Transcript Our Future Neighborhoods Housing and Urban Villages in the San Fernando Valley The Panorama City Urban Design Assistance Team Draft Report.

Our Future Neighborhoods
Housing and Urban Villages
in the San Fernando Valley
The Panorama City Urban Design Assistance
Team
Draft Report
Background, Forecast, and
a Comment on Housing in
the San Fernando Valley
Dr. Daniel Blake, Director
San Fernando Valley Economic Research
Center
California State University, Northridge
SFV Economic Research Center
CSUN
Four Quick Items
• Age of the housing stock in the San
Fernando Valley.
• Single and multiple family units built
1980 to present.
• CSUN Forecast of single and multiple
family units to be built in 2003-2005.
• Moving public officials beyond the
“Walmart Syndrome”.
SFV Economic Research Center
CSUN
Age of San Fernando Valley Housing Units
35%
Renter Occupied HU
Owner Occupied HU
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Built 1939 Built 1940- Built 1950- Built 1960- Built 1970- Built 1980- Built 1990or earlier 1949
1959
1969
1979
1989
2000
SFV Economic Research Center
CSUN
SFV Single and Multiple Family Housing
Construction
18,000
16,000
Multiple family
14,000
Single family
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
SFV Economic Research Center
CSUN
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
Units
12,000
SFV Single and Multiple Family Housing
Construction with Forecast
18,000
16,000
Multiple family
14,000
Single family
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
SFV Economic Research Center
CSUN
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
Units
12,000
Moving Beyond the “Walmart Syndrome”
• Since Proposition 13, local authorities seem to be
more interested in building retail outlets than in
building housing.
• Retail outlets collect sales taxes, but households
generate the retail sales.
• The SFV’s average household generates over $750
in local retail sales tax revenue every year.
• New retail outlets simply redistribute existing retail
sales tax revenue.
• New households generate new local tax revenue.
SFV Economic Research Center
CSUN
Our Future Neighborhoods
Housing and Urban Villages
in the San Fernando Valley
The Panorama City Urban Design Assistance
Team
Draft Report
Our Future
Neighborhoods
Joel Kotkin
and
Michael
Shires
School of Public
Policy
Pepperdine
University
Summary of Findings
• Valley shift from “America’s Suburb”
to a new kind of city
• Increased density, emergence of
housing ‘crisis’
• One solution: Urban Villages
• Policy recommendations
The Valley’s Evolution
• Pastoral appendage of Los Angeles,
mostly annexed in 1913-1915
• Developed as bedroom extension of
Los Angeles
• City, local and economic forces
dictate pattern of “cheek to jowl”
development
Southern California: Epicenter of
Suburban Frontier
• LA designed from beginning as new kind of
city
• Transit system promoted de-centralization,
not centralization
• Reformers hoped that “village” environment
would encourage healthy neighborhoods,
clean politics and a mostly Waspish
population mix
A Vision of a New (Sub)Urban Paradise
“Los Angeles will retain the flowers and orchards and lawns, the
invigorating free air from the ocean, the bright sunshine and the
elbow room. It will not be congested like the older cities, for the
transportation lines built in advance of the demands, have made it
possible to get far out in the midst of orchards and fields for
homemaking.”
Editor of the Los Angeles Express in 1905
Missed Opportunities:
The Olmsted Plan
• Drawn in 1930 by
designers of New York’s
Central Park
• Envisioned region wide
system of parks,
playgrounds and public
beaches
• Defeated by:
– Homeowner associations
– business interests
– the Depression
A Prophetic Warning
“Continued prosperity will depend on
providing needed parks, because, with the
growth of a great metropolis here, the
absence of parks will make living
conditions less and less attractive…the
growth of the region will tend to strangle
itself.”
Olmsted Report, 1930
Troubles in Paradise
• Sense of degraded
lifestyle
• Traffic gets worse
• Severe housing
shortage, overcrowding
• A general angst about
“quality of life”
Concerns in the San Fernando Valley
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Trash and Waste
Landfills
Very Worried
Worried
Water Quality
Don't Know
Smog and Air
Pollution
Not Very Worried
Not Worried
Roots of the Housing Crisis
•
•
•
•
•
Population Growth
Nimbyism on Northern Periphery
Lack of mixed use, high density
Poor use of space
Affordability Problems
Population Growth Has Outstripped
Both Housing and Jobs
Population Density Has
Surged in the Valley
West Valley Ages and New
Families Go East
Housing is Less Affordable
Each Year
Our Current Plans Do Not Meet
The Expected Need for Housing
The Urban Village: A Way to Mix
the Garden and the City
• Appeals to middle income families looking for
closeness to work and security
• Offers singles, childless couples and families
a recreational and “village” retail atmosphere
• Lower transportation times and costs
• Creates new centers for Latino, Asian cultures
• Imposes less stress on environment
What Urban Villages Can Offer
• Walkable environments
with shopping and work
opportunities
• A sense of neighborhood
and place
• Greater access to public
transit
• A way to be within a great
metropolitan area but
with the ambience,
amenity of a small town
The Valencia, California, Survey 2001
• Would you take a
pay cut to work in
the immediate
area where you
live?
