{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2014-01-13", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MEETING MINUTES\nREGULAR MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD\nMONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014\n1. CONVENE:\n7:02 p.m.\n2. FLAG SALUTE:\nBoard member Alvarez-Morroni led the flag salute.\n3. ROLL CALL:\nPresident Burton, Vice President Henneberry, Board Members\nKnox White, Alvarez-Morroni, K\u00f6ster and Zuppan. Absent:\nBoard member Tang.\n4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION: None\n5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS:\nSpeakers :\nMr. David Maxey said that there need to be more entrances into Alameda. He suggested\nthat a tube could be extended from Main Street into the City of Oakland.\nMs. Eugenie Thompson addressed the Board for help with a public records request made\nto the clerk's office. She said she is interested in the traffic counts and analysis of traffic\nfrom the draft EIR.\nMr. Andrew Thomas, City Planner, stated he will gladly get Ms. Thompson in touch with\nthe City's traffic consultant.\n6. CONSENT CALENDAR:\nNone\n7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:\n7.A.\nReview and Approve Proposed Cross-Walk at Stargell Avenue and Webster\nStreet. The proposed project is categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA\nguidelines 15332 In-fill Development Projects.\nMr. Andrew Thomas, City Planner, provided an update and briefing on the cross-walk.\nBoard Member Comments:\nBoard member Knox White said he appreciated the work of staff and the developers.\nPresident Burton understood that the original design was too costly, but is happy with this\nalternative.\nBoard member Knox White motioned to approve the resolution.\nApproved Regular Meeting Minutes\nPage 1 of 7\nJanuary 13, 2014", "path": "PlanningBoard/2014-01-13.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2014-01-13", "page": 2, "text": "Vice President Henneberry seconded the motion.\nThe motion carried, 6-0.\n7.B.\nAlameda Point Draft General Plan Amendment, Draft Zoning Ordinance\nAmendments, Draft Master Infrastructure Plan, and Final Environmental\nImpact Report (FEIR) - Approve draft resolutions recommending City Council\ncertification of a Final Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse\n#2013012043) and approval of amendments to the City of Alameda General\nPlan and Alameda Municipal Code (Zoning Ordinance), and a Master\nInfrastructure Plan for the reuse and development of Alameda Point (AP).\nMr. Thomas gave a presentation.\nBoard member Zuppan asked if there will be impact regarding the public records request\nfrom Ms. Thompson.\nMr. Thomas stated that all the information she requested will be available to her tomorrow.\nBoard member Alvarez-Morroni commended staff on the work, and said she sees the\ntransportation piece being the largest part of the EIR. It would have been nice to have a\nTDM document to connect with the EIR for public review.\nBoard member K\u00f6ster asked how the City partnered with the City of Oakland on\ntransportation issues.\nMr. Thomas said that they have produced multiple reports for alternatives within Oakland\nand Chinatown, which were produced in cooperation with the Regional Transportation\nAuthority. All of the proposed solutions were rejected by Oakland. The City will continue to\nwork with the County and Oakland to find solutions to congestion problems. He also said\nthat Oakland and Chinatown do not want a new tunnel from Alameda.\nPresident Burton asked about the letter from Alameda Point Collaborative regarding\nsupportive housing.\nMs. Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer of Alameda Point, provided detail on the\nsupportive housing and job creation numbers for the agreement with Alameda Point\nCollaborative.\nThe Board opened public comment\nMr. Brian Schumacher, engineer, thanked the Board for their time spent on the project. He\nwarned that if the Board adopted these current plans, it would be a great disservice to the\npublic.\nMs. Becca Homa, representing AC Transit, thanked the Board for being able to provide\nApproved Regular Meeting Minutes\nPage 2 of 7\nJanuary 13, 2014", "path": "PlanningBoard/2014-01-13.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2014-01-13", "page": 3, "text": "support for the Master Infrastructure Plan. She said that AC Transit is pleased with the\nplan making Alameda Point a transit-oriented community. She recommended a pass for\nAlameda Point residents. She said the agency is in favor of transit only lanes on Atlantic\nAvenue.\nMr. Dennis Carroll, neighbor, said he appreciated the bluntness of staff regarding an\nadditional tube or bridges into Oakland. The tubes connecting Oakland and Alameda are a\npatchwork that need updating. The interest of West End residents need to be considered\nin any development of Alameda Point. He urged rejection of the EIR.\nMr. Dick Rutter, representing Alameda Architectural Protection Society, which submitted\nwritten comment to the Board, stated that the turning basin in Oakland are not deep\nenough for heavy ships, and in turn, would impact a new tube. The housing in the 1800s\nand 1900s have needed to add new garages. Now, each adult resident has to have a car.\nUntil transportation and job transit habits change, the lack of parking will be an issue. He\nsaid his group would like to see boundary lines set on zoning maps and other design\nguidelines in the plans.