Title
Presentation on Draft Master Infrastructure Plan for Alameda Point
Body
CITY OF ALAMEDA
Memorandum
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Jennifer Ott
Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point
Date: November 13, 2013
Re: Provide Comments on Revised Draft Master Infrastructure Plan for Alameda
Point; and Presentation on Sea-Level Rise Protection Strategy for Alameda
Point included in Draft Master Infrastructure Plan
BACKGROUND
The City of Alameda is preparing a comprehensive zoning ordinance amendment, General Plan amendment, Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP), Town Center and Waterfront Precise Plan, and an environmental impact report (EIR) for Alameda Point for City Council consideration in early 2014. These project is intended to facilitate near-term construction at Alameda Point.
The MIP presents a plan for new backbone infrastructure systems at Alameda Point, including new streets, flood and sea-level rise protection, shoreline stabilization, geotechnical mitigations, and wet and dry utilities, for the proposed project contained in the Naval Air Station Alameda Community Reuse Plan, consisting of 1,425 units and 5.5 million square feet of commercial space. The replacement of aging infrastructure with new infrastructure systems is one of the single most important requirements for supporting new development at Alameda Point. The MIP will guide infrastructure development at Alameda Point over the next 25 to 30 years and is intended to be flexible and responsive to different disposition and development scenarios. The draft MIP establishes the requirements and standards for the infrastructure to support the redevelopment and reuse of Alameda Point.
The draft MIP was presented to the Planning Board on August 21, 2013, and the City Council on September 17, 2013. Based on the feedback provided from the Planning Board, City Council and community members at these meetings, City staff revised the MIP (Exhibit 1). The revised draft MIP will be presented to the Planning Board this evening, and the comments from tonight's Planning Board meeting will be presented verbally to the City Council on November 19, 2013. This evening, City staff is seeking comments on the revised MIP from the Planning Board and Alameda community.
The draft MIP's proposed strategy for protection of Alameda Point from sea-level rise was discussed and commented on at all of these meetings. Additionally, City staff gave a presentation on the sea-level rise strategy for Alameda Point at a public forum held by the League of Women Voters attended by approximately 60 people (Exhibit 2). Staff will provide this same presentation to the Planning Board this evening.
DISCUSSION
The following provides a summary of the revisions made to the draft MIP:
· Added an executive summary.
· Added a more detailed discussion of sea-level rise protection, including the scientific projections and regional policies that form the basis for the initial and adaptive strategies proposed in the revised draft MIP.
· Reviewed and revised street classifications, street sections, and truck routes in close consultation with the Planning Board, Bike Walk Alameda, and the Public Works and Fire Departments, to include a robust system of bike facilities, such as buffered bike lanes, protected bikeways, and cycle tracks on key streets.
· Clarified that it is the City's goal to replace all infrastructure in the Reuse Areas even if this is accomplished in a more incremental manner than the Development Areas.
· Evaluated the possibility of minimizing the stabilization of the northern shoreline to reduce costs.
· Addressed comments regarding planning for future fiber optic infrastructure.
· Added a phasing scenario in the Town Center area.
· Provided a discussion and description of ongoing maintenance costs, including a fiscal impact analysis of the entire development proposed for Alameda Point on the City's budget and addressed comments about life cycle replacement costs and cost escalation.
· Added a conceptual financing discussion as part of the Phasing and Implementation Chapter, including a list of all of the assessments potentially required for the development.
· Updated the cost estimate to reflect changes to the street sections described above.
· Updated the costs associated with the "Transit-Oriented Mixed Use" alterative evaluated in the draft MIP to be consistent with the traffic mitigation measures contained in the EIR.
· Added a Chapter on Next Steps, which describes how future individual improvement projects at Alameda Point will be reviewed by the City and outside agencies in conformance with the MIP.
Next Steps
Staff requests that the Planning Board and public provide comments on the revised draft MIP. The feedback provided at the Planning Board meeting this evening will be incorporated into the final MIP and then brought before the Planning Board in December 2013, for a recommendation to the City Council and then to the City Council for consideration in January 2014.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Planning Board's review and comments on the draft MIP require no environmental review at this time as such review and comments are part of a planning and feasibility study for possible future action that the City has not approved, adopted or funded and do not legally bind the Planning Board or City staff to any possible future action.
RECOMMENDATION
Provide comments on revised draft MIP for Alameda Point.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott
Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point
Exhibits:
1. Revised Draft Master Infrastructure Plan
2. Presentation on Sea-Level Rise Protection Strategy for Alameda Point