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<br />Councilmember Bustamante acknowledged the need for such facilities in the <br />community, and expressed his desire to see what sort of proposals might be <br />available from private developers also. <br /> <br />David DiRienzo, developer with Urban West Strategies, presented his proposal to <br />develop the YMCA building into a boutique hotel. Mr. DiRienzo described that his <br />plan would retain the historic falfade of the building while completely removing the <br />interior and reconstructing it to include a 50 to 60 room all-suites hotel, commercial <br />office, restaurant and roof terrace. He explained that by removing and <br />reconstructing the interior, the development costs of the project would be <br />substantially reduced and greater potential for more flexible use of the interior space <br />created. He stated that he recognized the importance of retaining the historical <br />falf8de. Mr. DiRienzo left a copy of his proposal, called Civic West with the <br />Committee. He stated that he had favorable interest from a number of investment <br />firms in his proposal. <br /> <br />Ben Grabiel, representing the Santa Ana Historic Preservation Society Board, stated <br />that he would be submitting a proposal for an income-generating re-use of the <br />property and that he would be contacting Steve Harding with further details. <br /> <br />Councilmember Sarmiento stated that he was pleased that there was such varied <br />interest in the property and that it would be important to keep an open mind about <br />any proposals. <br /> <br />Mayor Pulido commented that, given the amount of time the building has been <br />vacant, waiting a little longer is appropriate while we try to find the right use. He <br />asked Ms. Avila to consider the Delhi Center as a potential location for the Youth <br />Commission's programs also. <br /> <br />The Committee and staff discussed the history of the City's involvement in the <br />redevelopment of the property to date including such barriers as the cost to <br />rehabilitate the building. <br /> <br />Phil Brigandi, representing the Orange County Archivist, stated that his agency was <br />interested in using the building for an Orange County museum and also to house the <br />County Archives. <br /> <br />Steve Harding stated that he would bring the previously established interest list back <br />to the Committee for its feedback. <br /> <br />3. FACILITATING DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL LOTS <br /> <br />Jay Trevino and Karen Haluza provided a presentation and analysis of barriers to <br />development of small, vacant lots. She stated that it might be worthwhile to explore <br />changes to the City's minimum lot size standards in certain zones and locations. <br /> <br />Mayor Pulido expressed support for minimum lot size standards in single-family <br />residential zones, but stated that he believed that the City's standards and <br />necessary discretionary actions to vary from these standards make it too difficult to <br />develop these lots. He stated that the presence of so many vacant lots act like <br />"broken windows" in the City and detract from its overall appearance. He requested <br /> <br />Development Council Committee Minutes <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />May 17, 2007 <br />