Downtown Specific Plan - Part 1 - City of Brawley

Brawley Downtown Specific Plan
3.3 Vision Plan
This vision plan provides a look into the future of Downtown Brawley.
It offers the City and community stakeholders an illustration of one
potential scenario for redevelopment within Downtown. It is possible that
redevelopment could occur in different locations within the Specific Plan
Area, and/or with alternative building configurations and uses. The illustration
contained within Figure 3- (Downtown Brawley Vision Plan) should not
be viewed as an absolute plan or form of regulation. There are many
unforeseen conditions, opportunities and/or constraints that may arise in the
future. Instead, this vision should serve as an initial guide for where and how
future development within Downtown may occur.
3.3.1 Redevelopment Concept
Land Use Mix
The redevelopment concept for Downtown Brawley looks to build upon the
strong mix of civic and other destination amenities that already exist. Within
the Downtown core around Plaza Park and along Main Street (approximately
two blocks east and west of Plaza Park), developments should include ground
floor retail, as well as upper story office and/or residential uses compatible
with the civic uses (i.e. City Hall, Library, Post Office, County Courthouse,
etc.). Uses in this area should also focus on activating the street and Plaza
Park during weekdays, weeknights and weekends.
Developments east of the railroad should include light industrial, general and
medical offices that build upon the County’s Employment Services Center
and Brawley’s Medical Center.
Refer to Chapter 4 (Regulating Code) for more detailed information on the
location and mix of potential land uses.
3-10
Land Assembly
Through this Specific Plan, successful redevelopment within Downtown
Brawley calls for aggressive land assembly by the City’s Redevelopment
Agency and/or development community, where and when financially feasible
as well as community-supported. Refer to Chapter (Implementation
Programs) for more detailed recommendations.
Land assembly involves joining contiguous parcels to make one larger parcel
of developable land. Acquiring and developing land one parcel at a time
can be very expensive for developers, resulting in a lack of redevelopment
interest in a community.
As shown in Figure 3-3 (Vacant Parcels and Buildings), there are a number
of parcels scattered throughout Downtown that are either vacant or contain
empty buildings. Several of these parcels exist around Plaza Park, on the
north side of Main Street (east of Plaza Park), as well as on both sides of G
Street (east of Plaza Park).
Many parcels in Downtown are long and narrow, limiting their individual
redevelopment potential. When considering the building footprint to lot
dimension ratio, as well as need for on-site parking, many of these parcels are
limited in their ability to offer larger magnitude projects. For example, if the
owner of a long and narrow property wanted to independently develop their
parcel, the project would likely result in a 1 to story building. If multiple
contiguous, long and narrow properties were consolidated through the land
assembly process, a new development has potential of being constructed at 3
to stories while still providing for on-site parking.
Figure 3-4 (Potential Opportunity Sites) shows parcels suffering from
vacancies within Downtown that, when consolidated with adjoining
properties, become key redevelopment opportunity sites. This illustration
is solely intended to graphically represent potential project areas, not to
specifically identify parcels to be acquired.