{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MINUTES\nREGULAR MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD\nMONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2015\n1. CONVENE\nPresident Henneberry called meeting to order at 7:00pm.\n2. FLAG SALUTE\nBoard Member Board Member Mitchell led the flag salute.\n3. ROLL CALL\nPresent: President Henneberry, Board Members Burton, Henneberry, Knox White,\nK\u00f6ster, Mitchell, Sullivan. Absent: Board Member Zuppan.\n4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION\n*None*\n5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n6. CONSENT CALENDAR\n*None*\n7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS\n7-A 2015-2051\nPLN15-0030 - 615 Haight Avenue - Applicant: Stefan Menzi on behalf of\nJoseph and Melanie Snell. An appeal of Design Review approval to allow\nraising an existing one-story residence a total of three (3) feet to convert\nthe existing crawl space into a new habitable bottom floor. The resultant\noverall height of the structure will be twenty-one (21) feet tall, where the\nmaximum height limit in the R-4 zoning district is 35 feet. The project is\nlocated within an R-4 (Neighborhood Residential) zoning district. This\nproject is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant\nto the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section\n15301 (e) - Existing Facilities - additions to existing structures provided that\nthe addition will not result in an increase of more than 10,000 square feet.\nAndrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director, introduced the item.\nDavid Sablan, Planner I, gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be\nfound at:\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 1 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 2, "text": "ttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452044&GUID=FDD3E822-\n61D8-456E-A4B8-7D28E87E3CBO&FullText=1\nBoard Member Sullivan asked to confirm that the approved height of the applicant's home\nis still substantially lower than the appellant's.\nStaff Member Sablan confirmed that it would be several feet lower (5-7 ft) than the\nappellant's home.\nBoard Member Burton asked for clarification of the sill heights of the lower windows.\nThe project architect said the window sill was about three feet above the floor.\nBoard Member Burton asked for more information on the historic status of the home.\nStaff Member Sablan said the home has an \"H\" designation and said the project is\ncompliant with standards for treatment of historic homes.\nPresident Henneberry asked what the maximum allowable heights are for a building in\nthat zone.\nStaff Member Thomas said 35 feet was the maximum allowable height according to the\nzoning.\nPresident Henneberry opened the public forum.\nMelanie Snell, applicant, explained how their growing family has outgrown their house and\nthe long process they have gone through to come to a satisfactory design that meets their\nfamily's needs.\nJoseph Snell, applicant, explained the improvements they have made to the home since\nthey purchased it. He said they love the community and just need more room for all of\ntheir kids.\nAnh Nguyen, next door neighbor, explained the changes and hardships the approved\nproject would impose on their family. She asked that the project be denied.\nBao-Long Nguyen-Trong, next door neighbor, said the project would box their house in,\ncausing increased shadows and very little light to reach their home. He asked that the\ndesign be denied.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 2 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 3, "text": "Zachary Walton, attorney for the appellant, explained the legal objections to staff's\napproval. He said the shade study plainly showed an adverse impact on his client's home.\nHe said the applicants have other options that would not have the adverse impacts.\nLisa Fowler, a neighbor, shared comments from other residents of the block in support of\nthe applicants.\nCarlos Flores said he supports the appeal and that the project would cause a lack of\nprivacy. He said the Golden Mean is there for a reason.\nHallie Von Rock, a resident, said this project would set a bad precedent.\nChase Martin said she was surprised the project was approved due to the close proximity\nof the two homes. She said the impacts would be extensive.\nSteve Aced, of the Alameda Architectural Preservation Society, said they object to the\nproject primarily because of the Golden Mean and said there are available alternatives.\nPresident Henneberry closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Sullivan said the design was attractive and that keeping young families in\nAlameda was important.\nBoard Member Mitchell said the shading was the key issue and he had not made a\ndecision yet.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said there were other options given the lot size. He said there are\nprobably alternatives to this design.\nBoard Member Knox White said this was a difficult decision. He said the code does not\ngive us a lot of flexibility. He said he is likely to uphold the appeal due to the shading.