SunnyvaleRTC

June 21, 2005

SUBJECT: Construction Mitigation Plan Submitted by Fourth Quarter Properties for the Demolition Phase of the Town Center Mall Redevelopment

REPORT IN BRIEF

The approved Disposition and Development and Owner Participation Agreement (DDOPA) between the Redevelopment Agency and Fourth Quarter Properties XLVIII, LLC, (the Developer), requires the Developer to submit for Agency approval a Construction Mitigation Plan. The purpose of the Plan is to minimize disruption to surrounding businesses and residents during construction. The Developer has submitted a Mitigation Plan for the demolition phase, and will submit a separate Mitigation Plan for the construction phase.

Staff has reviewed the Plan submitted by the Developer against the requirements of the DDOPA and similar conditions of approval in the Special Development Permit (SDP) approved by the City Council. Staff has also considered the comments and requests of an ad hoc committee of Downtown business and residential interests which had formed to review the Construction Mitigation Plan. Overall, staff finds that the proposed Plan meets the intent of the DDOPA and SDP, and addresses many of the concerns of the ad hoc committee. Staff recommends approval of the Plan with modifications.

BACKGROUND

On December 21, 2004, the Redevelopment Agency approved a Disposition and Development and Owner Participation Agreement (DDOPA) with Fourth Quarter Properties XLVIII, LLC, (the Developer) regarding the redevelopment of the Town Center Mall. Section 5.13 of the DDOPA (See Attachment B) requires the Developer to submit for Agency approval a Construction Mitigation Plan designed to minimize disruption of surrounding businesses and residents during construction. The DDOPA requires that construction begin no later than December 1, 2005, and that the retail portion of the project be open to the public by September 30, 2007.

Special Development Permit 2004-0576 (SDP) approved by the City Council on August 17, 2004, also requires the Developer to prepare a Construction Mitigation Plan (Condition G18, supplemented by Conditions EM1, EM8 and EM9) for approval of the Director of Community Development (See Attachment C). Many of the requirements of the SDP with regard to this Plan are similar to those of the DDOPA.

On June 1, 2005, the Developer submitted a Construction Mitigation Plan for the demolition phase of the Mall redevelopment (Attachment A). Approval of this Plan by the Redevelopment Agency is a prerequisite to the issuance of a demolition permit. The Developer will submit a separate Plan for the construction phase, which Plan must be approved by the Agency prior to issuance of building permits.

The Mitigation Plan submitted by the Developer was prepared in consultation with representatives of the Downtown business and residential communities. Sunnyvale Downtown Associates held a public meeting on this matter on May 26, 2005. At that meeting, an ad hoc committee of business and residential representatives was formed to review and comment on the Mitigation Plan to be submitted by the Developer. The ad hoc committee submitted its comments and requests to the City on June 2, 2005 (Attachment D).

EXISTING POLICY

The above described actions of the City Council on the SDP on August 17, 2004, and of the Redevelopment Agency on the DDOPA on December 21, 2004, set forth the requirements for and the minimum contents of a Construction Mitigation Plan to minimize disruption to surrounding businesses and residents during demolition and construction (See Attachments B and C).

DISCUSSION

Staff has reviewed the Construction Mitigation Plan for the demolition phase submitted by Fourth Quarter Properties XLVIII, LLC, in comparison to the legal requirements of the DDOPA and DDA, and the requirements of the ad hoc committee of Downtown business and residential representatives. The following three tables summarize the responsiveness of the proposed Plan to each of these three requirements/requests.

The following table compares the requirements of the DDOPA to the corresponding sections of the Construction Mitigation Plan submitted by the Developer:

