Title
PLN18-0198 - McKay Wellness Center - Applicant: Alameda Point Collaborative Public Hearing to consider a Mitigated Negative Declaration, Zoning Map Amendment and General Plan Land Use Diagram and text amendment to allow conveyance of approximately 3.65 acres of land (APN 74-1305-26-2) from the Federal Government to the Alameda Point Collaborative for use as a Wellness Center for formerly and currently homeless individuals. A draft Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Body
BACKGROUND
The applicant, the Alameda Point Collaborative, is requesting a General Plan and Zoning Map amendment for the approximately 3.65 acre property located on the west side of McKay Avenue (APN 74-1305-26-2). The property is currently owned by the Federal Government and occupied by eleven vacant laboratory, office, and residential buildings. The former federal facilities were constructed in 1942 to support a training facility and barracks for the US Maritime service during World War II. The Federal Government is intending to convey the land to the Alameda Point Collaborative, which proposes to use the property for a “Wellness Center” for formerly and currently homeless individuals. The Wellness Center will include:
• 90 units of assisted senior housing for formerly homeless individuals, which are some of Alameda’s frailest and most vulnerable residents, many of which are suffering from debilitating illnesses, including complex and chronic medical and psychosocial conditions;
• A 50-bed medical respite center, which provides rehabilitation services for homeless individuals that have recently been discharged from a hospital, thereby reducing the frequency of emergency room visits and avoiding hospital readmissions that are preventable with proper care transition support for homeless individuals;
• A Resource Center that assists Alameda residents in a housing crisis or recently homeless to locate appropriate housing and services; and
• A small 7,000 square foot Primary Care Clinic which provides outpatient services primarily for facility clients.
With the exception of the respite center and primary care clinic, which will be located in a new building constructed in the location of an existing building of similar size, all of the other uses would be contained in existing buildings. The site would remain fenced and gated, and 85 on-site parking spaces would support the uses. Four existing accessory buildings would be removed and the open space and landscaped areas on the site would be increased by 26,290 square feet.
The applicant’s application and proposal and site plan is included in Exhibit 1.
discussion
Since the property is owned by the Federal Government, the current General Plan designation for the site is Federal Facilities and the current zoning designation is Administrative-Professional (A-P) District, with a Special Government Combining District (G) Overlay (“G Overlay”).
The proposed project includes a Zoning Map amendment to remove the G Overlay and a General Plan amendment to change the General Plan land use designation for the subject property from Federal Facilities to Office to be consistent with the underlying A-P zoning. All other land use designations would be maintained.
These actions are consistent with Section 30-4.16(b) of the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC), which requires that when land is conveyed out of federal or state ownership for use by a non-federal or non-state entity, the new owner must apply for the necessary zoning amendments and general plan amendments to reflect the fact that the property will no longer be owned and operated by the Federal or State government. The zoning amendment requirement also allows the Planning Board and City Council to determine if the underlying zoning is appropriate for the intended use of the property.
Alameda Municipal Code section 30-4.17 - G, Special Government Combining District states that the G District classification shall be combined with the district classifications applied to all lands in the ownership of the U.S. Government or the State of California and that “[p]rior to the use of any lands by any private or public entity other than the United States or State of California, through purchase or pursuant to lease from the U.S. Government or State of California, rezoning procedures shall be completed to remove the G classifications and to consider further appropriate district classification changes.”
The existing underlying Administrative Professional (A-P) Zoning District designation allows for medical facilities and clinics, rest homes, nursing homes, convalescent homes, and sanitariums. Other properties in Alameda that are zoned A-P include facilities comparable to the Wellness Center, such as the following:
• Bay View Rehabilitation Hospital facilities and clinics at the intersection of Otis Drive and Willow Street;
• Alameda Hospital and clinics at the intersection of Clinton Avenue and Willow Streets;
• Clinics and office spaces at Otis Drive and Park Street; and
• Crown Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation center office facilities at 512 Westline Street.
The proposed Office General Plan land use designation applies to professional and administrative offices not located in business districts or business parks. Other properties in Alameda that have the Office General Plan land use designation include the following:
• Assisted living facility on Park Street at Blanding;
• Medical clinics on Santa Clara between Oak Street and Walnut Street;
• Water’s Edge Hospice and Elder Village on Island Drive;
• Bay View Rehabilitation Hospital facilities and clinics at the intersection of Otis Drive and Willow Street; and
• Crown Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation center office facilities at 512 Westline Street.
