Title
Draft Meeting Minutes-October 9, 2017
Body
DRAFT MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, OCTOBER 09, 2017
1. CONVENE
President Mitchell convened the meeting at 7:00pm.
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Sullivan led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: President Mitchell, Board Members Burton, Curtis, Knox White, Sullivan, Teague. Board Member Köster arrived at 7:01pm.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
*None*
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
*None*
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
7-A 2017-4798
Study Session - 2390 Mariner Square Drive Co-Living, Co-Working zoning Amendment. Applicant: Todd Jersey Architecture and Open Door Development. A Planning Board study session to consider a proposed Zoning Amendment to allow residential use on a 1.4 acre site currently zoned M-2 General Industrial and designated in the General Plan for Mixed Use. The site is located at the corner of Mariner Square Drive and Marina Village Parkway. No final action or decision is being considered. The proposed Zoning Amendment is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. (Continued from Planning Board Meeting of 9/25/17, report and exhibits have been revised)
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3165568&GUID=BB178433-9709-46F3-B3C8-8D230C5BEC20&FullText=1>
The applicants (Todd Jersey, a representative of Open Door, and John Atkinson) gave a presentation about what they envision for the site.
There were no public speakers.
Board Member Teague listed questions he would have if the project came before the board. He said there is apparently a disabled veteran owned business on the site and he would want to know what would happen with that. He asked what multi-purpose means for the parking lot. He said he would need more details on the work live nature of the project. He said he would want to make sure the sewer and water could be accommodated. He said he wondered if an M-X zoning would be more appropriate.
Board Member Curtis said he looks at it from another perspective. He says that the Pasta Pelican is going broke because of the parking issues created by the Commodore Cruises events. He said the number of units and makerspaces will make parking a real challenge. He said the communal environment would limit the market. He said there are many competing developments coming online with makerspaces and worries there is not enough market for that.
Board Member Sullivan asked what percentage of the commercial space would be allocated to non-residents.
Mr. Jersey said they really do not know yet. He said there are some good precedents that demonstrate the low demand for parking for this demographic of artists and millennials. He said building from scratch will allow a very high quality lifestyle at a reasonable price point. He said with 115 residents and 50 makers, there would be a lot of people that could support the restaurant (Pasta Pelican).
Board Member Curtis said he would like to see a report on the makerspace square footage approved for the area and an analysis of that market.
Board Member Sullivan asked what portion of the larger area would be covered by this project.
Staff Member Thomas said it was a small piece of a larger mixed use area that was addressed by the 1991 General Plan. He gave a history of the zoning changes that have happened in the area since 1991. He said they will struggle with whether to come back with a rezoning for just this parcel or addressing the whole area.
Board Member Sullivan said we need to look at the whole area and not evaluate parcels piecemeal.
Mr. Jersey said they want to be good neighbors and will absolutely nail the mobility question for the project.
Board Member Burton said it is hard to tell whether this would be viable for this site. He said the site layout would be dramatically impacted by the fire access requirements. He said the universal design ordinance would likely require elevators. He said we would need to understand how the commercial/retail spaces are going to be used in order to judge the flow of people to and from the site. He said he does not think the intensity of use is likely to work. He said the project looks under parked. He said he is open to the idea, but there is a lot of work to do before it comes back.
Board Member Knox White said he agrees with Board Member Teague that M-X zoning would be the right course of action. He said he would support sending that recommendation on to the council before the applicant does any more work.
Board Member Köster asked how residential setback rules would affect this project.
Staff Member Thomas said that the M-X zoning would allow them to customize a master plan for the site.
Board Member Köster asked who owns the easement.
Staff Member Thomas said he believes CalTrans owns the easement and they would have to figure out what restrictions would apply.
Board Member Köster said he likes the idea but there is a lot of work to do in order to see if it would pass muster.
President Mitchell said he does not see manufacturing happening at the site. He said it is hard to evaluate the idea because it is not clear whether they will have a viable project after addressing the questions raised so far. He asked whether they should wait until the applicants further develop the idea or if they should recommend the M-X zoning now.
Staff Member Thomas said he likes the idea of taking the M-X zoning to council in order to get them involved sooner rather than later. He said the applicant could go a little further and then come back for just the M-X zoning request if they think they still have a project.
Board Member Curtis asked if the changes to the use of the site would require a reevaluation of the utilities’ location and capacity.
Staff Member Thomas said the city would have to clear the environmental requirements of any rezoning. He said they would need an infrastructure improvement plan but not necessarily a new map.
Board Member Sullivan said she would like them to meet with CalTrans about the requirements for the easement before proceeding.