	DDOPA Requirement	Proposed Mitigation Plan Response
1.	Plan of travel routes for construction trucks	Trucks will be directed to use Mathilda as the path of travel from the freeways to the site. The contractor will include instructions in subcontractor contracts and require that they mandate this to all vendors they contract with. Any early hour trucks will be accommodated by the contractor on site, not within the public right-of-way. During peak truck arrival and departure times during demolition, the general contractor will be on site directing truck traffic in and out of the site, insuring that the appropriate truck path of travel is maintained during demolition. Access to the site will be to and from Mathilda on to McKinley during demolition. Exiting on Iowa near Mathilda will also be permitted to allow trucks coming in to exit without circling within the demolition zone.
2.	Location for sufficient construction worker parking	Construction workers parking area is just north of McKinley at Mathilda and is separate from public parking. The jobsite office will be located in the WHL building, just north of the construction parking allowing the contractor to monitor noise and dust issues.
3.	Enforcement mechanism to insure construction workers and suppliers do not park in spaces intended for customers	Construction worker parking will be restricted to the lot along Mathilda, just north of McKinley, not in the Temporary Parking lot, and be monitored by the general contractor to insure compliance. Subcontractors and vendors will be subject to the same terms and conditions as listed in this Mitigation Plan. Contracts will include language to deal with non-compliance.
4.	Measures to mitigate impacts on businesses due to temporary loss of parking	Macy’s, Target and public parking during the demolition of Phase 1 will remain unchanged as the Macy’s east parking lot and existing garage at Sunnyvale/Iowa will not be impacted. A new temporary surface parking lot will be constructed west of Macy’s, labeled Temporary Macy’s/Public Parking on the Phase 2 demolition plan, during the Phase 1 demolition timeframe. This new temporary surface lot will have easy access to and from Washington Street and will have more parking stalls than what is now provided on the lot east of Macy’s. Once the new temporary west lot is open, Phase 2 demolition will begin.
5.	Signs indicating that Macy’s, Target and downtown stores are open, and signs to public parking facilities DDOPA Requirement	A graphic designer will create a theme for Downtown, Macy’s and Target and which will be marketing oriented and different from standard construction signage. The signage will be of appropriate size and in a location where it will be effective. Input from the Proposed Mitigation Plan Response
		Downtown merchants, Macy’s and Target will be solicited. Signage or banners will communicate the following: o Macy’s & Target “Open for Business” o Downtown “Open for Business” o Directional signage for parking on site & other Downtown public parking facilities (including parking under Plaza del Sol) o Construction signage to direct construction workers and construction delivery trucks to their parking and designated paths of travel.
6.	Meetings with businesses and property owners as frequently as necessary (at least once per month)	Regular meetings with City staff and Downtown merchants/neighbors will be held at least monthly during demolition on site during normal construction business hours.
7.	Website with timely information on construction schedules	Website is to be set up during the demolition process and then maintained and updated monthly, at minimum, during construction. o Project Schedule will be maintained on the website and updated when there are material changes to the schedule. o Notices of any changes in the plan o Notices of upcoming events and upcoming phases of construction that will impact neighbors will be posted in advance as much as possible, including, for example, any neighborhood meetings, the start of demolition, utility interruptions and street or sidewalk closures, if any. o Leasing activity
8.	At least 2 weeks advance notice of any utility disruption	No utility shut downs are anticipated during demolition. If needed, advance notice will be provided. The timing of the advance notice is dependent upon PG&E’s advance notice to the Project Coordinator.
9.	Seven-day, 24-hr. access to construction coordinator	During demolition, the project superintendent will be the Project Coordinator and be available on site during normal construction hours or via phone and email 24-hours. During construction, a phone and email hotline will be in place.
10.	Regular developer/coordinator meetings with Agency representative	Regular meetings with City staff and Downtown merchants/neighbors will be held at least monthly during demolition on site during normal construction business hours.

Most of the requirements of the SDP for a Construction Mitigation Plan are similar to those in the DDOPA. Those which are unique to the SDP are compared in the following table with the corresponding response of the proposed Construction Mitigation Plan:

	SDP Requirement	Proposed Mitigation Plan Response
11.	Minimum number of parking spaces available at any one time	Macy’s, Target and public parking during the demolition of Phase 1 will remain unchanged as the Macy’s east parking lot and existing garage at Sunnyvale/Iowa will not be impacted. A new temporary surface parking lot will be constructed west of Macy’s, labeled Temporary Macy’s/Public Parking on the Phase 2 demolition plan, during the Phase 1 demolition timeframe. This new temporary surface lot will have easy access to and from Washington Street and will have more parking stalls than what is now provided on the lot east of Macy’s. Once the new temporary west lot is open, Phase 2 demolition will begin.
12.	Public safety and protection measures	During peak truck arrival and departure times during demolition, the general contractor will be on site directing truck traffic in and out of the site, insuring that the appropriate truck path of travel is maintained during demolition. There will be no pedestrian access through any demolition area due to safety reasons. Demolition fencing will surround the work area for safety reasons.
13.	Eight-foot plywood construction banners to shield noise	Temporary chain link will be installed on the portions that are adjacent to the new temporary parking lot because this fencing will be removed at the completion of the Phase 1 demolition. The remaining demolition fencing will be 8’ plywood.
14.	Equip internal combustion engine equipment with mufflers. Locate noise-generating equipment as far as possible from sensitive receptors	Noise will be contained during the demolition process by recycling of the concrete off site and by utilizing construction equipment in good repair with mufflers.
15.	Confine noise inducing activities to 7:00a.m. – 8:00p.m. weekdays, 8:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. Saturday	Construction work hours are 7:00AM to 6:00 PM Monday – Friday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM Saturday. No activity on Sunday or on national holidays observed by the City of Sunnyvale. Any deliveries or demolition activities to be completed outside of these hours is subject to City approval and noticing of surrounding neighbors.
16.	Designate “noise disturbance coordinator” to respond to complaints SDP Requirement	During demolition, the project superintendent will be the Project Coordinator and be available on site during normal construction hours or via phone and email 24-hours. Proposed Mitigation Plan Response
		During construction, a phone and email hotline will be in place.
17.	Sweep streets daily (preferably with water sweepers) if visible material is carried onto streets	The limitation of construction access to the site from McKinley off of Mathilda should limit the dust/dirt tracked onto public streets. Trucks carrying debris will be covered. A truck cleaning area will be maintained by the contractor within the staging area adjacent to McKinley and be utilized prior to trucks entering onto Mathilda. Streets will be monitored for construction debris and cleaned as needed.
18.	Use continuous watering to control dust during demolition	Dust will be controlled by diligent watering of the demolition area. Concrete crushing and recycling will be completed offsite.
19.	Cover all trucks handling debris from site	Trucks carrying debris will be covered.
20.	Protect the six heritage resource redwood trees during demolition	No response

The ad hoc committee of business and residential representatives submitted their list of concerns and requirements to the Agency (See Attachment D) on June 2, 2004, after the Developer had submitted the proposed Construction Mitigation Plan. Unlike the above, these are not legal requirements but rather requests of potentially affected businesses and residents. The table below lists their requests and the response of the Construction Mitigation Plan.

	Ad hoc Committee Request	Proposed Mitigation Plan Response
21.	Establish $50,000/mo. marketing budget for Downtown	Sunnyvale Sun and Mercury News ads will be used to inform public of the timing of demolition of each Phase, that Downtown, Macy’s and Target are still open for business, to provide information on parking, and to give the web address for more information. (At a minimum, the ads will be equivalent to two full-page ads in the Sunnyvale Sun and one half-page ad in the Mercury News Thursday supplement.)
22.	Provide large well positioned signage to navigate customers to Downtown Ad hoc Committee Request	A graphic designer will create a theme for Downtown, Macy’s and Target and which will be marketing oriented and different from standard construction signage. The signage will be of appropriate size and in a location where it will be effective. Input from the Downtown merchants, Macy’s and Target will be solicited. Signage or banners will communicate the following: o Macy’s & Target “Open for Business” o Downtown “Open for Business” o Directional signage for parking on site & other Downtown public parking Proposed Mitigation Plan Response
		facilities (including parking under Plaza del Sol) o Construction signage to direct construction workers and construction delivery trucks to their parking and designated paths of travel.
23.	Clean streets daily and storefronts weekly	Dust will be controlled by diligent watering of the demolition area. Concrete crushing and recycling will be completed offsite. The limitation of construction access to the site from McKinley off of Mathilda should limit the dust/dirt tracked onto public streets. Trucks carrying debris will be covered. A truck cleaning area will be maintained by the contractor within the staging area adjacent to McKinley and be utilized prior to trucks entering onto Mathilda. Streets will be monitored for construction debris and cleaned as needed.
24.	Provide 24-hour security	Security for Macy’s, Target and the Mall parking lot/garage will continue throughout demolition and construction. During construction there may be additional security to deter theft of construction materials.
25.	Keep Macy’s parking lot open until 30 days before construction begins	During the Holiday Season 2005, every effort will be made to keep a major portion of the Macy’s east lot open if it can be accommodated without delaying the overall project construction schedule.
26.	Provide shuttles and valet parking when Macy’s lot is closed	No response
27.	Repair and maintain “twinkle lights” on Murphy Ave.	No response
28.	Use website to reinforce that Downtown is open for businesses	Website is to be set up during the demolition process and then maintained and updated monthly, at minimum, during construction. o Project Schedule will be maintained on the website and updated when there are material changes to the schedule. o Notices of any changes in the plan o Notices of upcoming events and upcoming phases of construction that will impact neighbors will be posted in advance as much as possible, including, for example, any neighborhood meetings, the start of demolition, utility interruptions and street or sidewalk closures, if any. o Leasing activity
	Ad hoc Committee Request	Proposed Mitigation Plan Request
29.	Maintain 24-hour hotline for concerns and complaints	During demolition, the project superintendent will be the Project Coordinator and be available on site during normal construction hours or via phone and email 24-hours. During construction, a phone and email hotline will be in place.
30.	Establish fund to reimburse merchants for losses due to power outrages, water damage, etc.	No response
31.	Address potential that rodents and vermin may migrate to other properties when Mall is demolished	The Mall will be exterminated prior to commencement of demolition in order to control rodents.

