Title
Presentation on Site A Development at Alameda Point,
Including Initial Discussion of the Site A
Transportation Demand Management Strategy
Body
Joint Transportation Commission and Planning Board Special Meeting
February 25, 2015
Item 7
Discussion
Body
Presentation on Site A Development at Alameda Point,
Including Initial Discussion of the Site A
Transportation Demand Management 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 (Exhibit 1). The ENA requires that APP complete a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) and a Development Plan for Site A before the end of the six month ENA period. As a result, this evening's meeting is part of an extensive community process that is anticipated to include a monthly hearing before the City Council and Planning Board, meetings with other boards and commissions, stakeholder meetings and community open houses (outlined in greater detail in Exhibit 2). The ENA also requires that APP prepare a strategy in compliance with the Alameda Point Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDM Plan).
The terms in the ENA already agreed to by APP focus on providing near-term funding of upfront transit infrastructure such as dedicated bus rapid transit lanes and a new ferry terminal; sports fields and waterfront park amenities for the entire Alameda community; and constructing utilities that will serve the entire Alameda Point property and will catalyze employment uses in the adjacent adaptive reuse and enterprise areas. While the Site A development concept has been presented to the Planning Board on a number of occasions, this is the first presentation to the Transportation Commission, and, as a result, contains some information already presented to the Planning Board.
Discussion
The ENA with APP is only the first step in implementing the community's plan for Alameda Point. The details of APP's plans, consistent with the City's documents prepared during this recent community planning process, will be decided through an extensive public process. This community input process is underway and is currently scheduled to include no less than ten separate public meetings including hearings before the City Council, Planning Board, the Transportation Commission, the Historic Advisory Board, and the Recreation and Parks Commission. The schedule also currently calls for a three month period from January through March of 2015 dedicated to public open houses and stakeholder meetings. The development contract between the City and the preferred developer, as well as other key implementation steps, will be decided by the City Council this spring. The following staff report provides a summary of the key aspects of the agreed upon Term Sheet attached to the ENA, a presentation of the initial development concept for Site A, the TDM Plan and Site A TDM Compliance Strategy, and the proposed next steps for the Site A process.
I. Summary of ENA and Term Sheet
The ENA is an agreement that permits the developer to negotiate terms of development with the City during a set period of time, in this case six months with two three-month extensions by the City Manager. If successful, once the ENA period is finished both parties will have agreed to a DDA (i.e., price and terms of payment for the land and development obligations) and an approved Development Plan (i.e., detailed site plan, including backbone and in-tract street alignments and sections, building footprints and massing, landscape concepts, and a phasing plan). It is important to note the City's obligations under the ENA are only to negotiate exclusively and in good faith with APP and to consider approval of the Development Plan. The City is under no obligation to approve any document produced during the ENA period.
The following provides an overview of key aspects included in the ENA negotiated with APP over the past two months:
1. Project Description. The project description includes 800 housing units and 200,000 square feet of commercial uses, including 100,000 to 150,000 square feet of retail, consistent with the City's Town Center Plan and other planning documents.
2. Term. 20 years
3. Phasing. The DDA will include a Phasing and Milestone Schedule. A map of the proposed Phase 1 boundaries, a Phase 1 development schedule, and a preliminary Phase 0 plan were included in the ENA. The Phase 0 package is intended to activate the site starting in Summer 2015 with events and temporary facilities designed to draw in Alameda residents. The Phase 1 boundaries concentrate development along the northern boundary of Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (RAMP), creating a strong entry corridor into the site. The Phase 1 schedule contemplates commencement of infrastructure construction in Fall 2015 and completion of Phase 1 by the end of 2018.
4. Infrastructure and Amenity Package. City staff focused on negotiating upfront infrastructure and amenities that obligate the developer to bring transit infrastructure to Alameda Point concurrent with new development (i.e., ferry terminal and dedicated bus rapid transit lanes); major utility infrastructure that serves the entire Alameda Point property (i.e., sewer line extension to northern boundary) that will catalyze additional employment uses in the Adaptive Reuse and Enterprise areas; and park amenities that serve the entire community. This ensures that the priorities of the community - namely a multi-modal transit infrastructure, job creation, and park amenities - are built into the project itself.
As part of the Site A project, APP will build all of the infrastructure included in the City's Request for Qualifications Infrastructure Package, which includes a neighborhood park/greenway; eight acres of the Seaplane Lagoon waterfront park and promenade; and all new utilities and roads within Site A, and, in some instances, for other parts of the base.
Phase 1 infrastructure will include the following improvements from the Infrastructure Package: the crucial RAMP transit and utility corridor between Main Street and the Seaplane Lagoon and the new sewer line extension between Site A and the pump station at the northern boundary of Alameda Point. Both of these infrastructure items have significant benefits for the entire Alameda Point property not just for Site A. Additionally, APP has agreed to fund amenities at Alameda Point beyond its required Infrastructure Package, including the Ferry Terminal at the Seaplane Lagoon and an initial phase of the Sports Complex. As discussed above, City staff's focus was on maximizing the upfront infrastructure and amenities at Alameda Point with site-wide and community-wide benefits.
II. Presentation of Site A Development Concept
APP has prepared a development concept for Site A (Exhibit 3), which includes land use plans, street sections, and bicycle and pedestrian access plans. This is the first opportunity for the Transportation Commission to provide feedback on the proposed site plan. This concept will evolve over the next several months through feedback from the City Council, Planning Board, other boards and commissions, and community feedback and will culminate into a formal Development Plan application and approval process. As discussed above, APP proposes taking an incremental approach to development of Site A that will preserve a significant amount of the character and history of the site and still be consistent with the Town Center Plan, and will help ensure a truly mixed-use development, which includes new amenities and businesses, not just housing. The following provides an overview of staff's initial thoughts of the draft development concept:
· The concept implements the Town Center Plan and its goals of creating a mixed-use development with opportunities for a horizontal and vertical mix of uses and diversity of architecture; a gateway transit corridor that maximizes transit ridership and views of the larger Bay Area; exceptional waterfront amenities with spaces that allow people to experience the Seaplane Lagoon firsthand; and a retail core that takes advantage of the proximity to the waterfront and new development;
· The public street network implements the Alameda Point Master Infrastructure Plan and Town Center Plan, which includes extensive bikeways and pedestrian paths, that create strong multi-modal linkages between Alameda Point (and a new ferry terminal at Alameda Point) and the rest of Alameda, and a diversity of housing types concentrated along the extension of RAMP, a primary transit corridor, that will incentivize transit ridership;
· The concept respectfully preserves the character and history of the site by maintaining some of the fabric of the existing abandoned railroad alignment, oval traffic circle and plane at the entrance to the site, and numerous existing buildings that, once updated, will create a unique and authentic sense of place that will successfully attract commercial businesses and amenities;
· The parks and open space concept creates a series of distinct, yet complementary and connected park spaces that tie the private development areas together into a cohesive whole by creating clear, pedestrian-scaled pathways and provide park amenities not only for new employees and residents, but the entire Alameda community. These open spaces vary across the site in size and in type, ranging from waterfront parks to neighborhood greenways to public plazas;
· The concept for the waterfront plaza at the corner of RAMP and Seaplane Lagoon creates a two-sided retail street designed for maximum pedestrian use and access that takes advantage of the waterfront, offers views of the Bay Area as people approach the waterfront along RAMP, and brings a safe, 24-hour "eyes on the street" approach to the plaza by bringing a mixed-use development site close to the corner of the plaza. This plaza is indicative of the development as a whole in that it uses design to clearly elevate the pedestrian and bicyclist, transforming streets into usable open spaces;
· The phasing plan proposes a Phase 1 project that includes an important "gateway" corridor between Main Street and the Seaplane Lagoon waterfront, a ferry terminal, an initial phase of permanent waterfront park space, and transit, bike and pedestrian access to the waterfront parks and future jobs areas.
APP and staff look forward to receiving feedback on the initial development concept so that we can improve upon it and continue to move forward with the formal Development Plan process.
III. Alameda Point TDM Plan and Site A TDM Compliance Strategy
On May 20, 2014, the City Council approved the TDM Plan consistent with the General Plan and the Alameda Point Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which require that all new development at Alameda Point comply with the 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, such as the proposed Site A development, prepare a TDM Compliance Strategy consistent with the TDM Plan. The ENA also requires that APP prepare a TDM Compliance Strategy consistent with the TDM Plan.
A. Alameda Point TDM Plan
TDM refers to an array of strategies, measures, and services which, individually or combined into a comprehensive program, creates the envisioned 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. TDM strategies are designed to change travel behavior (when, where, and by what means people travel) by using combinations of incentives, disincentives, and convenient transit services.
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.
The EIR requires that all development projects at Alameda Point comply with the TDM Plan as a mitigation measure for the transportation impacts identified in the EIR. 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.
The developers, property owners, residents, and employers of Alameda Point will be 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:
1. Transit Services: The TDM Plan addresses the provision of public transit or privately operated vehicles primarily for convenient, frequent, and direct connection to the regional rapid transit systems aimed at supplementing, complementing, and expanding AC Transit, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) services.
2. 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.
3. 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 to encourage alternate modes of transportation. The careful management of parking supply and pricing can be very effective in influencing parking utilization and mode of travel.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Compliance with the TDM Plan. As required by the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) from the EIR, and the recently approved Alameda Point Zoning District, all new development at Alameda Point will be required to comply with the TDM Plan as part of any DDA between the City and a developer, and/or as a condition of approval for any planning approval, including Development Plan, use permit, or design review. Any DDA and/or condition of approval will require that all property owners pay a special tax to fund the Plan and require through covenants, conditions and restrictions, or other enforceable real property interest that run with the land, that all commercial tenant associations, major employers, residential tenant association, and homeowner's associations join the TMA, file a Compliance Strategy with the TMA consistent with this Plan, implement their Compliance Strategy, and refine it, as necessary.
8. Modifications to the TDM Plan. The TMA will be responsible for managing the successful implementation of the TDM Plan with annual reporting to the City's Transportation Commission. The actual implementation of the TDM Plan requires flexibility to respond to evolving and unexpected development, demographic, market and technological conditions. As a result, the TMA has the discretion to implement the TDM Plan in substantial conformance with the intent and strategies outlined in the TDM Plan, but is not required to adhere literally to every proposed aspect of the TDM Plan. It is expected and necessary that the TMA make modifications to the TDM Plan as new development occurs and more information exists about the type, amount and location of new development and its associated traffic patterns.
That said, the TMA must perform a 5-year review with the City Council and Transportation Commission, to determine if any amendments to the major components of the TDM Plan are warranted. Additionally, the TMA can request approval by the City Council (with a recommendation from the Transportation Commission) of a major modification to the TDM Plan at any other time deemed necessary by the TMA.
A detailed summary of the TMA provided services and programs in the near- and long-term are provided in Table 1 on page 19 of the TDM Plan. The TDM Plan provides flexibility to a) adapt to future phasing of Alameda Point land uses; b) implement transit services starting at the commencement of development and introduce larger and more comprehensive services as needed by development; and c) use annual monitoring of performance as a mechanism for continuous improvement of individual employer compliance strategies and TMA-provided services. Collectively, the property owners, residents and tenants of Alameda Point will fund, implement, and direct the management of the TDM Plan and be accountable for the TDM Plan's success. As stated above, every development at Alameda Point will be required to comply with, and provide an annual financial contribution to fund the management and implementation of the TDM Plan.
The TDM Plan also includes an annual operating budget for implementing the TDM Plan and providing the services discussed above during its initial stages of implementation and at buildout of the proposed development. A summary of this budget is provided in Table 6 on page 48 of the draft TDM Plan. The capital costs associated with the TDM Plan are included in the recently approved MIP and a portion of those have been allocated to the Site A development in their Infrastructure Package. Ultimately, the annual operating budget will be funded through a portion of the special tax revenues generated from property owners at Alameda Point, parking charges, and parking enforcement violation fines. During the initial stages of implementation, funding will come from an $150,000 grant from Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to the City to assist in the implementation of the TDM Plan (TDM Implementation Grant), developer contributions, as well as some initial special tax or assessment revenues. The TDM Implementation Grant is funding a contract with Fehr & Peers and Wendy Silvani to help the City successfully implement its TDM Plan. The TDM Plan estimates the annual operating budget for the initial phase at approximately $360,000 and for buildout at approximately $1 million. These budgets are net of parking charges and enforcement revenues. The annual operating budget will grow and change as the TDM Plan evolves over time with the phasing of development.
B. Site A TDM Compliance Strategy
APP and its transportation consultant are preparing a TDM Compliance Strategy for the Site A development consistent with the TDM Plan. 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. Because Site A is the first large-scale development at Alameda Point, the Site A TDM Compliance Strategy is being highly coordinated with the City's efforts to carry out the work for the TDM Implementation Grant. For instance, the work for the TDM Implementation Grant is charged with evaluating options for the organization of the Alameda Point TMA and creating the TMA; creating checklists for TDM Compliance Strategies, developing a database for the monitoring program; developing a commuter website and initial marketing materials; and planning initial transit service and TDM programs. The timing, funding, and responsibility for implementing these tasks are integral to the success of the Site A TDM Compliance Strategy and will be carefully coordinated.
APP and staff look forward to receiving any initial comments on potential Site A TDM strategies from the Transportation Commission and Planning Board so that APP can consider these comments as it moves forward with a draft of the TDM Compliance Strategy. It is expected that more detail on the draft TDM Compliance Strategy will be presented to the Transportation Commission and Planning Board over the next two months.
IV. Community Process
As presented in Exhibit 2, City staff, along with APP, will be holding numerous public workshops and hearings with the City Council, Planning Board and other boards and commissions on the various aspects of the Site A development. The feedback received from these meetings will be integrated into the ongoing planning process. At the same time, City staff and APP will be negotiating a DDA document that builds upon the key terms contained in the ENA. The DDA will come before the City Council in spring at the earliest. Additionally, City staff will host three community open houses and forums about the Site A development (one was already held on January 29th), will continue to meet with stakeholders on an ongoing basis and will use its email lists, webpages, and social media to inform the Alameda community about next steps at Site A.
Environmental Review
This is for information only.
Recommendation
Provide comments on Site A development concept and process.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point
Exhibits:
1. Map of Site A Boundaries
2. Public Hearing and Community Outreach Schedule
3. Presentation of Latest Development Concept for Site A
4. Alameda Point Transportation Demand Management Plan