Time to roll out the WUDO Welcome Wagon!

Downtown Orinda has received several new 'additions' as of late: Cine Cuvee, The Fourth Bore, Taverna Pelligrini and Sanvitalia Home & Garden, among others. In the spirit of welcoming these establishments to town and supporting local businesses (one of our group's stated goals), we are rolling out fun, community-oriented "Welcome Wagon" events to mobilize Orindans to enjoy the products and services these vendors are bringing to our town! 

Our first Welcome Wagon will take place March 31st from 6:00 - 9:00PM at The Fourth Bore Tap and Grill Room in Theater Square. Stop by for a quick drink and say hello, or grab a table with friends for dinner. WUDO’s Steering Committee will be hanging out and would love to meet and talk all-things-Orinda with you. We’re also inviting members of the Orinda City Council to join us.

Let’s all be Orinda proud for a night! Click here to RSVP -  see you on the 31st. 

New urgent care clinic opens in Orinda

What's Up Downtown Orinda was happy to learn that we have a new, local alternative to long emergency room waits for evenings, weekends and holidays: Sutter Urgent Care opened March 1st at 12 Camino Encinas.

They are open Monday-Friday from 5pm-9pm (after their normal clinic hours) and Saturday/Sunday/Holidays from 10am-2pm. Their motto is "1/4th the time and 1/10th the cost".

Of course, we hope to NOT see you there, but this is a great addition to the Downtown Orinda mix.

Planning progress on 25A Orinda Way

*First, thanks so much to everyone who offered input on 25A Orinda Way to the Planning Department, and who attended the four hour (!!!) meeting on Tuesday night.*

Tuesday evening the planning commission reviewed the most recent plans for 25A Orinda Way. For those who are new to the planning process, in a nutshell, here’s how it works. The Planning Department Staff works with applicants to pull together their proposals. Then, Staff and the applicant present plans to the six-person Planning Commission (volunteer citizens) who then votes “yay or nay” on proposed projects.

In the case of 25A Orinda Way, Staff recommended a course of action based on their review of the proposed plan prior to the meeting - in this case the December 8 planning study session that we covered.  In what seemed like an easy recommendation, Staff suggested that the Commission approve Tandem’s proposal for 25A Orinda Way, including some variances (on parking), exemptions (on property setbacks), issue a commercial use permit and sign off on the design. Easy enough, you say?  Well not so fast, said the Commissioners… they had plenty more feedback and asked the developer to return and present revisions on Tuesday, March 22.

Here is our play-by-play.

Building to the Lot Line

On the issue of the “Zero Setback” exemption: the project will be built nearly to the lot line on all four sides.  City code requires a ten foot setback.  This exemption is easy enough to grant on three of the four sides (sides and rear). The commission raised the concern, however, that on the street side, a narrow sidewalk poses a challenge for pedestrian pass through.

Several “pinch points” were identified.  These are spots where trees, architecture and landscape features come together to narrow the sidewalk to the point where only one pedestrian could pass (and forget about that double Bob stroller).  The commission pointed out that while the sidewalk would be no narrower than it is now, the anticipated increase in pedestrian use would put pressure on these pinch points.

The commission presented to the developer a few options to mitigate this problem.  First, ground floor commercial space could be pushed back from the street and an “arcade” created to allow for pedestrian traffic. What's an arcade, you ask? See below. 

An example of arcade style architecture in Ojai, CA

Second (earmuffs if you love trees), some of the seven trees lining the sidewalk immediately in front of the building could be removed.  

The commission pointed out that the second floor and rooftop parking would be highly visible without these trees and cautioned that some should remain to mitigate the visual scale of the structure and the appearance of the rooftop parking.  

The Commission suggested trees screening the front of building could be be removed to make more space on the sidewalk

Both the commission and developer were open to suggestions that would bring back green to the streetscape.  (If this were a text message we would insert a tree, hug, and smooch emogi.)

Third, it was suggested that perhaps the developer could remove the small-ish courtyard currently featured in the design (see below), and re-distribute that square footage as a setback or more sidewalk space, while preserving valuable retail square footage.

