{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MINUTES\nREGULAR MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD\nMONDAY, JUNE 10, 2019\n1. CONVENE\nPresident Sullivan convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.\n2. FLAG SALUTE\nBoard Member Cavanaugh led the flag salute.\n3. ROLL CALL\nPresent: President Sullivan, Board Members Cavanaugh, Rothenberg, Teague.\nAbsent: Board Members Curtis, Mitchell, and Saheba.\n4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION\n*None*\n5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n6. CONSENT CALENDAR\n*None*\n7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS\n7-A 2019-6983\nPLN18-0562 - Planned Development Amendment, Final Development Plan, Design\nReview, and Zoning Text Amendment - 2331 North Loop Road - Applicant: John Lipp on\nbehalf of the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS). Public hearing to consider a\nPlanned Development Amendment, Final Development Plan, Design Review, and Zoning\nText Amendment for a new approximately 12,000 square foot two-story facility for FAAS\nthat would have indoor boarding for up to 37 animals, adoption and veterinary services,\nadministrative offices, and community events. The project is located in the C-M-PD\n(Commercial Manufacturing, Planned Development) Zoning District. The City previously\ncertified/adopted a Final Environmental Impact Report for Harbor Bay Isle (EIR) and\nAddendum to the EIR (collectively, Previous CEQA Documents) in accordance with the\nCalifornia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). None of the circumstances necessitating\nfurther CEQA review are present, thus the City can rely on the Previous CEQA\nDocuments.\nDavid Sablan, Planner Il with the Planning, Building, and Transportation Department, gave\na presentation. The staff report and attachments can be found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3970959&GUID=3F1268BE\n1AOA-4BD5-ADC5-9099783AC6F2&FullText=1\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 1 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 2, "text": "Board Member Teague said the planned development amendment is not included as a\nseparate resolution and asked if that would require City Council action.\nAndrew Thomas, Acting Director of Planning, Building, and Transportation, said they are\napproving the project with a site specific amendment and are not changing the rules for\nthe broader development agreement. He said approving the final development plan for the\nproject would be sufficient to give force to the amendment.\nBoard Member Teague asked the applicant if a restriction on free running animals in the\nrun area at night would pose a problem.\nJohn Lipp, Executive Director of FAAS, said that the animals would all be completely inside\nat night and only be outside with staff and volunteers during the daytime.\nPresident Sullivan asked whether the shade structure on the roof was included in the listed\nheight.\nStaff Member Sablan said the parapet height was 30 feet and the pavilion was an\nadditional ten feet. He said it was open on one side.\nMarisa Tye, project architect, said the pavilion encloses the stairs and a storage area. She\nsaid there are areas open to the shade, and some covered areas for uses like\nhandwashing and garbage.\nPresident Sullivan asked what type of outreach was conducted with the immediate\nneighbors.\nMr. Lipp said they sent letters to the homeowners and knocked on doors. He said they\nspoke with three of the five immediate neighbors and had good conversations.\nBoard Member Teague asked the applicant whether the project would be untenable if the\nCity Council did not approve the zoning change allowing the outdoor run.\nMr. Lipp said they would like to be able to socialize the dogs in groups using the run, but\ncould possibly use the same model as their other facility where they have to take the dogs\noff of the property for exercise.\nBoard Member Rothenberg asked if the applicant considered using any type of sound wall\nalong the property lines.\nMr. Lipp said they want to be a good neighbor and said they are engineering the facility to\nmodern best practices for noise mitigation. He said this is good for the neighbors and for\nthe animals.\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 2 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 3, "text": "Ms. Tye said the landscape plan will provide screening along the northern property line\nand they will also have further sound evaluations at the next phase.\nThere were no public speakers.\nStaff Member Thomas added that the neighborhood was noticed for the hearing, in\naddition to the applicants' outreach efforts.\nBoard Member Teague said he is in favor of the project, but wants to dot the \"i's\" and cross\nthe \"t's.\" He said that condition number 27 should be changed from one to two curb cuts.\nHe said there are always potential unintended consequences to zoning changes. He said\nhe thinks the changes are over broad. He said we are eliminating the idea of allowing\nkennels, which he does not believe was the intent. He expressed concerns about this use\nbeing immediately adjacent to residential use and wanted to limit unleashed outdoor play\nto daylight hours, such as 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and otherwise leashed outdoor access would\nbe available. He said he would specify how to narrow down the use permit to specifically\naddress animal shelters and not make other changes to the by right areas of the use\npermit. He said he is looking forward to this project being completed.