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1996 03 09 CC Minutes* LA QUINTA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 9, 1996 Special meeting of the La Quinta City Council was called to order at the hour of 9:00 A.M. in the La Quinta Senior Center by Mayor Holt. PRESENT: Council Members Adolph, Henderson, Perkins, Sniff, Mayor Holt ABSENT: None Clerk's note for the record: Mayor Bangerter was married on February 24, 1996 explaining the name change) PUBLIC COMMENT None BUSINESS SESSION 1. PRESENTATION OF A DRAFT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN INCLUDING A DISCUSSION OF MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT. Mayor Holt advised the audience that this meeting has been planned as an informal session with the intent of obtaining public input. Mr. Genovese, City Manager, believed that the Economic Development Plan will be an important part of the overall strategic planning process for the City and will set a number of policies and be a guiding factor in defining the vision for the City. He then introduced city staff and consultants Frank Spevacek and Jim Simon with Rosenow, Spevacek Group and Bob Gardner with Robert Charles Lesser Company who was contracted with by RSG). He then reviewed the anticipated format for this meeting. Frank Spevacek with RSG, reviewed the history of the Economic Development Plan, advising that it began in July 1995, when the Council authorized the study. Since that time, Community Workshops community- wide as well as focusing on The Village and have held meetings with various property owners and business people. The purpose of this effort is to begin with the end in mind to define what the community wants to look at and where the community and City want to dedicate its resources so we can take advantage of the market opportunity that will be bestowed upon La Quinta as we enter the next century. The purpose here is to gain refinement and input from the community and the Council so the document can be presented to the Council on April 16th. Their intent is for the BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 *Council Minutes 2 March 9? 1996 document to embody policies, identify resource commitments, identify a strategy and target areas and then the Economic Development Staff will then pursue in trying to facilitate the right economic and business climate to take advantage of the market opportunities that present themselves. He advised that the valley cities are currently competing for the various commercial, resort and recreational and other uses to get them to locate here. The market study identifies a significant amount of growth that's going to occur in the East Coachella Valley region during the next ten years. We feel that we are strategically located physically and from a city standpoint, to capitalize on that growth to bolster our tax base. In summation, Mr. Spevacek advised that the Economic Development Plan basically sets forth a business plan as to how the City will dedicate its resources for the next five years and to outline our vision for the desired development. The Market Study was intended to identify the growth trends and the market niche that La Quinta fits into and identifies opportunities and liabilities in terms of physical opportunities or financial resources we might have, infrastructure needs, etc. It will also identify the policies that will be undertaken in the implementation effort. The purpose is to identify what we're trying to accomplish so when staff works with the community, they have a framework within which to work. It also identifies target areas within the community and activities we will undertake during the next five years. He then explained how the Economic Development Plan fits in with the City's planning effort and how it meshes with the CIP, the five-year Resource Allocation Plan, the City/Agency cash flow strategies and the annual City/Agency operating budgets. Joyce Sivley questioned the status of the theatres and Mr. Herman, Community Development Director, advised that they should be pulling Building Permits by the middle of the month. Bob Gardner with Robert Charles Lesser Company, advised that the objective of the Market Study was to provide the market outlook for short and long-term real estate opportunities in the City and that the analysis examined several uses including regional, power, and neighborhood retail, office, resort hotel, golf course, commercial recreation and entry-level housing. He then reviewed the methodology involved which included establishing supply conditions, preparing demand forecasts on various socioeconomic forecasts and combining the demand outlook with the supply conditions to draw conclusions about market opportunities in the City. BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 *Council Minutes 3 March 9? 1996 He then reviewed the conclusions of the study advising that the overriding conclusion is that the economic development outlook for the City is favorable. A combination of continued population growth in the Coachella Valley and the City's name recognition creates a positive growth framework for the City. Rebounding national and state economies should benefit tourism which should lead to an additional resort hotel after the year 2000. Continued population growth in the valley, particularly the Eastern Coachella Valley and the strategic location of Highway 111 presents the City with the future opportunity to attract possibly a regional shopping center and additional discount/off-price retailing over the next five to ten years. Market potential for a public, daily-fee course by the end of the decade appears favorable. La Quinta offers a balance of single-family housing that serves the low and moderate-market segments. The market outlook is not favorable for office space, additional local-serving retail grocery stores, drug stores) and commercial recreation. In response to a query from John Sayre in the audience, commercial recreation is defined as large-scale family fun-zones, water park, etc. Mr. Gardner stated that while we're moving out of a difficult recession, the Coachella Valley is one of the fastest growing regions in the State with an estimated population of 270,000 and has increased at 4.5% per year since 1990, exceeding Riverside County's growth rate of 4.4% during this same period. Riverside County never went into recession in the early 90's like most of California did. Coachella Valley should continue to grow with about 15,500 new residents per year through 2010 and should reach a population of 350,000 by 2,000 and over 500,000 by 2010. They believe that the economy will continue to be driven by a growing tourism base, second home buyers and retirees. Relocation of companies drawn by the quality of life in the Valley may occur but will be minor in relation to the employment spin-Offs from visitors and retirees. La Quinta enjoys an excellent visitor image and strategic location with the Valley that should ensure the City's future success. He continued in saying that the City is located in the growing Eastern Coachella Valley, which should receive most of the population growth forecasted for the Valley. Highway 111 is the key linkage to the growing Eastern Coachella Valley and the more affluent communities to the west. During the first half of this decade, La Quinta was the fastest growing city in the Valley at over 10% per year. In summary, the region is growing due to tourism, second-home buyers and retirees; and La Quinta is perfectly positioned to capture this growth if it wishes to move forward and do so. Audrey Ostrowsky felt that the report is ignoring families with children she BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 *Council Minutes?s 4 March 9,1996 thought it was wrong to have a one industry town. She felt that many young families would move here if they could get decent jobs. So there's a need for a more stable economy than just depending on tourism. Mr. Gardner advised that he was talking about the major trends affecting the region. The Council would need to make a policy decision to encourage manufacturing firms and other types of employment. The city can either move with the market trends or choose to try to alter them. He pointed out that the communities of Las Vegas and Phoenix are aggressive competitors because of lower-cost alternatives. Council Member Henderson stated that this is basically a State issue rather than a Coachella Valley issue. She noted that there are local groups, i.e., CVAG 2020, and a group sponsored by the Desert Sun working on these issues. There is a strong emphasis on light industry which seems to be the missing leg that we need as she felt that it's going to play an important part in our future. Robert Tyler expressed concern that all of our recreation is centered around golf, noting that it is seasonal, and not all people play golf and population trends indicate that we're getting younger with young families and felt that we do have the base for year-round recreation that is family oriented and suggested things like bowling alleys and skating rinks. Mr. Gardner advised that they were focusing on what are called family-fun zones which are about 8-10 acres like miniature golf courses and water parks and found that we don't have the population base to support them, nor is La Quinta in the right location for them as they normally prefer freeway locations. Things like bowling alleys and skating rinks should not be ruled out. Council Member Henderson advised that she has had some encouraging discussions with the County of Riverside in regard to use of the pool at Lake Cahuilla and they are considering, among other things, a water slide, so that could be in the offing. Council Member Perkins stated that in the original information the Council received, there was some hesitancy about another hotel, shopping center and golf course and asked if they are now suggesting that these things are closer in the future than originally thought. Mr. Gardner advised that their analysis spoke to the need for another resort hotel in the Coachella Valley 400-500 rooms) and they feel that there will be sufficient demand by the end of the decade for several in the valley and La BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 *Council Minutes 5 March 9, 996 Quinta should capture one of them. Regarding shopping centers, there's going to be sufficient population to support another regional shopping center in the valley by the end of the decade and La Quinta is in a position to capture the next one because of the Highway 111 frontage. However, since the last report, the department store