Independent_Citizens_Task_Force_Report_7_19_2016

A PRESENTATION TO: INDEPENDENT Citizens TASK FORCE The Auburn City Council PRESENTED BY: The Independent Citizens Task Force July 19, 2016 Task Force Contributors •  Daniel Bennett, FAIA, Dean and Professor Emeritus, College of Architecture, Design and Construction, Auburn University •  John Pittari, Professor of City Planning and Urban Design, College of Architecture, Design and Construction, Auburn University •  Harris Hollans, PhD MAI MRICS, Real Estate Finance Consultant •  •  Michael Dilworth, Builder and Developer, Dilworth Development John McCarthy, PE, Retired Traffic Engineer, Licensed Professional Engineer in Alabama and New Jersey, Licensed Professional Planner in New Jersey •  Ray Huff, Owner, Auburn Realty, Student Housing Management/Sales •  •  James Sprayberry, Attorney Marlene Bowman, Realtor & City of Auburn Resident/Citizen •  Stone Ray, Student, College of Architecture, Design and Construction, Auburn University •  Linda Dean, City of Auburn Resident/Citizen •  Susan Hunnicutt, Task Force Leader, City of Auburn Resident/Citizen A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Methodology •  Contributors Met Weekly Since March 23, 2016 •  They Were Selected Because of Their •  Expertise and Experience in Their Fields •  Familiarity with Auburn’s Culture and Growth •  Secondary Research from City Documentation •  •  •  •  •  Comp Plans 2000, 2020, 2030, Downtown Master Plan Auburn Traffic Studies, 1991 (Complete) & 2015 (Partial) The Danter Report 2016 Citizens Survey •  Additional Secondary Research Documentation •  •  •  •  •  Auburn University 2013 Student Housing Master Plan Complete Streets by Smart Growth America Urban Street Design Guide, National Association of City Transportation Officials The Research Triangle Park Master Plan, 2011 Other Research that is Cited Within This Report •  Recommendations were Refined and Distilled to Present Cohesive, Effective Recommendations A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Purpose of These Recommendations •  The Current Downtown Auburn Vision is •  High-Rise, High-Density Student Housing & Retail Developments •  Increased Tax Revenue Stream to the City •  To Offer An Alternate Vision for Downtown Auburn’s Future •  To Provide Additional Ideas for Sustainable Revenue Streams to the City A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Auburn’s Growth: Market and Housing Trends •  The University Resident (Student) Population is Stable •  Alums are Returning to Auburn in Record Numbers •  U.S News & College Values Online Ranks Auburn as one of the Top 10 Small Towns in the US •  Non-student Adult Population is Growing •  Student Housing Market is Saturated (Danter Report) •  Vacant Student Housing is a Continual Challenge A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council A Vision for a Viable and Active University Downtown •  Development Decisions Need to Be Made to Accommodate Residents, Visitors, and Students •  Provide Pedestrian Environments and Opportunities •  Create Strategies to Ensure that the Downtown is a Unique Commercial Destination •  Design Streetscapes Which Accommodates Trees, Shrubs, and Plantings •  Develop Regulations to Encourage Context Sensitive Design for Project Proposals •  Write Building Codes and Planning Strategies to Create a Sense of Place A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Sample College Town: Lawrence, KS A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Sample College Town: Lawrence, KS A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Sample Auburn Streetscape Vision A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Sample Auburn Courtyard Vision 10 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council CASE STUDY: StrongTowns.org – Holland, MI Describe your town's transportation system and what transportation options are available for residents •  The City of Holland (pop: approx 49,000) infrastructure is designed to provide alternative modes of transportation •  Complete Streets: •  Although we have an historic grid pattern with 150 miles of streets and 365 lane miles, our 150 miles of sidewalk were recently supplemented by over eight (8) miles boardwalks, bike paths, and bike lanes (22%, 3%, and 100% increase respectively over the last decade) 60 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council CASE STUDY: StrongTowns.org – Holland, MI (cont) Give an example of an incremental project that your town has undertaken •  Downtown was threatened by … a 25% vacancy rate, and had deteriorating infrastructure and building stock •  A new vision was created to compete with the “national mall rush” in 1987 This visioning process led to principles that preserved the grid, the compactness of Downtown, the traditional building streetscapes, increased the downtown residential units, provided free downtown parking, and instituted an innovative patient capital building faỗade restoration program •  Downtown is diligently maintained by [along with others] a Design Review Committee, and a Parking Committee 61 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council CASE STUDY: StrongTowns.org – Holland, MI (cont) Describe how residents of your town are actively involved in local decision making •  A good example of local decision-making is how the Holland community did an about-face from planning to rebuild a coalburning power plant to a natural gas plant due to opposition from local environmental interest groups This community input eventually led to establishing a forty year Community Energy Plan to reduce the per capita carbon footprint by 60% •  This change would not have been possible without the Mayor’s creation of a Sustainability Committee, the Community Energy Plan, seven Citizen-led Task Forces and a comprehensive Sustainable-Return-On-Investment process 62 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Recommendations The existing infrastructure needs to be evaluated for areas approaching and departing any new student residential development Some of the infrastructure needs which were discussed at meetings