Title
Public Hearing to Consider Resolutions Recommending Approval of a Tidelands Exchange and a Resolution Recommending Approval of the Amended Encinal Terminals Master Plan for the Redevelopment of the Encinal Terminals Properties (072-0382-001, 072-0382-002 and 072-0383-003) and City Tidelands Property (APN 072-0382-009) located at 1521 Buena Vista Avenue. A Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the Tidelands Exchange and Master Plan was prepared and certified in 2017, in conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff is recommending that the Planning Board conduct a public hearing and consider a resolution recommending that the City Council approve a Tidelands Exchange to facilitate development of housing on the Encinal Terminals site in support of General Plan Housing Element regional housing needs obligations. Staff is also recommending consideration of a resolution recommending that the City Council approve an amended Master Plan and for the development of the Encinal Terminals site consistent with a Tidelands Exchange.
Staff is also working on a Development Agreement for future Planning Board consideration at a future meeting for the development of the project during the next Housing Element cycle 2023-2031.
BACKGROUND
The Encinal Terminals site is a vacant site located at 1521 Buena Vista Avenue between the Alaska Basin and the Fortman Marina behind the Del Monte Warehouse. The site is located within the Bay Area’s regional sustainability plan (Plan Bay Area) Northern Waterfront Priority Development Area (PDA), and the site is designated as a multifamily housing opportunity site in the City of Alameda Housing Element.
The site is comprised of four parcels: three owned by North Waterfront Cove, LLC (Applicant) and one 6.4 acre site owned by the City of Alameda in trust for the State of California (Tidelands Property). The Tidelands Property is located in the middle of the site.
In 2008, after a multi-year community planning process, the City Council approved a comprehensive set of General Plan policies to guide the redevelopment of the Northern Waterfront PDA and the Encinal Terminals site. The General Plan policies support a residential mixed use plan for the Encinal Terminals site and recognize that the current configuration of the Tidelands Property is a constraint on the feasibility of developing the site. The General Plan policies state in part:
“The intent of the site specific development policies for the Encinal Terminals Site is to facilitate redevelopment of the site with new land uses that will take advantage of the unique site configuration and waterfront location, increase opportunities for public access and enjoyment of the waterfront and eliminate the existing uses which contribute a large volume of truck traffic in the vicinity.
“The Master Plan should consider relocating the tidelands trust lands to the perimeter of the site to allow residential mixed-use development in the core of the site with publicly accessible open space around the perimeter of the site.”
In 2009, the City Council zoned the property MX (Mixed Use) to support residential, mixed use development of the site and to bring the zoning into conformance with the General Plan policies.
In 2010, the Planning Board terminated the Use Permit for the shipping container storage and repair business that was using the site in support of the Port of Oakland seaport. The prior use generated approximately 150 truck trips per day between the site and Oakland. The site has been vacant since 2010.
In 2012, the City Council designated the site in the General Plan Housing Element as a housing opportunity site and zoned the site for higher density multi-family housing to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (“RHNA”) and bring the City’s General Plan and Zoning Map into conformance with State Government Code requirements.
In 2016, the City of Alameda received an application from the Applicant requesting a reconfiguration of the property lines (“Tidelands Exchange”) and approval of a Master Plan and Development Agreement for the development of the site consistent with the site’s General Plan and Zoning designations. During a two-year planning process, the Planning Board held six (6) public hearings and workshops to shape the Encinal Terminals development proposal and Tidelands Exchange. In September 2017, the Planning Board held a final public hearing and recommended that the City Council adopt the Focused Supplemental EIR (“SEIR”), Tidelands Exchange, Master Plan, and Development Agreement for the development of the property with 589 housing units, 50,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 160-berth marina.
On December 19, 2017, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 15337 certifying the Final SEIR, which evaluated the environmental impacts of the property with the tidelands exchange, but the City Council was unable to gather the four votes needed to approve the Tidelands Exchange. As a result, the Council was unable to approve the Planning Board’s recommended Tidelands Exchange Master Plan and Development Agreement that implemented the development of the site consistent with the reconfiguration of the parcel lines.
As a result, the Applicant was forced to revise their Master Plan to develop their property around the 6.4-acre Tidelands Property in its current location. On September 4, 2018, the City Council approved the “no-exchange” Master Plan for the site. Similar to the 2017 “exchange” Master Plan, the 2018 plan included: 589 units, including 79 affordable units in a mix of for-sale townhomes and for-rent apartments; 20,000 to 50,000 square feet of commercial uses; a 160-berth marina; and 3 acres of public waterfront open space.
Since approval of that Master Plan, the Applicant has been unable to attract investment to develop the property consistent with the “no-exchange” Master Plan, and they have been unable to sell the property. As a result, in 2021, the site remains vacant and continues to deteriorate.
DISCUSSION
Tidelands Exchange: Since the site cannot be feasibly developed with the current property line configuration, the site’s approved 589 housing units cannot be included in the upcoming Housing Element update for the 2023-2031 housing cycle. Re-aligning the property lines, referred to in this report as the “Tidelands Exchange”, allows the site to be developed and allows the City of Alameda to include the site’s 589 previously approved units in the upcoming Housing Element update. If the tidelands exchange is not approved, then the City of Alameda will need to up-zone lands somewhere else in the City to accommodate the 589 units, in its efforts to accommodate approximately 5,400 units.
By State Law, Tidelands Property can only be used for maritime purposes or public open space. These lands cannot be used for residential purposes. The existing 6.4 acres of public Tidelands are located in the interior of the site without access to the Estuary for maritime purposes or to the public right of way to allow for public access for public open space. The property line configuration makes the public lands infeasible to develop or use for public waterfront open space or maritime purposes, unless the adjacent private parcels are developed to provide utilities and access. Likewise, the private lands are not feasible to develop for residential use, due to the current configuration of the public Tidelands in the middle of the site. Most of the private lands cannot be accessed without crossing public tidelands or water. Therefore, both properties must be developed together, or neither property will be able to develop.
Reconfiguring the property lines as shown below, makes the site financially feasible to develop during the 2023-2031 Housing Element cycle. The reconfiguration allows residential uses to be located within the interior of the site and public open space and maritime uses to be located adjacent to the water and on the adjacent submerged lands.
In exchange for 4.47 acres of land currently subject to the Tidelands Trust (1.93 of the 6.4 acres will remain in Tidelands), the Tidelands will be reconfigured to include approximately:
• 13.2 acres of submerged lands, which shall be improved by removal of the current deteriorating wharf and replaced with a 0.6 acre rehabilitated and improved wharf, a public kayak launch and a public water shuttle landing.
• 4.25 acres of waterfront land for the Bay Trail and waterfront public promenades and plazas.
• 3 acres of land to be used for public roads through the center of the site from Clement Avenue to the northern waterfront edge of the site, and .25 acres of land for Clement Avenue and Cross Alameda Trail right-of-way.
Revised Master Plan: The revised Master Plan provides the regulations and standards for the development of the public and private lands consistent with a Tidelands property line reconfiguration.
Chapter 1 describes the exchange and the goals of the Master Plan. The Master Plan development program is substantially similar to the Planning Board’s 2017 “exchange” Master Plan and the existing 2018 approved Master Plan. The 2021 draft Master Plan includes provisions for:
• 589 residential units, including 80 deed restricted units in a mix of for-sale townhomes and for-rent apartments;
• 20,000 to 50,000 square feet of commercial space;
• Opportunities for a new 160 berth marina on submerged lands to be owned by the City; and
• Approximately 4.5 acres of public waterfront open space, including a public kayak launch and a public water taxi dock. (The “no-exchange” master plan provides only 3 acres.)
Chapter 2 of the Master Plan describes and depicts the improvements that the applicant will construct for the public on the new public lands. All of the new public parks, plazas, promenades, and open spaces will be constructed by the Applicant at no cost to the City, and the cost of maintaining the future public amenities and spaces will be funded through assessments on the property at no cost to the General Fund or the existing Alameda taxpayers.
The Master Plan establishes a phased improvement plan for the new public waterfront lands, which upon completion will include:
• A public promenade and waterfront Bay Trail around the perimeter of the site, with connections to the Cross Alameda Trail on Clement Avenue,
• A public water shuttle dock and kayak launch, and
• A new four-way intersection at the intersection of Clement/Entrance for vehicles, and an extension of Entrance Road from Clement Avenue to the northern edge of the site and water shuttle landing drop off area.
As the owner of the submerged lands, the City will be able to enter into a future lease with a third party to develop and operate a 160 berth marina in the Alaska Basin.
Chapter 3 of the Master Plan describes the development regulations and standards for the construction of the 589 housing units and associated facilities and commercial space on the new private lands. To support the need for affordable housing and reduce the vehicle miles travelled by the project residents, all of the units must be multifamily units, single family detached homes are prohibited, 30% of the market rate units will be 1,200 square feet or less, and 10% will be 900 square feet or less, and no more than 200 of the units may be townhomes with private garages.
The 589 units will include 80 deed restricted affordable units, including 25 units for very low-income households (less than 50% of Area wide Median Income (AMI)), 20 units for low-income households (50% to 80% of AMI), and 35 deed-restricted units for moderate-income households (80% to 120% of AMI).
The applicant is also offering ten (10) market rate units that will be restricted for sale to middle-income purchasers making between 120% and 180% of area-wide median income, who are employed by the Alameda Unified School District, Alameda Police Department or Alameda Fire Department, Alameda Hospital or other Alameda front line medical facilities, or Alameda resident members of the Alameda County Building Construction Trades Council.
Universal Design: The project will exceed the City’s Universal Design requirement of 30% by ensuring that at least 50% of the units in the project meet the universal design requirements. However, the Applicant is requesting a waiver from the visitability requirements for the townhome buildings. The financial feasibility of the project is dependent on the ability to construct and sell a maximum of 200 townhomes. Townhome projects in Alameda have all required waivers from the 100% visibility requirement.
Chapter 4 of the Master Plan describes the subsequent entitlement and permitting necessary to begin construction on the public and private improvements. The chapter also describes the required phasing for the improvement of the public lands, which shall be preconditions for the phased release of building permits and property conveyances. The property conveyance conditions will be further prescribed and enforced through a Disposition and Development Agreement between the City and the Applicant.
Climate change.
Consistent with the City’s Climate Action goals and objectives, the project is designed to be “all electric” to avoid the need for gas infrastructure and the use of natural gas for heating and cooling. The project includes a transportation demand management (TDM) program to reduce automobile use and greenhouse gas emissions. The TDM program requires that the residents of the project fund additional, supplemental transit services through an annual transportation assessment of $525 per townhome, $425 per apartment, and $0.75 per square foot of commercial space. The assessments will increase annually with a CPI increase.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the Tidelands Exchange and development of the site consistent with the Master Plan will have a positive financial impact on the General Fund and other City funds.
General Fund Revenues and Costs: The Master Plan and Development Agreement requires the project to fund the maintenance of the public lands, streets, roads, and infrastructure. An independent analysis of the proposed project estimated that the increase in property taxes and property transfer taxes received as a result of the project will increase significantly due to redevelopment of the property. The new residents and businesses will require an increase in Police and Fire services, but those increased costs are more than off-set by the larger increase in revenue generated by the project.
Investment in Public Trust Lands. Under the current tidelands lease, the City receives approximately $2,000 annually. Upon completion of the phased development, the City would no longer receive the annual lease payments, but the public will own all of the submerged lands and approximately 4.5 acres of improved public waterfront lands, which will be maintained by the project. At a future date, the City as trustee will be able to enter into a lease with a marina developer/operator for construction and operation of a 160-berth marina on the new public tidelands. In 2029, the lease for the adjacent Fortman Marina will expire. At that time, the City Council will also be in position to consider a new lease for the Fortman Marina and may consider combining the new Alaska Basin Tidelands under a new lease with a marina and boatyard operator or other qualified investor/operator.
Transportation Improvements: In addition to annual Transportation Demand Management fees and improvements to Clement Avenue, the Project will provide approximately $1,000,000 in Transportation Impact Fees for citywide transportation improvements.
Transit Funds: The project will generate approximately $250,000 annually for transportation services. With required Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases, the value of the contribution will increase each year starting in 2022.
Parks and Open Space Funds: In addition to the Public Lands improvements, the project will provide over $6 million in impact fees for citywide public park facilities.
Public Safety and General Public Facilities: In addition to the General Fund revenues generated by property and transfer taxes described above, the project will provide over $1.75 million in impact fees for public safety and general public facilities.
Alameda Unified School District: Assuming an average unit size of 1,500 square feet, the project will provide over $3.6 million in impact fees to the Alameda Unified School District, consistent with the District’s adopted impact fee ordinance.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The proposed Public Trust property reconfiguration and Master Plan are consistent with, and implement, the City of Alameda General Plan Northern Waterfront Element, Housing Element, and Transportation Element. The proposals are also consistent with the City of Alameda Local Climate Action Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
On December 19, 2017, the Alameda City Council certified the Encinal Terminals Focused Supplemental EIR (State Clearinghouse No. 2016042076) for development of the proposed Master Plan and Exchange Agreement. All project-specific mitigations specified in the previously certified EIR and included in the Project-Specific Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program shall be included as conditions of approval for the project development plans required by the Master Plan.
The 2021 draft Master Plan includes the same development program as the preferred project in the 2017 EIR. The only significant difference between the 2021 Exchange Master Plan and the 2017 Exchange Master Plan is that the 2021 plan proposes to remove more of the existing wharf than in 2017 plan, which proposed to rehabilitate and rebuild more of the existing wharf. The change results in greater daylighting of the Estuary and less construction activity within the marine environment, which is consistent with BCDC policies to reduce bay fill and state and local policies to minimize impacts in the marine environment. There is no evidence that any changes to the project over the last 36 months since the EIR was certified would result in additional or more severe environmental impacts than the impacts that were disclosed in the 2017 EIR.
In the vicinity of the project and regionally, the development that was anticipated to occur in the 2017 EIR has occurred as expected (e.g. project such as Del Monte, Site A, Alameda Marina, and Brooklyn Basin in Oakland). There is no evidence that the environmental conditions in the area have changed in manner that was not anticipated in the 2017 EIR and therefore would result in additional or more severe environmental impacts than were disclosed in the 2017 EIR.
For these reasons, no further environmental review is required.
RECOMMENDATION:
Hold a public hearing and adopt:
A resolution recommending approval of a Tidelands Exchange (Exhibit 3), and
A resolution recommending approval of the amended Encinal Terminals Master Plan for the Redevelopment of the Encinal Terminals Properties and City Tidelands Property (located at 1521 Buena Vista Avenue (Exhibit 4).
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Encinal Terminals Master Plan
2. Draft Resolution in support of Tidelands Exchange
3. Draft Resolution in support of Master Plan
4. Application