Title
Recommendation to Adopt Amendments to (1) the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-17 Density Bonus Ordinance, and (2) AMC Section 30-4.17 G, Special Government Combining District and Zoning Map to apply the G, Special Government Combining District to Approximately 36.36 acres located on Singleton Street on the Former Naval Air Station. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 no further environmental review is required.
Body
CITY OF ALAMEDA
Memorandum
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas,
City Planner
Date: May 11, 2015
Re: Recommendation to Adopt Amendments to (1) the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-17 Density Bonus Ordinance, and (2) AMC Section 30-4.17 G, Special Government Combining District and Zoning Map to apply the G, Special Government Combining District to Approximately 36.36 acres located on Singleton Street on the Former Naval Air Station. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 no further environmental review is required.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
On March 10, 2015, the City Council held a public hearing to discuss the relationship between City of Alameda's housing plans, State mandated density bonus provisions, and transportation capacity and plans. At the meeting, the City Council directed staff to proceed with amendments to the Density Bonus Ordinance to improve clarity and public understanding of the implementation of the ordinance. In addition, the Council asked staff to identify potential zoning changes to reduce the housing capacity in the Northern Waterfront given that the City has over 1,800 units under construction or in the planning pipeline, including 800 units at Alameda Point, which in total exceed the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the 2015-2023 planning period. The March 10, 2015 City Council staff report is attached as Exhibit 1.
This report includes:
1. A description of the recommended amendments to Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-17 Density Bonus Ordinance to clarify and improve implementation of the State-mandated requirements for density bonuses, concessions, and waivers. The recommended amendments are described below and shown in Exhibit 2.
2. A description of the recommended amendments to AMC section 30-4.17 G, Special Government Combining District and to the zoning map to apply the G, Special Government Combining District to approximately 36.36 acres on Singleton Street on the former Naval Air Station (NAS Alameda) referred to as "North Housing" in the Housing Element. The proposed zoning text and map amendments would cap the maximum residential capacity of the property at 435 units. The proposed amendment reduces the housing capacity of the Northern Waterfront by between 656 to 885 housing units, depending on the amount of density bonus requested. The recommended amendments are also shown in Exhibit 2.
BACKGROUND
Density Bonus Ordinance Amendments: In 1979, the State legislature enacted the Density Bonus Law, (Government Code Sections 65915-65918) to address the shortage of affordable housing in California. The statute requires that when a developer offers to construct a certain percentage of the units for low or very low income households, the City must, upon request of the developer, grant the developer one or more of the following:
· A density bonus to help cover the costs of the affordable units. State law specifies exactly how many additional market rate units must be permitted to compensate for the number of affordable units provided.
· Incentives and/or concessions, which are waivers from City development standards to reduce project development costs.
· Waivers from City's development standards that preclude the project with its density bonus units from physically fitting on the site.
The statue also requires that cities enact ordinances and procedures to implement the State statute. In 2009, the City Council unanimously adopted a density bonus ordinance (AMC 30-17) to implement State law. AMC 30-17 identifies a list of specific submittals that must be provided to the City to ensure that the affordable units being offered by the developer are constructed and managed consistent with State and local regulations and objectives and that any concessions, incentives, or waivers being requested are justified under State law. Since 2009, the ordinance has been applied to four residential projects in Alameda.
Through Master Plans and Development Agreements (both of which are adopted by ordinance), the AMC allows the City to phase development of large mixed use projects over the course of several years. Phasing allows the City Council and Planning Board to change and improve the final design to reflect current community preferences and current best practices rather than being bound to the community's preferences that might have existed five to 20 years earlier, when the initial approvals for the project were granted. For example, in 2011, the City Council made significant decisions regarding the design and final internal configuration of the grocery component of the Alameda Landing Target Store, even though the Alameda Landing Master Plan and Development Agreement was approved five years earlier in 2006.
On January 6, 2015, the City Council requested that staff identify potential amendments to the AMC that would help the public better understand the relationship between the Density Bonus Ordinance submittal requirements and the other ordinances that allow phased submittals and govern the review and approval of large, mixed use projects.
On March 10, 2015, the City Council directed staff to transmit a series of draft Density Bonus Ordinance amendments to the Planning Board and public for consideration. The draft ordinance amendments (shown in Exhibit 2) include the following changes:
1) Submittal Requirements: The current ordinance locates the application submittal requirements for a density bonus in two different subsections of the ordinance. Exhibit 2 consolidates all of the submittal requirements into one section of the ordinance (Section 30-17.4 Density Bonus Application) for ease of use.
2) Phased Submittals: The current ordinance does not explicitly explain how architectural design submittals should be coordinated with Design Review applications for large complex projects with multiple buildings to be constructed over a 5 to 20 year period. Exhibit 2 explains how floor plans and elevations for large mixed use projects may be submitted at a later date, if the project is subject to a Master Plan or Development Agreement that permits phased submittals of Design Review applications for particular buildings on the site.
3) Waivers, Concessions and Incentives: The current ordinance could explain more clearly the distinction between the submittals required for an incentive or concession (to reduce development costs) and the submittals required for a waiver (to enable the project to physically fit on the site). These distinctions are established in State law. Exhibit 2 clarifies that if an applicant is requesting an incentive or concession to waive a development standard to reduce project costs, then a financial pro-forma must be submitted to justify the request. If the applicant is requesting a waiver from a development standard because the standard prevents the project from physically fitting on the property, then the applicant must provide justification in the form of site plan drawings and written explanations, but the applicant is not required to submit a financial pro-forma.
4) Affordable Housing Agreements. The current ordinance prescribes the contents for each Affordable Housing Agreement. At the request of the Alameda Housing Authority, which administers all of the Affordable Housing Agreements, Exhibit 2 proposes to streamline these sections to focus on the primary objectives of the agreement, but eliminate some of the details that should be negotiated on a project- by-project basis.
The City of Alameda has been using Affordable Housing Agreements to implement affordable housing plans in private housing developments for over 10 years. The Affordable Housing Agreement is a contract between the City and the developer that specifies how the affordable units will be managed, marketed, and operated. Over the last 10 years the City has developed a standard agreement that is then customized for each project. In accordance with the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and the Density Bonus Ordinance, these agreements are executed prior to issuance of the first final map or the first building permit for the project.
In conclusion, staff believes that the proposed Density Bonus Ordinance amendments shown in Exhibit 2 will improve public understanding and implementation of this State-mandated ordinance.
Northern Waterfront Zoning Text and Zoning Map Amendments: On March 10, 2015, the City Council approved Vice Mayor Matarrese's motion to direct staff to examine the opportunities for the City to reduce the capacity for new housing in the Northern Waterfront. At the City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Matarrese emphasized a number of points, including:
· It is in the best interests of the Alameda community to carefully coordinate housing development and transportation improvements to ensure that that adequate transportation improvements are developed to serve the transportation needs of a growing population.
· It is in the best interests of the Alameda community to ensure that the City maintains a Housing Element that is in compliance with State law for the reasons described in the March 10, 2014 Council Report (Exhibit 1).
· The City of Alameda Housing Element for the 2015-2023 planning period includes a significant surplus of available housing opportunity sites that are appropriately zoned to accommodate a variety of income levels.
· The City is proposing a public/private partnership to develop the "Site A" property at Alameda Point that would add 600 market rate and 200 affordable housing units during the 2015-2023 planning period. These 800 units are in addition to the sites already identified in the Housing Element.
· As shown in Figure 1 below, with the 800 units at Site A and the other projects currently under construction or in the planning pipeline, Alameda is projected to construct over 1,800 housing units during the 2015-2023 planning period.
Vice Mayor Matarrese also asked staff to investigate whether the zoning for a federal property identified as "North Housing" in the Housing Element is consistent with the NAS Alameda Community Reuse Plan (Community Reuse Plan) as amended in 2009.
In 1996, the City of Alameda community completed an extensive, multi-year planning process that included hundreds of Alameda citizens and the United States Navy and resulted in the adoption of the Community Reuse Plan for the reuse and redevelopment of the former NAS Alameda.
For Alameda Point (the lands west of Main Street Street) the Community Reuse Plan envisioned approximately 5.5 million square feet of non-residential use and 1,425 residential units. The General Plan was amended in 2003, and then again in 2014, to establish consistency between the General Plan policies for Alameda Point and the Community Reuse Plan, which created a cap of 1,425 units at Alameda Point.
In 2007, the Navy declared its plans to surplus approximately 42 acres of property at Alameda Point ("North Housing"). The property contains 282 units of vacant former navy housing and Estuary Park. The property was formerly leased to the U.S. Coast Guard but was vacated in 2005. In 2009 the Community Reuse Plan was amended to include plans for up to 435 new housing units on the North Housing property, including 90 units for homeless individuals and families.
As part of the federally mandated surplus process for the North Housing parcel, the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority (ARRA), as the local redevelopment authority, invited eligible homeless service providers and other agencies to submit proposals for homeless accommodations and public benefit conveyances (PBCs). The ARRA approved a Legally Binding Agreement (LBA) for a 90-unit homeless accommodation with the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda, Alameda Point Collaborative, and Building Futures with Women and Children. The LBA was approved by the Navy and the federal Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) in 2013. In addition, the ARRA approved a PBC for the City of Alameda for the eight-acre park at North Housing. The City took possession of Estuary Park in 2014. Lastly, the ARRA approved a PBC for Habitat for Humanity of the East Bay for 30 units of self-help housing. That PBC is still pending with HUD.
These binding agreements remain in full force and effect and will be unchanged by the proposed zoning text and map amendments. The 90-unit homeless accommodation is included in the proposed 435 unit cap, as is the 30-unit self-help PBC, should it be approved by HUD. The City is moving forward with improvements at Estuary Park and Phase 1 construction will begin in 2016. The land anticipated for the homeless accommodation will be conveyed from the Navy to the City and then to the Housing Authority consistent with the terms of the LBA. If the self-help housing PBC is realized, the land would be conveyed by the Navy to HUD and then to Habitat for Humanity. The balance of the land would be disposed of by the Navy for development pursuant to the zoning in place at the time of conveyance.
In 2012, as part of the Housing Element update, 36.36 acres of the 42 acres was identified as available to accommodate a portion of the City of Alameda RHNA. The City also amended the zoning of the 36.36 acre residential property in 2012 to add the multifamily overlay zoning district (Multifamily Overlay) on the 36.36 acres, which permits multifamily housing and increased the permitted residential density on the site from 21 units per acre to 30 units per acre.
In response to the City Council's March 10, 2015 direction, staff prepared a zoning text and map amendment for the 36.36 acres that would ensure consistency with the Community Reuse Plan by capping the total number of units permitted on the site to 435. The proposed amendments would:
· Preserve the underlying R-4 Residential Zoning Designation permitting residential use of the 36.36 acres. (Assessor's Parcel Numbers 74090501002 and 74090501202).
· Preserve the MF Overlay zoning designation permitting multifamily housing on the 36.36 acres.
· Add the G-Special Government Combining Zone District designation to the 36.36 acres. The G District (AMC Section 30-17) is an existing zoning designation that has been used historically in the Zoning Ordinance to identify lands in the ownership of the U.S. Government or the State of California. The zoning map amendment would impose the requirements of the Special Government Combining District on the property.
· Amend AMC Section 30-17 G - Special Government Combining Zone to cap the maximum residential capacity of the 36.36 acres to 435 units to maintain consistency with the 2009 Community Reuse Plan Amendment. The proposed text to be to the G District would read as follows:
"The 36.36 acre U.S Government property identified by assessor's parcel numbers APN74090501002 and APN 74090501202 shall be developed consistent with the Naval Air Station Alameda Community Reuse Plan Amendment (2009), and any use of the property by a private or public entity shall limit the number of housing units on the property to a maximum of 435 units, unless an affordable housing density bonus is granted pursuant to Section 30-17, in which case the maximum number of units may be increased consistent with Section 30-17"
In addition to ensuring consistency between the Community Reuse Plan and the Zoning Ordinance, the proposed amendments reduce the housing capacity in the Northern Waterfront by between 656 and 885 housing units depending on the amount of any requested Density Bonus. (State law prohibits the City from disallowing requests for a density bonus up to 35% above the maximum density of the site that is permitted under the zoning)
The following table illustrates the range potential reductions:
Zoning |
Maximum Number of Units |
With 10% Density Bonus |
With 20% Density Bonus |
With 35% Density Bonus |
R-4/MF (Existing) |
1091 |
1,200 |
1,310 |
1,473 |
R-4/MF/G (Proposed) |
435 |
479 |
522 |
587 |
Difference |
656 |
721 |
788 |
885 |
Housing Element Compliance: On March 10, 2015, the City Council stated that any proposed zoning changes should not jeopardize the 2014 State certification of the City's Housing Element. As described below, the proposed zoning amendments will not impact the City of Alameda's compliance with State Housing Law.
In 2014, the Planning Board recommended, and the City Council adopted, a Housing Element that meets the City's RHNA obligations (1,725 units) and provides for a reasonable surplus of available land (522 units). Providing a surplus helps ensure that the City Council and Planning Board meet the RHNA numbers, while maintaining sufficient flexibility to plan carefully each housing project to meet the needs of the community, the immediate neighborhood, the site specific physical conditions, and/or other city objectives and priorities (i.e., certain projects may build less units while others may build more). With a surplus, the City may approve fewer units on a Housing Element opportunity site than originally projected in the Housing Element, if the finding can be made that surplus sites will ensure that the City will meet its RHNA obligations during the period. For example, in 2013, the City approved fewer units on the Marina Shores site than expected in the 2012 Housing Element. When approving that project, the Planning Board and City Council made written findings that the other sites were still available to meet the RHNA.
The proposed zoning amendments for North Housing will reduce the City's 2014 Housing Element surplus, which may be needed over the course of the 2015-2023 period. However, if the City approves the proposed 200 affordable units and 600 market rate units at Alameda Point Site A, the City will have compensated for the reduction and will maintain an adequate surplus, which may be as necessary over the next eight years.
Regardless of the Housing Element obligations, staff anticipates that with approval of the Development Plan for Site A, the City will actually add 1,841 new housing units during the 2015-2023 planning period. Figure 1 lists each of the new housing projects and number of units that are projected to be actually constructed in Alameda over the 2015-2023 planning period. All of the projects listed in Figure 1 are either under construction, approved, or actively pursuing final land use entitlements (e.g. Design Review, Subdivision Maps, etc.).
Figure 1: Alameda Housing Construction Pipeline 2015-2023
Project |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
Total |
Oakmont Seniors |
25 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25 |
Alameda Landing Tripoint Homes |
54 |
120 |
111 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
285 |
Marina Shores |
29 |
60 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
89 |
Del Monte |
|
|
75 |
75 |
75 |
75 |
80 |
|
|
380 |
2437 Eagle |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
|
|
22 |
Alameda Point Site A |
|
|
|
100 |
150 |
150 |
150 |
150 |
100 |
800 |
Boatworks |
|
|
|
82 |
100 |
|
|
|
|
182 |
2100 Clement |
|
|
30 |
28 |
|
|
|
|
|
58 |
Total |
108 |
180 |
216 |
307 |
325 |
225 |
230 |
150 |
100 |
1,841 |
In conclusion, staff believes that the proposed amendment achieves the City Council's three primary objectives:
1) It reduces the housing capacity in the Northern Waterfront which will enable the City Council and community to better coordinate housing development and transportation improvements to ensure that that adequate transportation improvements are developed to serve the transportation needs of a growing population;
2) It establishes clarity and consistency between the Community Reuse Plan and zoning ordinance for the North Housing site, which will provide certainty for the community and the future developers of the site; and
3) It ensures that the Housing Element remains in compliance with State law.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The proposed Zoning Map and Text amendments described in this report and in Exhibit 2 would not result in any new impacts or more severe impacts than have been previously identified in the Community Reuse Plan EIR and 2009 Addendum or in the Housing Element Negative Declaration and 2012 EIR Addendum.
Density Bonus Ordinance: The proposed Density Bonus Ordinance Amendments simply clarify the existing regulations that are prescribed by State law and implemented locally through AMC 30-17. Furthermore, any development project that requests a density bonus for construction of a residential project is also subject to the California Environmental Quality Act, through which the project specific environmental impacts will be identified and disclosed.
North Housing Zoning Amendments: The proposed North Housing Zoning Amendments reduce the number of housing units that can be constructed on the property by between 655 and 886 units. Reducing the number of housing units to be developed on the property will reduce the number of automobile trips and vehicle miles traveled generated by development of the property. Reducing vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled reduces the severity of the transportation impacts associated with development of the property. The reduction in vehicle trips and vehicle miles travelled also reduces the severity of automobile emission Air Quality impacts, and automobile Noise impacts associated with the development of the property.
The proposed amendment does not change the planned use of the property for housing, open space, and associated facilities and improvements. Consistent with the Community Reuse Plan, it is anticipated that all of the existing buildings will be removed and replaced with up to 435 housing units on a site that has historically been used for residential and open space purposes. Therefore, there is no evidence that the less than significant impacts associated with redevelopment of the property related to Land Use, Population, Housing, Visual Resources, Public Services, Water Resources, Historic and Cultural Resources, Biological Resources, Hazards, and Cumulative Impacts would be increased or that any new impacts that were not previously identified would occur.
Finally, the environmental conditions on the site have remained unchanged since 2005, when the Coast Guard vacated the property.
Section 15162 of the State CEQA Guidelines describes the conditions under which preparation of additional environmental documentation is required. (Also see Public Resources Code section 21166.) Additional environmental documentation is required if the City determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in light of the whole record, that one or more of the following conditions is met:
1. substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified effects;
2. substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or
3. new information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete that shows that:
a) the zoning amendments will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR;
b) significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
c) mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible, and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measures or alternatives; or
d) mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponent declines to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.
None of the conditions described in Section 15162 that would require preparation of a subsequent environmental document are met. There is no evidence that the proposed changes to the Density Bonus Ordinance, the G Special Government Combining District Ordinance, or the Zoning Map would result in new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified effects. No further environmental review is required pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt the resolution recommending that the City Council approve the recommended zoning text and zoning map amendments described in Exhibit 2.
Respectfully Submitted By:
Andrew Thomas
City Planner
Exhibits:
1. March 10, 2015 City Council Report
2. Resolution with Recommended Zoning Amendments.