Policy Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, November 13, :00 3:20 pm Woodbury City Hall

Transcription

1 Policy Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, November 13, :00 3:20 pm Woodbury City Hall Note: The Gateway Corridor Commission meeting will begin at 3:30 pm. 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. Overview of Project Schedule and Process a. Scoping Decision Document i. Public Distribution/Website b. Locally Preferred Alternative Activities i. Locally Preferred Alternative Selection Summary Report (handout) ii Transportation Policy Plan Adoption iii. Refinement of LPA Alignment E and Lake Elmo Station(s) c. Next Steps with Environmental Review Process 3. Public Comments 4. Station Area Planning Process a. Overview of Process/Schedule b. Market Analysis Corridor Wide Findings (Existing Conditions) c. Coordination with Gateway Corridor Cities d. Integration of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) e. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Grant Submittal f. Next Steps 5. Dedicated BRT Alternative Definition a. Approach to Alignment and Station Refinement 6. Federal Coordination a. Evaluation Methodology b. Managed Lane BRT Alternative Definition c. Dashboard Permitting Schedule 7. Confirm Next PAC Meeting

2 Policy Advisory Committee Meeting November 13, 2014

3 Agenda Introductions Overview of Project Schedule and Process Public Comments Station Area Planning Process Dedicated BRT Alternative Definition Federal Coordination Grant Opportunities Next PAC Meeting

4 Current Status Scoping Decision Document published and distributed October 27, 2014 Locally Preferred Alternative activities LPA Selection Summary Report Submitted to Metropolitan Council October Transportation Policy Plan Adoption January 2015 LPA Alignment E Refinement Process Next steps in environmental review process Transitway Development Process 3

5 Alternatives Analysis Process Timeline

6 LPA Recommendation and Selection Process

7 LPA Conceptual Alignment

8 Regional Transitway Network

9 3. Public Comments Public encouraged to attend PAC meeting Public comment period will take place at beginning of each meeting If someone would like to speak a comment card should be filled out Comments should be limited to 3 minutes Comments will be summarized in PAC meeting summary Comments should be presented in a respectful manner

10 Additional Opportunities to Learn More and Provide Input Invite Gateway team members to meet with your organization or community group Contact project staff directly at or Sign up for newsletter Visit Videos, project updates, analysis reports, meeting summaries Visit/Like Comment directly to policy makers at PAC meetings

11 4. Station Area Planning Purpose Prepare cities for infrastructure changes and development around stations that facilitates use of the stations by pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers. Fulfill station area planning commitment to Metropolitan Council as part of LPA approval process Market analysis Community input TOD guidelines

12 Schedule & Plan Components Fall 2014 Winter 2015 Building Blocks Concepts & Ridership Station study area definitions Local plan review Access & circulation analysis Market analysis Three concepts per station o TPP o Comp plan o Market-driven Ridership forecasts Building Blocks Meeting Concept Workshops Spring 2015 Plan Completion Recommendations Final Plans Open House

13 Coordination with Gateway Corridor Cities City Meetings Saint Paul October 27 Woodbury October 31 Oakdale November 6 Lake Elmo November 6 Maplewood November 7 Landfall TBD

14 Integration of Health Impact Assessment Research will focus on land-use related health indicators Health indicators to be determined through outreach process HIA will recommend techniques for fostering positive public health outcomes during land use planning

15 Demographics: Income Household income generally increases from west to east N Median Household Income (2014) $0 - $30,000 $30,000 - $50,000 $50,000 - $70,000 $70,000 - $90,000 $90,000 - $146,902 MAPLEWOOD OAKDALE LAKE ELMO ST PAUL Union Depot Mounds Earl Etna White Bear Sun Ray 3M LANDFALL Greenway Oaks Inwood Keats Manning (TBD) Manning (TBD) WOODBURY Source: ESRI Business Analyst

16 Demographics: Zero Vehicle Households The corridor is generally auto-oriented, with the St. Paul portion of the corridor home to a high proportion of households without cars. N Source: SRF Consulting

