Title
Planning Board Study Session: Alameda Landing Waterfront Park Design and Land Use Program Revision
Body
To: President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
SUMMARY
The applicant, Catellus Alameda Development, LLC (“Catellus”), is requesting an opportunity to introduce its current plans for the remaining 41 waterfront acres of the Alameda Landing project site located north of Mitchell Avenue and immediately across the Estuary from Jack London Square. This area is the planned location of the 8-acre waterfront park environed by the Alameda Landing/Bayport Mixed Use Master Plan (Master Plan).
The 2006 Master Plan, as refined by the land use adjustments that have occurred to date, anticipates that the remaining waterfront property would be developed with:
• 394,000 square feet of non-residential and employment uses;
• 35,000 square feet of retail/services; and
• An 8-acre waterfront park.
The Master Plan authorizes a mix of uses throughout the Alameda Landing Master Plan area, including all the permitted uses include all uses allowed in the C-2 Central Business zoning district. To encourage a mix of uses, the Master Plan establishes Mixed Use Guidelines that allow uses to be added or subtracted from a sub-area as long as there is a corresponding reduction of other uses to ensure that no new or substantially more severe environmental impacts (including traffic, air quality, noise and other relevant environmental issues) would result from the change. Subject to these Mixed Use Guidelines, residential uses are permitted in the waterfront area to enliven the waterfront and promote weekday and weekend use of the public open space. Catellus is currently proposing to changes the land use program for the remaining waterfront phase of the Alameda Landing project to include:
• 375 housing units;
• A 124 room hotel;
• 15,000 square feet of retail/services;
• 10,000 square feet of office/work, and
• An 8-acre waterfront park.
The current Catellus land use proposal for the waterfront differs from the land use plan originally envisioned in the Master Plan adopted by the Planning Board and City Council in 2006. Catellus is proposing to change the uses in the waterfront area to maximize the value of the land. Catellus has notified the City that it is necessary to increase the value of the 40-acre property in order to financially support redevelopment of the property and construction of the public waterfront park.
Catellus intends to submit applications for Development Plan approval by the Planning Board. The Planning Board retains the discretion to approve or deny the proposed changes after considering whether the changes are in the best interests of the larger Alameda community. The Planning Board may approve the future Development Plan application without amending the Master Plan if the Planning Board is able to find that the Development Plan is generally consistent with the General Plan and Master Plan and will not result in any new or more severe environmental impacts than were disclosed in the prior EIR for the project.
At this time, Catellus is seeking preliminary feedback from the Planning Board regarding its development proposal. To inform the Planning Board’s discussion, Catellus has provided a set of drawings (Exhibit 1) illustrating its proposed concept for the waterfront lands. Based upon an initial review of the proposal, staff believes that:
• The proposed design for the public waterfront park is consistent with the Master Plan and will be a unique and valued public asset for the Alameda community.
• The proposed land use program requires that the Planning Board and Alameda community consider citywide housing needs, citywide employment needs, and citywide open space needs. Ultimately, the Planning Board will need to decide whether the City should allow residential use of the land to facilitate the immediate construction of housing and a public waterfront park or preserve the land for additional future employment and commercial uses, even if that decision means that the City may not realize those objectives or the construction of the public waterfront park for an extended period of time, or until such time that non-residential land values increase sufficiently to cover the development costs for the site and the waterfront park.
BACKGROUND
The subject 41-acre site is the last phase of a planning process that began with the closure of NAS Alameda in 1993. The following major events and actions proceeded this submittal.
• In 1993, the Navy announced that it would be closing down its operations in Alameda. At the time the Navy provided between 16,000 and 18,000 military and civilian jobs in Alameda.
• In 1996, the City of Alameda adopted the Community Reuse Plan for the reuse and redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station and Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC). The Reuse Plan emphasizes the importance of job creation, economic development, and the creation of a mixed-use community that would blend seamlessly with the existing neighborhoods.
• In 2000, the City of Alameda approved the Catellus Mixed Use Master Plan, to guide the redevelopment of the Bayport neighborhood and the 77-acre Alameda Landing site consistent with the Reuse Plan. The Master Plan called for 1.3 million square feet of employment uses, approximately 586 housing units (Bayport), a school (Ruby Bridges School) and a waterfront park.
• In 2005, Catellus approached the City with a request to revise the Master Plan to allow more housing and retail use of the property.
• In 2006, the City Council approved a General Plan Amendment and Master Plan Amendment that reduced the employment uses from 1.3 million square feet to 400,000 square feet to make room for 300 additional housing units and 300,000 square feet of retail space. The 2006 amendments also added the land use substitution procedures.
• In 2012, the Planning Board approved the Development Plan and Street Improvement Plans for the Alameda Landing Retail Center, and the Design Review application for the Target store.
• In 2013, the Planning Board approved a Development Plan and Design Review for the new TRI Pointe neighborhood and the final Design Review for the ten remaining retail buildings in the retail center. The Target store opened in October 2013, and the balance of the retail center opened in 2015.
• In 2014, the Planning Board approved a Development Plan and Design Review for a 32-unit affordable residential project for low- and very low-income households. Stargell Commons is currently under construction and will be completed by early 2017.
