Title
Recommendation to Consider Providing Direction to City Staff to Draft Charter Amendment Related to Article 26 (Measure A). (City Council Subcommittee)
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On May 7, 2020, the City Council discussed four ballot measure options seeking voter authorization to amend Alameda City Charter Article 26 (“Measure A”), the city-wide prohibition on multi-family housing and city-wide limit of one unit per 2,000 square feet of land density. After debating the four options, the Council appointed Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and Councilmember Jim Oddie to a subcommittee (“Subcommittee”) to further meet and develop ballot measure options that might address the concerns raised at the meeting regarding the first four options.
Since May 7, 2020, the Subcommittee has had several productive working meetings. As a result of this work, the Subcommittee is recommending that the City Council direct staff to draft a measure for the November 2020 ballot to address the policy conflicts caused by Article 26.
Specifically, the subcommittee recommends that the City Council place a measure on the November 2020 ballot asking Alameda voters to repeal Article 26-1, the 1973 decision by voters to prohibit construction of multifamily housing anywhere in Alameda.
BACKGROUND
In December 2018, Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft appointed a Charter Review Subcommittee (“Charter Subcommittee”) of Vice Mayor John Knox White and Councilmember Tony Daysog to review the City Charter and recommend potential measures for the City Council to consider placing on a future ballot.
On January 13, 2020, at the request of the Charter Subcommittee, the Planning Board held a public study session to discuss potential conflicts between City Charter Article 26 and City Council adopted policies and goals in the General Plan, Alameda Municipal Code, Climate Action Plan, Economic Development Strategy, and Transportation Choices Plan. For the meeting, City staff prepared an evaluation of Article 26 that provides an analysis of its potential inconsistency with State Law, its continuing impact on residential development opportunities in Alameda, and its impact on the community’s ability to address current citywide issues of concern, including the housing crisis, climate change emergency, traffic congestion, neighborhood preservation, and economic development.
On May 7, 2020, the Charter Subcommittee presented four different ballot measure alternatives to amend City Charter Article 26. The four options included: 1) Do nothing, 2) Rescind Article 26 in its entirety, 3) Rescind Article 26-1, but not Article 26-3, and 4) Modify Article 26 to clarify that exceptions are needed to remain in compliance with regional housing needs and State housing laws.
Speakers at the May 7, 2020 hearing voiced a variety of opinions regarding the need for a Charter Amendment to address Measure A, but several speakers spoke of the need for a comprehensive public planning process to develop a new, modern set of land use regulations for Alameda to replace the “one size fits all” approach of Measure A.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Subcommittee’s recommendation to place a measure on the ballot in 2020 is based on the belief, conviction, and understanding that:
• The 1973 citywide prohibition on multi-family housing (Section 26-1) does not reflect Alameda values and priorities in 2020 and must be addressed immediately by the voters of Alameda.
• Changing the City Charter does not automatically change the existing General Plan and Zoning restrictions that currently restrict multi-family housing and residential densities in Alameda. Any changes to these regulations for any property or area of Alameda would require future public hearings and environmental review before the City Council could allow for multi-family housing or higher residential densities anywhere in Alameda.
• If the density limitations in the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance are to be modified, the replacement provisions must be developed through a careful and comprehensive future public planning process to determine appropriate density standards for the City’s varied and unique districts and neighborhoods, including, but not limited to reviews of height limits, floor area ratios (FAR), density standards, and/or and special preservation regulations.
• Prior to adoption of any zoning amendments, the City will complete an environmental review of any proposed amendments to fully study any potentially significant environmental impacts that might occur as the result of any proposed amendments.
Article 26-1 (The Citywide Prohibition on Multifamily Housing).
The Subcommittee discussed and debated the merits of a 2-year suspension of Article 26-1 instead of repeal and concluded that it is time to call the question once and for all on the 1973 citywide prohibition of multifamily housing. Today’s Alameda residents deserve the opportunity to express their values and position on this 47 year old charter amendment.
Article 26-3. (The Citywide Density Limit of One unit per 2,000 square feet of land area).
The question of Article 26-3 is more complex.
The Subcommittee recommends that the Council discuss delaying asking voters to consider Article 26-3 until 2022. This approach allows a comprehensive public planning process to be conducted first. When the planning process is completed, the Council in 2022 can decide whether to ask voters to modify or repeal Article 26-3. At that time, the Council and the community will have the benefit of having completed a community wide planning and environmental review process to inform their decisions before crafting a ballot measure to amend or repeal Article 26-3.
Alternatively, the Council could consider placing a measure on the ballot in 2020 to establish direction and guidance for the upcoming planning process. Councilmember Oddie developed a conceptual modification and guiding principles for Article 26-3 to reflect Alameda’s varied districts and interests that might read as follows:
Revise Article 26-3 as follows: “The maximum density for any residential development within the residential zoning districts R-1 through R-6 , C-1, NP-R and NP-MU districts as shown on the July 1, 2020 City of Alameda Zoning Map and on designated historic properties shall be one housing unit per 2,000 square feet of land. Residential density in all other districts shall be limited by the minimum densities necessary to meet the City’s regional housing needs.”
At this point in the process, it is not necessary for the City Council to debate the nuances of this fairly technical and complicated amendment.
The question for City Council at this time is should Council direct staff to craft an amendment to Article 26-3 for consideration by the voters in 2020, or would it be more prudent to complete the planning process first and address Article 26-3 in 2022?
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Subcommittee recommends that the Council direct staff to prepare a November 2020 charter amendment to repeal Article 26-1, but makes no recommendation on Article 26-3.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A decision by the City Council to place a measure on the ballot is subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act to disclose any potential impacts of the action on the environment if the measure is passed by the voters.
In this case, a ballot measure to modify Article 26 in November 2020 would have no impact on the environment, because the changes to the Charter would not change, modify or lift the existing General Plan and Zoning restrictions that currently govern the development of property in Alameda. Additionally, no pre-judgement or commitment is being made about whether and if so, where or how, to amend the General Plan and/or the Zoning Code in the future.
The Charter changes, if approved by the voters, would allow the City Council to consider, in the future, potential changes to the General Plan and Zoning, but any future action by the Council to change the General Plan and Zoning Code limitations for a particular site or district would be subject to environmental review. At that time, the environmental analysis will evaluate if the specific proposal would have any potential significant impacts on the environment. Those potential impacts would need to be disclosed before any future City Council could take action to amend a zoning district to allow multifamily housing and/or a higher residential density.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
If the City Council recommends moving forward with the Subcommittee’s recommendation, the cost of translating, typesetting and printing the measure would be approximately $20,000.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Amending Article 26 of the Alameda City Charter to provide for higher density housing in future developments will not only allow Alameda to meet State of California housing requirements but would also align with California’s Climate Change Scoping Plan and studies that shows that we must adopt more efficient and strategic land-use policies to meet our City, State, National and Global climate goals.
RECOMMENDATION
Provide direction on potential ballot measure amending the City Charter.
Respectfully submitted by,
Subcommittee of Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft and Councilmember Oddie
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager