{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2016-11-28", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MINUTES\nREGULAR MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD\nMONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016\n1. CONVENE\nPresident K\u00f6ster called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.\n2. FLAG SALUTE\nBoard Member Sullivan led the flag salute.\n3. ROLL CALL\nPresent: President Koster, Board Members Burton, Curtis, Knox White, Mitchell,\nSullivan. Board Member Zuppan arrived at 7:09pm (beginning of regular agenda).\n4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION\n*None*\n5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n6. CONSENT CALENDAR\n2016-3616\nPlanning Board 2017 Regular Meeting Schedule\nThe Planning Board 2017 regular meeting schedule can be found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2889231&GUID=C41D68C6-\n9708-4E4C-9EB6-EDF56E143E79\nPresident K\u00f6ster asked if the plan was to continue to not have meetings in August, and if\nso, should we remove those meetings from the schedule.\nStaff Member Thomas said that they could remove those meetings if they wanted and\nthat they could reschedule meetings if they were necessary.\nBoard Member Mitchell said school is usually back in session during August and he\nusually takes vacations in July.\nStaff Member Thomas said the break coincides with the City Council calendar.\nBoard Member Knox White made a motion to approve the schedule with the August\nmeetings cancelled. Board Member Burton seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-\n0.\nApproved Minutes\nPage 1 of 7\nPlanning Board Meeting\nNovember 28, 2016", "path": "PlanningBoard/2016-11-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2016-11-28", "page": 2, "text": "7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS\n2016-3617\nPLN14-0134 - 1200 Park Street - Hearing to Consider Modification to An\nExisting Use Permit for Automotive Repair at 1200 Park Street (Big O\nTires site). A petition from the neighborhood is requesting review and\ntermination of the existing Use Permit UP88-36, as amended by PLN14-\n0134, for 1200 Park Street\nStaff Member Thomas gave the staff presentation. The staff report and attachments can\nbe found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2889232&GUID=FCA3607E\nDBF8-45B7-8EF7-OEBD8A470711&FullText=1\nPresident K\u00f6ster asked staff to comment on the letter the board received today from the\nproperty owner's attorney.\nStaff Attorney Brown said they received the letter and they are still trying to process\nsome of the allegations in the letter. She said if the board is leaning towards adding a\ntermination clause to the use permit, that it might be prudent to continue the hearing until\nthey can address the letter and potentially amend the resolution accordingly.\nPresident K\u00f6ster opened the public hearing.\nBobbie Centurion lives in the neighborhood and spoke in favor of expiring the use permit\nwhen the current tenant leaves. She said the business is not compatible with the\nlocation. She said the use creates pollution.\nDave Blackwell, attorney for the property owner, said the use permit runs with the land\nand cannot be wished away. He said the use permit can only be revoked if the permit\nholder is in violation of the terms of the use permit or the law.\nRick Oneil, Big O Tires, said they want to continue to operate in Alameda and are in\nescrow to purchase the property and continue to operate with the existing use permit\nrestrictions.\nArt Thoms, owner of the neighboring laundromat, said the current use has had a\nnegative effect on the neighborhood. He said they have been in violation of their use\npermit for years. He asked the board to terminate their use permit.\nJim Lott said the operation impacts parking in the neighborhood. He said he would like to\nsee this end of Park St. improve.\nApproved Minutes\nPage 2 of 7\nPlanning Board Meeting\nNovember 28, 2016", "path": "PlanningBoard/2016-11-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2016-11-28", "page": 3, "text": "Walter Knight said the business definitely has impacts on the neighborhood. He said the\nproperty is in poor condition. He said he would like to see new businesses.\nAdam Garfinkel said the action being considered is very odd. He said he has not seen\nany proof that violations are happening. He said this property is being singled out.\nRich Krinks said he disagrees with staff's recommendation to terminate the use permit.\nHe said the strong business brings a lot of spillover business to the area. He said there\nare parking issues associated with many businesses throughout town.