industry is continuing to go through consolidation, but the buying power remains. What has changed is the number of anchor tenants available to put into a center. Mayor Holt asked if lower end shopping centers and recreational facilities were looked at, keeping in mind the younger middle class families. Mr. Gardner advised that their analysis did consider income factors when they looked at aggregate demand. They had discussions with developers in the area and a frame of reference is that over the past several years, this region has seen a tremendous influx of retail from a discount retailing standpoint and they feel that the area is almost overly saturated with this type of product. But, even so, there are probably gaps that haven't been filled in and oftentimes when retailers look at the demographics of the area they often don't see either enough income at certain age groups or enough of them) to support their type of store. At this time, the demographics aren't there to support certain kinds of retail at this time, but as the regional population grows that demand will be there. Robert Tyler referred to the proposed regional shopping center in Cathedral City and how that will affect one in La Quinta. Mr. Gardner advised that the region can support only one additional shopping center if it goes in Cathedral City, then the opportunity for one here will be gone. Council Member Sniff disagreed with Mr. Gardner as there are no regional malls east of Palm Desert and the eastern end of the valley is growing at a rapid rate and a big part of the eastern valley is comprised of more permanent residents than those to the west. He felt that the proposed mall in Cathedral City is in a disadvantageous place and accessibility is extremely important in any business. Mr. Spevacek advised that the trend has been to locate regional malls adjacent to freeways because it serves a more regional need. However, here in the valley, because of the weather conditions, because of transit patterns, etc. the trends are confused with the retailers because on one hand, there's a desire by the retailers to look at location in a black and white manner and, therefore, look at the freeway. We're confronted with bringing retailers to the reality that BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 *Council Minutes 6 March 9, 1996 Highway 111 is still the most logical corridor. Regarding the growth in the east valley area, the income levels are not forecasted to be as great as in the central valley, which will impact the type of retailers we might attract. Council Member Sniff felt that there will be growth of significant value to the east. He asked how far we're looking ahead he felt that we should be looking to 2020, looking at five-year increments for the next 25-30 years. He also felt that the stability of the east valley resident is more stable. He asked if an intermediate hotel was explored and Mr. Gardner advised not, that only resort hotels were looked at. Robert Metkus felt that down the road, La Quinta, lndio and Coachella will have a lot in common in the way of economics and should consider becoming one. Mr. Gardner explained that his role was to determine market trends and opportunities. Regarding Council Member Sniff's comments, he stated that his comments regarding the proposed regional mall in Cathedral City were intended to mean that should it go through, the possibilities of a regional mall here could either be delayed or deferred. Council Member Sniff commented on the possibility of people living here and working in the metropolitan areas once appropriate rapid transit is available which will increase our population. He wished to see us pursue dynamic diversification because he felt that we need to be multi-faceted and think on a broad over-all scale rather than picking some limited targets. John Sayre with KSL, agreed with Council Member Sniff that we need diversity of economy and while he wished to see light industry locate here, he felt that there's a tremendous opportunity for the people who are fleeing the cities and with today's technology and transportation, the virtual office can function anywhere. The issues at that point become lift; the airport, security, safety and maintenance of a lesser crime ridden area that they are fleeing from, as well as quality education. We have a terrific opportunity with having a lot of available undeveloped land. Regarding commercial recreation, there should be an opportunity to make that work. Their company is spending a lot of time researching children's programming by creating an international recreation reputation at their resort in Vail and that could happen here as well. They were able to develop other sources of funds for creating the recreation to the average person and family, like looking for corporate sponsorships and with non-profit foundation monies. He felt that we can create jobs for the working person and stated that KSL is bullish on this community and its future and the only way these things can happen is to have a master plan that incorporates BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 *Council Minutes 7 March 9,1996 a development/economic plan and marketing plan. Mayor Holt mentioned the number of employees at the La Quinta and commented that many of them are now coming to live in La Quinta as