{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MINUTES\nREGULAR MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD\nMONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2018\n1. CONVENE\nPresident Mitchell convened the meeting at 7:00pm\n2. FLAG SALUTE\n3. ROLL CALL\nPresent: President Mitchell, Board Members Saheba, Cavanaugh, Curtis, Sullivan,\nBurton, Teague.\n4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION\nBoard Member Teague made a motion to hear item 7-B ahead of item 7-A because of the\nlarge number of speakers for 7-A.\nBoard Member Burton seconded the motion.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked if speakers for the hotel item may be planning to come later,\nanticipating item 7-A taking a long time.\nStaff Member Thomas said they are not aware of anyone with those plans, but they could\nreopen public comment during the work session if that happened.\nThe motion passed 7-0.\n5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\nRasheed Shabazz invited the board and community to a presentation on race and housing\nthe next night at the library. He said it would focus on the Harbor Island (Summer House)\nevictions from 2004.\n6. CONSENT CALENDAR\n*None*\n7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS\n7-B 2018-6059\n2900 Harbor Bay Parkway - PLN18-0381 - Study Session - Applicant: Harbor Bay\nHospitality, LLC. The Planning Board will hold a study session to review and comment on\na\nproposal to construct an approximately 113,000-square-foot five-story hotel and 7,000-\nsquare-foot two-story restaurant and cafe located within the Esplanade office park\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 1 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 2, "text": "adjacent to the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal. The site is located within the C-M-PD\n(Commercial Manufacturing - Planned Development) zoning district\nStaff Member Dong introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found\nat: https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3688855&GUID=86FA819C-\nC2EA-44FD-9C3E-0645E11F6F51&FullText=1\nRobert Leach, applicant, gave a presentation.\nBoard Member Curtis asked if there was an elevation that showed this building from\noffshore with the McGuire and Hester building included for perspective.\nMr. Leach said he did not have that view yet, but would have it ahead of the next hearing.\nBoard Member Curtis asked if there were any specific time constraints on the projects.\nMr. Leach said they have a time slot for March to have their modular rooms built at the\nfactory. He said they need their entitlements by the end of the year in order to meet that\ndeadline.\nBoard Member Teague asked how construction cranes would be dealt with to meet FAA\nrequirements.\nStaff Member Thomas said they would have standard conditions about construction\nmeeting all agency requirements.\nMr. Leach said they have an application in with FAA already.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked if the applicant met with the homeowners across the\nlagoon.\nMr. Leach said they had a mixer with neighbors, including some directly behind the site.\nHe said their primary concern was with views. He said their project preserves more of the\nview corridor than the previously approved seven buildings.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked what rates would be charged for people parking at the site.\nMr. Leach said it would be free for guests of the hotel, restaurant and coffee shop. He said\nthe shared parking with WETA would try to mirror what WETA ends up doing with their\nlots.\nBoard Member Cavanaugh asked about having the building further east to allow the\nexcess parking to be on the west side near the ferry terminal.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 2 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 3, "text": "Mr. Leach said they wanted the hotel to mix with the terminal because they see the hotel\ncustomers being ferry riders as well. He said there is an opportunity to slide the hotel\nbuilding somewhat if the community prefers.\nBoard Member Saheba asked if the agreement with WETA was binding.\nMr. Leach said they have a letter of intent, and would have to work out the details with\nWETA based on the final approved project.\nBoard Member Burton asked if the WETA parking would be mixed throughout the site, or\nrestricted to a particular location.\nMr. Leach said they would distribute the WETA parking tickets which would allow users to\npark anywhere on the site.\nPresident Mitchell asked if the applicant could allow overflow parking on the dirt lot prior\nto breaking ground.\nMr. Leach said they would be open to working with the community to provide temporary\nparking.\nPresident Mitchell opened the public hearing.\nMichael Lozeau, representing Laborers International Local 304, said they are concerned\nwith the age of the 1973 EIR being used. He said they are concerned about the zoning\nand use for this site.\nAngela Hockabout said she walks the site frequently and takes guests past the site. She\nsaid the amenities this project would provide benefits to people visiting Harbor Bay. She\nsaid she hopes the project is approved.\nAmelia Foos said she opposes the project. She said it is out of scale and will change the\ncharacter of the neighborhood. She said the project will result in increased noise and traffic\n24/7. She said she opposes a five story hotel in her backyard.\nChristine Lok said the additional parking spaces will be very valuable to ferry riders who\notherwise drive across the island or estuary.\nHelen Simpson said the hotel is too big and is worried the parking will not solve the\nproblem.\nMichael McDonough said there are not enough hotel rooms on Harbor Bay. He said the\ntransient occupancy tax would help close our budget gap.