Title
Draft Meeting Minutes - November 14, 2016
Body
DRAFT MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2016
1. CONVENE
President Köster convened the meeting at 7:01pm
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Curtis led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: President Köster, Board Members Burton, Curtis, Knox White, Mitchell, Sullivan, Zuppan.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
Board Member Zuppan made a motion to move a portion of staff communications to the beginning of the regular agenda in order to hear public comment. Board Member Mitchell seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Linda Asbury introduced herself as the new Executive Director of the West Alameda Business Association.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
6-A 2016-3578
PLN14-0517 - 712 Lincoln Avenue - Applicant: Simon Kwan for Kevin Lam. A public hearing to consider design revisions to the building cornice to address a condition of approval from the July 25, 2016 Planning Board Meeting. A report to the Planning Board from staff regarding the rehabilitation and relocation plan for the Southern Pacific Railroad waiting room structure on the site. This project has determined to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15332 - Infill Development Projects.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the item. Board Member Zuppan seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
***9-A 2016-3573***
Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. He said they approved a design review for a garage on St. Charles. He said the board could decide to call it for review (applicant pays) or uphold the staff decision and the neighbors could appeal (appellant pays).
Board Member Curtis asked how much the call for review would cost.
Staff Member Thomas said staff and materials cost would typically be around $1,000.
President Köster opened the public hearing.
Dee Keltner said she is very concerned that the expansion will endanger the three large oak trees surrounding the structure.
Thomas D., applicant, said they have been trying to be very accommodating of neighbor concerns with the design and construction plan. He said they have invested in an arborist to properly prune the trees and hopes the board continues to approve their project.
Scott Dawson said the concern is the proximity of the construction to the oak trees. He said the arborist report does not say what distance from the building would be appropriate because the building will be too close.
Antonia Nicosia said the large accessory structures along the property line cause drainage and flooding issues. She asked that the plan be reviewed and no plan be approved that compromises live oak trees.
President Köster closed the public hearing.
Staff Member Thomas said there were a number of conditions of approval regarding the trees. He said an arborist would be consulted throughout the construction process.
President Köster asked what the distances were between the trees and the proposed structure.
Staff Member Thomas said the distances were 4 feet, just over 4 feet, and 4 feet.
Board Member Mitchell asked if the foundation would be pier to post or continuous foundation.
Staff Member Sablan said they would be required to use piers and floating timbers.
Board Member Burton asked how the garage door would work with the “grade beam” requirements. He asked whether the parking surface would be replaced and, if so, whether it would be impervious or not.
The applicant said they have hired a landscape architect, Jennifer Bowles, and that they expect the parking surface to be permeable.
Board Member Zuppan confirmed that the trees are currently healthy.
Board Member Sullivan asked how the four foot requirement was chosen.
Staff Member Thomas said that it was a staff decision based on site conditions and other factors. He said they also made the problem more difficult by pushing the new garage five feet off the property line.
Board Member Zuppan asked about the drainage concerns raised by the neighbors.
Staff Member Sablan said the conditions required that the drainage be directed away from the property line and that it would be reviewed at the plan check phase.
Board Member Curtis said he would not like to call the project for review.
Board Member Burton said he has been in that backyard and that the trees are character defining trees for the neighborhood. He said it requires more detailed study to demonstrate that the project can proceed without killing those trees. He said he would call the project for review and described what he would look for in the plan.
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
7-A 2016-3579
Safety and Noise Element Update - Public Hearing and Recommendation for Adoption by City Council. This project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), as the project does not have the potential to have a significant effect on the environment.
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2875503&GUID=5171E347-2872-44DE-87C5-0F0CD6E522A0&FullText=1>
There were no public speakers.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the item. Board Member Zuppan seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0. The resolution can be found at: <https://alamedaca.gov/sites/default/files/document-files/department-files/Planning/2016_planning_board_resos_july-december.pdf>
7-B 2016-3582
PLN16-0185 - 1629 Webster Street - Applicant: Daniel Hoy for Sam & Michelle Koka. Public Hearing to consider Design Review and Parking Exception to construct a new approximately 14,300-square-foot three-story mixed-use building located on the southwesterly corner of Webster Street and Pacific Avenue. The new building contains approximately 5,000-square-feet of ground floor retail with an approximately 9,300 square-foot senior boarding house within the second and third stories. The site is located within the C-C Community Commercial Zoning District.
