HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.05.24 Minutes - 2200 Ashland Street Ad Hoc Committee 2200 Ashland St. Ad Hoc Committee Meeting
June 5, 2024 Minutes
ATTENDANCE
Name Role 6/5/24
Matthew McMillan Member x
Rhonda Lee Member x
Maverick McCoy Member x
Bob Kaplan Non-voting Member x
Allison Wildman Member x
Jason Houck Member x
Rachel Jones Member x
Tonya Graham Non-voting Member x
Debbie Neisewander Member x
Wendy Tanner Member
Avram Sacks Member x
Gina DuQuenne Non-voting Member x
Trina Sanford Member x
Bob Altaras Member x
Ruth Coulthard Member x
Jan Calvin Facilitator x
Brandon Goldman Community Dev. Director x
Steven Matiaco Code Specialist x
David Runkel Public/Media x
I. CALL TO ORDER
1. Land Acknowledgement— Bob Kaplan read the City of Ashland's land
acknowledgement.
2. Agenda_Review—Jan Calvin provided an overview of the agenda, noting the intent to
accomplish the following at this meeting:
• To become grounded in our common purpose as a committee,
• To become familiar with this property,
• To gain a common understanding of the goals and limitations of this space
• To be clear about the process, and
• To begin identifying possible uses of the site
3. Business Protocols —Jan also provided an overview of the committee's business
protocols:
• Committee members will receive information by email and have the option to
request printed copies of materials. Please let Jan know if you would like to
get a printed copy, and she will arrange a location and time you can pick up
items prior to the meeting.
• Emails will be "blind copy"to prevent from accidentally responding to everyone
on the email, which would be a violation of public meeting law.
• As a City committee, all meetings are open to the public, and there will always
be up to 5 minutes for public comments (during "Public Forum"time). The
remainder of the meeting will include committee members and any invited
guests/presenters.
II. NEW BUSINESS
1. The Purpose
a. Introductions— Each person introduced themselves.
b. Ad Hoc Committee Charter—Jan reviewed the group's written charter (attached).
c. Overarching Goals for the Property—The group reviewed the City Council's
overarching goals for the property. Jan noted that these goals provide a framework
or criteria/filter to guide the work. The goals are:
• Provide immediate safety during severe weather for Ashland residents who
are experiencing homelessness.
• Support economic development and public art efforts that build, energize,
and beautify south Ashland, which welcomes visitors as a gateway to the
city.
• Provide a pathway to long-term housing for Ashland residents who are
experiencing homelessness, possibly including immediate shelter.
• Support wider community goals, such as emergency management, social
equity and racial justice, and climate action.
2. The Property
a. Zoning and Building Codes — Brandon Goldman and Steven Matiaco from the
City of Ashland Community Development Department provided information about
the zoning and code-related limitations of the building and site, including:
• The property is zoned for commercial use, which means it can also be
used for affordable housing or mixed use, as commercial zoning is one of
the most flexible types of zoning.
• The building was originally built for office use, therefore does not have the
fire suppression system (sprinklers) or fire alarm system that would be
required for residential use.
• The building has adequate water for residential use, but likely not enough
restrooms, which depends on the number of occupants.
A number of questions were raised about code requirements (square feet per
person, ingress/egress, bathrooms, fire suppression, HVAC, parking, etc.) for
different uses, and the committee requested a simple chart to reference during
future discussions.
The group revisited the top goal (Provide immediate safety during severe weather
for Ashland residents who are experiencing homelessness) and asked if and how
this goal is being met this summer. The city did not receive any responses to a
Request for Proposals to operate the severe weather shelter and manage the
Night Lawn. It was suggested that each site/service be considered separately.
More information will be provided, as it is available.
The following chart was drawn to illustrate how the immediate use of the building,
the broader Homeless Services Masterplan work, and the task in front of the 2200
Ashland Street ad hoc committee fit together:
Summery Fall Winter Spring Beyond
22 A *AshlandSt� {()� {()� O � • 0 O
Shelter d"'g fir` rJ fit„ rr�
Severe Weather/ � �„(V�J}
Smoke/Crisis
Aug.5
Study
Homeless Services Session < > < > < <
TBk TBA TBA TBA
Masterplan with
Council
2200 Ashland Street Community Site Plan to
Site Plan Design Input Finalize Council
t
0 Ashland St Detailed Specifications/Cost Projectionslity Upgrades Financing/Construction
New
2200
Ashland St.
Facility Use
b. Walking Tour— Committee members took a walking tour throughout the interior
of the building, as well as the exterior to view the full property. This was the first
site visit for most committee members. General impressions included being
pleased with the condition of the building, concerned about the unsightly weeds
around the building, and surprised at the amount of space to consider outside the
building.
3. The People & Process
a. Committee members were asked to meet in groups of 3-4 and learn something
about each person in their group, then to come up with three things that their
group would be excited to see happen at the facility.
Sharing in the full group included recognition that "who is here" includes people
with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, hopes, and aspirations —just like the
people who will be served in this building.
What Would Be Exciting?!
• Flea Market
• Vibrant Multi-Use Maker Space
• Contribution to Economic Vitality
• Resource Center that Meets People Where They Are
• Tiny/Pallet House Community
• Storage Space for People's Belongings
• Services for People with the Greatest Needs (that aren't being met
elsewhere)
• 24-7 Shelter for Seniors and/or Families
• Soft Landing or Step Down for Post Treatment— and/or Step Up from
Shelter
• Opportunities to Help Others/Volunteer/Contribute
• Multi-population Space for Community-building
b. Decision-Making —Jan touched briefly on the next steps, including opportunities
for decision-making and community engagement, noting that there will be at least
three times when the group will need to agree to move things forward.
1. Culling the ideas. What goes on the list for the community to review?
2. Impact of the public input
3. Final recommendation to Council
The decision-making process will focus on looking for common ground.
c. Community Engagement Opportunities —Two opportunities are planned: First,
to weigh in on a priority list of possible uses of the site; then a preview of the
committee's preliminary recommendations before finalizing what goes to Council.
Two strategies will be used to gather community input— in-person events and an
online survey.
III. PUBLIC FORUM — None.
IV. ADJOURNMENT—Committee members were asked to share "pluses" and "minuses" about
the meeting—things they liked and things they wished were different. Pluses included
meeting on site, the sense of collaboration and agreement within the group, and getting out
of the outdoor heat.
The next meeting will be held on the Juneteenth holiday, Wednesday, June 19. The meeting
adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Committee Timeline
June 5 — Introductions, scope of committee, level setting in terms of zoning and building
code limitations of current commercial building and property, brainstorm potential uses
of the site within the boundaries of the committee charter
June 19 - Neighborhood issues/concerns. Discussion of current neighborhood issues for
both residents and local businesses, community—wide needs regarding emergency
management, resilience, economic development, and climate change — identification of
wider community possibilities
July 3 — Discussion of community possibilities, identification of ideas to move forward
July 17 — Information from Homeless Services Master Plan Subcommittee Report
identifying programmatic needs for Ashland's unhoused community— identification of
homeless program possibilities for future study
August 7 — Discussion of homeless service, identification of ideas to move forward
August 21 — Discussion of homeless service and community possibilities, finalize ideas to
move forward, preview survey and public engagement opportunity 9/4
8125—Launch online survey
September 4— Public engagement opportunity at property
September 18 — Integrate public engagement feedback
How to weigh/consider/incorporate public input
October 2 — Integrate public engagement feedback—finalize draft master plan elements
October 16 — Public engagement opportunity at property
November 19 — Presentation of master plan elements to City Council
[place holder for neighborhood survey results]