The applicant thanked the Board for their input and said he believed the M-X zoning was a good fit.
Board Member Teague said they should look at making 50% of their parking carshare to see if they can make the site a hub for carsharing in the area.
Board Member Köster said a project in San Francisco partnered with Uber. He said that could be a good partnership given the likelihood that the many of the artist residents of a project like this might drive for Uber on the side.
No action was taken.
7-B 2017-4799
PLN17-0465 - Building 8 Rooftop Addition - Applicant: Alameda Point Redevelopers, LLC. The proposed addition requires Historical Advisory Board approval of an amendment to a previously approved Certificate of Approval to modify a contributing structure to the Naval Air Station Alameda Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The proposed addition also requires Planning Board approval of an amendment to a previously Development Plan and Design Review. The City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point Final EIR (State Clearinghouse No. 201312043), which evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point. No further environmental review is required for this project
Staff Member Thomas introduced the item. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3165569&GUID=8F1C4849-5EB4-4632-A78C-F4AFF41FA327&FullText=1>
Board Member Köster asked if there was a beer facility in the room 101 facility.
The applicant said they are putting a brewery in there. He said the brewery would have a rooftop beer garden.
Board Member Köster asked if the rooftop beer garden could be expanded.
The applicant said they are in negotiation over that topic now.
Board Member Köster asked if the public would be able to walk through the interior commercial spaces from one to the next.
The applicant said that the 12 foot wide loading docks would be the public space that people could walk along and enter each space through the loading doors.
Board Member Köster asked if the rooftop commercial spaces would be visitable.
The applicant said the roof would be available for any of the approved uses. He said the western portion would be public spaces and the rest would be owner/user access. He said they may have some of the residential uses on the fourth floor if they lease out significant portions of the other floors to commercial tenants.
Board Member Teague asked if the applicant would have to come back for approval to put work/live units on the fourth floor.
Staff Member Thomas said they are capped at 88 total units but they could be anywhere in the building.
Board Member Teague asked why the square footage of the fourth floor was listed as from 40,000 - 55,000 square feet.
The applicant said they were originally considering a mezzanine for the fourth floor. He said they decided to go with the less impactful design after consulting with the Historical Advisory Board.
There were no public speakers.
Board Member Curtis said it is a great improvement over the original plan. He said it adds to the productivity of the development.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the item. Board Member Burton seconded the motion.
Board Member Teague said the TDM fees should be adjusted based on the new square footage of the project.
Board Member Knox White said accepted Board Member Teague’s suggestion as a friendly amendment. Board Member Burton seconded the amended motion. The motion passed 7-0.
8. MINUTES
8-A 2017-4793
Draft Meeting Minutes - July 24, 2017
Board Member Sullivan offered two corrections, one typo and one clarification of her comment on the design of a project.
Board Member Knox White offered a correction clarifying then public speaker Teague’s comments on the Shipways project.
Board Member Burton asked to strike the sentence about the trash enclosures.
Board Member Sullivan made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Board Member Knox White seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0-1 (Teague abstained).
8-B 2017-4792
Draft Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2017
Board Member Sullivan said the word artisan should be capitalized because it was the name of a design. She asked that a run on sentence be broken up and clarified. She said a board member’s name was missing in one spot on page five.
Board Member Teague asked to delete a clause modifying his wanting the applicant to have more than 66 units.
Board Member Knox White made a motion to approve the minutes with the proposed changes. Board Member Köster seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0-1 (Teague abstained).
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2017-4796
Zoning Administrator and Design Review Recent Actions and Decisions
Staff Member Thomas said they approved one use permit and three design reviews. The decisions can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3165567&GUID=70694E82-FA90-4D6F-AA19-A46DEE21F4FC&FullText=1>
9-B 2017-4801
Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Community Development Department Projects
Staff Member Thomas listed items for upcoming meetings. The list can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3165570&GUID=13780132-8B05-427D-93F6-C2CE0DE5F116>
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Köster read a resolution honoring Lorre Zuppan for her service on the Planning Board.
Lorre Zuppan said it was an honor to serve.
Board Member Knox White noted that Ms. Zuppan was an early and strong champion of the Universal Design ordinance.
Staff Member Thomas thanked Ms. Zuppan for all of her work.
President Mitchell, Board Members Burton, Sullivan, Curtis, Köster, and Teague thanked Ms. Zuppan for her service.
11-A 2017-4795
Subcommittee for Alameda Marina
*None*
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
13. ADJOURNMENT
President Mitchell adjourned the meeting at 8:42pm.