Title
Draft Meeting Minutes - Draft Meeting Minutes - February 10, 2025
Body
DRAFT MINUTES
MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2025
1. ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
* Members of the public can participate in person or remotely via Zoom.
Present: President Cisneros, Board Members Ruiz, Hom, Saheba, and Wang.
Absent: Vice President Ariza and Board Member Tsou.
2. AGENDA CHANGES
None.
3. NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT
2025-4798 - None Agenda Public Comment
Comment can be found here:
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7133830&GUID=9D3767BB-921F-4A3E-AF0A-8008C8A95A58>.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
None.
5. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
5-A 2025-4769
Short Term Rental Ordinance. Discussion of the City’s workplan to consider updates to the zoning ordinance to address short-term rentals.
Steve Buckley, Planning Services Manager, introduced (*1:45) this item.
The staff report and attachments can be found at:
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7109280&GUID=C16FAD1F-0D21-421D-BDC0-1D6D1108E250&FullText=1>.
Board clarifying questions start at the 13:41-minute mark in the video.
Public Comment for item 5A
Due to the amount of speakers time was limited to 2 minutes.
Sheilah Cahill (*27:45) discussed her experiences of being an Airbnb host and how this income helped her greatly. She discussed how neighbors were supportive of this and even had their families stay with her. She said it would be a hardship to lose this extra income.
Steve Busse (*29:48), who also rented a house in Alameda short term discussed the positive experience he had and how having this option was better than a hotel. Many renters were elderly couples in town to visit grandkids. He also discussed how this was beneficial financially for them.
Trish Spencer (*31:54) spoke in favor of letting the Airbnb continue in the City of Alameda. She spoke of her experiences and felt they brought a lot of value to the city and allowed visitors to experience Alameda in a unique way.
Julienne Nakamo (*34:14) discussed the limited hotel options in Alameda. She discussed all the families who use rentals in Alameda to visit the Bay Area and how many people visit San Franciso but stay in Alameda. Visitors and Guests also bring money to local businesses.
Christine Renck (Zoom - *36:40) discussed her positive experiences of being a host and how guests love staying at her location and many guests were repeat guests. Hotels are limited and not near the fun neighborhoods people want to be close to. She said the Airbnb fits their needs more and they would not move their unit to a long-term option.
Beth Peterson (Zoom - *38:39) discussed her positive experiences of being a host and how she lived near her rental. She discussed how great her guests were and how much they appreciated her location and having her close by.
Laura Katz (Zoom - *41:15) also a host and felt similar to what the other speakers had said. Hotels in Alameda were limited, and people would rather stay in a safe neighborhood that was closer to families and the sites. She had never had a party or a disruption at her location and hoped the city would allow the continued use of short-term rentals.
Louoi Al-Khaiji (Zoom - *43:19) also discussed that guests of his short-term rental were grandparents who wanted to visit family. He also said that losing the income from their short-term rental would be a hardship. They also use their unit to host family members so having short-term was an important option for them.
Gina (*45:35) said that if she lost the short-term rental income, it would be devasting for her family. She discussed how the whole family was involved in running and taking care of her short-term rental and how she was able to give back to the community.
Jennifer & Andreas Daley (*47:54) discussed how local businesses also benefitted from the guests and visitors that the short-term rentals bring in. She discussed how her business also benefited from guests coming to Alameda.
Jennifer McNerney (*50:04) discussed her great experiences as a host and how much their guests appreciate her location. She also discussed people who need a place to stay if their home is being worked on. She also discussed how local businesses benefit from these visitors.
Todd Erickson (*51:31) discussed being a host and all the great guests he had rented to.
Bebe Cheng (Zoom - *53:46) also agreed that guests staying were mainly family visiting family or people who had jobs in Alameda and wanted to stay somewhere nicer than a hotel. She discussed how the city benefited from visitors coming and spending money. She added that the money she makes she reinvest into the building she owns that benefits her long-term renters.
Shinig Hsu (Zoom - *56:11) discussed how the Airbnb rental helped supplement her income. She also discussed the many different reasons people used her rental and how important they were to the community. She also added that her unit would not work as a long-term rental.
Action taken for item 5A
Board discussion and additional clarifying questions start at the 59:24-minute mark in the video.
Allen Tai, Director of Planning, Building & Transportation, also commented (*1:14:31) findings from the Housing Element Study.
This was a discussion item, and no formal action was taken.
6. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
6-A 2025-4770
Planning, Building and Transportation Department Recent Actions and Decisions
Recent actions and decisions can be found at:
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7109281&GUID=C163AF4E-FAA1-4ADF-89FE-BF08F302E631&FullText=1>.
No decision or action was pulled for review.
There were no public comments.
6-B 2025-4771
Oral Report - Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Planning, Building and Transportation Department Projects
Manager Buckley discussed upcoming agendas (*1:26:48).
There were no public comments.
7. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Ruiz (*1:27:43) discussed that AB 1033 had passed and wanted information on how this would affect Alameda’s ADU ordinance.
President Cisneros also followed (*1:28:51) up on a previous comment.
8. NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
9. ADJOURNMENT
President Cisneros adjourned the meeting at 8:51 p.m.
*Refers to the minute mark in the video