University Place Mayoral UPdate, May 21

By Debbie Klosowski, Mayor of University Place

Growth Management: University Place got a step closer toward becoming a Regional Growth Center (RGC) based on action taken by the UP City Council this week.

State law requires every city to plan for future growth. In response, the Puget Sound Regional Council developed a regional strategy called Vision 2040 to identify preferred areas for growth. Under this plan, projected growth in housing and employment is identified in certain areas in order to protect the environment, preserve open space and reduce sprawl, reduce congestion and enhance economic development. Communities which provide opportunities for a certain level of additional jobs and housing can also apply for Regional Growth Center designation. If approved, this designation gives communities priority when applying for grants for future roads, sidewalks, pedestrian amenities and transit projects.

Since our city’s land use and zoning regulations already meet the RGC criteria, it only makes sense to apply for the RGC designation. There is no change in current zoning, density and height requirements. The Pierce County Regional Council will review our request and make a determination by late 2010.

Town Center --Efforts to aggressively market and sell the Town Center properties are also underway:

Civic Building Retail Pads--As mentioned last week, the City Council approved a contract with commercial real estate broker Jeff Kraft of Neil Walter Company to market and sell two retail pads located on the first floor of the future Civic Building. Similar to most brokerage contracts, Mr. Kraft will receive a commission AFTER contracts are signed with future retailers. People interested in these two spaces can contact Mr. Kraft at JKRAFT@NEILWALTER.COM or 779-8400. Marketing information will also be available on the city website in the near future at www.cityofup.com.

Construction of the new library on the first floor of the Civic Building will be done in December. The Library expects to open its doors in early 2011 while the future City Hall on the second and third floors is dependent upon the sale of other parcels.

Heartland/Town Center Strategy --In January 2008, we held a public forum to update the community and receive feedback on our Town Center strategy. Citizen comments

along with a subsequent Town Center performance audit led to a recommendation that the City obtain professional advice in crafting a Town Center strategy as well as marketing the Town Center properties. After considering several firms, the City Council selected Heartland LLC, a highly respected Seattle real estate consulting firm.

The most notable change in strategy recommended by Heartland, and consistent with existing market conditions, was a shift from our efforts to find one master site developer to buy the entire site to a focus on securing an anchor (such as a movie theater or department store). Securing an anchor would allow the City to maximize its return on the subsequent sales of the remaining parcels on a lot by lot basis. This is the strategy that we are currently pursuing.

The City is not pursuing a strategy of simply selling the lots to the highest bidder because our objective is a sustainable, long-term tax base versus receiving one time revenues obtained from the sale of an individual parcel.

ICSC-- As part of this new strategy, City Manager Steve Sugg and Economic Development Manager Mariza Craig will join Mayor Pro Tem Ken Grassi and Council Member Javier Figueroa in scheduled meetings next week with several developers and retailers at the International Conference of Shopping Centers held in Las Vegas. This conference provides a unique, cost effective opportunity to schedule meetings with several developers and retailers at one location. ICSC is the largest meeting of its kind, drawing 35,000 to 50,000+ participants from all segments of the development community. In addition to workships on retail and development trends, it provides an invaluable venue for contacts and actual deal making.

Some in the community have criticized our attendance at this conference at a time when we have eliminated all out-of-state travel from our budget and made other significant budget cuts. I believe, however, that our attendance this year is of critical importance within the context of our current Town Center property sales strategy. Getting these properties sold and developed in a manner that enhances and diversifies our tax base is a priority for the Council.

*Commerical Brokers – Staff interviews are now underway with several major commercial brokerage firms to select a group to market the remaining Town Center properties. We anticipate a brokerage firm will be selected in June.

Shoreline Master Plan –

Replacing bulkheads and piers on waterfront property with more environmentally friendly materials are among proposals slated for a future UP Planning Commission meeting.

Right now, the city is required by the state to update its Shoreline Master Plan using a $100,000 grant from the Department of Ecology. The City is seeking interested individuals to serve on a Citizen’s Advisory committee to provide input on the future shoreline management plan. Interested people should contact Jeff Boers at jboers@cityofup.com or Becky Metcalf at bmetcalf@cityofup.com or by calling 460-5442.

UP Police Chief Recruitment process is underway with five candidates vying for the position currently held by UP Police Chief Jim Andrews who retires on June 30th.

Under our contract with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the City can participate in the selection process for our next chief. The five internal county applicants are:

Lt. Jerry Lawrence, Lt. Jim Kelly, Lt. Larry Minturn, Lt. Rustin Wilder and Lt. Cynthia Fajardo. Interviews are scheduled for June 1st with an expected announcement by Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor in late June.

Green UP Committee -- Citizens interested in serving on an advisory committee to increase community awareness and participation in sustainable practices should send a letter of interest and any appropriate background information to Steven Buter at sbuter@cityofup.com or the City of University Place, 3715 Bridgeport Way West (98466) by Wednesday, May 26.

Boundary Review Board – The Pierce County BRB is responsible for making decisions on incorporations, annexations, extensions of utilities and special purpose districts.

The board meets the second Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Pierce County Public Service Building. Our city can nominate citizens for consideration to serve on this board. Interested citizens should submit a letter of interest to egenetia@cityofup.com by May 30th.

Tacoma Convention Center Public Facilities District – Applications are also being accepted from UP citizens interested in serving on the district board which meets once a year to oversee the operations of the convention center. Please contact City Clerk Emi Genetia at egentia@cityofup.com for more information.

UP Volunteer Center – Don’t forget to support the UP Volunteer Center in its quest to obtain a $25,000 grant from Pepsi Corporation . People are encouraged to vote for the UP Volunteer Center every day at www.refresheverything.com.

As always, I appreciate your comments. Please feel free to contact me at

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Sincerely,

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