\nBoard Member Teague moved approval of the project, and recommend approval to\nthe City Council, with the following changes: to allow two curb cuts; in use permit\nsection ii that we do not drop the word \"kennels;\" in use permit number three that\nit read \"Veterinary clinics and/or veterinaryhospitals and animal shelters within two\nhundred feet of any R District only upon a finding by the Planning Director that\nsufficient air conditioning and soundproofing will be provided to effectivelyconfine\nodors and noise so as not to interfere with the public health, safety, and welfare. No\noutside pens or unsupervised runs shall be permitted. Supervised, unleashed\noutdoor runs shall be permitted during the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., otherwise\nleasheda access of the outdoor run is allowed. Board Member Rothenberg seconded\nthe motion. The motion passed 4-0.\n7-B 2019-6984\nPublic hearing to consider Design Review for the public right-of-way extension along Fifth\nStreet from the northern intersection of Mitchell Avenue to the Alameda Landing\nWaterfront Park. The project is located within the M-X (Mixed-Use) Zoning District. A\nSupplemental Environmental Impact Report has been certified for the Alameda Landing\nMixed Use Development in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act\n(CEQA). Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, no new significant impacts have\nbeen identified and no additional CEQA review is required.\nHenry Dong, Planner III with the Planning, Building, and Transportation Department, gave\na\npresentation. The staff report and attachments can be found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3971005&GUID=BC403564-\n9E08-4DD2-AB5E-8E4B7B9FE9FA&FullText=\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 3 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 4, "text": "President Sullivan asked how many parking spaces the planting beds (bulb outs) would\ntake away.\nStaff Member Thomas said that the midblock bulb outs would result in the loss of four\nparking spaces.\nJason Victor, landscape architect, said the bulb outs are included to be consistent with the\nrest of Fifth Street for traffic calming purposes. He said the midblock treatments could be\nconsidered optional, but they would like to keep the bulb outs at the intersections.\nPresident Sullivan said she would prefer to remove the midblock bulb outs.\nThere were no public speakers.\nBoard Member Teague said that he anticipates parking being important with the project\nand would support removing the bulb outs at the midblock crossing.\nBoard Member Teague moved approval with the change to remove the midblock\nbulb outs in favor of additional parking spaces. Board Member Cavanaugh\nseconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.\nPresident Sullivan asked whether we anticipate a problem with the Chinese Elm trees\nbeing susceptible to Dutch Elm disease.\nMr. Victor said he has been monitoring the Chinese Elm trees already in use in the\nprevious phase at Alameda Landing and said they have been faring extremely well. He\nsaid all of the trees have been doing quite well considering the soil conditions they were\ndealing with.\n7-C 2019-6985\nPlanning Board Study Session to consider preliminary initial development concepts for the\n356 dwelling units on the Alameda Landing Waterfront north of the intersection of Fifth\nStreet and Mitchell Avenue. The project is located within the M-X (Mixed-Use) Zoning\nDistrict.\nStaff Member Dong introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found\nat:  ttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3971106&GUID=EC26285E-\n8D4E-4842-99FB-4D2AAB2E3A69&FullText=1\nPresident Sullivan asked about the plans to potentially run a bridge through the housing\ndevelopment, and asked what that would mean for the project.\nStaff Member Thomas said the City is working to design a new bicycle and pedestrian\ncrossing. He said that this project site presents the fewest limitations for a potential\nalignment, so they are preserving the ability to add a bridge in the future. He said they\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 4 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 5, "text": "want to design the neighborhood so that it is attractive whether or not the bridge is ever\nconstructed.\nScott Hilke, Pulte Homes, and the applicant team gave a presentation.\nPresident Sullivan asked if the reliance on the Chinese Elm would be a problem given the\npotential for disease.\nMr. Abed said that anytime you have a monoculture that disease is a concern. He said\nthere is a mix of other species in the plan and that so far the tree is doing well in the area.\nBoard Member Rothenberg asked the developer to explain the thinking behind the\ndifferent building heights and their placement within site.\nStaff Member Thomas said the Master Plan permits five stories.\nMr. Hilke said most of the product they intend to build is three stories, and the flats would\nbe in four story buildings.\nBoard Member Rothenberg said the design needs some refinement. She said the\nvernaculars of the different products are very different and asked how the products would\nwork together and how the stucco would hold up in the marine environment.