\nBoard Member Burton complimented the new design. He said there is a way to get around\nthe Golden Mean issue. He said the shading is the real issue at hand. He said the design\nstill has an adverse effect. He said he would be voting to uphold the appeal and hope they\ncould come up with a solution.\nPresident Henneberry said perhaps we could send this back rather than approve or deny\nthe appeal.\nBoard Member Knox White asked what would happen if they sent the item back to staff.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 3 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 4, "text": "Ms. Shank said the design objective was to embrace the aesthetic of the container and\nwelcomed the board's input on whether that was welcome or not.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked about bringing the tower element out to the corner and\nadding lighting.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 4 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 5, "text": "Ms. Shank said there are some design options that could be explored in that direction.\nBoard Member Mitchell asked where the A/C units would be and asked about surface\ntreatments to prevent corrosion.\nMs. Shank said they would use \"mini-split\" units that would cut through the walls or\nceilings. She said they are designed for use on the sea and are designed to withstand the\nelements.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster asked about the placement of the security gates and how\nmaintenance of the planter boxes would work.\nMs. Shank indicated the positions of the gates. She said they wanted to see what\nsupport there was from the board before getting into the fine details of maintenance\nplans.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked about the seven year parking agreement and what would\nhappen after that.\nStaff Member Thomas explained that they could make it a requirement to maintain in\nperpetuity, where they would have to find a new agreement if the original one was not\nrenewed.\nPresident Henneberry opened the public hearing.\nKen Carvalho said he supports the project.\nRich Krinks said he supports the project. He says there is a strong demand for small office\nspace.\nRobb Ratto, from the Downtown Alameda Business Association, said their board\nunanimously supported this project. He said this is the type of innovative, adaptive reuse\nproject that Alameda needs.\nChristopher Seiwald, owner of Perforce Software and Little House Cafe said he loves the\nproject.\nBill Pua said he supports the project and that there is a strong demand for office space in\nAlameda.\nPresident Henneberry closed the public hearing.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 5 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 6, "text": "Board Member Burton said he supports the use permit. He said he is comfortable with the\nparking arrangement. He said he is supportive of using shipping containers. He said the\nPark St. frontage does not meet the guidelines for the gateway district. He said the cafe\nshould be all the way on the corner. He said the retail entrances need to be on Park St.\nHe said the project would need more dynamism in order to justify breaking the rules. He\nsaid the A/C unit placement would be very important.\nBoard Member Knox White said he supports the use permit. He said said he strongly\nsupports the design aesthetic of the containers. He said cantilevering is what made lots of\nthe example projects interesting to him. He worried the alcove would not help the retail be\nsuccessful.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said he likes the parking approach. He said he likes the overall\ndirection of the project. He said the tower element does not work. He said he supports the\nidea of cantilevering. He said combining the two retail spaces might work better. He said\nhe would like to see a lighting package when the project comes back.\nBoard Member Mitchell said the project could either be a huge success or complete failure.\nHe said he is okay with the mixed use. He said he is okay with the containers with some\ndesign improvements.\nPresident Henneberry said he supports the use permit and the parking arrangement. He\nsaid he likes the containers. He said the tower could stay or go, that the retail door should\ncome out to Park St., and that the planters are not consistent with the design of the project.\nNo action was taken.\n7-C 2015-2057\nRecommend that the City Council Approve the City of Alameda Housing\nElement Annual Report and Implementation Priorities\nAndrew Thomas presented the item. The staff report and attachments are available at:\ntps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452046&GUID=21D85B46-\nB9BD-4AC2-91A5-C52A2BAED214&FullText=1\nPresident Henneberry opened the public hearing.\nLaura Thomas, President of Renewed Hope Housing Advocates, said they are pleased to\nsee the progress the City is making. She said more could be done. She said there is not\nsufficient low and very low income housing in the pipeline. She said the downzoning of\nthe North Housing site has made the City technically out of compliance with the housing\nelement.