Title
Planning Board Draft Meeting Minutes - February 28, 2022
Body
DRAFT MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2022
1. CONVENE
President Asheshh Saheba convened the *meeting at 7:00 p.m.
*Pursuant to Assembly Bill 361, codified at Government Code Section 54953, Planning Board members can attend the meeting via teleconference.
2. FLAG SALUTE
Board Member Rona Rothenberg led the flag salute.
3. ROLL CALL
Present: President Saheba, Vice President Ruiz, and Board Members Curtis, Hom, Rothenberg, and Cisneros.
Absent: Board Member Alan Teague
4. AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION
None.
5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Kimi Sugioka, an Alameda resident, discussed her frustration about the ongoing construction near her home on Shorepoint Court. She also discussed the noise from AC units that had been put in across the street that had very high decimal readings.
Allen Tai City Planner, discussed ways to get in touch with the Planning Department to properly address these issues.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
None.
7. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
7-A 2022-1775
Endorse the Annual Report on the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan and the Annual Report on Transportation.
Danielle Mieler, Sustainability & Resilience Manager, introduced the Annual Report on the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) and gave a presentation.
Lisa Foster, a Senior Transportation Coordinator, introduced the Annual Report on Transportation and also gave a presentation.
The staff report and attachments for both presentations can be found at
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5458967&GUID=C1C3AB75-BB8F-40C3-9376-F3322B83C674&FullText=1>.
President Saheba opened the board clarifying questions.
Board Member Ron Curtis discussed the intersection of Broadway and Otis. He wanted to know specifics about the safety enhancements planned at this intersection. His own wife was struck by a car at that intersection in 2021. He wanted to know what could be done quickly.
Staff Member Foster answered that that intersection was managed by Cal Trans. She discussed what they had planned and she would pass along his comments. She said that rapid response was something they were working on.
Board Member Rona Rothenberg asked for clarification on grant funds in regards to the VA Property. She pointed out numbers in the report and what was reported in the Alameda Sun.
Staff Member Mieler clarified that those were two different project locations. One was at Alameda Point and the other was on Bay Farm Island.
Board Member Xiomara Cisneros asked for information on the Cool City Project and what “moonshot” entailed. She also wanted to know which priority items were tied to actual needs in 2022 and how projects in Transportation are prioritized.
Staff Member Mieler answered that this was a joint City and Grassroot Effort. The Climate Moonshot was the attempt to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. She discussed how the team would be formed and who could be involved. She then broke down the 2022 items that needed more attention.
Staff Member Foster discussed priorities and how they found grants that would fit.
Vice President Teresa Ruiz wanted to know if the upcoming CARP workshop at the West End Library would also be available on Zoom. She also asked about the likelihood of receiving grant funding and how Transportation projects would be funded otherwise.
Staff Member Mieler responded in the affirmative, that the meeting was planned as a hybrid meeting with a cap of 20 people and broadcast live on Zoom.
Staff Member Foster summarized how current projects were funded and what the grant or funding sources asked for.
Board Member Hanson Hom wanted to more about the goals and the objectives for the Adaptational Regional working group. He then asked about roundabouts and how Transportation identified streets for consideration.
Staff Member Mieler described the work that the group was doing to address sea-level rise and how they would be working with other groups in the area.
Staff Member Foster discussed the Roundabout Screening Analysis project that was being worked on.
President Saheba was happy to see work on Shoreline Drive. He wanted to know what the plans were to make it safer for pedestrians at Corica Park.
Staff Member Foster said if there was a particular intersection that needed attention putting it in See Click Fix would be very helpful. Some improvements had been planned near Earhart School but she was not aware of any other plans.
President Saheba opened public comment.
Cyndi Johnson, Bike Walk Alameda, spoke in support of the staff’s recommendations. She spoke very favorably of the proposed bike/pedestrian bridge and hoped the Board would support the staff’s plan to continue to pursue the bridge.
Betsy Mathieson, Alameda resident, discussed the desire for Alameda to develop a policy that required new and renovated buildings to have easily accessible exterior clotheslines to reduce the use of dryers.
Ruth Abbe, Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda, said she was happy with the work done by the Planning Board. She also complimented the hard work by Danielle Mieler and gave her support of the staff’s recommendations. She said that the Transportation goals were essential for Alameda to meet its climate goals.
Zac Bowing spoke in support of the staff recommendation. He also complimented the in-town bus, in particular AC Line 78.
President Saheba closed public comment and opened board discussion.
Board Member Hom discussed the importance of regional efforts on adaptation. He also liked the efforts to incentivize homeowners to go electric, install solar and add EV charging stations. He also applauded the seismic retrofitting effort that the city was emphasizing and the Cool City Challenge. He believed the bike/pedestrian bridge could be a real benefit and wanted to continue exploring it.
Board Member Curtis agreed with Board Member Hom on the bike/ped bridge but also found it hard not to agree with the staff recommendation.
Vice President Ruiz discussed ridership and what additional information could be beneficial before they went to City Council. She would endorse both reports.
President Saheba liked that both plans were forward-looking. For CARP he appreciated the additional bike lanes and recommended a map showing where progress was being made and where future progress was planned.
Board Member Curtis would also endorse but wanted a caveat added saying that the Planning Board would suggest looking at the ranking of the bike/ped bridge.
Board Member Cisneros suggested seeing an alignment of the “Needs Work” section with the 2022 Work Plan.
Vice President Ruiz made a motion to endorse both the CARP and Transportation Annual Reports with staff recommendations with the emphasis that the City Council evaluate the ranking of the bike/ped bridge. A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0.
7-B 2022-1782
Public Workshop to Review and Comment on the Draft Housing Element Update and Alameda Point Program to Construct 1,489 housing units on public land at Alameda Point in support of the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation for the Period 2023-2031.
Andrew Thomas, Director of Planning, Building and Transportation, introduced this item and gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be found at
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5458969&GUID=4C227EDF-BCA2-426D-B66B-09386EA2BEA1&FullText=1>.
President Saheba opened the board clarifying questions.
Board Member Curtis wanted to know how the development would be structured with the developers. Would the City be selling the land to them? He wanted to know how it was financially sound for the developers.
Director Thomas explained that in most cases the land would essentially be coming for free in exchange for the developers to build all the public infrastructure and public benefits. He added that Lisa Maxwell, Director of Community, would be doing the negotiations with the development partners.
Board Member Rothenberg wanted clarification on the partners and the process of events. She questioned who would cover extra expenses and wanted to know about opportunities for the City to budget.
Director Thomas explained that the City already had an existing agreement with Alameda Point Partners and they did not have an agreement with West Midway yet. He explained opportunities to amend their current agreement with the Site A Development Plan and how it could be a win/win for everyone.
Lisa Maxwell, Director of Community Development, also discussed the linkage between Phase 2 at Alameda Point and the West Midway Project. She described in detail the important challenges and what steps needed to happen for the project to be successful.
Board Member Cisneros inquired if the 1,485 units were within the Navy Cap. She also wanted to hear more about the goal to increase the affordable housing percentage.
Director Thomas answered that it was within the Navy Cap and explained the preconditions with the land from the Navy. He then described in detail the Housing Needs Assessment in Alameda and about affordable housing. He broke down the role of the private sector to build housing and how the market-rate housing pays for affordable housing.
Vice President Ruiz discussed the high cost connected to infrastructure. She then asked about increasing the units in Block 10 and wanted to know if it was being allocated from a future phase.
Director Thomas said no, they were just increasing the overall numbers in Block 10, in total. He discussed how the number of units had changed since 2015. He then explained that in each phase 25% of the units would be affordable.
Board Member Hom discussed the challenges around affordable housing. He then discussed the RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) numbers and how the numbers broke down for low income when it was presented to HCD (Housing and Community Development).
Director Thomas agreed that it was one of the most perplexing parts of state housing law. He described in detail the regional need and what state law would allow.
President Saheba asked for the parameters of the RESHAP Project.
Director Thomas explained what the RESHAP Project was and how the Alameda Point Collaborative was involved. He then went into history and what partners they worked with.
President Saheba opened public comment.
Sarah McIntire, MidPen Housing, discussed her company’s role as one of the partners Director Thomas mentioned in the reshape project. She discussed the energy-efficient homes they were designing and their support for more housing at Alameda Point.
Zac Bowling thought the 25% was a huge ask and proving to HCD that it could be done would be difficult. He was an affordable housing advocate but it was unfortunate that it was all going in one place where there weren’t a lot of resources. He suggested doing 15% and doing an Affordable Housing Overlay like what Berkeley had done.
Doug Biggs provided background and more detail on the RESHAP Project to the Board.
Karen Bey discussed Site A and Block 10 and what was entitled at each of them. She wanted to know how and where retail would go. She also wanted to know what the new zoning codes would be. She wanted Alameda to have a plan to retain shoppers.
President Saheba closed public comment.
8. MINUTES
8-A 2022-1767 - Draft Meeting Minutes - January 24, 2022
Board Member Cisneros clarified her comment, she was “open” to multifamily overlay but preferred to make changes to the zoning code.
President Saheba opened public comment.
There were no public speakers.
President Saheba closed public comments and asked for a motion to approve.
Vice President Ruiz made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Board Member Curtis seconded the motion. The minutes passed 5-0 with Board Member Hom in absentia.
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
9-A 2022-1765
Planning, Building and Transportation Department Recent Actions and Decisions
Recent actions and decisions can be found at
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5458964&GUID=5F90EE37-033E-4B75-B325-31243E6B620A&FullText=1>.
Board Member Rothenberg pulled PLN21-0545 1611 Sherman St for review.
Staff Member Tai noted that all calls for review needed to be submitted in writing with justification for the review per the AMC.
Board Member Rothenberg said she would do so.
9-B 2022-1766
Oral Report - Future Public Meetings and Upcoming Planning, Building and Transportation Department Projects
Staff Member Tai announced that the next meeting, March 14th, would have another Housing Element Workshop this time on Zoning Text Amendments.
Board Member Hom let the board know he would be absent from the March 14th meeting.
10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
10-A 2022-1781 - ACT Letter dated February 11, 2022
The letter can be found at
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5458968&GUID=2C15FFCD-9645-4224-A228-8EBC78A3B329>.
11. BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Curtis pointed out that in his 5 years on the board they had never had to submit in writing with justification why a permit was pulled for review.
Staff Member Tai said they had recently reviewed their procedures and this was an important step per the AMC. Director Thomas added that giving a reason for the Call for Review is especially so that applicants could know the reason for the Call for Review. It also made it easier for the staff when they wrote the report.
Celena Chen, Staff Counsel, informed Board Member Curtis when you could call an item for review. There was a 10-day period where you could call an item for review.
12. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
13. ADJOURNMENT
President Saheba adjourned the meeting at 9:34 p.m.