\nMr. Hilke said they were attempting to show a range of possible designs for consideration.\nHe said that they could stick with a more consistent style, or even try to match the Tri\nPointe style of the previous phase of development.\nCindy Ma, project architect, said that three of the four products are more contemporary.\nShe said the compact townhomes happen to have a pitched roof and they were just trying\nto show that there can be different approaches taken with the different typologies.\nBoard Member Rothenberg suggested that there be a unified vision when they bring the\ndesign back. She added that a 3D simulation may be helpful. She asked if a market rate\ndevelopment this large (356 units) would be consistent with proposed changes in the\nGeneral Plan regarding support for a range of affordable housing options.\nStaff Member Thomas said the site is subject to a development agreement from 2006 and\nany proposed changes to code would not apply.\nBoard Member Teague asked if the EVA on the west side of the project will be exclusive\nto emergency vehicles.\nMr. Hilke said that the western edge of the site would have a walking and biking path and\na grass-crete emergency access not open to private automobiles.\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 5 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 6, "text": "Board Member Teague said he understood that some of the units may be run by the\nHousing Authority and not be for sale market rate.\nMr. Hilke said they are in discussions with the Housing Authority about how best to fulfill\nthe affordable housing requirements for the project. He said one option would be to sell a\nfinished building to the Housing Authority that they would then manage.\nBoard Member Teague said the retail section was glossed over and asked for more\ninformation.\nMr. Hilke said they currently envision a single story retail only building with frontage onto\nthe Waterfront Plaza and the east-west roadway.\nBoard Member Teague asked if the potential pedestrian and bike bridge has caused them\nto reduce the number of housing units.\nMr. Hilke said the placement of the bridge within the view corridor means it is not a problem\nunless the location changed.\nBoard Member Teague asked if the change in the AMP access on the east side of the\nproject side would be a problem.\nStaff Member Thomas said that they will work with AMP and make sure there is sufficient\naccess.\nBoard Member Teague asked why the bike connection to the Tri Pointe property is listed\nonly as potential.\nMr. Hilke said that they could build a connection, but that they do not control access to the\nTri Pointe property.\nBoard Member Cavanaugh asked why the project is being built before a bridge is\nconstructed.\nStaff Member Thomas said that the bridge planning is a complicated long term project. He\nsaid they do not want to stop all housing development while they work on a bridge solution.\nBoard Member Cavanaugh asked what the plan would be for noise abatement with all of\nthe marine services happening to the west of the project site.\nMr. Hilke said that they will have to do sound studies and mitigation, but that they will\nabsolutely have to also do disclosure to potential residents about impacts of noise at the\nsite.\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 6 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 7, "text": "Staff Member Thomas said that the Master Plan required the 50 foot buffer on the westem\nedge of the property. He said the biggest noise concerns of the adjacent maritime\ncommercial project will be from trucks.\nBoard Member Cavanaugh said that the contrasting building styles along the Fifth Street\ncorridor with the flat roofs across from the pitched would create a weird feeling that needs\nto be addressed. He said the imagery could have been a better quality. He added that\nFifth Street should be a grand entrance to the waterfront.\nPresident Sullivan asked if any of the townhomes have any patios or backyards.\nMs. Ma said that the townhomes would have private decks or balconies, but no backyards.\nPresident Sullivan asked who the typical customer would be, saying that families would\nwant to have a yard for small children to play unsupervised.\nMr. Hilke said they are trying to provide a large number of homes and the design is not\nconducive to private yards, except for the single family homes which comprisete percent\nof the project. He said the waterfront park is the amenity for the project. He said they are\nappealing to a first time buyer looking for a smaller home, noting that they have products\nas small as 900 square feet.\nPresident Sullivan opened the public hearing.\nRaymond Hsu said he lives in the adjacent Tri Pointe development and is looking forward\nto the waterfront park being built. He said the four story flats would not fit with their\nneighborhood and would loom over their balconies and yards. He suggested having a bike\npath along the eastern edge of the project site to create a buffer and connect to the\nwaterfront park. He said the flats with roof decks could be situated closer to the waterfront\nwhere they could take advantage of the views.\nAshle Baxter said he also lives in the adjacent Symmetry by Tri Pointe community. He\nsaid the existing community should be considered when determining where to site the four\nstory buildings. He said that any rooftop decks should have rules that account for potential\nnoise late into the night.