Title
Public Workshop on Alameda Point Site A Development Plan, including an Outline of the Transportation Demand Management Plan Compliance Strategy
Body
CITY OF ALAMEDA
Memorandum
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas, City Planner
Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point
Date: March 23, 2015
Re: Public Workshop on Alameda Point Site A Development Plan, including an Outline of the Transportation Demand Management Plan Compliance Strategy
BACKGROUND
On November 18, 2014, the City Council approved an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with Alameda Point Partners (APP), the preferred developer for a 68-acre mixed-use development site at Alameda Point (Site A) consistent with the Waterfront Town Center Plan. The ENA requires that APP complete a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) and a Development Plan for Site A before the end of the 6-month ENA period. The developer has also requested a Development Agreement (DA) that would vest the Site A's current and future project approvals for the term of the DDA. Generally speaking a DA would allow greater latitude and flexibility in imposing conditions and requirements on the project in the form of public benefits, and affords the developers greater assurance that once approved, the City's regulatory structure, e.g. its zoning code, will remain the same. The City is negotiating the terms of the DA with the developer as well. As a result, this evening's meeting is part the ongoing extensive community process that includes monthly hearings before the City Council and Planning Board, meetings with other boards and commissions, stakeholder meetings and community open houses.
The terms in the ENA with APP focus on Site A development bringing upfront transit infrastructure, such as dedicated bus rapid transit lanes and a new ferry terminal, to Alameda Point concurrent with new development; constructing utilities that serve the entire Alameda Point property that will catalyze employment uses in the adjacent adaptive reuse and enterprise areas; and funding near-term sports fields and waterfront park amenities for the entire Alameda community. Under the terms of the ENA, APP and City staff are currently working to prepare a Development Plan for the site for Planning Board review and approval in April, and a DDA for City Council review and approval in late spring.
The project has been the subject of an ongoing public review process that has included:
· On January 20, 2015, the City Council held a public meeting to review the initial development concepts and development terms.
· On January 26, 2015, the Planning Board held its first public workshop on the APP conceptual Development Plan.
· On January 29th APP and the City also held a community open house at Building 14 at Alameda Point.
· On February 5, 2015, the Historical Advisory Board reviewed the draft Development Plan.
· On February 12, 2015, the Recreation and Park Commission reviewed the draft Development Plan.
· On February 17, 2015, the City Council reviewed an updated Development Plan, comments from the various boards and commissions and staff's initial responses to those comments.
· On February 23, 2015, the Planning Board reviewed an updated Development Plan.
· On February 25, 2015 at the joint meeting of the Transportation Commission and the Planning Board, the Transportation Commission reviewed the draft Development Plan for the first time and both boards provided initial comments on a transportation strategy for Site A consistent with the recently approved Alameda Point transportation strategy.
· On March 4, 2015, APP and the City held a second open house at Bladium for the community to review updates to the draft Development Plan since the January 29th open house.
· On March 17, 2015, the City Council reviewed an updated Development Plan and an outline of the proposed TDM Compliance Strategy.
As the City staff and APP receive comments, the APP design team has continued to revise and improve the Development Plan to respond to the City Council, Planning Board, and other boards and commissions, and community comments.
Exhibit 1 represents the most recent version of the draft Development Plan.
Exhibit 2 provides a summary of the comments received at the meetings listed above.
Exhibit 3 provides a draft resolution that includes findings for Development Plan approval, a waiver from AMC 30-53 Prohibition on Multifamily Housing, and conditions of approval.
Exhibit 4 includes the applicants request for the waiver from AMC 30-53.
