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Application #PLN24-0256 - Alameda Point Historic District - Certificate of Approval to Replace Gutters on the “Big Whites” - Applicant: City of Alameda - Public hearing to consider a request by the Base Reuse and Economic Development Department for reconsideration of the approved Certificate of Approval to allow the replacement of copper gutters with a different material at the “Big Whites,” located at 2765 Seattle Road, 2805 Seattle Road, 2765 Newport Road, 2801 Newport Road, 2815 Newport Road, 2825 Newport Road, 2775 San Diego Road, 2805 San Diego Road, 2835 San Diego Road, 2865 San Diego Road, 2795 San Pedro Road, 2815 San Pedro Road, 2835 San Pedro Road, 2845 San Pedro Road, 2875 San Pedro Road, 2805 Pearl Harbor Road, 2825 Pearl Harbor Road, 2845 Pearl Harbor Road and 390 West Essex Drive, which are contributing buildings within the NAS Alameda Historic District’s residential subdistrict, and the existing copper gutters were identified as character defining features in the National Register nomination.
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Application #PLN24-0256 - Alameda Point Historic District - Certificate of Approval to Replace Gutters on the “Big Whites” - Applicant: City of Alameda - Public hearing to consider a request by the Base Reuse and Economic Development Department for reconsideration of the approved Certificate of Approval to allow the replacement of copper gutters with a different material at the “Big Whites,” located at 2765 Seattle Road, 2805 Seattle Road, 2765 Newport Road, 2801 Newport Road, 2815 Newport Road, 2825 Newport Road, 2775 San Diego Road, 2805 San Diego Road, 2835 San Diego Road, 2865 San Diego Road, 2795 San Pedro Road, 2815 San Pedro Road, 2835 San Pedro Road, 2845 San Pedro Road, 2875 San Pedro Road, 2805 Pearl Harbor Road, 2825 Pearl Harbor Road, 2845 Pearl Harbor Road and 390 West Essex Drive, which are contributing buildings within the NAS Alameda Historic District’s residential subdistrict, and the existing copper gutters were identified as character defining features in the National Register nomination.
GENERAL PLAN: Main Street Neighborhood
ZONING: AP-MS (Alameda Point, Main Street) Zoning District
DETERMINATION: The City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point Final EIR (State Clearinghouse No. 201312043), which evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point. This project is evaluated in light of the mitigation measures and design guidelines from the EIR. No further environmental review is required for this project.
PROJECT PLANNER: Steven Buckley, Planning Services Manager
PUBLIC NOTICE: A notice for this hearing was mailed to property owners and residents within 300 feet of the site, published in local newspapers and posted in public areas near the subject property. Staff has not received any public comments on this proposed project.
EXHIBITS: 1. Draft Resolution
2. Prior Resolution
RECOMMENDATION: Approve the project with conditions.
On July 18, 2024, the Historical Advisory Board (HAB) approved an application by the Base Reuse and Economic Development Department (BRED) for a Certificate of Approval to make modifications to the exterior of the former officers housing at the former Naval Air Station (NAS) now referred to as Alameda Point. The original report and exhibits are available at:
<https://alameda.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1202998&GUID=46321395-8F08-4626-B510-1791A2B4F6D8&Options=info|&Search=>
In particular, the gutters and downspouts on many of the 19 houses, originally made of copper that has acquired a patina over the past 80 years, have been the recent target of theft and must be replaced where they are now missing. The City also wishes to proactively remove and replace the remaining copper gutters and downspouts to avoid further risk of damage to the properties and injury to persons and to align with other maintenance activity at the houses. The proposal was to replace the existing copper material with a more common metal material and color (aluminum with a white finish) formed in a replica shape (rectangular with square edges) that is less prone to theft.
After deliberating, the HAB approved the request in part, requiring as a condition of approval that the gutters be retained in the original copper and that the downspouts be replaced in a galvanized steel material with a similar profile and that a gasket be provided between the two materials to reduce corrosion.
DISCUSSION
The City is finding that the HAB requirement to replace gutters with the original copper and downspouts with galvanized steel is impractical. Staff has been unable to retain a contractor willing to perform this work due to the highly corrosive environment at Alameda Point. This environment leads to metal degradation, resulting in contractors’ inability to provide a warranty for the work as required by the HAB. BRED is also concerned about the long-term maintenance burden of having a variety of materials throughout the houses as various replacements have already been mixed in with the original material during Navy ownership. For these reasons, BRED requests the HAB reconsider the Certificate of Approval and allow aluminum gutters and downspouts as replacements for the original, in a square profile with white finish.
Staff believes the project is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitation of Historic Structures for the following reasons.
1. Rehabilitation is defined by the Secretary’s Standards as the act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values. The Rehabilitation Standards acknowledge the need to alter or add to a historic building to meet continuing or new needs while retaining the building’s historic character.
2. Repair may include the limited replacement in kind or with a compatible substitute material of missing materials on a main roof, as well as those extensively deteriorated or missing components of features when there are surviving prototypes. In this case, many of the gutters and downspouts have already been replaced by the Navy or are missing and need to be replaced. The proposed replacement in kind (same profile in a compatible color) is reasonable given the situation.
3. The Big Whites were historically built to provide accommodations for high-ranking Navy officers and their families while stationed at NAS Alameda. The homes reflect the architectural styles and building practices of the WWII era and are significant for their location, configuration and layout, and architectural form and style. The gutters and downspouts on these buildings are one architectural element of a bigger whole that contributes to the overall historic character and integrity of the structures. The gutters and downspouts do not individually determine whether the building is historic; rather, they are part of the collective features that define the building's historical significance.
4. The proposed replacement of the original copper gutters and downspouts with aluminum in a square profile and white finish would preserve the overall aesthetic appearance while deterring theft and providing a more practical, cost-effective maintenance solution. This approach does not materially impair the Big Whites’ architectural integrity or their ability to convey their historical significance.
5. The proposed replacement balances historical aesthetics with modern considerations, ensuring the buildings’ exterior remains consistent with their original design while addressing ongoing maintenance and security concerns, consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Staff recommends that the HAB find:
1. The project is consistent with the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance densities and use regulations; and
2. On February 4, 2014, the Final EIR was certified by the City Council for the Alameda Point Project, including amendments to the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance; and
3. There are no environmental impacts peculiar to the project that were not analyzed in the Final EIR, or any such impact can be substantially mitigated by imposition of uniformly applied development policies or standards previously adopted by the City; and
4. There are no significant effects of the project that were not analyzed as significant effects in the Final EIR; and
5. There are no potentially significant off-site impacts of the proposed project and there are no cumulative impacts to which the proposed project makes a considerable contribution which were not discussed in the Final EIR; and
6. There are no previously identified significant impacts of the proposed project which, as a result of substantial new information which was not known at the time the EIR was certified, have been determined to have a more severe adverse impact than discussed in the Final EIR; and
7. Pursuant to the streamlining provisions of CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, no further environmental review is required; and
8. In particular, no impact to historic resources would occur pursuant to Section 15064.5, which outlines a detailed process for determining the significance of impacts to historical resources, and the proposal would not result in the “physical demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration of the resource or its immediate surroundings such that the significance of an historical resource would be materially impaired” because the project follows the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and the Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings in accordance with Mitigation Measure 4-D of the Alameda Point Project EIR.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the Board approve the request for reconsideration based on the original rationale provided at the July 18, 2024 meeting, and find the replacement with all aluminum gutters and downspouts in a square profile with white finish is in conformance with local preservation ordinance findings, is consistent with national preservation standards (Secretary of the Interior’s Standards), and will not have any environmental impacts.