Staff notes the following possible deficiencies (identified by the numbers in the above tables) in the proposed Mitigation Plan relative to the legal requirements of the DDOPA and SPD:

5. The proposed signage system does not provide for approval by City staff.

10. The Plan does not provide for regular coordination meetings between staff and the Developer/contractor which are separate from the monthly meetings with Downtown merchants and residents.

11. The Plan does not specify the minimum number of parking spaces which must always be available. The proposed temporary parking lot west of Macy’s will be approximately 737 spaces, which could be the total number of spaces available (excluding the Target garage) during some phases of the demolition. Utilizing a study undertaken by Walker Parking Consultants staff has determined the minimum number during non-holiday periods is 505 spaces, and the minimum number between Thanksgiving and New Years Day is 1018 spaces (See Attachment E).

12. Provisions for pedestrian access do not adequately address concerns of pedestrian safety, directional signage, handicap accessibility, and sidewalk closure procedures.

17. The provision for street cleaning does not adequately identify the process by which it will be determined that street cleaning is necessary.

20. The Plan does not address the need to protect the six heritage redwood trees.

Staff also notes the following areas where the ad hoc committee has requested mitigation measures which are not addressed by the proposed Construction Mitigation Plan:

21. Although the Plan provides for advertising in the Sunnyvale Sun and Mercury News, a specific monthly advertising budget is not included.

23. The Plan calls for street cleaning “as needed” and does not address cleaning dust from buildings. The ad hoc committee requested daily street cleaning and weekly cleaning of storefronts.

26. The Plan does not provide for parking shuttles and valet parking.

27. The Plan does not provide for repair and maintenance of “twinkle lights” on Murphy Avenue.

30. The Plan does not provide for a fund to reimburse merchants for losses.

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no direct fiscal impact of approval of the Construction Mitigation Plan. The demolition permit fees for this project will be approximately $3,500 and will generally cover the cost of plan review and field inspections.

Conclusion

The developer has submitted a Construction Mitigation Plan for the demolition phase of the Town Center Mall redevelopment. The proposed Plan meets most of the requirements of the DDOPA and SDP, and many of the requests of the ad hoc committee of downtown business and resident representatives. Staff has identified those areas where it finds the Plan to be deficient.

PUBLIC CONTACT

Councilmember Melinda Hamilton convened a meeting on June 28, 2004, of downtown business representatives to discuss mitigation of construction impacts of the upcoming Town Center Mall redevelopment. Also in attendance were Councilmembers Fowler and Lee and staff from the Community Development Department. Councilmember Hamilton filed a report to the City Council on August 10, 2004 (Attachment F).

Staff held a meeting on May 17, 2005, with the Developer and representatives of the downtown business and residential communities to discuss the required and desired content of the Construction Mitigation Plan. On May 26, 2005, Downtown Sunnyvale Associates held a public meeting noticed to more than 1100 downtown businesses, residents and property owners to discuss the Construction Mitigation Plan. An ad hoc subcommittee was formed at the public meeting to review the Plan and comment thereon.

In addition, public contact was made through posting of the Council agenda on the City's official notice bulletin board, posting of the agenda and report on the City's web page, and the availability of the report in the Library and the City Clerk's Office.

ALTERNATIVES

1. Approve the Sunnyvale Town Center Demolition Construction Mitigation Plan as modified by staff (Attachment G).

2. Approve the Sunnyvale Town Center Demolition Construction Mitigation Plan as submitted by the Developer (Attachment A).

3. Approve the Sunnyvale Town Center Demolition Construction Mitigation Plan as modified by the City Council.