body,date,page,text,path
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,1,"APPROVED MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016
1. CONVENE
President Köster convened the meeting at 7:01pm
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Burton led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: President Köster; Board Members Burton, Curtis, Knox White, Mitchell, Sullivan.
Board Member Zuppan arrived at 7:06pm.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
At Staff Member Thomas' request, President Köster moved a portion of Staff
Communications to the beginning of the meeting.
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mike O'Hara, Tim Lewis Communities, gave an update on the evolving plans for the
Encinal Terminals site plan.
***Staff Communications***
Staff Member Thomas summarized the work that the board and staff completed in 2016.
Staff Member Tai gave a presentation on Planning Services work for 2016.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
6-A 2016-3676
Use Permit Review for Smog Check Service at European Auto Repair -
PLN12-0230 - 1928 High Street - Applicant: Irman Turanovic. Six- month
review of a Use Permit for smog check service at 1928 High Street and
consideration of business hours on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This project is categorically exempt from further environmental review
pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Existing Facilities.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the consent calendar. Board
Member Curtis seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
7. REGULAR
AGENDA
ITEMS
7-A 2016-3674
Approved Minutes
Page 1 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,2,"Review Strategies Matrix and Provide Direction for Drafting the Economic
Development Strategic Plan (EDSP)
Staff Member Fonstein gave a presentation on the EDSP.
Board Member Burton asked how the matrix would drive the plan.
The consultant explained how the implementation actions would be developed after
getting board and council direction.
Board Member Curtis asked if the amount of building, cars, and traffic being added was
taken into account. He said the additional units and office space and businesses and
tourism we are proposing is changing the complexion of what Alameda is all about and
the congestion will drive people away.
The consultant said they did analyze the commute flows and found most residents leaving
the island in the morning and less incoming traffic. She said adding destinations in
Alameda would help reverse that pattern. She said they will be trying to integrate the
economic development plan to the TDM plan.
Board Member Zuppan said that the concerns expressed at the workshop centered
around maintaining a strong industrial maritime industry. She said the attendees strongly
supported making hotel meeting rooms available to the public.
President Köster asked if we track self-employed people in Alameda.
The consultant said their data does not track self-employed residents.
President Köster asked if AirBnB data is collected for Alameda.
Staff Member Fonstein said they are evaluating how to begin reviewing that information.
President Köster opened the public hearing.
Karen Boutilier said the city should make the permitting process easier for businesses.
She said we need to fix our transportation issues if we want jobs, visitors, and economic
activity. She said ""strategic planning is what you do when you don't know what to do.""
Dan Reidy, Harbor Bay Business Association, said the report contained some good ideas
for the business park. He said the city could better encourage new hotel development in
the Harbor Bay Business Park by communicating better with outside agencies.
Approved Minutes
Page 2 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,3,"Karen Bey said she was excited about the plan. She said we need to improve the
permitting process for small businesses. She said we need to not forget about Park St.
and Webster St. She suggested bringing back a committee to help increase tourism.
President Köster closed the public hearing.
Board Member Zuppan said there is a lot of good work in this plan. She said she would
like to see greater clarity of the vision for the plan. She said the strategies were good but
the connection to the vision were weak.
Board Member Mitchell said the plan is very broad and needs some focus.
Board Member Knox White said the document is not ready to go to the City Council. He
said it feels like a statement of where we are today rather than where we want to be in ten
years. He said he is concerned with the reliance on subsidizing businesses to come here.
He said we should focus on resilience. He said we can attract one business with a hundred
employees or help one hundred businesses grow by one employee. He said we have
failed to serve and capitalize on our large Asian American population and being near
Chinatown and instead just do things like add another Safeway.
Board Member Curtis asked where are we considering the quality of life issues in these
plans. He said we are trying to put fifteen pounds of stuff in a five pound bag.
Board Member Sullivan said she would like to see more specificity of our goals.
Board Member Burton said the plan needs a clear voice if it is not going to just sit on a
shelf. He said we should focus like a laser on attracting jobs that fit our residents and
keeping their money on the island. He suggested using tourism to drive the brand of
Alameda in order to attract businesses instead of just visitors. He said we need to focus
on north Park St. in the plan.
President Köster reopened the public hearing.
Helen Sause said it is important for the city to direct the developments in the city in the
best way possible for the residents.
