HomeMy WebLinkAboutEric Higuchi- Item 18From:
Eric Higuchi
To:
City Council; City Clerk
Cc:
Pete Beatty; Brian Delahaut
Subject:
Tustin - 6/18/24 City Council Meeting - Item 18 - Budget Comments
Date:
Tuesday, June 18, 2024 10:26:30 AM
The eComment portal was not working as of this morning.
Guiding Principles
o Red Hill Corridor: Maximize real property development opportunities to increase
housing supply and commercial space for businesses retention and attraction,
enhance public improvements and beautification.
■ An industrial project along the Red Hill Corridor was recently approved
by the Planning Commission. The applicant should have been advised
that housing is a priority along this corridor.
o Pacific Center East: Prioritize the disposition of City -owned property in Pacific
Center East and invest that value in other Council priorities, and ensure that each
disposition includes time commitments to put the sites to uses acceptable to the
Council.
■ I would request that the City consider updating the Pacific Center East
Specific Plan based on current market trends. The Pacific Center East
Specific Plan is an outdated document.
$1.0 million — Tustin Temporary Emergency Shelter
■ Temporary Emergency Shelters for the homeless are no longer a
priority for the Federal and State Government. Based on data (see Voice
of OC article), shelters have a marginal impact on improving the lives of
the homeless.
■ If the County is unwilling to contribute to financing this shelter, the City
should not continue to fund it.
Fund 100 General Fund staffing $171,000 (Economic Development Department)
■ I think the City should re -consider this request to add a position to the
EDD. The development of Tustin Legacy has been slow and long delayed.
Further, other responsibilities within the scope of EDD have either been
ignored (e.g, Tustin War Memorial) or road blocks were created (e.g.,
affordable housing regs for DTSP and RHSP; DA requirement, RAR
Program).
■ I think the City should limit EDD's scope and consider rolling up EDD
under Planning/Community Development.
Other Requests
• Tustin Legacy Advisory Committee and Preservation of the Control Tower
. There has been limited progress and transparency with respect to the
development of Tustin Legacy. In my opinion, the development of the base
under oversight by the City has slowly created, so far, a non-contiguous master
plan with polarizing architectural styles that has no established a sense of place
or a legacy for Tustin.
• Further, re -use of the south hanger needs to be immediately studied. Ignoring
the south hangar is a significant liability which we have actual financials on
($88M).
. The wood hangars at Moffett Field were studied by NASA who has detailed
financials for both the preservation and demolition of the structures. I believe
any correspondence between NASA and the City of Tustin should be disclosed
and the re -use of the Tustin Hanger should be analyzed against the costs
provided by NASA.
• The City of Tustin has done an excellent job in studying and preserving the
history of Old Town Tustin. We seem to forget that Tustin MCAS is a
significant part of our past and current history.
• Task one of a committee could be to analyze the preservation of the control
tower which would consist of commissioning a historic resources analysis with
a financial analysis for the renovation and/or relocation of the building. This
study would cost less than $50K
Tustin War Memorial
o I really have no connection to this building, I just think it's embarrassing that
it's literally named the Tustin War Memorial building and it's in complete
disrepair in spite of it being either: (i) a viable location for a commercial use; or
(ii) could be used as a community space in Old Town for the VFW or AL.