\nMike Kraft said he is a resident of Mariner Square marina. He said traffic has become\nmuch worse in the last twelve years. He said we are squishing a lot of people into a little\nspace and 700 more cars is going to cause problems. He said the previous phases of the\nproject have resulted in constant dust and dirt being deposited on his and neighboring\nboats. He said he wants the City Council to consider the impacts before moving forward.\nThere were no more speakers. President Sullivan closed the public hearing.\nBoard Member Rothenberg asked how the dust mitigation would be handled.\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 7 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 8, "text": "Staff Member Thomas said there are basic conditions that apply to the project. He said\nthe prevailing westerly winds make it difficult to prevent dust from impacting the marina.\nHe said they work on conditions to deal with the dust, including mitigations and even boat\ncleaning services for residents.\nBoard Member Rothenberg said she would be happy to participate in drafting enforceable\nconditions for the general contractor to follow to incentivize compliance.\nBoard Member Teague said he agreed with Board Member Cavanaugh about the design\nof the small townhomes being very out of place along the Fifth Street frontage. He said\nthere is little variance in roof lines. He said the microtownhouses have potential. He added\nthat the condo designs were bland. He said the six unit flat example in the presentation\nwas much more appealing than what was in the plan, which lacked character or variation.\nHe said the pocket parks need real definition when the plan comes back. He said the\nconnection to the promenade is vital. He said he would not have a problem averaging the\ntwo traffic calculations for townhomes and flats to apply to the micro townhomes. He said\nwe need more housing. He said the developer could build more units in taller buildings.\nHe said the design guidelines indicate taller buildings should be further away from the\nwater's edge. He said the pedestrian access from the development to the shuttle at Target\nneeds to be safe. He added that he appreciated the additional view corridors in the plan.\nPresident Sullivan said she is concerned that we are not focusing on families and children.\nShe said it affects the long term health and viability of the community. She said the\nmassing of so many units in each building is not attractive to her.\nBoard Member Cavanaugh asked if we can make the connection to the ferry terminal\neasier for people without depending on cars.\nStaff Member Thomas said the North Housing project will open up connections through\nthe Estuary Park that will dramatically shorten the distance to get to the ferry terminal. He\nsaid the water shuttle issue will continue to evolve as the project comes online as well.\n8. MINUTES\n8-A 2019-6982\nDraft Meeting Minutes - May 13, 2019\nBoard Member Teague pointed out corrections to the minutes and provided written\nsuggestions and notes to Staff Member Thomas.\nPresident Sullivan suggested that the minutes come back at a future meeting.\n9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS\n9-A 2019-6980\nPlanning, Building and Transportation Department Recent Actions and Decisions\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 8 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}
{"body": "PlanningBoard", "date": "2019-06-10", "page": 9, "text": "The staff report can be found at:\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3970897&GUID=9657280C\n5ED6-4670-A37C-6429C86D5855&FullText=1\n9-B 2019-6941\nOral Report - Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Planning, Building and Transportation\nDepartment Projects\nStaff Member Thomas said the Planning Board Tour has been rescheduled to June 20,\n2019.\nPresident Sullivan said she would like the bus to visit Ballena Bay before returning back\nto City Hall.\nStaff Member Thomas said the June 24th meeting would have the Alameda Marina\nTentative Map, South Loop Road project, and some Zoning Text Amendments for\nconsideration.\nBoard Member Teague asked that the topic of rooming houses and shared living be\nrevisited and addressed with the proposed changes. He said they left a hole in the zoning\nordinance when the previous changes were made.\nStaff Member Thomas said that the boatyard RFQ period is complete and there were two\nresponses. He said the City may have to rethink how they go about finding a boatyard\noperator and that they are not giving up on the idea of a boatyard.\nBoard Member Cavanaugh suggested a subtenant approach to providing marine services.\nBoard Member Rothenberg suggested finding a model from another jurisdiction and\nemulating a successful approach. She said the motivation needs to be there for the City's\nbusiness partner.\n10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n12. President Sullivan said she would be moving on from the board when the new members\nare seated.\n13. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS\n*None*\n14. ADJOURNMENT\nPresident Sullivan adjourned the meeting at 9:18 p.m.\nApproved Planning Board Minutes\nPage 9 of 9\nJune 10, 2019", "path": "PlanningBoard/2019-06-10.pdf"}