Title
Adoption of Objective Design Review Standards for Multi-family Residential Development as an addendum to the Citywide Design Review Manual. These Standards are applicable to all future multi-family residential development in the City seeking permit streamlining pursuant to state law. The adoption of Objective Design Review Standards is exempt from the requirements of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), where it can be seen with certainty that adoption of design standards will not have a significant effect on the environment, and Section 15183, projects consistent with a community plan, general plan or zoning
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Allen Tai
City Planner
Date: September 9, 2019
BACKGROUND
Statewide housing legislation passed in 2017 (SB 35) allows developers of multi-family residential projects to benefit from a streamlined, ministerial review process provided the developer meets certain criteria, including the provision of 50% affordable housing and payment of prevailing wages, among other requirements. Under the law, the City’s decision on the project must occur within 60 days for projects with 150 or fewer units and 90 days for projects with more than 150 housing units. The decision must also be based on a review of the project’s compliance with “objective zoning standards” and “objective design review standards.” “Objective zoning standards” simply refers to development regulations in the zoning ordinance such as density, building height, building setbacks, lot coverage, open space, etc. Meanwhile “objective design review standards,” as defined under state law, mean standards that involve “no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official prior to submittal.”
California Government Code Section 65913.4(c) further stipulates that cities may require such projects to undergo a design review process. However, that process must be “objective” and “strictly focused” on assessing compliance with objective standards that are adopted and published by ordinance or resolution prior to application submittal.
In response to state law, staff has compiled a comprehensive list of design review standards from existing City-adopted sources that meet the description of an objective design review standard in state law. Staff recommends the Planning Board approve the draft resolution adopting these standards. The standards would become an addendum to the Citywide Design Review Manual (2013) and be used as a checklist for design review for any future development project that invokes ministerial review procedures under the SB 35.
DISCUSSION
Objective Design Review Standards:
In recent years, state legislation has facilitated a number of multi-family development projects in Alameda. In response, the City has also spent considerable resources gathering Planning Board and public input on design review criteria for new development. These efforts culminated in various urban design guidelines and standards memorialized in the following adopted City documents:
• Alameda Point Town and Waterfront Precise Plan (2014)
• Citywide Design Review Manual (2013)
• Amendment to the NAS Alameda Community Reuse Plan (2009)
• Northern Waterfront General Plan Element (2007)
From these documents staff extracted design guidelines that meet the “objective standard” description in state law and compiled them into a list. The following lists design topics included in the new Objective Design Review Standards document (Exhibit 1):
1. Street Connectivity - standards for street connections internally and externally with adjacent neighborhoods as well as pedestrian connections.
2. Parking Location and Access - standards for the location of parking lots and garages and the location of access points and curb cuts.
3. Children’s Play Areas - standards for children’s play areas that are part of the development’s required common open space.
4. Building Mass and Articulation - standards for maximum building length, articulation of building facades, and limitations/treatments on blank walls.
5. Building Orientation and Entries - standards for the orientation of buildings and location of entrances to buildings and individual residential units.
6. Window Details - standards for window recess dimensions, trim detail, and divided lite mullions.
7. Screening for Equipment - standards for hiding mechanical/utility equipment on the exterior of buildings.
8. Standards for Mixed-Use Development - standards for vertical mixed-use buildings, including minimum ground floor height to accommodate commercial uses, window transparency, and building base design requirement.
Applicability: The Objective Design Review Standards document is intended to be an addendum to the Citywide Design Review Manual. Compliance with these standards will be mandatory for projects that qualify under state law for streamlined 60- or 90-day ministerial design review. Alternatively, developers who do not meet these standards may ask the Planning Board for exceptions under the traditional design review process. For projects not eligible for streamlined, ministerial review, these standards will serve as a convenient tool for meeting Alameda’s established design guidelines under the Citywide Design Review Manual and other planning documents as applicable.
Future Amendments and Changes: AMC Section 30-38.5 assigns staff with the responsibility to prepare and maintain a Design Review Manual, including making revisions as appropriate. Due to language in SB 35 that specifically requires adoption by ordinance and revision, staff recommends any substantial amendments to the Objective Design Review Standards, such as additions or deletions of standards, to be considered by the Planning Board. However, staff will make miscellaneous minor administrative, clarifying, and technical revisions that facilitate implementation of the existing standards. Examples of such revisions include word substitutions for clarification purposes, use of graphics, formatting, and other typographical changes that do not alter the meaning or purpose of a particular standard.
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.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The adoption of Objective Design Review Standards is exempt from the requirements of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), where it can be seen with certainty that adoption of design standards will not have a significant effect on the environment, and 15183, projects consistent with a community plan, general plan or zoning.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt the Objective Design Review Standards as an addendum to the Citywide Design Review Manual with conditions set forth in the draft resolution (Exhibit 2).
Respectfully Submitted,
Allen Tai,
Planning Services Manager
Heather Coleman,
Planning Consultant
Exhibits:
1. Draft Objective Multi-family Residential Design Review Standards
2. Draft Resolution