DISCUSSION
The proposed Development Plan (Exhibit 1) is designed to implement the City of Alameda General Plan policies for Alameda Point, the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) zoning district regulations for Alameda Point, and the requirements of the Master Plan for the Alameda Point Waterfront and Town Center Sub-district (Town Center Plan)
Transit Oriented Development
To facilitate and encourage the General Plan, Master Plan, and AMC zoning policies, standards, and requirements for a transit oriented community, the Development Plan includes:
· Eight hundred of the 1,425 total residential units programmed for Alameda Point and up to 400,000 square feet of commercial development in existing buildings, approximately 200,000 square feet of retail and hotel space in new buildings, and approximately 15 acres of public open space and parks.
· Public open space, parks and plazas represent approximately 22% of the 68-acre property, and public streets and sidewalks represent an additional 24% of the property.
· All 800 residential units are provided in multifamily building types on eight blocks located immediately adjacent to the primary transit corridor along the Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (RAMP) that links a future ferry terminal at the Seaplane Lagoon with the planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service between Site A and downtown Oakland.
· To facilitate a pedestrian-oriented environment, every Alameda Point Site A household will be within a one-block walk or less of the BRT line and protected bicycle lanes along RAMP.
· Consistent with the Town Center Plan, the parking ratios and requirements proposed for Site A are designed to encourage a transit-oriented development by creating disincentives for residents and employees to use single-occupancy vehicles, at the same time providing a sufficient level of public parking to be competitive for attracting retail and other commercial businesses. The Site A development will provide up to 1.5 spaces per residential unit and at least one shared public parking lot at the heart of the retail center that will likely be converted to a parking structure. The public parking area is located on Block 14. Each townhome unit will have one or two parking spaces on the ground floor (for an average of 1.5 spaces per unit) and all of the apartment or condominium housing will have shared parking areas under each building, which will be leased separately from the unit to project occupants. Parking management issues will also be addressed in APP's Site A TDM compliance strategy consistent with the TDM Plan discussed below.
· Of the 800 units, approximately 525 of the units will be in stacked flat buildings over parking and approximately 275 of the units will be in attached or stacked townhomes and row houses.
· To create a comfortable transition between the adjacent Bayport neighborhood and the commercial center at the Seaplane Lagoon, the height and residential density of the eight residential blocks increases along RAMP and across Site A from Main Street to the Seaplane Lagoon. The blocks facing Main Street and the Bayport neighborhood are the lowest density blocks with three-story townhomes. The blocks closest to the Seaplane Lagoon and the commercial center of the project will provide space for the higher density multifamily housing units that will support the commercial uses and waterfront activities.
· To facilitate a pedestrian oriented "town center" environment, Blocks 3, 4, 8, 9, and 11 will have ground floor retail and/or adaptive spaces facing RAMP.
Employment and Non-Residential Development
To implement the General Plan, Master Plan, and Zoning District policies, standards, and requirements to support employment and commercial use at Alameda Point to replace the jobs lost by the departure of the United States Navy (Navy) in 1996, the Development Plan includes facilities and improvements to support job-generating uses. The following provides a summary of the employment and non-residential development planned for Site A:
· The marketing and potential leasing of up to 400,000 square feet of existing buildings for commercial reuse will commence immediately upon execution of the DDA by the City Council regardless of what phase they are in. Phases in the Development Plan represent the timing of the transfer of land ownership from the City to APP, not the timing of reuse of the existing buildings.
· The existing buildings will be marketed for primarily light industrial and retail uses with the potential for a "tasting room", or ancillary retail uses within the light industrial buildings similar to the existing wineries and distilleries along Spirits Alley. These uses are complementary to the commercial uses being proposed for the adjacent Building 9, which is planned for food and beverage manufacturing incubator space associated with local and regional suppliers in partnership with the Whole Foods Market company.
· The commercial space will be also marketed to other clusters of "makers" and small-scale local and regional manufacturing companies (or individuals incubating a manufacturing idea) with potential to expand and grow on-site. Other uses could include start-up and expanding clean-tech companies similar to Wrightspeed, Natel Energy, and Makani Power (recently acquired by Google), who are existing tenants at Alameda Point.
