body,date,page,text,path
PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,1,"APPROVED MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017
1. CONVENE
Board Member Burton convened the meeting at 7:01pm
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Sullivan led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: Board Members Burton, Curtis, Knox White, Sullivan. Board Member Mitchell
arrived at: 7:04pm. Board Member Zuppan arrived at 7:05pm. Absent: President Köster.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
*None*
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
6-A 2017-4425
Annual Review: Alameda Landing Mixed Use Project Development
Agreement Applicant: Catellus Alameda Development, LLC. The applicant
requests a periodic review of two Development Agreements related to the
Alameda Landing Mixed Use Residential Project and the Alameda Landing
Mixed Use Commercial Project.
Board Member Burton made a motion to approve the item. Board Member Knox
White seconded the item. The motion passed 6-0.
***5. Oral Communications**
Gretchen Lipow said she attended a CASA event and said we should be opening solar
farms at Alameda Point.
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
7-A 2017-4429
Public Hearing to Consider an Amendment to the Bayport/Alameda
Landing Master Plan to allow for a Maritime Commercial and Residential
Mixed Use Development Plan on the Alameda Landing Waterfront. A Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Landing
Mixed Use Development Project was certified in accordance with the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (State Clearinghouse
Approved Minutes
Page 1 of 10
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,2,"#2006012091) in 2006. An Environmental Assessment for the Proposed
Master Plan Amendment has been prepared.
Staff Member Thomas gave a presentation The staff report and attachments can be found
at: https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3066059&GUID=783D43D9-
ABD6-4E81-B2EC-7E52AF26CCE2&FullText=1
Sean Whiskeman, Catellus, gave a presentation detailing their new master plan
application.
Leslie and Alan Cameron, Bay Ship and Yacht, said they are excited to partner with
Catellus and expand Alameda's working waterfront.
Board Member Curtis asked about the change in the staff report from 300 to 600 units.
Staff Member Thomas said that the original plan for all of Alameda Landing included 300
units. He said the 600 number includes the 287 nearly completed units at the current
phase of Alameda Landing.
Board Member Zuppan asked about the size of the park space.
Staff Member Thomas said it would be 4.5 acres, including 100 feet from the water along
the full length of the residential.
Board Member Burton asked how the plan to keep the two warehouses would affect plans
to reinforce the shoreline infrastructure.
Mr. Whiskeman explained that the Bay Ship portion would have to be repaired if they ever
redeveloped their site.
Board Member Mitchell opened the public hearing.
Brent Aboudara expressed concern about construction and warehouse truck traffic and
parking. He said he is glad the hotel is gone from the plan and is sad to see the reduction
in park acreage.
Nick Ellis said he supports the plan and efforts to develop a blue collar incubator.
Diana Maiden Aiken said she looks forward to enjoying the estuary access. She said we
need a diversity of homes.
Tony Daysog said we should keep the focus on creating jobs. He said Catellus has
benefitted from their overall project and we need to conduct a full EIR to evaluate the
change in traffic impacts caused by new housing.
Approved Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,3,"Mark Vis said he supports the project. He said he wants the bike and walking trails to
connect and to make sure the businesses are not 24 hours.
Dan Morrison, Starlight Marine, said they support the plan and look forward to continuing
operation in Alameda. He said they are committed to the community of Alameda in many
ways.
Dorothy Freeman said Alameda does not have a good ratio of businesses and jobs to
housing. She listed m-x zoned sites that are removing business communities and adding
housing. She said we are going to be nothing but a bedroom community with lots of
commute traffic.
Kari Thompson, Chamber of Commerce, said this is a great mixed use development and
said they support the project and partnership with Bay Ship and Yacht.
Liz Taylor said she supports this plan because it is a more balanced plan that encourages
the blue economy.
Bobby Winston said this is a terrific project that supports the working waterfront.
Casey Sparks said he supports the project. He said it will help repair our crumbling
infrastructure. He said we can't keep people from moving to this island.
Karen Bey said she supports the plan amendment. She said it is a win-win for the city.
She said that the water shuttle is very important to have, given the number of homes being
built.
Tom Charron said he isn't sure if he supports the plan. He said he doesn't want this plan
to make it easier for more maritime businesses to be displaced from Alameda Marina. He
said he is concerned with placing residential uses directly downwind of the shipyard.
Courtney Shepler said she liked the previous plan that opened up the waterfront of the
turning basin. She said she can support the plan because she wants the project to move
forward.
Alan Pryor said selling part of the property to Bay Ship and Yacht is a good idea in order
to support the marine industry.
Doug DeHaan said he is concerned that the warehouses would eventually turn into more
housing. He said we never stop and study the impact of projects after they are built. He
said a one bedroom senior affordable apartment being constructed at Del Monte costs
$600,000 to build.
Approved Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,4,"Board Member Mitchell closed the public hearing.
Board Member Knox White said we asked for more commercial and this plan allows for
the types of businesses that have been able to succeed in Alameda. He said the market
does not support new commercial construction. He said he is nervous about allowing 30%
single family housing on the site, which he feels could lead to more traffic and less transit
viability. He said it is a project that shows some compromises and is ready to support it.
Board Member Curtis said he feels the project is too dense and he cannot support the
plan.
Board Member Zuppan asked about the jobs related legislation that gave us the land, and
whether it restricts our options.
Staff Member Thomas said it does not bind the city in any way.
Board Member Zuppan asked how the changes would affect the trip analysis in the EIR.
Staff Member Thomas said that the change from traditional commercial to maritime opens
up a large number of total trips within the EIR that can be allocated to housing, but the AM
outbound and PM inbound are very tight and will determine the mix and number of units.
Board Member Zuppan asked about the residents' concern about impacts from the
construction activity.
Staff Member Thomas said they have extensive mitigation rules, but they can never
entirely eliminate the impacts (ie- dust, noise) from the new construction activity.
Board Member Zuppan asked what the visitability requirements would be.
Staff Member Thomas said this amendment only has the 15% universal design
requirements, but nothing beyond that.
Board Member Zuppan said she was not ready to support the previous version of the plan
because of the lack of commercial space. She said she was pleased to see this plan come
back with so much commercial space for the working waterfront. She said she is generally
supportive of the project and amendment. She said she would like to see as many units
as possible meet the visitability goals of the city. She said she wants to make sure the
view corridor towards San Francisco is not obstructed by mitigation efforts from any
potential Bay Ship and Yacht plans.
Approved Minutes
Page 4 of 10
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,5,"Board Member Burton said he is happy to see the effort to keep and expand the quality
maritime related jobs on the island. He said we cannot ignore our responsibility to
contribute to solving the region's housing crisis. He said he would also support limiting the
amount of single family housing at the site in order to help support transit alternatives.
Board Member Sullivan said she is excited about the commercial segment. She said she
is concerned with the small number of starter homes we are building. She said she would
like to support it but she wishes it were not so dense.
Board Member Mitchell said he looks forward to opening up this amazing piece of property
with a blend of uses that Alameda needs. He said he is comfortable with the amount of
single family homes.
Board Member Knox White said Catellus would not be the ultimate builder and we should
consider giving direction on whether we want more single family housing or not.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the proposal with two
changes: that single family homes be no more than 20 percent of the units, and that
all elevator served buildings' units are 100% visitable and that as many townhomes
and single family homes as possible be visitable. Board Member Burton seconded
the motion.
Board Member Zuppan said that the trip count constraints would force the project to meet
its transit goals, regardless of unit types. She said she has a problem constantly saying
that people who live in single family homes don't use transit.
Board Member Sullivan said she likes the variety that the 30% single family units would
provide.
Board Member Mitchell agreed and said he would like to stick with the original plan.
Board Member Curtis said that we have a tremendous problem now, without any building
yet. He said the 400 units could lead to gridlock.
Board Member Knox White offered to amend his motion, returning to the 30% single
family home limit in the plan as presented. Board Member Sullivan seconded the
motion. The motion passed 5-1 (Curtis).
Board Member Mitchell announced a five minute recess.
7-B 2017-4430
Alameda Marina Revised Project Description and Confirmation of Scope of
Environmental Impact Report Analysis
Approved Minutes
Page 5 of 10
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,6,"Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found
at: https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3066060&GUID=AF6B55F3-
65A-49C0-A417-75A3A2E9763A&FullText=1
Board Member Curtis asked who determined that the unit count would have to increase
to 760.
Staff Member Thomas said that the developer requested the change in their application.
Board Member Knox White said that the subcommittee developed priorities for the project
including strengthening the maritime commercial focus, keeping an active boatyard, retain
more of the existing buildings, keeping the graving dock, doing a tidelands swap and
having dry storage. He said those priorities were brought to the board and approved, even
though it could possibly require more units to finance those priorities.
Board Member Sullivan asked what the costs of preserving the graving dock would be.
Sean Murphy, Bay West Development, said the cost of preserving the graving dock would
be over $5M. He said they can't say exactly how many additional units that means
because there are many factors that go into the decision.
Board Member Knox White asked if the investment needs of the City's Tidelands property
are the reason we are considering redevelopment of the Alameda Marina property.
Staff Member Thomas said that was correct and explained the limited options there are to
get the money needed to reinvest in the property for the next 50-100 years.
Board Member Mitchell opened the public hearing.
Laura Thomas said this project presents a significant amount of affordable housing that
Alameda needs.
Peter Brand said the project is not transit oriented development. He said we are separate
from the area's transit system and the project would lead to gridlock. He said you only
need half the number of proposed units to meet the requirements of the Housing Element.
He supports an independent analysis of the infrastructure costs.
Liz Taylor, DOER, said they are being forced out after 20 years in Alameda Marina and
don't know where they will go. She said the maritime related businesses of the site will not
be able to survive these changes.
Steve Cooper said he supports keeping Alameda Marina the way it is.
