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PLN19-0368 - 2800 Fifth Street - Development Plan, Density Bonus, and Tentative Map - Applicant: Pulte Home Company, LLC. Public Hearing to consider Development Plan, Density Bonus, and Tentative Map applications to construct 357 residential units, 5,000-square-feet of commercial space, internal roadways and alleys, parks and open space on an approximately 17.2-acre site as part of the Alameda Landing Waterfront Mixed-Use Development. The Planning Board may also review and comment on the initial Design Review plans for the project. The project is located within the M-X, Mixed-Use District. The 2006 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report was certified in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act for the Alameda Landing Mixed Use Development (State Clearinghouse #2006012091).
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To: Honorable President and Members of the Planning Board
From: Henry Dong, Planner III
BACKGROUND
In 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3188 amending the Bayport/Alameda Landing Master Plan and approving an Addendum to the Catellus Mixed Use Development Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (Supplemental EIR) that allows for 18.3 acres of maritime commercial uses within 364,000 square feet of existing waterfront warehouses, a 4.5-acre waterfront public park, and a new residential neighborhood with up to 400 residential units of the Alameda Landing waterfront. The 2006 Alameda Landing/Bayport Master Plan and 2017 Alameda Landing Master Plan amendment are available for review on the City of Alameda website at https://www.alamedaca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building-and-Transportation/Planning-Division/Major-Planning-Projects.
Bay Ship and Yacht purchased the 18.3-acres of maritime commercial property and the 364,000 square feet of existing waterfront warehouses and began rehabilitating the structures for maritime commercial uses.
On September 10, 2018, the Planning Board approved the final design for the 4.5 acre waterfront park. The public waterfront park will be constructed by the Catellus Development Company for the City. The park and public water shuttle and kayak dock 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 June 10, 2019, the Planning Board held a study session to review the initial plans for the Alameda Landing residential development. At the meeting, the project applicant Pulte Home Company, LLC (Pulte) introduced the general circulation, distribution of units, and architectural concepts to the Board, and received feedback from the community and the Board.
On August 1, 2019, Pulte submitted Development Plan, Density Bonus, and Tentative Map applications for 357 residential units on the 17.2 acre site. The Development Plan is attached as Exhibit 1. The Density Bonus Application is attached as Exhibit 2. The Tentative Map is attached as Exhibit 3. The Design Review application, which has not yet been reviewed by staff, is attached as Exhibit 4.
DISCUSSION
The proposed site plan for the residential development on the Alameda Landing waterfront represents the last phase of the redevelopment and reuse of the 77-acre former Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC). The new residential neighborhood is located immediately behind the new Waterfront Park on the Alameda Oakland Estuary. The Marina Square dry boat storage warehouse and Cardinal Point assisted living complex border the site to the east. The Bay Ship and Yacht warehouses border the site to the west. Access to the new neighborhood will be from Mitchell Avenue and a 5th Street extension.
The design of the new neighborhood must be consistent with the requirements and standards established by the Alameda Landing Bayport Master Plan, as amended in 2017 (Master Plan). The following discussion highlights how the project is designed to implement the Master Plan for the site.
Residential Development and Density: The Master Plan allows for a residential development with up to 400 housing units. The proposed development includes 357 dwelling units.
The Master Plan limits the number of single family detached homes to 30% of the total (107 homes). The project includes 30 single-family detached homes (8%). The buildings are three-story alley loaded homes with four-bedroom floor plans ranging from approximately 2,374-square-feet to 2,504-square-feet in size with standard 2-car garages for each home.
The General Plan, Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) and Master Plan allow for multifamily homes on the portion of the site zoned MF Multi-family Residential Combining Zone District and a density bonus and waivers for multifamily housing on the remaining portions of the site. The project includes 327 townhomes and flats in multifamily buildings. The 327 units include:
• 93 three-story large townhomes with two and three bedroom floor plans ranging from 1,186-square-feet to 1,896-square-feet in size. Each home has a two-car garage in either a standard or tandem configuration. These units are similar in size and configuration to the townhomes on 5th Street in the adjacent TRI Pointe neighborhood. These units are located in buildings with 7 or 9 townhomes.
• 138 three-story “micro” townhomes. These “micro” townhomes are 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom townhomes ranging in size from 962 square-feet to 1074 square-feet in size. Approximately 70% of the Small Townhomes have a 1-car garage. The other 30% have 2-car garages.
• 96 single story flats located in four-story buildings. Each unit is accessed from a common lobby and corridor served by a central elevator. These units are 2-bedroom to 3-bedroom flats and range in size from approximately 1,240-square-feet to 1,423-square-feet in size. The homes are designed to be 100% accessible. Private 1 or 2 car garages are located on the ground level of the building.
Affordable Housing and Density Bonus.
The Master Plan requires the development plan meet the requirements of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (AMC Section 30-16). The Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires that 15% of the units be deed restricted for affordable households.
The applicant has also provided a density bonus application which includes a base plan for the site, as required by the Density Bonus Ordinance (AMC Section 30-17). The base plan shows that the site can accommodate 298 housing units under the existing zoning and Master Plan designations.
Under AMC 30-16, a project with 298 units must provide 12 very low income units (4%), 12 low income units (4%), and 21 moderate income units (7%), or a total of 45 deed restricted units. Since the applicant is proposing to provide 15 very low income units (5%), instead of 12 very low income units (4%), the project is eligible for a 20% density bonus for a total of 357 units with 48 of those units being deed restricted for lower income and moderate income households.
The applicant must execute an Affordable Housing Agreement between the applicant and the City, which is a condition of approval. As part of this future agreement, the applicant is proposing to negotiate for a 9 unit “credit”, since the Housing Authority was able to construct an additional 4 very low income units and an additional 5 low income units at Stargell Commons. The “credit” would allow Pulte to provide only 39 new affordable homes instead of the 48 required for a project of this size.
The applicant is proposing to distribute the affordable units throughout the project among a variety of housing types and sizes, as shown in the Density Bonus application (Exhibit 2).
Small “Middle Income” Market Rate Units: The Master Plan requires at least 10% of the market rate units to be 1,200 square feet in size or less (36 units minimum). The project provides 128 market rate units less than 1,200-square-feet in size (36%).
Universal Design: The Master Plan requires that 15% of the units be designed to provide living spaces suitable for a person with disabilities, including stairless access, stairless access within the unit, and a variety of design features. The applicant will return to the Planning Board at a later date to request Design Review approval for the proposed building designs on the site, at which time the interior designs will be reviewed for compliance with the Universal Design Requirements. However, as shown in the Design Review plans (Exhibit 4), the 96 flats are designed to meet these requirements, which would represent a total of 27% of the units.
Building Heights: The Master Plan requires a maximum of five stories for all buildings, except for buildings with ground floor commercial space, which may exceed five stories. The proposed development plan includes 61 three-story residential buildings, and 8 four-story residential buildings.
Setback from Waters Edge: The Master Plan requires at least 100 feet of width from the edge of the wharf to the face of any new buildings. The approved promenade for the waterfront park is 90 feet wide and the residential buildings have a 10-foot minimum setback from the northern property line in order to meet the Master Plan requirement.
Commercial Development: The Master Plan requires at least 5,000 square feet of commercial space with 12 foot floor to ceiling heights. The project provides a 5,000 square foot pad for a future commercial or mixed use building located at the terminus of 5th Street adjacent to the Waterfront Park and water shuttle landing. A condition of approval requires that Pulte design and construct the commercial building prior to completion of the project.
Land Use Disclosures: As required by the Master Plan, a condition of approval for the project requires disclosures to all future residents of the residential area that the existing environment includes adjacent and nearby maritime manufacturing industries, the Port of Oakland, and heavy industrial uses such as Schnitzer Steel which may operate 24 hours a day. Disclosures regarding the easements for future bicycle and pedestrian bridge are also required.
Western Land Use Buffer Area: The Master Plan requires a 50-wide buffer area between the residential development and the adjacent Bay Ship and Yacht facilities. The project maintains a 50-foot wide buffer area between the maritime commercial eastern property line and the western-most residential buildings to meet this requirement. The buffer area includes an extension of the Bette Street multi-use path to connect pedestrians and bicycles to the waterfront park. The buffer area also includes landscaped areas, a view corridor, and a public viewing area of San Francisco Bay.
View Corridors: The Master Plan requires a 50-foot wide view corridor from Mitchell to the waterfront along the western greenway buffer area and a 75-foot wide view corridor along 5th Street. The development meets both these requirements and provides two additional view corridors through the project to the water.
Bicycle Path Crossing: The Master Plan requires a safe and convenient bicycle path crossing from Bette Street across the Mitchell Avenue extension to the waterfront. The development plan provides the multi-use path design within the western buffer area and the connection to the Bette Street multi-use path.
Estuary Crossing: The Master Plan requires the residential development to provide access for future bicycle and pedestrian bridge to Oakland. The project provides potential landings for three potential bicycle pedestrian bridge locations, in the event that the City is successful in its current efforts to work with the City of Oakland, the Alameda County Transportation Commission, the Coast Guard, and other interest groups to design and fund the proposed bridge. An ACTC funded feasibility study with Oakland is currently underway, and Oakland’s recently released Downtown Specific Plan and recently adopted Bike Plan both recommend the bridge. Working with Oakland, the design team has identified two potential locations for the bridge: one of which would connect Alameda Landing to Jack London Square. If the Alameda Landing location is ultimately selected, the bridge would begin at Mitchell Avenue near the intersection of Mitchell Avenue and 5th Street, 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 within a block or two of Howard Terminal and the proposed Oakland A’s ballpark. The proposed development plan is designed to ensure that it does not present any additional challenges to the City’s efforts to design, fund, and build a bicycle pedestrian bridge after the park is completed. In addition, conditions of approval require public easements and disclosures for the construction of a future bridge.
Vehicle and Bicycle Parking: The Master Plan allows a maximum of 2 spaces for each single family home and attached townhome and a maximum average of 1.5 for the flats and affordable housing units. As described above, the project has a variety of flats and townhome unit types. Staff finds that the parking plan is in compliance based on the following analysis:
• 118 townhomes and 30 single family homes have 2-car garages, as permitted by the Master Plan.
• The remaining 327 units have a mix of 1 and 2-car garages. (The affordable units are evenly split between 1 and 2-car garages.) Overall, the parking ratio for these 327 units is 1.42 cars per unit, which is less than the 1.5 permitted for flats and lower income units.
Bicycle parking for residents is provided in the garages for each unit, and 50 visitor bicycle racks are provided throughout the site. The 4-story flats buildings include bicycle storage rooms. (The Alameda Landing bicycle parking requirements predate the current AMC requirements.)
The project also provides an additional 18 parking spaces to be developed as part of the public parking lot for the Waterfront Park. These spaces have been located on a separate parcel on the Tentative Map, so that they can be dedicated to the City to be included with the Waterfront Park public parking upon completion. (To allow the Police Department to enforce parking limits in the parking lot, the parking lot must be a public facility.)
Transportation Demand Management Assessments. Consistent with Master Plan requirements, each unit shall be assessed annually for supplemental transportation services to reduce project related traffic. The annual assessments (in 2017 dollars) are $550 for each single family home, $450 for each townhome with two car garage, and $350 for townhomes with one car garage and flats. It is anticipated that the assessments will fund additional AC Transit service to Alameda Landing and future water shuttle services from Alameda Landing to Jack London Square.
June 10, 2019 Planning Board Study Session Comments and Responses: At the June 10, 2019 Study Session, the Planning Board raised several issues regarding the initial design of the project. Based upon the Board’s comments, the revised Development Plan and Tentative Map include the following changes:
• To provide uniform massing and building sizes on both sides of 5th Street, the 3-story buildings along the west side of 5th street were replaced with 4-story buildings similar to the 4-story buildings on the east side to create more uniform massing on both sides of 5th Street, which is the primary entrance to the project and the Waterfront Park.
• To provide a better transition to the adjacent TRI Pointe neighborhood, the 4-story buildings adjacent to the 3-story TRI Pointe homes were replaced with 3-story buildings.
• To improve the Mitchell Avenue interface, the new plans rotated the southeast corner buildings to front onto Mitchell Avenue and match the adjacent TRI Pointe homes, which front onto Mitchell Avenue.
• In response to neighbors’ concerns about traffic adjacent to their homes, the new plans eliminate public vehicle access into the project at the southeast corner of the site. (EVA access has been preserved in the event of an emergency.)
• To improve the circulation system and minimize unnecessary traffic around the 5th Street circle at the Waterfront Park entrance, the new plans shift the 5th Street entry to the public parking area to the south.
• To provide more integration and less segregation of housing types throughout the project, the plan re-distributes the building types throughout the central portion of the project.
