A soiree Monday evening kicked off the Urban Land Institute’s five-day advisory panel in Manhattan Beach, where the D.C.-based nonprofit will collect extensive input and on Friday offer recommendations about the city’s embattled downtown area.
Nearly 100 community members, city staff and officials filled the Joslyn Center to mingle with the eight panelists, who arrived Sunday and are staying at Shade Hotel. The panel, selected by ULI vice president of advisory services Tom Eitler, includes developers, architects, land economists and urban planners from across the country.
“The whole idea behind this panel process is to get an independent and candid point of view from a group of folks who understand land use and real estate but don’t live in the area,” Eitler said, adding ULI conducts about 20 panels a year around the country. Recent assignments include San Bernardino, Seattle, and Clearwater, Florida.
The reception, at which appetizers and sparkling apple cider were served, was initiated with a welcome message from City Manager Mark Danaj, followed by a brief introduction from each panelist. The rest of the evening was a free-for-all meet-and-greet, feeling akin to a busy networking event.
“Great civic engagement is about reaching out to those who don’t traditionally come,” Danaj said. “This is an experiment in a different way. We’re getting a lot more interaction in one time as opposed to the typical community meeting where there’s a microphone and you time people for two minutes. Downtown belongs to the entire community.”
The major issues that the panelists will contemplate include restricting types of uses for street level spaces, ratio of chain to local retail and preserving the city’s quaint, hometown vibe. The panel is interviewing 125 stakeholders and residents Tuesday and deliberating throughout Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday at the Joslyn Center, ULI will present a summary of their recommendations.
“I’m very optimistic about it,” said Lynne Gross, a longtime resident and Roundhouse Aquarium’s board president. Gross said she suggested more interaction between Roundhouse and downtown groups because the aquarium acts as an information center for visitors. “I’ve learned that they’re very open-minded to ideas,” she said.
Lynn McIver, a 44-year resident and teacher, said she was relieved to learn one of the panelists has worked in Clearwater, a beach town. She said she wants to see more culture and diversity in downtown.
“I don’t think we have any business telling property owners or landlords they can’t rent to another real estate office,” McIver said. “But my gosh, we don’t have any live music. We don’t have a cooking store. We don’t have any art galleries.”
In late October, the city council approved a $125,000 contract with ULI, a nonprofit research and education organization studying land use. Councilman David Lesser, who voted alone against the contract, said he is “approaching it from a positive light” and that he’s hopeful the national experts will provide more context for the small town issues.
“I became so inspired and energized in just one hour of meeting and talking to these people,” Councilmember Amy Howorth said. “They’re excited about looking at our town and thinking about our issues, and they’ve excited our staff, which is fantastic. That is something I didn’t expect and it’s gonna be a real benefit.”
Panelist Tom Hester, an urban developer living in Phoenix, noted the community is very passionate about the changes occurring in downtown.
“We have a lot of different perspectives because the community hasn’t just physically changed, its constituents have changed,” Hester said. “The overall values have changed in a very short time of one to two decades.”
The Urban Land Institute will present their recommendations to the public at the Joslyn Center at 9 a.m. Friday.