Removing the G Overlay and changing the General Plan designation from Federal Facilities to Office does not change the development capacity on the property. The G Overlay designation does not include any development standards, such as height limits, setbacks, lot coverage or even use standards. All of the site development standards, regulations and requirements are located in the underlying A-P Zoning District. Therefore removing the G Overlay has no implication for the types of uses that might be allowed on the site or the intensity of development that is allowed.
Likewise, the Federal Facilities General Plan land use designation has no development standards or land use policy recommendations. It simply identifies the lands as Federal Facilities. By default, once the lands are transferred out of Federal ownership, the Federal Facilities General Plan designation becomes inappropriate. All of the non-federally owned properties in Alameda that are zoned Administrative-Professional are designated Office in the General Plan.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
In conclusion, staff is recommending the proposed amendments to the General Plan and Zoning map to allow the land to be conveyed to Alameda Point Collaborative for the purposes of developing the Wellness Center for the following reasons:
• The proposed Wellness Center supports General Plan Housing Element Goals and policies, particularly Goal #2, and policies HE-2, HE- 3 and HE-4:
Goal #2: Provide housing that meets the City’s diverse housing needs, specifically including affordable housing, special needs housing, and senior housing.
Policy HE-2: Expand the City’s supply of affordable rental and ownership housing for extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate-income households.
Policy HE-3: Create rental, homeownership, and other housing opportunities for special needs populations such as the elderly, homeless and people at risk of becoming homeless, people with physical and/or developmental disabilities, single-parent households, and young adults.
Policy HE-4: Encourage and support new residential opportunities for senior citizens, including senior housing projects, multifamily housing projects with accessible and small housing units, assisted living projects, and in-law unit projects.
• The 2017 Community Needs Assessment completed by City of Alameda Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB) found that health care facilities were the third most high need facilities rated by Alameda residents, next to Recreation and Parks’ fields/courts and community pools.
• The 2018 Homeless Needs Report (Exhibit 2) found that homeless shelters/homeless services are the second most pressing social services need in the City of Alameda, behind transportation.
• The property is transferring out of Federal ownership. The AMC requires removal of the G Overlay when the property transfers out of Federal ownership, therefore, the G Overlay must be removed, leaving the underlying A-P Administrative Professional Zoning District designation.
• The proposed Wellness Center facilities and uses are consistent with and permitted by the A-P Administrative Professional Zoning District, which is the underlying zoning for the property.
• At its June 28, 2018 meeting, the City of Alameda Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB) approved a motion in support of the Wellness Center proposal.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Amendments to the General Plan and Zoning Map constitute a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In this case, the proposed General Plan and zoning map amendment allow for the eventual use and improvement of the property for the Wellness Center described above. Therefore, the City of Alameda, as the lead agency under CEQA, prepared a draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (Exhibit 3) for the project. The Mitigated Negative Declaration considers the potential environmental impacts of the project including the potential impacts of future actions by the applicant to demolish existing buildings and build new buildings to accommodate the new uses. The Mitigated Negative Declaration finds that some construction activities may result in some potentially significant impacts as the result of demolition activities, excavation activities, or other construction activities, but that all of the potential impacts can be mitigated to a level of less than significance through standard construction mitigations.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and approve a draft Resolution (Exhibit 4) recommending that the City Council:
1) Adopt the draft Mitigated Negative Declaration,
2) Amend the General Plan Federal Facilities Land Use Designation on page 5 to read as follows:
“FEDERAL FACILITIES: Sites occupied by Federal facilities including Naval Reserve Center, the Federal Center on McKay Avenue, and Coast Guard Island are in this category.”
3) Amend the following sentence on page 29 in the land use element to read as follows:
“Three Two sites are in use: the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard Island) and the Naval Reserve Training Center on Clement Avenue, and the Federal Center on McKay Avenue. The City and the Federal agencies consult on development issues, but the City has no power to regulate development on Federal sites.”
4.) Amend the General Plan Land Use Diagram for APN 74-1305-26-2 to change the Land Use Designation from Federal Facilities to Office, and
5.) Amend the City of Alameda Zoning Map to remove the G Special Government Combining District Zoning Map designation from APN 74-1305-26-2.
Respectfully Submitted By:
Andrew Thomas
Interim Planning Building and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Applicant’s application and proposal
2. 2018 Homeless Needs Report
3. Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration
4. Draft Resolution of Approval