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RESOLUTION NO. 2014-059 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA ADOPTING THE CHULA VISTA PUBLIC LIBRARY STRATEGIC VISION PLAN AND ACCOMPANYING LIBRARY STRATEGIC FACILITIES PLAN (4/5 VOTE REQUIRED)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommended Action
Council adopt the resolution.
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SUMMARY
The Chula Vista Public Library is currently operating under a Library Facility Master Plan that was adopted in 1998. In 2010 the City contracted with Group 4 Architecture Planning and Research (Group 4) to develop a new Library Strategic Facilities Plan. The project's scope was to address two issues. The first was to validate the GMOC standard of 0.5 square foot per capita threshold for library space needed to keep pace with population growth. The second was to consider the best location and design of future library facilities that would be relevant and sustainable. Options for library facilities development were examined in accordance with the current General Plan, patterns and preferences of current users, and reasonably expected future service given the dramatic changes in public library trends, expectations, capabilities, and challenges.
The Library Strategic Facilities Plan was brought forward for Council consideration on July 19, 2011. At that time Council asked that consideration of the plan be postponed. This created an opportunity to incorporate two additional elements into the Library Strategic Facilities Plan. The first was an evaluation of the trendsetting Otay Ranch Branch Library "express branch" model - smaller, more flexible, using different service concepts, embedded in a retail environment, which opened on April 2012. The second was a response to Council request for a more overarching vision of what library service could be in the 21st century. Group 4 was retained to conduct a Strategic Visioning process in fall of 2013 resulting in a companion piece to the original Library Strategic Facilities Plan. Once the strategic directions for library services in Chula Vista over the next decade were established, the project team revisited the 2011 Strategic Facilities Plan in order to adjust and update the recommendations as needed.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Development Services Director has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity (adoption of the Strategic Vision Plan and Strategic Facilities Plan) falls under a statutory exemption pursuant to Section 15262 (Feasibility and Planning Studies) of the State CEQA Guidelines because the action is only adoption of the Plans and does not include approval of any library facilities at this time. In the future when library facility project(s) are defined additional environmental review will be completed prior to commencing any project.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
The Board of Library Trustees supports the Library Strategic Vision Plan and the Library Strategic Facilities Plan. The Board of Library Trustees wishes to note that the strategic plan is the minimum for the library and is not what is necessary to fulfill its role and vision.
DISCUSSION
The goals for the 2013 Strategic Vision Plan included:
Confirming the Library's role as a relevant, responsive and effective service provider today and in the future
Positioning the library to take advantage of development, funding and partnership opportunities
Ensuring the Library's long-term vitality and sustainability
Creating a clear, transparent and implementable vision for services and facilities that elected leadership, community stakeholders and Chula Vista citizens will support
The vision builds on the work of the 2011 Strategic Facilities Plan. The library leadership team, consultants, and a stakeholder-based Community Advisory Committee worked closely to review and confirm findings and recommendations in a collaborative process that developed a shared vision for the library's role in Chula Vista's future.
This visioning document, together with the research and observations of the Library Strategic Facilities Plan, together present a collaborative vision for future library service and facilities options that could support it.
Consideration was also given to reaffirming the space threshold identified in 2011. Library space planning targets are not universal, but are established based on each community's unique characteristics, needs, and opportunities. In 1998, the Chula Vista Public Library established a library space planning target of 500 to 600 square feet per 1,000 Chula Vista residents. In the 2011 Strategic Facilities Plan, this target range was confirmed through analysis of the community's library service needs, the Library's organizational capacity, and anticipated capital development opportunities. The service priorities established in the recent CVPL Strategic Vision Plan suggest a renewed emphasis on services and space for people in the library - such as individual and collaborative work/study space, classroom/training facilities, and large meeting/program space. However, as collections shift from physical to digital, it is anticipated that CVPL's libraries will be able to accommodate additional space for people without needing to increase the overall library space planning target. As such, 500 to 600 square feet per 1,000 population continues to be an appropriate planning target for libraries in Chula Vista.
Chula Vista's target library planning range is consistent with other California communities with comparable population and geographic profiles, such as Escondido, Anaheim, and the communities served by the San Diego County Library. By contrast, smaller communities such as National City tend to have a higher ratio of library space per capita, while large urban communities such as Sacramento and San Jose tend to have a lower library space planning target.
DECISION-MAKER CONFLICT
Staff has reviewed the decision contemplated by this action and has determined that it is not site specific and consequently, the 500-foot rule found in California Code of Regulations section 18704.2(a)(1), is not applicable to this decision. Staff is not independently aware, and has not been informed by any City Council member, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter.
LINK TO STRATEGIC GOALS
The City's Strategic Plan has five major goals: Operational Excellence, Economic Vitality, Healthy Community, Strong and Secure Neighborhoods and a Connected Community. The Library Strategic Vision Plan and the Library Strategic Facilities Plan support all five goals. Operational Excellence is supported by the plan's analysis of the most cost effective service models utilizing partnerships, leveraged resources, and a wide array of cost effective strategies. The plans support the Economic Vitality goal in ensuring that the library continues to provide broadband access and meeting spaces for job applicants, small and home businesses and entrepreneurs, and promotes early literacy, school success leading to high school graduation and job readiness, key elements in community prosperity. The plans support Healthy Communities by strengthening the library in its role of respected resource for reliable consumer information and programs on health and medicine, and for fostering the self-directed learning, enrichment, socialization, and self-improvement that contributes to increased mental and emotional health. The plans support Strong and Secure Neighborhoods by ensuring that the library continues as a safe and wholesome alternative for youth during critical afterschool hours. The plans support Connected Communities by validating the library as a key community source for free broadband internet access, computer training and assistance, through its free venues for community engagement, and its many programs that enable networking, engagement and mutual support.
CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT
The Chula Vista Public Library Strategic Vision Plan and accompanying Strategic Facilities Plan are designed to be implemented in future years and are not anticipated to have current year fiscal impacts to the General Fund.
ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT
The City's Public Facilities Development Impact Fee (PFDIF) program will be the primary funding source for the one-time capital expenditures identified in the Strategic Visioning Plan and Strategic Facilities Plan; the General Fund will be the funding source for any associated operating costs.
The current PFDIF program includes the construction of an additional 60,000 square feet of library space. The next comprehensive update of the PFDIF program will identify the level of capital program financial support required from both the General Fund and the PFDIF. This determination will consider the extent to which facility construction/expansion is required to serve existing development, versus facilities required to serve new development only. This analysis will only be required if the option to replace and expand the existing Civic Center Library branch is pursued. All other facilities considered in the Strategic Visioning and Strategic Facilities plans would be fully funded via the PFDIF. Once any cost sharing between the City and the PFDIF is determined, the new development related facilities will be added to the PFDIF program fee calculation.
PFDIF funds cannot be used to fund operating expenses; those expenses must be supported by the General Fund. General Fund operating costs associated with the Proposed Strategic Visioining Plan and Strategic Facilities Plan will be included in the City's Five-Year Financial Forecast, along with offsetting revenues anticipated to be generated by the associated development projects (Millenia, Bayfront and University Villages).
ATTACHMENTS
· Resolution
· CVPL Strategic Vision Plan (February 2014)
· CVPL Strategic Facilities Plan (April 2011)