Title
Del Monte Development Project Annual Report. The Planning Board will consider an annual report documenting compliance with the 2014 Del Monte Warehouse Development Agreement. The consideration of an Annual Report is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). No further environmental review is required.
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas
Assistant Community Development Director
Date: March 27, 2017
Re: Annual Review: Del Monte Development Agreement - Applicant: TL Partners I, LP. The applicant requests a periodic review of a Development Agreement related to the Del Monte Warehouse Master Plan. The consideration of an Annual Report is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). No further environmental review is required.
BACKGROUND
In January 2015, the City of Alameda and TL Partners I, LP (“Developer”), entered into a Development Agreement (DA) for the “Del Monte Warehouse Master Plan.”
Alameda Municipal Code (“AMC”) Section 30-95.1 authorizes the Planning Board to conduct a public hearing at which the applicant must demonstrate good faith compliance with the terms and conditions of the DA. In order to demonstrate good faith compliance, the applicant has submitted a Developer Letter of Compliance (Exhibit 1) for the annual review as required under AMC Section 30-95.1 and Article 5 of the DA.
This annual review reports on activities and developments taking place from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.
ANALYSIS
During the Development Agreement Annual Review Period (January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016), TL Partners I, LP and the City worked together on several activities. Those activities are summarized below and described in full in Exhibit 1:
• Jean Sweeney Open Space Park: The Developer is obligated to make a payment of $2,000,000 in order to fund portions of the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park (“JSOSP”), a 22-acre planned park. The developer paid an initial amount of $300,000 in February 2015, and will be paying the remaining $1.7 million to the Recreation and Parks Department in 2017, to facilitate and support the City’s construction of the Park. Using the Developer’s $2 million contribution as matching funds, the City secured a $2 million grant from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and when combined, these funds cover the cost of approximately half of the improvements required to complete the park. The City has also received $2.3 million from the Regional Active Transportation Program, specifically for completion of the Cross Alameda Trail, which runs the length of the park. Construction of the easterly portion of JSOSP and the Cross Alameda Trail is anticipated to begin in 2017.
• Clement Extension: The Developer is required to complete improvements to a portion of Clement Avenue from Atlantic Avenue to Entrance Road. To that end, the Developer must acquire a piece of property from Wind River Systems before it can construct those improvements. After almost four years, Developer was able to negotiate an agreement with Wind River to acquire the property needed to complete these improvements. Developer is currently conducting its feasibility review for the to-be-acquired parcels, and closing is expected to occur by mid-2017.
• Transportation Demand Management Program: The DA and Del Monte Master Plan require that the Developer establish and operate a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program to reduce peak hour vehicle trips generated by the Del Monte development. Pursuant to those agreements, the Developer is required to initiate TDM services upon occupancy of the building, and the Developer is required to submit an annual report documenting compliance with the Planning Board-approved TDM program for the project. The first TDM annual report will be provided by the Developer at that time.
Although not required by the DA, the Developer has been working actively with the City on two important transportation initiatives:
o TL Partners was instrumental in working with AC Transit to reinstate service on Line 19 along Buena Vista Avenue. Working with other developments in the Northern Waterfront and the City, TL Partners and others provided financial subsidies for the Line 19 implementation, allowing the Line to offer 20-minute service during commute hours. The Line 19 began operation in December 2016 and has significantly exceeded AC Transit’s ridership projections in the first six months of operation.
o TL Partners has been instrumental in assisting the City of Alameda establish a citywide Transportation Management Association (TMA) to coordinate the provision of supplemental transit services, leverage transportation resources to improve services for Alameda residents, and expand services citywide.
• Retail/Commercial Leasing: The Developer is required to include a minimum of 30,000 square feet of ground floor neighborhood-serving retail/commercial space within the Project. Leasing of these retail spaces will commence upon building completion.
• Beneficial Transfer Fee Agreement: The Beneficial Transfer Fee Agreement was executed concurrently with the Development Agreement in 2015.
• Affordable Housing Agreement: The Developer is required to submit for review and approval by the City Council, an Affordable Housing Agreement for the provision of fifty-five (55) affordable housing units. In 2015, the City Council approved the Affordable Housing Agreement and the agreement to convey the City of Alameda-owned portion of the property (which will contain the future 31-unit senior affordable housing building), to the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda.
Developer and the Housing Authority worked closely throughout 2016, to complete all of the preparatory agreements and activities required to consummate conveyance of the parcels to the Housing Authority, and to prepare for construction commencement. As a result, groundbreaking at the site occurred in fall 2016, and the pad grading was completed in November, 2016. The building permit for the new senior affordable building has been issued, and foundation work is under way for all 31 of the very low and low income units required by the Master Plan and DA.
• Other Progress: Developer has been working with its design team to complete the construction drawings and improvement plans for the Del Monte Warehouse building. Construction drawings are currently undergoing plan check with the City; building permits are expected in June 2017.
During the review period, there has been on-going cooperation between the Developer and the City regarding all aspects of the Del Monte project, as there has been in previous years. As a result, staff believes that the Developer has performed in good faith compliance with the terms and conditions of the Del Monte DA.
Over the course of the next few years, staff anticipates that the City and Developer will continue to work on activities necessary to complete construction of the Del Monte Warehouse and the 31-unit affordable housing project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Annual review and reporting is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the draft resolution (Exhibit 2) declaring that the Developer, TL Partners I, LP, has demonstrated good faith compliance with the terms and conditions of its Development Agreement.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas
Assistant Community Development Director