The final presentation of the American Institute of Architects Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) project in Sebastopol, CA

4. Wayne Feiden, FAICP, Team Leader
Ken Buckland, AICP, LEED AP, Land Use
Steve Durrant, PLA, Bicycle and Pedestrian
Christine Carlson, ASLA, Green Infrastructure
Lesley Bain, FAIA, LEED AP, Urban Design
Ian Lockwood, PE, Transportation
Joel Mills, Director AIA Communities by Design
Erin Simmons, Director AIA Design Assistance

5. Sebastopol speaks
• “We are a Subaru and Prius Town”
• “We are deserving of our vision”
• “We don’t suffer from low self-esteem”
• “Our brand is ‘Unique small town’”
• “Want to stay a working class community”
• “I never let my children bicycle to school”
• “Sebastopol goes both ways” downtown
streets”

6. Center of the City
Students: Safeway
sometimes plaza
Main St: Not so muchAdults: the plaza

7. Sebastopol speaks
• Downtown inundated by through traffic
• Streets too highway-like
• Pedestrians and cyclists uncomfortable
• Bicycle trail ends before the destination
• Parking available in the wrong places
• Unattractive downtown gateways

8. Sebastopol speaks
• Design/development should reflect values
• Residential, commercial and industrial mix
• Need new civic center
• Underutilized lots are key opportunities
• Weak downtown-The Barlow connection
• Nature in the city

9. Bullish on downtown/The Barlow
• Downtown synergy
• City worker/jobs balance (4,000±:4,000±)
• Housing (residents support downtown)

10. Land Use
Ken Buckland, AICP, LEED AP

11. A Cross Roads City

12. The Community Grows

13. A Community Over Time
Greenbelt
Core
Corridors
Transitions

14. The Opportunities

15. The Heart of the City

16. Precedent: Palmer Square

17. The Opportunities

18. Frame the Boundaries

19. The Opportunities

20. Frame the Boundaries

21. The Opportunities

22. Vehicle Storage/ Smart Parking
Location Units Parking Spaces Parking Ratio
South Orange NJ 200 250 1.3
Madison NJ 149 178 1.2
Lansdale PA 346 222 0.6
Portland OR 288 150 0.5
Portland OR 124 93 0.8
Gresham OR 90 135 1.5
Beaverton OR 185 218 1.2
Mission Wells CA 391 508 1.3
Montelena Apt CA 188 208 1.1
Park Regency CA 854 1352 1.6
Verandas CA 282 282 1.0
Wayside Plaza CA 156 166 1.1
Bethesda MD 497 746 1.5
Arlington VA 231 258 1.1
Silver Spring MD 406 406 1.0
Alexandria VA 457 560 1.2
Arlinngton VA 499 499 1.0

23. Vehicle Storage and Links
Average Parking Ratio 1.1
Average Distance to Transit 994’
Steps to Transit – 47
Steps to Main St - 126

24. Value Proposition
Cost of
Vehicle
Ownership
Additional
Mortgage Value
of $100,000

25. Zoning as Land Plan

26. Zoning as Future Land Plan
General Plan Update Needed, from that
process:
• Define Outcomes
• Include Flexibility

27. Defining Success
Pre-Planning Program
• Community-Based Process
• Define Desired Public Outcomes
• Determine Owner/Developer Benefits

28. Outreach and Marketing Plan
Market to Successful Businesses
Market to Quality Developers
Create Marketing Materials:
Context
What is required
What is desired
What is offered
How to proceed

30. Urban Design
Lesley Bain, FAIA, LEED AP

31. Design Review
Frames a conversation between
property owners
community members
designers and
regulators

32. Design Review
Allows the conversation to happen
before you need it to happen

33. NATURAL SETTING
Oak and redwood
Topography
Views
Creeklands
Designs reflect
Community Values: Character

34. NATURAL SETTING
Oak and redwood
Topography
Views
Creeklands
Designs reflect
Community Values: Character

35. HISTORY
Apples
Warehouses
Trains
Designs reflect
Community Values: Character

36. ICONS
ENTRIES
Designs reflect
Community Values: Character

37. HISTORY
Main Street
Fine grain scale
Designs reflect
Community Values: Character

38. ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY
Designs reflect
Community Values: Character

39. Ability to create for
the future
Designs reflect
Community Values: Character

40. Human scale
Comfortable
Interesting
Designs reflect
Community Values: It’s About People

41. Quirky!
Designs reflect
Community Values: It’s About People

42. Artistic
Designs reflect
Community Values: It’s About People

43. Solar
Edible
Shaded
Designs reflect
Community Values: Sustainable

44. Filling in gaps, needs
Adding landscaping,
seating, activity
Designs Contribute to Community

45. Making connections
Designs Contribute to Community

46. Making connections
Designs Contribute to Community

47. Making connections
Designs Contribute to Community

48. Main Street
Industrial heritage
Inner corridor
Entry corridor
Single family area
Tailor Guidelines by districts

49. Identify places of high
significance:
Gateways
Views
Key sites
Tailor Guidelines by districts

50. Main Street typology Industrial heritage
Tailor Guidelines by districts

51. Tailor Guidelines by pedestrian
priority
Existing conditions

52. Tailor Guidelines by pedestrian
priority
Pedestrian priority in red--near term

53. Tailor Guidelines by pedestrian
priority
Pedestrian priority in red--longer term

54. 1. Site Analysis
Each site has unique attributes.
What are the specific opportunities
for each project to contribute?
What is the best approach to design?
Design Review Process

55. 2. Design Concept
Addresses unique attributes.
Identifies the specific opportunities
for each project to contribute
Design Review Process

56. 3. Execution
Parts complement the whole.
Details, materials, and scale are most
appropriate.
Design Review Process

57. Not just Design Guidelines
Humanizing

58. Not just Design Guidelines
Humanizing

59. Fingers of space for people
Public Realm

60. Public Realm
People-scaled connections

61. Public Realm
People-scaled connections

62. The Language of the Street
Engineering language

63. Language of pedestrians and natural systems
The Language of the Street

64. The Language of the Street
Language of pedestrians and natural systems

65. The Language of the Public
Space
Use your asphalt space well

66. Design for who you are

67. Green Infrastructure
Christine Carlson, ASLA

68. Santa Rosa
Sebastopol
Graton
Farmland
AtascaderoCreek
LagunadeSantaRosa
Woodland

69. The
Plaza
RialtoTrail
HighStreetGreenway

70. The
Barlow
To Analy H.S.
Rialto
Pocket
Park
Pocket
Park
To Rodota Trail
Laguna
Railroad Woods
Sebastopol
CrossingThe Plaza
Rialto Trail

71. Rialto corridor

73. Neighborhood Greenway

74. 60’ foot right-of-way

76. Wayfinding
Renaturing

77. Backyard Nature

78. Backyard Nature

79. Street trees

80. Cluster trees and shrubs
for backyard habitat
Connect to
streetscape bioswales
Plants for
birds & bees
Residential Lots & Streetscape

81. Bicycle & Pedestrian Connections
Steve Durrant, PLA

82. to Santa Rosa
to Graton
to Petaluma

83. 15 minute walk15 minute walk
High SchoolHigh School
LagunaLaguna
Libby ParkLibby Park
PinecrestPinecrest
SchoolSchool
NO
YES
Yes, if only…
60%
15 minute bike ride15 minute bike ride

84. Plaza
Laguna
Analy High School
Rodota Trail
Ives ParkParkside

85. Highway Bikeways

86. Highway Bikeways
Trails

87. Highway Bikeways
Trails

88. Highway Bikeways
Trails
Bike Lanes

89. Highway Bikeways
Trails
Bike Lanes
Neighborhood Greenways

90. Plaza

91. RialtoCorridor
Ives Park Connector

92. HighStreetNeighborhoodGreenway

93. Buffered Bike Lanes

94. Cycle Tracks

95. Analy
High
School
The
Laguna
Pinecrest
School
Broomhaven
School
Libby Park
Rodota
Trail

96. Cycle Track:
A bikeway
protected from
traffic by parked
cars
or another barrier.

97. 58’

98. 58’

99. Transportation
Ian Lockwood, PE

114. What We Heard:

115. What We Heard:
i)no money for bypass

116. What We Heard:
i)no money for bypass
ii)no good location for bypass

117. What We Heard:
i)no money for bypass
ii)no good location for bypass
iii)potential network connections

118. What We Heard:
i)no money for bypass
ii)no good location for bypass
iii)potential network connections

119. What We Heard:
i)no money for bypass
ii)no good location for bypass
iii)potential network connections
Conclusions:

120. What We Heard:
i)no money for bypass
ii)no good location for bypass
iii)potential network connections
Conclusions:
i)congestion is not the choice

121. What We Heard:
i)no money for bypass
ii)no good location for bypass
iii)potential network connections
Conclusions:
i)congestion is not the choice
ii)how Sebastopol deals with
congestion is the choice

122. Choices:

123. Choices:
i)Traffic 1st
Approach:

124. Choices:
i)Traffic 1st
Approach:
maximize motor vehicle
throughput & accept damage
to City’s walkability, businesses,
character…

125. Choices:
i)Traffic 1st
Approach:
maximize motor vehicle
throughput & accept damage
to City’s walkability, businesses,
character…; or
ii)City 1st
Approach:

126. Choices:
i)Traffic 1st
Approach:
maximize motor vehicle
throughput & accept damage
to City’s walkability, businesses,
character…; or
ii)City 1st
Approach:
advance community “vision”
being cognizant of the crossroads’
challenge

141. % By Trip Type
----------
18.0%
2.6%
20.2%
1.5%
24.2%
8.8%
24.5%
0.2%
100.0%
Doctors & Dentist
Family & Personal
Church & School
Social Recreational
Other
Trip Type
----------
Work
Work Related
Shopping
Source: Federal Highway Administration & New York Times

143. Reward the short trip and/or the transit trip

156. Strategy: Relocate Lefts/Short Cylces
vs Split Through/One-Way Streets

158. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

159. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

160. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

161. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

162. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

163. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

164. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

165. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

170. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

171. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

176. Leverage Existing
Regional Network
(provide routing choices)
Forestville
Russian River
Source: Colin Doyle

211. Other Downtown: Parking
• On-street parking
– up to $200,000 sales/spot IF customer parking
• Main St. parked up
– Employees parking; or
– Fees needed
• Empty spaces
– regulations too strict; or
– too much parking

212. Other Downtown: Events
• Downtown events, programs, and promotion
– Business and city cachet

213. Get it done!
– Downtown merchants
– Occupy Sebastopol
– Sebastopol tomorrow
• General Plan Update
• Strategic work starts tomorrow
– The Perfect is the enemy of the Good
– City Council goal setting
• Partners
– Core Project
– Sebastopol Citizens
– Cittaslow Sebastopol

214. Quick Start: less than one year
• Wayfinding: bicycle trail and downtown
• Design: better design AND street standards
• Revise bicycle and pedestrian plans
• Zoning:
– conditional uses to by-right when possible
(e.g., office use above 1st floor The Barlow)
– CB parking to one per residential unit
– CB allow 4 stories if 4th
story setback

215. Quick Start: less than one year
• Paint: narrow lanes-repurpose asphalt
• Pre-Plan: opportunity sites for development &
greening
• Parking: rationalize system
• Identify greenways and smaller scale
connections

216. Momentum: within two years
• Identify site for housing to replace trailer park
• Marketing: opportunity sites
• Reposition asphalt: parking, sidewalks, parks
• Programmatic: empower partners to
coordinate more downtown events
• Build neighborhood greenways
• Improve more crosswalks
• Make bicycle trail connections

217. Eye on the prize: longer term
• Restore two-way livable streets downtown
• Embed findings in General Plan
• Cycle Tracks on major streets
• Buffered bikeways on collectors
• Restore the Laguna edge along Morris St.
• Strengthen connections between Laguna
and Rodota Trail. Connect West County
Trail and Ragle Park.

218. Imagine Downtown Sebastopol
• Emphasize downtown character
• Downtown development for city values
• Pre-planning program
• Private and public realm design guidelines
• Re-green (green infrastructure)
• Family-friendly connections
• Livable streets not highways
Presentation and (eventually) final report
www.aia.org/about/initiatives/AIAS075426