\nMr. John Thompson said he was disappointed regarding the transportation issues and\nsuggested a delay of the approval of the EIR. He said that the housing development at\nAlameda Point arrives before stable jobs do, and worries about the reliability of the current\ntubes in an emergency.\nMs. Eugenie Thompson said that she has many questions about traffic and quality of life\nthat have not been addressed. She again stated her public records request for records\nhave not been addressed. There is something wrong with the peak analysis in the\ndocument about the traffic situation in Oakland. There are major issues about traffic\ncongestion in East Alameda as well. There is a mitigation in Oakland that has not been\nconsidered, the reconstruction of the High Street off ramp.\nMr. Larry Tong, with the East Bay Regional Parks District, said he is excited about the\nredevelopment of the Point and encouraged Alameda to consider an investment in the\nEast Bay Regional Parks District in order to develop a regional park at the Point.\nMs. Helen Sause agreed with the speakers who talked on transportation needs. She\npraised staff's work on the issue. She said she felt rushed to review the complex\ndocuments and having to comment. There isn't a clear answer on why there is a rush to\ncomplete these documents. She commented on alternatives to the plan and how the\nissues of employment at the Point are being handled. She asked the Board to take more\ntime to review these documents.\nMr. Doug Biggs, Executive Director of the Alameda Point Collaborative, stated that his\norganization has been involved in the redevelopment process for over 13 years. He\nthanked staff for incorporating the public's concerns into the EIR. He urged approval of the\ndocuments in order to increase economic vitality in the area.\nApproved Regular Meeting Minutes\nPage 3 of 7\nJanuary 13, 2014", "path": "PlanningBoard/2014-01-13.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2014-01-13", "page": 4, "text": "Mr. Red Wetherall, neighbor, said he submitted a letter during the public comment time\nand that none of his questions were addressed. He asked the Board to reject the EIR.\nMr. Bill Smith, of Renewed Hope, stated that his organization is excited to see the\ndevelopment of Alameda Point move forward. He comment that transportation and\nhousing are both major isssues and will be tied together going forward. He stated that the\nNavy's housing limit should be reexamined. He commented on the multi-family housing\nrestrictions, and called for Alameda Point to be exempt from the ban on multi-family\nhousing in the City. He stated that the 25% of the housing will be affordable.\nMs. Karen Bey, neighbor, thanked everyone who helped, and said that more innovative\nthinking will be needed to solve these issues. She called for finding creative solutions for\nthe transportation issues at Alameda Point, and commented on a private ferry service as\nbeing an idea to help with traffic issues. She said that entire region is evolving and\nchanging.\nThe Board closed public comment.\nBoard Comments:\nBoard member K\u00f6ster said he was excited about what is going to happen at the Point.\nThere are companies that are revitalizing transit. He would like to see studies on\nalternative modes of transportation into and out of Alameda, and he would like to see the\nCity continue to work with the City of Oakland.\nBoard member Knox White asked staff about the graphs submitted by Ms. Thompson and\nher statement claiming that the Alameda Point EIR stated that the development at\nAlameda Point would only generate one trip.\nMr. Thomas explained that the Alameda Point EIR used the best available traffic modeling\ntechnology and tools to predict traffic impacts from Alameda Point. He explained that\nthe traffic computer model predicts traffic congestion not just from the project but it also\ntakes account of all of the traffic that will be on the roadway and freeway systems that is\ngenerated by all of the other developments planned in Alameda, Oakland and the larger\nregion. It is a regional traffic model used by all the cities in the region and maintained by\nthe Regional Transportation Agencies. The traffic model and the Alameda Point EIR\nfound that:\nThe capacity of the Webster and Posey Tubes is fixed and limited.\nTraffic from local and regional growth exceeds the capacity of the tubes.\nThere is no more room for additional traffic from Alameda Point in the tubes, and there\nwill be significant and unavoidable transportation impacts as the result of local, regional\nand Alameda Point specific development.\nThe addition of a significant number of jobs at Alameda Point will reduce traffic\nimpacts if more Alameda residents are able to work at Alameda Point instead of driving\noff-island for their employment.\nApproved Regular Meeting Minutes\nPage 4 of 7\nJanuary 13, 2014", "path": "PlanningBoard/2014-01-13.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2014-01-13", "page": 5, "text": "Ms. Alice Chen, Traffic Consultant with Kittelson, said that the current model are the best\ntools available for transportation projection.\nBoard member Knox White commented on the word, \"speculative,\" with relation to the\nstatement of overriding considerations. He asked about alternatives to building\ninfrastructure around a smaller housing footprint. He would like his comments to be\nincluded in all tables. He asked about various mitigation issues which he submitted in\nwriting to staff.\nBoard member Alvarez-Morroni commented that the EIR has taken all factors into\nconsideration. This process, however, should move forward, noting that this meeting is not\nthe end of the road with Alameda Point.\nBoard Member Zuppan said she agreed with all the comments with the other Board\nmembers.\nBoard member Zuppan commented that a TDM Plan for the site is needed. Transportation\nissues affect all of Alameda. She stated she was supportive of the EIR moving forward,\nwith the emphasis that the TDM Plan is essential. She suggested a second set of financial\ndocuments for preserving historical infrastructure at the Point. If the City cannot afford true\npreservation, there need to be plans for meaningful preservation of the building.\nVice President Henneberry commented on being in favor of the EIR moving forward. He\nacknowledged that traffic issues in Alameda were a concern. He said he wants to get cars\nto their destination faster, but not at the expense of public safety.\nPresident Burton asked about guidelines for a new infill development.\nMr. Thomas stated there is no schedule yet, but there will be guidelines for the Town\nCenter area, and Ms. Ott added that the Town Center area will also have guidelines for\ninfill construction within the district.\nBoard member Alvarez-Morroni motioned to approve the resolution recommending the\nfinal EIR to City Council. Vice President Henneberry seconded the motion.\nThe motion carried, 6-0.\nMr. Thomas briefed the Board on the Zoning Ordinance amendment.\nBoard member Zuppan asked about the 100' shoreline band around the area and impact\nof\nresidential in the Main Street area. She said she has some concerns with the transition\nbetween commercial and housing in that area.\nMr. Thomas explained the logic behind the design of the transitional area. He\nacknowledged that the transition to Alameda Point needs to be done intentionally and\nApproved Regular Meeting Minutes\nPage 5 of 7\nJanuary 13, 2014", "path": "PlanningBoard/2014-01-13.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2014-01-13", "page": 6, "text": "carefully.\nBoard member K\u00f6ster commented on the proposed maximum setbacks from Alameda\nPoint Collaborative, and said it would be interesting to see a model for the building heights\nand setbacks with existing structures across Alameda Point.\nBoard member Knox White suggested letting the public know of the current document. He\nsaid he had concern about the lack of public comment, especially from homeowners living\nnear the area.\nPresident Burton commented on the different building types in Alameda Point and the\nneed to know where those are referenced in the City Design Guidelines.\nBoard member K\u00f6ster motioned to approve the draft Zoning Ordinance amendments.\nBoard member Alvarez-Morroni seconded the motion.\nThe motion carried, 6-0.\nMs. Ott Introduced the Master Infrastructure Plan.\nVice President Henneberry, Board Member Zuppan Board member Alvarez-Morroni all\npraised the work on the Master Infrastructure Plan.\nBoard member Knox White commented on changing the language in clause about sea\nlevel rise to include more detail about all potential costs, and to include the entire island, so\nthat the mitigation clause covers all of Alameda.\nMs. Ott reported about all potential costs in the infrastructure plan is for the 24 inch\nsolution at Board and City Council request. She said they had community meetings to\naddress the concerns about seas level rise and said that these meetings were well\nattended.\nBoard member K\u00f6ster asked if the City would follow LEED-certification equivalence\nthroughout the development of Alameda Point. Ms. Ott replied affirmatively.\nBoard member Zuppan motioned to approve the draft Master Infrastructure Plan.\nVice President Henneberry seconded the motion.\nThe motion carried, 5-0-1 (Knox White abstained)\nBoard member Alvarez-Morroni motioned to approve the draft resolution recommending\nthat the City Council amend to the General Plan. Board member K\u00f6ster seconded the\nmotion.\nThe motion carried, 6-0.\nApproved Regular Meeting Minutes\nPage 6 of 7\nJanuary 13, 2014", "path": "PlanningBoard/2014-01-13.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2014-01-13", "page": 7, "text": "8. MINUTES: None\n9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS:\n9.A.\nFuture Agendas - Mr. Thomas informed the board of various upcoming\nprojects and agenda items.\n9.B.\nStaff Communications - Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent\nActions and Decisions - Mr. Thomas stated there were two Design Review\napprovals. He reported on an upcoming planning workshop in San Francisco.\n10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: None\n11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS:\n11.A. Report from Alameda Point Town Center Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee - None\n11.B. Report from Alameda Point Zoning Ad-Hoc Sub Committee- President\nBurton stated this subcommittee's work has been completed and this group will no\nlonger be meeting.\n12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None\n13. ADJOURNMENT: President Burton adjourned the meeting at 10:54 p.m.\nApproved Regular Meeting Minutes\nPage 7 of 7\nJanuary 13, 2014", "path": "PlanningBoard/2014-01-13.pdf"}