Title
Alameda Marina Master Plan Amendments and Tentative Map - 1829 Clement Avenue. Applicant: Alameda Marina, LLC. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing to consider Alameda Marina Master Plan Amendments and the Alameda Marina Tentative Subdivision Map for the Alameda Marina property generally located between Clement Avenue and the Oakland Estuary and between Alameda Marina Drive and Willow Street. The Planning Board will also hold a study session to review the initial design for the first residential structure in Phase 1 of the project. The environmental effects of the proposed project were considered and disclosed in the Alameda Marina Master Plan Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse #2016102064). No further environmental review is required under the California Environmental Quality Act for the proposed improvements.
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas
Acting Planning, Building & Transportation Director
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On July 10, 2018, the City Council unanimously approved the Alameda Marina Master Plan for the redevelopment of the 44-acre Alameda Marina site located on Clement Avenue between Alameda Marina Drive and Willow Street in the Northern Waterfront Priority Development Area. 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. The Master Plan requires a variety of subsequent approvals and/or permits that will require review and approval by the Planning Board, the City Council and/or regional agencies. The full Master Plan is available at: www.alamedaca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building-and-Transportation/Planning-Division/Major-Planning-Projects <http://www.alamedaca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building-and-Transportation/Planning-Division/Major-Planning-Projects>
On March 5, 2019, the Planning Board conditionally approved the Open Space Development Plan, which provides the detailed designs for the waterfront open space, internal streets, and Clement Avenue frontage for the project.
Staff’ review of the proposed Map revealed two issues with the Master Plan that staff and the applicant are proposing to change, which will allow for a better interface between Alameda Marina and the adjacent City facilities on Grand Street and Clement Avenue. At this time, the applicant is requesting approval of the Master Plan Amendments and the Tentative Subdivision Map for the project (Exhibit 1). A draft resolution of approval is attached as Exhibit 2.
The applicant and staff are also requesting Planning Board comments on the initial design drawings for the first residential building to be constructed. (Exhibit 3) No final action on the architectural drawings are being requested at this time.
BACKGROUND
Planning Process Overview: 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 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 including seawalls, bulkheads, public access, and supporting infrastructure, which are all in very poor condition.
In 2016, the applicant submitted the first draft Master Plan for the site. Over the next two years, the applicant made many revisions to the Master Plan to address public concerns raised at approximately 75 community and group meetings, five (5) Planning Board subcommittee meetings and five (5) full Planning Board meetings.
On May 29, 2018, the Planning Board unanimously recommended that the City Council approve the EIR and Master Plan, and on July 10, 2018, the City Council unanimously approved the EIR and approving the Master Plan.
MASTER PLAN OVERVIEW:
Mixed Use Development: The Alameda Marina Master Plan provides for 3.59 acres of public open space, 7.35 acres of maritime commercial property with 180,972 square feet of maritime and commercial building floor area and dockyard space, a 529 berth marina on 12 acres of submerged maritime commercial land with marina facilities, and approximately 17.74 acres of residential land.
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. In 2020, it is anticipated that the State will adopt new statewide standards requiring that all new residential construction move towards a “zero net energy” standard. Most, if not all, of the new residential building permits issued for Alameda Marina will probably be issued in 2020 or later, and those permits will be subject to the 2020 Residential Building Code.
Reinvestment in City-owned Tidelands and Maritime Facilities: 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; including reinvestment in City-owned marina facilities, bulkheads and seawalls, and infrastructure necessary to support continued maritime use of the public lands. This investment in city lands is estimated to be in excess of $20 million. 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. The initial estimated cost to upgrade the seawalls is between $15 million and $17 million and includes the necessary upgrades to address three and one-half 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 development. The Master Plan requires rehabilitation and improvement of the 529-slip marina including dredging to accommodate a boat hoist, 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 Master Plan phasing plan requires the improvements to be completed in phases with each phase of the development.
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. 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.
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 requires boat servicing, repair, and maintenance areas on both land and water to support the recreational boating community. To support a future, environmentally clean boatyard at Alameda Marina, the Master Plan requires regrading of the entire site to protect water quality, construction of new infrastructure to support boatyard and other maritime commercial uses, and preservation of the existing boatlift rails and washing areas, which are necessary to move boats out of the water and into the “yard” for “bottom work”.
In 2019, the applicant, with assistance from the City of Alameda, issued a Request for Qualifications to solicit a qualified boatyard operator. The applicant and the City are currently reviewing the responses from the RFQ and discussing the next steps to expanding boat repair services at Alameda Marina.
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 115 kV lines, will be undergrounded. This eliminates 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.
DISCUSSION
The Alameda Master Plan envisioned that a Tentative Subdivision Map would be required to implement and finance the project. A preliminary draft subdivision map, grading plan and infrastructure plan was included in Appendix A to the Master Plan. The appendix was provided to ensure that all the decision makers and the public understood how the property would be subdivided at a future date to implement the project.
In December of 2018, the applicants submitted their draft Tentative Map application. The staff review of the draft Tentative Map found it to be in substantial conformance with the Alameda Master Plan and Alameda Subdivision Ordinance (Section 30-73 through 88). However, the review also revealed two issues with the Tentative Map that could be attributed to the Master Plan related to the impact of the project on City facilities on Grand Street and on Clement Avenue. Those two issues are described below. An updated draft Tentative Map is included as Exhibit 1 which addresses these two issues.
Issue #1: Grand Street Boat Ramp Access.
The Master Plan requires construction of a new 60-boat dry storage yard with a three (3)-ton boat hoist in the first phase of the development. . The on-site hoist will allow dry boat storage owners to place their boats in the water from within the dry boat storage area. The facility is designed to accommodate boats on trailers. Cars and trucks will not be allowed in the space, but a powered device (“mule”) for moving the trailers around will be provided and maintained by the marina. In addition, the Master Plan diagram on page 35 shows a secondary driveway access to the nearby Grand Street public Boat Ramp, which might be used to launch non-keeled boats.
City staff and the applicant are recommending that the Master Plan be amended to remove the requirement for a secondary vehicle access driveway to the Grand Street Boat ramp for the following reasons:
• The addition of the secondary access will disrupt and impact the operations at the adjacent City-owned and operated corporation yard.
• The vast majority of the boats in the dry boat storage area will be sailboats with keels, which cannot be launched from the Grand Street Boat Ramp, and a power boat stored in the dry boat storage area that wishes to use the Grand Street Boat Ramp needs to be moved out of the storage area with the “mule” then hooked up to a vehicle, then driven to the Grand Street Boat Ramp. A boat cannot be launched at the Grand Marina Boat Ramp from a mule. Therefore, the driveway between the two facilities will have extremely limited use.
For these reasons, staff is recommending that:
• The Master Plan be amended to eliminate the plan for the driveway connection, and
• The Tentative Map be approved without the driveway connection.
This change would not change the Master Plan requirement to connect the Bay Trail between the two properties for bicycle and pedestrian access.
Issue #2: Union Street Pedestrian View Corridor The Master Plan envisioned a large multifamily residential building fronting onto Clement Avenue between Alameda Marina Drive and Schiller Street. Given the length of the building, the Master Plan requires a 20 foot wide pedestrian public access and view corridor through the building from the intersection of Union Street and Clement Avenue to the waterfront. The proposed easement is described on page 13 and depicted graphically in a number of places throughout the Master Plan plan, including Exhibit 1.3, pg. 5, Public Amenity and Access and Maritime Focus Diagram, pg. 11, Exhibit 3.1, pg. 12, Exhibit 3.2b, pg. 14, Sections Key Map, pgs. 20, 24 and 25, Exhibit 6.5, pg. 49, and Exhibit 6.6, pg. 50
The Master Plan also shows a new curb cut on Clement Avenue to allow access to the parking structure for the new building. The curb cut is located about 30 feet from the Union Street intersection. After reviewing the Tentative Map’s automobile, bicycle and pedestrian circulation system and the City of Alameda’s plans for the Cross Alameda Trail on Clement Avenue, staff is recommending that the Master Plan be amended to switch the location of the view corridor and the vehicle access from Union Street to mid-block between Minturn Street and Union Street for the following reasons:
• From a vehicle circulation perspective, locating the driveway to the 390+ vehicle parking structure at the intersection of Union and Clement is a safer location than placing it approximately 30 feet from an existing intersection.
• From a bicycle and pedestrian perspective, having the cars from the garage cross the Cross Alameda Trail at the Union Street intersection is safer than having the cars cross approximately 30 feet from the intersection.
• Traffic engineering staff and consultants considered moving the parking garage access to the side street on Alameda Marina Drive. This alternative is not recommended because the Alameda Marina Drive intersection with Clement is off-set from the Minturn intersection and in close proximity to the Grand Street intersection, which would result in a large number of potentially conflicting automobile turning movements on the Clement Avenue Cross Alameda Trail in close proximity to the Alameda Marina Drive intersection with Clement. In addition, Alameda Municipal Power would prefer not to lose any public parking spaces or any of the large trees on Alameda Marina Drive.
• The original pedestrian/view corridor planned at Union Street actually terminates at the existing two-story Harbor Master’s building, which is being preserved. It does not terminate with a view of the water. Moving the pedestrian and view corridor to the west allows the view/pedestrian corridor to extend all the way from Clement Avenue to the water.
For these reasons, staff is recommending that:
• The Master Plan text and diagrams be amended to relocate the driveway and view corridor, and
• The Tentative Map be approved with relocated driveway and view corridor.
• For information purposes, the applicant’s architects have provided drawings showing how the initial design for the building that accommodate the new location for the view corridor and parking access.
Master Plan Amendment and Tentative Map Conclusions: Staff recommends that the Planning Board recommend the two Master Plan amendments described above and the tentative map as drawn with the adjustments.
Exhibit 2 includes a draft resolution recommending the two actions. The resolution includes standard tentative map conditions of approval and the following special conditions:
• Alameda Marina Master Plan Consistency. All future development or improvement of the property shall be subject to review by the Planning Director for consistency with the adopted Alameda Marina Master Plan, as amended.
• Subsequent Approvals. Prior to Final Map approval or issuance of the first building permit, the Applicant shall:
o Execute an affordable housing agreement for 104 affordable housing units with the City of Alameda consistent with the requirements of the Alameda Marina Master Plan requirements and standards.
o Prepare and submit a Transportation Demand Management Plan for Planning Board review and approval. The plan shall address parking management requirements of the Master Plan.
• Public Improvements Phasing: Project development phasing shall be consistent with the project phasing requirements of the Alameda Marina Master Plan. All public shoreline, infrastructure, sea level rise, public access, and Clement Avenue improvements in each phase shall be completed prior to issuance of the first building permit in the next phase of the project.
• Design Review: Prior to issuance for each building permit, the applicant shall prepare and submit a Design Review application consistent with the requirements of AMC 30-36 and 37 for each building to be constructed or rehabilitated. Each design review application shall be consistent with the Master Plan phasing requirements and include the required submittals required by the Master Plan for each phase of the project.
• Other Agency Approvals: Prior to approval of improvements related to work within the jurisdictional areas, Applicant shall provide evidence that all required approvals, permits, or waivers from Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), including compliance with the existing 401 Certification for the construction of a storm water outfall, and/or the Army Corp. of Engineers. The final Improvement Plans shall incorporate all other agency comments.
• Public Trust Lands: All use of land and buildings and new construction on Public Trust Lands shall be subject to the public trust for commerce, navigation and fisheries.
First Residential Building Design Review Study Session. The applicant is requesting preliminary review of their initial design drawings for the first residential building to be constructed at Alameda Marina. As shown in Exhibit 3, this first building is located on Clement Avenue in between Schiller and Alameda Marina Drive. It consists of 351 multifamily dwelling units ranging from studios, 1 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms, and work/live units.
As described above, the building is designed to provide 391 off-street parking spots for residents and guests accessed from a curb cut at Union Street. The building is also designed to accommodate a view and public paseo that is two stories in height and 20 feet wide through the middle of the building from Clement Avenue to the waterfront. The building will include four (4) interior courtyards with pool, spa, dog runs, kitchenettes, fire pits, and lounge seating, and roof decks with BBQs and fire pits, a fitness room, and a club room. The building varies in height from four to five stories.
At this time, the applicant is requesting that the Planning Board review and comment on the initial design drawings. No final action is requested at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On July 10, 2018, the City Council certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Marina Master Plan in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (State Clearinghouse #2016102064). The Master Plan Amendments do not change the environmental impacts caused by the project, and the Tentative Map implements the project analyzed by the EIR. No further environmental review is required for the approval of the park plans.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and:
• Approve the draft resolution (Exhibit 2) recommending that the City Council approve the Master Plan amendments and the Tentative Map (Exhibit 1), and
• Review and comment on the initial architectural drawings for the first residential building to be constructed at Alameda Marina (Exhibit 3).
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Acting Planning, Building, and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Draft Tentative Map
2. Draft Resolution of Approval for Master Plan Amendments and Tentative Map
3. Draft Design Review Drawings