Title
Study Session to Consider Establishing Mixed Use (MX) Zoning District Guidelines;
Adoption of Resolution Adopting Policies Regarding Development of Master Plans and Amendments to Master Plans for New Development within the MX Mixed Use Zoning District. (Community Development 481005)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Study Session to Consider Establishing Mixed Use (MX) Zoning District Guidelines; and Adoption of Resolution Adopting Policies Regarding Development of Master Plans and Amendments to Master Plans for New Development within the MX Mixed Use Zoning District.
BACKGROUND
This report is a response to the City Council’s direction to initiate revisions to the City of Alameda’s mixed use zoning district regulations to aid retention of beneficial commercial uses within areas zoned for Mixed Use. The City Council requested that staff give consideration to:
“(a) Definition of “mixed use” that provide sufficient guidance for new development in areas previously zoned and/or used exclusively for commercial purposes.
(b) Guidance for accommodating adjacent State Tidelands or shoreline uses
(c) Establish proportions of commercial use to residential use
(d) Retaining or increasing jobs, including maritime, in areas zoned for mixed use”
The Council requested the review for two reasons: 1) business retention is essential to the economic stability of the City, and 2) maintaining or increasing jobs in areas zoned for mixed use has the potential to reduce commute traffic congestion.
This City Council discussion to retain maritime and other commercial jobs in mixed use waterfront development began with a March 2016 City Council tour of major waterfront mixed use development opportunity sites and continued with an April 19, 2016 City Council workshop to review the MX Mixed Use District Zoning District regulations. The materials produced for the Tour and the 2016 Council workshop are attached as Exhibits 1 and 2. Minutes from the April 2016 workshop are included as Exhibit 3.
DISCUSSION
MX District Mixed Use Proposals: Although the City has a number of mixed use zoning districts that govern a variety of different areas in Alameda, this analysis focuses on the MX Mixed Use Zoning District regulations contained in Section 30-4.20 of the Alameda Municipal Code
(AMC) and the lands governed by those regulations. The City is currently reviewing major applications for four of these six sites, and all four sites were previously occupied by industrial or commercial maritime uses. In 2008, the City adopted a Master Plan for Grand Marina and in 2014 the City adopted a Master Plan for Del Monte. These two projects have been approved under the existing MX code. Applications that are currently on file include:
• An amendment to the Alameda Landing/Bayport Master Plan,
• A new Master Plan for Encinal Terminals,
• A new Master Plan for Alameda Marina, and
• A Development Plan and Design Review application to construct a residential project (“Shipways”) within the Marina Village Master Plan area.
Alameda Landing Master Plan Amendment. The Alameda Landing/Bayport Master Plan was adopted in 2000 and revised in 2006. The Master Plan establishes the development regulations for the areas commonly known as the Bayport neighborhood, the Alameda Landing shopping center and the Tri Pointe residential homes (currently under construction). To date and pursuant to the Master Plan, the City has approved construction of approximately:
• 787 residential units (Bayport and Tri Pointe)
• 300,000 square feet of retail and 6,000 square feet of office (shopping center)
The 39 acre “Alameda Landing Waterfront” is the last remaining undeveloped land within the Alameda Landing Master Plan area. The 2006 Master Plan calls for approximately 390,000 square feet of commercial office, R+D, or light manufacturing, a 20,000 square foot health club, 10,000 square feet of waterfront retail, and eight acres of open space on the 39 acres.
The proposed Master Plan amendment would change the Master Plan to allow:
• Adaptive reuse of approximately 364,000 square feet of existing waterfront warehouses for maritime commercial use by Bay Ship and Yacht Co.,
• Development of residential units on the remaining half of the 39 acres between the warehouses and the existing boat storage facility next to Pasta Pelican Restaurant. The Master Plan amendment would establish a vehicle trip cap for the residential area based upon the number of units analyzed in the EIR. Depending on the type of units proposed and the number of vehicle trips removed from the roadway network by the Alameda Landing shuttle service, the number of units is anticipated to range between 300 and 400. Although the number of affordable units is yet to be determined, at a minimum, the project will be required to meet existing AMC requirements for affordable units.
• Approximately 4 acres of waterfront open space and a water shuttle landing/kayak launch.
The proposed Alameda Master Plan Amendment is available for review on the City website at: <https://alamedaca.gov/planning/major-planning-projects>. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposal on June 12, 2017, at which time the Board will make a recommendation to the City Council. Master Plans and Master Plan amendments must be approved by ordinance by the City Council. The Planning Board’s role is limited to a recommendation to City Council.
Encinal Terminals Master Plan. The owners of the land at Encinal Terminals have submitted a draft Master Plan for their property for public review and discussion. The draft Encinal Terminals Master Plan proposes:
• An expansion and reconfiguration of the existing 6.4 unimproved acres of State Tidelands on the property to provide the City 8.73 acres of improved Tidelands and 9.65 acres of submerged lands. The Master Plan proposes approximately $30 million in site improvements and approximately 7 acres of improved public open space and a public water shuttle landing/kayak launch on the proposed public state lands. In addition, the new 9.65 of submerged lands provide an opportunity for a new 160 berth marina.
• Approximately 50,000 square feet of commercial floor area, and
• 587 residential units, that include 79 affordable units, 51 market rate units of 900 square feet or less, and 102 market rate units of 1,200 square feet or less.
The draft Master Plan is available for review on the City Website at: <https://alamedaca.gov/planning/major-planning-projects>. The Planning Board is tentatively scheduled to make a final recommendation on the draft Master Plan and draft Final EIR for the Master Plan this summer.
Alameda Marina Master Plan. The owners of the Alameda Marina have submitted a draft Master Plan for their property for public review and discussion. The draft Master Plan proposes:
• A reconfiguration of the existing State Tidelands on the property to slightly increase the amount of uplands and submerged lands subject to public Tidelands restrictions and public ownership, increase the number of existing maritime buildings within the public lands for use by maritime businesses, and relocated existing property lines that run through the middle of buildings.
• Approximately $30 million in shoreline improvements. Approximately 80% of the improved shoreline is located on public Tidelands property.
• Approximately eight acres and between 100,000 and 250,000 square feet of commercial floor area for maritime commercial and other business opportunities.
• Approximately 760 residential units, that include 99 affordable units.
The draft Master Plan is available for review on the City Website at: <https://alamedaca.gov/planning/major-planning-projects>. The required EIR is underway. Staff anticipates that the draft EIR will be released later this summer and that the Planning Board will be able to make a recommendation to the City Council in late 2017, or early 2018.
Shipways Proposal. The “Shipways” site is a 10-acre property located on Marina Village Parkway within the Marina Village Master Plan area. It is the last remaining undeveloped site within the larger Marina Village Master Plan area. Pursuant to the 1984 Master Plan, Marina Village has been developed to date with:
• 1.1 million square feet of office, R+D, and light manufacturing uses
• 140,000 square feet of retail
• 836 marina slips
• 376 residential units
The 10-acre Shipways Parcel currently has approximately 50,000 square feet of leasable commercial space. As part of the 2012 Housing Element, the General Plan, AMC, and Marina Village Master Plan were amended to allow 30 units per acre or up to 300 housing units on this 10-acre parcel. The current Shipways proposal includes:
• Approximately 292 residential rental units, including 40 deed restricted affordable units.
• An approximately 2.5 acre public waterfront park and public water shuttle/kayak launch.
The full Shipways plan is available for review on the City Website at: <https://alamedaca.gov/planning/major-planning-projects>. The required EIR is underway. Staff anticipates that the draft EIR will be released later this summer and that the Planning Board will make a decision on the Development Plan and Design Review applications in late 2017 or early 2018. The Planning Board’s decisions on the project are appealable to the City Council.
City Council Direction: The City Council direction re-iterates a number of issues that the City Council discussed at the April 2016 MX Workshop and that the Council has consistently identified as priorities for large, mixed use, waterfront properties, including:
• The need to ensure that all mixed use site provide an appropriate mix of uses,
• The need to ensure that each site appropriately balances the public need for both jobs and housing,
• The need to adequately design projects to ensure that a variety of uses can co-exist on the property without land use conflicts, and
• The need to protect and expand public waterfront lands for public access and enjoyment, including State Tidelands property.
As the result of the City Council’s consistent direction, staff has attempted to shape each of the projects described above to meet these City Council objectives. The following sections describe proposed amendments to the MX Zoning District regulations that the City Council may consider for adoption. The amendments reflect the standards that staff has already been using to shape the projects described above and respond to the Council’s direction.