• The new plans includes an additional park at the center of the development.
• The new plan has much improved pedestrian and bicycle access, including traffic calming table-top pedestrian street crossings and walkway connections through the project.
Development Plan, Density Bonus Application, and Tentative Map Conclusions:
In conclusion, staff is prepared to recommend approval of the Development Plan, Density Bonus Application, and Tentative Map for this project. As described above, the Development Plan illustrates how the project will meet the City’s adopted standards and requirements for the site that are included in either the Alameda Landing Master Plan or the Alameda Municipal Code. The Tentative Map provides for the subdivision of the property to support the development of the site consistent with the Development Plan, Master Plan, General Plan, and Alameda Municipal Code.
Staff has prepared a draft resolution of approval for the Development Plan and Density Bonus Application (Exhibit 5), and a draft resolution recommending that the City Council approve the Tentative Map (Exhibit 6). The necessary findings for Development Plan, Density Bonus Application and Tentative Map approval are included in the appropriate resolutions.
Design Review: Staff has not had time to review the Design Review plans for the project; therefore, staff is not ready to make a recommendation on the plans. However, staff has included the plans as Exhibit 4, in the event that the Board may wish to review and comment on those plans. Any comments or suggestions by the Board would be helpful and would be much appreciated by staff and the applicant at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On December 5, 2006, the City Council certified the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Landing Mixed Use Development Project (“2006 Supplemental EIR”, 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 in 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2017.
On September 5, 2017, the City Council approved an Addendum to the Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the amendment to the Bayport/Alameda Landing Master Plan. The Addendum concluded that the Master Plan Amendment (provided that the traffic trip cap established by the Master Plan is maintained) environmental effects associated with the Master Plan Amendment were within the scope of the analysis in the 2006 Supplemental EIR and no further environmental review was required. As described in this report, the subject development is consistent with the Master Plan Amendment.
To ensure that the proposed future residential development of the property would not result in any new or more severe traffic impacts than those anticipated in the 2006 Supplemental EIR, the 2017 Master Plan Amendment establishes a cap on the number of daily and peak hour automobile trips that may be generated by the residential project. The Master Plan Amendment “Trip Matrix” anticipated that the number of units that might be permissible under the automobile trip cap would depend on the types of units that are proposed. The Trip Matrix recognizes that single family units generate more trips than single story “flats” in multifamily buildings, and that rental units in multifamily buildings and deed restricted affordable units generate less trips than for-sale townhomes or for-sale condominium units in multifamily buildings. The matrix established four categories of residential units, each with its own Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) trip rate. The following four categories are listed in order of trip generation:
1. Single family detached home (highest trip generation rate)
2. For Sale Attached Townhome with 2-car garage (second highest trip generation)
3. For Sale Flats (less than 1200 square feet) and for sale stacked flats in Multifamily Buildings (third highest)
4. Rental Flats in Multifamily Buildings and Deed Restricted Units (lowest)
As described above, the project includes all four types of housing anticipated in 2017, but the 2017 Matrix did not anticipate the 98 “micro-townhomes”. These units have one car garages and are less than 1,200 square feet (similar to category #3), but they have three floors and lots of stairs (similar to category #2). From a trip generation perspective, the one car garage “micro townhome” is much more analogous to category #3 (flats) than it is to category #2 (townhomes). Therefore, staff utilized the ITE rate for flats for the micro townhome with one car garage instead of the ITE rate that would be used for the larger townhomes with two car garages.
In conclusion, the proposed project does not violate the allocated trip budget and will not generate any new or more severe impacts than were identified in the Final EIR for Alameda Landing. Therefore, no further environmental review is required for the approval of the Alameda Landing Residential Development.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and approve the draft resolution of approval for the Alameda Landing Development Plan, Density Bonus, and Tentative Map for 357 residential units, 5,000-square-feet of commercial, and internal roadways and alleys, parks and open space on an approximately 17.2-acre site as part of the Alameda Landing Waterfront Mixed-Use Development.
Reviewed By:
Andrew Thomas,
Planning, Building, and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Alameda Landing Waterfront Development Plan
2. Density Bonus Application
3. Alameda Landing Waterfront Tentative Map Plans
4. Alameda Landing Design Review Plans
5. Development Plan and Density Bonus Draft Resolution of Approval
6. Tentative Map Draft Resolution of Approval