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PlanningBoard,2014-03-10,1,"APPROVED MEETING MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014
1. CONVENE:
7:03 p.m.
2. FLAG SALUTE:
Board member Zuppan led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL:
President Burton, Vice President Henneberry, Board members
Knox White, Köster, Tang and Zuppan,
Board member Alvarez-Morroni arrived during item 7-B.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION: Staff request item 7.B. be moved to first on
the agenda.
Board member Zuppan motioned to move item 7.B., and continue item 7.C.
Board member Knox White seconded.
Motion carried, 6-0
Staff asked to continue item 7.C. to March 24, not April 12.
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: Speakers:
Mr. Victor Cordell, resident of Harbor Bay neighbor group and asked for the PB to deny the
permits and proposals for the redevelopment being rezoned. Moving the club should be
denied. The conditions and language were amended in 1996. The project would be
damaging to the neighborhood.
Mr. Robert Wood, spoke on the Golf Commission meeting for the following evening, the
ARPD Director will be proposing a temporary banquet hall. He requested for the PB to
track this project and encouraged attendance. He spoke on the new pump station that is
now above ground and the lighting on site, and the paving. It is a terrible job, the golf
course entry deserves better.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR: None
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
7.B. The Planning Board will receive a presentation on the proposal for the
residential adaptive reuse of the Del Monte Warehouse building at 1501 Buena Vista
Avenue. No action will be taken at the meeting.
Mr. Andrew Thomas, City Planner, provided the Board a briefing and presentation on the
former Del Monte landmark building.
Approved Regular Meeting Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2014-03-10,2,"The Tim Lewis Community Team was present, Mr. Michael O'Hara introduced himself and
made a brief presentation on the project. 11.5 acres, 240,000 sq ft., hasn't been Del
Monte Plant since the 1960's. 400+ housing units are included in their proposal, and retail
space. He introduced Mr. Jim Meaks, and stated BAR is their architect. Mr. Christopher
VerPlanck is a key member to their team (SF preservation and historian), Ms, Paula
Krugmeier from BAR made a presentation.
Board member Alvarez-Morroni asked for the number of housing units.
Ms. Krugmeier replied with 309 units, each with parking.
Board member Tang asked about an open recreation area. He asked if the outer brick
would stay in place.
Ms. Krugmeier stated Littlejohn Park is across the street, and on site is a paseo, but the
waterfront will be developed also. She reported the brick will be preserved.
Board member Tang asked about a setback in the addition.
Ms. Krugmeier stated there is an aesthetic element for balance.
Board member Alvarez-Morroni asked about the seismic retrofit, brick down and then back
up.
Ms. Krugmeier replied the foundation is the big point of the retrofit work, and its an
extensive plan to get the foundation work done. The brick wall can be supported in
different ways.
Board member Zuppan asked about the structure removal, below grade parking, and
cutaways.
Ms. Krugmeier reviewed the slide and showed what would be opened roof and what would
be kept in place, and what would be replaced with new concrete. There will be 50 new
openings to the outside. The thinking was there was so much foundation work to be done,
so they thought of a way to better leverage the foundation work.
Board member Zuppan asked if the only area open to the public would be the paseo.
Ms. Krugmeier stated the open space paseo would create an indoor urban open air feel.
Closing the building to public is an operations question.
Vice President Henneberry he is glad to see the historic element being a priority. He
asked about the 10,000 sq ft waterfront retail, and what kind of retail.
Mr. Thomas stated the 10,000 sf is the total area.
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PlanningBoard,2014-03-10,3,"Ms. Krugmeier replied food and beverage would be likely as the retail space. She stated
the mix they have right now is a moderate mix.
Board member Köster asked about the remainder housing units and would they be off-site.
Mr. O'Hara stated the master plan concept is flexible, and site circulation could change.
Board member Köster asked if housing would include lower than market rate.
Mr. O'Hara replied there would be some affordable, and possibly rentals, but they are
allowing flexibility.
President Burton asked for clarification from staff on the affordable units.
Mr. Thomas stated it is 15% of the total.
President Burton asked about the paseo and how the building addresses Buena Vista, is
there a linear park along Buena Vista Avenue, or is that parking.
Mr. O'Hara explained the area looking up Benton showing the paseo, and indicated where
the rail line is, with a drop down to the paseo.
President Burton stated it is exciting to see a great team with a realistic plan.
Mr. Thomas stated being back with this project in April, as well as to the Historic Advisory
Board. He is hoping a three month window for approval.
7.A. Public Review Draft Housing Element Update for 2015-2023 - The Planning
Board will receive a presentation on the Draft Housing Element. No action will be taken
Mr. Andrew Thomas, City Planner, commented on the city doing a good job on housing.
He provided a presentation on the next Housing Element (HE).
Board member Zuppan asked about zoning and CVS, with Del Monte and does that work
back and forth with required units VS. building more than required.
Mr. Thomas stated its nice to have a surplus, and we used our surplus on the Chipman
site. 500 units surplus is huge. The HE numbers are based on formulas. He commented
on the West Marine property being residential, and tearing it down for another commercial
space is not an option. He recommends keeping a surplus. The state wants to know
there are enough zones for residential space, it does nothing to remove a site (CVS) from
the HE.
Board member Köster asked what happens if someone wants to develop CVS as
residential.
Approved Regular Meeting Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2014-03-10,4,"Mr. Thomas said it is allowed, even though its not on the HE.
Board member Köster asked how the multi-family item comes in, and the PD overlay.
Mr. Thomas stated the multi-family overlay is simple and permitted by right, and if density
is up to 30. The PD overlay has been in place for a long time. He used the setback and
height as an example and stated this gives the PB an ability to approve a different type of
design, but this is only for big development.
Board member Köster asked about 'delete' in the draft for projects and programs.
Mr. Thomas explained in the background report and goes through all the programs of
previous HE. He stated a program can be ongoing, or a single action. There is a
deletion of programs due to something being complete.
Board member Alvarez-Morroni asked about the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) and
how that fits in with the HE.
Mr. Thomas stated this isn't a requirement by law, but this can be adopted into the plan.
Board member Tang asked if the state requires senior units in affordable numbers.
Mr. Thomas stated this is not a requirement for seniors. The state recognizes that cities
don't actually do the building of homes. They want to see the dedicated land, or zones for
the development of homes.
Board member Tang asked if senior housing can be implemented into the plan.
Mr. Thomas stated yes, policy can be written.
President Burton opened the item to public comment.
Speakers:
Ms. Laura Thomas, Renewed Hope Housing, commented on the previous HE. She is
surprised by the quick time frame and that the draft has already been sent to the state.
The public process seems strange because of this. Rising rents is a concern as people
could be displaced, and renters are the majority of people on the island. They propose a
Rent Stabilization Ordinance in Alameda to protect the citizens.
Ms. Audrey Lord-Hausman, complimented the city for adopting the Reasonable
Accommodations Development and in providing Jack Capon Villa to the disabled who
need this kind of housing. There is a need for housing conducive to aging in place
housing in this city. She stated being on the Committee for Disabilities and would like to
continue to see progress in moving these types of issues forward, by collaborating with
other groups in an effort to get comments into the HE.
Approved Regular Meeting Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2014-03-10,5,"Mr. Bill Smith, commented for the need of stabilization housing in the city. He is concern
there isn't a repeat of the Neptune Beach site and the last HE. He suggested the
coordination groups didn't include EBRPD and AUSD. He agreed with
Ms.
Lord-Hausman, as their comments are incorporated and collaborated with other groups for
the HE.
Ms. Karen Bey, commented on being excited to see the development of the waterfront.
She is concerned with the lack of development on Webster Street corridor. She agreed to
allocate numbers to senior housing and it is a need. She is concerned with Rent
Stabilization policies exempt many large developers for having to follow the policy.
President Burton closed public comment.
Board member Köster thanked staff for getting this draft done and this is clearer than the
last one. He agreed senior housing should be addressed, and asked about the current
pipeline for projects and could that be included in the staff report.
Mr. Thomas stated the pipeline report is the AHA and affordable housing efforts moving
forward.
Board member Köster asked about parking and could we be cautious and careful with
managing the parking issues around town, and he wants to see the transit routes. He
agreed AUSD and EBRPD need to get this draft.
Mr. Thomas stated there are no proposals to change parking regulations. The state
requires to look at regulations annually, only to review. The AUSD site is still zoned
residential. There are no new sites in the new HE.
Board member Knox White thanked staff for the hard work. He would like to have a
discussion on diversity of housing and to support a quality of life. There is a need to take
care of the people who live here, and the General Plan should reflect this. We should
support transit, and housing can support the economy (people shop here). Strategies
should support goals, and goals are based on policies. He would like to know why the
work/live ordinance program is being deleted, and APC rehab program being deleted.
We should look at developing a multi-family program, and a program to look at parking.