· APP's Phase 0 plan (Exhibit 4), which will commence almost immediately after the execution of the DDA, serves three major purposes: (1) creating immediate activity and a sense of place along the waterfront at the core of Site A, which will maximize the potential for fostering a high-quality mixed-use community; (2) serving as an incubator or "phase 1" for the retail development component of Site A by creating a low-cost environment for retail uses, which will allow them to occur concurrently with other development (typically, new construction of retail space occurs after other types of new development occurs), as well as more organically, resulting ultimately in the attraction of authentic commercial uses and a high-quality and unique retail experience; and (3) providing immediate waterfront amenities for the entire Alameda community to enjoy and experience, which begins the much-anticipated process of integrating Alameda Point with the rest of the City.
Affordable Housing
In compliance with the General Plan, Master Plan and AMC policies, standards, and requirements to provide for affordable housing and a mixed income, transit orient community, the Development Plan:
· Ensures that 200 of the 800 units (25%) are to be restricted to very low-, low- and moderate-income households. The other 600 units will be market-rate units.
· One hundred twenty-eight (128) of the 200 affordable units will be permanently restricted for very low- and low-income households. The very low- and low-income units are proposed to be constructed by the nonprofit affordable housing developer, Eden Housing, in two buildings on a shared, or separatete podium(s) on Block 8 in the first phase of the development. Eden Housing will also provide long-term property management and resident services targeted to the needs of its residents.
· Eden Housing is exploring two possibilities for the project. In one scenario, all 128 units are designed for family housing, in the second scenario, 50% of the units (approximately 64 units) are designed for low- and very-low income seniors. In addition to the 128 very low- and low-income units, the Site A development will include 72 moderate-income units that will be dispersed throughout the buildings on the other residential blocks.
Density Bonus Waiver of Development Standards
With 25% affordable housing, the project qualifies for affordable housing density bonuses, concessions, incentives and waivers pursuant to State law and AMC section 30-17 (Density Bonus Ordinance). Consistent with the Town Center Plan, the Development Plan does not include any single family housing; therefore, APP is requesting a waiver from Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) 30-53, which prohibits construction of multifamily housing.
The project applicant, APP, is not requesting any density bonus units, but they are requesting a waiver from AMC Section 30-53. (Exhibit 5). Under State law and local ordinances, the City may waive the prohibition on multifamily family housing for this Development Plan, if it is determined that the waiver is necessary because the prohibition physically precludes the applicant from accommodating the 800 units on the site, and that the waiver will not result in an impact to the public health and safety or result in a conflict with any Federal or State laws. Exhibit 5 provides evidence that the waiver is necessary to enable Site A to accommodate the 800 units. Pursuant to Chapter 8 of the Town Center Plan, APP will be submitting the floor plans and elevations for each building for Planning Board design review and approval prior to submittal of building permits for each building over the next five to 20 years. The elevations and floor plans will be submitted prior to design review for each building and prior to construction of each structure with multifamily housing.
Rental and Home Ownership Opportunities
In 2014, the Alameda City Council initiated a community discussion and planning process to address the impacts of rising housing costs, dramatic increases in rental unit costs, and the resulting displacement of long-term Alameda residents from the Alameda community. The Alameda Point Development Plan will provide a much needed increase in the number of new rental units in the City and an increase in the number of units available for entry level homeowners, existing Alameda renters seeking entry level home ownership opportunities in Alameda, and Alameda seniors and "empty nesters" looking for smaller, transit oriented, housing in Alameda.
The proportion of rental to for-sale units will likely vary over time depending on market conditions and demand, but at this time, the Development Plan is designed to provide approximately:
· 530 rental units in the first phase, which includes the very low- and low-income units.
· 139 for-sale townhomes in the first phase,
· 131 for-sale townhomes and condominiums in the second phase.