Approved Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,7,"Michael Robles-Wong said our blue economy can create the types of jobs we need and
we should not reduce our ability to drive that segment of our economy.
Karl Robrock said the dry boat storage and activity is important to the city. He said they
are light racing boats and the plans are not adequate to support the community of sailors.
Bob Naber gave a presentation on Alameda's water related activities and industries. He
said Alameda Marina is an ecosystem that we cannot replace if lost.
Maggie Sabovich said there are 3000 currently approved housing units in Alameda and
3100 at Brooklyn Basin. She said it sometimes takes her two hours to get from her home
to her yacht club.
Tom Charron said that the eviction of DOER is a tragedy. He said the city is a sloppy
landlord and did not invest the tidelands rents into repairing the shoreline. He asked that
the maritime industry be preserved.
Amy Rose said she agrees with the other speakers who support preserving the maritime
industry in the marina. She said she is all for affordable housing but does not want five
story buildings across the street from her house.
Rick Drain said the marina site is a beehive of boating activity and there is nowhere else
for this activity to move. He said all the buses and shuttles will be stuck in traffic.
Sylvia Gibson said that this site has an opportunity cost if it is developed. She said we
would lose things that make Alameda a sustainable community.
Eileen Vivian said she commutes in from Hayward everyday because there isn't affordable
housing in Alameda. She said the mixed use development will help reduce traffic by
providing opportunities to live and work close together.
John Platt said he is pleased to see a boatyard in the plan, even if it is not big enough.
Brock DeLappe said the footprint for the boatyard is too small to be viable. He said it is a
mistake to preserve the graving dock. He said the additional housing would continue to
make the congestion issue in Alameda worse.
Karen Bey said she is excited by the Alameda Marina proposal which has many
community benefits.
Brian McGuire said there have been some positive to the plan, with some definite
tradeoffs. He said the most environmentally friendly thing we can do is build lots of dense
housing in the inner Bay Area.
Approved Minutes
Page 7 of 10
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,8,"Board Member Mitchell closed the public hearing.
Board Member Curtis asked what the average price of these new units would cost.
Staff Member Thomas said housing in the area is selling for about $500 per square foot.
Board Member Curtis said they will not be able to meet the demand for affordable housing
and these new units will not be affordable.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to extend the meeting to midnight. Board
Member Curtis seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
Staff Member Thomas said they are trying to provide a range of housing sizes for a range
of budgets. He said we have a responsibility under state law to zone and approve a certain
amount of land for housing.
Board Member Knox White said that the solution to the problem is building enough
housing to bring housing costs down. He said we can't kick the can down the road.
Board Member Sullivan said this plan does not appear to support a viable marina and
sailing community.
Board Member Zuppan said we have a lot of expertise in the community that can help the
board understand the maritime issues better. She said she is worried that the developer
is practicing strategic incompetence in marina management. She said the plan has a long
way to go. She said the EIR needs to capture the cultural and historic impacts accurately.
Board Member Mitchell said he was one person pushing for preserving the graving dock.
He said there are a lot of community needs and competing interests for this project.
Board Member Knox White said there would be about 45 new jobs projected on the site.
He said they suggested preserving more older buildings in order to preserve lower
commercial rents. He said the tradeoffs are real and the subcommittee needs direction on
how to evaluate the tradeoffs.
Board Member Zuppan said she does not know how to decide what the right tradeoffs are
and she would like to see a city led committee, rather than developer led, with community
expertise on what it takes to run a successful boatyard and preserve the maritime
industries at the site.
Staff Member Thomas said they have a lot of work still to do. He said they need to do a
peer review of costs to rebuild the shoreline and then figure out how to raise those funds.
Approved Minutes
Page 8 of 10
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,9,"Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the amended project scope
to support the re-release of the notice of preparation. Board Member Zuppan
seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0-1 (Curtis).
8. MINUTES
8-A 2017-4431
Draft Meeting Minutes - April 10, 2017
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member
Sullivan seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
8-B 2017-4432
Draft Meeting Minutes - April 24, 2017
Board Member Sullivan made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member Knox
White seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2017-4453
Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions
Staff Member Thomas gave a brief update.
9-B 2017-4454
Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Community Development
Department Projects
Staff Member Thomas previewed future items.
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Zuppan said she went on the bicycle tour of the northern waterfront and
liked hearing the different feedback from people that don't show up to Planning Board
meetings.
11-A 2017-4426
Subcommittee for Alameda Marina
*None*
11-B 2017-4427
Subcommittee with Commission on Disability Issues regarding Universal
Design Ordinance
Board Member Sullivan said they received a letter from the BIA explaining the additional
costs per unit the visitability requirements would add. She said they are working on a
response.
Approved Minutes
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PlanningBoard,2017-06-12,10,"12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Brian McGuire said housing advocates understand that new housing constructed is
expensive, but that all levels of the housing market are connected and new housing at any
price level helps alleviate the shortage.
13. ADJOURNMENT
Board Member Mitchell adjourned the meeting at 11:38pm.
Approved Minutes
Page 10 of 10
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