{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MINUTES\nREGULAR MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD\nMONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2015\n1. CONVENE\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster called meeting to order at 7:00pm.\n2. FLAG SALUTE\nBoard Member Henneberry led the flag salute.\n3. ROLL CALL\nPresent: Board Members Burton, Henneberry, K\u00f6ster, Mitchell, Sullivan, Zuppan. Absent:\nPresident Knox White\n4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION\n*None*\n5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n6. CONSENT CALENDAR\n*None*\n7. REGULAR\nAGENDA\nITEMS\n7-A 2015-2109\nPLN15-0323 - 508 Taylor Ave. - Use Permit - Applicant: Catherine Cook\nfor Da Vinci Center for Gifted Children. A public hearing to consider a Use\nPermit to relocate and expand an existing large family day care from 14\nchildren to a maximum of 25 children. The property is located within an R-\n2, Two-Family Residence Zoning District. The project is categorically\nexempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to\nCEQA Guidelines Section 15301 - Existing Facilities.\nAndrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director, introduced the item.\nDavid Sablan, Planner I, gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be\nfound\nat:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2467858&GUID=584C3CE5-\nAB03-467D-838E-71D973EF3580&FullText=1\nBoard Member Burton asked about the agreement for the overflow and staff parking.\nPage 1 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 2, "text": "Staff Member Sablan explained the details of the arrangement with St. Barnabus for at\nleast two spaces.\nBoard Member Mitchell asked for further clarification of the off site parking availability and\nuse.\nStaff Member Thomas explained that the conditions focused on drop off and pick up rather\nthan for staff parking.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked where the bus stop was. She also asked about the legal\ndifference between a private school and large family daycare.\nStaff Member Sablan said the bus stops were on Webster which is 1-2 blocks away. He\nalso outlined the state licensing requirements of family daycares and that schools require\na local use permit.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster asked if there were any plans for physical improvements that could\nopen up access to the obstructed driveway.\nStaff Member Thomas said that he is unaware of any plans and that the bay window\nprotruding into the narrow driveway would make it very hard to open up the driveway.\nBoard Member Burton made a motion to limit public comment to three minutes per\nspeaker. Board Member Henneberry seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster opened the public hearing.\nCatherine Cook, the applicant, gave a presentation. She said the school specializes in\nhighly gifted children with learning differences. She said these are not typical parents, and\nthey have a large interest in not jeopardizing the school's use permit. She said they are\non board with the staff recommendations. She summarized the difficult position the state\nand local licensing hurdles have created for their students.\nBeth Walters said she has known and worked with the applicant and urged the board to\napprove the application.\nSarah Berry, a parent, says her son believes that the school is the only one that gets him.\nPradeep Madhavarapu, a parent, tried four schools that did not help his son. He said the\nDa Vinci school is the only one that has helped.\nCheryl Bowersox, a parent, said her daughter struggled in public school and that public\nschools are not equipped to help her. She said her daughter had never been so\nPage 2 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 3, "text": "comfortable around other children before Da Vinci. She said her daughter had\ncontemplated suicide before, due to not fitting in.\nJack Bozick, an eleven year old Da Vinci student, said that at Da Vinci he wants to go to\nschool everyday and likes mentoring the younger students. He said the families need the\nspace and will be good neighbors.\nIda Shahfari, a parent, said they tried several different schools just during kindergarten for\ntheir son. She said her son is thriving in this school. She said her son told her \"at Da Vinci,\nthey see me, and know me.\"\nKirstin Evans-Orville, a parent, said her school experience has improved dramatically at\nDa Vinci. She said finding a school for gifted children with learning differences is incredibly\ndifficult.\nSolvejg Rose, a neighbor, said the school never had any impact on them living next door\nfor the last two years. She enrolled her older daughter in the school this year and walks.\nShe said this school will be a benefit to Alameda.\nHailey Ashcraft, a neighbor, said she supports the school and the kids.\nJennifer Callahan, a parent, said she supports the use permit. She said her son was giving\nup on school and learning until they found Da Vinci. She said the parents are desperate\nand will do whatever it takes to make it work from a traffic and parking standpoint.\nGabriel Cohen, a parent, spoke in favor of the use permit. He said he lives in Alameda\nbecause of this school. He said it is essential to their family. He said he was upset when\na women driving filmed them walking down the street the day the school was operating in\nthe new location.\nPeter Callahan, the grandfather of a student, said his grandson did not like school before\nand was on a bad track. He said now his grandson finds school a joyful place and loves\ngoing to school.\nShon Sherwood, a parent, said he was one of these kids and dropped out of school in\neighth grade. He said he would not do anything to jeopardize the school.\nPraveena Madhavarapu, a parent, said the school is very important for her child's\ndevelopment. She said at regular schools her child was treated as a troublemaker. She\nsaid her son thinks Da Vinci is a perfect match and they would not do anything to risk that.\nOrianna Ralston, a student, said she loves the activities and field trips. She says there is\na small number of kids and she gets a lot of attention.