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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190515_GPUSC_Minutes_Approved CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH GENERAL PLAN UPDATE STEERING COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS – 100 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019 REGULAR MEETING–5:30 p.m. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – 5:30 p.m. II. WELCOME AND ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Nancy Gardner, James Carlson, Catherine O'Hara, Ed Selich, Debbie Stevens, Larry Tucker, Paul Watkins, Mayor Diane Dixon (Ex Officio Member) MEMBERS ABSENT: None Staff Present: Community Development Director Seimone Jurjis, Deputy Community Development Director Jim Campbell, Associate Planner Ben Zdeba, Administrative Support Technician Amanda Lee III. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Hoiyin Ip suggested the University of California Irvine share a customized version of its presentation "Bridges Orange County" with the City. In addition, holding a meeting during the Green Expo in September could draw a large crowd to the meeting. Chair Gardner explained the process through which staff developed the interview questions. IV. CURRENT BUSINESS a. Review Minutes of the May 1, 2019 Meeting Recommended Action: Approve the minutes of May 1, 2019 Motion by Committee Member Selich, seconded by Committee Member Stevens, to approve the minutes of the May 1, 2019. Motion passed 7-0. b. RFP#19-69 Staff Technical Evaluation Recommended Action: Receive and file Community Development Director Seimone Jurjis reported Deputy Community Development Director Campbell, Associate Planner Zdeba, and he have reviewed and scored the proposals. c. RFP#19-69 Consultant Interviews Associate Planner Zdeba advised that four of the Committee Members submitted questions for the interviews. The questions must be asked of each proposer. Committee Members may ask additional questions pertaining to statements made during the presentations. The proposers are aware of the interview format. General Plan Update Steering Committee Minutes May 15, 2019 Page 2 of 5  FSB Core Strategies, Inc. Jeff Flint, President/CEO, introduced the team of Jerry Amante, Alex Burrola, and himself and the services the firm offers. FSB managed the passage of Measure V and defeat of Measure X in 2006. FSB learned many lessons from those campaigns, and those lessons will be useful for the current outreach effort. FSB has developed public outreach plans for the Orange County Transportation Association (OCTA) and the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency and is conducting outreach for the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency and the City of Brentwood. Alex Burrola, Senior Account Supervisor, added that FSB has experience in a number of methods for outreach. FSB wants to be guided by the idea that no voice has gone unheard during the Listen and Learn phase. In response to questions from the Committee, Mr. Flint related his experience with public policy and politics. Many of FSB's private-sector clients are in the land-use business. The General Plan is a core document for a city and pertains to everything a city does. A General Plan should be updated in order to reflect changes in circumstances, laws, and demand for services. The residents of Newport Beach will understand outreach phrased in this manner. FSB has used and still uses digital tools to reach people who normally do not attend meetings. Every campaign has a heavy digital media and social media outreach component. In 2008, FSB won the first industry award for the use of digital technology in public communications. If the City wishes, FSB can conduct door-to-door outreach with the community. For outreach campaigns, FSB creates a robust database of all public input. The input can be categorized and sorted by metrics such as general topic, date, venue, and speaker. All public input will be maintained such that it is usable for drafting a final document. The staff of FSB has become very familiar with Housing Element issues because FSB has worked with many clients on these types of issues. FSB understands the competing pressures residents will have when discussing a broader mix of housing types, Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) numbers, and local control. Residents need to understand the issues and help resolve the issues in a manner consistent with community values. FSB will work with the Committee and staff to craft materials, questions, and content for public meetings and digital media in order to obtain feedback from the community. If the community raises additional issues, the materials can be modified and presented for another round of feedback. The City will likely receive more of Mr. Flint's attention than the City will pay for because he is a resident of Newport Beach and because public outreach is one of his favorite activities.  MBI Media Dean Owens, Client Development Manager; Liz Michel, Project Manager; Rachel Burkhardt, Account Coordinator; and Connie Mejia, Account Coordinator, introduced themselves and their roles with MBI. Mr. Owens indicated Matt Maldonado, who could not be present for the meeting, would be the primary contact person for the City of Newport Beach. Mr. Owens and Ms. Michel shared the services and tools MBI offers and MBI's experience working with the City of Long Beach General Plan and the Metro Long Range Transportation Plan. Committee Members participated in a sample survey using Post It notes, a QR code, and a tablet. MBI understands the need for different venues and different met hods to obtain community input. General Plan Update Steering Committee Minutes May 15, 2019 Page 3 of 5 In reply to the Committee's queries, Ms. Michel advised that MBI staff is familiar with General Plans and General Plan issues through their work with the City of Long Beach. Mr. Owens added that back-and-forth communications with the community is important to demonstrate that staff is listening to public input. Ms. Michel reported materials will contain detailed information about the necessity and importance of updating the General Plan. Mr. Owens indicated communications should not contain technical or legal language and should show a city's efforts to enhance residents' daily lives by producing or updating a General Plan. Sharing