Stockton Miracle Mile Work Group Meeting Minutes 12-06-23

Welcome and acknowledgement of purpose of meeting and reason for everyone being present – to make the Miracle Mile better.

Before the meeting began, some guiding principles were expressed to set expectations for everyone’s participation:

• Today’s meeting is an opportunity for feedback and creativity.
• Let us respect one another and suspend judgement. There are no decisions being made on the Miracle Mile revitalization project.
• We welcome all questions, comments, and ideas.
• Start from a place that we acknowledge everyone in this room is here because they care about the area and want to make a difference.
• Please stay on topic.

Spanish translation was available for any parts of the meeting that participants needed assistance. Caltrans representative Carlos Casillas was on site for support.

Caltrans Non-Discrimination Policy (excerpt):

• The California Department of Transportation, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ensures: “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
• Caltrans will make every effort to ensure nondiscrimination in all of its services, programs and activities, whether they are federally funded or not, and that services and benefits are fairly distributed to all people, regardless of race, color, or national origin. In addition, Caltrans will facilitate meaningful participation in the transportation planning process in a nondiscriminatory manner.
• Related federal statutes, remedies, and state law further those protections to include sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and age.

Recording of the meeting will be available after the meeting by visiting the Caltrans website at https://bit.ly/stocktonmiraclemile

Kevin Dougherty called the meeting to order and gave an overview on the purpose of the Miracle Mile project.

In accordance with the charter approved at the last public meeting, we have community representation on the Ad Hoc Workgroup. Jean Callahan performed roll call.

Ad Hoc Workgroup members in attendance:

• Assemblymember representing Miracle Mile
  Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua (Israel Landa as proxy)
• Residents of Miracle Mile area (within 5 miles)
  Frederic "Chip" Hanker
  Phillip Herrera
  Ted Leland
  Mariela Lomeli
  Howard Seligman
• Business owner with property on Miracle Mile and member of Miracle Mile Improvement District
  Kevin Dougherty
• Business owner with no property on Miracle Mile and member of Miracle Mile Improvement District
  Jonathan Hernandez
• Miracle Mile business owner who is not part of Miracle Mile Improvement District
  Joanne Chappell
• Commercial property owner with no business on Miracle Mile
  Ravdeep “Rex” Dhatt
• University of the Pacific representative
  Jean Callahan
• Delta College representative
  Cameron Farrens
• Developer
  Kevin Hernandez
• Local service clubs representatives
  Diana Lowery
• Architect, civil engineer, traffic engineer, or land use and urban planner
  Paris Allen
• Cyclist who commutes to Miracle Mile
  Jerry Enni (absent)
• Stockton Chamber of Commerce representative
  Dwight Williams (absent)
• Asian American Chamber of Commerce
  Les Fong (absent)

There is one vacant seat representing the farmers markets.

This is the second of four public meetings for the Miracle Mile Ad Hoc Workgroup to gather feedback from the public.

The Ad Hoc Workgroup is following a process in planning known as Value Methodology that has distinct phases to help us move through learning, brainstorming, evaluating and developing concepts that will turn into reality when this project is ready to bid and construct.

Members of the Ad Hoc Workgroup have spent a lot of time learning about best practices and standards for corridor or street designs.

• Presentations from Caltrans that went into further detail on active transportation from the last public meeting in October.
• Case studies presented from different perspectives by public works for the City of Livermore, planner for Little Italy in San Diego
• Additional case studies next week from the mobility manager for Santa Monica, and the improvement district executive director for San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
• The Ad Hoc Workgroup participated in walking tour of the Miracle Mile to observe current conditions.
• Another walking tour in two weeks of Miner Avenue that recently completed construction of 0.7 miles costing $17 million to see a comparable project in our own city limits.

The Ad Hoc Workgroup began brainstorming of all possibilities that could be possible for Miracle Mile. These ideas are dreams for the district without restrictions or limitations to imagination.

Then subcommittees were formed who will focus on specific elements:

• Business Development chaired by Kevin Hernandez
• Civil Improvements chaired by Paris Allen
• Community Engagement chaired by Jonathan Hernandez
• Mobility chaired by Mariela Lomeli
• Place-making chaired by Kerry Sullivan
• Security & Lighting chair is vacant

The ideas that each subcommittee will share today are unfiltered. They include ideas generated by the Ad Hoc Workgroup and the public from public meetings and submitted through the Caltrans Miracle Mile website.

