25A Orinda Way, approved! (with conditions)

On Tuesday evening, the latest plans for a proposed project at 25A Orinda Way were presented and approved by the Planning Commission, but not after lengthy discussion.

In an effort to address issues previously voiced by the Planning Commission and the community, developers Dana and Paul Ugenti of Tandem Real Estate Company made several design changes to the project.  The front facade of the building has been pushed back three feet so the sidewalk now measures between 11” and 8.6” wide, giving a bit more breathing room to pedestrians and outdoor diners while protecting the existing trees which play an important role in screening the structure.

The bird's eye view of the plans for 25A Orinda Way.

A fourth design motif has been added in an attempt to break up the visual massing of the front of the structure, and the applicant worked with the city to reintroduce a “parklet” in front of the building.  This is a temporary structure that will sit on what is now three parking stalls on Orinda Way, and include seating for the public.

Surprisingly, there were few questions or comments from the Planning Commission, although they did mention the importance of the master sign program, and requested that the architect take another pass at the “Spanish Mission” portion of the front facade. They also asked about the second story faux “windows” and how visible parked cars will be through them.

Speakers were evenly divided between unabashed supporters and outright critics. Supporters spoke favorably of the use of space, the aesthetics and the effort to energize foot traffic on Orinda Way.  Critics dinged the use of space, the “cheap” design, and the inability of the retail bays to attract tenants that would energize this part of town.

Ultimately, a motion was made to approve the project ... with three achievable conditions. The conditions were the inclusion of an electronic parking stall counter visible from Orinda Way, Planning Commission approval of the master sign program, and further design development of the “Spanish Mission” portion of the facade.  The motion was passed in a vote of five in favor, one opposed.  

What’s Next

Now that the project has been approved by the Planning Commission, a commercial use permit will be issued and the developers will move swiftly to secure financing and begin construction. To secure financing, they will need letters of intent from tenants for 50 percent of the 18,100 square feet of leasable space.  This is where you come in.

Like many of you, we have a keen interest in the leasing strategy for this space and know it is critical to the success of the project. In our meeting with the Ugentis, Dana, who is the lead on leasing, said she is working to attract tenants that will draw a wide range of residents downtown. She seems to recognize that many young families who have moved here from San Francisco and Oakland are missing amenities they traded for Orinda’s great schools and safe neighborhoods.

WUDO is advocating for businesses that will excite families and bring some evening options to the Village end of town, and that will stay open on the weekends. Ideas have included a kid-friendly “play cafe”, a Super Duper (burgers and shakes), Mixt Greens (salads), Pacific Catch, a One Medical Group outpost, a shared workspace, a bike or sportswear shop, clothing boutique, fitness or dance studios and more. The Ugentis have made it clear that a mix of national chains and local retailers are needed to make the project profitable. And they say they welcome our ideas.

Send In Your Ideas

Many of you have contacted us to share your ideas and we have passed some of those along, and we ask that you continue to provide your feedback directly to Tandem.  If you know of businesses that would be great additions to Orinda, now is the time to speak up. Right now. We urge you to email your thoughts Dana Ugenti at dana.ugenti@gmail.com. She says she will work with Tandem’s commercial leasing agency, SRS Real Estate Partners, to attract the purveyors Orindans desire.

But they only know what we want if we tell them. 

Dining al fresco downtown

WUDO dropped by the Orinda Chamber of Commerce this week to pick up some "Adore Orinda" bumper stickers to hand out at our Welcome Wagon event next Thursday (be there or be square, yo!) and we were reminded that the annual Orinda Restaurant Tour is coming up April 26th. 

This local tradition attracts patrons to sample food from new and favorite downtown restaurants for one night, hear music and mingle - a roaming dinner party, if you will.  Up to 20 restaurants along the lower portion of Moraga Way participate. 

The event is organized by the Orinda Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Miramonte High School, raising funds for the Booster Club. The tour lasts from 6:00 to 8:00 with pie and coffee service from 7:00 to 8:30. 200 tickets will go on sale April 1 at orindachamber.org and will sell out quickly, so grab a date and get yours early. 

WUDO's new logo *mic drop*

The trajectory of What's Up Downtown Orinda has been very organic: casual conversations turned into emails, emails turned into meetings, and meetings turned into a committee. We truly are a group of Orinda citizens with the best of intentions: we want the best for Orinda and we are putting our various skills to the test as we navigate uncharted (for us) territory. When we needed a name for our group, the subject line of an early email from Ali emerged as everyone's favorite. When we needed a website, Hillary's marketing experience came in handy. But when we needed a logo....we turned to Kevin Thomson: husband, father, award-winning Creative Director, Orindan, Garth of Wayne's World at a recent elementary school auction. (Trivia! Kevin's father scooped ice cream at Loard's during the mid-1950's!) 

Kevin came up with a design that makes us smile and we are so proud to introduce What's Up Downtown Orinda's new logo. We hope when you see it on a t-shirt, hat or tote bag around town it will make you smile too! 

We'll be sporting it at our Welcome Wagon event on Thursday night, March 31st. If you haven't RSVP'd, please do so today! We hope to see you there. 