Parking, parking… and more parking

Quite a bit of the meeting was dedicated to the parking variance. With 69 parking stalls proposed, the project is five stalls short of the minimum number of stalls dictated by the size of the leased spaces.  The mix of retail and restaurant tenants dictates the number needed, and that mix is in flux as tenants have not been identified.  If there are more restaurants, the project could be short up to roughly 30 spots.

Commissioner McGrath remarked that if there are not enough spaces in this lot, then we have a successful development on our hands.  Agreed.

While the commission didn’t seem to take issue with granting a parking variance, much discussion from the commission and the public commentary alike revolved around public versus paid parking.  The Developer has proposed that the first 30 minutes would be free to the public, with 3 hour validation thereafter for those patronizing the building tenants. Those trying for all day BART Parking would have to pony up some real cash. 

What Say You, Orinda?

When this item was opened to public comment, the overall consensus was that Orindans would like to see a new building on this lot and that they are excited that there is a project on the table. But there were concerns too:  

• The commercial leasing plan. Both the Commission and the community are eager to learn who we might expect to see join the downtown retail and restaurant mix. The proposal shows 5 spaces ranging in size from 4,000 square feet to 1800 square feet. For some perspective, Loard’s is approximately 700 square feet and Europa is 4,500 square feet. These are big spaces that will need big retailers and restauranteurs but so far, the Developer has remained mum on who they plan to lease to (although they mentioned a mix of national chains and smaller businesses would likely be necessary). 
• The scale of the building and that the developers are ”squeezing a lot onto a little” relative to the lot.
• Sensitivity to The Vintage House: the owner of the Vintage House (the brick office building behind 25A Orinda Way) expressed concern about the design of rear elevation of the building and how his tenant’s views would be impacted. There also seemed to be some confusion regarding the shared driveway on the North side of the building, and whether terms had been agreed upon between the owner of Vintage House and the applicant.
• Have the nearby PG&E power lines, and the resulting limitations and safety concerns they come with,  been fully factored into the design?
• Seismic safety, given the weight of 69 vehicles atop a building of this size. "You just don't do that in earthquake country."
• Disappointment that story poles aren’t being required of the developers. "How else can the community know what's being proposed?"
• Bike parking: the applicant has agreed to add six additional bike parking stalls to the required four, for a total of ten stalls.  Where these will go has yet to be finalized.

The Takeaway

The developers have until March 22 to address the design concerns posed by the Commission and we hope they address the Community's concerns too. 

While motion to further this discussion at that time may seem like a setback, this is progress by Orinda’s standards. 

The discussion remains open, and we encourage anyone with feedback on this project to email Derek Farmer at the Planning Department (dfarmer@cityoforinda.org) and CC Tiffany Morlin (tmorlin@cityoforinda.org). This is your community, speak up and get involved! 

Adore Orinda

A few weeks ago we dropped in on Sophie Braccini and Roy Hodgkinson, our intrepid leaders at the Orinda Chamber of Commerce. We wanted to introduce ourselves and learn a bit about what they do. Sophie's part time Executive Director position is a paid one. Roy, Chamber President for 2016-2018, is a volunteer. They are open on Wednesdays in the office space across from the ground floor Library elevator and warmly welcome visitors. 

The Chamber's main objective is to support and promote businesses here in Orinda with ribbon cuttings, business mixers and awards ceremonies. In addition to membership and sponsorships, they raise additional money for these endeavors with a comedy show taking place March 4th at the Orinda Theater. Information is here.

Lamorinda Presents is a combination of all three Chambers working together to promote each other's events: http://lamorindaweb.com. A member of the Lafayette Chamber is actually the one responsible for the Love Lafayette, Adore Orinda and Amour Moraga bumper stickers. Drop by the Orinda Chamber next Wednesday to get yours!

25A Orinda Way: Planning commission here they come

Correction: In today's email we incorrectly stated the next planning meeting would take place on Thursday, February 23rd. The meeting is in fact on Tuesday, February 23rd. Now, onto the good stuff...

Back in December we wrote about proposed plans for a new commercial building at 25A Orinda Way, the empty lot across from the Orinda Library and Community Center. As previously mentioned, should this development become a reality, it would be the first new commercial building on the Village side of Orinda since the city was incorporated in 1985. 

In short, it's a big deal.

Last week we went down to the planning department for an update. What we found was that developer, Tandem Real Estate Company, submitted updated renderings and a vote will be taken on Tuesday, February 23rd by the planning commission at 7:00 PM at the Orinda Library auditorium. Draft plans are available to the public at the Planning Department at 22 Orinda Way, open 8-5 daily, closed for lunch 12-1. 

UPDATE: The final plans are now available online. 

The latest proposal shows that Tandem and the architect incorporated some suggestions from the December 8th public study session, and left out others. For example, the facade is now broken into varied finishes and materials with a clock tower added. 

They have widened the sidewalk to incorporate four existing street parking stalls into the design, reimagining them as additional outdoor seating.

And they have moved the parking lot entrance from Orinda Way around to the side of the building so cars will enter and exit via the same driveway used for the Vintage House.

They did not scale back the project in terms of height or setback from the street, as some had suggested. Nor did they incorporate more Spanish style elements to tie into Orinda's history. The design looks essentially the same as in December.

We are in support of downtown revitalization and hope that all stakeholders - the city, the developers and the community - are advocating for beautiful, high-quality design that will be attractive to an excellent tenant mix and fit in with Orinda's "village" character. After all, the building will be a cornerstone for decades to come.  It's important to get it right. 

We will be attending the planning meeting on the 23rd to ask some questions we have heard posed on the street. For example, 

• We'd love to see some "story poles" erected to show the scale of the project before it is approved. If you've ever seen a rough framework of 2x4s showing height and width of a new building or addition prior to construction, these are "story poles". This is an important way to see how the final building will scale in proportion to the lot itself, to pedestrians, neighboring structures and drivers.

An example of story poles from a project in Moraga

• Has enough space been allotted for commercial loading and unloading, and what is the plan for trash removal? Currently one parking space is designated as a loading zone. Will this be sufficient to support five retail/restaurant businesses plus office space upstairs? 
• We know that the developers can't lock up leases until the space exists, but we are curious to hear how they plan to excite and attract tenants. Based on many conversations we've had, we know that Orindans would love to support boutiques, small businesses and regional operators. Is there evidence from similar developments that the current design is conducive to attracting these types of tenants? 

Given all of this information, we are wondering how you are feeling about this project. If you have thoughts, we encourage you to get involved in the following ways: 

• Email feedback or questions for the planning department and commission to Derek Farmer (dfarmer@cityoforinda.org) and Tiffany Morlin (tmorlin@cityoforinda.com). They are very open to community input. Feedback sent before 5pm on the 17th will be passed along to the planning commission in the February 19th packet along with the final plans. All items submitted before noon on the 23rd will be passed along to the commissioners to consider prior to the meeting.
• Join our group at the planning meeting on February 23rd. There will be time for public comments at that meeting.
• Or send us an email to info@whatsupdowntownorinda.com with your thoughts or questions, we may be able to voice them at the meeting. 

Thanks for reading!

Welcome (back) to Orinda's new Planning Director

The City of Orinda has announced that Drummond Buckley, who served as Senior Planner in Orinda from 1996 through 1999 and subsequently Interim Planning Director, will be returning to Orinda as Planning Director effective February 29, 2016. 

We welcome Mr. Buckley back to Orinda and look forward to a new era of city planning.

According to a recent Contra Costa Times news brief, City Manager Janet Keeter wrote in a statement that "As we work together to discuss the future of Orinda, we need an individual at the helm who brings both fresh ideas and an intricate understanding of our city's complex planning process."  Ms. Keeter says "Mr. Buckley's experience both here in Orinda and in other communities will add tremendous value to our city's planning efforts."

