body,date,page,text,path
PlanningBoard,2018-02-12,1,"APPROVED MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2018
1. CONVENE
President Mitchell convened the meeting at 7:01pm
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Teague led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: President Mitchell, Board Members Burton, Cavanaugh, Curtis, Köster,
Sullivan.
Absent: None.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
*None*
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
*None*
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
7-A 2018-5191
PLN17-0598 - Final Development Plan and Design Review - 2175 North Loop Rd,
Applicant: Joe Ernst on behalf of srmErnst. Public hearing to consider approval of a Final
Development Plan and Design Review for one Commercial Building of 47,000 square feet
Located on a 2.80 Acre Site at 2175 North Loop Road in the Harbor Bay Business Park.
PLN17-0614 - Final Development Plan, Design Review, and Parcel Map - 1955 North
Loop Rd through 2065 North Loop Rd - Applicant: Joe Ernst on behalf of srmErnst. Public
hearing to consider approval of a Final Development Plan, Design Review and a Parcel
Map to construct four (4) commercial buildings totaling 140,100 square feet on four
separate parcels at 1955 through 2065 North Loop Road in the Harbor Bay Business Park.
Staff Member Sablan gave a presentation The staff report and attachments can be found
at:
 https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3334514&GUID=802353A2
8AD5-4E28-8E74-C27D91EA9E89&FullText=1
Board Member Cavanaugh asked what the permissible decibel level for operations at
the site.
Approved Planning Board Minutes
Page 1 of 7
February 12, 2018",PlanningBoard/2018-02-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2018-02-12,2,"Staff Member Sablan said there is a chart in the municipal code that defines the required
standards.
Board Member Teague asked if a truck's back up beep would automatically be a violation.
Staff Member Thomas read the condition of approval relating to noise and explained how
complaints are handled.
Board Member Burton asked how many motions would be required to take the required
actions.
Staff Member Sablan said there would need to be two motions and explained what
elements would be included in each.
Board Member Sullivan said she was pleased to see an office building planned for the
office park.
President Mitchell opened the public hearing.
John Lipp, FAAS, spoke in favor of the application. He said the developer was proposing
donating a small portion of the parcel to FAAS.
Barbara Lockwood said that when she and her mother bought their condo in 1970, they
were told nothing would ever be built in front of them. She said their privacy has been
eroded and has concerns about what types of truck loading there would be on the site.
Board Member Mitchell closed to the public hearing.
Board Member Teague said he met with the applicant. He said he was pleased to see the
vertical landscaping plan for the rear of the buildings. He said he wants to make sure all
the lights are downcast. He said that if there is an ability for residents to deal with noise
issues, he is in favor of this.
Board Member Curtis said he was with Harbor Bay in 1976 and there was always a plan
to have buildings in this area.
Board Member Burton said the buildings have good design and appreciates that the
buildings are on the street and the parking is tucked behind. He said he met with the
applicant and had similar concerns with the rear walls.
Board Member Köster said he met with the applicant. He said he agreed with what Board
Member Burton said. He said he is happy to see the project move forward.
Approved Planning Board Minutes
Page 2 of 7
February 12, 2018",PlanningBoard/2018-02-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2018-02-12,3,"Board Member Sullivan said she was glad to see the attractive buildings in scale with the
neighborhood.
Board Member Cavanaugh said the designs look great.
President Mitchell said he met with the applicant and supports the plan.
Board Member Burton made a motion to approve the staff recommendation for
buildings A & B with the amendments for the vertical landscaping and noise
ordinance requirements. Board Member Teague seconded the motion. The motion
passed 7-0.
Board Member Teague made a motion to approve the recommendation for the
remaining buildings and parcel map with the same amendments. Board Member
Curtis seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
7-B 2018-5194
Public Hearing on the Alameda Marina Draft Environmental Impact Report
(SCH#2016102064)
Board Member Burton recused himself from the remaining items because his employer is
working on both projects.
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found
at: https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3334515&GUID=7EOCE527-
459-4261-96B8-62871E1973EB&FullText=1
President Mitchell opened the public hearing.
Dorothy Freeman said there is no plan to retain a working boatyard. She said the
cumulative effects of all the Northern Waterfront projects were not considered strongly
enough. She said the plan does not appropriately honor the history of the site. She said
the street trees should be preserved. She said the area and plan do not provide
appropriate active park space.
Nancy Hird, Save Alameda's Working Waterfront, said she is concerned about the viability
of the commercial core. She said businesses do not like uncertainty and the zoning for
housing should be taken off of the commercial part of the site.
Bill Smith said there are alternatives not considered in the draft EIR that would meet the
project goals with fewer impacts. He said the increase in the homeless population was not
concerned. He suggested 50% of the units be affordable and a nexus study for affordable
housing be conducted.
Approved Planning Board Minutes
Page 3 of 7
February 12, 2018",PlanningBoard/2018-02-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2018-02-12,4,"Eric Gantos said the report lays out the challenges well for continued discussion of the
issues.
Joanne Martin said the infrastructure needs to be updated and the aging buildings are not
sustainable. She said she is excited to see the changes coming to the property and area.
She said the boating community is in decline.
Chris Nicholas, Island Yacht Club, explained the importance of recreational boating for the
community.
Elizabeth Tuckwell said she agreed with the comments of Nancy Hird and supports
making sure the working waterfront survives.
Alan Pryor said the condition of the infrastructure at the marina is completely worn out. He
said the money needs to come from somewhere to fix the problems.
President Mitchell closed the public hearing.
Board Member Teague said 4.11-2 does not provide any current data for Encinal High
School. He said 4.12 should cover all five ways on and off the island. He said there was
no information for which to base what the alternatives would mean.
Board Member Sullivan said the impacts on the recreational boating industry were not
adequately studied. She said the report does not address where the RV storage would
go. She said the traffic issues were studied in silos and the overall impacts of other
developments were not considered. She asked what the environmental and cultural
impact was on the community would be as the population shifts from owners to renters.
Board Member Curtis said he agreed with Board Member Sullivan's comments. He said
none of these reports analyze the cumulative effect of all the developments. He asked
where the land would come from to build the required schools if all the projects move
forward.
Board Member Köster agreed that the cumulative impacts should be studied. He said
reconnecting the waterfront would be a big plus. He said he would love to see more historic
structures preserved but understands the tradeoffs being made.
Board Member Sullivan raised the issue of how the number of allowed units on the
property are calculated.
Staff Member Thomas said that the City Attorney's office released a memo addressing
that question and that it would be included in the Housing Element update at the March
12th meeting.
Approved Planning Board Minutes
Page 4 of 7
February 12, 2018",PlanningBoard/2018-02-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2018-02-12,5,"Board Member Curtis said all the amenities and improvements would take a large amount
of money and that approving a plan that can generate enough money would be needed
for viability.
Board Member Cavanaugh said something needs to be done with the property to bring it
up to today's standards. He said his primary concern is traffic.
President Mitchell said he would like to address how the new traffic signals across the
Park St. bridge would affect the traffic numbers in the report. He said the subcommittee
did a lot of work to get the plan to this point.
Staff Member Thomas pointed out the traffic tables that would address the cumulative
impacts of traffic.
7-C 2018-5197
Revisions to Approved Design for Block 8 at Alameda Point
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found
at: https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3334517&GUID=8405DC29
B8A-48BA-BBA3-309EDEFFFDF9&FullText=
Neil Saxby, Eden Housing, explained the financing plan and how they need to prepare to
move forward with construction on their own timeline and not be strictly tied to the broader
Site A development progress.
Board Member Köster asked if they were planning to build this project ahead of Site A.
Staff Member Thomas said they are working on parallel tracks to ensure the affordable
housing could go forward on its own if Site A falters.
Board Member Sullivan said it was hard to see the differences between the two plans.
She noted that the entrance changed, the Juliet balconies were removed, and that the
design was simplified.
Board Member Köster asked if they would consider putting some of the features back in
the design if more funding became available.
Mr. Saxby said they are not often in that position.
There was no public comment.
Board Member Teague said he would normally want more information about the savings
from the changes. He said the project was too important and he would not support pulling
the project for review.
Approved Planning Board Minutes
Page 5 of 7
February 12, 2018",PlanningBoard/2018-02-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2018-02-12,6,"President Mitchell said that he might be more concerned if this were a for profit project
instead of an affordable project. He said he is not interested in pulling the project for
review.
Board Member Cavanaugh said the changes are minimal.
Board Member Sullivan made a motion to approve the design changes and allow
any final decisions to be made by staff. Board Member Curtis seconded the motion.
The motion passed 6-0.
8. MINUTES
8-A 2018-5198
Draft Meeting Minutes-December 11, 2017
Board Member Sullivan pointed out a typo on page 3.
Board Member Curtis said on page 5 the parking management plan explanation should
point out that there are parking lots nearby and that if parking became congested the city
would build a parking structure.
Board Member Köster asked if Block 9 would be coming back soon.
Staff Member Thomas said that Block 9 would come back in March for final review.
Board Member Sullivan made a motion to approve the minutes with the proposed
changes. Board Member Curtis seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0-1
(Teague abstained.)
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2018-5189
Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions
The
staff
report
can
be
found
at:
https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3334513&GUID=7220694A
A678-4859-ADE4-620D1D343DBA&FullText=1
Board Member Teague asked to pull 1123 Versailles for review because the wrong plans
were posted on the website.
Staff Member Thomas said they can hold this item and put the correct plans up, re-notice
the neighbors if necessary, and then the Board Members can decide whether to pull the
item for review.
9-B 2018-5195
Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Community Development
Department Projects
Approved Planning Board Minutes
Page 6 of 7
February 12, 2018",PlanningBoard/2018-02-12.pdf
PlanningBoard,2018-02-12,7,"The
schedule
can
be
found
at:
ttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3334516&GUID=39CBF555-
C91D-4231-B6A2-64A91138D3B1
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Mitchell said he may miss the March 26th meeting.
Board Member Sullivan suggested doing look backs on projects to see how they turned
out compared to the design review process.
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
13. ADJOURNMENT
President Mitchell adjourned the meeting at 8:55pm.
Approved Planning Board Minutes
Page 7 of 7
February 12, 2018",PlanningBoard/2018-02-12.pdf