\nPage 3 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 4, "text": "Hila Ralston, a parent, said she will take full responsibility for being a good neighbor. She\nsaid her daughter's confidence was falling in regular school. She said finding Da Vinci was\na miracle for them.\nRyan Brown, a neighbor, says the school's plan seems reasonable. He said he wanted\nthe neighborhood to come together to build a healthy community.\nSarah Cohen, a parent, said that Da Vinci changed their lives and they will do everything\nthey can to not disrupt that.\nBrian DeGrego, a neighbor, says he loves having the kids in the neighborhood and that\nhe sees no traffic problems in the neighborhood.\nFranklin Sablan, a neighbor, said he supports the school. He said these children need this\nschool.\nDavid Lee, an instructor at Da Vinci, said he lives a few blocks away. He said the parents\nare driven to find a great education for their children and will follow whatever rules are in\nplace to ensure their child can attend Da Vinci.\nSonali Joshi, a parent, said the parents are committed to not jeopardizing the school. She\nsaid her child felt so different in other schools and Da Vinci has given them back their\nchild.\nHarold Lee, a parent, said his family was so motivated by the school that they moved from\nSan Jose. He said his son is thriving now, and it has been life changing.\nJennifer Williams said she supports the use permit. She said that no two children learn the\nsame way and the school provides a vital educational need for those children.\nFrancis Mcllveen, a neighbor, said the school has been an impeccable neighbor and he\nsupports the use permit.\nJanene Barnewolf, a neighbor, said she supports the school.\nMonica Barry, a parent, said finding a school site has been difficult and the idea of\njeopardizing it is crazy.\nKeith Evans-Orville, a parent, said his daughter was a ball of anxiety and now, after going\nto Da Vinci, he feels like he has his daughter back.\nPage 4 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 5, "text": "Joseph Anakata, a parent, said they ride a bike to school and want to be part of this\nneighborhood.\nKaren Bey, a neighbor, said she supports the school. She said she was surprised and\nkind of ashamed to hear about the opposition.\nMike Allen, a neighbor, said he believes the parents' intentions. He said he is opposed to\nthe commercialization of a residential street in Alameda. He said he is opposed to the use\npermit.\nLee Tom, a neighbor, said he is opposed to the use permit. He showed a short video of\ntraffic patterns on the street. He said many children walk and bike on Taylor to and from\nthe nearby schools.\nSteven Levy, a neighbor, said he is opposed to the application to run a commercial\nbusiness on the residential street. He said the parking space at the residence does not\nmeet the minimum dimensions to qualify. He said the block is residentially zoned, not for\ncommercial use. He said neighborhood character would be changed and property values\ncould dip.\nMary Levy, a neighbor, said she is opposed to the use permit. She said the proposal would\nchange neighborhood character. She said there would be safety problems associated with\nthe use.\nJoan MacGuire, a neighbor, said the location is not viable and she is concerned about the\nsafety of the students and staff. She said the use of the church parking will create a traffic\nsnag on Palace Ct. where she lives.\nKaren Potesta, a neighbor, said she does not think 508 Taylor is the best place for the\nschool. She read a letter from another neighbor, who is also opposed to the use permit.\nShe said there are safety and nuisance threats that could occur with the school.\nLis Cox, a neighbor, said she is opposed to the use permit. She said children using the\nsidewalk are in danger from people backing out of their driveways. She said the applicant\ndid not do her due diligence when selecting a site for the school.\nIda Oberman, a neighbor, said she is opposed to the use permit. She said there is a safety\nissue. She said she founded a charter elementary school in Oakland and spent years\nselecting the right site.\nNancy Bonnell, a neighbor, said there is a serious parking issue on the street and it is\nimportant for her to be able to park close to her home.\nPage 5 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 6, "text": "Evan Phillippe, a neighbor, said they all support the mission of the school, but are opposed\nto the use permit due to the specifics of the location. He said there is a safety issue for\nkids using that street.\nCarrie Huie said she wishes the two sides would work together, and that she supports the\nschool.\nTom Hyland, a neighbor, said he is sympathetic to the parents' needs. He said the\nintersection at 5th street is a problem intersection with limited visibility.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Henneberry said he would be okay with a nine month review instead of\none year, and that he would be voting in favor.\nBoard Member Mitchell said he visited the site and was surprised how quiet the street was\nand how little traffic there was. He said the need is very high for the school and the impact\nis very low. He said he supports the staff recommendation.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked for clarification about the lease with the church and the\nefforts of the parents to carpool and minimize impacts.\nBoard Member Zuppan asked about the ability to put in a crosswalk at 5th street. She said\nhearing the commitment of the parents makes her comfortable with having the school in\nthis location, with an earlier review at six or nine months.\nBoard Member Burton said the vehicle traffic on the street appeared to be very minimal.\nHe said other schools have similar circumstances. He said having the review in June, at\nthe end of the school year, is appropriate. He encouraged the neighbors to open a\ndialogue with the school if any traffic issues arise. He said he would like to be able to\nsupport it.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said a review at the end of the school year made sense.\nBoard Member Sullivan said she hoped the school would also reach out to the neighbors\nto see how they are doing.\nBoard Member Zuppan made a motion to approve the use permit with the following\namendments: 1) Nine month review, targeted for June. 2) The City investigate the\npossibility of including a crosswalk on Fifth Street. Board Member Henneberry seconded\nthe\nmotion.