Thank you Kevin! 

25A Orinda Way: The big picture

*Decision day for 25A Orinda Way is this Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 PM at the Orinda Library Auditorium - we hope to see you there!*

The view of the proposed development at 25A Orinda Way from the Orinda Library plaza. 

As you’ve learned from our previous posts, WUDO is knee deep in the details of Tandem Development’s 25A Orinda Way project. The latest plan renderings are now online, along with a helpful 3D video (click into the agenda for 3.22.2016). 

Inquiring minds want to know what our official position is on the project.  Here it is: We’re divided.  

Like any good organization, ours is comprised of a wide variety of opinions and desires. From the get go, we’ve been in 100% agreement on two things regarding 25A Orinda Way:

1. We need to do our homework to find out as much as we can about the project and what it means for our downtown.

2. We need to share information with our supporters so everyone knows what is being proposed, and they can choose if they want to support or oppose it.

To date, we have met with the Developer, dozens of WUDO supporters, city officials, other developers, leasing agents, longtime Orinda residents, various commercial property owners in Orinda, and many others.  We’ve attended the many Planning Commission hearings and study session meetings on the project.  Our Steering Committee has pondered the project ad nauseum.

The following is what we are hearing from those with concerns about the project:  

• The project is too large for the constrained site and does not fit with the existing Village aesthetic. 
• The configuration and size of the retail spaces will only attract undesirable, national chain retailers.
• Parking on the top of the building is undesirable.

Here is what we’re hearing from our stakeholders in support of the project:

• Let’s not forsake the good for the perfect.  Anything is better than a vacant lot in the heart of downtown.
• Orinda needs more retail and restaurant options and this project will provide just that.
• The configuration and size of the retail spaces are just examples at this point and can change based on the need of desired retailers.
• The Developer has gone out of its way to make changes to the project based on Commissioner and community feedback.

Here is what we ask of you, our dear WUDO followers: please weigh in. Your opinion matters and helps to shape the future of Orinda. The Planning Commission is listening. If you haven’t already, please read each of our blog posts on this issue here, here and here. Let the Planning Commission know how you feel about the project by emailing Senior Planner Derek Farmer at dfarmer@cityoforinda.org (cc Senior Admin Assistant Tiffany Morlin at tmorlin@cityoforinda.org).  

We’ll be at the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday and we hope to see you there!

Time to roll out the WUDO Welcome Wagon!

Downtown Orinda has received several new 'additions' as of late: Cine Cuvee, The Fourth Bore, Taverna Pelligrini and Sanvitalia Home & Garden, among others. In the spirit of welcoming these establishments to town and supporting local businesses (one of our group's stated goals), we are rolling out fun, community-oriented "Welcome Wagon" events to mobilize Orindans to enjoy the products and services these vendors are bringing to our town! 

Our first Welcome Wagon will take place March 31st from 6:00 - 9:00PM at The Fourth Bore Tap and Grill Room in Theater Square. Stop by for a quick drink and say hello, or grab a table with friends for dinner. WUDO’s Steering Committee will be hanging out and would love to meet and talk all-things-Orinda with you. We’re also inviting members of the Orinda City Council to join us.

Let’s all be Orinda proud for a night! Click here to RSVP -  see you on the 31st. 

New urgent care clinic opens in Orinda

What's Up Downtown Orinda was happy to learn that we have a new, local alternative to long emergency room waits for evenings, weekends and holidays: Sutter Urgent Care opened March 1st at 12 Camino Encinas.

They are open Monday-Friday from 5pm-9pm (after their normal clinic hours) and Saturday/Sunday/Holidays from 10am-2pm. Their motto is "1/4th the time and 1/10th the cost".

Of course, we hope to NOT see you there, but this is a great addition to the Downtown Orinda mix.

Planning progress on 25A Orinda Way

*First, thanks so much to everyone who offered input on 25A Orinda Way to the Planning Department, and who attended the four hour (!!!) meeting on Tuesday night.*

Tuesday evening the planning commission reviewed the most recent plans for 25A Orinda Way. For those who are new to the planning process, in a nutshell, here’s how it works. The Planning Department Staff works with applicants to pull together their proposals. Then, Staff and the applicant present plans to the six-person Planning Commission (volunteer citizens) who then votes “yay or nay” on proposed projects.

In the case of 25A Orinda Way, Staff recommended a course of action based on their review of the proposed plan prior to the meeting - in this case the December 8 planning study session that we covered.  In what seemed like an easy recommendation, Staff suggested that the Commission approve Tandem’s proposal for 25A Orinda Way, including some variances (on parking), exemptions (on property setbacks), issue a commercial use permit and sign off on the design. Easy enough, you say?  Well not so fast, said the Commissioners… they had plenty more feedback and asked the developer to return and present revisions on Tuesday, March 22.

Here is our play-by-play.

Building to the Lot Line

On the issue of the “Zero Setback” exemption: the project will be built nearly to the lot line on all four sides.  City code requires a ten foot setback.  This exemption is easy enough to grant on three of the four sides (sides and rear). The commission raised the concern, however, that on the street side, a narrow sidewalk poses a challenge for pedestrian pass through.