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 3 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 4, "text": "traffic, noise, pollution, etc.. He said the waterfront park is deteriorating and needs\nreinvestment, which would help the residents support the project.\nA resident said the hotel is too big and unwelcoming. She said we can do better than this.\nPresident Mitchell closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Teague said he would like to see the solar, water heating, bird safe, dark\nskies, palm tree waste issues be addressed in the plan. He said he would like to see a\nperspective from the Bay view. He said we try not to have parking all the way up to the\nbayfront and would like to see some amenity buffer between the shore and the parked\ncars.\nBoard Member Burton said the street side of the building is okay but the water side is very\nflat. He said he does not agree with staff that the building should visually match the office\npark. He said the connectivity between the hotel, restaurant, and street need work. He\nsaid there needs to be better bike and pedestrian access to the site. He said he supports\nall the parking only because of the clear need for the ferry. He said he would like to see\nmore landscaping space in the parking lot to reduce the heat island effect. He echoed\nBoard Member Teague's comments about creating a barrier between the parking and the\nshoreline.\nBoard Member Sullivan said the building is very large and the windows look very flat. She\nsaid the 35' setback does not seem sufficient for a five story building. She expressed some\nconcerns about the selection of appropriate trees for this moisture heavy, windy location.\nShe suggested that there be a written agreement with WETA, not just a promise. She\nsuggested how the applicant could engage the HOAs effectively before the project moves\nforward.\nBoard Member Curtis said a lot of the argument can be settled by looking at this building\nside by side with the adjacent (McGuire and Hester) building. He said he basically likes\nthe design.\nBoard Member Cavanaugh said he likes the design. He said it would be nice to have some\nartwork on the building, especially from the bay side.\nBoard Member Saheba said the project would create vibrancy at the location. He said the\ncurb cuts in the parking lot do not seem to match up with what the traffic patterns would\nbe and may create conflicts. He said the project is overparked and sees an opportunity to\ncreate more green space and a buffer between the parking lot and the shoreline and\nimproving the connection between the hotel and restaurant. He said he would want to see\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 4 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 5, "text": "how the parking lot would be lit. He said there should be another crosswalk connecting\nthe lagoon path to the shoreline. He said he did not want to use only color to create frames,\nthat it would look dated very quickly.\nBoard Member Burton said the two short ends of the building were blank walls and could\nbe good spots for murals.\nPresident Mitchell said he agreed with the concerns about buffering the parking from the\nshore, and the questions about lighting. He said he would like to see more about bike\nstorage, given the likely heavy use of bicyclists using the amenities of the site. He said he\nis generally supportive of the use.\n7-A 2018-6056\nPLN18-0198 - McKay Wellness Center - Applicant: Alameda Point Collaborative Public\nHearing to consider a Mitigated Negative Declaration, Zoning Map Amendment and\nGeneral Plan Land Use Diagram and text amendment to allow conveyance of\napproximately 3.65 acres of land (APN 74-1305-26-2) from the Federal Government to\nthe Alameda Point Collaborative for use as a Wellness Center for formerly and currently\nhomeless individuals. A draft Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared pursuant\nto the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)\nAndrew Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachment can be found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3688854&GUID=3A47DEE8-\n8924-45BF-AFDB-803789564B9E&FullText=1\nDoug Biggs, Alameda Point Collaborative, gave a report about the legal process the\nproperty has gone through with the Federal Government. He outlined the types of users\nthat the project would serve. He asked for approval of the staff recommendation.\nBoard Member Curtis asked how many of the 90% success stories of putting people back\nin homes were involved in drugs, alcohol, and mental illness vs. just out of work and/or\ndown on their luck.\nMr. Biggs said their housing at Alameda Point is permanent supportive housing for\npermanently disabled and literally homeless. He said that could be physical and/or mental\nor substance abuse disabilities.\nBoard Member Curtis asked why, if as Mr. Biggs said the board must remove the G\noverlay, they are bothering to have a public hearing.\nMr. Biggs said the municipal code is clear that the action shall be taken. He said the federal\nprocess purposefully does not allow for much public input because communities rarely\nembrace homeless services voluntarily. He said there are already unserved homeless in\nthe area that this project can help alleviate.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 5 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 6, "text": "Board Member Curtis asked what would be done with people who come to the site for\nservices and start camping out when there is no more room at the facility.\nMr. Biggs said the senior housing would be 90 beds with no drop in or enrollment on site.\nPeople would enroll at countywide hubs elsewhere. He said the respite center would serve\nvery specific people discharged from hospitals and would release those patients to beds,\nnot to the street. He said the resource center would be a walk in center and would be\nfocused on only Alameda residents using the same procedures the food bank uses for\nidentification.