\nBetsy Matheson said the business in operation is not Big O. She summarized the\nimpacts the operation has on her Park Ave neighborhood. She said the auto use sends\na bad message to prospective tenants of the other properties at that corner.\nRobert Lane, attorney for the property owners, said there is adequate parking for the\nuse. He said if there was not, the City should have acted before now. He said they have\na buyer in escrow. He said this is not car repair. He said the use is important to the\ncommunity. He said the use is recession proof, unlike other boutique type uses\nenvisioned by some for the site.\nBen Garfinkel, property owner, said that he does not see how they determined that there\nwas a parking problem. He said multiple parties have incurred significant expenses on\nthe premise that the permit runs with the land. He said it was too late in the game to\nmake this change.\nMana Jean Wagman said she likes using the service and finds parking when she visits\nthe area. She said the two tire businesses will split customers and decrease\nneighborhood impacts.\nJay Garfinkel, property owner, gave a history of the site. He said it is hard to make an\ninvestment in the community if the rules can be changed midstream. He says there is\nlots of parking in the neighborhood. He said if the city wants this business to provide\nparking, all businesses on Park St should be required to provide parking.\nPresident K\u00f6ster closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Zuppan asked if there are ground contamination issues at this site.\nStaff Member Thomas said there is likely still hazardous material in the ground, based\non conversations with the owners.\nApproved Minutes\nPage 3 of 7\nPlanning Board Meeting\nNovember 28, 2016", "path": "PlanningBoard/2016-11-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2016-11-28", "page": 4, "text": "Jay Garfinkel said the Big O corporation did some examinations as due diligence and\nfound some relatively minor toxic hits on the site.\nBoard Member Knox White asked if this was considered a revocation hearing.\nStaff Attorney Brown said it was not a revocation hearing. She said staff was\nrecommending adding a condition to the use permit that puts in a termination clause.\nBoard Member Curtis asked if violating conditions is cause for revocation. He said there\nwas not much parking when he looked at the area.\nStaff Member Thomas said they have been constantly tinkering with the conditions of the\nuse permit to try and make it work. He explained how a revocation process could work if\nthe board wanted to proceed in that matter.\nBoard Member Mitchell asked what the realistic prospects for retail were at the site.\nStaff Member Thomas said Park St. was a very successful retail business corridor and\ncould support more, depending on the rent.\nBoard Member Mitchell asked if the previous hearing on the use permit was approved\nwith the understanding that there were problems and that the business owners were\nactively pursuing a new location.\nStaff Member Thomas said that was his recollection, that the board was trying to find a\nstop gap solution, knowing a move was imminent.\nPresident K\u00f6ster asked if there is a way to add more restrictions to the use permit going\nforward.\nStaff Member Thomas said that if the Planning Board wants to clarify the conditions for\ncontinued use they can do that.\nBoard Member Knox White said he is sensitive to the externalities this type of use\ngenerates. He said this block and that side of the street are hard to operate retail\nsuccessfully given the way the fire station and gas station break up the pedestrian\nexperience. He said, given the legal letter received today, he would be uncomfortable\nmoving forward with any action today. He suggested scheduling a revocation hearing for\nMarch 27th to give everyone a chance to gather data. He suggested bringing back\npotential conditions to limit noise at that point, including banning outside speakers.\nApproved Minutes\nPage 4 of 7\nPlanning Board Meeting\nNovember 28, 2016", "path": "PlanningBoard/2016-11-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2016-11-28", "page": 5, "text": "Board Member Curtis said the site has had problems for years. He said they allowed the\nexisting business owners time to find a new solution. He said the site just might not be\nappropriate for the volumes needed to make the rent or purchase price pencil out. He\nsaid nobody is enforcing the conditions, so that does not help the situation.\nBoard Member Zuppan said she is not ready to move forward without further\ninformation. She said she has tried to take advantage of the valet service on multiple\noccasions without success. She said the volume is the problem. She said that when it\ncomes back she would like to understand how they would construct an enforceable use\npermit.\nBoard Member Mitchell said he enjoys the location but understands the problems as\nwell. He said we should hold off on any decisions tonight and monitor the site and come\nback for a future hearing.\nBoard Member Burton said he does not feel comfortable acting tonight. He said that\nthere is a process for compliance issues and would prefer that method.\nBoard Member Sullivan said that we need more information before acting.\nPresident K\u00f6ster said he lives near automotive businesses and understands the\ntradeoffs. He said he is not ready to make a decision tonight. He says it seems like\nviolations have been ignored over time. He said that if other automotive businesses are\nrequired to conduct their work inside, we should be consistent.\nBoard Member Knox White made a motion to continue the hearing to March 27, 2017 at\nwhich time a revocation hearing will be held and staff will provide analysis from 4-6\nrandom compliance observations of the site. He said he would like to hear some\ninformation about how the parking was being used (short term shoppers vs. long term\nstorage). He said he would like staff to also bring back potential noise related conditions\nat that time for the board to consider.\nBoard Member Zuppan said she was uncomfortable prescribing a date and locking staff\ninto a certain action at a certain time.\nStaff Member Thomas said they can do it either way. He said perhaps not continuing the\nhearing and allowing staff to renotice when they are ready would be beneficial.\nBoard Member Knox White amended his motion, removing the date certain from the\nmotion to continue.\nApproved Minutes\nPage 5 of 7\nPlanning Board Meeting\nNovember 28, 2016", "path": "PlanningBoard/2016-11-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2016-11-28", "page": 6, "text": "Board Member Curtis asked if the revocation hearing is effective immediately or would\ngive 60 days notice or something other amount of time.\nStaff Member Thomas said they would provide that information at the hearing. He said\nthey were attempting to provide time for transition with their approach today. He said\ntypically it is revoked immediately, but they will look into options.\nBoard Member Zuppan seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.\n8. MINUTES\n2016-3618\nDraft Meeting Minutes - June 27, 2016\nBoard Member Knox White said he received an email from former Board Member\nHenneberry with some lengthy amendments to his comments. He suggested continuing\nthe item until the next meeting so that staff can work the comments into the minutes.\nPresident K\u00f6ster said that on page 6 of 8, his comments about breaking up the long,\nuniform wall were echoed in the minutes by Board Member Zuppan but not reflected in\nthe record of his own comments.\nThe minutes were continued.\n2016-3619\nDraft Meeting Minutes - July 25, 2016\nBoard Member Knox White made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member\nCurtis seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0-2 (Mitchell and Zuppan abstained).\n9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS\n9-A 2016-3620\nZoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions\nStaff Member Thomas said they approved several design reviews.\n9-B 2016-3621\nFuture Public Meetings and Upcoming Community Development\nDepartment Projects\nStaff Member Thomas outlined the items coming at the December 12th meeting.\n10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS\nApproved Minutes\nPage 6 of 7\nPlanning Board Meeting\nNovember 28, 2016", "path": "PlanningBoard/2016-11-28.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2016-11-28", "page": 7, "text": "President K\u00f6ster said there was a subcommittee meeting with the Commission on\nDisability Issues. He said he would like to appoint himself to the ad hoc subcommittee\nfor Alameda Marina, being the only architect available on this project. He said he would\nlike to appoint Board Members Knox White and Mitchell to the ad hoc subcommittee as\nwell.\nBoard Member Knox White said he would like to revisit the process of subcommittee\nmembers reporting back to the board in order to make sure the communication is\nhappening as intended.\n12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n13. ADJOURNMENT\nPresident K\u00f6ster adjourned the meeting at 8:53pm\nApproved Minutes\nPage 7 of 7\nPlanning Board Meeting\nNovember 28, 2016", "path": "PlanningBoard/2016-11-28.pdf"}