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 6 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 7, "text": "President Henneberry closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said the progress on Universal Design and changes to the\nsecondary unit ordinance are promising.\nBoard Member Knox White said that we need to set the bar high for this report since it is\nthe first one and will be a template in future years. He said he will be asking staff to be\ncompleting some of the reporting more fully. He said the goals for the Rent Review\nAdvisory Committee should be revised. He said we should look at tracking 60-day\nevictions. He said the secondary unit ordinance is not working as is and needs to be\nreviewed. He said we need to be more mindful of what types and sizes of units are built\ngoing forward, not just building the biggest houses we can.\nBoard Member Burton said we need to get the Universal Design ordinance in place as\nsoon as possible. He said changing the second unit ordinance can help alleviate the\nrental crisis and make homeownership more affordable. He said he would support\nrevisiting and raising the inclusionary housing percentage.\nPresident Henneberry said the rent review portion needed to be toughened up.\nBoard Member Knox White made a motion to continue the item for further refinement. The\nmotion was seconded by Board Member K\u00f6ster. The motion passed 6-0.\n7-D 2015-2062\nBoard Elections\nPresident Henneberry asked if there were any nominations for President of the Planning\nBoard.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster nominated Board Member Knox White for President of the Planning\nBoard.\nPresident Henneberry asked if there were any other nominations for President. There\nwere no other nominations for Board President.\nBoard Member Knox White was elected President 6-0.\nPresident Henneberry asked if there were any nominations for Vice President of the\nPlanning Board.\nBoard Member Knox White nominated Board Member K\u00f6ster for Vice President of the\nPlanning Board.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 7 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 8, "text": "President Henneberry asked if there were any other nominations for Vice President. There\nwere no other nominations for Vice President.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster was elected Vice President 6-0.\n8. MINUTES\n8-A 2015-2063\nDraft Planning Board Minutes - June 8, 2015\nNo action was taken due to insufficient members present capable of voting on the minutes.\n8-B 2015-2064\nDraft Planning Board Minutes - July 13, 2015\nNo action was taken due to insufficient members present capable of voting on the minutes.\nBoard Member Burton was assigned the task of watching the tape from the meeting in\norder to be able to vote on the minutes for that meeting.\n9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS\n9-A 2015-2053\nZoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions\nAndrew Thomas said staff approved five design reviews since the previous meeting. The\nstaff report can be found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452045&GUID=920091B6-\n71CD-4685-97BF-085EE226D080&FullText=1\n9-B 2015-2065\nTransmittal of City Council Staff Report Regarding Phase 0 Activities Plan\nfor Site A at Alameda Point.\nAndrew Thomas presented the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at:\nttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2452050&GUID=C2B6E5EF-\nF27-4A2B-B184-164FA93DDAA3&FullText=\nBoard Member Burton said he was very happy with the inclusion of the Tinkering School\nin Phase 0.\n10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS\nBoard Member Knox White said he would be out of town for the next meeting.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 8 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-14", "page": 9, "text": "Board Member Mitchell, as a new Board Member, gave some background on his personal\nand professional life.\nBoard Member Knox White said the uncertainty of a potential rezoning of the current\nHarbor Bay Club site is causing problems in the community. He said he hoped staff would\nbring a \"sense of the Council\" item to the City Council in order to begin to move the issue\nforward in either direction.\nAndrew Thomas welcomed the new Board Members.\n11-A 2015-2054\nReport from the Boatworks - Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee\n*Did not meet.\n12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\nMayor Spencer welcomed the new members and congratulated the newly elected Board\nPresident and Vice President.\n13. ADJOURNMENT\nPresident Henneberry adjourned the meeting at 10:21 pm.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nSeptember 14, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting\nPage 9 of 9", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-14.pdf"}