50% of workers
said they would
take a 20% pay
cut to a take a job
in their local area.
Source: The Newhall Land Company
General Conclusions
• Growth is coming!!!!!
• Key is to accommodate it in a way that
preserves the Valley’s essential character
• Attractive neighborhoods have enormous
economic benefits
• We can make things work better through
BIDs, Urban Villages and development of
mixed use
Policy Recommendations
• General Plan Revision for Valley
• Specific Plan for LA River
• Open spaces as core for new
“village” development
• Encourage develop of villages
around historic, ethnic and cultural
themes
Critical Political Preconditions
• Change needs to be based on vision
that is acceptable to broad public, not just
narrow interest groups
• In current budget environment,
government funding is likely to be
extremely limited
• Development must have real “market”
mechanism to encourage private sector
participation
Today’s Conditions Are Unique
and Conducive to Success
• Budgetary pressures force government to
seek private solutions
• Low interest rates and high demand create
customer base for new initiatives
• Large number of underutilized commercial
sites represent opportunity for mutual
benefit
• Scarcity of new land makes urban village
more attractive
Our Future Neighborhoods
Housing and Urban Villages
in the San Fernando Valley
The Panorama City Urban Design Assistance
Team
Draft Report
In Regards to the Development of
Cities Throughout the Ages…
• Hope of Consorting with gods
replaced by hope of consorting
with human beings and even
that hope is increasingly hard to
fulfill.
Alienation
The Geography of Nowhere
Postmodernism
Alienated from sense of place
and sense of moral center
State of Affairs has become
accepted as “normal”
Evidence of Rejection of Alienated
State of Affairs as “normal”
• Growing Interests in Urban Villages
• Resurgence of “care” that there be a “center”
• Homebuyers surveyed expressed interest in
parks, public squares, front porches,
traditional urban street car neighborhoods
and Mixed Use developments over big lawn
suburban and mall development
• Panorama City UDAT Plan!
Panorama City Commercial
Area Concept Plan
Prepared by Urban
Design Assistance
Team sponsored
by the American
Institute of
Architects
San Fernando
Valley Chapter
Purpose Of Urban Design
Assistance Team (UDAT)Study
• Establish area as discernable town
center through process of esthetic,
urban design, economic and social
evaluation
• Enhance working and living
environment for residents, businesses
and visitors
Scope of UDAT Study of Panorama
City’s Commercial Core
• Assess major problems
• Identify assets and development
potential
• Formulate alternative conceptual plans
• Recommend Immediate Short-Range
Implementation Program
Overview of Study Area
• Panorama City: from
Metro link on the
South to Parthenia
St. on the North and
2-3 blocks East and
West of Van Nuys
Blvd.
Aerial View of Study Area
• Panorama City
Community
Design Overlay
District includes
key Commercial
Facilities and
Proposed
Facilities
Some Perspective
Panorama City Commercial
Area decline due to:
• Suburban San Fernando Valley Competition
• Lack of definition between residential, commercial &
industrial areas
• Low density development in areas that could support
higher density
• Deterioration and vacancy of Buildings
• Vacant lots
• Lack of activities and services associated with town
centers
• Traffic congestion
What does the Problem Look
Like?
Existing Conditions in
Panorama City
Commercial District
Where are We?
• Signage is
needed to mark
entry into
Panorama City
on Van Nuys
Blvd.
What an Eyesore! In Disrepair
and Useless
• Van Nuys
Blvd. And
Titus St.
What a Waste! Vacancy
• Located at
Southwest corner
of Roscoe and
Van Nuys
Boulevards
• Could be part of
New proposed
Office Park
What Clutter! Billboards,
Power Poles, Utility Lines
• Lack of
Landscaping
allows Visual
Clutter to
Overwhelm
Boulevards and
Commercial
Facilities
What Scale and Starkness!
• The Plant :
Out of scale
entry signage
and bleak
surface
parking
What a Missed Opportunity!
• Barren median
strip needs
unifying,
colorful
landscaping
along Van Nuys
Blvd.
Now that is better!
• Landscaping in
median strip with
brightly colored,
vibrant flowers in
El Paseo, Palm
Desert,CA
What a Hodge Podge!
• Need remodeling
of building
facades to unify
building complex
• Need billboard
removal and
coordinated
signage
What is Missing?
Pedestrian Activity!
• Need new
streetscape along
Van Nuys Blvd.
Outside Panorama
Mall
• Include kiosks,
benches, street
lighting,
landscaping, street
furniture
What a Streetscape Can Bestow:
Liveliness and Beauty
• Above: Grove Mallenliven sidewalk
areas linking
commercial areas
• Below:
Landscaping,
awnings, sidewalk
paving in El Paseo
in Palm Desert,CA
What Kiosks Can Impart:
Continuity and Connection
• Kiosks at Grove
Mall, Los Angeles
• Proposed Along
Van Nuys Blvd. In
Panorama City
What Difficult Access!