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2875505&GUID=0E5AB5AA-5339-406F-894D-8104621C3F63&FullText=1>
Staff Member Dong gave a presentation on the project plans.
President Köster asked why this use was not included in the CC zoning district.
Staff Member Thomas said the zoning was created in 1999 specifically for the business districts. He said hotels and dwelling units were allowed but is not sure why boarding houses were left out.
Board Member Curtis asked if the leased parking would be restricted at any time.
Staff Member Dong said they would be exclusively for the lessee.
Board Member Zuppan asked why the parking agreement was only for 14 years when the building would be there indefinitely.
Staff Member Dong said the condition was based on how a previous project was handled.
Board Member Sullivan asked if we knew how many employees would be on site at any given time.
Staff Member Dong said they anticipated three employees.
Sam Koka, applicant, explained the background for the project and asked the board to approve the project.
Board Member Mitchell asked how the applicant arrived at the unit sizes for the project.
Mr. Koka said they based it off of other similar projects.
President Köster asked the applicant to explain why this type of project is needed.
Mr. Koka said this place would be more affordable than the high end assisted living facilities, including to people like him.
President Köster opened the public hearing.
Bill DeMar spoke in favor of the project. He said he looks forward to the pedestrian nature of the project and that it would help catalyze activity on Webster St.
Rony Nathan said he would like to live in a place like this because driving is very stressful. He said he wants to be in the middle of the action instead of a remote spot like Bay Farm or Cardinal Point.
President Köster closed the public hearing.
President Köster asked if this project would count towards the Housing Element.
Staff Member Thomas said they are not dwelling units and would not count towards the housing allocations.
Board Member Sullivan said her problem is with the lack of parking.
Board Member Zuppan said she is happy to see the proposal and hopes it succeeds. She said she does have concerns about the parking situation. She said the space needs to be flexible and needs to have adequate parking in case the use changes. She said the parking arrangement should be required as long as the use exists. She said the building fits in the neighborhood, but that it looks flat. She said she would like to see more depth with the windows and maybe different colors. She suggested adding some open air community space on the ground floor. She said she agrees with Board Member Sullivan that this type of use would need more than one accessible parking space.
Board Member Curtis said he wanted to make sure the parking lease agreement would survive any changes with the hotel business.
Board Member Knox White said this was an exciting project for this location. He said he would be looking for every unit to have a transit pass. He said the shared parking agreement is a good solution to the parking issue. He said there should be an annual reporting requirement for the transportation requirements placed on the project.
Board Member Mitchell said Alameda needs this type of housing and this a good location for it. He said Webster street needs this type of project more than it needs parking spots. He said he hopes the project is successful.
Board Member Burton said this project is very much needed in this section of Webster street. He said he is not worried about the parking at all. He said the shared parking should be flexible and allow a lease within a certain distance, not specifically with Hawthorn Suites. He said he would provide a list of building plan concerns that might be an issue with the building code. He said the architectural composition was fine, but he would like to see a little more detail. He said he would like to see a color and materials board before approving the design.
President Köster said these are the types of projects we like to see in our downtown districts. He said that a parking problem along this section of Webster would be a good thing. He said this location has a walkscore of 88. He said he agrees that the design could use a little more articulation.
Board Member Zuppan made a motion to continue the item, at staff’s request, to December 12, 2016. Board Member Curtis seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
7-C 2016-3583
Alameda Marina Draft Master Plan Environmental Impact Report Scoping Session
Board Member Burton said his firm is working on this project and he recused himself from the discussion.
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2875506&GUID=A6AD81E5-748F-4871-BC53-D5EAFA19A3B2>
Sean Murphy, Bay West Development, gave a presentation on their plans for the site.
President Köster opened the public hearing.
