Title
Public Hearing to Consider a Waterfront Plaza and Promenade Development Plan and Design Review for Approximately 4.5 acres of the Alameda Landing waterfront. An Environmental Impact Report has been completed for the Alameda Landing Project, Including the Proposed Park.
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Date: June 25, 2018
Re: Public Hearing to Consider a Waterfront Plaza and Promenade Development Plan and Design Review for Approximately 4.5 acres of the Alameda Landing waterfront. An Environmental Impact Report has been completed for the Alameda Landing Project, Including the Proposed Park.
BACKGROUND
In 2017, the City Council adopted an ordinance amending the Bayport/Alameda Landing Master Plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Addendum. In addition to allowing for 17 acres of maritime commercial uses within 364,000 square feet of existing waterfront warehouses and up to 400 residential units, the amended Master Plan requires a 4.5-acre public waterfront park. The Master Plan requires approval and construction of the waterfront park prior to completion of the residential portion of the project and:
• At least 4.5 acres of park land with a minimum width of 100 feet;
• A waterfront plaza at the foot of Fifth Street with a minimum width of 175 feet at the water’s edge and a public water shuttle landing and kayak launch;
• A pedestrian-only pathway separate from an extension of the Bay Trail; and
• A variety of spaces and facilities for passive and active recreation activities, including strolling, biking, kayaking and paddle boarding, picnicking and BBQing, fishing, large and small gatherings and events, sunset and boat watching, lounging, running, and learning.
Pursuant to the Alameda Landing Master Plan, the applicant, Catellus Alameda Development, LLC, has prepared development plan and design review drawings for Planning Board review and approval (Exhibit 1). Upon approval, the applicant will construct the new park for the City. The City will own, operate and maintain the park. Maintenance costs will be funded by an assessment district on the Alameda Landing residential development. Recreation and Parks Department staff have been actively involved with the design of the park to ensure that the City will be able to effectively maintain the facilities over time.
On May 10, 2018, the Alameda Recreation and Parks Commission reviewed the conceptual park design. The Recreation and Parks Commission comments were very supportive of the proposed design. All suggestions were incorporated into the current set of plans.
DISCUSSION
The future Alameda Landing waterfront park is located directly across the estuary from Jack London Square and the Port of Oakland Howard Terminal, which is currently being considered by the Oakland A’s for a possible new waterfront stadium site. On the Alameda side of the estuary, the park will be bordered by the existing dry boat storage warehouse, the Commodore Fleet facilities, and Cardinal Point assisted living to the east, a new residential neighborhood between the park and Mitchell Avenue to the south, and the Bay Ship and Yacht warehouses immediately adjacent to the park to the west. The site provides views of the estuary, Port of Oakland activities, the Oakland skyline, and the San Francisco skyline in the distance.
The plans provide a waterfront plaza at the foot of Fifth Street designed to serve as a major gathering place, kayak center, water shuttle dock, and a gateway to Alameda. The proposed water shuttle landing is approximately 900 feet from the public dock at Jack London Square across the estuary from the Jack London Square Ferry Terminal. (See page 2 and page 10 on exhibit 1)
Framed and semi-enclosed with an arbor structure and a backdrop of shade trees and 5,000 square feet of waterfront retail space, the waterfront plaza serves as the main gathering area, activity area, and future water-based transportation connection between Oakland and Alameda. The plan includes a series of history panels and several smaller open space areas around the edge of the plaza that are programmed for grass mounds, climbing structures, games, picnic areas, café seating and public benches. A kayak storage and rental facility will be located at the northeastern end of the waterfront edge near the new public dock. Parking for park users will be located off of Fifth Street. Staff recommends that the park have at least 35 spaces restricted to park users, including ADA parking spaces. Seventeen (17) of the spaces will be constructed with the park on the 4.5 acres of park land. The other 18 spaces will be developed by the residential developer adjacent to the 17 within the park. (See page 8 of exhibit 1 for illustration of parking lot.)
West of the plaza, the 100-foot wide park extends for approximately 1,000 feet along the water to the west. This waterfront promenade is designed for strolling, biking, sitting, passive recreation, and enjoying the views. Low landscaped areas bordered by low seating walls provide space for grass areas and plant materials along the residential areas that border the park. At the inland edge of the park, a separate pedestrian path runs the length of the park in front of the future adjacent residential neighborhood. (See page 11, 14, 15, and 16.)
Along the western edge of the park, the western greenway runs approximately 700’ north and south between the wharf edge and Mitchell Avenue. The amended Master Plan refers to this “buffer” area as a minimum 50’-wide building setback from the common property line with the adjacent Bay Ship & Yacht. This buffer, sitting atop storm drain easements, provides an appropriates separation from the maritime commercial uses and provides for Bay Trail and public access from the waterfront park to Estuary Park and the sports fields on Mitchell Avenue and the Bette Street Class I bike path to Stargell Avenue. From Estuary Park, cyclists will be able to continue on Singleton Avenue to reach the Main Street Ferry Terminal and over five miles of future waterfront bicycle trails at Alameda Point. (See page 6 and 7 of Exhibit 1.)
Conclusions and Recommendations: The proposed plan for the Alameda Landing Waterfront Plaza and Promenade complies with all of the design objectives for the park in the Alameda Landing Master Plan and will become a major new public asset for the benefit of the Alameda community. Staff is currently working with the other departments to prepare a final resolution and conditions of approval for the project, which staff is prepared to bring to the Planning Board for final review and approval at the next regularly scheduled Planning Board meeting on July 9, 2018.
At this time, staff is requesting that the Planning Board direct staff to return with a resolution for approval at the next meeting, which will include standard conditions of approval and special conditions to address the following issues and considerations:
Public Water Shuttle Dock and Kayak Launch Design Plans and Approvals: The Master Plan requires a water shuttle landing and kayak launch. The applicant has not completed its design work with the regional agencies and the local boating community to approve the final design of the water shuttle/kayak launch shown in the draft plans. Therefore, staff preparing a condition of approval be imposed that requires submittal of a water shuttle and kayak launch plan for Planning Board review and approval.
Construction Phasing: According to the Master Plan, this 4.5-acre park should be completed in no more than two phases, and the phases should be completed prior to or concurrent with the completion of the adjacent residential neighborhood. The plans do not include a phasing plan. Therefore staff is preparing a condition of approval that requires completion of the park and the water shuttle landing prior to completion of the residential development.
Final Design Details: The Master Plan states: “Activate the waterfront with a mix of uses, a variety of facilities and activities, and appropriate lighting and other design features to create a safe and inviting waterfront experience throughout the week and weekend and during daytime and nighttime hours.” The submitted design drawings provide a conceptual design to achieve these objectives, but careful consideration of the design details for the lighting, railing, landscaping materials, benches, and other important details will be necessary to ensure that the park ultimately achieves the Master Plan objectives. Staff is preparing a condition of approval that requires the applicant to submit for Planning Board review and approval a final Landscape, Railing, Seating, and Lighting Plan.
Park-Residential Interface: The Master Plan requires a park of at least 100 feet in width. The Master Plan also allows the residential buildings to be located on the property line with the park. At this time, staff does not know whether the future residential developer will want to place residential buildings on the property line or prefer to provide a setback, which may serve as a private front yard. The Master Plan does require that park-facing buildings have a primary entry facing the park.
As part of the park design process, staff has been considering the interface between the public park and the future residential development to ensure that the two uses are able to co-exist comfortably. The park design provides a pedestrian path, a row of palm trees, and benches along the rear 20 feet of the park adjacent to the residential property line. This rear area is intended to serve as a public passive recreational area that may co-exist comfortably with an adjacent residential neighborhood. It is envisioned that the future residential buildings will have paths leading from their front doors out to the park and the public path. To ensure that this interface is carefully considered and that if an additional buffer is needed between public park uses and private residential uses, staff preparing a condition that allows the Planning Board and future residential developer to reconsider the interface between the public park and the residential development when the residential project submits for final Design Review and Development Plan approval.
Sea Level Rise: The proposed plans do not include an adequate plan to adapt to sea level rise over the next 50 years. A sea level rise adaptation plan will also be required as part of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission approvals for the project. Staff is preparing a condition that requires final approval of the sea level rise plan by the Planning Board.
Bicycle Bridge to Oakland: The 2007 Master Plan states: “Establish and enhance pedestrian and bicycle connections between the waterfront, the overall development, and other Alameda neighborhoods and along the waterfront, as well as to the extent feasible across the Estuary to Jack London Square.”
In 2017, the City Council re-confirmed the City of Alameda’s commitment to working with Bike Walk Alameda, the City and Port of Oakland, and Alameda property owners to develop a plan for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge to Oakland. The bridge would be approximately 18 feet wide and connect Alameda to the City of Oakland. Working with Oakland, the design team has identified three potential locations for the bridge: one of which would connect Alameda Landing to Jack London Square. If this location were ultimately selected, the bridge would begin at Mitchell Avenue near the intersection of Mitchell and Fifth, and slowly rise over the project site to and across the Estuary. At the point the bridge crosses the park, the bridge would be between 30 and 35 feet in the air above the park. After crossing the estuary, the bridge would descend to a landing between the Oakland Ferry Terminal and the foot of Broadway.
It will be important to ensure that the design of the park or the design of the adjacent neighborhood does not inadvertently prohibit or significantly increase the cost of this proposed major regional transportation improvement. The 2017 Master Plan envisioned the bridge being located along the western edge of the property adjacent to Bay Ship and Yacht. Based upon more recent analysis of the bridge options with the Port of Oakland and the bridge engineers, staff has determined that it is likely infeasible to place the bicycle bridge in that location, which is an existing easement area for storm drains, as the alignment would conflict with Port of Oakland shipping operations. However, the Port has indicated that an alignment approximately 500 to 700 feet to the east would avoid the shipping operations. Staff believes that the design of the park can accommodate the bridge in this location, but careful work will be needed on the design of the adjacent neighborhood to provide a roadway right-of-way in a location that can be modified in the future to accommodate a bicycle bridge. Exhibit 2 illustrates the current preferred alignment for an Alameda Landing to Jack London Square bicycle and pedestrian bridge.
Park Name: The Recreation and Park Commission received a request from the Bohol Circle organization to consider naming the future waterfront park after Bohol Circle in recognition of the important history and role of the Bohol Circle community in Alameda. The naming of a City park is the purview of the Recreation and Park Commission and the City Council. The proposed waterfront park does not have a name or any other proposed names at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On December 5, 2006, the City Council certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Landing Mixed Use Development Project (a Supplement to the 2000 Catellus Mixed Use Development Project EIR) in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (State Clearinghouse #2006012091). The City has prepared several addenda to the 2006 SEIR.
On July 18, 2017, the City Council approved an Environmental Assessment of the Bayport/Alameda Landing Master Plan Amendment. The Environmental Assessment concluded that the Master Plan Amendment (provided that the traffic trip cap established by the Master Plan is maintained) would not generate any new, or substantially more severe, impacts than might be expected as compared to those identified in the 2006 SEIR.
No further environmental review is required for the approval of the park plans.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Board direct staff to prepare a final Resolution of approval for the Alameda Landing Waterfront Plaza and Promenade Development Plan and Design Review for consideration at the July 9, 2018 Planning Board meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Exhibits:
1. Alameda Landing Waterfront Plaza and Promenade Development Plan
2. Preferred Alignment for a Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge