Title
PLN17-0628 - Study Session on Zoning Text Amendments - Applicant: City of Alameda. Study Session on Proposed Text Amendments to the Zoning Regulations (AMC Chapter 30) regarding: 1) adoption of new bird-safe building regulations; 2) adoption of new outdoor lighting regulations; and 3) adoption of new assisted living regulations.
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Allen Tai, Planning Services Manager
BACKGROUND
The City of Alameda Zoning Ordinance establishes land use regulations and development standards for the use of land. The purpose of these regulations is to protect public health, safety, and general welfare and ensure that public and private actions related to the use and development of land is consistent with community expectations and priorities as articulated in the City’s General Plan. Periodic amendments to the Zoning Ordinance are necessary to align development regulations with policy direction from the City Council and Planning Board.
To date, the Council directed staff to draft ordinances pertaining to the following items:
1. Bird Safe Building Regulations
2. Outdoor Lighting Regulations
3. Assisted Living Regulations
4. Heritage Trees Regulations
5. Short-Term Rental Use Regulations
This staff report presents proposed amendments for Items #1 through #3 above. The remaining are in progress and will be presented to the Board at a 2018 date to be determined.
At the June 25th Planning Board meeting, staff is requesting comments from the Planning Board and the community on the first draft regulations related to Bird Safe Building Design, Dark Skies, and Assisted Living Facilities. Based upon the comments and suggestions received, staff will return at a future date with final draft regulations for final Planning Board consideration and recommendation to City Council.
DISCUSSION
Council Referral - Bird Safe Building Regulations
The San Francisco Bay is a major destination along the Pacific Flyway, a major migratory path for birds stretching from Canada to Mexico. Over 200 species of birds migrate through the Bay Area each spring and fall, and Alameda’s island setting within the San Francisco Bay effectively makes the entire city potential bird habitat. According to the Golden Gate Audubon Society, over 365 million birds are killed in North America each year as a result of collisions with built structures (Exhibit 1). Birds tend to collide with glass when the glass is either too reflective or too transparent, as birds cannot recognize the glass as a solid object. Reflective glass also creates a hazard when birds perceive reflections as actual landscaping, trees, or sky that they can fly into. Most bird-window collisions occur during the day, on buildings with large areas of glass. However, at night, birds can be attracted to outdoor light sources and collide with windows as they approach the attraction.
Every jurisdiction in the state of California that is potential bird habitat must address this issue as part of performing environmental review for projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. For example, Alameda’s environmental impact reports for major development contain mitigation measures to minimize bird collisions. Moreover, a number of Bay Area cities, including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Richmond, and Sunnyvale, have taken a step further to adopt ordinances targeting bird strikes on buildings with large expanses of glass.
The proposed ordinance follows the model ordinances recommended by the Golden Gate Audubon Society and it does the following:
• Exempts historic buildings, retail storefronts, and building façades composed of less than 50% glass.
• Requires bird-safe features on buildings that meet a threshold of having a façade that is composed of 50% glass. This applies to new buildings two-story and taller and retrofit windows on existing buildings with large expanses of glass meeting the 50% glazing threshold. The requirement also applies to skyways, walkways and free-standing glass walls that may be used on buildings that exceed the 50% glazing threshold.
• Prescribes a menu of bird-safe building treatments including opaque glass, window mullions, screens, netting, or special glass features such as fritting or ultra-violet patterns (Exhibit 2).
• Allows applicants to choose an alternate compliance method recommended by a qualified biologist.
The proposed ordinance would be added to AMC Section 30-5.16 together with other performance standards for buildings (Exhibit 3).
Council Referral - Outdoor Lighting Regulations
Accompanying the Council’s referral on Bird Safe Building Regulations was a referral on outdoor lighting regulations (Exhibit 4). Specifically, the Council wanted staff to address light pollution and set standards that avoid potential negative health effects caused by blue LED lighting (color temperature). Outdoor lighting has synergies with bird-safe standards discussed above because birds are attracted to light sources at night and may collide with glass surfaces while approaching the light source. Cities that have adopted bird-safe standards have also adopted companion outdoor lighting regulations.
Currently, the zoning ordinance requires all outdoor lighting on private property simply be diffused and/or concealed to prevent light spillage onto adjacent properties (AMC Section 30-5.16.f). In addition, Planning’s standard conditions of approval also require light fixtures directing light downward. While Alameda’s existing requirements are effective in preventing light spillage onto neighboring properties, they do not provide any objective and measurable standards, such as metrics for maximum light intensity and color temperature. Such metrics are necessary for the regulations to be effective in achieving desired “dark-skies” goals to minimize light pollution. Staff is proposing new outdoor lighting standards to replace the current provision in Section 30-5.16.f (Exhibit 3). The ordinance primarily applies to private property only, because street lights will be covered under a new street lighting plan to be prepared by the Public Works Department. The proposed ordinance is based on the best practices of cities with dark-skies lighting ordinances and customized to Alameda’s physical environment. Staff consulted Police, Recreation and Parks, and the Public Works Department as well as Alameda Municipal Power and the City’s Building Official in developing new and measurable standards. The proposed ordinance does the following:
• Establishes definitions and measurements for various lighting sources
• Establishes a one (1) foot-candle limit for maximum light trespass at the property line. This standard is based on input from the Alameda Police Department and the Building Official considering public safety and building code requirements
• Establishes a maximum correlated color temperature limit of 4,000 Kelvins for LED lighting based on Dark Skies-friendly standards (Exhibit 5)
• Requires outdoor lighting to be fully shielded and directed downward
• Prescribes standards for certain uplighting used in landscaping, security lights, and building accent lighting
• Requires any new or replacement outdoor lighting that needs a permit to comply with the ordinance
• Exempts Alameda’s historic decorative lights and light sources required for public safety or mandated by other codes and regulations
Council Referral - Senior Assisted Living
On September 6, 2016, the Council denied an application for senior assisted living in the Harbor Bay Business Park and directed staff to prepare amendments to the zoning ordinance to better define “senior assisted living” uses and clarify zoning restrictions related to the location of the use in Alameda (Exhibit 6).
Senior assisted living is a housing option for seniors who cannot live independently and need help with medications and daily living activities, such as bathing, grooming, eating, dressing and/or going to the bathroom. Assisted living facilities are licensed and regulated by the State Department of Developmental Services, which classifies assisted living as a form of residential care facility, which is a form of community care facility.
The zoning ordinance does not currently include a definition of “senior assisted living”. In response to the Council’s request and to support consistent interpretations and implementation of the zoning ordinance in the future, staff recommends that the following new definitions be added to Section 30-2: Definitions:
“Senior Assisted Living Facility shall mean a housing arrangement where the residents are at least sixty years of age and where varying levels of care, supervision, or health-related services are provided to the residents based on their varying needs. Persons under 60 years of age with compatible needs may be allowed to be admitted or retained in such a facility, not to exceed 25 percent of the residents, as further defined in Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the California Health and Safety Code.”
“Senior Independent Living Facility shall mean a building or portion thereof, the operation of which focuses on providing multiple independent living quarters for seniors without health related services. The facility may include a shared common kitchen and common activity areas.”
Senior assisted living facilities and senior independent living facilities are facilities where people live, eat, and sleep. Seniors are also considered a “sensitive receptor” vulnerable to environmental nuisances and impacts under state law. From a zoning perspective, these uses are appropriately located in areas of the city that are planned and zoned for residential uses. Therefore, staff recommends that the AMC be amended to:
• Permit by-right senior independent living facilities in all zoning districts that permit dwelling units, including: the R-1 through R-6 Districts, the North Park Street Mixed Use District, the Park Street Residential sub-district, the Alameda Point Main Street Neighborhood, the Alameda Point Town Center District, and on the upper floors of commercial mixed use districts, including the C-1 District, the C-2 District, the C-C districts (Park Street and Webster Street), and the North Park Street Gateway District (north Park Street).
• Conditionally permit (require a use permit for) senior assisted living uses in the districts listed above in addition to the Administrative-Professional District and the former Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) and the Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) buildings in the Alameda Point-Adaptive Reuse District. The BEQ and BOQ are the only buildings where residential uses are allowed in the Alameda Point-Adaptive Reuse District. Requiring a use permit for senior assisted living uses allows the City to consider any employee, visitor and delivery element that are contingent with the operation of these facilities on a project-by-project basis.
• Prohibit senior assisted living facilities and senior independent living in the zoning districts that prohibit dwelling units; including the M-1 (Light Industrial), M-2 (General Industrial), CM (Commercial Manufacturing), Alameda Point Enterprise District, and the North Park Street Maritime Sub-district. The M-1, M-2, CM, Enterprise, and Maritime districts are designed to support commercial manufacturing uses that often require truck deliveries, operating noisy machinery, 24-hour operations, operations that use regulated hazardous materials, and other activities and facilities that are not compatible in close proximity to facilities where people to live, eat and sleep. For these reasons, none of these zoning districts permit dwelling units. For the same reason, staff does not believe that senior assisted living or independent living facilities are appropriate in these manufacturing districts.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed amendments are categorically exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15307, Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources, which exempts actions taken to assure the maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of a natural resources including wildlife preservation activities. Moreover, each as a separate and independent basis, this proposal is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15305, Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations, 15183 (projects consistent with General Plan and Zoning) and 15061(b)(3) (general rule, where there is certainty the proposal has no significant effect on the environment).
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT
This agenda item was advertised in the Alameda Sun and public notices were posted as required by the Alameda Municipal Code. The Golden Gate Audubon Society provided input on the proposed bird safe building regulations. No other public comments were received by staff at the time this report was written.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a study session and provide comments to staff on the proposed zoning text amendments.
Respectfully Submitted By:
Allen Tai
Planning Services Manager
Exhibits:
1. Council Referral on Bird Safe Building Regulations and Attachments
2. Bird Safe Building Treatments Gallery
3. Draft Bird Safe Building and Outdoor Lighting Regulations
4. Council Referral on Outdoor Lighting Regulations
5. Examples of Lighting Types and Color Temperature Scale
6. Proposed Senior Assisted Living Text Amendments