ANALYSIS
The Open Space Plan:
Staff believes that the proposed design for the public waterfront park as shown in Exhibit 1 is consistent with the Master Plan and will be a unique and valued public asset for the Alameda community. The proposed open space plan for the Alameda Landing waterfront park, includes:
• Over eight acres of public open space, and over 1,200 lineal feet of waterfront frontage.
• A minimum 100-foot width for the full length of the park.
• A 30-foot wide pedestrian promenade along the water’s edge.
• A water shuttle landing at the foot of 5th Street.
The Alameda community has consistently reinforced, through adopted policies and ongoing community discussion, the need to increase open space opportunities for Alameda residents and increase waterfront access opportunities. In response, the City of Alameda and the community have an impressive list of major open space initiatives underway, including:
• The 21-acre Jean Sweeny Open Space Park.
• The 8-acre Estuary Park adjacent to the Alameda Landing site.
• The 15 acres of waterfront and other public parks at Alameda Point Site A.
Future additional parks include:
• The 2-acre waterfront park at the Boatworks site.
• Approximately 5-acre waterfront park at Encinal Terminals.
• Approximately 250 acres of waterfront parks and open space at Alameda Point.
The Proposed Land Use Plan:
Catellus believes that the current land use program for the waterfront will not generate enough land value to cover the costs to stabilize the site and construct the 8-acre waterfront park. To cover the costs of developing the waterfront site and park, Catellus is proposing to modify the land use program to include 375 housing units.
The Planning Board and community must decide whether the City should amend the program to maximize land value at the expense of potential future employment opportunities. When considering the proposed change from employment to residential use, the Planning Board and Alameda community may wish to consider and discuss:
• The citywide need for more housing.
• The citywide need for more on-island employment opportunities.
• The citywide need for new parks.
Citywide Housing Needs. Alameda and the rest of the San Francisco Bay area are in the midst of a regional housing crisis. Rising rents, rising housing costs, and reduced availability of rental units and reasonably priced for-sale units are causing local and regional displacement of long-time residents, longer commutes for Alameda and regional workers, and increased regional congestion. Community-wide concerns about rising rents have resulted in the adoption of new ordinances designed to restrict rent increases, and competing citizen initiatives related to rent control targeting the November 2016 ballot. Meanwhile, many local home buyers have found that the cost to purchase a home in Alameda has increased beyond the ability of many Alameda residents to afford homeownership.
In response to the current crisis and the State mandates to address housing needs both locally and regionally, the City of Alameda has zoned a significant amount of land for residential use, including a Multi-Family (MF) overlay zone on 10 acres of Alameda Landing’s waterfront property. As documented in prior staff reports to the City Council and Planning Board, the City currently has a significant amount of land zoned for residential use and the City and local housing developers are on track to produce over 1,800 new housing units over the next seven years in Alameda. In addition to the 1,800 units, the owners of the Encinal Terminals site recently submitted an application for 589 units, and staff anticipates an application in the near future from the owners of the Alameda Marina Site for another 400 to 500 units.
Citywide Employment Needs and Traffic. Despite the fact that housing supply continues to be inadequate to meet demand, many Alameda residents are also concerned about the effect of new housing on the morning and evening commutes, as residents of Alameda leave the island each day to travel to their jobs that are located in neighboring jurisdictions or elsewhere in the Bay Area.
The Alameda General Plan identifies economic development and job creation on-island as strategies to address commute hour traffic. Adding jobs in Alameda to create a better “jobs/housing balance” can improve commute hour traffic congestion if more Alameda residents are able to find employment on-island.
Unfortunately, the City of Alameda has one of the worst jobs/housing balances in the Bay Area, and the City of Alameda’s supply of available vacant land to accommodate new employment and commercial uses is limited. The major vacant sites for non-residential construction are limited to:
• Approximately 82 acres at “Site B” at Alameda Point.
• Approximately 20 vacant acres in the Harbor Bay Business Park.
• Approximately seven acres at the “Bay Ship” site on Main Street, and
• The 32-acres at the Alameda Landing waterfront.
Next Steps:
At the May 23, 2016 study session, the Planning Board should begin the public planning process for this final phase of the Alameda Landing site. To inform the next steps in the process, the Board should:
• Indicate whether the Planning Board is in support of a residential mixed use plan for the site.
• Confirm that the design of the open space is appropriate for the site, and indicate whether any changes are needed to improve the open space plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On December 5, 2006, the City Council certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Landing Mixed Use Development Project (a Supplement to the 2000 Catellus Mixed Use Development Project EIR) in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (State Clearinghouse #2006012091). The City has prepared several addenda to the 2006 SEIR.
Upon conclusion of the study session, and concurrent with the review of a future Development Plan application, the City will determine if any new, or substantially more severe impacts might be expected as compared to those identified in the 2006 SEIR. If it is determined that the revised land use program would result in new or substantially more severe environmental impacts, then a supplemental environmental impact report will be required.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a study session to provide direction and suggestions for the future mix of uses and design of the public park at the Alameda Landing waterfront.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Exhibits:
1. Alameda Landing Mixed Use Waterfront Project Site Plans and Illustrations: