Title
Draft Meeting Minutes - April 22, 2019
Body
DRAFT MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019
1. CONVENE
President Sullivan convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Rothenberg led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: President Sullivan, Board Members Cavanaugh, Curtis, Rothenberg, Saheba, Teague.
Absent: Mitchell.
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
*None*
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
6-A 2019-6801
Annual Review: Alameda Point Site A Development Agreement - Applicant: Alameda Point Partners, LLC (APP). Approve a Resolution Finding that APP has Demonstrated Good Faith Compliance with the Terms and Conditions of the Alameda Point Site A Development Agreement from April 15, 2018 through April 15, 2019, based on the Findings contained in the Draft Resolution. This Compliance Review is not a project under CEQA
Board Member Teague pulled the item from the Consent Calendar in order to allow the staff update and board discussion.
Staff Member Thomas said the item was continued from the previous meeting to add some information about a pending application to amend the development agreement. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3917147&GUID=D7327310-F3C6-4117-98F2-85261E2A01A2&Options=&Search=&FullText=1>
Board Member Curtis asked if the 80 units being requested by developer exceeds the original amount included in their development agreement.
Staff Member Thomas said that the 80 units are in addition to the 800 units in the original development agreement. He said approving the annual review does not prejudice a future Planning Board decision on the pending application.
President Sullivan asked how the additional requested units impact the 1,425 unit cap for Alameda Point.
Staff Member Thomas said the 1,425 units have already been allocated, which means the request for 80 additional units would require a change to the General Plan to increase the cap for Alameda Point from 1,425 to 1,505.
Board Member Teague made a motion to approve the staff recommendation. Board Member Curtis seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0.
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
7-A 2019-6802
PLN19-0018 - Lot Line Adjustment - 2130/2140 South Shore Center - Applicant: Rebecca Wiener on behalf of Jamestown South Shore Center LP. Consideration of a Lot Line Adjustment application to reconfigure the western property line of the Alameda South Shore shopping center. The project site is located in the C-2-PD (Central Business Planned Development) Zoning District. The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15305 - Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations
Staff Member Sablan gave the staff report. The report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3917148&GUID=FED15EBA-2EBB-4B39-A3C2-0F455329DB9F&FullText=1>
President Sullivan asked if the buildings included on the proposed lot were the old Bank of Marin, laundromat, café and dental office.
Staff Member Sablan confirmed that the buildings President Sullivan listed would now be their own parcel at the northwest corner of the site.
Board Member Teague asked if the new lot would have the required amount of parking from when it was built.
Staff Member Sablan said there would be no changes to the parking arrangements and cross access easements between the parcels.
There was a discussion clarifying parcel lines while examining an aerial view of the site.
Board Member Saheba asked if there is anything the board should be considering.
Staff Member Thomas said there is very little discretion on this action. He said that these decisions are typically handled at a staff level, but Alameda has an older code that gives the Planning Board authority to approve these applications.
Board Member Saheba made a motion to approve the staff recommendation. Board Member Rothenberg seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
7-B 2019-6803
Planning Board Review of General Plan Chapter 1 Settings, and Organization of the General Plan Update. The review of the General Plan Chapters are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
Staff Member Thomas gave a report. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3917182&GUID=06EE828B-A7AF-43FB-A714-7D25CEF7DA98&FullText=1>
Board Member Curtis said he liked the way staff presented a single section for the board to consider in depth at a given point in time. He said he found the new section easy to read.
Board Member Cavanaugh said he liked the new layout. He said it would be helpful to have explanations of things like Measure A or the state’s influence on policy embedded in the document, including via hyperlink. He said this would help the public understand how things work in the city.
Board Member Teague said that a sentence needs to be added about resolving conflicts between policy guidance and regulation, and which takes precedence. He said he liked the new format. He suggested certain edits for clarity. He said we should include information on housing production from 1990 to 2019 and the Density Bonus law. He said there should be a paragraph about the land conveyance by the Navy and associated constraints on the land. He said the paragraph from the original discussing the completion of Harbor Bay should come back into the new version, and there should be a paragraph about RHNA and the 2014 Housing Element amendments.
Board Member Saheba said the layout and graphics were quite good. He asked if there is an outline of modifications being proposed from the existing to the new General Plan. He said that global view would help improve the input that the board could provide as they give feedback on each section.
Staff Member Thomas gave some background on his feelings towards the 1990 General Plan and where he anticipated making changes. He said the Climate Action Plan update has led to some rethinking of how the land use and design chapters of the General Plan should be structured. He said he would outline the changes in the next staff report.
Board Member Rothenberg asked if the whole timeline of changes would be laid out. She asked about the process for amending the General Plan.
Staff Member Thomas said any final changes would involve public notice and advertising. He outlined the process that he envisions for public input before moving forward with recommendations to the City Council.
Board Member Rothenberg asked if bringing pieces back in chunks would be a transparent process for the public.
Staff Member Thomas said he could envision a process where the Board works through the entire document and has a public comment process on the entire document.
President Sullivan said she likes the new layout. She said she would like some of the longer sentences to be broken up and for someone to review the document with a style guide for things like punctuation. She said our future is heading toward an urban city of renters and not a small, suburban city. She said the balance is shifting.
Staff Member Thomas said that Alameda has always been fairly evenly split between rentals and owner occupied units. He said the short term trends change and is not convinced that future development will absolutely be mostly rentals.
Board Member Teague said that when we get to a complete product that the old plan should have references identifying where the policies exist in the new document. He asked if the Housing Element can come ahead of the Land Use Element. He said the special rules for Webster, Park, and Harbor Bay should be called out specifically.
President Sullivan said that there will be so much change coming in Alameda that the General Plan should be updated in 15 years instead of the current 30 year gap.
Board Member Cavanaugh asked for more information about the Climate Change Emergency Declaration.
Staff Member Thomas explained that the declaration’s intent and what will be required in the immediate response to climate change and sea level rise. He said the Council has given a sense of urgency and asked for transportation projects and the public process around them to be greatly sped up.
Board Member Rothenberg suggested adding climate change and resiliency to the open space and preservation chapter.
Staff Member Thomas said that the Board, if it so chooses, can identify specific members to work with staff on the drafting of specific chapters.
8. MINUTES
*None*
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2019-6798
Planning, Building and Transportation Department Recent Actions and Decisions
The staff report can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3917005&GUID=29FAE29C-4E9F-4C6B-B66A-315782C3A9E8&FullText=1>
9-B 2019-6799
Oral Report - Status Report on Design Review and Development Plan for an approximately 113,000-square-foot hotel with 172 guest rooms, and an approximately 7,000-square-foot restaurant with coffee shop at 2900 Harbor Bay Parkway
Staff Member Thomas said staff is evaluating revised elevations and waiting for more information from the applicant. He said they also received an updated landscape plan. He said the new elevations were sent out to the list of interested parties and the limited feedback thus far was not positive.
President Sullivan said that some of the parties have been told not to respond so they can respond as a group.
Board Member Saheba asked if there was a game plan for how to engage the public on the revised designs that is not ad hoc.
President Sullivan said the community was promised a meeting and they need to have it before it comes back to the Planning Board.
Staff Member Thomas said he feels like staff needs to review the drawings and make a recommendation before anything happens. He asked if the neighborhood meeting should happen before it comes to Planning Board and what should happen after the neighborhood meeting.
Board Member Saheba said the applicant needs to go back and present their changes to the neighborhood before staff takes that feedback and incorporates it into their recommendation to the Board.
Staff Member Thomas said he is comfortable with that process. He said he just needed to emphasize that the neighborhood meeting does not approve or deny the project, citing some interactions with residents that seemed to misunderstand that point.
9-C 2019-6800
Oral Report - Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Planning, Building and Transportation Department Projects
Staff Member Thomas said the Park St. hotel is aiming for the second meeting in May to return to the Planning Board. He said May 13th meeting will include more General Plan work. He said May 28th currently has the Climate Action Plan, Capital Improvement Plan, and the Park St. hotel.
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Teague asked that, as a response to the Climate Emergency Declaration, the ferry add carpool parking spaces at the Main St. terminal. He said charging for parking would be a regressive tax given the lack of alternatives.
Staff Member Thomas said staff is not interested in adding parking at Main St. because they do not want to become the park and ride location for Bay Area commuters, and also noted the upcoming opening of Seaplane Lagoon and the changes that will have on parking demands.
Board Member Teague said the net-metering policy by AMP is not encouraging solar generation.
President Sullivan asked if the City has studied providing a shuttle to the Main St. ferry terminal.
Staff Member Thomas said the Alameda Shuttle discussions studied a shuttle for the ferry that would cost five million dollars per year, which did not make sense while there is free parking at the terminal.
Board Member Saheba seconded the notion of carpooling being a quick and easy way to change behavior. He said that policy would work at all three ferry terminals.
Board Member Rothenberg said she hopes the parking consultants do actual observations of the existing conditions at the corners and in the neighborhoods to better understand the situation on the ground before suggesting policies.
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
*None*
13. ADJOURNMENT
President Sullivan adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m.