in March and April, 2016, dealt with: • Intersection capacity • Access control of driveways on all arterials • Bicyclist and pedestrian safety programs • Drainage systems • Illumination of the roadway and sidewalk areas • Methods of determining increased traffic volumes • Transit services for intra campus travel and to and from satellite parking locations Intersection capacity of all traffic signals in the vicinity of a development zone needs to be evaluated prior to any development being approved These locations are not just immediately adjacent to the property being developed, but around the perimeter of each zone This capacity needs to be based on both pedestrian and vehicular movements Existing volumes need to be gathered Anticipated volumes need to be projected by the developer and agreed to by the City of Auburn engineering staff Since Auburn has a wireless communication system interconnecting the operation of downtown traffic signals, the effect of any recommended changes for traffic signal timing also need to be assessed on the arterial signal progression in place This assessment will include signalized intersections that are off-site 63 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Recs (cont) •  Access control of driveways on all arterials needs to address the effect of driveway access near all intersections Left turns into or out of developments may need to be prohibited if they interfere with through movements or regulated turning movements This access control was also referred to in questions about providing boulevards in downtown along College St Such boulevards would require removal of existing two-way left turn lanes and construction of curbed medians •  Bicyclist and pedestrian safety programs are needed for all projects that increase pedestrian volumes on the existing sidewalk system Interconnection of sidewalks to the Auburn University Campus need to be a responsibility of any proposed development Existing pedestrian and bicyclist attractions of the US Post Office, City Recreation Center, City Community Center and pedestrian oriented businesses need to be interconnected with sidewalks to the student residential developments Pedestrian movements at the downtown railroad crossings were noted as needing more attention Since bicyclists are entitled to use the roadways in Alabama, the road system may need modifications for bicycle capacity and detection at traffic signals A pedestrian and bicyclist education program needs to be carried out within student housing developments, as well as on the AU campus This program needs to assume that new students may not be familiar with advanced pedestrian timing techniques already in place in downtown Auburn These features include pedestrian actuation methods as well as both verbal and visual communications of the timing intervals for pedestrian movement 64 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Recs (cont) •  Drainage systems may need undergrounds storage structures to insure “zero run-off increase” These developments need to insure that pedestrian and bicycle movements can be accommodated on both rainy and sunny days •  Illumination of the roadway and sidewalk areas needs to be comparable to that provided by the City on Opelika Highway at N Gay St Separate lighting fixtures are provided there for vehicular needs and pedestrian needs •  Methods of determining increased traffic volumes of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorized vehicles need to be investigated and presented to the public Parking generation and trip generation characteristics of similar student residential developments need to be studied Similar locations in Auburn should be studied to determine local conditions Locations of several college towns were contacted to see what similar parking generation studies have been done there Similar data is needed for trip generation •  Transit services for intra campus travel and to and from satellite parking locations need to be considered All large developments need to have on street transit stops The students that are expected to live in student housing areas need transit service connections to the furthest class locations Also the employment office on Shug Jordan Parkway and the Veterinary School present problems for students living in downtown without motorized vehicles University employees need similar access to these locations Satellite parking at these locations with transit to downtown could be used as a method of reducing the demand for downtown and on-campus parking This list as discussed is not considered to be totally comprehensive These needs should be used to complement any existing development regulations 65 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Resources Articles and References A Parking Resource List •  “Parking deck deterioration – the reasons why,” James M Hunnicutt, published in Concrete Construction Magazine, September 1976 •  http://www.concreteconstruction.net/concrete-articles/parking-deckdeterioration-the-reasons-why.aspx •  “Elements of Good Parking Garage Functional Design,” James M Hunnicutt, published in Concrete International Magazine, March 1, 1980 •  https://www.concrete.org/publications/ internationalconcreteabstractsportal.aspx?m=details&i=8899 •  “Parking Facilities,” Shannon Sanders McDonald, AIA, last updated 02-16-2015, in Whole Building Design Guide, National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) •  https://www.wbdg.org/design/parking.php •  From American Planning Association website at: https://www.planning.org/research/streets/resources.htm 66 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Resources (cont) Articles and References (cont): B Complete Streets Resource List / Basics •  American Planning Association Planning Advisory Service “Complete Streets.” QuickNotes No http://.www.planning.org/pas/quicknotes/pdf/QN5text.pdf •  Dumbaugh, Eric 2005 "Safe Streets, Livable Streets." Journal of the American Planning Association71 (3): 283-300.www.informaworld.com/smpp/ content~content=a787370026~db=all~order=page •  Handy, Susan, Robert Paterson, and Kent Butler 