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Planning Board Study Session: Boatworks Project, PLN15-0582 - 2235 Clement Avenue - Applicant: Phillip Banta. Study Session to review and comment on Development Plan and Density Bonus applications for construction of approximately 182 residential units and approximately two acres of open space on a 9.48-acre parcel located at 2235 Clement Avenue. An environmental impact report has been completed for the project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
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CITY OF ALAMEDA
Memorandum
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Date: May 9, 2016
Re: Planning Board Study Session: Boatworks Project, PLN15-0582 - 2235 Clement Avenue - Applicant: Phillip Banta. Study Session to review and comment on Development Plan and Density Bonus applications for construction of approximately 182 residential units and approximately two acres of open space on a 9.48-acre parcel located at 2235 Clement Avenue. An environmental impact report has been completed for the project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
BACKGROUND
In September 2010, the City Council rezoned the 9.48-acre subject property to include 1.8 acres of waterfront open space and 7.6 acres of residentially zoned land. In September 2011, the City Council approved a Tentative Map for a 182-unit residential project with a 1.8-acre waterfront open space. In September 2015, the City Council approved a one-year extension for the 2011 Tentative Map until July 2016. On December 3, 2015, the applicant submitted an application for Development Plan approval for the property, which is different from the 2011 Tentative Map. (Exhibit 1)
On March 7, 2016, staff transmitted a letter to the applicant (Exhibit 2) that raises a number of issues that would need to be resolved to bring the Development Plan and Density Bonus applications into compliance with the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC).
The purpose of the May 9th, 2016 Planning Board study session is to provide an opportunity for the Planning Board to review and comment on the current Development Plan and Density Bonus applications. Staff is not seeking action on this item tonight. Although the application includes proposed elevations for the buildings, the applicant is not requesting Design Review approval at this time. The elevations were submitted to support the Density Bonus application.
discussion
General Plan Conformance: Staff believes that the Development Plan is in substantial compliance with the General Plan. The 9.5-acre site is designated in the General Plan and Land Use Element for waterfront open space and medium density residential use. The proposed Development Plan includes an approximately 1.8-acre waterfront park and approximately 7.6 acres of medium density residential development. The applicant is proposing 182 residential units.
The Housing Element of the General Plan identifies the site as an opportunity site to provide up to 182 of the City’s 1,725 residential units required to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The site does not include Multi-family overlay zoning, so the 182 units are counted towards the lower density portion of the RHNA. If less units are approved on the site, the City must find that the reduction of units on the site will not result in a “net loss” from the City’s RHNA. As of April 2016, the Housing Element includes a significant surplus in the lower density portion of the RHNA.
Open Space Zoning Conformance: The applicant is proposing an open space plan that is in substantial conformance with the Open Space zoning designation adopted for the property in 2010. The proposed waterfront open space includes waterfront trails and seating areas and an opportunity to provide a public dock and future water taxi landing. Access to the proposed park is provided by:
• A pedestrian connection from the intersection of Oak Street and Blanding Street, across the street from the Little House Café.
• A pedestrian connection from Clement Avenue through the center of the project, and
• Automobile and bicycle access from the extension of Oak Street and the extension of Elm Street through the project to the waterfront park.
With appropriate conditions requiring public access, water access, and design of the bio-retention areas, the proposed development plan is in substantial conformance with the site’s open space zoning designation. If the project includes the addition of a floating public dock on the 0.1 acres of submerged land within the property, the overall size of the publicly accessible, “useable” open space would increase from 1.8 acres to 1.9 acres.
Exhibit 3 includes photographs taken by Mr. Joseph Woodward during a community visit to the site of the waterfront park in 2015.
Residential Zoning Conformance: Staff is currently working with the applicant to insure that the Development Plan and Density Bonus applications are in conformance with the R2/PD Zoning designation and AMC.
Tentative Map: The 2011 Tentative Map included an approximately 1.8-acre public park similar to the 2016 Development Plan, but the park was partially located over the estuary with a variety of decks and docks. The proposed decks and docks represent new bay “fill” and were not well received by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). The 2016 Development Plan shifts the proposed open space back onto the approximately 9.48 acres of property above the mean high water line.
As a result of the shift of the open space and some other changes to the street plan and building placement and the insufficiencies with the affordable housing plan (described below), the 2016 Development Plan is not in substantial conformance with the 2011 Tentative Map. The 2011 Tentative Map must be amended to conform to the Development Plan. The necessary amendment or new map may occur simultaneously or subsequent to the City’s approval of a Development Plan for the site.
Affordable Housing Density Bonus: As described in Exhibit 2, staff is working with the applicant to finalize the “base plan” required by Section 30-17 (Density Bonus Ordinance) and the affordable housing plan required by Section 30-16 (Inclusionary Housing Ordinance).
Base Plan: The Density Bonus ordinance requires the applicant to provide a “base plan” that shows the maximum number of units that could be constructed on the residential portion of the property under the existing General Plan and R-2/PD Zoning Designations. As described in Exhibit 2, the applicant and staff are still working to determine the appropriate number of units for the base plan. Based upon the applicant’s most recent submittal, staff believes the base plan will accommodate between 130 and 140 units. Staff will continue to work with the applicant to establish the specific number of units prior to the Planning Board’s final action on the project.
Affordable Housing Plan: The applicant is proposing to provide 13 very-low income units and eight moderate-income units, for a total of 21 affordable units. By providing 13 very low- income units, the applicant is providing 9% of the 140 units at the very low-income level, which qualifies the project for a 30% density bonus under Section 30-17.
Although staff agrees that 13 very low-income units on a base plan of 140 units qualifies for a 30% density bonus, for a total of 182 units, the applicant must still meet the requirements of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (Section 30-16), which requires 4% very low-income (six units), 4% low-income (six units), and 7% moderate-income (10 units) for a 140-unit base plan. The Inclusionary Housing Ordinance does not allow staff or the Planning Board to waive the provision of low-income units in favor of a larger number of very low-income units. Therefore, a base project of 140 units that is requesting a 30% density bonus must provide 29 affordable units as follows:
• 13 very low-income units (9% of 140 units to qualify for a 30% bonus and meet the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requirement)
• Six low-income units (4% to meet the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requirement), and
• 10 moderate-income units (7% to meet the inclusionary ordinance requirement).
The applicant it proposing to place all of the affordable units in a single multifamily building on the corner of the property. Staff believes that the affordable units can be provided in a single building on the site; however, under the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, the inclusionary units should be “comparable” to the market rate units. All but two of the 13 very low-income units are less than 800 square feet in size. The eight moderate-income units are all less than 1,150 square feet in size.
Waivers for Multifamily Housing and Diversity of Housing Types: Under California Government Code 65915 and City of Alameda Municipal Code Section 3-17 (Density Bonus Ordinance), a Density Bonus project is eligible for waivers from local development restrictions that make it physically difficult to fit the full project with the additional bonus units on the property. Under Section 30-17, the applicant has requested a waiver from Alameda Municipal Code Section 30-53 Prohibition on Multifamily Housing to accommodate the additional bonus units on the site. Staff believes the waiver from the multifamily prohibition is necessary and appropriate to accommodate the additional units on the property. In addition, the waiver supports General Plan objectives and policy 2.4.e “Expand housing opportunities for households of all income groups.”
Staff believes the project should include a variety of housing types and sizes and that the . Staff also believes the project should have a variety of unit sizes, and that the affordable units should be comparable to the market rate units.
Staff is currently evaluating the Development Plan’s proposed distribution of housing unit types and sizes, which includes:
• 30 single family homes (16%),
• 68 units in duplex buildings (38%),
• 54 units in townhomes (30%), and
• 30 units in a single multifamily building of stacked flats (16%).
In terms of unit size, all of the single family homes, duplex units, and most of the townhome units are between 2,873 square feet in size (four or five bedrooms) and 2,101 square feet in size (two to three bedrooms). The 40 townhomes facing Clement Street and Oak Street are 1,422 square feet (two to three bedrooms), and the multifamily building’s units vary in size from 420 square feet to two units that are approximately 1,900 square feet.
Transportation: Pursuant to the EIR, the project must provide a transportation demand management program to reduce peak hour trips. Staff recommends the following program:
• Join the Northern Waterfront Transportation Management Association.
• Fund commute hour bus service with 20-minute headways and provide a minimum of one AC Transit pass to each household.
• To fund the bus service and passes, the project shall provide annual funding in the following amounts (amounts shown in 2015 dollars with annual CPI increase):
o Single family detached: $550/year
o Attached row houses: $450/year
o Multifamily flats: $350/year
The annual transportation fees are set to match the rates for Marina Shores, 2100 Clement, and the Del Monte Building.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In September 2010, the City Council completed and certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) evaluating the impacts of a 242-unit project on the site. The EIR also included a reduced density alternative of approximately 182 units. The Development Plan will be required to implement all of the mitigations required for the reduced density alternative.
RECOMMENDATION
Review and comment on the draft Development Plan and Density Bonus applications.
Respectfully Submitted By:
Andrew Thomas
Assistant Community Development Director
Exhibits:
1. Development Plan
2. March Letter from Staff
3. Waterfront Photographs