Old Town Newhall Gazette, September-October 2008


		THE GAZETTE. September-October 2008 • Year 14, Number 3. Downtown Projects Moving Forward. By CHRIS PRICE Assistant City Engineer, City Of Santa Clarita. As mentioned in the last edition of the Gazette, the city of Santa Clarita completed contract negotiations with an award-winning architect to design the new Newhall Library. Several public meetings have already been held to discuss the size and makeup of this exciting anchor to the Old Town Newhall redevelopment area. The first official public workshop for the design of the library was held Wednesday, August 20, at Hart Hall. A diverse and exiting group of community volunteers with varied interests in the library assembled to hear introductions and brief presentations from Richard D'Amato, principal architect for civic buildings at LPA Inc. Rick is a dynamic presenter and excels in the art of public participation. While he did explain some of the theories and constraints present in the complex process of designing such a facility, the main purpose of the meeting was to get real input from members of the community dedicated enough to put in the time and participate in the success of the project. Participants were given a board outlining the project site and identifying the nearby roadways. They were also given a set of specifically sized pieces of colored paper meant to represent the approximate areas necessary for the building, parking lots, plazas and so forth, so that each group could size, cut, and paste the components onto the site as they felt would be the best layout for the building. Each group then presented the ideas behind the sites they designed. Public participation is often a tough balancing act for city officials and their consultants. Generally there are competing points of view for any topic that a group has been assembled to discuss. In the case of the new Newhall Library, all of the participants were excited about the prospect of building a new library and making it an icon that will draw patrons to it and Old Town Newhall as improvements continue to grow. The final exercise consisted of Rick showing slides of different aspects of various buildings designed by his firm. Meeting participants were asked to jot down their impressions of each image, positive and negative, so that he could get an indication if there was a strong trend in any particular direction. The themes and styles identified by the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan were strongly incorporated into the presentation and will continue throughout the design process. Several of the groups expressed a desire to see a coffee shop or even a theater constructed adjacent to the library, or at least on the same block. This point of view was shared specifically in the Specific Plan and will undoubtedly be incorporated in some manner. However, as far as this specific library design process is considered, additional commercial uses will be accommodated on the site not be considered part of the core project. As you may know from reading The Gazette, over the last two years, city staffers have been working on the design for the Old Town Newhall streetscape. The current budget calls for the block of Main Street between Market and 6th streets to be constructed first, with future phases to follow. City staff was recently officially directed to bid the project with an alternative that would include the block between Market and 8th streets, as well. Staff was directed to do this in consideration of the fact that recent projects advertised through the public bidding process have resulted in higher levels of competition, and thus less expensive costs. While this may not be the case for the type of work considered here, should the bids come in lower than expected, there is a chance that the City Council may authorize a larger first phase. In other Main Street news, city staff recently received the first draft of a study for the creation of a roundabout at the intersection of Newhall Avenue and Main Street at 5th Street. If constructed, the roundabout would eliminate the need for a traffic signal at the intersection and would allow for nearly free-flowing traffic during the morning and evening peak times. The improvement would be a "true" roundabout in that drivers would not be able to cut through or ignore the proper functioning of the facility as many do on those existing in parking lots of several private shopping centers in town. The roundabout reduces maintenance and electricity costs while also minimizing the "conflicts" associated with signalized or uncontrolled perpendicular intersections. City staff will continue to work together among departments and with consultants to move these important projects forward. Budgeting is in place to pay for them and the mechanisms necessary to get them moving, so it's just a matter of time before they begin sprouting up in earnest, making Main Street more and more desirable for businesses and patrons alike. ©2008, Old Town Newhall USA. All rights reserved.

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