Including the affordable units, the ratio of rental to for-sale is approximately 66% to 34%, respectively. When excluding the low- and very-low units from the mix, the rent vs. own ratio among market rate units is approximately 60%/40%, respectively. When considering the ratio of rental housing to for-sale housing, the City and community may consider the following: (1) major commercial users and employers are more likely to locate at Alameda Point if a significant amount of high-quality nearby rental housing is provided for their workforce; (2) rental housing has a greater potential to attract residents who use alternative modes of transit; (3) current market prices for condominiums in the local Alameda market do not support the high cost of the land and infrastructure at Alameda Point; and (4) very little market-rate rental housing has been constructed in Alameda over the last several decades.
Phasing
Through Master Plans, such as the Town Center Plan, and Development Agreements, the AMC allows the City to phase development of large mixed-use projects that will be constructed over five to 20 years and provide major public amenities.
The phasing of subsequent design review submittals and approvals benefits the Alameda community. Phasing allows 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 the community's preferences that might have existed five to 15 years earlier, when the initial approvals for the project were granted. Affordable housing needs, funding sources, and architectural preferences change over time. By allowing for phased design review submittals and final approvals, the Alameda community is able to shape the project over the five to 20 years it is being constructed and is not bound by architectural preferences or affordable housing needs that might have prevailed at the time of the original approval.
As shown in the Development Plan, the plan will be constructed in phases over time. Upon approval of the Development Plan and DDA, the APP design team will prepare architectural drawings for design review approval by the Planning Board for each building. The submittal of subsequent design review plans will occur incrementally over the course of the development. Over the next two to four years, APP plans to submit design review plans for the approximately 650 residential units, 96,000 square feet of commercial or retail development, and approximately 8.25 acres of parks space in Phase 1. Phase 1 includes the area generally north of RAMP. Phase 2 includes the area generally south of RAMP, and includes the land to be transferred from the Navy to the City in 2020. Phase 3 includes the parcels fronting on Tower Avenue and the balance of the waterfront park. The final design and construction of these properties and the final 150 units, up to 500,000 square feet of commercial, and approximately six acres of open space likely cannot commence until sometime after transfer of the property in 2021 or 2022.
Transportation
On May 20, 2014, the City Council approved the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan for Alameda Point consistent with the General Plan and the Alameda Point Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which require that all new development at Alameda Point comply with a TDM plan to mitigate traffic impacts from new development during peak hours and to support the creation of a transit-oriented development at Alameda Point. Specifically, the TDM Plan requires that all new development at Alameda Point, including the proposed Site A development, prepare a TDM Compliance Strategy consistent with the TDM Plan.
"TDM" refers to an array of strategies, measures, and services which, individually or combined into a comprehensive program, supports a transit-oriented development at Alameda Point; achieves the City of Alameda's General Plan goals to reduce automobile trips, and in particular, targets the reduction of Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV) trips; and mitigates potential traffic impacts.
Beyond mitigating the potential traffic impacts of Alameda Point development, TDM promotes regional goals that include reducing traffic congestion on the Bay Area's routes of regional significance; reducing the primary source of mobile emissions; improving safety, and thus increasing mobility, for those who bicycle, walk or take public transit; conserving energy; and improving the health of the population by encouraging physically active forms of transportation.
Consistent with the General Plan, the performance objectives of the TDM Plan are to reduce peak hour trips generated from Alameda Point, as projected in the EIR, by 10 percent for new residential development and 30 percent for new commercial development.
Alameda Point TDM Program
All developers, property owners, residents, and employers at Alameda Point and in the subject development plan are required to fund, comply with, and collaboratively manage, monitor and continuously improve upon a TDM program that mitigates traffic impacts as well as improves the quality of life for those who live and work at Alameda Point. The primary components of the TDM Plan include:
· Transit Services: The TDM Plan provides subsidies for public transit or privately operated transit services for convenient, frequent, and direct connection to the regional rapid transit systems (AC Transit, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and downtown Oakland.
