Title
Public Hearing to Consider a Recommendation to Approve the Master Plan, Density Bonus Application, and Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Marina Property Located at 1815 Clement Avenue (APN 071-0288-003 and 071-0257-004) in the Northern Waterfront Priority Development Area
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas
Assistant Community Development Director
Re: Public Hearing to Consider a Recommendation to Approve the Master Plan, Density Bonus Application, and Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Marina Property Located at 1815 Clement Avenue (APN 071-0288-003 and 071-0257-004) in the Northern Waterfront Priority Development Area
BACKGROUND
The Alameda Marina property is a 44-acre site located on Clement Avenue between Alameda Marina Drive and Willow Street in the Northern Waterfront Priority Development Area. The site is bordered by Alameda Municipal Power facilities to the west, the Navy Operational Support Center to the east, and a variety of light industrial, retail and residential uses along the south side of Clement Avenue. The site is comprised of approximately 27 acres of uplands and submerged lands owned by Pacific Shops, Inc. (“the applicant”) and an adjacent 17 acres of waterfront land and submerged lands owned by the City in trust for the State of California (“Tidelands”) that are leased to the applicant.
In 1990, the City Council amended the City of Alameda General Plan to designate Alameda Marina and other industrial and maritime sites along the Northern Waterfront for future mixed use development.
In 2012, the City Council amended the General Plan and Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) to designate 21.62 acres of the non-Tidelands portion of Alameda Marina land as a multifamily housing opportunity site in support of future mixed use development on the property. The site’s Mixed Use Zoning District (MX) zoning designation with a Multifamily Residential Combining District (MF) overlay implements the General Plan’s Mixed Use designation and made it possible for the City of Alameda to bring its General Plan and AMC into compliance with State Housing Law. Residential uses are prohibited on the adjacent Tidelands and submerged property.
In 2012, the City and the applicant entered into a new lease for the Tidelands property (“2012 Lease”). One of the primary purposes of the 2012 Lease was to facilitate reinvestment and improvement of the City-owned Tidelands property. The 2012 Lease requires the applicant to prepare a Master Plan for the entire site with higher value uses to fund the major investments necessary to improve the City Tidelands property seawalls, bulkheads, public access, and supporting infrastructure, which are all in very poor condition. A 2017 analysis of the City’s Tidelands shoreline by a City consultant estimates the costs for just the seawall improvements to be between $15 million and $17 million.
In 2016, the applicant submitted its first draft Master Plan for the site. Over the last two years, the applicant estimates that it held approximately 75 community and group meetings. The Planning Board subcommittee held five (5) meetings, and the full Planning Board held four (4) public meetings over the course of the planning process to evaluate and improve the draft Master Plan. In 2018, the City completed a Draft and Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) evaluating the potential environmental impacts of the Master Plan on the environment as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
DISCUSSION
The following discussion provides an overview and evaluation of the 60-page Alameda Marina Master Plan, which is attached as Exhibit 1 and can be found at <https://alamedaca.gov/alameda-marina-project> and at the Community Development Department.
Mixed Use. The Alameda General Plan and AMC support mixed use development at Alameda Marina. The MX zoning district requires that the Master Plan for the site include at least three uses, one of which must be public open space.
The Master Plan provides for 3.59 acres of public open space, 7.35 acres of maritime commercial land with 180,972 square feet of maritime and commercial building floor area and dockyard space, 12 acres of submerged maritime commercial land with marina facilities, and approximately 17.74 acres of residential development. Pursuant to the requirements of the MX Zoning district, the applicant has provided a market analysis to demonstrate that the amount of land proposed for each use can be realistically supported by market conditions. (Exhibit 2).
In addition to a mix of uses, the draft Master Plan provides for the following improvements to the property, which would be accomplished in three phases over the course of seven to 15 years:
City Tidelands and Maritime Facility Improvements. To implement General Plan policies, the MX Zoning District regulations, and the intent of the 2012 Lease, the Master Plan includes the following Tidelands and maritime facility Improvements:
Seawall Improvements: The Master Plan requires complete reconstruction and/or rehabilitation of the 4,009 lineal feet of shoreline embankments, seawalls and bulkheads on the property, most of which is on City-owned Tidelands property. There are several areas throughout the 4,009 lineal feet of shoreline that have experienced loss of soil and cave-ins due to the complete loss of steel pile walls. The initial estimated cost to upgrade the seawalls is between $15 million and $17 million and includes the necessary upgrades to address three feet of anticipated sea level rise over the next 50 years. The phasing plan requires the improvements to be completed with each phase of the residential development.