17 Residential: Multifamily Large scale multifamily housing has been concentrated in downtown St Paul. There has been limited multifamily construction in recent years outside of Downtown St. Paul. Multifamily Units in 50+ Unit Buildings ( ) N Pioneer-Endicott 234 units Completed 2014 $ Rent PSF Crown Villa Apartments 126 units Completed 2010 $1-1.3 Rent PSF The Flats at City Walk 208 units Completed 2006 $ Rent PSF Uptown at City Walk 245 units Completed 2011 $ Rent PSF Rayette Lofts 88 units Completed 2014 $ Rent PSF Parkwood Estates 39 units Completed 2009 $1 Rent PSF Regency Hill Apartments 38 units Completed 2008 $1-1.3 Rent PSF Source: HR&A, Maxfield Research, REIS

18 Retail: Typologies Retail may serve nearby or regional residents. Convenience Retail For nearby residents and workers General Merchandise Health & Personal Care Limited-Service Restaurants Grocery Stores Destination Retail For regional residents Full-service restaurants Clothing Electronics & Appliances Sporting Goods Home Improvement Furniture Sun Ray Earl Street Tamarack Village Woodbury Lakes

19 Retail: Convenience Retail Market Support Besides White Bear and Sun Ray, most station areas do not have unmet spending potential for convenience goods. N Convenience Retail Gap Retail Spending Leakage Retail Spending Surplus ST PAUL MAPLEWOOD OAKDALE LAKE ELMO Union Depot Mounds Earl Etna White Bear LANDFALL Sun Ray Oaks Inwood Keats Manning (TBD) 3M Greenway Manning (TBD) WOODBURY Source: HR&A

20 Retail: Destination Retail Market Support There is unmet potential for destination retail goods throughout the corridor. N Destination Retail Gap Retail Spending Leakage Retail Spending Surplus ST PAUL MAPLEWOOD OAKDALE LAKE ELMO Union Depot Mounds Earl Etna White Bear LANDFALL Sun Ray Oaks Inwood Keats Manning (TBD) 3M Greenway Manning (TBD) WOODBURY Source: HR&A

21 Retail: Stations with Development Potential New development occurs at stations with both market support and physical feasibility. In addition, incentivizing retail could support economic development goals. N Retail Development Potential Convenience Convenience/Destination ST PAUL MAPLEWOOD OAKDALE LAKE ELMO Destination Earl Street Local-serving convenience retail Keats/Manning Potential for destination retail LANDFALL White Bear/Sun-Ray Local-serving convenience retail Potential for destination retail WOODBURY Source: HR&A, SRF

22 Vacancy Rent PSF Office: Market Support Currently, the office market faces weak rents and high vacancies. 25% 20% 17.2% $ % Vacancy 19.3% $16.5 $16.0 $ % $15.0 $14.6 $ % 5% Rent PSF $14.0 $14.0 $13.5 $13.0 0% $12.5 Source: HR&A, CoStar

23 Office: Stations with Development Potential Stations east of I-494/694 provide soft sites with access to I-94. However, development is likely to occur in the medium to long-term given currently weak demand and high vacancies. N ST PAUL MAPLEWOOD OAKDALE LAKE ELMO East of I-494/694 Medium to long-term potential for new Class A office LANDFALL Oaks Inwood Keats Manning (TBD) Manning (TBD) WOODBURY Source: HR&A, SRF

24 Market Findings: Implications for TOD More Viable Residential Convenience Retail Essential land uses for TOD Supports ridership goals Market demand can support new low-rise townhomes or adaptive reuse but mid- or high-rise development is infeasible in the near term Ancillary retail can provide amenities and activate station areas Destination Retail Office Industrial Moderate market demand May support ridership goals Challenging to incorporate into a compact, mixed-use TOD given significant footprint requirements and low density Market demand is very limited in the near-term Supports economic development goals by creating jobs New development requires strong auto access and larger sites Market demand is very limited in the near-term Challenging to integrate into a mixed-use, compact TOD Less Viable

25 station slides being prepped by HRA N

26 5. Dedicated BRT Alternative Definition

27 Dedicated BRT Alternative Definition

28 Decision Roadmap NOTE: this slide will be revised (likely put in a graphic format) but here s the general content BALANCE: Property impacts I-94 right-of-way impacts I-94 operations Station accessibility Local traffic/access With purpose and need: Limited existing transit service Policy shift toward travel choices and multimodal investments Population and employment growth Needs of people who depend on transit Local and regional objectives for growth

29 6. Federal Coordination Evaluation methodology Cooperating Agencies Horizon Year for Evaluation Managed Lane BRT Alternative Concepts/Operations/Ridership Dashboard permitting schedule

30 7. Grant Opportunities Pew Health Impact Assessment Grant Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) Grants Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Transit- Oriented Developed (TOD) Grant

31 Next PAC Meeting

32 Thank you! Andy Gitzlaff, Washington County Lyssa Leitner, Washington County Jeanne Witzig, Kimley-Horn and Associates Beth Bartz, SRF Consulting

33 Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) Meeting Summary Thursday, November 13, :00 3:20 pm Woodbury City Hall PAC Member Attendees Lisa Weik, Washington County Mary Giuliani Stephens (Chair), City of Woodbury Harry Melander, Metropolitan Council Mike Pearson, City of Lake Elmo Tom Cook, Metropolitan State University Greg Watson, Woodbury Chamber Paul Sawyer, CAC Chair, St. Paul Scott McBride, MnDOT Dan Kyllo, West Lakeland Scott Beauchamp, St. Paul Chamber Tim Herman, ESABA Peter Wagenius, City of Minneapolis Randy Nelson, City of Afton Paul Reinke, City of Oakdale PAC Alternate Member Attendees Arlene McCarthy, Metropolitan Council Other Attendees Jan Lucke, Washington County Andy Gitzlaff, Washington County John Bradford, City of Woodbury Bill Goff, MnDOT Mark Finken, City of St. Paul Dave Schultz, West Lakeland Will Schroeer, East Metro Strong Jeanne Witzig, Kimley-Horn Beth Bartz, SRF Consulting Group Adele Hall, SRF Consulting Group Kumar Kintala, HR&A Advisors (by phone) Martin Leung, HR&A Advisors (by phone) 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. Review of the Gateway Corridor Process Jeanne Witzig, Kimley-Horn The project has passed two major milestones since the PAC last met in September. First, the Scoping process is complete and the Scoping Decision Document (SDD) was distributed in October. In addition to the agencies required to receive the SDD (per federal and state environmental review requirements), everyone who commented on the Scoping Booklet received the SDD. Second, the Locally Preferred Alternative decision was made by the TAC, CAC, PAC and Gateway Corridor Commission (GCC) this summer and the LPA was included in the Metropolitan Council s Draft 2040 Transportation Policy Plan (TPP). To recap the project status: The Alternatives Analysis (AA) is complete with the selection of the LPA. Scoping took place in the spring and concluded in the fall. The August 2014 PAC and GCC resolutions regarding the recommended LPA were followed by the PAC public hearing on the recommended LPA in August, the PAC and GCC final resolutions on the LPA in September, the Gateway Corridor cities

34 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page 2 resolutions of support in September and early October, and finally, the RCRRA and WCRRA resolutions of support. All resolutions were submitted to the Metropolitan Council on October 7 with the LPA Selection Summary Report and a letter to Metropolitan Council Chair Haigh from the Washington County Regional Railroad Authority (WCRRA) Chair. The LPA Selection Summary Report summarizes all project decisions from the beginning of the AA to completion of LPA selection. As part of the LPA approval process WCRRA committed to refinement of the alignment and station locations in coordination with Lake Elmo and Woodbury. The project team has assembled a draft conceptual alignment for the LPA on the east end of the corridor. The location of the stations and the I-94 crossing will be the focus of upcoming discussions with Lake Elmo, Woodbury, the TAC, and the PAC. The WCRRA will pass a resolution updating the LPA report when the E2 alignment and stations are more defined. The project also committed to addressing interstate and private property right-ofway impacts. Throughout the last few months project staff have coordinated with MnDOT to address right-of-way, as well as other agencies with issues specific to the environmental document. The project team is also coordinating with the City of Saint Paul on their ongoing station area planning process. Chair Giuliani Stephens thanked Metropolitan Council for accommodating the Gateway LPA approval process and including the LPA in the TPP. 3. Public Comments Chair Giuliani Stephens Meeting attendees did not have any comments. 4. Station Area Planning Process a. Overview of Process/Schedule Beth Bartz & Adele Hall, SRF Beth Bartz introduced the station area planning topic and noted that Gateway station area planning is different than other corridors in that it s earlier in the project s development and in conjunction with the Draft EIS. The purpose of station area planning is to prepare for land use changes near the stations, as well as to improve accessibility to stations. Station area planning discussions are also meant to facilitate design decisions. The project is evolving from a general line on a map to refinement of station locations in relation to existing land uses and connectivity to multiple modes. Adele Hall reviewed the station area planning schedule, noting that the project team has met with each city and has gathered the basic information on land use and transportation networks around each station that will form the basis for station area plans. The next step is to begin developing station concepts; each city has their own plan for involving PAC and community members in the coming months. Washington County was recently awarded a $100,000 grant to prepare a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) with a focus on land use around the Gateway stations. Station area planning will be coordinated with HIA preparation, as well.

35 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page 3 The consultant team will develop three concepts for each station: one that reflects the outcome of the market analysis that will be presented today, one that reflects the guidance in the TPP, and a third that reflects current land use plans for the area. Ridership forecasts will be prepared for the market-based and TPP-based concepts, to compare them with the existing forecasts. As part of the LPA approval process, the project and the individual communities collectively made a commitment to station area planning that includes a market analysis and investigation of adherence to the guidelines in the TPP. The station area planning work is in anticipation of a New Starts application which heavily emphasizes land use and economic development. HR&A completed the market analysis. HR&A s presentation will focus on the near-term market analysis. The findings will influence development of a longer-term vision for each station area which can in turn influence the market. The project team has held station area planning preparation meetings in anticipation of workshops where the team will work with each city to draw station concepts. This station area planning effort will be high-level and set the foundation for more detailed station planning a year from now, later in the process, like the station area planning that the Bottineau LRT project is doing right now. b. Corridor-Wide Market Analysis Findings Kumar Kintala & Martin Leung, HR&A Retail: Retail generally refers to grocery, pharmacy, fast food, and big box stores that usually draw from a five-minute drive time radius. Destination retail pulls shoppers from a larger radius. As an indicator of potential for new retail development, HR&A compares existing sales to current spending and looks for spending that is leaking out of given station areas. By this analysis, there is room in the market for destination retail in the eastern suburbs. Office: Office is facing declining rents and increasing vacancies in the corridor. Those fundamentals lead to a conclusion that there is limited potential for new office development in the near-term. This has been true for a long time; office rents have been flat for years. Though office development is a priority for some communities, new construction is unlikely in the near-term. Residential: There is potential for new single-family attached housing throughout the corridor and as infill development in St. Paul. Mid-to higher density development will be attracted as the corridor matures. Transit systems connect people to jobs; as downtown St. Paul strengthens the corridor will grow, too. Overall market findings: residential and convenience retail are the uses that the market is most likely to deliver in the short term. Retail can sometimes be included as an amenity in residential areas. Cities may need to support this when the market does not. Destination retail can sometimes come in compact footprints, but often not, and that use still requires parking, so the site plan is important to making destination retail transit friendly. Office has little market in the near-term. Differentiation of this corridor is important to attracting development; transit will

