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<br />, ~ I" 6 - / <br /> <br />REPORT <br /> <br />To the Redevelopment Board <br />From the Executive Director <br /> <br />April 11,2005 <br /> <br />Subject <br />Amendment No.1 to Agreement with Freedman, Tung and Bottomley Urban Design for <br />professional consulting services for the Downtown Precise Plan <br /> <br />Recommendation <br />Approve Amendment No.1 to Agreement for Professional Services with Freedman, <br />Tung and Bottomley (FTB) for providing additional consultant services related to the <br />preparation of a Precise Plan for Downtown Redwood City, in an amount not to exceed <br />$30,000.00. <br /> <br />Background <br />The Redevelopment Agency contracted with the urban design firm of Freedman, Tung <br />and Bottomley ("FTB") to prepare the Downtown Precise Plan in September, 2003. <br />Since that time, two public workshops have been held to discuss and receive input from <br />the community and stakeholders, including the Downtown Advisory Group and <br />downtown businesses. The first workshop focused on "Downtown Character and <br />Identity", while the second workshop reviewed the "Big Picture", i.e. what's "right" and <br />"wrong" with downtown, what are the opportunities for change and what are some <br />possible strategies for continuing revitalization. <br /> <br />To support the work being done by FTB, the Agency also entered into contracts for <br />economic and traffic analyses related to the Precise Plan. One contrect is with The <br />Concord Group for economic analysis related to market rate housing prototypes that <br />could be built in the downtown assuming no public subsidy. The other contract is with <br />Korve Engineering and will analyze the traffic impacts of increased density in the <br />downtown area, including EI Camino Real between Brewster and Maple. These <br />analyses are due to be completed this month. The findings will be incorporated into the <br />discussions with the community and Council as part of the Precise Plan deliberations. <br />A third community meeting is scheduled as part of the existing contract, as well as a <br />joint study session with Council and the Planning Commission. It is anticipated those <br />meetings will occur in May/June. <br /> <br />In addition, many complex issues have surfaced as a result of the Precise Plan process <br />to date. These include Depot Circle, baby bullet train service and high speed rail <br />possibilities, building height, appropriate densities if the City does not want to subsidize <br />market-rate projects, and EI Camino Real as a "grand boulevard" and its connectivity to <br /> <br />Redevshared/2005 Staff ReportslO4-2005/ Amend 1 FTB-Precise Plan <br />SMlskf <br />