes the entrance from Arapaho. He states that we have many green space plans across the city and asks how many destinations we truly need for that. He says we don’t need to overemphasize trees or green space. He supports prioritizing opportunities for future economic development. He prefers Option A. (JN: Raises eyebrows…huh? All the feedback from the community has indicated a desire to prioritize green space. I’m not sure where this desire for less green space and more economic development is coming from, but it’s certainly not based on community input that has been received. This is very disappointing to hear from the mayor. It’s also confusing. Option B keeps more of the current parking footprint from my understanding, and it provides more space dedicated to future development, but Mayor Dubey still states his preference for Option A? Strange…)
Councilman Dorian agrees with removing the drive dissecting the plaza from Option A.
Councilman Barrios reveals that he prefers Option A but with comprehensive safety mitigation efforts in place for the drive dissecting the plaza. He still prefers the parking footprint on Option B. He does not like prioritizing future economic development on the campus, referring to it as “nails on a chalkboard”. He prefers to have this Library/City Hall campus remain dedicated for community use. (JN: Preach! This is what the community is asking for…)
Councilwoman Justice asks where Santa’s Village will be held. Don Magner answers that for the next four years it will be at Huffhines, at which point they will need community input as to where to hold Santa’s Village going forward.
Don Magner summarizes the feedback, stating that it seems Option A is preferred with an alternative to the currently proposed drive dissecting the plaza. They will plan to present options with and without a motorist element in the plaza.
Councilman Corcoran clarifies that he likes the design of Option A but really wants to prioritize reducing the parking.
That concludes Council’s feedback on the draft city hall campus plans.
Council discusses recent Texas Municipal League sessions, the DART 40th Anniversary Celebration, the Terrace Pool Dog Splash Day, and compliments RFD’s response to a house fire and to a resident in need having vehicle trouble, and the meeting adjourns.