Vice President Henneberry thanked staff for the hard work at getting this draft done. He
asked if a Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) being part of the HE.
Mr. Thomas stated it is not part of the HE. The RSO is a new issue to the city. The HE is
made of policies and programs. Universal Design was in the last HE, but the ordinance is
written yet. It can be decided if this should go into the HE, but there isn't time to get the
ordinance process completed for actual inclusion into the HE, but it can be mentioned.
Board member Zuppan thanked staff for the draft being more clear and to the point. She
wanted table numbers to be looked into. She is also concerned about transit and sites
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PlanningBoard,2014-03-10,6,"being accessed by transit, and parking being another concern. She asked if there is a
requirement for developers.
Mr. Thomas stated there are requirements for transit and parking for developers. There is
a need to make things clearer for the older sites. Not to move the transit to the older areas
being developed, but for developers to supplement to transit. Boatworks is required to
buy AC Transit passes. We will clarify this in the HE.
Board member Zuppan stated this should be for the entire island, an entire transit loop,
and can we implement a policy or program. She also spoke on sustainable development
being incorporated, and would like to see the sites zoned residential (CVS) be dropped
from the HE. She agreed supporting senior housing, and comments being incorporated
and collaborated.
Mr. Thomas asked for all comments in writing in time for the April 28th PB meeting. That
is how we can better collaborate and incorporate all comments.
Board member Tang commented the new generation and driving not being a priority for
them. He agrees if there is more transit options, more people will not use their car. This
will be a good way to attract teachers, first responders, etc. He asked if there was a way
to make contracts with other agencies, perhaps building housing above work places to
better check in with elderly parents or children.
Ms. Farimah Faiz, Deputy City Attorney, stated there are opportunities for joint use
agreements with other agencies.
Board member Alvarez-Morroni thanked staff and the reminder this document is about
policies and programs. She requested seeing Universal Design being incorporated into
the HE. She asked for feedback from other agencies, and would not support a RSO.
President Burton thanked his Board and staff for the hard work, along with the public on
valuable comments. He has concerns about the table and the deletion of programs. He
asked about solar power, and AMP has incentives, but the amount of wattage for the
current set-up will go away soon. There is a proposedt feed-in type of set-up that could
kill any new solar installations on the island. This should be a community wide discussion.
There is a list of AMP programs for existing homes that should be clarified in the
document. He agreed to look at the RSO and the aging in place type housing, and
perhaps study the issues. He is also concern with the links to other major documents,
links with development and transit, and links with the community and the economy. He is
concerned with why Alameda Point (AP) isn't included in the HE.
Mr. Thomas reported the available sites cannot be moved. There are sites on all transit
corridors. The HE list is to show the state what is available for development, and there may
be a way to provide a supplement list. He said there has been major progress for AP, but
there needs to be a GP first. The city doesn't have all of AP yet, and a big chunk of the
town center is part of that.
These are the same sites we sent to the state in 2012 that
Approved Regular Meeting Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2014-03-10,7,"were approved.
7.C. Alameda Landing Residential Homes - Colors and Street Names. The
Planning Board will hold a public hearing to consider the color and material boards for the
residential units and the proposed street names for the residential portion of the property at
the Alameda Landing Project, generally located between Stargell Avenue, 5th Street, and
Mitchell Avenue. A final environmental impact report was certified for this project in 2007.
Staff requested this item be continued to April 12, 2014
8. MINUTES: None
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS:
9.A. Future Agendas - Mr. Thomas reported on upcoming agenda items.
9.B. Staff Communications - Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent
Actions and Decisions - Mr. Thomas reported there were four approvals since the last
meeting.
Board member Knox White asked about the timeline for Del Monte.
Mr. Thomas stated he will look at the timeline closer.
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: None
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS:
11.A. Report from Alameda Point Town Center Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee - None
Board member Zuppan asked for comments on the Golf Course project. Perhaps that
can come back to the PB.
Board member Knox White stated it was a temporary structure. He asked about permits
being pulled.
Mr. Thomas stated there was a scoping session for an EIR for two different sites. The two
separate application were packaged together. There has been a constant influx of emails,
and a letter was sent for a special meeting on the rezoning. There was a letter from the
applicant to withdraw the rezoning on Packet Landing. The only proposal now is a new
club in the business park. There is no date set for the design review. The original EIR
has been used for all the development for HBI.
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None
13. ADJOURNMENT: President Burton adjourned the meeting at 10:25 p.m.
Approved Regular Meeting Minutes
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