{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MINUTES\nREGULAR MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD\nMONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2015\n1. CONVENE\nPresident Knox White called meeting to order at 7:00pm.\n2. FLAG SALUTE\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster led the flag salute.\n3. ROLL CALL\nPresent: President Knox White, Board Members Burton, Henneberry, K\u00f6ster, Mitchell,\nSullivan. Board Member Zuppan arrived at 7:04pm, during item 5 (Oral Communications).\n4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION\nPresident Knox White moved Board Communications, for one item, in front of item 7.\n5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\nSean Whiskeman, from Catellus, gave an update on the shopping cart containment\nsystem at Alameda Landing. He said the issue is being resolved and that carts will be able\nto be used throughout the entire project site. He also said they have a vendor that will be\ninstalling some electric vehicle chargers.\n6. CONSENT CALENDAR\n6-A 2015-2147\nRecommend that the City Council Approve the City of Alameda Housing\nElement Annual Report\nBoard Member Burton made a motion to accept the report. Board Member Henneberry\nseconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.\n7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS\n7-A 2015-2146\nPLN14-0701 - 2100 Clement Avenue - Applicant: City Ventures. Public\nHearing to consider Design Review application for 52 Units on a 2.78 Acre\nParcel Located at 2100 Clement Avenue and a Street Tree Replacement\nPlan. The proposal is categorically exempt from further review under the\nCalifornia Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section\n15332 Infill Development Projects.\nPage 1 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 2, "text": "Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director, introduced the item. The\nstaff report and attachments can be found at:\ntps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2475408&GUID=65AA5E51-\nOD6A-4032-801C-4EOBFF8A5835&FullText=1\nAndrew Warner, from City Ventures, gave a presentation on the architectural design, park\ndesigns, and street tree plan.\nBoard Member Sullivan said she did not think the strawberry trees would be good choices\nin the landscape plan due to the mess they create. She also said the bay trees are carriers\nof live oak disease. She said she hoped they would add some canopy trees to the interior\nof the site.\nBoard Member Burton asked about the Fire Department desires for access in the park\nspace.\nAndrew Thomas explained that a subsurface improvement below the grass turf would\nprovide enough support for emergency access, which a user of the park would not readily\nnotice.\nBoard Member Mitchell asked about the maintenance responsibility of the interior\nlandscaping and trees within the public space.\nThe applicant explained that they would be owned and maintained by the homeowners\nassociation, but would be publicly accessible.\nBoard Member Zuppan asked for more details about the lighting of the park and design\nfor keeping eyes on the park for safety.\nThe applicant said that they are planning to light the path of travel with bollards, but not\nlarge overhead lights to light the play area. He said the patios fronting on the park would\nhopefully keep eyes on any activity.\nBoard Member Zuppan asked about barbecue smoke blowing towards homes.\nThe applicant said that it could be a factor for some of the homes.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster asked about whether the power lines would be undergrounded.\nThe applicant explained their plans for undergrounding utilities, which they would be doing\non both Willow and Clement.\nPage 2 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 3, "text": "President Knox White asked how the public would know the park and grills would be\npublicly available.\nThe applicant said a sign would be an easy solution.\nPresident Knox White asked if they planned to use gas for the grills which would be less\nsmoky, instead of charcoal, given the green nature of the project.\nThe applicant said they could do that if there was a desire.\nBoard Member Henneberry made a motion to reduce the speaking time for public\ncomment from five minutes to three minutes. Board Member Mitchell seconded the\nmotion. The motion failed 3-4. (Ayes: Knox White, Henneberry, Mitchell. Noes: K\u00f6ster,\nZuppan, Burton, Sullivan)\nPresident Knox White opened the public hearing.\nChristopher Buckley, Alameda Architectural Preservation Society, summarized comments\nfrom AAPS's letter. He said they were concerned with the Mediterranean design\nespecially. He said they ask that the windows be wood or wood-like material. He said they\nwanted the muntins be put back into the designs, as well as stronger column bases. He\nsaid some of the roof pitches had been reduced, which they did not like.\nStephanie Butler, an Eagle Ave neighbor, said she would like to see the Mediterranean\nbuildings go and rely on the Victorian, Craftsman and Colonial Revival designs.\nDorothy Freeman, a neighbor, said she wanted a project that would integrate into the\nsurrounding neighborhood. She said she wants the plans to not be approved so City\nVentures could improve the design. She asked that the street tree plan come back later.\nJoseph Woodard, an Eagle Ave neighbor, said the AAPS letter was very important. He\nsaid the disappearance of some elements outlined before are key to successfully\nintegrating the project into the neighborhood.