Several “pinch points” were identified.  These are spots where trees, architecture and landscape features come together to narrow the sidewalk to the point where only one pedestrian could pass (and forget about that double Bob stroller).  The commission pointed out that while the sidewalk would be no narrower than it is now, the anticipated increase in pedestrian use would put pressure on these pinch points.

The commission presented to the developer a few options to mitigate this problem.  First, ground floor commercial space could be pushed back from the street and an “arcade” created to allow for pedestrian traffic. What's an arcade, you ask? See below. 

An example of arcade style architecture in Ojai, CA

Second (earmuffs if you love trees), some of the seven trees lining the sidewalk immediately in front of the building could be removed.  

The commission pointed out that the second floor and rooftop parking would be highly visible without these trees and cautioned that some should remain to mitigate the visual scale of the structure and the appearance of the rooftop parking.  

The Commission suggested trees screening the front of building could be be removed to make more space on the sidewalk

Both the commission and developer were open to suggestions that would bring back green to the streetscape.  (If this were a text message we would insert a tree, hug, and smooch emogi.)

Third, it was suggested that perhaps the developer could remove the small-ish courtyard currently featured in the design (see below), and re-distribute that square footage as a setback or more sidewalk space, while preserving valuable retail square footage.

Parking, parking… and more parking

Quite a bit of the meeting was dedicated to the parking variance. With 69 parking stalls proposed, the project is five stalls short of the minimum number of stalls dictated by the size of the leased spaces.  The mix of retail and restaurant tenants dictates the number needed, and that mix is in flux as tenants have not been identified.  If there are more restaurants, the project could be short up to roughly 30 spots.

Commissioner McGrath remarked that if there are not enough spaces in this lot, then we have a successful development on our hands.  Agreed.

While the commission didn’t seem to take issue with granting a parking variance, much discussion from the commission and the public commentary alike revolved around public versus paid parking.  The Developer has proposed that the first 30 minutes would be free to the public, with 3 hour validation thereafter for those patronizing the building tenants. Those trying for all day BART Parking would have to pony up some real cash. 

What Say You, Orinda?

When this item was opened to public comment, the overall consensus was that Orindans would like to see a new building on this lot and that they are excited that there is a project on the table. But there were concerns too:  

• The commercial leasing plan. Both the Commission and the community are eager to learn who we might expect to see join the downtown retail and restaurant mix. The proposal shows 5 spaces ranging in size from 4,000 square feet to 1800 square feet. For some perspective, Loard’s is approximately 700 square feet and Europa is 4,500 square feet. These are big spaces that will need big retailers and restauranteurs but so far, the Developer has remained mum on who they plan to lease to (although they mentioned a mix of national chains and smaller businesses would likely be necessary). 
• The scale of the building and that the developers are ”squeezing a lot onto a little” relative to the lot.
• Sensitivity to The Vintage House: the owner of the Vintage House (the brick office building behind 25A Orinda Way) expressed concern about the design of rear elevation of the building and how his tenant’s views would be impacted. There also seemed to be some confusion regarding the shared driveway on the North side of the building, and whether terms had been agreed upon between the owner of Vintage House and the applicant.
• Have the nearby PG&E power lines, and the resulting limitations and safety concerns they come with,  been fully factored into the design?
• Seismic safety, given the weight of 69 vehicles atop a building of this size. "You just don't do that in earthquake country."
• Disappointment that story poles aren’t being required of the developers. "How else can the community know what's being proposed?"
• Bike parking: the applicant has agreed to add six additional bike parking stalls to the required four, for a total of ten stalls.  Where these will go has yet to be finalized.

The Takeaway

The developers have until March 22 to address the design concerns posed by the Commission and we hope they address the Community's concerns too. 

While motion to further this discussion at that time may seem like a setback, this is progress by Orinda’s standards. 

The discussion remains open, and we encourage anyone with feedback on this project to email Derek Farmer at the Planning Department (dfarmer@cityoforinda.org) and CC Tiffany Morlin (tmorlin@cityoforinda.org). This is your community, speak up and get involved! 

Adore Orinda

A few weeks ago we dropped in on Sophie Braccini and Roy Hodgkinson, our intrepid leaders at the Orinda Chamber of Commerce. We wanted to introduce ourselves and learn a bit about what they do. Sophie's part time Executive Director position is a paid one. Roy, Chamber President for 2016-2018, is a volunteer. They are open on Wednesdays in the office space across from the ground floor Library elevator and warmly welcome visitors. 

The Chamber's main objective is to support and promote businesses here in Orinda with ribbon cuttings, business mixers and awards ceremonies. In addition to membership and sponsorships, they raise additional money for these endeavors with a comedy show taking place March 4th at the Orinda Theater. Information is here.

Lamorinda Presents is a combination of all three Chambers working together to promote each other's events: http://lamorindaweb.com. A member of the Lafayette Chamber is actually the one responsible for the Love Lafayette, Adore Orinda and Amour Moraga bumper stickers. Drop by the Orinda Chamber next Wednesday to get yours!