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Council narrows City Hall site discussion to Del Rio lot and City Hall North; staff to prepare concepts
Summary
Staff presented four downtown site options for a consolidated City Hall. Councilors favored the Del Rio gateway lot and, if needed, an expanded City Hall North, and asked staff to prepare conceptual designs and cost estimates for the preferred sites.
The city presented a site-assessment report evaluating four downtown properties for a potential consolidated City Hall; council members asked staff to prepare conceptual designs and cost estimates for two preferred options — the Del Rio gateway lot and City Hall North (the building the city currently occupies).
City Manager Maricela reviewed a spatial-needs analysis done in 2020 and the more recent assessment by Architectural Plus Inc. The assessment considered buildable area, number of stories under the downtown specific plan (typically a four-story maximum), on-site parking capacity, proximity to public transit and existing city parking, the need for demolition or temporary relocation and whether a property advances downtown revitalization goals.
Staff briefed the council on four sites: the Del Rio lot at Third Street and Highway 108 (a vacant gateway parcel), City Hall North (the current building), City Hall South (across the street) and a city-owned lot at 3142 Sierra Street. The Del Rio site offers about 13,500 square feet of buildable area and would allow a three-story building to meet the city's approximate 40,000-square-foot target. City Hall North would require extensive demolition and more vertical development to reach the target; City Hall South and the Sierra Street site each had trade-offs in parking, demolition needs and distance from the downtown core.
Council members emphasized keeping City Hall downtown to support nearby businesses. Several members said the Del Rio site is attractive as a gateway to downtown and noted the city already invested in nearby public parking; others said if Del Rio is unavailable the only viable in-downtown alternative would be to redevelop the existing City Hall North, understanding that would require demolition and temporary relocations. Council asked staff to pursue conceptual designs, estimated costs and feasibility for the two preferred sites and to return with that material for further direction.
