Title
Public hearing to consider approval of a Transportation Demand Management Plan for Marina Shores (formerly "Marina Cove II") located at 1551 Buena Vista Avenue and Bounded by Ohlone Street, Buena Vista Avenue, Clement Avenue, and Entrance Way. The properties are zoned R-4/PD (Neighborhood Residential with a Planned Development overlay) with an MF (Multifamily Residential) overlay. A Mitigated Negative Declaration was adopted by the City Council on January 2, 2013 for the Tentative Map pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act
Body
CITY OF ALAMEDA
Memorandum
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas
City Planner
Date: April 13, 2015
Re: Public hearing to consider approval of a Transportation Demand Management Plan for Marina Shores (formerly "Marina Cove II") located at 1551 Buena Vista Avenue and Bounded by Ohlone Street, Buena Vista Avenue, Clement Avenue, and Entrance Way. The properties are zoned R-4/PD (Neighborhood Residential with a Planned Development overlay) with an MF (Multifamily Residential) overlay. A Mitigated Negative Declaration was adopted by the City Council on January 2, 2013 for the Tentative Map pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
BACKGROUND
On January 2, 2013, the City Council approved the Tentative Map and environmental documents for 52 single-family homes and 37 multi-family condominium units on the property at 1551 Buena Vista. The City Council action and the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project require that the project prepare, adopt, and implement a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan for the project to reduce peak hour vehicle trips caused by the project. The City Council final action was informed by a series of Planning Board public hearings on the project held in 2012.
On May 27th, July 28th, and September 8, 2014, the Planning Board held public hearings and approved the Design Review application for the new homes. At the Design Review hearings, the Planning Board finalized the parking plan for the project. Each of the 89 units includes a two-car garage. None of the parking costs are unbundled from the cost of the unit. In addition, the project provides on-street parking for visitors and residents, and the project is constructing the Clement Avenue Extension and Cross Alameda Trail Cycle Track along the waterfront edge of the property.
Lennar, the applicant and home builder, is planning to complete the first of the 89 units in summer 2015, and complete the last of the 89 homes in 2017. The project should be fully occupied by 2018.
ANALYSIS
The project approvals require that the applicant prepare and implement a TDM program to reduce single-occupant vehicle trips to and from the development consistent with the General Plan goal to reduce peak hour trips by a minimum of 10%.
The Marina Shores TDM Plan (Exhibit 1) is designed to reduce peak hour single- occupancy trips by a minimum of 10% through a variety of transit services and programs, including shuttles, buses, and updated and ongoing access to transportation services for all Marina Shores residents. The TDM plan:
· Ensures that adequate funding will be available on an annual basis to support the 10% trip reduction. An annual fee of $550 will be assessed on each housing unit for transportation services. The fee will increase annually with the cost of living according to the annual changes in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index. The funds will be used to fund transit including shuttles to BART and AC Transit services for the project occupants. To ensure adequate funding for "Day One" services, Lennar will prefund the program for all 89 units for the first two years when the first household moves into the development.
· Establishes the criteria and trip reduction targets to be used in the Annual Report to determine whether the program is "passing" or "failing" the 10% trip reduction requirement. The TDM Plan identifies how the trips will be counted (surveys and mechanical or video vehicle counts) and the maximum number of AM and PM peak hour vehicle trips that may be generated by the project and still achieve the 10% reduction goal.
· If the Annual Report reveals that the 10 percent goal is not being met, the TDM Plan provides the City Council with the ability to adjust the program to achieve better utilization or increase program fees to improve services elsewhere in the City to off-set the vehicle trips being generated by the Marina Shores project.
· If the Annual Report reveals that the project is continuously meeting its 10% goal, the TDM Program provides the opportunity for the City Council to eliminate the annual report requirement upon completion of five consecutive years of meeting the 10% trip reduction goal.
In conclusion, staff believes that the Marina Shores TDM Program will successfully meet the requirements of the General Plan and project approvals to reduce peak hour vehicle trips generated by the Marina Shores development by 10%.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
An Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared for the Marina Cove II Tentative Map in 2012. The Mitigated Negative Declaration was adopted by the City Council on January 2, 2013 pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act. The applicant for Marina Shores will be required to implement all conditions of approval of the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Tentative Map, including provisions related to implementation of the Transportation Demand Management Plan.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
Property owners and residents within 300 feet of the project's boundaries were notified of the public hearing and given the opportunity to review and comment on the proposal.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and adopt the draft resolution (Exhibit 2) approving the Marina Shores Transportation Demand Management Plan.
Respectfully Submitted,
Andrew Thomas
City Planner
Exhibits:
1. Draft Transportation Demand Management Plan
2. Draft Resolution approving the Marina Shores Transportation Demand Management Plan