Old Town Top 10 unveiled

By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer
Recommendations to head to multiple review bodies starting in February | Friday, December 7, 2007 12:00 AM PST ∞

TEMECULA ---- After half a year of community workshops, the city planning department released its 10 recommendations for changes that need to occur in Old Town as development ---- an expected 2.3 million square feet of it ---- continues in the historical district over the next three decades.

About 50 people gathered in the Old Town Temecula Community Theater on Thursday night, many of them fueled by cookies and green punch provided by the city, to digest the high and low points of five previous workshops. The meetings spanned the topics of Old Town's history, building heights, design and building mass, economic potential and parking.

What resulted from those 12 hours of sometimes contentious public meetings, heavily attended by local landowners, business owners and residents, were 10 recommendations to change the way development occurs in Old Town. The suggestions outlined Thursday night ranged from preserving historic buildings to creating a creek walk to encouraging residential development to preparing a marketing strategy for commercial business in the area.

"Everything would have been a battle without this," said Assistant City Manager Bob Johnson, who has lead the Old Town effort. "It might have taken a while, but this will address issues that would have undoubtedly come up. This has really changed our perception about what can happen in Old Town."

The information from Thursday night's meeting will be compiled and should be available on the city's Web site, www.cityoftemecula.org, sometime next week.

The recommendations should come before the Old Town Local Review Board in February, then head to the Planning Commission later that month or in early March. It is expected by the city's staff that the council will review the recommendations in late March, at which time it will give policy direction and possibly the greenlight for a rewrite of the Old Town Specific Plan, a process that could take up to a year.

"That doesn't mean everything is on hold for a year. There is no moratorium on Old Town projects; they can proceed under the current specific plan, but now there will be clarification because we have a road map now," said Patrick Richardson, the city's senior planner. "We've heard from people on which direction Old Town should go in. It takes the guesswork out of this process."

One of the recommendations is to allow the construction of four-story buildings in Old Town.

"Taller buildings are appropriate, but we needed clear design standards," Richardson said. "We're not dictating the architecture, we're setting design guidelines that will take a lot of guesswork out of it."

Marvin Hayes, a Temecula resident since 1977 who has attended all of the workshops, said there are other places for "tall things" in the city, besides Old Town.

"If you want high-story buildings, go across the highway," Hayes said. "Old Town has to be Old Town. That's part of its character."

Neil Cleveland, co-owner of the Stampede night club, said he was disappointed there was not a recommendation for a traffic circulation plan in Old Town.

Marc Pascoe of Butterfield Square said the process of having an open forum for community feedback was not only appreciated, but needed.

"There needs to be accountability and transparency as we go forward with a plan for Old Town," he said. "We need to work together, both on the public and private sides."

However, Pascoe has concerns about whether some of the expected growth could be afforded under current market conditions and the high land prices in the Old Town district.

After determining that a revision of the Old Town specific plan was needed, the city paid $75,200 in May to hire Frank Miller of Inland Planning and Design Inc. as the consultant heading the review.

"Everyone cares so much about Old Town, it makes the process tricky," Miller said. "But when people care, you get better results."

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.

Old Town Recommendations

- Historic Core: Preserve the existing historic buildings, as well as create a historic core centered at the intersection of Front and Main streets. New projects in this core area should be required to pay special attention to height and massing.

- Streets: Enhance the historic character and pedestrian-friendly nature of Old Town by protecting the historic grid of streets and alleys. Future development should be oriented to the street and create a clear street edge.

- Building Heights: Permit up to four-story buildings, subject to detailed designed standards, and allow taller structures with a conditional use permit. Amend the Old Town Specific Plan as a 'form-based code' governing the heights of buildings and their placement on lots. Include detailed performance standards for new development that respect the relationship with adjacent historic structures.

- Architecture: Amend the specific plan to define in more detail the guidelines for architectural style, street frontage design, materials, detailing and color. These guidelines should provide design flexibility while ensuring high-quality and well-designed buildings. However, future buildings should contribute to a cohesive look and feel of the existing architectural styles in Old Town.

- Murrieta Creek Walk: Improve the visual and functional connection between Old Town and Murrieta Creek by orienting buildings' entrances, courtyards and balconies facing the creek. Promote flood control measures while creating well-designed paths for pedestrians and bicycles. Develop form-based guidelines for the massing and placement of buildings facing the creek walk.

- Infrastructure: Prepare a detailed analysis of existing and future infrastructure needs. Improve infrastructure for future development and maximize the use of alleys to locate utilities, which will improve streetscapes and building frontages. Those services include water, sewer, power, communications, trash, deliveries, etc.

- Housing Standards: Encourage the development of high-quality residential neighborhoods to support the commercial and office core of Old Town. Allow for residential only in addition to mixed-use projects. Develop design guidelines and development standards for housing to be incorporated into the specific plan.

- Parking: Retain existing Specific Plan parking standards. Resurvey Old Town parking and develop both interim parking strategies to address current special event parking needs as well as a long-term strategy to increase overall parking supply.

- Economic and Marketing Strategy: Prepare an economic development plan and marketing strategy to attract desired new development and commercial businesses to ensure future growth in Old Town meets the needs of residents and visitors.

- Extend Old Town Core vision to the area north of the arch: Create greater connection between Old Town core and area north of the arch. Explore opportunities to extend street and alley grid to the north, as well as extend the form-based code standards envisioned for the Old Town core.