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General Plan Update - Historical Advisory Board public workshop to review and comment on the draft Alameda General Plan 2040.
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To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Historical Advisory Board
From: Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
BACKGROUND
State law requires the City of Alameda to maintain a General Plan that is an “integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of policies for the adopting agency.” (Government Code section 65300.5.) The General Plan establishes the local development and conservation policies necessary to guide physical development and protect the general health, safety and welfare of the community and the environment. The last comprehensive update of the current General Plan occurred almost 30 years ago and was designed to serve the City for 20 years or until 2010.
In August, staff completed a draft General Plan 2040 for public review and comment. The draft General Plan is available on the project website at: www.alameda2040.org/.
Since the August publication, over 1,500 individuals have provided written suggestion and ideas through on-line surveys, and the Planning Board has held four public forums for the review of the 1st Draft General Plan. Approximately 75-80 people have attended each forum. In addition, staff continues to meet with a wide variety of organizations and groups. Staff has begun the preparation of the 2nd Draft, which incorporates comments received to date from the Planning Board, the public, and other boards and commissions. Staff hopes to publish the 2nd Draft and the Draft Environmental Impact Report in March 2021.
Chapter 1 of the draft General Plan describes the four major themes that run throughout the entire General Plan. The four themes are:
1. Developing a healthy, equitable and inclusive city. This is a new theme for the General Plan. The 1991 General Plan themes did not address health, equity or inclusivity as an overarching goal of the General Plan. This theme is implemented in policies in each element addressing the need to provide for housing, service, open space, safety, and transportation needs of all segments of the community, irrespective of income, race, cultural background, or physical ability. The associated survey related to this theme on the website focuses on a sampling of seven (7) policies in the General Plan that address the implementation of this theme.
2. Preservation and enhancement of Alameda’s unique historic neighborhood character. The draft General Plan 2040 continues the 1991 General Plan theme regarding the importance of embracing and supporting Alameda’s island environment and preserving Alameda’s unique architectural and historic neighborhood character. The updated theme acknowledges that these goals must be achieved in a manner that is consistent with the goal of meeting regional and local housing and climate change objectives. The associated survey provides a sample of key policies related to this theme.
3. Protecting the environment, responding to the climate crisis & meeting regional responsibilities. This theme is also new to the Alameda General Plan. The 1991 General Plan themes did not include protection of the environment as an overarching goal and it did not consider the impacts of global climate change as an issue that needed to be addressed. The General Plan policies recognize that to protect the environment, Alameda must not only reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and transform its transportation system (which produces over 70% of the community’s greenhouse gas emissions), but also must do its part to help the region meet its sustainability goals, including providing for the housing, economic, and service needs of all segments of society and future generations. The associated survey provides a sample of the key policies related to this theme.
4. Enhancing mobility, accessibility and life on an island. This theme builds on the 1991 General Plan theme calling for the “de-emphasis on the automobile” as the primary strategy to improve transportation and mobility in Alameda. The General Plan includes the need to address making streets safer, protecting the environment, providing enhanced access to the waterfront and open spaces, and embracing the island setting as essential to improving life on our island. The associated survey provides a sample of the key policies related to this theme.
Discussion:
Staff is reaching out to each of the major City Boards and Commissions to request Board and Commission review of the draft General Plan. Any comments received from the Historical Advisory Board can be incorporated into the 2nd Draft General Plan.
Staff would welcome all comments from the Historical Advisory Board on any or all of the General Plan themes, objectives, policies and actions in any of the seven chapters, and to assist the Board’s review of the document, staff prepared the following index of key policies and sections of the General Plan that might be of particular interest to the Board.
Chapter 1 Settings and Organization. See Section 1.3 Looking Ahead: Alameda 2040 for a discussion of projected growth and the challenges to be faced over the next 20 years, and Section 1.4 General Plan Themes for the description of the four themes that govern the entire General Plan.
In particular, Theme #3 reads as follows:
Preservation and enhancement of Alameda’s unique historic neighborhood character.
Alameda is a quiet, predominantly residential community, originally developed in an era when transportation was limited to walking, bicycling, horses, trains, and ferries. General Plan policies manage growth to address current challenges and responsibilities while retaining Alameda’s unique character. Policies reinforce the enhancement of the historic, neighborhood fabric to support a variety of safe, convenient, and environmentally friendly modes of transportation, the creation of a network of interconnected public parks and open spaces, and the preservation of traditional mixed-use commercial main streets that are essential to Alameda’s economic, social and cultural vitality.
Chapter 2 Land Use and City Design. See Spotlight on page 18 and Land Use and City Design Policies LU-2, 3, 21-23, 25-29 and 31.
Chapter 3 Conservation and Climate Action. See Policies CC-15 through 17.
Chapter 5 Housing Element. See Policies HE-7, 14, and 15.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Historical Advisory Board review and comment on the draft General Plan.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
Exhibit: Draft Alameda General Plan 2040 available at: www.alameda2040.org <http://www.alameda2040.org>