Title
Recommendation to Adopt a Resolution Recommending that the City Council Approve the Development Agreement for Rebuilding the Existing Supportive Housing at Alameda Point (RESHAP) Project
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Project Manager
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director
BACKGROUND
Following an April 24, 2017 study session, on September 25, 2017, the Planning Board approved the RESHAP Development Plan (Exhibit 1) and Density Bonus Waiver, which establish the plan for the physical design for 200 replacement affordable units and 67 new affordable units within the Main Street Neighborhood of Alameda Point. The Planning Board resolution includes the required findings that the proposed project is consistent with the General Plan and Alameda Point zoning regulations, and that it supports the public health, safety and general welfare by providing 267 affordable housing units within a well-designed configuration of new buildings, common open spaces, and community facilities.
The attached Development Agreement (DA, Exhibit 2) establishes conditions under which development for the RESHAP project may occur. The DA vests the project approvals for a period of 10 years (with potential extensions) so that the project can be financed and constructed in phases over time with major public benefits constructed in the early phases of the 10-year term. Although the DA must be approved by the City Council, AMC section 30-92.5 requires the Planning Board to hold a public hearing and make written findings that the proposed DA is consistent with the City’s General Plan and zoning regulations prior to the Council’s consideration.
The proposed DA is the result of a series of decisions and actions beginning with the City’s approval of an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) between the City and the Alameda Point Collaborative, Building Futures with Women and Children, and Operation Dignity (collectively, the Collaborating Partners), and their partner, MidPen Housing Corporation (MidPen), a nonprofit affordable housing developer. On December 15, 2015, the City Council unanimously approved an ENA with MidPen (the developer) and the Collaborating Partners for the 9.7-acre site south of West Midway Avenue to relocate and reconstruct new facilities to support the long-term needs of the Collaborating Partners communities (Project). The remaining 22 acres of land would be available for development by a market rate developer, who would construct the necessary backbone infrastructure for both the MidPen/Collaborating Partners’ site and the adjacent new development.
Other project approvals include:
On March 21, 2017, with the benefit of a favorable recommendation from the Planning Board, the City Council approved the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan. The Specific plan fulfills the General Plan policy objectives for a transit-oriented mixed-use, mixed income neighborhood with diverse housing options, parks and open spaces, neighborhood serving businesses and transitional commercial uses. One of the primary objectives of the Specific Plan is to facilitate the consolidation and rebuilding of the existing supportive housing units (provided by the Collaborating Partners) that are currently located in 70+ year old deteriorating housing scattered across 34 acres of the Main Street Neighborhood.
On April 4, 2017, the City Council approved an Implementation Term Sheet with MidPen and the Collaborating Partners establishing the primary terms for a Disposition and Development Agreement.
DISCUSSION
To provide additional certainty for both the community and the development team, staff and the Collaborating Partners have prepared a DA for the proposed project. The DA is a contract between the City and the project applicant (and any future owner of the property) that outlines certain rights and obligations of the City and the property owner and establishes conditions under which development may occur. The DA vests the project approvals for a period of 10 years (with potential extensions) so that the project can be financed and constructed in phases over time with major public benefits constructed in the early phases of the 10-year term.
The major provisions of the DA include:
• Project Description: Obligations to complete the project consistent with the Development Plan and ENA, which includes 267 housing units and up to 40,000 square feet of community-serving commercial uses consistent with the City’s Main Street Plan and other planning documents.
• Affordable Housing. Obligations to provide 267 affordable housing units that will be permanently restricted for very low- and low-income households and will serve as the inclusionary housing (except for moderate-income units) requirement for the adjacent market rate development.
• Phasing over Time: Allowances to complete the project in phases over 10 years with possible extensions consistent with a phasing plan that outlines each of the four phases of the RESHAP development. A map of the boundaries of each phase is attached to the draft DA. (Exhibit 3.) All phases of development will be required to comply with the City’s design review process. This phasing benefits the Alameda community by allowing the community to change and improve the final design of each building to reflect current community preferences and current best practices rather than being bound to preferences that might have existed when the initial approvals for the project were granted. After approval of the DA, and DDA, the RESHAP design team will prepare and submit architectural drawings for each building and seek design review approval by the Planning Board. Over the next three to four years, MidPen and the Collaborating Partners plan to submit design review plans for all phases of the RESHAP development, including 267 residential units and related supportive and community spaces.
• Vested Rights. A DA is an enforceable contract between the City and the Collaborating Partners that vests current and future project approvals for the term of the DA.
• Impact Fees. The DA establishes which capital facilities or impact fees (e.g., sewer connection, construction improvement tax) apply to the development of RESHAP and freezes the amount of these impact fees with an allowance for inflation. The Alameda Point Development Impact Fee (DIF) will be satisfied by construction of the south of West Midway infrastructure by the adjacent market rate developer.
Staff believes that the draft DA and the proposed conveyance of the land to the Collaborating Partners for the purposes described in the DA and the approved Development Plan are consistent with the General Plan and the other land use regulations because:
• The DA ensures that the Development Plan approved by the Planning Board in 2017 is implemented and completed in appropriate phases over time.
• The Development Plan and proposed uses of the land are consistent with, and implement, the Alameda Point General Plan Element, the Main Street Specific Plan for Alameda Point and the Alameda Point Zoning regulations.
For the reasons described in the findings included in the recommended resolution of approval for the Draft Development Agreement (Exhibit 4), adoption of the DA will support the public health, safety, and general welfare of the Alameda community.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On February 4, 2014, the City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The FEIR evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point consistent with the Alameda Point Main Street Specific Plan, which included rebuilding of the supportive housing. Consistent with the February 2014 action, the attached resolution requires that the project proponent comply with, and implement, all the relevant mitigations measures adopted by the City Council in February 2014. The proposed project relies on the FEIR, and no further environmental review is required under CEQA Guidelines sections 15162 and 15163.
Under Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines, where a project is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, a community plan, or a general plan for which an EIR was certified, additional environmental review is not required. The density and land uses of the proposed RESHAP development are consistent with the Main Street Plan and Alameda Point Zoning District.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and adopt a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt the Development Agreement for RESHAP.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director
Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Project Manager
Exhibits:
1. Approved Development Plan
2. Draft Development Agreement
3. Boundaries of Each Phase
4. Draft Resolution