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This document was prepared by the District Plan Steering Committee to answer the most
frequently asked questions about the Hercules District Plan.
- What is the "Hercules District Plan"?
- Where is the "Core Commercial District"?
- Why is this effort necessary now?
- When will the District
Plan events occur?
- How will the Workshop be
conducted?
- Who gets to participate in
the Workshop?
- Will my opinion and ideas matter?
- What
are the specific goals of the District Plan Initiative?
- Who is behind the
District Plan Initiative?
- Isn't this just a
big waste of time and money?
- Where can I learn more?
The District Plan is an innovative, historic urban design plan for the new town center
of Hercules. This new town center is called the "District", or is sometimes
referred to as the "core commercial area".
What is the "District Plan Initiative"?
The District Plan Initiative is the name of the overall project, sponsored by the City
of Hercules, to create the District Plan. It includes a series of meetings and public
workshops; publicity and outreach; a Steering Committee; engagement of a town planning
team; staff work, and legislative actions.
What is an "urban design plan"?
An urban design plan is a series of maps and drawings that guide the
overall design of the buildings, streets and other features that make up a neighborhood,
town or small part of a city.
 | The plan treats an area as large as a neighborhood or district, covering
many individually-planned development projects.
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| The plan addresses all development that probably will occur over the
next few years, extending out to as long as twenty years. The street patterns established
by the plan may well exist for generations to come.
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Why do this?
We are doing this in order to create an urban place that makes sense to
the people who will live and work in Hercules. This "sense of place" is the
phrase that most people mention when they describe a neighborhood or town in which they
would like to live. We want Hercules to continue to have a desirable, high quality of
life; this District Plan is how to make sure it happens.
If we didn’t undertake the District Plan Initiative, our sense of
place would probably be diminished. This is the usual effect of the unplanned suburban
development patterns experienced across California and nationwide. This effect is
sometimes called "sprawl", and it causes citizens to be reasonably concerned
about the inevitable land development necessary for our economic expansion and population
growth.
The District is a 426-acre area situated generally in the center of town.
The District is a very large area. When it is developed, which will be very soon, your
experience of Hercules will be very different.
The District is shown on the accompanying information sheet, which has a
map and a list of the various property parcels and development projects.
The District generally extends eastward from the Bay waterfront, covering
the undeveloped land in the lower Refugio Valley, to the main intersections of San Pablo
Avenue at Sycamore and Highway 4, and eastward to include the Creekside and Sycamore
shopping areas and the corridor along Highway 4 to the Valley Bible Church. It also
includes the undeveloped parcels at Hercules Avenue and San Pablo Avenue, and east of City
Hall.
Why was this area delineated as a special District?
The District does not presently include the recently-approved New Pacific
/ Catellus development on the site of the former oil refinery, or the Franklin Canyon
project.
Apart from these two major projects, the District was selected to include
all the major new land-development activity in the City. Collectively, these projects will
become the new center of town and face of the City. The District includes major new core
commercial land-uses, the main transportation corridors, the signature crossroads, and the
waterfront.
Who owns the District?
The District is comprised of some 26 individual land parcels, most of
which are owned privately. Some of the parcels are owned by public agencies such as the
City of Hercules and BART.
What are these development projects I keep hearing about?
 | A regional Outlet Village
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| One hotel, and maybe another.
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| A new mixed-use neighborhood at the Bayfront, including a train station
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| A Home Depot
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| Perhaps an entertainment complex
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| A new park-and-ride lot
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| Perhaps a Hercules Library and other civic buildings
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| Two or three primarily residential areas
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Numerous other minor projects are likely to be built in addition to these
major projects. As all these projects are built, substantial public improvements will be
constructed, such as streets, plazas, paths, sewers and other infrastructure.
As indicated by this long list of big projects, big changes are coming
soon.
Hercules has not changed this much since the old dynamite plant was closed
in the 1970s. At that time, a team of professional planners prepared the 1972 urban plan
that governed the development of the 6,000 homes in which 20,000 of us now live. That
plan’s design guidance must now be updated to include the District area, which was
not considered for development in the 1972 plan.
Hercules is in a unique position among California cities. It has a large
area, in the center of town, ready for development all at once. We have a short window of
opportunity to establish a unified design for this important set of major projects that
will define the quality of Hercules for the next generation.
How does the District Plan affect the Redevelopment Agency?
There are more reasons why an integrated design plan is needed now. Much
of the District is a Redevelopment Project Area. The City’s Redevelopment Agency
("RDA") captures important tax benefits used to construct streets and other
infrastructure. In order to coordinate the necessary public investments, the RDA and City
planners need a comprehensive, big-picture view of all these projects, and their
design-related impacts, before receiving the anticipated series of individual project
applications.
How does the District Plan affect the private developers?
In order to receive prompt project entitlements, private developers need
to reduce uncertainty about the location and timing of public investments, and about the
design criteria to be applied at the time of final project entitlement. The fastest, most
efficient way to get the big-picture view and reduce uncertainty is to integrate all the
relevant data into a District Plan.
