AgdaPkt 2006-03-27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7C Page 1 March 27, 2006 Subject Downtown Law Enforcement Plan Recommendation City Council approve the hiring of three police officers, three part time parking enforcement offícers and overtime funds to provide enhanced police services to support the revitalization of downtown. Background The downtown theater project is expected to be completed in summer of 2006. The first floor of the development is dedicated to 15 retail and restaurant establishments and the box office for the theater. The second floor is primarily dedicated to a twenty-screen cinema; each of which will vary in size between 100 and 500 seats for a total capacity of 4,200 patrons at any given time. The total annual patronage for the development is projected to be 1.5 million persons with peak periods being holidays and weekends. Typical hours of operations for restaurants and retail will be between 10:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m., while the theater will generally operate from 11 :00 a.m. through midnight. Permits allow the theater to operate as late as 3:00 a.m. for special releases and there is a possibility a bar/eating establishment could lease a space within the project and operate until 2:00 a.m. on weekends. The basement is a multi-level underground parking facility with capacity for 585 passenger vehicles on two levels. There will be one vehicle entrance and exit portal on Jefferson Avenue. The theater development will be completed near the time frame that the Court House Plaza will be opened. The Fox Theater, The Little Fox Theater and Bar, The Court House Plaza, and the cinema box office will all operate at the same intersection of Middlefield and Broadway. The experience of other police departments with similar developments in their communities suggests the need for an immediate and significant presence of uniformed patrol and traffic enforcement personnel as the facility opens for business. This presence should remain significant and only be scaled back when we can reasonably assess the activity level associated with this new development. The Police Department is primarily concerned with, and suggests the following plans for, Public Safety/Crime Prevention, Traffic Control and Parking Enforcement. Public Safety/Crime Prevention With a considerable increase in people downtown projected, the potential of an increase in criminal activity in the area also increases. The Court House Plaza and multiple theaters and restaurants will exist in the same intersection creating a center of gravity for public activity and congregation at Middlefield and Broadway. This will provide residents of this community an excellent town square atmosphere, but may also draw disruptive juveniles and criminal opportunists. The installation of surveillance