Peter Brand said he is participating in an advisory committee for the project. He said the developer is proposing to eliminate two thirds of the commercial and dry storage space. He said they are proposing to drastically reduce the dry boat storage and non-maritime commercial. He said most people are not aware of the 1845 approved units in Alameda’s pipeline or the thousands of units coming to Brooklyn Basin. He said lessees on the site are not going to confront their landlord and come speak to them.
Steve Cooper said he is a neighbor and long term sailor who feels threatened by this project. He said he is scared of the traffic.
Dorothy Freeman said there are few plans to deal with traffic generated by all the approved housing developments. She said she is concerned that all of Alameda’s commercial areas are being used up for housing and that we should support the businesses we already have.
Bob Naber gave a presentation on the current maritime ecosystem that exists at Alameda Marina. He said getting the maritime and boatyard activities approved somewhere else is very difficult.
Laura Thomas, Renewed Hope, said they do support the project and applaud the attempts to address our housing crisis. She said the rise in rents has created an exodus of long time residents.
Helen Sause, Alameda Home Team, said this is an exciting mixed use project. She said this is an opportunity to interface with projects on the other side of the estuary.
Karen Bey said she supports this project. She said she is excited by all the housing opportunities for residents of different incomes. She said these types of developments will help pay for water transit infrastructure.
John Platt said the project is very interesting. He said Svendsen’s boatyard is one of the few boatyards left in the area. He said the boatyard is critical to a viable maritime ecosystem in the Bay Area.
Woody Minor gave a presentation on the maritime and architectural history of the site. He said the character defining spaces are the interior spaces and they are ignored in the consultant’s report. He said the report is inadequate and lacks context.
President Köster closed the public hearing and announced a five minute recess.
Board Member Zuppan said that we needed an assessment of the historical analysis.
Staff Member Thomas said they respect greatly Mr. Minor’s comments and will follow up with the consultant.
Board Member Sullivan said that the EIR should study the effect on the entire Bay Area’s boating community.
Staff Member Thomas discussed the tradeoffs between using housing to pay for needed improvements that will preserve the maritime infrastructure and preserving enough space to allow the maritime functions to thrive.
Board Member Curtis asked if other revenue sources have been pursued to fund the needed improvements besides relying on housing to pay for everything.
Staff Member Thomas said they have explored that possibility somewhat and that there just is not a lot of money for this type of work.
Board Member Sullivan asked if money was set aside every year for these anticipated infrastructure improvements.
Staff Member Thomas said that for city owned land, like streets, yes, but not on private land.
Board Member Sullivan said it is a lot of houses to add and a lot of businesses and uses will be displaced. She said she is concerned about the mix of rental and for sale units. She said the city is already 55% renters and that is an issue.
Board Member Knox White suggested studying what the housing’s impacts would be on affordability. He said the no build alternative really needs to study what would happen to the infrastructure under that scenario. He said we need to study travel time impacts for transit. He said the community might be interested in a lower housing alternative.
Board Member Zuppan said the EIR should study the changes in the types of use of the commercial spaces. She asked if we were ready for the impact of work that would disturb the water and what to do with what we find there. She said we need to consider what the impact of of Brooklyn Basin would be on traffic for this project. She said we need to study what the economic consequences are to restructuring the commercial areas of the site and their downstream effects.
President Köster said this is an ambitious plan. He said the site is very large and could lend itself to more efficient use of space. He said we need a better inventory of the buildings and the environmental impacts of removing these buildings. He said we need to study the water transit impacts and how the project works with the rest of the Northern Waterfront. He said we need the workforce housing.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to continue the meeting to 11:05pm. Board Member Zuppan seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
8. MINUTES
8-A 2016-3580
Draft Meeting Minutes - July 11, 2016
Board Member Curtis made a motion to approve the minutes. Board Member Zuppan seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0-2. (Abstain: Mitchell, Sullivan. Not present: Burton.)
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2016-3573
Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions
***Moved to beginning of regular agenda.***
9-B 2016-3574
Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Community Development Department Projects
*None*
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Zuppan gave an update on the Economic Development Strategic Plan.
11-A 2016-3581
Subcommittee with Commission on Disability Issues regarding Universal Design Ordinance
*None*
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
13. ADJOURNMENT
President Köster adjourned the meeting at 11:03pm.