Mr. Buckley served as Planning Director for the City of Sausalito from 2001 through 2004.  Of Mr. Buckley's background, local community organization Orinda Vision reports that he helmed his own consulting practice in San Francisco from 2004 to 2010 and that Mr. Buckley was most recently employed as Civilian Master Planner for URS Corporation with whom he served in Afghanistan, embedded with the US Air Force Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron. In this role, he developed some 20 Base Master Plans throughout the country.

Mr. Buckley succeeds Interim Planning Director, Victor Carniglia, who temporarily assumed the role when Emmanuel Ursu retired in September of 2015 after a fifteen year run as Orinda's Planning Director.

We'll be on the lookout for signs of progress from Mr. Buckley and his team come March! 

Parking passion

Last week, What's Up Downtown attended a public information session on an upcoming parking study for downtown and impacted neighborhoods. If you’ve even scratched the surface on city issues, you know that parking is a complicated but key factor in improving our downtown. In fact, there was so much parking passion in the room we wish we had brought some popcorn!

The meeting was the first opportunity for the broader community to give input to TJKM, the contractor hired to gather parking data and make recommendations to the city on how to improve both parking and traffic flow. TJKM has also gathered with what seems to be a well-rounded stakeholder committee of neighborhood reps, city officials and a BART liaison.

Of the more than 50 people in the room, around 20 commented on a broad range of parking and traffic-related issues:

• Residents of the Bates/Muth and Brookwood areas lamented they are unable to park in front of their homes due to Bart overflow and 4 hour parking rules. Both have representatives on TJKM’s stakeholder committee.

• Did you know that it is the partial duty of just one Orinda police officer to enforce parking in downtown and surrounding neighborhoods? To us, this seems inadequate.

• One gentleman pushed for more bike and motorcycle parking to be a strong consideration of the study, pointing out how bike and moped adoption has increased as congestion has grown.

• Some lamented that if BART was to ever build a multi-story parking building, it would be used up by non-locals. “If you build it they will come,” they said. To which others replied, “If you don’t build it, they will still come and clog up our neighborhoods. In fact they already are!” Most agreed that priority parking for Orinda residents was an impossible battle to win. “After all, it is called BAY AREA Rapid Transit,” pointed out one attendee.

• What’s Up Downtown took the opportunity to let TJKM know just how long the Orinda BART monthly permit waiting list really is… currently 3+ years. That, coupled with a lack of enforcement downtown, means our commercial areas are bound to be clogged up with all-day parkers until something changes. Who is leaning on BART to fix it’s parking issue? What’s Up Downtown has previously heard it suggested that Steve Glazer could be the right person to convince BART to take action. City council member Eve Phillips let us know she is diving into the issue too. 

• Another gentleman passionately lamented the city leadership’s lack of forethought and that it should have been laying plans for more parking 20 years ago. “Stop kicking the can down the road!” he pleaded.

• Most agreed that coin operated meters are in opposition to the village character Orinda strives for. One attendee suggested coupling license plate reading technology with hourly limits, thereby eliminating the need for coin meters and circling meter maids, while another begged TJKM to spend some time in Lafayette to see what a nuisance meters can be.

• We also heard ideas for encouraging the owners of nearby private parking lots, many of which sit empty daily, to monetize their spaces rather than discourage parking. Seems smart to us, but it may only be a band-aid on a much larger problem.

• Not surprisingly, young families were noticeably under-represented at the meeting. Aren’t the non-retired the most likely to need BART or downtown parking every day to commute to and from work?

There will be more public forums as the study progresses and before final recommendations are made to the city.  We’ll keep you posted on those meetings. In the meantime, the consultants in charge seemed very open to input. Questions, suggestions and ideas can be directed to Tanya Gilmore tgilmore@cityoforinda.org who will pass them along to TJKM.

Of course, the big question is what the City will or won’t do with TJKM’s recommendations later this year.  We’ll be watching.

A three-hour tour

As we continue to educate ourselves about why our commercial area is what it is, we sought the expertise of residents who have been involved in Orinda’s downtown issues for years. Some were kind enough to join us on a walking tour of both the Village side (from the Country Club end of Orinda Way to the Shell gas station) and the Theater District. Over the course of nearly three hours we heard about almost every commercial property including who owns what, and the history of past efforts for improvement, investment, and redevelopment.

We came away from the tour feeling both energized by what COULD be, and depressed by the historically strong opposition to progress - even basic progress - among the stakeholders of our city. Here are some interesting highlights:

Country Club Area

Properties in the Country Club area from Camino Sobrante heading north along Orinda Way, including Avenida de Orinda, are good candidates for revitalization. The Phair's building, which was on the market for years, stands a better chance of being demolished and assembled with nearby properties in a new redevelopment plan.  Most of the these buildings date back to the 1940's-1950's with little attention paid to building facades, storefronts, ADA compliance and seismic upgrades. But the charming location, with exposure to the golf course, would benefit from a new retail/restaurant merchandizing plan. Concerns about this being a flood zone would have to be addressed, but this is not insurmountable and FEMA, for one, would like to get this area taken care of. 

Of note: One Camino Sobrante (the building across from Safeway where Starbucks is located) is a perfect example of positive change. Purchased in 1997, the current owner redeveloped a dilapidated property using a respected retail design firm and a local retail real estate company to market and lease the space. This is the only privately owned property in the Downtown Commercial District to be redeveloped in 30 years since the City's incorporation. 

The Village

We’ve all noticed the glaring incompatibility between Village Square (McCaulou's, Village Cafe), Bank of America and the Rite Aid/Post Office properties. Why can't the three property owners at least engage in a comfortable traffic and parking plan instead of the existing rat maze? Better yet, these properties are perfect candidates for assemblage, at least with Rite Aid, Post Office and BofA. We would think that if the businesses are part of a new development that looks attractive while maintaining its Village character, everyone would win. What if these funky, asphalt-heavy parcels (watch out for the transmission lines!) were purchased and redeveloped as a Town Square with grass and the old oak trees in the middle, retail and parking all around - similar to Healdsburg or Sonoma? Sounds heavenly to us!

The U-shaped combination of #17 Orinda Way (Clean Cleaners), #19 (Village Pizza, Parker Thatch) and #21 (Hilton House, UPS) fits well and looks like it belongs in the Village. Those older buildings are nothing fancy, but they are clean and well maintained with a nice tenant mix. The parking lot is even convenient with it’s well-defined entrance and exits, too.

Theater District aka "The Crossroads"

You may or may not be aware that the City has commissioned a study on downtown parking. (We attended last night's meeting and will give an update here soon). It turns out that 72% of the Theater District is covered with buildings, compared with 32% in the Village and 57% in the Country Club Plaza area. Four (4) two-story buildings on the east side of Moraga Way have no off-street parking which adds to the demand for street parking stalls. The Theater District is short by over 200 stalls, 100 of which are the result of the CVS, BevMo, Europa, Nations block. This block has the ability to add 300 below-ground parking stalls if a redevelopment plan is pursued by property owners, while at the same time creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment. 

Merchant Disinterest Amplifies the Problem

A number of Orinda retail and food businesses are closed on Sundays, the second busiest retail day of the week: McCaulou's, Hollyhock, Orinda Beauty Supply, The Medicine Shoppe, Turquoise Mediterranean Grill (also closed Saturday), Maya Mexican Grill, Morrison's Jewelers (also Monday), and Hilton House. We like these shops and restaurants but wonder if Sunday closings add to Orinda residents' disinterest in the Downtown, and give them more reasons to shop in Lafayette and Walnut Creek instead. Do Sunday closings communicate that Orinda is not open for business? Conversely, ground floor businesses at One Camino Sobrante (housing Starbucks mentioned above) are required to be open 7 days a week. 

Our biggest takeaway from the tour was that property owners hold the keys to our Downtown, and their way of looking at their properties determines whether we have a Downtown that is just occupied, or one that is vibrant and alive. And now the question becomes...what are Orindans going to do about it?

Thanks as always for following along, and please remember to tell friends and neighbors about our group, or share our posts on Facebook or NextDoor.