well as to work here. Council Member Sniff also noted that there are plans underway for a four?year college to locate here which will tend to keep people here and bring additional people here. It will be a major asset to the valley. Mr. Gardner felt that there was a theme emerging from this group which are coming from some of the opportunities that appear to be headed toward the high end of the market. That theme seems to be how do we make sure that the community doesn't end up becoming polarized. This is a challenge because of the direction in which the economic prospects are moving us. Council Member Henderson pointed out that the Riverside County Regional Airport Commission is aggressively pursuing growth at the Thermal Airport and making that a port of entry which will affect our community. Mr. Gardner believed that the airport will insure that the tourism of this city will continue to grow and with fiber optics, the flex-executive can come into the area because currently data transmission is very slow. Council Member Adolph noted staff has previously been directed to pursue areas of the City appropriate for light industry to bring revenue to the City and provide jobs. He didn't see anything in the draft allowing for this. He felt that Council Member Sniff's comments about diversity are very important. There is also a need to enhance what we currently have. He also advised that SunLine is currently exploring the possibility of a bus-line direct from Coachella Valley to San Bernardino so that people can live here and work in the Inland Empire. Mr. Gardner stated that what we have to make sure of it that we don't lose what we have going for us in this community; and every business has to make sure that they do appropriate marketing and be aware of competition and show that they're leaders to prevent competition. Regarding industry, there are two types of industry, export and those that are more support industries. Export industry is like Apple Computer Co. The service industry is a result of needing to service the local economy in the way of food, repairs and business and professional services. Some of these businesses need to locate in a business park. He stated that he previously was referring to the export type which are locating in areas with lower cost factors. BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 *City Council Minutes 8 March 9, 1996 Council Member Sniff felt that it's important to be compatible with our environment and commented on the need for the open vistas as without that everything else becomes irrelevant. Mr. Spevacek then opened up the discussion for input to what everyone saw as strengths and weaknesses of the community. The following input was received: STRENGTHS Being embraced by the mountains * Strategic location with Highway 111 and Jefferson and Washington Clean air/open space International recognition Access to the Thermal Airport User friendly City Hall Great organizations i.e., Senior Center, Chamber, etc. * Small town appeal/charm of the community * Arts/Culture * Favorable planning environment/competitive fees Weather WEAKNESSES * Dead and dying citrus groves * Traffic circulation * Need to more aggressively support the existing businesses like the Von's Center * Falling water table Code enforcement dogs, vacant homes, graffiti * No centralized mission or theme for the City * Need to complete streets in the cove * Business sign program * Weather * Need for signage for people exiting 1-10 * No real communication between the various organizations in the city Infrastructure costs including school costs) Mr. Spevacek then referred to the Mission Statement incorporated in the draft report and asked for input. Following group discussion, it was concluded that the proposed mission statement was adequate. BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02 * City Council Minutes 9 March 9,1996 Mr. Spevacek then advised that the purpose of this meeting was to formulate a draft economic development plan for submittal to the City Council on April 16th. Audrey Ostrowsky questioned the plans for The Village. Mr. Spevacek advised that the challenge with The Village is that we have to find uses to locate in The Village that will attract people to come there. There are not enough roof-tops within The Village to support local commercial business, so the City has to go out and create a market in The Village. Also, there are a lot of infrastructure needs in The Village. We need to determine what we want to proactively go after in terms of uses. He advised that for awhile it was discussed that it would be a good area for a center for the arts and in 1990 when it came up in open forum; it was decided that that wasn't a good direction to go and was then decided to go with Community Commercial uses and since that time, the Ralph's Center has gone in and has used up the market demand for community commercial uses in this area. Regarding a comment about The Village, Mr. Genovese advised that one of the out- croppings of the economic development plan is to visit The Village Specific Plan and to develop a Highway 111 Specific Plan. The meeting then adjourned upon motion by Council Members Sniff/Adolph and carried unanimously. R?pectfully submitted JUHOLA City Clerk BIB] 05-20-1996-U01 12:29:45PM-U01 CCMIN-U02 03-U02 09-U02 1996-U02