Business moves fast in the Bay Area and we are moving just as fast. The
planning team will be in Hercules the week after Memorial Day.
Here is the line-up of public events:
When, Where |
District Plan Event |
Wednesday evening,
May 31
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Wells Fargo building at Creekside Center
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Town Meeting
Meet the planning team, learn about the "big picture", and
register your interest in joining the Workshop sessions.
You will learn how Hercules can take advantage of the hot economy to
enhance the quality of our town by creating vital, lively streets and other public places.
The Planning Commission, other City officials and staff will be on hand to
answer questions.
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Friday evening,
June 23
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Swim Center on Refugio Road
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Workshop Kickoff
Re-join the planning team and learn how to become a "citizen
planner".
You will learn about the challenges and opportunities that will shape the
future of Hercules. You will also understand how the Workshop will function and your role
in participating.
All the stakeholders and Workshop participants will be on hand.
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Saturday morning,
June 24
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Swim Center on Refugio Road
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"Hands-On" Design
Session
Become a "citizen planner" for a morning. Come and draw your
vision of the Hercules you care about.
Share your ideas with your neighbors and the planning team. Your ideas
will become an important part of the planning process. You will also be able to see the
"big picture".
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Thursday evening,
June 29
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Swim Center,
Refugio Road
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Workshop Final Presentation
See the results of the week’s intensive work by the planning team. In
a multimedia presentation, you will "walk through" an illustrated guidebook to
the future town center.
The planning team, key stakeholders and your public officials will be on
hand to share and celebrate this important event.
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This is the first time I’ve heard anything about a "District
Plan". Why haven’t I been told earlier?
We’re moving as fast as we can, and getting the word out in many
ways. The District Plan Initiative was discussed by the Planning Commission in late 1999,
and approved by the City Council in March 2000. Council and Planning Commission meetings
are televised on Channel 25. To keep informed, stay tuned.
The Workshop is the place where we will create the District Plan. In the
Workshop, you will see a professional town planning team at work. Members of the team
include architects, project managers, commercial and housing analysts, real-estate
economists, illustrators, and others. Sometimes team members will work alone, sometimes in
small teams focused on particular issues, and sometimes as a whole group. The planning
team follows a proven process of creating drawings and reports using information
systematically gathered from a range of sources.
What information will be used? How will decisions be made?
The private land developers will provide some of the most important
information used by the planning team. Since many large projects are already well along in
their respective planning stages, much of the planners’ job will be to integrate the
individual projects into a quality overall civic design. Thus, the focus will be on such
decisions as the arrangement of buildings with respect to streets and each other, the
placement of civic buildings, and the creation of significant public spaces. You will see
the planning team members and the developers in working conversations about the buildings
and streets, design and construction, financing and revenues.
Will the Workshop be open to the public?
Yes. The planning team’s approach is to "design in public".
The Workshop will, in general, be open. You will be able to drop in and watch as the plan
is created. There can’t be any "back room deals" with this approach. And
there will be the four formal presentation events described above to stimulate public
participation.
Everybody who has a stake in the building of the new Hercules core
District is welcome and encouraged to participate. The main categories of stakeholders
includes:
| Land owners and their developer partners – builders of residential
and commercial structures -- who are investing the large sums required to develop
properties and pay for many of the required public facilities in the new District.
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| Citizens of Hercules, including homeowners, renters and other property
owners, business owners or others with a proprietary interest in City affairs.
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| City officials, staff, and representatives of other public agencies.
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Whether you own a home, rent, or run a business, you have a stake in the
future shape of Hercules and therefore a voice in the planning process. The weeklong
Workshop is the Planning Commission’s way of hearing everyone’s voice, and then
creating a detailed, realistic plan that makes economic sense.
How will my opinions and ideas affect the outcome?
Of course, not everything said in the Workshop can be reflected in the
final District Plan. The role of the town planning professional team is to listen to
everyone, and then make the decisions needed to create the best possible plan that takes
everyone’s legitimate interests into account.
With an initiative like this, it is important for each of us to understand
their own role in the process, and how decisions are made. Remember that land development
is always a joint public and private undertaking, with the main players in their roles
during the four major steps:
Property owners and their developer partners have the right to propose
to build according to City regulations under California law.
City officials, aided by City staff, have the responsibility to accept
proposals and review them for conformance to established regulations, such as the General
Plan and Zoning Code.
Citizens such as homeowners have the right to comment in public hearings
and directly to their elected and appointed officials.
City officials, aided by City staff, have the final authority to approve
development plans, which includes numerous environmental, engineering, financial and other
conditions.
Nothing will happen that will impede or change anybody’s property
rights or ability to access the normal government channels.
I hate attending public meetings. Everybody else but me seems to know
what’s going on. Will this be any different?