2003 “Planning for Street Connectivity: Getting from Here to There.” Planning Advisory Service Report no 515, Chicago: American Planning Association http:// www.planning.org/store/product/?ProductCode=BOOK_P515 •  Handy, Susan 2002 "You Can Get There from Here." PAS Memo, November •  McCann, Barbara 2005 "Complete the Streets!" Planning, May, 18-23 http://www.planning.org/planning/2005/may/completestreets.htm •  McCann, Barbara and John LaPlante 2008 "Complete Streets: We Can Get There From Here." ITE Journal 78 (5): 24-28 www.completestreets.org/webdocs/resources/cs-ite-may08.pdf •  National Complete Streets Coalition 2008 "Introduction to Complete Streets." PowerPoint presentation www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/cs/resources/cs-intro.pptx •  Transportation Alternatives 2008 “Streets to Live By: How livable street design can bring economic, health and quality-of-life benefits to New York City” http://transalt.org/files/newsroom/reports/streets_to_live_by.pdf 67 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Resources (cont) Articles and References (cont): C Complete Streets Resource List / Guidelines •  Institute of Transportation Engineers 2010 Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach: An ITE Recommended Practice Washington, D.C.: Institute of Transportation Engineers www.ite.org/css/RP-036AE.pdf •  U.S Access Board Public Rights-of-Way www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/streets-sidewalks/publicrights-of-way •  Victoria Transport Policy Institute 2009 "Multi-Modal Level-of-Service (LOS) Indicators."Online TDM encyclopedia Victoria, B.C.: Victoria Transport Policy Institute www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm129.htm D Design Considerations •  American Planning Association 2006 Planning and Urban Design Standards Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons www.planning.org/store/product/?ProductCode=BOOK_RPUD E Bicycle/Pedestrian Considerations •  McCann, Barbara 2007 Inclusive Pedestrian Environments: Resources & Recommendations Project Report Webbased resource from Project Action and Adaptive Environments.www.humancentereddesign.org/pedestrian/ index.html •  New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center 2008 Constructing, Maintaining, and Financing Sidewalks in New Jersey http://njbikeped.org/portfolio/constructing-maintaining-and-financing-sidewalks-in-new-jersey/ •  Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 2008 Active Transportation for America: A Case for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and Walking www.railstotrails.org/resourcehandler.ashx?id=2948 •  U.S Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration 2015 A Resident's Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities.http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/PED_BIKE/ped_cmnity/ped_walkguide/ residents_guide2014_final.pdf 68 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Resources (cont) Articles and References (cont): F Complete Streets Resource List / Accessibility •  Sanchez, Thomas W., et al 2007 The Right to Transportation: Moving to Equity Chicago: Planners Press.www.planning.org/store/product/?ProductCode=BOOK_A64293 •  Szold, Terry S 2002 "What Difference Has the ADA Made?" Planning, April, 10-15.www.planning.org/planning/ 2002/apr/ADA.htm G Public Transit •  Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program 2008 NCHRP Report 616: Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets.http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/ nchrp_rpt_616.pdf H Health Aspects •  Frank, Lawrence D., James F Sallis, Terry L Conway, James E Chapman, Brian E Saelens, and William Bachman 2006 "Many Pathways from Land Use to Health: Associations between Neighborhood Walkability and Active Transportation, Body Mass Index, and Air Quality." Journal of the American Planning Association 72 (1) 75-87.www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a787384888~db=all~order=page •  Morris, Marya 2006 Planning Active Communities Planning Advisory Service Report no 543/544 Chicago: American Planning Association www.planning.org/store/product/?ProductCode=BOOK_P543 •  Sallis, James F., and Karen Glanz 2006 "The Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Eating, and Obesity in Childhood." Future of Children 16 (1): 89-108.http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ795891.pdf 69 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Parking & Traffic Engineering Resources (cont) Articles and References (cont): I Complete Streets Resource List / Examples and Implementation •  Massachusetts Highway Department 2006 Project Development and Design Guide Boston: Massachusetts Highway Department.www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/DoingBusinessWithUs/ManualsPublicationsForms/ ProjectDevelopmentDesignGuide.aspx •  Charlotte (North Carolina), City of 2007 Urban Street Design Guidelines.http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/ Transportation/PlansProjects/pages/urban%20street%20design%20guidelines.aspx •  Metropolitan Transportation Commission 2006 Routine Accommodation of Pedestrians and Bicyclists in the Bay Area: Results from Interviews with Transportation Professionals and Recommendations to Encourage Routine Accommodation Oakland, Cal.: Metropolitan Transportation Commission.http://apps.mtc.ca.gov/ meeting_packet_documents/agenda_668/Routine_Accommodation_Ped_Bike_Study_6-06.pdf J Recently Introduced Legislation •  State of California Assembly Bill 1358 California Complete Streets Act of 2008.www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/ bill/asm/ab_1351-1400/ab_1358_bill_20080930_chaptered.pdf •  HR 1443: Complete Streets Act of 2009 www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1443 •  SB 584: Complete Streets Act of 2009 www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-584 K Web Links to Project Partners •  American Planning Association: www.planning.org •  National Complete Streets Coalition: www.completestreets.org •  National Policy and Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN):www.nplanonline.orgI 