\nThe\nmotion\npassed\n6-0.\nPage 6 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 7, "text": "Andrew Thomas explained that the use permit has been approved by the Planning Board\nand the school can open tomorrow. He said that an appeal could be filed within 10 days\nand if it was, they would endeavor to have the City Council hear it as soon as possible.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster announced there would be a five minute recess.\n7-B 2015-2101\nPublic Hearing to Consider Draft Zoning Ordinance Amendments to 1)\nadopt a Universal Design Ordinance, 2) amend the Second Unit Ordinance\nand Accessory Building regulations, and 3) amend the Multifamily\nResidential Combining Zone District Regulations.\nAndrew Thomas introduced the item and gave a presentation. The staff report and\nattachments\ncan\nbe\nfound\nat:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2467857&GUID=790CB019-\n8B8D-491F-8062-55BE44C1C86D&FullText=1\nBoard Member Zuppan made a motion to hear remaining items on the agenda after\n10:30pm. Board Member Henneberry seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.\nBoard Member Zuppan asked for clarification about the accessory building regulations.\nStaff Member Tai said that current regulations were designed to preclude improvements\nand amenities that make secondary units possible.\nStaff Member Thomas explained how the changes to the second unit ordinance were\ndesigned to work with the changes to the accessory building ordinance.\nBoard Member Burton asked for clarification of aspects of the multi family overlay zoning\nand Measure A.\nStaff Member Thomas confirmed that the multi family sites would allow development of\nduplex projects that would fit in with the language in Measure A.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster opened the public hearing.\nBeth Kenny, from the Commission on Disability Issues, spoke in favor of Universal Design\nstandards. She said she was concerned with limiting it to only 15% of units. She said her\ncommission had additional details to be considered for the ordinance.\nMayor Trish Spencer asked someone to look into placement of washers and dryers in the\nUniversal Design ordinance.\nPage 7 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 8, "text": "Karen Bey said we should examine liberalizing the proposed accessory unit parameters.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Zuppan said she thinks the Universal Design ordinance should require 20-\n25% instead of only 15%. She said we should consider some of the other items, like outlet\nlocation and washer and dryer availability. She said transit proximity should be a factor for\nthe secondary units. She said she does not think changing the zoning requirements for\nthe multifamily areas is necessary.\nBoard Member Burton gave feedback regarding details of the Universal Design ordinance.\nHe said he could support a higher percentage requirements, but we need to be careful.\nHe said the second unit changes are good. He said he would support the restricting of\nsingle family residences on the multifamily overlay parcels.\nBoard Member Zuppan made a motion to extend the meeting beyond 11:00pm. Board\nMember Mitchell seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.\nBoard Member Henneberry said he would be supportive of requiring 25-30% of units to\nmeet the Universal Design requirements. He said he supports the secondary unit changes.\nHe said he supports restricting single family development in the multifamily zoning areas.\nBoard Member Sullivan said she supports the Universal Design ordinance. She said she\nsupports the secondary unit changes, citing the need for them. She said she was opposed\nto restricting single family homes in the multifamily zoning areas.\nBoard Member Mitchell said he supports increasing the Universal Design percentage to\n20-25%.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said he supports raising the Universal Design percentage. He said\nhe would support expanding the sizes allowable, both larger and smaller, for secondary\nunits. He said he would support tandem parking being allowed to meet the requirements.\nBoard Member Mitchell said he would also be supportive of examining tandem parking.\nNo action was taken.\n8. MINUTES\n8-A 2015-2096\nDraft Planning Board Minutes - June 8, 2015\nPage 8 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-09-28", "page": 9, "text": "Board Member Zuppan made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member\nHenneberry seconded the motion. The motion failed 3-0 with three abstentions (K\u00f6ster,\nMitchell, Sullivan) because there were not four members present that were at the June 8th\nmeeting.\n8-B 2015-2097\nDraft Planning Board Minutes - July 13, 2015\nBoard Member Burton said there was a second amendments for the hotel at Harbor Bay,\nrequiring the finished floor levels to meet the same requirements as buildings at Alameda\nPoint.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said there was a motion to go beyond 11:00pm, but the\nadjournment in the minutes read 10:13pm.\nNo action was taken.\n9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS\n9-A 2015-2100\nZoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions\nAndrew Thomas said there were several design reviews approved since the last meeting.\nBoard Member Burton said 1305 Regent St did not appear to have the legal headroom for\napproving habitable space in the ground floor basement.\n10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS\n11-A 2015-2098\nReport from the Boatworks - Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee\nBoard Member Burton gave a report on the meeting with the project architect, Andrew\nThomas, President Knox White, and himself.\nBoard Member Zuppan said Alameda Landing shopping center is not meeting the\nrequirements to allow shopping carts to travel within the entire perimeter of their parking\nlot, and said they are in violation of their use permit.\n12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n13. ADJOURNMENT\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster adjourned the meeting at 11:16 pm.\nPage 9 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nSeptember 28, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-09-28.pdf"}