It is true that most public meetings are boring and seem mysterious. While
this is still a public meeting, the Workshop will be about drawing pictures, not speaking
at a microphone.
I’ll be out of town that week. How can I participate?
Unfortunately, you’ll need to be there in person to participate in a
meaningful way. However, we are working to broadcast the event on the Web, and broadcast
it on Channel 25, and video-tape it for later replay. You may certainly send us paper or
electronic mail with your input.
The goal of the District Plan Initiative is to produce a concise,
technically sound, and financially feasible guidebook to planning a high-quality place.
The work of planning and engineering professionals, the District Plan will reflect the
agreed viewpoints of all the private participants as well as the public agencies.
The District Plan will consist of a "Regulating Plan and Code".
We’ll create these documents through the open-to-the-public Workshop process,
facilitated by the professional town planning team.
What is a "Regulating Plan and Code"?
The Regulating Plan is a map of the District showing the building and
street conditions when everything is built. The Design Code is a graphic booklet that
specifies how the buildings and streets will function all together to create a sense of
place.
Who is this "town planning team"?
The City has retained a nationally recognized urban design firm to lead
the professional work. This lead professional team will include a lead planner, a market
consultant and a traffic engineer.
The lead planning firm is Dover, Kohl and Partners of Miami, Florida
("DKP"). Gibbs Planning Group will provide assessment of retail and commercial
uses. Zimmerman-Volk Associates will provide assessment of housing uses. Fehr & Peers
Associates will provide transportation engineering and street-design services.
This professional team has worked together on similar projects around the
country. Dover, Kohl and Partners have successfully completed some 60 similar urban-design
plans in cities and counties nationwide. DKP and Gibbs were recently recognized in a
national award:
"The City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was awarded the 1999 White House
Joint Center Sustainable Community Award for instigating the redevelopment of the failing
Eastgate Mall into a main street retail and office district with a future residential
element. The award was presented by President Clinton and also recognized the
contributions of the project's designers, Dover Kohl & Partners and Gibbs Planning
Group. " -- New Urban News, March 2000.
The Initiative is a joint public/private effort sponsored by the RDA, under the
authority of the Planning Commission, approved by the City Council, with financial and
professional participation by the landowners/developers and City staff.
If you think so, please don’t come. Your elected and appointed
officials think this is the best way to make sure Hercules remains a quality place to live
and work. Cities all over the country are having great success using these techniques to
supplement the typical planning methods. We think the time and money dedicated to this
effort will pay huge dividends. It is well worth the cost. The developers agree, and are
fully participating. It makes good business sense, and is a wise business decision for the
City.
These planners and developers are all from outside Hercules. Some are
even from out of state. Why should we listen to them?
The developers have the legal and financial rights to build the individual
projects. The planners know how to arrange the individual project elements to create good
places to live and work. We’re using these outside experts to add tremendous value to
the place we all care about.
Doesn’t the City have a General Plan? Isn’t this the job of the
Planning Commission?
Yes, the Hercules General Plan still applies. But like most General Plans,
ours does not provide for the level of urban design required to maintain a high quality,
"sense of place". The District Plan will be a supplement to the General Plan.
Yes, this is the job of the Planning Commission. But the Commissioners
have concluded that without urban design guidance, Hercules will lose the special quality
we all want to protect. The District Plan Initiative is the means by which the Planning
Commissioners can do their job of advising the City Council on matters of development
policy.
Won’t this be just another useless study?
No. The Planning Commission will adopt the Regulating Plan and Design Code
as specific plan "overlays" within the legal framework of the General Plan. The
District Plan will become part of municipal codes and regulations.
How can the government tell private developers what to do with their
property? Why would the developers want to cooperate with this District Plan?
Land development is always a joint public and private activity. Developers
are cooperating, and actively participating, because they recognize the value in
master-planning an entire District, of which their individual project is one part.
Why shouldn't the landowners / developers simply submit their project
applications?
They can. However, by participating in the District Plan, applicants can:
| Expect to receive significantly faster entitlements
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| Be more certain about receiving specific features in the entitlement
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| Plan around more economical, tailored on-site improvements
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| Minimize off-site investments
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| Significantly increase the overall, long-term project net present value
by being part of an integrated, planned development area.
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There is too much traffic already. I bought my house here to be next to
open spaces. How can we stop all this building?
It’s unrealistic to expect others to slow or stop development on
their land, especially in the desirable Bay Area. Welcome to California, where the
population is expected to double by 2030.
I like Hercules just as it is. Why do we need all this development
anyway?
It is the policy of the City of Hercules to regain financial stability by
fostering sufficient commercial development to fund City operating costs.
Who is going to pay for all this new development?
All new development will pay its own way, according to City policy.
What about the environment?
While the District Plan will reflect known environmental considerations,
it will not undertake any new environmental work or attempt to secure permits. The process
itself is exempt from CEQA – the California Environmental Quality Act.
District Plan website: http://www.hercules-plan.org.
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