President Köster closed the public hearing.
President Köster said people know about parts of what Alameda has to offer and not the
whole package. He said we need to focus on our transit corridors and small businesses.
He said the Moscone Center is closing soon and we could capitalize off of the large spaces
available at Alameda Point.
Approved Minutes
Page 3 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,4,"7-B 2016-3675
Provide Comments on the Draft Strategies for the Citywide Transit and
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item.
Staff Member Ott and the consultants gave the staff presentation.
Board Member Zuppan asked how many people they need to get out of their cars to make
a difference.
The consultant said they are establishing the baseline and would be looking at what the
potential impacts of implementing these strategies would be.
Board Member Zuppan asked why we are focusing on the SF bound trips when it has the
fewest number of drive alone trips. She asked how many trips we need to remove from
the current conditions, before any new projects are completed, to solve our traffic
problems.
The consultant said that there are many outside factors that influence congestion, even if
they eliminate many trips, which makes targeting a specific number difficult.
Staff Member Ott said that the regional bottleneck (880) could still result in congestion in
Alameda even if this plan is successful. She said capturing SF bound commuters with our
new growth would help us mitigate our congestion because of the high transit usage for
those commuters.
Board Member Zuppan asked what the process was for assessing the effectiveness and
ease of implementation of different projects.
The consultants said they relied on their experience with these types of projects and are
incorporating input from staff and the community. He said that even with all that, there is
still some subjectivity in the evaluations.
Board Member Zuppan said she was confused about how autonomous vehicles rated as
more effective than a free shuttle would.
The consultant explained that they studied free bus service, but not the shuttle as
described. He said there is a lot of uncertainty around driverless vehicles and their
potential for impacting congestion.
Approved Minutes
Page 4 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,5,"Board Member Zuppan said there is a tradeoff between narrowing the streets and quality
of life. She asked how the other side of the safety coin is assessed and balanced against
Vision Zero goals.
The consultant said the NACTO guidelines are useful. He said each project has to be
evaluated on a case by case basis.
Board Member Zuppan said there is a cost to expecting constant vigilance. She confirmed
that congestion pricing meant charging people for going through the tubes and over the
bridges.
Board Member Knox White asked if someone who drives to BART would be included in
the 78% who took transit to SF in the survey.
The consultant said, depending on how they responded, they would likely be included in
the transit number.
Board Member Knox White said that would be a reason why focusing on transit for SF
commuters could still alleviate congestion at the crossings.
Board Member Mitchell asked how many people from Alameda are traveling to BART.
The consultant said it was around 2,000.
Board Member Mitchell said the lowest hanging fruit would be people driving to BART.
The consultant said BART ridership from Alameda actually decreased from 2008 to 2014.
He said Alamedans are switching to the Ferry and Transbay bus.
Board Member Mitchell asked if we are looking at a park and BART shuttle approach.
The consultant said that Lyft and Uber are filling some of that need. He said there is
already some informal park and ride going on with people parking near bus stops.
Board Member Burton asked what the current level of service is for using the ferry to get
your bike from Alameda to Oakland.
The consultant said it is the South SF ferry that provides the service a few times in the
morning and a few times in the evening. He said this might increase when the new Ferry
Terminal opens.
Approved Minutes
Page 5 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,6,"Board Member Burton asked if there are specific actions identified for the transportation
awareness campaigns.
The consultant said they are looking at using the TMA to help with that item.
Board Member Burton asked what complete streets planning there is for Otis Dr.
Staff Member Payne said they have been receiving lots of complaints from residents about
high speeds on Otis and a need for traffic calming. She said they are considering a 4 to 3
road diet.
Board Member Curtis asked where on Otis Dr. we are seeing 70mph speeds.
Staff Member Payne said that they are seeing it between Westline and Grand.
Board Member Curtis said he lives off of Otis and that between 6:30am and 7pm there is
no way any car can get above 25 mph.
Board Member Mitchell asked if the consultants are working with Bike Walk Alameda and
received their correspondence. He suggested committing to working with them.
The consultants said they received the letter just before the meeting.
Board Member Sullivan said there are no transportation options for the ferry and no
parking plans. She asked how they are going to increase ridership if that is the case.
The consultant said that project #5 is a crosstown express bus service that would serve
the ferry terminal. He said they are looking for funding to make it happen as soon as
possible. He said WETA is working on access plans for both terminals and they want to
support that.
Staff Member Ott said they just added 100 parking spaces for Main St. and that the
Seaplane Lagoon terminal will have 400 parking spaces. She said Harbor Bay is more
complicated. She explained the multi faceted approach they are taking in trying to address
the parking situation at Bay Farm.
Board Member Sullivan asked how many Alamedans are using Uber to get to BART.
The consultant said they do not know, but that it is increasing and the companies are
creating new products to address price conscious commuters.
Approved Minutes
Page 6 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,7,"Board Member Sullivan said that it will be important to have good data and a means to
monitor travel habits.
The consultant said they have all the information available to them.
President Köster asked who is subsidizing the South San Francisco ferry service.
The consultant said it is funded through MTC bridge toll money.
President Köster asked if they study travel times when evaluating these options.
The consultant said that they do and that it is a very important factor. He said that is one
of the reasons for including things like express bus service and queue jump lanes. He said
having more than one transfer is another major factor in people's decision to drive or not.
President Köster opened the public hearing.
Brian McGuire said Bike Walk Alameda's regular and board members have participated
in this process. He said they are concerned about losing the Estuary Crossing Shuttle. He
said acknowledging greenhouse gas goals and subsequent funding sources is important,
not just people throughput. He said the long term projects have near term actions that
should be included in the list of projects. He said we should not wait for Alameda Point to
be built out to restripe Main St. with better complete street access to the ferry terminal. He
said improving freeway access in Oakland does not further the goals of the plan. He said
reevaluating parking requirements for new developments would be a cheap and easy way
to help alleviate congestion impacts.
Karen Bey said that it is important to include a water transit program for the northern
waterfront. She said each developer should be required to build water transit infrastructure
with their projects and put a water transit tax on the ballot. She said we need to use our
waterways to help us get around the island.
Helen Sause, Alameda Home Team, says they are concerned that all the development
designs seem to end at the water. She said they held a cross estuary panel to talk about
the issues and opportunities for developments along the estuary.
President Köster closed the public hearing.
Board Member Knox White said he thinks we made a mistake combining the Transit Plan
and TDM Plan. He said we should have a transit section and a TDM section as it moves
forward. He said he would like to have seen evaluations of the impacts of each project
before giving the thumbs up, rather than the other way around. He said almost everything
Approved Minutes
Page 7 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,8,"on the list have been in Alameda's plans for years and we are not finding much to add to
it. He said he would like to see what the experts think we should be doing instead of just
responding to what people are saying they want. He said he would like to see using TNCs
for paratransit rides come back on the list. He said BART to Alameda deserves its own
special category and does not belong in 8+ years. He said he is floored that the only short
term bike projects are two projects that should be done by now. He said he is not
convinced that Otis is the highest priority, but getting people across the Fruitvale Bridge
should be a top priority. He said some of the items on the list are not fleshed out enough.
He said there are some projects that are clearly not meeting the definition of TDM, like
improved freeway access. He said nobody ever complained about High St. but it is the
same width as the new Shoreline. He said liveability is not just how comfortable are you
when you are driving. He said we might want to eliminate the goal of getting people to San
Francisco and focus on getting people to BART.
Board Member Curtis said the solutions provided were good solutions. He confirmed that
the initial rankings are somewhat subjective and that they would develop benchmarks and
then revisit the rankings.
Board Member Zuppan said she was disappointed with the lack of detail and lack of
inclusion of items that received the most public input. She said the city told the business
community that they would study the free shuttle idea. She said it is not properly described
and not about getting people transbay. She said we need to stop focusing on getting
people off the island and need to focus on getting them used to using transit. She said an
in island shuttle would cast a wider net and be more effective at getting people to use
transit than just making new homeowners buy a bus pass.
Staff Member Ott said that item 18 is free bus service. She said that they can clarify the
idea of providing free bus service with ten minute headways is a good one but paying for
it will be very difficult. She said you would need a parcel tax or congestion pricing to pay
for it and that is why it is categorized as it is. She said staff does not think they can
accomplish it within eight years. She said they can create more nuance in their timeframes,
but they have to be realistic in projections.
Board Member Zuppan said they have many one off shuttles that can support a free
shuttle.
Staff Member Ott said they are working closely with AC Transit and the private shuttles to
make sure they are not undermining their public transit funding.