Marina Improvements: The Master Plan requires rehabilitation and improvement of the 530-slip marina including dredging, pier and dock improvements, restroom and shower upgrades, replacement and improvement of the sewer, water, power, and sanitary infrastructure that supports the marina operations, and construction of three parking lots totaling 348 public parking spaces. The estimated cost to upgrade these City-owned facilities is between $3.25 million and $4 million. The Master Plan phasing plan requires the improvements to be completed in phases with each phase of the residential development.
Maritime Commercial Area Improvements: The Master Plan provides for up to 180,972 square feet of maritime commercial floor area and yard space and all new infrastructure to support maritime commercial uses. The Master Plan includes a new boatyard and dockyard facilities and spaces on both land and water for recreational boat service and repair. In water, “Service Ships” will provide facilities for boat maintenance and repair with direct access to the boats in the water and enable traditionally underserved services like engine installation and service, marine electronics, canvas, fiberglass, rigging, and mechanical services to occur at Alameda Marina. The facilities will also provide for “incubator” opportunities, co-op arrangements, apprenticeship programs, and synergy between the various providers.
The Master Plan also includes space for the servicing of rigging and boats on land that cannot occur conveniently on the water utilizing the existing deep water and existing travel lift rails. The space is adequate to service up to 30 boats (up to 60 feet in length) on land and in the adjacent maritime buildings. For comparison purposes, the facilities will be more than twice the size of the nearby Grand Marina boatyard, and roughly equivalent in size and capacity to the Berkeley Marine Center, the San Francisco Boatworks at China Basin, KKMI in Sausalito, the Vallejo Boatworks, and the San Rafael Yacht Harbor.
Given the proximity of the proposed residential uses in the Master Plan and current permitting requirements for boatyards, it is unlikely that landside facilities will be suitable for boat painting or sanding. Boats that require bottom work can be serviced at Grand Marina, the Berkeley Marine Center, and a variety of other facilities around the Bay. Houseboats may be serviced at Bay Ship and Yacht.
Dry Boat Storage and Parking: The Master Plan requires construction of a new 60-boat dry storage yard with a three (3) ton hoist in the first phase of the development. The hoist will allow dry boat storage owners to place their boats in the water from within the dry boat storage area, and a new access to the adjacent Grand Marina boat ramp will provide a secondary means to launch boats. In addition, boaters will have the ability to rent a “dry slip” in the water, which allows the boat to be stored in slips above the water. Since the overall project will be constructed in three phases, portions of the existing dry boat storage (approx. 250 stalls) will remain available for lease throughout the development of the first and second phases which may span a period of five to 10 years, which will provide plenty of opportunity for active dry boat sailors to store their boats at Alameda Marina. (Currently, only 49 of the existing 165 sailboats in the existing dry boat storage area are registered and insured.) Furthermore, in eleven years, the Tidelands Lease for the 6.4 acres of land at the nearby Encinal Terminals property will expire, at which time City Council may decide whether there is sufficient demand to provide additional dry boat storage in Alameda’s northern waterfront.
Public Waterfront Access, Bay Trail, and Clement Avenue Improvements. To implement General Plan policies, the MX Zoning District regulations, and the intent of the 2012 Lease, the Master Plan includes:
Waterfront Access Improvements: The Master Plan provides for the construction and rehabilitation of approximately 3.59 acres of publically accessible waterfront open space, including creation of a unique “water life” park with kayak and personal watercraft launching facilities in the former “graving dock”, which was the facility originally constructed to build segments of the Posey Tube.
Bay Trail Improvements: The Master Plan includes a new Bay Trail facility along the waterfront from a new connection to the Grand Marina Bay Trail along the waterfront to the Naval Operations Support Center and out to Clement Avenue.
Clement Avenue and Cross Alameda Trail Improvements: The Master Plan includes reconstruction of the .3 mile segment of Clement Avenue that fronts the project site, including a widening of the current substandard public sidewalk to seven (7) feet, removal of the railroad tracks, and construction of new bicycle lanes or a cycle track along Clement Avenue as part of the Cross Alameda Trail. All of the overhead utility lines, with the exception of the high voltage KV 115 lines will be undergrounded, which will mean the elimination of at least eight existing poles and the associated overhead lines on Clement Avenue. Improvements to the City-owned Clement Avenue is initially estimated to cost between $3 million and $4 million.
Residential Development: To implement General Plan Housing Element policies and the Multifamily Housing Combining District designation, the Master Plan includes:
Multifamily Housing: The Master Plan provides for 760 multifamily housing units in a variety of sizes and price points. Residential building sizes will vary between three and five stories. Unit sizes would vary from 700 to 2,300 square feet. It is anticipated that approximately two-thirds of the units will be rental units and one-third will be ownership units.
Affordable Housing: The Master Plan requires construction of 103 deed-restricted affordable housing units, including 32 units for very low-income households, 26 units for low-income households, and 45 units for middle income or “moderate” income households. Moderate- income households are defined as households with an income that is between 80% and 120% of Alameda County area wide median income. In 2018, a moderate-income family of four has an annual household income of between approximately $80,000 and $120,000.
Residential Density: The proposed residential density and number of housing units is consistent with State and local law. AMC 30-4.23 (MF Multi-family Residential Combining District) permits a residential density of 30 units per acre. AMC 30-16 (Inclusionary Housing) requires that 4% of the units be deed-restricted for very low-income households, 4% for low-income households and 7% for moderate-income households. AMC 30-17 (Affordable Housing Density Bonus) requires that the City grant the project a 20% residential density bonus if the applicant offers to deed restrict 5% of the units for very low-income households. California Government Code section 65915 states that the required density bonus is a:
“density increase over the otherwise maximum allowable gross residential density as of the date of application by the applicant to the city, county, or city and county, or, if elected by the applicant, a lesser percentage of density increase, including, but not limited to, no increase in density."
The applicant’s 21.62 acres of MF zoned land permits 649 residential units. The applicant has offered to deed restrict 5%, or 32, of the units for very low-income households. Therefore, the applicant must receive a 20% density bonus for up to 779 units. The applicant has chosen to limit the number of units in the Master Plan to 760 units. The applicant’s density bonus application is attached as Exhibit 3.
Government Code section 65915 prohibits the Planning Board or City Council from reducing the number of units in a development that has qualified for a density bonus:
“In no case may a city, county, or city and county apply any development standard that will have the effect of physically precluding the construction of a development meeting the criteria of subdivision (b) at the densities or with the concessions or incentives permitted by this section. An applicant may submit to a city, county, or city and county a proposal for the waiver or reduction of development standards that will have the effect of physically precluding the construction of a development meeting the criteria of subdivision (b) at the densities or with the concessions or incentives permitted under this section, and may request a meeting with the city, county, or city and county. If a court finds that the refusal to grant a waiver or reduction of development standards is in violation of this section, the court shall award the plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of suit.”
Furthermore, California Government Code section 65589.5 (the Housing Accountability Act) requires the City to approve applications for residential mixed-use development that are consistent with its objective development standards without reducing the proposed density, unless the City makes specific findings related to “specific, adverse impacts” to public health and safety. Because the Alameda Marina project is consistent with all objective development standards, the Housing Accountability Act prohibits the Planning Board and City Council from reducing the number of units, unless the reduction in units is necessary to mitigate:
“a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete."
In this case, there is no evidence of public health or safety impacts associated with the project. Community concerns about project impacts on automobile delay (traffic), public parking availability, maritime commercial space or dry boat storage are not impacts on public health and safety standards.
At the public hearing on the Draft EIR, the Planning Board asked if traffic caused by new housing impacts the Police and Fire Departments’ ability to respond to public health and safety emergencies. A review of response times over the last six years found that although the City of Alameda has added additional housing units each year since 2012, there is no evidence of a correlation between housing production and emergency response times in Alameda. Despite the additional units, between 2012 and 2016, the average response times for Priority 1 calls by the Police Department have varied annually by less than 60 seconds and averaged around 2 minute and 30 seconds. Priority 2 calls varied annually by about 48 seconds and averaged around six minutes and 30 seconds. Since the response times vary by year (i.e., some later years are lower than earlier years), there is no evidence that the variation in response times is correlated to housing production or worsening traffic congestion.
During the same period (2012 to 2016), Fire Department response times also varied, but with no correlation to housing production. The Fire Department maintains a response time target for all fire calls. The Department achieved its target 89.5% of the time in 2012, 87.1% in 2013, 91.8% in 2014, 87% of the time in 2015, and 89.9% of the time in 2016. Emergency Medical Service calls showed a similar variability with no correlation to housing projection. The Alameda Fire Department achieved its emergency response goal 65.7% of the time in 2012, 67.6% in 2013 and 2014, 69.4% in 2015, and 66.9% in 2016. Finally, a comparison of 2016 Fire Department response times to 2017 Fire Department response times, shows that average response times decreased from 2016 to 2017, even though traffic got worse and the number of responses went up between 2016 and 2017
Furthermore, if the analysis is limited to just commute hours when traffic is most congested, the City must consider that public safety vehicles have the ability to use sirens, use other lanes on the street, and bypass stop lights and stop signs to respond quickly to a call. Further, Alameda’s commute hour congestion is localized and not evenly distributed citywide. Therefore, the City would need to show that the additional vehicles from Alameda Marina on those particular congested locations result in a “significant, quantifiable, direct and unavoidable impact” on public health and safety response times that cannot be mitigated in any other way.
In conclusion, although the City of Alameda has added additional housing units each year since 2012 (see Annual Housing Report), there is no evidence of a correlation between housing production and slower emergency response times in Alameda. Even though the City does not have an objective, identified, written public health and safety standard in effect that ties traffic generating uses to AFD/APD response times, increased housing has not resulted in any delays in response times based on staff’s review of response time data. Therefore, staff is unable to identify any evidence that such a finding can be made which would be adequate to meet the high standard established by the California Government Code section 65589.5.
Building Heights: Pursuant to Government Code 65915 and AMC 30-17 Density Bonus, the applicant has requested a height waiver to allow two of the residential buildings to exceed the 45-foot height limit up to a maximum height of 65 feet to accommodate the additional 111 density bonus units. For comparison purposes, Building 19, which will be rehabilitated to serve as the centerpiece of the commercial maritime core of the project is 60 feet in height. Therefore, the Master Plan establishes a building height limit of 65 feet for the two major residential buildings on each side of the commercial core area and a 45-foot height limit for the balance of the site.
Green Building and Universal Design. The Master Plan requires all new construction to comply with a LEED Silver or equivalent standard and the City of Alameda’s 2017 Universal Design Ordinance requirements.
Financial Implications for Alameda. The Master Plan has the following financial implications for the City of Alameda:
Reinvestment in City-owned Tidelands and Clement Avenue Cross Alameda Trail and Truck Route: The Master Plan requires significant reinvestment in the City-owned Tidelands and public lands, which are critical to the long-term viability of the land for future maritime use. The Master Plan requires reinvestment in City-owned marina facilities, bulkheads and seawalls, and infrastructure necessary to support continued maritime use of the public lands, which is likely to represent an investment in city lands in excess of $20 million. In addition, the Master Plan requires an estimated $3 to $4 million investment in upgrades to the Clement Avenue Cross Alameda Trail. If the Master Plan is not approved, these investments will not occur and the City-owned property will continue to deteriorate. The City of Alameda does not have any funds set aside to make these improvements if the applicant does not fund them. If the Master Plan is not approved, the applicant will hold the lease for the tidelands for another 19 years, at which time, the City would take on full responsibility for the maintenance and/or improvement of the Tideland property.
Annual Tidelands Lease Revenue to the City: If the Master Plan is approved, the City Tidelands account will receive additional rent payments from the Tidelands Lease with the applicant. Currently, the City receives 10% of the gross revenues from the Marina. If the Master Plan is approved, the City will receive 10% of gross revenues from the Marina, 5% of gross revenues from the dry boat storage facility, 5% of gross revenues from building leases in the Tidelands, and an annual rent payment for the upland portion of the Tidelands determined by the fair market rental value added to the applicant’s property as a result of applicant’s ability to include the upland portion within the Master Plan and thereby cluster non-revenue generating, Public Trust-compliant uses such as open space, public access corridors and parking on the uplands portion of the Tidelands. The additional funds received from this tidelands lease may be used by the City to maintain and improve any tidelands within the City of Alameda.
Improvements to City-owned Clement Avenue Right-of-Way. The Master Plan ensures approximately $2 million in capital improvements to the City-owned Clement Avenue right-of- way. The current City sidewalk is substandard and does not provide adequate access for the disabled. The Master Plan improvements also fund Cross Alameda Trail facilities along the .3 mile segment of Clement Avenue fronting the project site.