\nGinni Dofflemyer, an Eagle Ave neighbor, said she agrees that some of the tree issues\nneed to come back for review. She said the details in the AAPS letter are very important.\nShe said the parking CC&Rs are very important because parking is such a problem in the\narea.\nPage 3 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 4, "text": "President Knox White closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Mitchell asked for more information about the AUSD building adjacent to\nthe project. Mr. Thomas gave an update on the discussions with the school district.\nBoard Member Burton said the overall architecture has improved on the project. He said\nthe columns on some of the buildings needed refinement. He said the gabled pieces in\nthe middle of the long building on Clement did not work. He asked about the window\nconditions. Mr. Thomas explained that the previous conditions included wood windows on\nstreet facing elevations. Board Member Burton said the steeper roof pitches in the AAPS\nletter are a good idea. He said the stucco trim on the Mediterranean windows is okay, but\nshould be the same color as the walls. He agreed that the stucco siding should be smooth,\nnot rough, as it looks more authentic.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said the design has come a long way. He said the design of the\nMediterranean buildings, D specifically, did not fit in. He agreed that the Victorian building\ncould benefit from steeper roof pitches. He said the porch bracket details could be larger.\nHe said one of the yellow colors seemed off to him. He said he is glad about the plans to\nsave as many street trees as possible.\nBoard Member Sullivan thanked Mr. Buckley for the time he spent and said that she\nagreed with most of what he said, especially about the roof pitches. She said building D\nlooked too much like an apartment building and wondered if there was a way to make it\nlook more like row houses. She says there is a little more work to be done.\nBoard Member Zuppan said she hoped the windows would be wood all the way around\nthe site. She thinks the muntins are important and agreed with other comments about the\nroof pitch. She said she likes the mix of designs and she likes the mediterranean style.\nShe said she liked the previous design with the stone base. She asked the applicant about\nthe windows.\nThe applicant said multi-family projects rarely, if ever, have wood windows and that a\nprimary concern is waterproofing.\nBoard Members Burton, K\u00f6ster and Mitchell commented further on the costs and design\ntradeoffs of wood vs. vinyl window options.\nPage 4 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 5, "text": "Board Member Zuppan said she did not support adding no storage requirements on the\ngarages. She said the barbecue would be nice but maintenance and smoke issues\nconcerned her. She said the wanted more canopy trees on the site in order to fit into the\nneighborhood. She said it would be helpful if there were some way for people to prepare\nfood, even in a limited way, on the units with first floor bathrooms and bedrooms.\nBoard Member Henneberry said the project has come a long way and the applicant has\ndone everything they asked in working with the community. He said the AAPS letter made\nsome good points.\nBoard Member Burton said he wondered if the language around the fire access on the turf\nneeded to be clarified.\nBoard Member Mitchell said the trees in front of the park might need to be omitted to make\nit inviting to the public.\nPresident Knox White said the location of the grills was a concern. He also said he wants\nthem to be gas. He said the large building on Clement had some design issues, and\nagreed with many of the other comments regarding windows and other details. He said he\nagreed with Board Member Zuppan that the Mediterranean buildings fit with what the\nboard asked the applicant to do. He said the diversity in design adds to the neighborhood.\nMr. Thomas said he would like to bring the item back with changes and clarifications\nincorporating the Board's feedback.\nBoard Member Burton said the stone base would not look good and said he hoped we\nwould not require that.\nBoard Member Zuppan made a motion to continue the item to the October 26th, 2015\nmeeting. The motion was seconded by Board Member Sullivan. The motion passed 7-0.\n7-B 2015-2143\nHold a public workshop on the proposed conceptual approach and process\nfor design review of the initial phase of Site A development.\nAndrew Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at:\ntps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2475407&GUID=B21A9EDB-\nDA5-4F7E-AEFO-19DBC5F976BC&FullText=1\nPresident Knox White opened the public hearing.\nPage 5 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 6, "text": "Kevin Jordan spoke about his concerns regarding development, traffic and parking issues\non the island. He said the island is maxed out.\nPresident Knox White closed the public hearing.\nDavid Israel, of BAR Architects, gave a presentation.\nBoard Member Mitchell asked what the process for these items will be, given the very\nlarge scope of the projects.\nAndrew Thomas explained how items would be brought piece by piece before the\nPlanning Board.\nPresident Knox White re-opened the public hearing.\nCarol Gottstein said she hoped there would be three dimensional representations to help\nthe public better comprehend what is being proposed.\nJim Strehlow said he is worried that the developer will build a ghost town if there are not\ntenant commitments before commencing building. He said the Navy housing was\nworkforce housing for local workers that did not generate as much traffic, and wanted to\nknow what the developer planned for this project.\nPresident Knox White closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Henneberry said this project is a long time coming and looks forward to\nseeing it realized. He said the rounded edges of the building at lot 11 was \"too showboat-\ny.\"\nBoard Member Mitchell said he liked the re-use of the historic elements of the site. He\nsaid he worried that parcel 9 looked too much like Emeryville, and this site deserves more.\nBoard Member Zuppan said she liked the show boat building. She agreed that parcel\n9\nlooked too much like Emeryville or Walnut Creek. She said she liked the idea of something\niconic announcing the location across the water, but did not want just a big neon sign. She\nsaid she liked that the developer is preserving even more of the buildings than the City\nasked them to.\nBoard Member K\u00f6ster said he wanted to move as much of the public amenities to the front\nof the phasing as possible. He said he liked the curved building. He agreed with other\nmembers that the look of parcel 9 did not work.\nPage 6 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 7, "text": "Board Member Sullivan said she liked where parcel 11 was headed, but not parcels 8 and\n9. She said parcel 8 looked like a tenement in the making. She asked what type of\nresidents would be targeted for the units at Site A.\nBoard Member Burton asked about the timing of the ferry terminal construction. He said\nhe liked much of the design direction of parcel 11. He said the sub-committee structure\nshould work well as buildings come before them.\nPresident Knox White said he loved the design for block 11. He said this should be the\nidentifying building of Alameda Point that everyone should recognize. He said it would be\nhelpful to have staff meet with the newer members to give a presentation and answer\nquestions about how we got where we are today with Alameda Point. He said the City\nshould use \"Appezzato\" instead of \"RAMP\" when referring to Ralph Appezzato Memorial\nParkway.\nNo action was taken.\n8. MINUTES\n8-A 2015-2141\nDraft Planning Board Minutes - July 13, 2015\nBoard Member Burton pointed out an amendment that was not captured in the minutes\nthat the Harbor Bay hotel project finished floor level meet the same standard as the\nbuildings at Site A. Board Member Zuppan pointed out the misspelling of President Knox\nWhite's name.\nBoard Member Zuppan made a motion to approve the minutes with the two amendments\n(finished floor requirements & correcting President Knox White's name). Board Member\nHenneberry seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0 with three abstentions (K\u00f6ster,\nMitchell, Sullivan).\n8-B 2015-2142\nDraft Planning Board Minutes - June 8, 2015\nBoard Member Burton made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member Henneberry\nseconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0 with three abstentions (K\u00f6ster, Mitchell,\nSullivan).\n9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS\n9-A 2015-2148\nZoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions\nPage 7 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 8, "text": "Andrew Thomas said there were several design reviews ready for approval and no Zoning\nAdministrator hearings.\nBoard Member Zuppan said she had some questions on some of the items and was\nwaiting to see if staff approved them.\nPresident Knox White explained that the process had been flipped to have the hearings\ncome first and the department approvals second.\n10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS\n*none*\n11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS\nBoard Member Burton said he attended a planning conference in Oakland and attended\nseveral sessions. He said some programs were outlined for potentially good grant sources\nfor Alameda Point where affordable housing and transit options are combined.\nAndrew Thomas said that Planning Staff also attended several workshops at the\nconference and that it was very helpful.\nBoard Member Zuppan made a motion to extend the meeting beyond 11:00pm, if\nnecessary. Board Member K\u00f6ster seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.\nBoard Member Zuppan said many members of the community have approached her about\nthe bright white LED street lights being put in by AMP. She also asked for an update on\nwhere the resolutions would be posted after they are passed.\n11-A 2015-2099\nReport from the Alameda Point Site A - Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee\n*None*\n11-B 2015-2185\nReport from the Boatworks - Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee\nPresident Knox White gave a report. He said the issues they are working on are: making\nsure the open space is continuous and publically available, universal design issues, and\nstreet widths. Board Member Burton said the buildings they showed the sub-committee\nwere \"truly awful.\" He said they have made progress with the site plan and that the\narchitecture is a big question mark.\n12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\nPage 8 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2015-10-12", "page": 9, "text": "13. ADJOURNMENT\nPresident Knox White adjourned the meeting at 11:00pm.\nPage 9 of 9\nApproved Minutes\nOctober 12, 2015\nPlanning Board Meeting", "path": "PlanningBoard/2015-10-12.pdf"}