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18670 | Staff Member Thomas said that projects like Del Monte and Encinal Terminals have no problem meeting the 30% requirements. He said townhome only projects like 2100 Clement would have trouble meeting the 30% requirements. Board Member Curtis said that most projects in Alameda have very high site improvement costs and asked if it was feasible to saddle these units with higher construction costs that would drive prices higher. Staff Member Thomas said they have to balance the desire not to drive prices up with the need to build housing that does not exclude entire segments of the population. Board Member Sullivan said she was very concerned about the increased costs that the requirements would add to new units. She said they do not have enough information to initiate these rules. President Köster opened the public hearing. Alan Teague said we should require the minimum amount of items needed to make a unit visitable and not add more, in order to avoid adding unnecessary costs. He said any entrance, not just the front door, can be used to meet the requirements. Alan Pryor said the requirements for visitability seem like a good idea to help people access their homes as they age. President Köster closed the public hearing. Board Member Burton said he is eager to move the ordinance forward. He said allowing adaptable stairs to meet the requirements would be a mistake. He said the $80,000 number in the BIA letter is a scare tactic. He said we have a reasonable waiver process available if there are issues. Board Member Sullivan asked if the ordinance was likely to just eliminate the construction of townhomes in Alameda. Staff Member Thomas said that there are pending applications that include townhomes would not be changed due to the current ordinance because they have a mix of housing types in their projects. He said they can come back and change the ordinance if they find each project asking for the same waivers. Board Member Curtis asked why we would move forward with an ordinance that we think will have problems in the future. He said the ordinance encourages vertical development and punishes single family development. Approved Minutes Page 2 of 8 June 26, 2017 Planning Board Meeting |