Alameda Unified School District. Assuming an average unit size of 1,500 square feet, the project will provide over $4.3 million (2018 dollars) in impact fees to the Alameda Unified School District.
Parks and Open Space. In addition to the 3.5 acres of public open space to be constructed on the property, the project will provide over $7.5 million (2018 dollars) in impact fees to the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department for park facilities.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On October 27, 2016, the City of Alameda released a Notice of Preparation (NOP) notifying the public and governmental agencies that the City had determined that the project proposal requires preparation of an EIR pursuant to CEQA. On November 14, 2016, the Planning Board held a public scoping session on the Draft EIR. On July 13, 2017, the City released a revised NOP to reflect revisions to the draft Master Plan proposed by a Planning Board subcommittee. On January 1, 2018, the City completed work on the Draft EIR and initiated a 45-day public review period, which ended on February 15, 2018. On February 12, 2018, the Planning Board held a public hearing on the Draft EIR. On May 10, 2018, the City of Alameda completed the Final EIR, which addresses the comments received and makes revisions to the draft EIR in response to the comments received.
In summary, the EIR discloses the following impacts to the environment as the result of the proposed project:
Significant and unavoidable impacts. The EIR found that the following two environmental resource areas would be significantly impacted by the proposed project and that even with the recommended mitigations, the impacts would remain significant:
• Transportation and Circulation: The EIR found that the development of the site would contribute additional automobile trips to the currently impacted local and regional roadway and street network. Given the limited capacity to add additional vehicles to the roadway network, the EIR found that the impact of the project on transportation and circulation would be significant. Given that the roadway and street network capacity cannot be feasibly expanded by the project, due to financial costs to build bridges and/or tubes and due to General Plan policies prohibiting street widening in Alameda as a transportation mitigation, the EIR found that the impact is unavoidable. Despite this finding, the EIR does impose mitigations on the project to implement transportation demand management programs and provide annual transportation funding for supplemental transit services to reduce the number of automobile trips generated by the project and contribute a fair share financial contribution to the Clement Avenue extension, all of which will improve circulation in the northern waterfront and complete the Cross Alameda Trail.
• Cultural Resources: The EIR found that redevelopment of the property and demolition of existing structures would result in a significant impact on the historic resource. The Alameda Marina property is a historic resource because of the role the site and the collection of remaining buildings played in the shipbuilding industry during the Second World War. The Historical Advisory Board has designated seventeen buildings, Buildings 1, 4, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, and the graving dock as contributing buildings/features to the “Alameda Marina Historic District,” which has been included on the City’s Historical Building Study List. Three of the seven commercial buildings (Buildings 16, 19, and 27) have been determined to be individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Master Plan will retain six (6) of the contributory buildings, the graving dock, and the three individually eligible buildings. The Master Plan will also retain five (5) additional existing buildings. All exterior modifications to any contributory buildings that will be retained within the Alameda Marina Historic District will be rehabilitated consistent with the Secretary of Interior Standards.
Significant impacts that can be mitigated. The EIR found that the following six environmental resource areas would be significantly impacted by the proposed project, but with the recommended mitigation measures imposed, the impact would be less than significant: 1) Air Quality and Greenhouse Gases, 2) Biological Resources, 3) Hazardous Materials, 4) Hydrology and Water Quality, 5) Noise, and 6) Utilities and Service Systems.
Less than significant impacts. The EIR found that the following environmental resource areas would not be impacted or the impact would be less than significant due to the design of the project or due to existing federal, state, regional, or local permitting requirements, impact fees, or other regulations specifically designed to minimize environmental impacts: 1) Aesthetics, 2) Geology and Soils, 3) Public Services and Recreation, and 4) Population and Housing.
The full text of the Draft and Final EIR documents are available at <https://alamedaca.gov/alameda-marina-project> and at the Community Development Department and are included in Exhibit 4.
RECOMMENDATION
Conduct a public hearing and approve a resolution recommending approval of the Environmental Impact Report (Exhibit 5) and a resolution recommending approval of the Alameda Marina Master Plan and Density Bonus application (Exhibit 6).
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Exhibits:
1. Alameda Marina Master Plan
2. Alameda Marina Market Analysis
3. Affordable Housing Density Bonus Application
4. Final and Draft Environmental Impact Reports
5. Draft CEQA Resolution
6. Draft Master Plan Resolution