· Car and Bicycle Share Programs: The TDM Plan includes the provision of a collective system of vehicles and bicycles accessible to employees who use transit and residents who do not have access to a vehicle for business or personal purposes.
· Parking Management Strategy: In concert with the development standards regulating private parking included in the recently approved Alameda Point Zoning District, the Parking Management Strategy in the TDM Plan outlines a plan for the public supply of parking that is designed to utilize public and private parking spaces efficiently and encourage alternate modes of transportation. The careful management of parking supply and pricing can be very effective in influencing parking utilization and use of single occupancy vehicles.
· Support Services: The TDM Plan includes a variety of services and incentives that support and encourage the use of programs such as free AC Transit Easy-Passes, carpool matching service, and a guaranteed ride home in the event of emergencies for transit users.
· Transportation Management Association (TMA). The TMA will oversee the ongoing implementation of the TDM Plan, including compliance strategies prepared by individual employers and resident associations, and is funded by special tax revenue generated annually by Alameda Point property owners. The TMA Board of Directors is likely to include some combination of representatives of the following organizations: Alameda Point employers, tenant associations, Homeowner Associations, and developers; City of Alameda staff; the Transportation Commission, and/or regional transit agencies. In early years before major development has occurred, the services and functions of the TMA may be served by a collaboration of City staff, the first developers, such as APP, transit agencies and any key tenants.
· Annual Monitoring and Reporting. The TDM Plan tasks the TMA with annual monitoring and reporting of TDM Plan performance in meeting the established trip reduction goals. The monitoring will result in refinements and modifications to the Plan as development occurs. Monitoring will use a combination of survey instruments; traffic counts; utilization surveys of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities and services; and employee and resident surveys. This approach to monitoring and enforcement results in a system of financial awards and penalties because the length of the cycle and the cost associated with introducing and monitoring new programs is an incentive to implement robust TDM strategies and packages of complementary services from the beginning.
Site A TDM Compliance Strategy
The project applicants are preparing a TDM Compliance Strategy for the Site A development consistent with the Alameda Point TDM Plan. The TDM Compliance Strategy will be attached to the DDA to be approved by the City Council. An outline of the proposed TDM Strategy is provided in Exhibit 6.
The Site A TDM Compliance Strategy will describe how the Site A development will be complying with and implementing all of the key aspects of the TDM Plan that are summarized above, including a funding and phasing plan. In certain instances, such as initial transit services, APP is considering providing services at a greater level than proposed in the TDM Plan.
Staff received initial comments on the Site A TDM Compliance Strategy from the Transportation Commission and Planning Board on February 25, 2015. On March 23, the project consultants will provide an update on the Compliance Strategy and take additional comments and suggestions from the public and Planning Board.
Parking
Consistent with the Town Center Precise Plan, the Site A Development Plan is designed to provide up to 1.5 spaces per residential unit and a shared public parking lot that will ultimately be converted to a parking structure. The public parking area is located on Block 14. Each townhome unit will have one or two parking spaces on the ground floor (for an average of 1.5 spaces per unit) and all of the multifamily housing will have shared parking areas under each building. All the multifamily housing parking will be leased separately from the unit to project occupants.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On February 4, 2014, the City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point EIR. The EIR evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point consistent with the Alameda Point Waterfront and Town Center Plan Specific Plan. 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. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15182, 15183, and Government Code Section 65457, residential projects subject to a Specific Plan are exempt from further review under CEQA.
RECOMMENDATION
Review and comment on the updated Development Plan and an outline of the TDM Compliance Strategy for Site A.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, City Planner
Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point
Exhibits:
1. Draft Development Plan
2. City Council, Planning Board and Other Community Comments
3. Draft Resolution and Conditions of Approval
4. Phase 0 Implementation Plan
5. Letter from APP Requesting Waiver of AMC 30-53
6. Outline of Site A TDM Compliance Strategy