Board Member Zuppan said that it is not meant to undermine, but supplement AC Transit
service. She asked that the electric component of that service be included in the
description. She said this still seems like a list of all the things we already have. She would
Approved Minutes
Page 8 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,9,"like to see how they fit the strategies and what impacts they will have before judging what
is included in the plan. She said we focus a lot on the stick, making driving miserable. She
said somebody driving 70mph on Otis is a policing issue not a transportation issue. She
said making it impossible for them to get around is not the solution to our speeding
problems and we should hire more police if that is what it takes. She said she would like
to focus more on how to make transit easier, then people will be willing to pay for the
convenience. She said there is already a lot on the project list and discouraged adding
early steps for long term projects in the earlier phases of the list. She said she disagrees
about the safety and livability of Shoreline Drive.
Board Member Mitchell said that construction traffic in Oakland has been impacting traffic
in Alameda. He said we need a robust plan that has a sense of focus. He said we should
revisit the SF bound data for accuracy. He said causing more traffic to make things safe
from speeding is counterintuitive. He said we are on a flat island with moderate weather
and should look at biking even more as a mode of transportation.
Board Member Burton said the document needs to have a clear voice with concrete
actions to take. He said getting Oakland commuters out of their cars and into transit is the
obvious way to make a big difference. He said the other top item is to make drastic
improvement in the transit and bike infrastructure to get people to schools on the West
End. He asked if there was a way to tie the TDM plan to the Economic Development Plan.
He said the low/medium/high measurement was not adequate. He said each project
should have an estimate of how many cars it would take off the road. He suggested using
vehicle miles traveled to gauge success. He said everything in the plan should be tied
back to greenhouse gas reduction.
Board Member Sullivan said her issues have been covered and looks forward to the next
draft.
President Köster said the connections and timings of our transit is what will ease the
tension overall.
Board Member Knox White said that reducing lanes on Otis was not to create congestion,
but rather to make sure that you could only do the speed limit. He said that not incenting
something is not the same thing as using a stick. He said reducing parking on new
construction is reducing the incentive to drive, but not a stick like congestion pricing would
be.
7-C 2016-3677
Design Review-PLN16-0232 1208 Saint Charles Street- The Planning
Board will hold a Public Hearing to consider Design Review for a project
consisting of the demolition of a two car garage built prior to 1942 and the
Approved Minutes
Page 9 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,10,"construction of an accessory structure that will have a three car garage and
unconditioned space designated as an artist studio. The proposed
accessory structure is approximately 880 square feet which is less than
40% of the required rear yard allowed for accessory structures per
Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-4.1(d). A certified arborist
has surveyed the existing Coast Live Oak trees and has provided a list of
protective measures to be administered during construction to protect the
health of the trees. The property is located within the R-1 (One-Family
Residence) Zoning District. Staff is requesting a continuance to the
Planning Board Meeting of January 9, 2017.
***Continued*
8. MINUTES
8-A 2016-3670
Draft Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2016
Board Member Sullivan made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member Zuppan
seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0-1. (Abstain: Knox White)
8-B 2016-3671
Draft Meeting Minutes - September 26, 2016
Board Member Mitchell made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member Curtis
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
8-C 2016-3672
Draft Meeting Minutes - October 10, 2016
Board Member Sullivan made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member Mitchell
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
8-D 2016-3678
Draft Meeting Minutes - June 27, 2016 - Revised
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member
Zuppan seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0-1. (Abstain: Curtis)
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2016-3573
Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions
Staff Member Thomas summarized recent design review approvals.
9-B 2016-3574
Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Community Development
Department Projects
Staff Member Thomas previewed future agenda items for 2017.
Approved Minutes
Page 10 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2016-12-12,11,"10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
11-A 2016-3673
Subcommittee with Commission on Disability Issues regarding Universal
Design Ordinance
Board Member Burton gave an update on their recent meeting and that progress was
being made on the draft ordinance.
11-B 2016-3681
Subcommittee for Alameda Marina
*None*
Board Member Knox White said he met with the owners of Big O.
Board Member Köster asked if the color on the projector could be improved as the board's
holiday present.
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
13. ADJOURNMENT
President Köster adjourned the meeting at 10:50pm.
Approved Minutes
Page 11 of 11
Planning Board Meeting
December 12, 2016",PlanningBoard/2016-12-12.pdf