Title
Public Review of the Draft Alameda Point Waterfront Town Center Plan - No Action Will be Taken
Body
CITY OF ALAMEDA
Memorandum
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas,
City Planner
Date: April 28, 2014
Re: Review and Comment on the Public Review Draft of the Alameda Point Waterfront Town Center Plan
BACKGROUND
Over the course of the last year, City staff and Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), with funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), have been working on a Waterfront Town Center Plan (WTC Plan) for Alameda Point. Alameda Point is a designated Priority Development Area (PDA) in the Bay Area's sustainable communities strategy (Plan Bay Area), which makes Alameda Point eligible for regional funds to plan and implement transit-oriented land use plans.
The WTC Plan is a specific plan for transit-oriented development of the waterfront lands that surround the Seaplane Lagoon and the property at the entrance of Alameda Point fronting the extension of Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (RAMP) between Main Street and Seaplane Lagoon. The work to date has been informed by:
· The previous four years of public workshops and Planning Board hearings at which the Alameda Point Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP), comprehensive zoning amendment (ZA), and General Plan amendment (GPA) were discussed, analyzed and approved;
· The Planning Board's Planning Guide for Alameda Point, which was endorsed by the City Council in 2013;
· Two Planning Board WTC Plan workshops in 2013; and
· A number of Planning Board subcommittee meetings with the SOM/City staff team.
The draft WTC Plan represents another major step in the public planning process that the Alameda community has undertaken to redevelop and reuse the former Alameda Naval Air Station, commonly referred to as Alameda Point. The planning and redevelopment process that pre-dated the release of the draft WTC Plan is summarized as follows:
1993 - U.S. Department of Defense announces departure of US Navy personal and their families and 18,000 jobs from western Alameda.
1996 - City of Alameda (City) completes NAS Alameda Community Reuse Plan, which establishes the Alameda community's vision for civilian reuse and redevelopment of NAS Alameda into a transit oriented, mixed use community and job center.
1999 - City completes GPA, ZA, and Master Plan for the Bayport and Alameda Landing areas of the former NAS Alameda/Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC).
2001 - City approves site specific development plans and design review applications for Bayport neighborhood.
2002 - Construction on Bayport neighborhood begins.
2003 - City approves GPA for Alameda Point (lands west of Main Street).
2008 - Bayport Subdivision completed.
2011 - City commences work on Alameda Point EIR, ZA, Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP) and WTC Plan.
2012 - City approves development plans and design review for Alameda Landing.
2013 - Target opens store at Alameda Landing.
2014, February - City approves Alameda Point EIR, GPA, ZA, and MIP.
2014, April - City releases draft WTC Plan for public review.
On April 10, 2014, staff released the draft WTC Plan for public review and discussion (Exhibit 1). Staff is requesting that the Alameda community review the draft WTC Plan over the next 30 days, and submit comments for public consideration and discussion. Staff is requesting that written comments be submitted by May 15, 2014, for inclusion with the Planning Board staff report for the regularly scheduled Planning Board meeting of June 9, 2014. During the month of May, staff will work closely with the Planning Board's Waterfront Town Center ad-hoc sub-committee to identify subcommittee- recommended improvements to the draft WTC Plan. This schedule will facilitate a City Council public hearing and decision on the draft WTC Plan in July 2014.
ANALYSIS
The WTC Plan will implement the Reuse Plan, the Planning Guide vision, and the General Plan policies for a transit- and pedestrian-oriented, mixed use transit village at Alameda Point. The WTC Plan implements this vision through a wide variety of regulations, standards, and guidelines for both public improvements and private investments. The three major characteristics of the WTC Plan are:
I. Form Based Regulations: The WTC Plan provides specific regulations, standards, and design guidelines to shape the form of the physical environment and the use of land to create a waterfront-oriented transit village that is pedestrian, bicycle and transit friendly and supported by unique regional recreational and open space opportunities.
II. Seaplane Lagoon: The WTC Plan establishes the Seaplane Lagoon as the center of the WTC plan area and Alameda Point, with water- and land-based transit services (ferries and buses), recreational opportunities (kayaking, sailing, bicycling, walking), visitor services (waterfront restaurants, commercial services, museums, and hotels), and parks and habitat conservation areas (promenades, public plazas, wetlands and open space).
III. NAS Alameda Historic District Guidelines: The WTC Plan provides guidelines for in-fill development within those areas of the WTC plan area that overlap with the boundaries of the NAS Alameda Historic District (e.g., taxiways between the Seaplane Lagoon and Hangar Row).
I. Form Based Regulations
The WTC Plan's major recommendations for shaping the form of the physical environment and the use of land to create a waterfront-oriented transit village that is pedestrian, bicycle and transit friendly and supported by unique regional recreational and open space opportunities include:
· Consistent with the recently approved MIP, the WTC Plan recommends re-aligning RAMP west of its intersection with Main Street to create a direct, straight connection and view corridor from Alameda Point's Main Street entrance to the water at the Seaplane Lagoon. The re-constructed and re-aligned RAMP roadway would include: a cycle track for two lanes of bicyclists, transit lanes for buses and shuttles, wide sidewalks for pedestrians, and two lanes for automobiles. New intersections along RAMP within Alameda Point are to be spaced to reflect standard, traditional Alameda-sized blocks (generally 200 to 250 feet in width, 350 to 450 feet in length) with wide sidewalks with trees. An Alameda-style grid pattern of streets and blocks is proposed to extend north and south from the new east-west aligned RAMP extension. Proposed cross- sections for all the new and existing streets in the WTC Plan area are included in the WTC Plan.
· To support a pedestrian-oriented environment, the WTC Plan recommends that all buildings along the extension of RAMP within Alameda Point should face RAMP. Buildings on Main Street will front on Main Street. Buildings at the corner of Main and RAMP will have an attractive "face" on both streets; the location of the front door is to be determined during design review. Parking associated with buildings along RAMP must be placed behind or within buildings. Access to parking will be from side streets to prevent curb cuts across RAMP's pedestrian sidewalks and cycle track. The WTC Plan includes specific requirements and standards for how buildings front onto the public realm (e.g., public sidewalks, plazas, and streets).
· The WTC Plan includes minimum and maximum height limits and permissible uses for every block in the WTC Plan area. The regulations are designed to:
o Support a transit-oriented waterfront mixed-use community;
o Use building form and height to create a seamless transition from the two-story residential buildings (approximately 25 to 30 feet in height) in the existing Bayport and Main Street neighborhoods on the east side of Main Street and 50- to 60-foot high 120,000 square foot hangars on the west side of Ferry Point Road (at the edge of the Seaplane Lagoon and Historic District);
o Use land use regulations to create a seamless transition from the single use low density residential neighborhoods east of Main Street to a higher density, mixed-use transit village centered at the terminus of the extension of RAMP at the Seaplane lagoon. The WTC Plan recommends that on blocks facing Main Street, ground floor non-residential use is permitted at the corner of Main Street and RAMP, but not required. Blocks near to, and at the corner of, the Seaplane Lagoon with the RAMP extension, within the retail core of the transit village, are required to provide ground floor commercial uses.
II. Seaplane Lagoon and Public Spaces
The WTC Plan establishes the Seaplane Lagoon as the center of the WTC plan area and of Alameda Point, with water and land based transit services (ferries and buses), recreational opportunities (kayaking, sailing, bicycling, walking), visitor services (waterfront restaurants, commercial services, museums, and hotels), and parks and habitat conservation areas (promenades, public plazas, wetlands and open space).
RAMP terminates at a very large public plaza at the corner of the Seaplane Lagoon. The public plaza will be the center of a retail and visitor-serving transit village. The space might be accented by a landmark building at the foot of RAMP.
Ferry service, marina, and recreational boating uses will be concentrated along the northern and eastern edges of the Seaplane Lagoon near the transit village. Other visitor serving and commercial recreational uses are permitted along the eastern edge of the Seaplane Lagoon promenade. A new ferry terminal is located along the eastern edge of the Seaplane Lagoon near the terminus of Pacific Avenue, where it can serve the residents and businesses of the WTC plan area and the businesses within the Enterprise sub-districts. The Pacific Avenue location is also designed to limit the travel time for ferry vessels within the Seaplane Lagoon and separate the ferry service from the public's use of the northeastern edge of the Seaplane lagoon for kayaking, sailing schools, and small boat landings and marinas.
The northern edge of the Seaplane lagoon is planned for a large public open space that is designed to adapt to sea-level rise and provide passive and active recreational opportunities. (The Plan provides sea-level adaptation strategies for all three sides of the Seaplane Lagoon.) Water uses become less intense and more passive as one moves toward the western edge of the Seaplane Lagoon and endangered species colony on the federal property to the west of the plan area.
The western edge of the Seaplane lagoon is planned as a passive open space area between the Seaplane Lagoon and the Nature Reserve area and endangered Least Tern colony that is located to the immediate west of the WTC Plan area on federal property. Low intensity, environmentally sensitive non-residential uses and passive open space are provided along the western edge of the Seaplane Lagoon. The Plan proposes expansion of wetlands in this area to support the Nature Preserve and provide additional wildlife habitat.
III. NAS Alameda Historic District Guidelines
To achieve the Reuse Plan, General Plan, Planning Guide and Zoning vision for a transit-oriented, mixed-use community adjacent to an active waterfront environment that is compatible with the NAS Alameda Historic District, the WTC Plan includes guidelines for the placement and height of new buildings within the NAS Alameda Historic District. Examples of the recommended guidelines include:
· Building placement must preserve axial alignment of existing hangars;
· Streets and spaces between buildings must extend existing street alignments and view corridors;
· Building heights shall be limited by the height of the existing Hangar buildings; and
· Building design should include simple clean forms that respect the industrial character of the existing buildings which comprise the NAS Alameda Historic District.
In conclusion, staff believes that the draft WTC Plan will provide the necessary guidance and requirements to ensure that the Alameda community achieves its goals and vision for a transit-oriented community at the heart of Alameda Point. The WTC Plan does not represent the last step in the planning process. The public and the Planning Board will still need to review site-specific development plans and design review applications to ensure that the final details and designs reflect community expectations. The WTC Plan will ensure that those submittals are consistent with the community vision in terms of building and street placement, building massing and scale, integration into the Historic District and building use.
The SOM/staff team looks forward to the community's review of the draft WTC Plan, and the completion of this next important step in the public process to plan for the redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station into a transit-oriented, mixed use community and regional transit and open space asset.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On February 4, 2014, the City Council adopted the Alameda Point EIR, which evaluated the potential environmental impacts of the draft WTC Plan. The EIR analysis helped shape the WTC Plan to minimize potential environmental impacts and support a sustainable development.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
As public comments are received on the draft WTC Plan, they will be transmitted to the Planning Board and posted on the City website.
RECOMMENDATION
Review and comment on the Public Review Draft of the Alameda Point Waterfront Town Center Plan.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas
City Planner
Exhibit 1: Alameda Point Waterfront Town Center Plan.