• Second Level
Bridges needed
at intersection of
Roscoe and Van
Nuys Boulevards
What a Difference a Pedestrian
Bridge Can Make!
• Pedestrian
Bridge at Pico
and Westwood,
Los Angeles
What is still needed outside
Plaza Del Valle?
• Landscaping
• Outdoor
restaurant seating
• Kiosks
• Fountains
• Sculptures
What Restaurant Seating can provide:
Sustenance, Rest, Shade
• Found in Palm
Desert,CA-seating
areas with shade
umbrellas and
outdoor restaurant
facilities attract
visitors, workers and
residents
What a Kiosk Can Say: Everything
you need to know
• Kiosk Signs for
Communication
of Community
Events and
Directions
Urban Design Plan Objectives
• Improve Business District and Adjacent Residential
• Stimulate and Guide public & private investments
• Develop “Town Center” that is economically viable,
safe, esthetically pleasing
• Identify circulatory needs of auto, service, parking
and pedestrian areas
• Improve public transportation
• Encourage pedestrian links to all areas
• Prepare implementation strategy
What the Urban Design Concept Offers
the North District:
• Gateway Entry to Panorama City
Commercial District
• Traffic circle w/plantings, streetscape,
north portal gateway signage
• Focus for community events and
Farmer’s Market at South portal of
Plaza Del Valle
Entry of Plaza Del Valle
• Area South of Plaza
Del Valle
transformed into
gathering place for
shoppers and
residents
• Above-Before
• Below-After
What the Urban Design Concept Offers
the Central District:
• Introduce street furniture including kiosks,
newsstands, outdoor seating, plantings from
Chase St. to Roscoe Blvd.
• Use vacant Montgomery Ward building for
future retail anchor
• Mixed use shopping arcade w/ three levels of
housing above and parking below
• Build Office Park in Southwest quadrant of
central commercial district
Office Park (Central Commercial
District)South of Roscoe Blvd.
• Mixed use office
buildings of retail
below and office
above including
open space, water
courses and
landscaping
Mixed Use
Commercial/Residential
• Part of Office
Park offers
housing and
convenience of
close-in shopping
and work sites.
Mixed Use Hub at Van Nuys
Blvd. & Roscoe Blvd.
Second Level Pedestrian
Walkway
• Above: Current WalMart at Corner Van
Nuys and Roscoe
• Below: New Second
Level Pedestrian
Walkway at WalMart on Corner Van
Nuys and Roscoe
What the Urban Design Concept offers
the South District:
• New 2,000 pupil High School South of Office
Park
• Technical Trade School
• Community Garden adjacent to High School
• Fire Training Facility
• Tree lined pedestrian arcade pathways
• Museum of antique and specialty cars
• New Signage at Metro link portal
Site for New High School
• Former
Carnation
Plant Site
High School Site Plan
• LAUSD constructing
High School
scheduled for
completion 2005
• UDAT vision: Add
Trade School,
Community Garden
Fire Training Facility
Currently at Blythe St. & Van Nuys
Blvd.
Blythe St. & Van Nuys Blvd.Change Envisioned
• Before and After
Drawings done
by Architecture
Student at
Pierce College
What Change Is Envisioned at
The Plant
• Above Current View of
The Plant
• Below Rendition of
Change to East side of
The Plant by
Architecture Student at
Pierce College
Metro link/Transit Hub
• Transit Hub and
Metro link station
can provide
important
transportation link
to commercial
center
What the Urban Design Concept
Offers the Landscape
• Landscape
Design including
trees and flowers
throughout the
Study Area will
offer a stunning
transformation
Plantings Offer Buffer Between
Residential and Commercial
• Green Belt,
Pocket Park,
Trees and
flowers along
walkways
Green Space in Mixed Use
Development
• Above:
Trees,grass and
flowers along
walkway and
• Below: Pocket
Park
Green Belt, Pocket Park Concept
Implementation Strategies
•
•
•
•
•
Community Design Overlay
Establish Redevelopment Areas
Create a Business Improvement District (BID)
Utilize Earthquake Disaster Assistance Project funds
Seek Targeted Neighborhood Initiative (TNI) and
Transportation Enhancement Act (TEA-21) funds
• Take advantage of Residential/Accessory Services
(RAS) Zones
• Apply for Density Bonuses offered by City
Urban Design Assistance
Study Team
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jerry L. Pollak
Larry Robbins
Leslie Nathan
Miguel Renteria
Sam Wacht
Tom Rath
Morton Shatzkin
Arnold Bookbinder
Karen Speicher
J. Paul Lindblad
Olga Keller
Marvin Berman
Allen Bernstein
Donna Schwalm
Bob Scott
Valerie Sacks
James Stewart
Special Thanks Go To:
• The Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley
• Bart Reed, Executive Director of the Transit Coalition
• Daniel Blake, Ph.D., California State University,
Northridge
• Thomas A. Rubin, Consulting, Governmental
Transportation & Public Sector Finance
• David J. Murray, Earth Systems, Southern California
• Kevin Ivey, KPRS Construction Services,Inc.
• Dan Gluck, Entry Sign Graphics
Panel
Discussion