Following today’s meeting, the public will be invited to be part of the subcommittees where all will evaluate these ideas to determine what are feasible and worth developing.

A full list of initial ideas that were presented by the subcommittee chairs can be found as another resource on the Caltrans website at https://bit.ly/stocktonmiraclemile

Public comments began with a reminder that these are initial brainstormed ideas and have not yet been evaluated. All public comments are welcome and asked to offer productive feedback to help determine which ideas should be considered.

One minute per public comment:

• UOP student mentioned to include Delta College, especially the business center.
• Make the Miracle Mile a destination place - proposal to close street off for traffic completely.
• Question 1) Will street parking be removed? We don’t know yet. Everything is on the table and nothing is off the table.
• Question 2) When will these ideas be implemented? The funds have to be expended by January 2028.
• What are the plans during the graveyard shift to keep businesses safe? Most security is proposed during the evening. Encourage to have police/ county sheriff present during the evening and night hours.
• Not a fan of speed bumps on Pacific; if implemented, please make them smooth.
• Love the idea of including bicyclists but currently they are not driving safely down Pacific Ave.
• Community Relationship and Security Safety & Lighting are very important to be addressed. Buying bricks are a great idea and can help fund future projects.
• Can all the greenery improvement fit into the sidewalk? No
• Where can I go for additional information or to read up on passed meetings?
• Is the Miracle Mile trying to compete with Shopping Centers or is it a unique area? Current idea is to make the Miracle Mile more of a dining destination instead of retail.
• 25 camera system will be installed on the Miracle Mile with remote security officers looking for suspicious activities (vehicle break-ins, license plate readers, homelessness) – will result in proactive solutions vs. reactive solution.
• Businesses behind the businesses on the Miracle Mile should also be considered to add security cameras.
• Add a pickle ball court
• Think about including dinner shows (similar to Las Vegas)
• Question on security cameras – is this being funded by a separate program? Miracle Mile can fund some of it. Strong relationships have to be built with City of Stockton and Stockton PD in order for program to be successful.

Meeting proceeded to begin brainstorming. Ad Hoc Workgroup members joined round tables to brainstorm additional ideas. Virtual participants were divided into breakout rooms with Caltrans representatives to facilitate. Before brainstorming began, some helpful tips were shared with all participants:

• No idea is a bad idea.
• We are suspending judgement.
• Make sure everyone’s voice is heard and everyone’s ideas are captured; we want to make sure everyone in the room and online has the opportunity to share whatever ideas are had.
• How to structure an idea:
  • Start with an action verb.
  • Include a description or the element you’re considering.
  • Identify the location on the Miracle Mile you’re proposing.
  • Include the reason for why you want this.
  • Example: “Construct retractable bollards along Pacific at Tuxedo to facilitate road closures for events.”

In-person and virtual breakouts were given 15 minutes to brainstorm. All ideas were captured on flipcharts and then each group was asked to share 2-3 ideas to the large room.

A full list of all ideas that have been brainstormed can be found as another resource on the Caltrans website at https://bit.ly/stocktonmiraclemile

All ideas will be assigned to the appropriate subcommittee to evaluate. Subcommittees will start looking at all the ideas to determine what should move forward giving their knowledge and learning from these past few months.

The Ad Hoc Workgroup invited the public to volunteer to add their voices to the subcommittees and help evaluate the ideas to determine which ones will move forward.

Meeting participants were given an opportunity to sign up, and communications were sent out via email and social media following the meeting to invite more participants.

Subcommittees will meet over the next four weeks:

• Business Development (12/11, 12/18)
• Civil Improvements (12/11, 12/20, 1/3)
• Community Engagement (TBD)
• Mobility (12/19, 1/4)
• Place-making (12/13, 1/17)
• Security and Lighting (TBD)

Next public meeting (January 24, 2024)

More information will be made public in the coming weeks; be sure to visit the Caltrans website at https://bit.ly/stocktonmiraclemile

If you have additional comments or questions, please submit via email at StocktonMiracleMile@dot.ca.gov

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Some subcommittee meeting dates have changed and have been communicated to all subcommittee members.

The next public meeting has been rescheduled for February 7 to allow more time for subcommittees and the Ad Hoc Workgroup to work on evaluating all the ideas generated.

Kevin Dougherty and Jean Callahan thanked all participants and adjourned the meeting.