body,date,page,text,path
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,1,"APPROVED MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2015
1. CONVENE
President Henneberry called meeting to order at 7:00pm.
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Board Member Mitchell led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: President Henneberry, Board Members Burton, Henneberry, Knox White,
Köster, Mitchell, Sullivan. Absent: Board Member Zuppan.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
*None*
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
*None*
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
7-A 2015-2051
PLN15-0030 - 615 Haight Avenue - Applicant: Stefan Menzi on behalf of
Joseph and Melanie Snell. An appeal of Design Review approval to allow
raising an existing one-story residence a total of three (3) feet to convert
the existing crawl space into a new habitable bottom floor. The resultant
overall height of the structure will be twenty-one (21) feet tall, where the
maximum height limit in the R-4 zoning district is 35 feet. The project is
located within an R-4 (Neighborhood Residential) zoning district. This
project is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant
to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section
15301 (e) - Existing Facilities - additions to existing structures provided that
the addition will not result in an increase of more than 10,000 square feet.
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director, introduced the item.
David Sablan, Planner I, gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be
found at:
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 1 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,2,"ttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452044&GUID=FDD3E822-
61D8-456E-A4B8-7D28E87E3CBO&FullText=1
Board Member Sullivan asked to confirm that the approved height of the applicant's home
is still substantially lower than the appellant's.
Staff Member Sablan confirmed that it would be several feet lower (5-7 ft) than the
appellant's home.
Board Member Burton asked for clarification of the sill heights of the lower windows.
The project architect said the window sill was about three feet above the floor.
Board Member Burton asked for more information on the historic status of the home.
Staff Member Sablan said the home has an ""H"" designation and said the project is
compliant with standards for treatment of historic homes.
President Henneberry asked what the maximum allowable heights are for a building in
that zone.
Staff Member Thomas said 35 feet was the maximum allowable height according to the
zoning.
President Henneberry opened the public forum.
Melanie Snell, applicant, explained how their growing family has outgrown their house and
the long process they have gone through to come to a satisfactory design that meets their
family's needs.
Joseph Snell, applicant, explained the improvements they have made to the home since
they purchased it. He said they love the community and just need more room for all of
their kids.
Anh Nguyen, next door neighbor, explained the changes and hardships the approved
project would impose on their family. She asked that the project be denied.
Bao-Long Nguyen-Trong, next door neighbor, said the project would box their house in,
causing increased shadows and very little light to reach their home. He asked that the
design be denied.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 2 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,3,"Zachary Walton, attorney for the appellant, explained the legal objections to staff's
approval. He said the shade study plainly showed an adverse impact on his client's home.
He said the applicants have other options that would not have the adverse impacts.
Lisa Fowler, a neighbor, shared comments from other residents of the block in support of
the applicants.
Carlos Flores said he supports the appeal and that the project would cause a lack of
privacy. He said the Golden Mean is there for a reason.
Hallie Von Rock, a resident, said this project would set a bad precedent.
Chase Martin said she was surprised the project was approved due to the close proximity
of the two homes. She said the impacts would be extensive.
Steve Aced, of the Alameda Architectural Preservation Society, said they object to the
project primarily because of the Golden Mean and said there are available alternatives.
President Henneberry closed the public hearing.
Board Member Sullivan said the design was attractive and that keeping young families in
Alameda was important.
Board Member Mitchell said the shading was the key issue and he had not made a
decision yet.
Board Member Köster said there were other options given the lot size. He said there are
probably alternatives to this design.
Board Member Knox White said this was a difficult decision. He said the code does not
give us a lot of flexibility. He said he is likely to uphold the appeal due to the shading.
Board Member Burton complimented the new design. He said there is a way to get around
the Golden Mean issue. He said the shading is the real issue at hand. He said the design
still has an adverse effect. He said he would be voting to uphold the appeal and hope they
could come up with a solution.
President Henneberry said perhaps we could send this back rather than approve or deny
the appeal.
Board Member Knox White asked what would happen if they sent the item back to staff.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 3 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,4,"Ms. Shank said the design objective was to embrace the aesthetic of the container and
welcomed the board's input on whether that was welcome or not.
Board Member Sullivan asked about bringing the tower element out to the corner and
adding lighting.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 4 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,5,"Ms. Shank said there are some design options that could be explored in that direction.
Board Member Mitchell asked where the A/C units would be and asked about surface
treatments to prevent corrosion.
Ms. Shank said they would use ""mini-split"" units that would cut through the walls or
ceilings. She said they are designed for use on the sea and are designed to withstand the
elements.
Board Member Köster asked about the placement of the security gates and how
maintenance of the planter boxes would work.
Ms. Shank indicated the positions of the gates. She said they wanted to see what
support there was from the board before getting into the fine details of maintenance
plans.
Board Member Sullivan asked about the seven year parking agreement and what would
happen after that.
Staff Member Thomas explained that they could make it a requirement to maintain in
perpetuity, where they would have to find a new agreement if the original one was not
renewed.
President Henneberry opened the public hearing.
Ken Carvalho said he supports the project.
Rich Krinks said he supports the project. He says there is a strong demand for small office
space.
Robb Ratto, from the Downtown Alameda Business Association, said their board
unanimously supported this project. He said this is the type of innovative, adaptive reuse
project that Alameda needs.
Christopher Seiwald, owner of Perforce Software and Little House Cafe said he loves the
project.
Bill Pua said he supports the project and that there is a strong demand for office space in
Alameda.
President Henneberry closed the public hearing.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 5 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,6,"Board Member Burton said he supports the use permit. He said he is comfortable with the
parking arrangement. He said he is supportive of using shipping containers. He said the
Park St. frontage does not meet the guidelines for the gateway district. He said the cafe
should be all the way on the corner. He said the retail entrances need to be on Park St.
He said the project would need more dynamism in order to justify breaking the rules. He
said the A/C unit placement would be very important.
Board Member Knox White said he supports the use permit. He said said he strongly
supports the design aesthetic of the containers. He said cantilevering is what made lots of
the example projects interesting to him. He worried the alcove would not help the retail be
successful.
Board Member Köster said he likes the parking approach. He said he likes the overall
direction of the project. He said the tower element does not work. He said he supports the
idea of cantilevering. He said combining the two retail spaces might work better. He said
he would like to see a lighting package when the project comes back.
Board Member Mitchell said the project could either be a huge success or complete failure.
He said he is okay with the mixed use. He said he is okay with the containers with some
design improvements.
President Henneberry said he supports the use permit and the parking arrangement. He
said he likes the containers. He said the tower could stay or go, that the retail door should
come out to Park St., and that the planters are not consistent with the design of the project.
No action was taken.
7-C 2015-2057
Recommend that the City Council Approve the City of Alameda Housing
Element Annual Report and Implementation Priorities
Andrew Thomas presented the item. The staff report and attachments are available at:
tps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452046&GUID=21D85B46-
B9BD-4AC2-91A5-C52A2BAED214&FullText=1
President Henneberry opened the public hearing.
Laura Thomas, President of Renewed Hope Housing Advocates, said they are pleased to
see the progress the City is making. She said more could be done. She said there is not
sufficient low and very low income housing in the pipeline. She said the downzoning of
the North Housing site has made the City technically out of compliance with the housing
element.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 6 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,7,"President Henneberry closed the public hearing.
Board Member Köster said the progress on Universal Design and changes to the
secondary unit ordinance are promising.
Board Member Knox White said that we need to set the bar high for this report since it is
the first one and will be a template in future years. He said he will be asking staff to be
completing some of the reporting more fully. He said the goals for the Rent Review
Advisory Committee should be revised. He said we should look at tracking 60-day
evictions. He said the secondary unit ordinance is not working as is and needs to be
reviewed. He said we need to be more mindful of what types and sizes of units are built
going forward, not just building the biggest houses we can.
Board Member Burton said we need to get the Universal Design ordinance in place as
soon as possible. He said changing the second unit ordinance can help alleviate the
rental crisis and make homeownership more affordable. He said he would support
revisiting and raising the inclusionary housing percentage.
President Henneberry said the rent review portion needed to be toughened up.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to continue the item for further refinement. The
motion was seconded by Board Member Köster. The motion passed 6-0.
7-D 2015-2062
Board Elections
President Henneberry asked if there were any nominations for President of the Planning
Board.
Board Member Köster nominated Board Member Knox White for President of the Planning
Board.
President Henneberry asked if there were any other nominations for President. There
were no other nominations for Board President.
Board Member Knox White was elected President 6-0.
President Henneberry asked if there were any nominations for Vice President of the
Planning Board.
Board Member Knox White nominated Board Member Köster for Vice President of the
Planning Board.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 7 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,8,"President Henneberry asked if there were any other nominations for Vice President. There
were no other nominations for Vice President.
Board Member Köster was elected Vice President 6-0.
8. MINUTES
8-A 2015-2063
Draft Planning Board Minutes - June 8, 2015
No action was taken due to insufficient members present capable of voting on the minutes.
8-B 2015-2064
Draft Planning Board Minutes - July 13, 2015
No action was taken due to insufficient members present capable of voting on the minutes.
Board Member Burton was assigned the task of watching the tape from the meeting in
order to be able to vote on the minutes for that meeting.
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2015-2053
Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions
Andrew Thomas said staff approved five design reviews since the previous meeting. The
staff report can be found at:
https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452045&GUID=920091B6-
71CD-4685-97BF-085EE226D080&FullText=1
9-B 2015-2065
Transmittal of City Council Staff Report Regarding Phase 0 Activities Plan
for Site A at Alameda Point.
Andrew Thomas presented the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at:
ttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452050&GUID=C2B6E5EF-
F27-4A2B-B184-164FA93DDAA3&FullText=
Board Member Burton said he was very happy with the inclusion of the Tinkering School
in Phase 0.
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Knox White said he would be out of town for the next meeting.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 8 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf
PlanningBoard,2015-09-14,9,"Board Member Mitchell, as a new Board Member, gave some background on his personal
and professional life.
Board Member Knox White said the uncertainty of a potential rezoning of the current
Harbor Bay Club site is causing problems in the community. He said he hoped staff would
bring a ""sense of the Council"" item to the City Council in order to begin to move the issue
forward in either direction.
Andrew Thomas welcomed the new Board Members.
11-A 2015-2054
Report from the Boatworks - Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee
*Did not meet.
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Spencer welcomed the new members and congratulated the newly elected Board
President and Vice President.
13. ADJOURNMENT
President Henneberry adjourned the meeting at 10:21 pm.
Approved Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2015
Planning Board Meeting
Page 9 of 9",PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf