Title
PLN19-0598 - Use Permit Amendment - 2350 Saratoga Street (Alameda Point, Building 8) - Applicant: Jonah Hendrickson on behalf of Alameda Point Redevelopers. Public hearing to consider a call for review of the Zoning Administrator’s approval of an amendment to Use Permit (PLN16-0468) to revise the conditions of approval to be consistent with recent changes to the Zoning Ordinance, including increasing the maximum number of allowed Work/Live units from 88 to 250. Resolution PB-16-29 was rescinded and replaced with the subject Use Permit PLN19-0598. The property is located in the AP-AR (Alameda Point, Adaptive Reuse) Zoning District, and is a contributing structure within the NAS Alameda Historic District. The City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point Final EIR (State Clearinghouse No. 201312043), which evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point. No further environmental review is required for this project.
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: David Sablan, Planner II
Date: March 23, 2020
BACKGROUND
On February 18, 2020 the Zoning Administrator approved modifications to a previously approved Use (Exhibit 1). On February 20, 2020, President Ron Curtis called the project for review pursuant to Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-21.4.
DISCUSSION
On October 24, 2016 the Planning Board approved a Development Plan, Design Review, and Use Permit for the redevelopment of Building 8 in the NAS Alameda Historic District (2350 Saratoga Street). The Use Permit approved Work/Live units on the second and third floors. On October 9, 2017 the Planning Board approved an amendment to the Development Plan and Design Review to facilitate a larger fourth floor addition to the roof of the building.
At the time of approval the City’s Work/Live Ordinance, AMC Section 30-15, restricted the number of Work/Live units to one (1) unit per 2,000 square feet of lot area and required a minimum unit size of 1,000 square feet with a maximum of 30% of the floor area or 400 square feet, whichever is greater, to be allocated to living space. The approved Use Permit included these restrictions as conditions of approval. Therefore the maximum number of Work/Live units allowed was 88.
On November 11, 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance 3255, which amended AMC 30-15 to remove the requirement of 2,000 square feet of lot area for each Work/Live unit, and lowered the minimum unit size to 500 square feet. On December 10, 2019, the applicant submitted an application to make the following modifications to the project’s conditions of approval:
• Remove the cap on maximum number of Work/Live units.
• Lower the minimum required Work/Live unit size to 500 square feet.
• Remove an annual Transportation Management Association (TMA) fee based on the project’s square footage that had become redundant when the project site was incorporated into a Community Facilities District (CFD), which provides TMA fees.
On February 18, 2020, the Zoning Administrator approved the requested amendment, consistent with the current AMC provisions related to Work/Live units. The approval does not change the size of the building, it simply allows the property owner to have more than 88 commercial work live units in the building. See Exhibit 2 for an example floor plan layout with smaller units. It is important to note that the property owner does not know at this time how many commercial work live units will ultimately occupy the building. If the businesses wish to rent large spaces, the number will be less than 250 work live units. If every prospective tenant wishes to lease the smallest possible size work live unit, then the final number will be closer to 250 than 88. If a large commercial tenant wishes to rent an entire floor of the building, then the number of work live units will be closer to 88 than 250. The Zoning Administrator’s modification to the Use Permit simply provides flexibility for the commercial use of the building, which staff believes is consistent with the intent of the November 2019 zoning code amendments.
Call for Review
The call for review initiated by President Curtis was to allow discussion of the approved increase in Work/Live units, and to look at other Zoning Ordinance Amendments adopted by the City Council since the original October 23, 2016 approval of the project. Below is a summary of the development regulations that have been amended since the project’s approval and their potential impacts on the project.
• AMC Section 30-18, Universal Design, Ordinance 3198, Adopted November 7, 2017.
The project’s original approval occurred while the Planning Board and Commission on Disability were in the process of drafting the Universal Design Ordinance. The Zoning Administrator’s approval carried over Resolution No. PB-16-29’s Universal Design condition of approval. Condition #29 of the Zoning Administrator’s approval (Exhibit 1) requires the project meet Universal Design and Visitability standards that would eventually be adopted by the City Council a year later.
• AMC Section 30-98, Public Art, Ordinance 3199, Adopted November 7, 2017.
The City’s Public Art Ordinance amendment included the removal of the $150,000 cap on public art valuation/in lieu fees, and shifted the deadline for meeting a project’s public art obligation from issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (building final) to issuance of building permits. Condition #14 of the Zoninig Administrator’s approval carried over the project’s previous Public Art condition of approval. This condition required that the project’s public art proposal be approved by the Public Arts Commission prior to the issuance of the 50th Work/Live license.
• AMC Section 30-5.16, Bird Safe Buildings and Dark Skies, Ordinance 3232, Adopted December 18, 2018.
Per AMC Section 30-5.16.b.3(a), the project is exempt from the City’s Bird Safe Building Ordinance because it is a contributing structure to the NAS Alameda Historic District and new glazing is not proposed above the first floor. The project was originally conditioned to be compliant with the standards found in the City’s Dark Skies Ordinance. Condition #20 of the Zoning Administrator’s approval (Exhibit 1), requires the project to implement several environmental mitigation measures from the Alameda Point EIR. One of those mitigation measures, 4.K-5, requires that all lighting installations shall be designed and installed to be fully shielded and to minimize glare and obstrusive light that is misdirected, excessive, or unnecessary.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point Final EIR (State Clearinghouse No. 201312043), which evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point. No further environmental review is required for this project.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and uphold the Zoning Administrator’s approval of PLN19-0598 by adopting the draft resolution. (Exhibit 3).
Reviewed by,
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Zoning Administrator Approval of PLN19-0598
2. Floor Plan Example
3. Draft Resolution