information about the changes in the community and the economy can demonstrate the need to update the General Plan and a city's attempts to address the community's best interests. In order to reach different parts of the community, MBI uses social media, a website, mail, email, and canvassing to promote workshops. Often, a website for the project separate from a city's website will generate more community interest. MBI utilizes an online tool to compile all community feedback and retains all paper comments. From the comments, MBI prepares a report that reflects the general consensus of the community. MBI is somewhat familiar with the State's requirements for the Housing Element. MBI reviews RHNA numbers prior to beginning any work on a project. Mr. Maldonado has the expertise in Housing Element requirements. Collating community feedback to determine consensus is very difficult. MBI staff reviews feedback prior to leaving a meeting site and loads the comments into the online tool in 24-48 hours of a meeting. Within 24-48 hours of a meeting, MBI can provide data such as the number of responses, the top three or five topics of comments, attendance by elected officials and walk -in attendees, and the type of meeting notice that reached attendees. MBI encourages residents to write comments in their native language and has interpreters translate the comments into English.  Kearns & West Joan Isaacson, Principal, introduced Kearns & West, its history and focus, and Jenna Tourje. Jenna Tourje, Project Manager, reported Kearns & West understands the complexity and importance of a General Plan. She introduced the team who would be working on the project. Kearns and West engaged Dyett & Bhatia because of Mr. Bhatia's experience with a similar pre- engagement project in the City of Redlands. Kearns & West advocates for process, is neutral regarding outcomes, involves a cross-section of community perspectives, customizes activities to each project, and has an extensive knowledge base. Kearns & West has led community engagement projects in the City of Laguna Beach, the City of Malibu, Mission Viejo, and the City of San Jacinto. The team has extensive General Plan experience. Rajeev Bhatia, Dyett & Bhatia, advised that the outreach team will help the community understand best practices, General Plan requirements, the existing General Plan, mapping and GIS, and the vision and policy match. Dyett & Bhatia has participated in more than 65 General Plans projects statewide, and Mr. Bhatia has participated in 35 General Plan projects. The team will raise social, economic, global, technological, and regulatory issues to which the General Plan will need to respond. Ms. Tourje indicated Kearns & West has worked with coastal communities from Ventura County to Imperial Beach and has gained insights into engaging coastal communities. Kearns & West believes in customizing the engagement process and materials for each community. Engagement HQ or Bang the Table is a platform for digital engagem ent in conjunction with in- General Plan Update Steering Committee Minutes May 15, 2019 Page 4 of 5 person engagement. Kearns & West has the experience to work with the City in the Listen and Learn process and the General Plan update. In answer to inquiries from the Committee, Ms. Tourje related that Kearns & West has helpe d prepare approximately 80 General Plans. Both Ms. Isaacson and she are planners. Ms. Isaacson added that a General Plan that aligns with community goals and addresses the community's needs is more likely to be used for decision-making. Ms. Tourje felt one of the most important aspects of educating the public about General Plans is developing a multi-pronged process. Mr. Bhatia advised that the process should provide a useful General Plan that also complies with State mandates. Ms. Isaacson reported the process should be interesting, engaging, exciting, and fun for the community. Outreach events need to be enjoyable so that the community will interact with the process. Ms. Tourje indicated engagement ranges from traditional workshops to meeting residents in their gathering places. Mr. Bhatia clarified that the proposed work plan can be adapted before and during the engagement process. Ms. Isaacson, Ms. Tourje, and Mr. York would be present for workshops and face-to-face engagement. Ms. Tourje believed a strong education component can create realistic community expectations for General Plan requirements and gather input regarding community values. Kearns & West's most innovative tool is creating a community engagement plan that matches the specific c ommunity. Ms. Isaacson added that the Committee's objectives for the process should drive the tactics used for engagement. d. Committee Discussion on Next Steps Recommended Action: 1. Recommend one of the interviewed consultants to the City Council for a contract; or 2. Cancel the current RFP process, direct staff to redraft the RFP, and circulate the new RFP to potential bidders; or 3. Discuss and take other action related to this item. Committee Members favored Kearns & West, referring to Kearns & West's experience with community outreach and planning, creativity, knowledge of General Plans, qualifications, proposed work plan for the project, discussion of the process rather than the outcome, and plan to obtain community values. Jim Mosher concurred with Committee Members' comments regarding Kearns & West and commented on the small sample size. Hoiyin Ip would like to see the selected consultant utilize fewer adjectives and more facts. Motion by Committee Member Selich, seconded by Committee Member Carlson to recommend Kearns & West as the most qualified firm to the City Council. Motion passed 7-0. Community Development Director Jurjis advised that staff will evaluate the feasibility and reasonableness of the proposal and negotiate cost. Staff will attempt to present a contract to the City Council on June 11. Staff will need to return to the Steering Committee to discuss a scope of work for the consultant. Chair Gardner announced the Steering Committee will tentativel y plan to meet in two weeks to discuss a scope of work. General Plan Update Steering Committee Minutes May 15, 2019 Page 5 of 5 V. COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) None VI. ADJOURNMENT – 7:44 p.m. Next Meeting: May 29, 2019, 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers