Title
Public Hearing on the Alameda General Plan Update and the Scope of Environmental Impact Report
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas,
Planning, Building & Transportation Director
Date: April 26, 2021
executive summary
The purpose of the April 26, 2021 public hearing is to provide an opportunity for public agencies and the public to submit oral comments on the scope and proposed content of the draft EIR. Written comments will be received by the City through April 27, 2021. No action by the Planning Board on the draft EIR is required at this time.
This staff report also provides an overview of the recently released March 2021 Alameda General Plan 2040. This overview is for information purposes only. The Planning Board is not required to make any decisions on the draft General Plan at the April 26, 2021 public hearing on the scope of the EIR.
background
General Plan Update: 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 of 2020, staff completed the August 2020 (initial) draft Alameda General Plan 2040 for public review and comment, and set up a website (<https://www.alameda2040.org/>.) where updates, documents, and surveys could be accessed by the public. In the Fall of 2020, the Alameda Planning Board held four public forums that each focused discussion and review of the four themes of the General Plan, that of Equity, Access, Environment and Character (refer to Page 19 of Chapter 1, General Plan Organization and Themes). Approximately 75-80 people attended each of these forums. Over 1,500 individuals provided written comments and suggestions for improvements to the draft Plan through the General Plan update website, meetings and surveys. In addition, City Staff met with a wide variety of organizations and groups, and benefited from recommendations from over 25 organizations. (Refer to Forward, page 5, for a complete list of these organizations).
Staff continued to collect comments on the 1st Draft General Plan until January 1, 2021 through online surveys (refer to Exhibit 1- Alameda General Plan Survey Summary) and through continued group meetings. Staff then compiled the feedback and prepared the March 2021 General Plan Draft, which synthesizes comments received from the Planning Board, the public, and other boards, community groups and commissions. Staff then published the March 2021 Draft on March 1, 2021.
Since release of the March draft, staff has completed a citywide mailer and press releases to inform the public of the updated draft General Plan and encourage the public to review and comment on the draft Plan by May 17, 2021.
The March 2021 Draft General Plan is attached as Exhibit 1 and is available for public review and comment at www.alameda2040.org <http://www.alameda2040.org>.
General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR). In July 2020, staff published a Notice of Preparation informing the public, regional agencies, and the State of California that the City of Alameda was beginning work on a draft EIR to analyze the potential environmental impacts of the draft General Plan. The purpose of a Notice of Preparation is to inform the public of the proposed scope of the EIR analysis and invite comments and suggestions on that scope. While the public was reviewing the August 2020 Draft General Plan, the City of Alameda staff and the environmental consultant team were working on the draft EIR, in anticipation of releasing the draft EIR in March with the March 2021 Draft General Plan.
Unfortunately, in March 2021, staff became aware that due to the COVID pandemic, the State of California Clearinghouse never received the July 2020 Notice of Preparation. Therefore, on March 24, 2021, staff transmitted a new Notice of Preparation to the State Clearinghouse. As the result of the delay, staff is still waiting to receive comments on the scope of the draft EIR, even though much of the work on the Draft EIR is complete.
Therefore, the City of Alameda will continue to take comments on the proposed scope of the draft EIR until April 27, 2021. If those comments do not result in any new issues that were not anticipated by the staff and consultant team, then the City will release the Draft EIR shortly thereafter. If new, unexpected issues are revealed in the responses to the March 2021 NOP, the staff/consultant team will delay the release of the Draft EIR until those issues can be adequately addressed in the draft EIR. (Since the City sent the 2020 NOP to a wide range agencies and organizations independently of the State Clearinghouse, staff is not expecting an unusually large number of new comments.)
DISCUSSION
EIR Scoping Session: The purpose of the April 26, 2021 public hearing is to provide an opportunity for public agencies and the public to submit comments to help the City refine the scope and content of the draft EIR.
As described in the NOP prepared for this project, (Exhibit 2) the EIR will address all environmental topic areas required by Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines: Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Energy, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services and Recreation, Transportation and Traffic, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities, and Wildfire.
The City issued the NOP to Responsible Agencies, Trustee Agencies, federal agencies, transportation planning agencies and agencies with transportation facilities that may be affected and other interested parties and organizations.
Draft EIR Review. Once staff receives public comments on the scope of the EIR and makes any necessary adjustments to the draft EIR, staff will circulate the draft EIR for public review for 45 days.
During the 45-day review period, the Planning Board will hold another public hearing to provide an opportunity for the community to comment on the adequacy of the analysis included in the Draft EIR. Upon completion of the 45 day review period, the staff/consultant team will prepare a Final EIR for public circulation. (This work typically takes about 30 days after the close of the 45-day review period.) The Final EIR will include any and all revisions needed to provide a complete analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the proposal and a written response to every comment received on the Draft EIR.
Once the Final EIR is completed and the Planning Board has had an opportunity to review the Final EIR, the Planning Board may hold its final public hearings and make a final recommendation on the EIR and the General Plan to the City Council.
Draft Alameda General Plan 2040.
In March, the City of Alameda released the March 2021 draft Alameda General Plan 2040. Alameda General Plan 2040 is comprised of six chapters or “elements”:
1. General Plan Organization and Themes
2. Land Use and City Design Element
3. Conservation and Climate Action Element
4. Mobility Element
5. Parks and Open Space Element
6. Health and Safety Element
Staff is currently working on the update of the Housing Element, which will be reviewed and approved separately in 2022.
From staff’s perspective, the public workshops and review of the August 2020 draft General Plan was extremely successful. The City received extensive, thoughtful, and robust feedback on the August 2020 draft General Plan, which informed a comprehensive revision of the August 2020 draft. The March 2021 Draft benefited from the input from the four Planning Board Forums, the four online surveys, over 25 meetings with community organizations, and written comments from over 1,500 individuals who commented on the first draft.
Although the text in almost every policy in the August 2020 draft was revised in some way, the major global improvements to the Draft Plan include:
• Removal of redundant language, which meant in some cases combining policies, and/or deleting Policies to streamline the document. (Exhibit 3 includes a policy index, which provides a key to the August 2020 Draft Policy numbers, and their associated revised Policy numbers in the March 2021 draft.)
• Sharpening policy language to reduce conflicting interpretations or clarify intent.
• Inclusion of cross-references to related policies in the plan to help the reader identify other policies in other elements that address similar issues and/or themes.
• The addition of alphanumeric numbering system for the actions under each policy for easy reference.
• Inclusion of bolder, more specific language in multiple elements to address community comments on issues such as equity, affordable housing, the COVID-19 pandemic, and accessibility for all.
• Inclusion of bolder, more specific language in multiple elements on the importance of addressing climate change and its various impacts, such as rising ground water, as well as rising seas.
• Addition of spotlights where needed to provide more clarity or background information on a particular policy or set of policies.
• Adding definitions where needed or requested, such as the definition of “equity” and “persons with disabilities”.
• Updating and replaced photos to be more representative of the diversity of Alameda’s population, architecture, character, island settings, and open spaces.
General Plan Organization and Themes
The major changes to this chapter included a honing the four themes in Section 1.4, which are to:
• Promote a healthy, equitable and inclusive city.
• Protect the environment, respond to the climate crisis and meet regional responsibilities.
• Enhance mobility and accessibility.
• Preserve and enhance Alameda’s distinctive character.
The themes were clarified and simplified to be more succinct and impactful. Language was added to the Equity theme recognizing and acknowledging past inequities in local policy and decision making processes.
Section 1.5: Implementation and Priority Setting was added to describe the annual review and priority setting process which is so critical to the implementation of the General Plan policies over the 20 year planning term. (This section responds to suggestions from Board member Curtis related to the need to explain how the General Plan’s aggressive goals and 100+ policies can be prioritized and funded over time by the City and community of Alameda.)
Section 1.3: Looking Ahead was sharpened to clarify the population growth, housing needs, and employment growth.
Spotlights were added related to the definition of “Equity” and the impact of the 2020 Pandemic on Alameda and the General Plan. The chapter also now includes an index of spotlights in each element.
Land Use Element
The Land Use Element was improved significantly by inclusion of a variety of new policies and spotlights. The Land Use Classifications were also significantly revised to provide greater clarity regarding the recommended changes to density, floor area ratio, and/or height limits to implement General Plan objectives and policies and support the upcoming Housing Element update.
New policies include:
● LU-1: Inclusive and Equitable Land Use and City Design
● LU-7: Joint Use
● LU-8: Arts and Culture
● LU-17: Adaptive Reuse and Restoration
● LU-24: Universal Design
● LU-29: Shopping Center Redevelopment
● LU-33: Alameda Rail Station Design
New spotlights include:
● Alameda’s Relationship with the Water
● State Law, the City Charter, and the General Plan
● What is Affordable Housing?
● Where are the “Transit Rich” locations in Alameda?
● Alameda’s “Front Doors”: Park & Webster Streets
● The Importance of Promoting Sustainable Growth Solutions
Other important changes include:
• Clarification regarding “barriers” in Policy LU-3.
● Increased emphasis on Webster Street and Park Streets as the City’s two iconic “main streets”, See Policy LU-10 as well as added Spotlight, Alameda’s “Front Doors”: Park & Webster Streets.
● Increased emphasis on the importance of building reuse and rehabilitation and incentives for preservation, such as the Mills Act Action (refer to Action LU-25.e).
Conservation and Climate Action Element
Examples of key improvement to this element include:
• Strengthened Policy CC-1: Community Action to include new actions that address community capacity building and the opportunity to create a Climate Solutions Academy at Alameda Point for emerging climate-solution technologies, see Actions CC-1c and CC-1dAdded emphasis on empowerment and partnerships within the community (see added actions to Policy CC-1 and new Policy CC-15):
• Strengthened policies related to the reuse and renovation of existing buildings (Policy CC-18).
● Added policies related to Neighborhood Resilience Coordination (CC-15) and improved policies related to Sea Level Rise Protection (CC-19)
● Improved policies related to conservation of natural resources including a new policy in support of the establishment of an Alameda Point Marine Conservation, Wildlife and Recreation Area (Policy CC-29) and land development mitigations (see CC-20 and CC-34.a).
● Improved policies related to tree canopy enhancement and the importance of quantitative data around health needs and cost/benefits (See Action CC-26.d), as well as identification of funding (Action CC-26.g).
● Strengthened policies around littering and waste disposal in response to comments from the Youth Forum. (See Actions CC-17.b, CC-27.i, CC-29.b-c)
● Improved policies related to home occupations, telecommuting and climate-friendly commute behavior. (See CC-11)
● Revised policy related to congestion pricing to ensure that any future pricing is equitable and recognizes the needs of all income groups in Alameda (see Action CC-12.a.)
● Added a Building Electrification Spotlight.
Mobility Element
The Mobility Element was significantly improved with the help of a Transportation Commission subcommittee comprised of Transportation Commission Chairperson Soules and Commissions Kohlstrand and Weitze. With the help of the subcommittee, staff revised the element to reinforce and clarify that the transportation system must work for all Alamedans and accommodate all modes to reduce the impacts of the transportation system on the environment and climate change and improve safety for all users, including the most vulnerable.
Examples of the changes include new policies:
● ME-4: Public Annual Review
● ME-8: Roadway Diets
● ME-12: School Traffic
● ME-13: Alameda Street Grid
● ME-16: Transit
● ME-17: Shared Mobility
● ME-18: New Mobility and New Technology Infrastructure
● ME-19: Active Management and Monitoring
● ME-20: New Development
New spotlights include:
● The 25 Mile Per Hour Speed Limit: Why Does It Matter?
● Roundabouts
● What is a High Injury Corridor?
● West Alameda Bicycle + Pedestrian Bridge
Parks + Open Space Element
This element includes updated photos to emphasize the connection to the water and the new improvements at Alameda Point (Seaplane Lagoon Ferry, Bay Trail connection) as well as included a new Policy OS-22 addressing the proposed Alameda Point Marine Conservation, Wildlife and Recreation Area. A new spotlight was added regarding the endangered Monarch Butterfly and endangered Least Tern.
Health and Safety Element
The Element was improved by an increased emphasis on wildfire smoke health risks, air quality, pandemics, and how the City can develop informed long range plans to respond and recover from these economic and health crises (See HS-8). In addition, see policy HS-4 - Public Communication that promotes engagement with the most vulnerable Alamedans who are least likely to know about or be able to adapt to various threats, (see action HS-4.c).
New policies include:
● HS-6: Crime, Policing and Safety
● HS-7: Infectious Disease Preparedness
● HS-8: Resilience and Recovery
● HS-62: Wildfire Smoke
Next Steps in the General Plan Update Process: Staff is planning the following steps for the update process. All dates are subject to change depending on public comments and Planning Board direction.
April 26, 2021. Planning Board Scoping Session on EIR.
April 27, 2021 Close of Scoping Period.
May 1, 2021. Circulate Draft EIR for 45 day pubic review process.
May 10, 2021 Planning Board Joint Meeting with Transportation Commission to review General Plan.
May 17, 2021 Close of initial 45 day public review period for General Plan.
May 24, 2021 Opportunity for Planning Board Public Hearing on Draft General Plan
June 14, 2021 Planning Board Public Hearing on Draft EIR and Draft General Plan.
June 15, 2021 Close of 45 day public review period for Draft EIR.
June 28, 2021 Opportunity for Planning Board Public Hearing on Draft General Plan
July 15, 2021 Circulate Final EIR
July 26, 2021 Opportunity for Planning Board Public Hearing on Draft General Plan
August 2021 Staff prepare Planning Board amendments, as necessary.
September 2021 Planning Board final Public Hearings on Draft General Plan and amendments.
October 2021 City Council Public Hearings and Action on Draft General Plan.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing to accept public comments on the scope of the EIR. No action on the proposed EIR or General Plan is being requested of the Planning Board at this time.
Respectfully Submitted by:
Andrew Thomas
Planning, Building, and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. March 2021 Draft General Plan.
2. March 2021 Notice of Preparation
3. Policy Index: August 2020 Draft to March 2021 Draft.