At its November 19th meeting, Coronado’s City Council narrowly approved an 8,300 square foot design concept for a new senior center to replace the existing structure on Seventh Street, adjacent to the library and lawn bowling green. The 3-2 vote came following nearly two hours of presentation by the architects and remarks from approximately 15 residents, a fraction of the 86 supporters attending the hearing. Expressing his delight with the large turnout, Mayor Tanaka characterized the meeting as “a government teacher’s dream” and his favorite meeting of his 11 years on the Council.
The vote directs city staff to move forward with preparing construction plans for the proposed “Scheme 1” design and obtaining permits from the Historic Resources, Design Review, and Planning Commissions. The project will also require analysis for environmental impacts and possible preparation of an environmental impact report or mitigation measures.
Following the vote, City Manager Blair King was quick to clarify that the Council’s vote was simply direction to staff to proceed with evaluating the project and considering its environmental consequences, and was not a project approval. King said there will be opportunities for public comment before the review commissions during the approval process.
The two no’ votes were cast by councilmen Al Ovrom and Richard Bailey, who saw insufficient evidence to support the proposed expansion. “The issue is not whether we replace that [the Senior Center],” said Ovrom. “We’re going to replace it.” Likewise council member Richard Bailey agreed a new center was needed. But neither councilman believed the case for the 8,300 square foot proposal had been convincingly shown. Both noted that very few people had spoken to them about this project or voiced a desire to expand the size of the senior center.
Ovrom expressed concerns regarding the new center’s significantly larger size, estimating the building would project 65 feet into the park. He pointed out that the expansion would cause the loss of six park trees, including the giant fig tree, a fact not covered in the staff report. “People need to know that,” Ovrom said. An outline of the existing building footprint, superimposed over the proposed new building design, can be seen at minute 26 on the archived video of the meeting. Council member Mike Woiwode also voiced a wish that the new center’s southeast corner not project so far, but voted in favor of going forward.
Ovrom also questioned why the proposals shift the building footprint toward Orange Avenue. The recommended scheme would eliminate one of the library’s emergency exits, which Ovrom felt the library needed. Noting the large increases in the size of the lawn bowling patio, the kitchen, and a patio on the cooler, shady east side of the building, Ovrom stated he was not convinced the proposed square footage was necessary and there were still questions to be answered.
Bailey questioned whether the survey that was done was a fair representation of the entire community in the 50-and-over crowd. He also observed that the user interviews showed they desired the same activities they currently had, and the data showed an average of about 65 users per day, peaking at 100 users on any given day.
“And so when I look at that and I look at the size of these current buildings or these current proposals that are capable of accommodating maybe 250, 300-plus occupants, I don’t see how those two tie together. I just don’t see the evidence for it,” said Bailey. “I’m not saying the evidence doesn’t exist; I’m just saying it hasn’t been presented yet.” Coronado resident Barbara Tato, who opposed the project, cited the needs assessment survey as showing there is minimal interest in the senior center. Of the 323 people who responded to the survey, among the center’s target population, those ages 50 to 69, fewer than 100 people used the center more than “rarely.” Bailey asked that the City obtain a survey more representative of Coronado’s over-50 population. Agreeing that would be ideal, Councilman Woiwode nevertheless dismissed the idea as impossible.
Architects Chris Ackerman and Robert Coffee talked about the design process and presented the three proposed floor plans, identifying Scheme 1 as the preferred scheme that “balances issues of size, cost, expense, function.” Those who urged approval of the project emphasized the amount of time and effort that had gone into the development of the proposal. Characterizing the process as a tremendous outreach lasting 18 months, Coffee counted off the numbers: meetings with an advisory committee; interviews with a “Key Informants Group;” responses to a community survey; attendees at a community workshop; “user group” interviews; city staff interviews; and city council meetings.
Coffee presented an analysis of the shortcomings of the existing 4,000 square foot building, built in the 1930s as a city maintenance building. The building does not meet current building codes in several respects, said Coffee, and has numerous inadequacies. Rebuilding the center to obtain a code-compliant facility would require an expansion to 6,500 square feet. Just bringing the restrooms up to code for an occupant load of 182 people would require restrooms “five times their current size,” according to Coffee. The existing center would need to expand the kitchen from 160 to 450 square feet, the office space from 360 to 800 square feet, the multipurpose room from 1,171 to 2,171 square feet, and the restrooms from 286 to 832 square feet. It would still lack a main entry lobby, activity room, or lawn bowling clubhouse. The architects concluded it would be more expensive to renovate and expand the existing building than to build the proposed new center.
The architects’ recommended design takes the 6,500 square foot, code-complaint building and adds another 2,000 square feet. The proposal triples the “circulation space” from 400 to 1,181 square feet, adds a 900 square foot clubhouse for lawn bowlers, adds a 900 square foot activity room and a 450 square foot lobby, expands the lounge area by 200 feet, and adds roughly 200 square feet of support space. Questioned about the numbers of occupants the center would handle, Mr. Coffee stated that they weren’t designing for that so much as for the uses that the center’s users wanted to see.
The advisory committee was told “to dream as big as possible,” said Coronado resident Caroline Murray, an interior designer who, with resident Francette Roeder, has spearheaded the project. Murray and the advisory committee were urged by directors at senior centers in Oceanside, Mission Viejo, and Newport Beach, “don’t shortchange the project going in for lack of vision.” Roeder implored the council to avoid any delay. “Let a new adult center be your legacy, and it will become the focal point for all present and future generations,” she urged.
Only one resident expressed opposition to the facility being restricted to people age 50 and over. There was no discussion of this restriction at Tuesday’s meeting. The initial 2011 request for a new center by the Coronado Senior Association, the group that has run it since 1978, asked for a multi-use facility open to all citizens of Coronado.
Mayor Tanaka praised the proposal as “very thoughtfully put together,” with iconic entrances, vistas, and features, including a water feature. Noting his hope that the new center would serve coffee (presumably, he will be eligible to use it by the time it’s built), Tanaka said he didn’t think the process had been rushed, he didn’t think the layout was “over the top” in the amount of space provided, and applauded the design as “superb.”
In addition to selecting a floor plan, the Council was asked to choose a management model for the new center’s operation, giving city staff direction as to how the council envisioned a new center with expanded facilities, programming, and maintenance needs would operate. Four options were presented, including a public/nonprofit partnership, similar to the existing relationship the City has had with the Coronado Senior Association. While several council members felt it was too early to decide the issue, City Manager Blair King emphasized that he had presented the issue now because “I don’t want the council to go forward thinking that additional cost won’t be required to staff and operate this building.”
Under the projected business plan for the new facility, the City’s operating costs would increase from a current level of approximately $55,000, to an estimated annual outlay of $265,000 to $276,000, including $100,000 for professional management and $75,000 to $86,000 for staff. New revenues from program fees and renting the new facility are projected to offset some portion of the new operating costs, leaving a net burden projected at approximately $85,000 to $163,000.
In remarks ominously reminiscent of the public campaign preceding construction of the Coronado Unified School District’s swimming pool, supporters assured the Council that concerns about increased operating costs were misplaced, new programs would fund themselves, and the proposed business plan would create the projected revenues. If proponents are confident in the plan, said Tato, “let them put their money where their mouth is.” Citing Coronado census data as well as income statistics developed by the City’s own needs assessment, Tato noted that “this [Coronado seniors] is a population that can absorb significantly more of the operating costs of a new facility.” The current fee to use the senior center is $30 a year.
Council member Barbara Denny noted she would like to support the recommended floor plan, but had concerns about the operating costs. After bifurcating the floor plan decision from the issue of the management model, she moved that the Council approve the recommended Scheme 1 floor plan, seconded by Mayor Tanaka, and joined by Woiwode to make the three-member majority vote. The council then voted 5-0 to approve the recommended City/Nonprofit Partnership management plan, noting that the decision could be reconsidered at a later date.
In other action, the Council approved the purchase of a portable restroom trailer with three stalls, to be placed at Avenida Del Sol from June through August, and approved the selection of an environmental consultant.
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Lei Udell
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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