\nBoard Member Teague asked Staff Attorney Chen to confirm several interpretations of the\nGeneral Plan requirements, the effect of the mitigated negative declaration, the noticing\nof the public hearing, and the zoning determinations of the site.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked if the project included any city funding.\nMr. Biggs said the city allocated fifty thousand dollars for the resource center.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked what percentage of the respite beds would go to Alameda\nresidents.\nMr. Biggs said that the beds would be allocated by the countywide coordinated entry\nsystem which has criteria for prioritization.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked how many chronically homeless seniors Alameda has.\nMr. Biggs said they have 25-30 at last count.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked why Pleasanton only has 18 homeless and we have 204.\nMr. Biggs said western Alameda county has many more homeless than the eastern half.\nBoard Member Curtis asked what the impact of this project would be on homelessness in\nAlameda.\nMr. Biggs said they are not the whole solution, but that the project would reduce the\nnumber of chronically homeless people in Alameda.\nPresident Mitchell opened the public hearing.\nAnita Burnaford, Building Futures, supports the project. She said she is a resident of the\nneighborhood and said these services are needed.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 6 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 7, "text": "Angela Hockabout said her parents were displaced from California. She said a place like\nthis is needed to serve those who do not have families to support them.\nAudrey Hyman, SSHRB President, said they support the project and urge approval. She\nsaid the project would serve Alameda's most vulnerable residents.\nJennifer Williams said she supports the project. She shared her background working to\nhelp provide services to homeless in San Francisco. She said increasing cost of living\nincreases the number of homeless families seeking assistance.\nDuke Austin, professor of sociology, lives across the street from the site and said this\nproject is an opportunity for children who are struggling and for advantaged children to\nlearn generosity.\nTova Fry said the project is a good way for the community to \"do its share\" to address our\nhomeless problem.\nDoyle Saylor, Renewed Hope, said he personally identifies with the need for this project.\nHe encouraged the board to support the project.\nBonnie Waters said she is against the project. She said homeless people go off their meds\nand become violent. She said they use their housing checks for drugs. She said the shelter\nbelongs in Oakland.\nRobert Frank said the location is not appropriate because of the children who visit Crab\nCove. He said he contributes to APC via Amazon Smiles.\nKaren Miller said McKay Ave is not the appropriate location for this project. She said it\nshould be open space. She said the mitigated negative declaration ignored the dangers\nof wildland fires.\nSia Sellu said medically fragile seniors will not be a threat to anyone's children. She said\nwe have been shipping our homeless to Oakland for services and we need to do our fair\nshare.\nBill Garvine said his neighborhood has been severely impacted by the homeless problem\nand he strongly supports the project. He said we have an opportunity to have a great\npartner in APC who responds to the needs of Alameda residents.\nRev. Jeff Locke, Island City Faith Coalition, said they support APC's efforts. He said the\nfacility would meet a need that they have seen firsthand. He said we must asked what\nvalues we want to embody. He said our homeless neighbors deserve dignity and respect.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 7 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 8, "text": "Catherine Pearce, on behalf of Neptune Plaza, said the owner is concerned about an\ninflux of homeless to the area that would congregate near the shopping center and cause\nincreased problems like panhandling, public intoxication, and more.\nRasheed Shabazz said his family was homeless in the 80s and found shelter in Alameda.\nHe said he supports removing the G overlay and keeping the AP zoning. He said he is\nupset by the stereotyping of marginally housed people. He said these are your neighbors.\nLaura Thomas, Alameda Justice Alliance, said the wellness center meets the values of\nthe community to care for our most vulnerable and venerable. She urged support for the\nstaff recommendation.\nJoy Malloy said she supports the project.\nLynette Lee said she works to provide healthcare for the homeless. She said seniors are\nthe fastest growing segment of the homeless population and asked the board to support\nthe project.\nMick Penn said the Park Webster neighbors need more dialogue with APC. He said his\nmain concern is the warming center and what services would be provided with it.\nAngela Fawcett, Friends of Crab Cove, said they will be submitting their initiative to rezone\nthe property open space. She said she has been personally impacted by homelessness\nbut supports the open space initiative.\nJ Lucky said he understands the need for the project but thinks this is the wrong location.\nHe said removing parking and travel lanes on Central Ave is a bad idea. He asked for\neveryone to be more transparent.\nJeanne Lahaie said she supports the project for people like her family members. She said\npeople need our assistance.\nEduardo Vargas said the program is important but he has a problem with the location. He\nsaid we do not have all the information to make this determination.\nRosalinda Fortuna Corvi said the project is in violation of parking regulations. She said the\nhearing was not properly noticed. She said increased ambulances and traffic will endanger\nchildren.\nLiza Gabato Morse said the board does not have the data that it needs to make a decision.\nShe said this is a big money land grab and not for Alameda residents and urged the board\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 8 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 9, "text": "to look at the big picture. She said she was in and out of homelessness until she was 21\nyears old and decided she did not want to be part of that life anymore.\nCindy Acker, Child Unique Montessori, said she hopes her students are the first to bring\nmusic and hear stories from the residents. She said she supports the staff\nrecommendation.\nSamuel Gabato Morse said the facility is a great idea but this is not the right place. He\nsaid it will be called a homeless shelter by children and discourage use by his cross\ncountry team and others event users of Crab Cove.\nKeith McCoy said the APC Board has a genuine interest in being good neighbors and\nsupports the project 100%.\nKristine Moore said it is hard to believe there would be no negative impacts. She said a\ndifferent location should be found for this project.\nAlan Pryor said it is about time Alameda recognizes its homeless problem and does\nsomething about it.\nKaren Bey agreed that we have a homelessness problem. She said she supports a project\nlike this but not at this location. She said the west end already does its part.\nPresident Mitchell closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Teague said APC entering into a lease has triggered the requirement that\nthey remove the G overlay. He said the zoning code permits the land use for this type of\nfacility. He said the homeless community is not homogeneous. He said he will support\nremoving the G overlay, leaving the AP zoning and approving the mitigated negative\ndeclaration.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked where the petition to turn the space to park fits in.\nStaff Member Thomas said if they get enough signatures the question will go on the ballot\nand residents will have to vote on it. He said if the space is rezoned open space cities\nusually have to pay for the land.\nMr. Biggs said that if they petition gets enough signatures, his understanding is that the\nearliest election it could go on would be in 2020.\nBoard Member Sullivan asked about the concern that there was not enough\ncommunication with the neighbors.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 9 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 10, "text": "Mr. Biggs said they met with stakeholders early on after getting authorization for the\nproject. He said they met with the Friends of Crab Cove leaders and are working to\nschedule a follow up meeting.\nBoard Member Burton said the project will happen one way or another. He said no\nagencies have expressed interest in the land. He said it is right that we move forward with\nthe project. He said we have a moral responsibility to help these folks.\nBoard Member Sullivan said she is frustrated that there has not been a lot of transparency.\nShe said she would like to see the facility serve Alameda residents and that there are no\nguarantees.\nBoard Member Curtis said he does not think this is not the right location for this facility and\nhe had to vote his conscience.\nBoard Member Saheba said it is clear this is a zoning and land use issue and he is in\nsupport of the staff recommendation.\nPresident Mitchell said he is lobbied by many people, but the homeless people who would\nbenefit from this project do not have a voice in this process. He said the services the\nproject will provide will help alleviate homelessness. He said he would like to move forward\nwith the project.\nPresident Mitchell made a motion to approve the staff recommendation. Board\nMember Teague proposed a friendly amendment altering finding #3 regarding the\nbed count to be less specific and make it clear they are only approving the land use.\nPresident Mitchell accepted the amendment. Board Member Teague seconded the\nmotion.\nBoard Member Curtis asked that the motion be bifurcated to separate out the mitigated\nnegative declaration from the other three items.\nStaff Member Thomas said they need to act on the mitigated negative declaration first.\nThe motion to recommend Council adopt the mitigated negative declaration was\napproved 6-1 (Curtis opposed.)\nBoard Member Teague made a motion to recommend to City Council to amend the\nGeneral Plan with the previously stated changes to finding #3, drop the G overlay,\nand to maintain the AP zoning. President Mitchell seconded the motion. The motion\npassed 5-0-2 (Curtis and Sullivan abstained.)\nPresident Mitchell declared a brief recess.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 10 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2018-10-08", "page": 11, "text": "8. MINUTES\n8-A 2018-6051\nDraft Meeting Minutes - May 29th, 2018\n***\nContinued to a future meeting***\n9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS\n9-A 2018-6048\n**taken before item 8***\nCommunity Development Department Recent Actions and Decisions\nStaff Member Thomas gave a brief summary of actions. The staff report can be found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3688850&GUID=41588091-\n1990-4237-A21E-86E2CCOEC1F3&FullText=1\n9-B 2018-6049\nFuture Public Meetings and Upcoming Community Development Department Projects\n9-C 2018-6050\nWater Emergency Transportation Authority Presentation\n10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS\nBoard Member Curtis said he is still looking for data on emergency response times during\npeak commute hours over time as development progresses.\n12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n13. ADJOURNMENT\nPresident Mitchell adjourned the meeting at 10:27pm.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 11 of 11\nOctober 8, 2018", "path": "PlanningBoard/2018-10-08.pdf"}