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18518 | Board Member Sanchez said the sales office would be a good place to have some of the required imagery on display. Mr. Herrero said using that imagery on the interior portions of the common areas is in their plans. Board Member Sanchez said the landscape and waterfront elements are the most successful of relating to the history of the site. He said public access elements and experience of the site were good. He said he is concerned by the massing of the building and that the taller buildings are on the waterfront site. He said the pool areas would seem dwarfed by the taller buildings. He said shorter buildings near the pool, which is on the north side, would enhance the private open spaces on the site by allowing more sunlight to reach the ground there. He said he appreciates the changes that have been made and thinks they have gone a long way towards alleviating the historical concerns given the challenges of the site. Chair Saxby said the City should include a preservation aspect to this project. He said it was a mistake to allow four historic buildings of local and national significance be destroyed in order to build the project. He said Alameda stands strong on the integrity of its historic character. He said the finding that preserving two of the buildings was not viable came from the developer, who is not really interested in preservation. He said we could look at maybe preserving one of the four buildings. He said he does not think it is a fair choice to sacrifice the public amenities for historic preservation. He said he does not think preservation options have really been studied. He said he is not giving up on the preservation of at least one of these buildings. Staff Member Thomas asked if Chair Saxby was envisioning preserving one or more of the head house buildings and building over and around it. Chair Saxby said that is possible and would be very exciting idea architecturally and be similar to how the ships were built at the site. He said the mitigation measures considered are superficial. He said they are not historic mitigation measures. Staff Member Thomas said a historic mitigation measure is photography when you have a significant, unavoidable impact under CEQA. He said they are trying to add to that. Chair Saxby said it would be a shame to write off these historic buildings. Staff Member Thomas said nobody is trying to write them off. He said we also have an obligation under state law to build housing. He said the City cannot make the development Approved Minutes Page 3 of 5 December 6, 2018 Historical Advisory Board Meeting |