70 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Real Estate Finance: Mises Institute Article “College Towns Join the Mania: The Skyscraper Curse in Auburn” By Mark Thornton, Mises.org, September 3, 2015 The “Skyscraper Curse” describes the eerie connection between record-breaking skyscrapers and global economic crises There are no true skyscrapers being built in Auburn, Alabama, home of Auburn University But, there has been a great deal of building big and tall Luxury student apartment building leads the way, followed by high-end restaurants, and retail space Two student apartment buildings were torn down this past week to make room for yet more building The city government is also spending truckloads of money on street improvements and a state-of-the-art high school What are people thinking? Don’t they realize we are in one of the weakest recoveries on record and possibly headed for another recession? Is it greedy bankers and construction companies run amuck? Is it out-of-control architects and chefs that are to blame? Or is it the spoiled rich college kids who demand luxury apartments and locally grown veggies? The rush to build bigger, taller, and more luxurious buildings actually has little to with any of these groups, but it has divided us as a city On the one hand, there are many people upset because it is changing “the loveliest village on the plains.” Local residents are seeing “Keep Auburn Lovely: Save Our Village” signs popping up all over town They oppose the building 71 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Real Estate Finance: Mises Institute Article (cont) On the other hand, construction workers, cement dealers, building supply companies, and heavy equipment operators must love the fast-paced business and full-time jobs with overtime They love it This has all happened before Remember? Washington, DC: Where Booms Begin The problem actually starts in Washington, DC in an unremarkable building on 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW which houses the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve The Board, along with a rotating selection of Regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents form the Open Market Committee which sets an interest rate policy targeting the interest rate that banks charge other banks for short-term loans — the Federal Funds rate When the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee sets the target lower, it sets off a tendency for interest rates to fall across the economy When they raise the target for the Federal Funds rate, interest rates tend to rise across the economy For the last seven-anda-half plus years they have kept the target under a quarter of percent This type of policy has never happened before This explains the ultra low rates on your savings account, CD, and mortgage over the last several years It also explains the luxury-building mania When the Federal Reserve first lowered rates bankers burned by bad mortgages after the housing bubble along with luxury game day condo builders would not take the bait Once bitten, twice shy However, eventually low interest rates are too tempting to resist, especially as new bankers and construction companies come onto the scene 72 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Real Estate Finance: Mises Institute Article (cont) The Effects of Low Interest Rates Lower rates have several effects, including less saving and more spending Low rates also increase stock market prices because lower rates increase the value of corporations, reduce the cost of borrowing, inducing individuals to move money from bank accounts to stock market accounts and to be more fully invested in stocks When the policy is successful at increasing stock prices, people reduce savings further and spend more on luxury goods Lower rates also boost borrowing and investment If you think that the combination of reduced savings and increased luxury spending sounds contradictory, you are correct In any case, lower interest rates also tend to increase the price of land, particularly in the center city In contrast, higher interest rates encourage land and real estate owners to part with their properties at lower prices Higher land prices make development deals harder to generate profits The solution is to build more intensively and to make buildings taller A $1 million piece of land could be profitable by building just one story, but if that same lot is $2 million then you might have to build three stories to make it profitable A one story building is relatively inexpensive to build compared to a three story building which requires stairways, elevators, and sturdier construction techniques However, the three story building also produces two-and-a-half times more rentable space 73 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council Real Estate Finance: Mises Institute Article (cont) How Malinvestment Leads to Busts Is it better to just build something, even if it is the wrong thing? Well, even if interest rates could stay near zero forever, it still means we are deploying our resources incorrectly The things we are building will not be as profitable as originally projected and the excess capacity means that long existing projects will also become less profitable In other words, eventually, their economic values will be less than the amount invested in them It will also make it more difficult to pay back the loans, especially if you reduce savings and increase your borrowing and luxury spending These circumstances are in no one’s best long-term interests But, apparently, eliminating the cause in Washington is currently beyond our collective ability Mark Thornton is a senior resident fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, and is the book review editor for the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics He is the author of The Economics of Prohibition, coauthor of Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War, and the editor of The Quotable Mises, The Bastiat Collection, and An Essay on Economic Theory 74 A Presentation to: The Auburn City Council