Title
Re: Adopt a Resolution Approving the Rebuilding the Existing Supportive Housing at Alameda Point (RESHAP) Development Plan and Density Bonus Waiver. The streamlining provision of Public Resources Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines apply and no further environmental review is required.
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To: Honorable President and Members of the Planning Board
From: Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Project Manager
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse Director
Date: September 25, 2017
Re: Adopt a Resolution Approving the Rebuilding the Existing Supportive Housing at Alameda Point (RESHAP) Development Plan and Density Bonus Waiver. The streamlining provision of Public Resources Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines apply and no further environmental review is required.
BACKGROUND
On March 21, 2017, the City Council approved the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan which fulfills the General Plan policy objectives for a transit-oriented mixed-use, mixed income neighborhood with diverse housing options, parks and open spaces, neighborhood serving businesses and transitional commercial uses. One of the primary objectives of the Specific Plan is to facilitate the consolidation and rebuilding of the existing supportive housing groups that are currently located in 70+ year old deteriorating housing scattered across 34 acres of the Main Street Neighborhood.
The supportive housing groups include Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC), and Operation Dignity. The housing groups, working with nonprofit affordable housing developer MidPen Housing Corporation, are collectively known as the “Collaborating Partners”. In 2015, the Collaborating Partners partnered with their respective residents, David Baker Architects and Urban Design Innovations to select a preferred location for their rebuilding project and design criteria for their future rebuilding project. Their preferred site was incorporated into the approved Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan.
On December 15, 2015, the City Council unanimously approved an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with MidPen Housing, as Developer, and the Collaborating Partners for the site 9.7-acre site south of W. Midway to relocate and reconstruct new facilities to support the long-term needs of their communities (Project). The remaining land would be available for private development to help fund the infrastructure for both the Collaborating Partners’ site and the new development.
On April 4, 2017, the City Council approved an Implementation Term Sheet with Mid-Pen and the Collaborating Partners, setting up a process similar to that used in the negotiations of the Site A Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA), whereby the City Council approved a non-binding term sheet to use as a guide to address key issues in the DDA at the same time that the Development Plan would be reviewed and approved through the City’s planning process.
One of the key terms is that the City will use its best efforts to select a market rate developer for the adjacent 20+ acre property to fund the infrastructure for the developer’s and Collaborating Partners’ sites. For this to be financially feasible, the market rate developer may require up to the remaining 291 units under the 1425 housing cap, assuming the 800 units for Site A, 267 for the Collaborating Partners, and 67 existing market rate housing.
On April 24, 2017, the Planning Board held a study session to review the initial Development Plan and provided comments to the architectural and development team to refine itsplans. Feedback included topics such as placement of buildings on the site, vehicle and bicycle parking, street alignment and the desire for more detail on the plaza and barn and how the project would be phased over time.
DISCUSSION
Development Plan Description:
The proposed RESHAPE Development Plan (Exhibit 1) is designed to implement the General Plan, the Alameda Point Zoning Ordinance, and the requirements of the Main Street Specific Plan.
The RESHAP Development Plan consists of relocating of 200 existing supportive housing units that are currently dispersed across 34 acres at Alameda Point’s Main Street Neighborhood and building 67 new affordable units on to a 9.7 acre parcel, south of W. Midway, west of Main Street, and east of Orion Way. In addition, the plan includes approximately 40,000 square feet of community space for services programming and administrative offices for the Collaborating Partners, on-site property management and resident services. The proposed uses are consistent with the Main Street Specific Plan.
The plan is designed to provide an accessible, pedestrian-oriented community with neighborhood-scale streets and buildings and safe spaces for residents who may have suffered from past traumas, while also providing residents opportunities to connect to the larger Main Street Neighborhood through strategic building placement and interior street design. The proposed street designs and sections are consistent with the requirements of the Main Street Specific Plan. Local streets will include parallel street parking spaces on two sides of the street. Neighborhood shared streets will have parking on one side of the street.
Buildings are arranged to activate the streets on one side and face inward to the central plaza and open space on the other side. Each building will be designed to maximize energy efficiency and sustainable development standards, including adoption of the LEED Gold or equivalent certification such as Build It Green’s Green Point Rating.
The 267 apartment homes are distributed into three (3) three-story, elevator-served buildings, six (6) two-story townhome cluster, and two (2) mixed-use buildings with ground-floor community-serving uses and residences on two floors above. The building height limits are consistent with Specific Plan.
An active farm is located at the corner of Main Street and West Midway with a new “barn” structure serving as a gathering space for residents, including a commercial kitchen within close proximity to APC’s existing Ploughshares Nursery and farm, supporting the site’s “urban agriculture” image and identity along Main Street.
A well landscaped community plaza connects the barn and ground floor community spaces where residents receive supportive services and socialize, and a variety of smaller open spaces at different scales, including a plaza, children’s play areas, indoor community spaces and community gardens are designed to support this unique community.
Parking is provided in a combination of surface parking lots and parallel street parking. A total of 213 parking spaces are provided, which is sufficient to support the community, based on current demand for parking at the existing supportive housing and dedicated parking for staff and visitors. The 213 spaces is consistent with the parking requirements of the Main Street Plan.
Transportation Demand Management:
Currently, less than one-third of the APC residents living in the existing 200 units at Alameda Point own a car. The proposed parking plan reflects the fact that formerly homeless and low income households have a very low rate of car ownership, but acknowledges that parking will also be needed for staff, service providers, and visitors.
Each household living in supportive housing at Alameda Point currently receives a free monthly transit pass through the Easy Pass program with AC Transit and the City of Alameda. This transit pass provides residents with free access to important locations, such as grocery stores, medical offices, pharmacies, parks, and job centers. The Collaborating Partners expect to continue this transit pass program once the new housing is completed, and the Collaborating Partners will continue their participation as members of the Alameda Transportation Management Agency (Alameda TMA), which includes Alameda Point and the Northern Waterfront.
In compliance with the Alameda Transportation Demand Management Plan and the newly formed Alameda TMA, the RESHAP project will pay annual fees to support alternative transportation options, such as transit passes, car sharing, bike sharing and other transportation support services at Alameda Point.
Ample and easily accessible bicycle parking is provided throughout the site. Indoor bicycle storage rooms are provided on the first floor of each apartment building to provide dedicated and secure bike parking for the residents. It is expected that the bicycle storage rooms will have the capacity to accommodate approximately one bike per household. MidPen Property Management will manage the bike storage room to ensure that each household has an opportunity to use it. Approximately fifty (50) outdoor bicycle racks are provided throughout the site near the building entries, parking lots and adjacent to the Farm, Plaza, and Barn and are strategically placed to encourage visitors and other members of the community to bike to the site.
Residential Density Bonus and Waiver:
Two hundred and sixty seven residential units in a multifamily configuration is possible on this 9.7 acre property as the result of State Density Bonus law and Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-17 (Density Bonus Ordinance). Since 100% of the units in the project are deed restricted for lower-income households, the project qualifies for a 35% density bonus (for a total of 267 units) and waiver from the City of Alameda prohibition on multifamily housing.
As described in more detail in the exhibits, the 9.7 acre site can accommodate a base plan with 200 units constructed in 100 duplex units. (The City Charter and Municipal Code prohibits multifamily buildings with more than two units in a building, and establish a density standard of one unit per 2,000 square feet of land.) The base plan illustrates how 200 units in a series of duplex structures could be built that respect the limitations of the City Charter. As noted above, under State and Local density bonus regulations, a project with 100% of the units deed-restricted for lower income households, qualifies for a 35% density bonus above the limits of the City Charter for a total of 270 units. To accommodate space for the additional bonus units, the applicants are requesting a waiver from AMC 30-53, which prohibits construction of multifamily housing.
Under State law and local ordinance, the City must waive the prohibition on multifamily family housing if it is determined that the waiver is necessary because the prohibition physically precludes the applicant from accommodating 267 units on the site, and that the waiver will not result in an impact to the public health and safety, or result in a conflict with any Federal or State laws. Exhibit 2 documents that the wavier is necessary to enable the Collaborating Partners to accommodate the 267 units and that the waiver will not result in an impact to the public health and safety or result in a conflict with any Federal or State laws.
Exhibits 1 and Exhibit 2 comply with the requirements of the AMC, as they apply to phased projects. (Evidence is included in the Exhibit 2 waiver request to obligate the Collaborating Partners to construct the affordable housing.) Because the development of RESHAP will likely occur over five years or more, floor plans and elevations will be provided by the Collaborating Partners in compliance with AMC 30-53 at the time of Design Review by the Planning Board prior to any approval to construct a building.
Architectural Design and Subsequent Design Review:
The Development Agreement (DA) and Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) between the City and the Collaborating Partners are in negotiations and are expected to be approved by the City Council by December 15, 2017. After approval of the Development Plan, DA and DDA, the Collaborating Partners design team will prepare and submit architectural drawings for each building and seek design review approval by the Planning Board.
Universal Design:
As described above, the Collaborating Partners have not prepared detailed architectural plans for the project. However, at this time, the Partners are planning to ensure that 100% of the units are accessible and/or served by an elevator. The Collaborating Partners hope to develop architectural plans that meet or exceed the standards established by the draft Universal Design Ordinance recently recommended by the Planning Board. When the architectural plans are completed for the Design Review application, the Partners will be able to confirm their assumption with the Planning Board. If there are inconsistencies or problems at that time, the problems may be discussed in the context of the Design Review process and any necessary waivers considered by the Planning Board at that time.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On February 4, 2014, the City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point Project (APP) FEIR in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The FEIR evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point, at the western end of the City of Alameda. The development program analyzed in the APP EIR is based on development assumptions outlined in the four subareas defined in the APP EIR: Town Center and Waterfront; Main Street Neighborhoods; Adaptive Reuse; and Enterprise. At full buildout, the APP would result in approximately 5.5 million square feet of developed space, including 1,425 residential units for a wide variety of household types for approximate 3,240 residents.
Implementation of the APP, as described in the Main Street Neighborhood Plan, including development of RESHAP, was analyzed in the APP EIR. This allows the use of the CEQA streamlining and/or tiering provisions, pursuant to California Public Resource Code 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, for projects developed under the Main Street Neighborhood Plan.
Under Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines, where a project is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, a community plan, or a general plan for which an EIR was certified, additional environmental review is not required. The density and land uses of the proposed RESHAP development are consistent with the Main Street Neighborhood Plan and the Alameda Point Zoning District.
RESHAP would not result in significant impacts that: (1) are peculiar to the project or project site; (2) were not already identified as significant effects, cumulative effects, or off-site effects in the FEIR; or (3) were previously identified as significant effects; but are determined to be substantially more severe than discussed in the EIR. Thus, the streamlining provision of Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines apply and no further environmental review is necessary.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution approving the RESHAP Development Plan and Density Bonus Waiver (Exhibit 3)
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse Director
Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Project Manager
Exhibits:
1. RESHAP Development Plan
2. Letter from Collaborating Partners Requesting Waiver Pursuant to AMC 30-53 Density Bonus Ordinance
3. Resolution Approving RESHAP Development Plan and Density Bonus Waiver