Title
Public hearing to consider the inclusion of identified historic resources at Alameda Marina on the City’s Historic Resources Inventory (formerly Historic Buildings Study List). The proposed update to the Historic Resources Inventory is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15305 Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations and 15308 Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and
Members of the Historical Advisory Board
From: Andrew Thomas, Asst. Community Development Director
Allen Tai, Secretary to the Board
Re: Public hearing to consider the inclusion of identified historic resources at Alameda Marina on the City’s Historic Resources Inventory (formerly Historic Buildings Study List). The proposed update to the Historic Resources Inventory is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15305 Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations and 15308 Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment.
BACKGROUND
The Alameda Marina site is an approximately 44-acre property, including land and submerged tidelands located on the north side of Clement Avenue, between Grand Street and Willow Avenue. The site is designated in the General Plan as a Specified Mixed Use area and zoned Mixed Use with a Multifamily-Residential (MF) Overlay. The MF Overlay was applied to the site in 2014 as part of an update to the Housing Element of the General Plan, which was adopted by the City Council to encourage more housing to meet Alameda’s housing demand.
Current Status
The current owner of the Alameda Marina wishes to redevelop the site for up to 760 housing units, 143,000-square-feet of maritime, small office and commercial retail, and 17 acres of marina space (Exhibit 1). Redevelopment of the property under its Mixed Use zoning requires preparation of a Master Plan to be approved by the Planning Board and City Council. Over the last year, the Community Development Department staff, interested community members, and the City of Alameda Planning Board have been reviewing a proposed master plan for the Alameda Marina on Clement Avenue. The proposed master plan is still in a conceptual phase as the property owner, City of Alameda, and the Alameda community work on shaping the master plan and balancing the interests of the property owner, City and community.
As part of the planning process, the City is preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the proposal. Preparation of an EIR is required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when proposed development is anticipated to create any significant impacts on the environment. As part of this work, the City must consider the impact of any future development on historic resources. A first step in this process is to determine whether any historical resources are located on the site. The Alameda Marina property, a former ship building facility that played a major role in supporting the World War II war effort, is not currently designated as a historic resource, nor are any of the structures on the site.
To inform the EIR process, staff requested that the project proponent fund the preparation of a Historic Resource Evaluation (HRE) for the property. The preliminary draft of the HRE, prepared by historian Christopher VerPlank, was released in 2016 for public review. Based upon comments received from Woodruff Minor and the Alameda Architectural Preservation Society, the HRE was revised and re-released in May (Exhibit 2). The latest HRE by Mr. VerPlanck also provides a comparison to a previous HRE prepared by Michael Corbett in 1988 for a smaller subset of buildings on the site.
DISCUSSION
Historic Resource Evaluation Findings:
The Alameda Marina derives most of its historic significance during the World War II era in the early 1940s, when it operated as the General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. shipyard and served as a major ship repair facility supporting the war effort. The subject property includes 37 buildings, including 33 buildings from the World War II period and earlier. During World War II, General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. constructed ships and repaired damaged vessels for the Coast Guard and Navy. However, nearly all of the shipbuilding infrastructure (slipways, marine rails, and finger piers) was removed for the construction of a small boat marina in the 1960s. Meanwhile, many of the war time buildings were repurposed as office buildings or light industrial facilities, although significant alterations to the exterior, such as replacement of corrugated metal siding with T1-11 plywood siding, metal roofs with asphalt shingles, and wood and metal windows with aluminum and vinyl windows. The HRE concludes that the extent of the exterior building alterations have resulted in the majority of the World War II-era buildings having lost integrity because they no longer look like they did during the period of significance (1940-1945). For remaining buildings that have retained their integrity, the HRE identifies a potential historic district encompassing nine contributing buildings, including Buildings 1, 4, 6, 12, 16, 19, 27, 28, and 29.
Inclusion on the City’s Historic Resources Inventory
Based upon the attached HRE, staff recommends that the Board add the nine identified contributing structures to the Historic Resources Inventory as part of a new group of structures to be called the “Alameda Marina Historic District.” Once added to the City’s inventory, this group of buildings would be subject to protection under the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. Specifically, Section 13-21.5.c of the Ordinance requires the property owner to preserve and maintain the structures in good condition in order to preserve their historical significance. Demolition of the buildings would also be subject to Certificate of Approval reviewed by the Board.
If the Board disagrees with the HRE and the boundaries of the proposed district, it may adjust the proposed boundaries as necessary, or it may decide to add or subtract other structures to the inventory. The HAB's decision on the size and configuration of the district will establish the historic resource for the evaluation of the impact of the proposed project on historic resources.
Treatment of Historic Resources under CEQA
Any structure included on the Inventory also establishes that structure as a historic resource for the purpose of the EIR that is being prepared for the Alameda Marina Master Plan. As shown in the proposed Master Plan, City staff and the project applicants are anticipating that major redevelopment of the Alameda Marina property will inevitably result in the demolition of existing buildings, some of which are identified as historic resources. Pursuant to the CEQA and City of Alameda environmental review standards, demolition of a historic resource or demolition of contributors to a historic district is considered a significant impact to the environment. However, it is important to note that designation of buildings on the City’s inventory does not guarantee that the buildings cannot be demolished, but rather it facilitates the treatment of these buildings as historic resources in CEQA in order to create opportunities for preservation solutions to emerge as part of the environmental review and master planning effort. Furthermore, in the event demolition of a resource is unavoidable, this allows an opportunity for the Board to consider possible remedial measures for the project proponent, including extensive photographic and written documentation as a condition of the demolition.
Next Steps
The decision of this Board on whether to include the identified structures on the City’s inventory would be used to inform the EIR. Once a draft of the EIR is completed, the EIR document would be made available for public review and comment. Ultimately, the EIR and its findings on environmental impacts, including impacts to historic resources, would be used to inform the planning and decision-making on the final master plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed update to the Historic Resources Inventory is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15305 Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations and 15308 Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment. An Environmental Impact Report is currently being prepared for the Alameda Marina Master Plan pursuant to CEQA requirements.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and include on the City’s Historic Resources Inventory Buildings 1, 4, 6, 12, 16, 19, 27, 28, and 29 as identified in the Alameda Marina HRE as a group of structures called the “Alameda Marina Historic District.”
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Allen Tai, Secretary to the Historical Advisory Board
Exhibits:
1. Alameda Marina Conceptual Master Plan - May 2017
2. Alameda Marina Historic Resources Evaluation