The MX, Mixed-Use Planned Development District Zoning District purpose statement defines “mixed use” as follows:
“ a compatible mixture of land uses which may include residential, retail, offices, recreational, entertainment, research oriented light industrial, water oriented or other related uses. The compatibility and interaction between mixed uses is to be insured through adoption of Master Plan (defined in subsection 30-4.20f) and development plan site plan (defined in subsection 30-4.20h), which indicate proper orientation, desirable design character and compatible land uses to provide for:
1. A more pedestrian-oriented nonautomotive environment and flexibility in the design of land uses and structures than are provided by single purpose zoning districts, including but not limited to shared parking;
2. The enhancement and preservation of property and structures with historical or architectural merit, unique topographic, landscape or water areas, or other features requiring special treatment or protection;
3. Recreation areas that are most accessible to both the MX district's inhabitants and other City residents;
4. Environments that are more conducive to mutual interdependence in terms of living, working, shopping, entertainment and recreation; …”
When reviewing the definition above in the context of the Council direction, staff notes that the description of “mixed use”:
• Makes no mention of “State Tidelands” despite the fact that four of the six MX sites include or are immediately adjacent to State Tidelands property.
• Makes no mention of the importance of maritime commercial businesses to Alameda’s waterfront mixed use properties, despite the fact that all six properties are former maritime or military industrial sites on the Oakland Estuary. Maritime commercial businesses are a major focus of the City’s draft Economic Development Strategic Plan.
• Makes no mention of the importance of a jobs/housing balance in Alameda, nor the importance of preserving existing job opportunities on MX sites. The Alameda General Plan does establish that a citywide jobs/housing balance is an important objective to reduce commute hour transportation congestion. Alameda currently has 0.78 jobs/housing balance. (More employed residents than jobs.) Alameda’s 0.78 ratio is lower than the countywide average (1.08), City of Hayward (1.05), and Fremont (1.01), but higher than Albany (0.59), El Cerrito (0.48), Orinda (0.47), and Piedmont (0.47). Oakland, Lafayette and Berkeley range from 1.25 to 1.65.
To achieve a jobs/housing balance in the next 10 years, Alameda needs to add about 11,750 jobs, assuming that during this same period the City will add about 3,000 housing units. This goal can be achieved given that:
o In the last seven years the City added approximately 4,780 jobs.
o The City has over 85 acres of largely vacant land in the Alameda Point Enterprise District zoned for new businesses, over 15 acres of vacant land zoned for new businesses at the Harbor Bay Business Park, and another vacant six acres at the Todd Ship Yard.
o The City has more vacant land zoned for businesses than vacant land zoned for housing.
• Finally, the definition also makes no mention of the importance of affordable or middle income housing, which is a City Council priority. It is also important to note that four of the six MX sites are identified as housing opportunity sites in the City’s Housing Element and five of the six sites were zoned to permit multifamily housing, which was necessary to bring the City of Alameda land use regulations into conformance with State Housing Law in 2012. Less than 2% of the City’s land area is zoned to permit multifamily housing.
Proposed Standards for MX Zoning: Definition of Mixed Use
Given the City Council’s objectives and staff direction to MX District applicants, the Council could direct staff to amend the MX zoning definition as follows:
“…a compatible mixture of land uses which may include residential, retail, offices, recreational, entertainment, research oriented light industrial, water oriented or other related uses. The compatibility and interaction between mixed uses is to be insured through adoption of Master Plan (defined in subsection 30-4.20f) and development plan site plan (defined in subsection 30-4.20h), which indicate proper orientation, desirable design character and compatible land uses to provide for:
1. A more pedestrian-oriented nonautomotive environment and flexibility in the design of land uses and structures than are provided by single purpose zoning districts, including but not limited to shared parking;
2. The enhancement and preservation of public lands including State Tidelands for public purposes and maritime commercial uses:
3. The enhancement and preservation of property and structures with historical or architectural merit, unique topographic, landscape or water areas, or other features requiring special treatment or protection;
4. Recreation areas that are most accessible to both the M-X district's inhabitants and other City residents;
5. Employment areas for existing and new maritime business, research and development companies, advanced manufacturing, small businesses, non-profits, and marina and recreation-oriented business to support a citywide jobs housing balance.
6. Environments that are more conducive to mutual interdependence in terms of living, working, shopping, entertainment and recreation; and
7. Transit oriented waterfront residential development affordable to the full range of Alameda household incomes.
MX District Standards
To ensure that each property zoned MX achieves the stated “mixed use” definition and purpose, the MX zoning district regulations require that prior to development of the site, the property owners/developers must prepare a “Master Plan” for the property for review by the Planning Board and approval by the City Council. The MX District Zoning regulations provide some guidance on the standards that must be met to approve a Master Plan. The MX District regulations state that:
“The City Council may approve, by ordinance, a Master Plan of mixed uses where each phase thereof provides for Open Space District uses (subsection 30-4.19b. and c.) together with at least two (2) other uses which are permitted in either: (i) R-1 or R-2 districts, (ii) R-6 districts, (iii) A-P districts, (iv) C-1 or C-2 districts, or (v) C-M districts (of this article) and which otherwise meets the requirements set out herein.
The MX District regulations give the City Council full discretion to determine the right amount of residential and commercial uses on each site, but the regulations do not provide much specificity or standards related to the City Council 2016 referral objectives. The MX regulations simply state:
“The City Council shall determine the number of dwelling units that are appropriate for the MX district and the appropriate area of commercial development therein.”
Proposed Standards for MX Zoning Standards for Mixed Use
When creating standards, it is important to provide enough flexibility for the City Council to customize each Master Plan to address site-specific conditions or evolving Council priorities. The standards should avoid creating a “cookie cutter” set of standards that would result in every site looking, operating, and serving the community in very similar ways. The Council should retain the ability to customize a Master Plan to address site-specific issues and challenges. The following proposed standards reflect past City Council policy objectives and enable the City Council to measure how well a future Master Plan achieves those policy objectives:
When determining the appropriate mix of uses in a Master Plan, the City Council shall find that:
1. State Tidelands property within the plan area is appropriately planned to support maritime oriented commercial use and/or public open space use consistent with Tidelands Trust requirements of the State Constitution. Development planned immediately adjacent to Tidelands property shall be compatible with, and shall not inhibit the use of Tidelands property for maritime- oriented or public use. When a plan proposes a reconfiguration of Tidelands property lines, the reconfiguration should benefit the public lands and ensure that: 1) the total acreage of Tidelands property increases as the result of the Tidelands property line reconfiguration, and 2) the reconfiguration supports and improves maritime commercial opportunities and/or public use of the public Tidelands Property.
2. Employment lands are adequate to ensure that development of the property will not result in a net loss of jobs in the plan area over the life of the proposed plan. On properties with no existing businesses, the acreage of land devoted to commercial purposes, maritime uses, and public open space should not be less than the amount of land devoted to residential use. Public streets serving the uses shall be deducted from the calculation. The land devoted to residential purposes may be increased above the 50% standard, if it is determined that the additional residential land is necessary to fund the site and infrastructure improvements needed to support the public open space and/or employment areas.
3. The number of residential units planned supports the City’s regional housing needs allocation as determined by the General Plan Housing Element, is consistent with the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requirements and at least 10% of the market rate units are designed to be affordable to households that earn between 120% and 180% of the area wide median income.
Conclusions: The draft standards for the MX Zoning District described above are designed to:
• Reflect current General Plan and City Council policy objectives;
• Improve the definition of “mixed use” to provide sufficient guidance for new development in areas previously zoned and/or used exclusively for commercial purposes;
• Include standards for accommodating adjacent State Tidelands or shoreline uses;
• Include standards for establishing proportions of commercial use to residential use; and
• Include standards for retaining or increasing jobs in areas zoned for mixed use.
At the June 6, 2017 study session, the City Council may:
• Direct staff to proceed with the public review and public hearing process necessary to adopt the proposed revisions to the AMC described above, which includes public hearings before the Planning Board and the City Council, or
• Adopt a resolution with the standards and definitions described above and direct staff to continue to use these standards in the review and staff recommendations on all future projects within MX Zoning District.
Given that the last four MX sites in the City are either in the very last phase of implementation (Alameda Landing and Marina Village) or have draft Master Plans currently under review (Encinal and Alameda Marina), staff recommends that the City Council endorse these guidelines as a City Council Resolution in order to immediately formalize the Council’s vision and set guidelines for the area and these projects.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Adopting a resolution to clarify standards for MX District Master Plans will have no impact on the City’s General Fund.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The proposed resolution is consistent with the City of Alameda General Plan Land Use policies related to mixed use development, Open Space Element policies related to waterfront access and improvements, and Housing Element policies related to affordable housing and housing opportunities.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Master Plan projects are subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed amendments described above are categorically exempt from CEQA.
RECOMMENDATION
Conduct a study session; and consider adopting a Resolution adopting policies regarding development of Master Plans and amendments to Master Plans for new development within the MX Mixed Use Zoning District.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Potter, Community Development Director
By,
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. March 11, 2016 Tour Materials
2. April 2016 City Council Workshop Materials
3. April 2016 Minutes