36 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page 4 help to do this, along with attractive communities where people want to live. The market for industrial/flex uses is a little stronger than the office market, but is not particularly compatible with transit, as transit isn t central to their business operations, and they don t employ a concentration of people who would benefit from the service. Peter Wagenius asked if the zero vehicle household demographics tell the whole story; perhaps cars per working household tells a stronger story, as one adult is then likely to be a transit rider. Kumar agreed that zero car households is a narrow way of looking at it, but households with cars tend to use them for non-work trips at offpeak times. The beauty of the transit system is that it can change the equation for these households. Zero car households are important for both retail and residential. There are neighborhoods where transit service makes a big difference for getting to work and non-work activities without a car. Gateway will make a difference in the western part of the corridor, and possibly on the eastern end. c. Station-by-Station Market Analysis Findings Kumar Kintala & Martin Leung, HR&A Mounds Boulevard Station: The neighborhood is built-out. The economic development impetus at this station is the access it will provide to Metro State University. Rents are likely insufficient on their own to support new construction near the station. Earl Street Station: Earl Street has an existing mixed-use fabric and a legacy mixeduse neighborhood center. This may be worth investing in for people who live in the neighborhood. There is some spending potential to be captured for convenience retail and there may be potential for longer-term higher density housing as the neighborhood has a lot of character. Etna Street Station: This station area is dominated by multifamily housing and a dated activity center with a reasonably healthy occupancy rate. Transit service will help Metro 94, but it s not susceptible to redevelopment. There may be some opportunities to insert development on vacant sites. Beth Bartz added that the project team is working with MnDOT and the City of St. Paul to examine options in the I-94 and Highway 61 area that reduce impacts and site Gateway stations to improve neighborhood access and development potential. White Bear Avenue Station: This area has the potential to capture some new retail. Site preparation could attract retail or residential; the area is on the threshold of being able to absorb more development. Sun Ray Station: The shopping center has healthy occupancy and strong anchor tenants. Its parking is well used, so infill development on the parking lot is not likely. Redevelopment of the site as a whole would eliminate all income to the owner during construction; incremental redevelopment as tenant leases turn over may be more feasible. Improving access to Sun Ray, particularly from 3M, would improve its economies. Sun Ray Case study: The Hi-Lake Shopping Center, at Lake Street and Hiawatha in Minneapolis, was developed in the 1950s. Coincident with the opening of the blue

37 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page 5 line, the developer improved the center. The City wanted to redevelop the whole area, but the tenants in the strip center were all paying rent and the parking was all used, so there were no redevelopment sites. The developer had reliable cash flow from tenants and there was no proof of concept for TOD along the Blue Line, so it would have been a risky move to redevelop the site. However, when the Burger King located on one of the out lots along Lake Street wanted to revamp their drive thru, the City would not allow them to do so and they left. Aldi wanted to build a onestory grocery store on the site. The City pushed for mixed use and the developer, Wellington Management, agreed to add residential on top of the Aldi. This was the first time it had been done in the region. The developer broke even and the condos sold out quickly, even though the project was delivered during the recession. Now that there s proof of concept, Wellington and other developers are starting to think about Lake Street differently. A mixed-use residential-retail development is going in now, and the adult education center across the street is also being redeveloped. There is some public subsidy in both projects; residential development still needs a little help in the area. 3M: The station will be located within the campus. 3M is an asset to the corridor and their ownership of all of the land around the station could be positive if the company is willing to expand around the station. The neighborhood south of I-94 is stable and unlikely to redevelop; access to the station from this area is uncertain. The redevelopment sites on the west shore of Tanners Lake are compelling properties, but the walk to the station is poor, so the transitway is unlikely to have much impact on these sites. 3M Case Study: New Balance saw expansion and redevelopment of their campus on the edge of Boston as real estate move and a way to attract employees. They placed importance on transit access, paying for a new commuter rail station and its operations and maintenance. This parallels 3M in that an innovative company is creating access to a range of talent in varying neighborhoods. They added retail to capture spending from employees, a hotel for business travelers, and additional offices for contractors and vendors who work with New Balance. Greenway: The access to I-94 is not as good as the rest of the corridor, reducing the potential for new retail development. Some lower-scale residential could be viable. Oaks: This station would be at the front door of The Oaks Business Park, a low-rise 1-2 story office space. There s an opportunity to look at a different land use in the business park, as the office market is low. There s a single land owner who could do a unique development. Inwood: Oakdale Village is a healthy, occupied shopping center that needs its parking; it will be difficult to redevelop in the near term. The economics of residential and retail uses look good at this station, but the orientation of the station relative to Eagle Point Business Park should be considered. Keats: There is no development near the Keats station today, but lots of planned residential development.

38 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page 6 Keats Case Study: Orenco Station, a development around an LRT station in suburban Portland, features mixed-use retail and residential in the center of the development, stepping down to low-rise townhomes and then single family neighborhoods. Orenco Station offers a pattern for arranging development around the station. The development pattern has set Orenco apart from other suburban single family neighborhoods; it has sold and held value well. Manning: The station area is entirely greenfield. There is an opportunity to do a master planned community. Residential is probably highest and best use, but it could be possible to curate a unique development around the station. Large tracts of land on both sides of Hudson and a single land owner allow for types of development not possible on smaller sites. d. Coordination with Gateway Corridor Cities Beth Bartz The vision for the corridor and each station does not have to be completely consistent with what the market can deliver, but the vision should be a logical reach beyond the market potential, so that with subsidy or differentiation it is achievable. It is helpful to understand where the development community is coming from. HR&A will prepare a full report for each city; the information will be used to develop station concepts and be discussed at each workshop. Workshops will be tailored to each city and include key stakeholders; the project team is working with city staff to develop the workshops and will include Metropolitan Council staff. Arlene McCarthy commented that station area planning and siting stations is an iterative process, which is why it makes sense to start with general planning. There are many factors that go into the location of the station. Metro Transit would advise cities not to get locked into a particular location, since it is so early in project development. Arlene will try to make some connections to people who have been working with station siting and planning at later stages in other transitway projects. There are some development proposals, in Oakdale at I-94 and 694 for example, that might influence the station location. Another example is at Keats Avenue, where the station needs to move to the east or west; the west side of Keats is platted and developing, the east side doesn t have sewer and water. Land use and design will need to be balanced with local preference. This process is unique in that it is incorporating the land use and economic development criteria now; in most of the other projects decisions have been dominated by engineering at this point. 5. Dedicated BRT Alternative Definition Jeanne Witzig, Kimley-Horn The BRT alignment goes hand in hand with station location decisions. The project team is currently holding working group meetings around specific geographic issues: the Kellogg bridge; the alignment from Mounds Boulevard to Highway 61 and station locations; the Sun Ray park and ride location and alignment in that area; access and right of way impacts; Oakdale station locations, and the alignment on the far east end of the corridor. The outcomes of these working groups will come through the CAC, TAC, and PAC.

39 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page 7 6. Federal Coordination Andy Gitzlaff, Washington County FHWA and FTA wanted to vet the managed lane alternative as part of the Draft EIS. The project team and working group on this issue have made a lot of progress since the last PAC meeting. Two meetings have been held with MnDOT, FHWA, and counties. The project team understands FHWA s intention and now needs to do an analysis to see how it compares to the other alternatives. Evaluation of the managed lane alternative will be a data-driven process similar to Alternatives Analysis and LPA selection. The project is in a transition point right now, as FTA has requested that all projects in the region change the planning horizon year from 2030 to 2040, the latest projections available. Cities are updating their TAZ data now, and the project will update the data with FTA as soon as those numbers are available. The project will try to take advantage of Gateway s federal dashboard status to make up the time lost to transition the data set. Staff will have a firm schedule for completing the project and any additional dollars needed soon. 7. Grant Opportunities Jan Lucke, Washington County Washington County submitted two Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) applications for pre-project development to support activities between the Draft EIS and entering project development. The first grant would support efforts to enter project development and support station area planning. The grant is for $800,000, with a 10 percent match to be paid from Washington and Ramsey County via the GCC. The second grant is for capital funds to support two months of project development at the end of This is a $1 million grant with an additional $200,000 from State Bond funds received in 2014 and $200,000 from the counties. Next year the project will apply for funding for a full year of project development in The grant applications were approved in committee this week and will go to the board at their next meeting. FTA has developed a new pilot program for TOD. Gateway staff brought together city and Met Council staff and submitted an application. Washington County would be a sub-recipient to the Met Council if awarded the $1 million grant. CTIB grant funds would provide the necessary $300,000 in matching funds. Representative McCollum and Senator Franken supported the application. Awards will be announced this fall, though there has been no news yet. 8. Confirm Next PAC Meeting Andy Gitzlaff The PAC will continue to meet every other month. The next meeting will be Thursday, January 8. PAC members are asked to contact Andy if you have conflicts. The PAC adjourned at 3:40 p.m.