Title
PLN21-0469 - Certificate of Approval -950 West Mall Square - Applicant: City of Alameda. Public hearing to consider Certificate of Approval application to allow the conversion of lawn to, drought-tolerant landscaping at the grounds of City Hall West. Pursuant to Alameda Municipal Code Section 13-21.5 a Certificate of Approval by the Historical Advisory Board is required for alterations to Historic Monuments including trees and plantings. This project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15304(b) - Minor Alterations to Land, which consists of new gardening or landscaping, including the replacement of existing landscaping with water-efficient landscaping.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Historical Advisory Board
From: Erin Smith, Public Works Director
Allen Tai, City Planner
BACKGROUND
On September 8, 2021, the City Council directed the Public Works Department to implement strategies that reduce water use at City facilities as a response to the current severe drought. One strategy supported by the City Council is the conversion of existing landscaping at City Hall and City Hall West, among other City owned buildings, from large areas of turf that require heavy watering to more drought-tolerant plantings that conserve water.
City Hall and City Hall West are Historic Monuments designated by the City Council, and under AMC Section 13-21.5, any alterations to Historic Monuments, including changes to “trees and plantings” require a Certificate of Approval by the Historical Advisory Board (HAB). Per this requirement, on December 2, 2021, the City sought HAB approval of a Certificate of Approval to convert the lawns at City Hall and City Hall West to a drought-tolerant landscape design. The landscaping conversion was approved for City Hall per the presented design with the amendments to make more standing room around the entry plaza, to consider additional seating in the landscape, and for the landscape to be maintained properly. For City Hall West, the HAB wanted to see development of the design to get a better idea of how the design will work with this very important historic site.
The lawn conversion at City Hall proceeded according to HAB amendment and according to lawn conversion landscaping guidelines established by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), for which rebates are available to the City for implementing under EBMUD program guidelines. The City Hall West lawn conversion will also proceed according to EBMUD rebate guidelines.
Staff recommends the HAB hold a public hearing and then approve the Certificate of Approval for new landscaping at City Hall West per the analysis provided in this report.
DISCUSSION
On September 7, 2021, City Council gave staff direction to implement a number of water conservation efforts, including converting the lawns that surround City Hall and City Hall West to drought tolerant landscapes. Motivating Council’s direction is the ongoing drought state of emergency, Governor Newsom’s call for voluntary reductions, Alameda’s Climate Action and Resiliency Plan’s objective to build resiliency in the face of climate change, and EBMUD’s offering of a new landscape rebate program to support the lawn conversions to water-wise gardens that thrive in California’s summer-dry climate and during a drought.
Eligibility for EBMUD’s “super rebate” requires that 50% of the newly planted plants are not only drought tolerant but also native to California. The program also requires sheet mulching instead of removing the lawn. Sheet mulching places a layer of cardboard, compost, and mulch on top of the lawn instead of physically removing or killing it with herbicides. New plantings are made straight into the mulch. Other requirements of the program include that planted areas have ½ - 1 inch layer of compost between the soil and mulch; plants be installed between September and April and that any installed irrigation be efficient irrigation.
City Hall West Lawn Conversion:
The conceptual landscape design plan in Exhibit 1 was updated to reflect feedback from the HAB on December 2, 2021. The new design now has a linear, geometric configuration. Outdoor seating areas (spaces) were introduced into the landscape by use of decorative gravel areas for paving and site benches for seating. The outdoor spaces are intended to be used by City employees and the public, and to help facilitate educational opportunities a portion of the new landscaping serves as a demonstration area for drought-tolerant gardening. Existing plantings found on site and several from neighboring buildings are being used where appropriate and in keeping with EBMUD’s strict guidelines for the rebate program. Vibrant water wise succulents, aloes and agaves selected for year-round colorful foliage and brightly colored seasonal flowers were added to the plant palette. The water wise plants chosen for this project thrive in coastal conditions and were commonly found in early California Missions and residences.
All planting areas will be watered using new state of the art underground drip irrigation system operated by an automated, State of California Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (“WELO”) compliant irrigation controller.
FINDINGS
City Hall West at Alameda Point is a City Council-designated historic monument. The site is a contributor to the NAS Alameda Historic District, added to the NHRP in 2012 (<https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858288>). As a larger historical site, a Cultural Landscape Report was prepared for NAS Alameda to document the site’s character-defining landscape features as well as provide guidance for maintenance and preservation. The NAS Alameda Cultural Landscape Report is available on line at: <https://www.alamedaca.gov/files/assets/public/departments/alameda/base-reuse/previous-planning-docs/nas_alameda_cultural_landscape_report.pdf>
The following pages pertain to the subject matter at City Hall West:
PDF page # 471 - 479 (labeled pages 209 - 217) (describes character-defining features)
PDF page # 517 - 519 (labeled pages 250 - 253) (guidelines for maintenance and alterations)
PDF page # 563 - 565 (landscape maps)
The City Hall West building features large planting beds around three sides, with large swaths of turf leading up to hedge plantings immediately around the building walls. This spatial relationship is a character-defining feature of City Hall West, and this landscape design is characteristic of a number of other former administration buildings at the NAS Alameda Administrative Core area. As described earlier in this report, the proposed lawn conversion would replace existing lawn with drought-tolerant material consisting of low-growth groundcovers and shrubs. The proposed site work within the “front yards” include enhancements to existing landscape and hardscape materials that will not change the overall site design. Staff believes the lawn conversion will not negatively impact the overall integrity of City Hall West or the NAS Alameda Historic District because the existing open space and spatial relationship with the building along the street frontage will not be altered. The turf itself is not a character-defining feature, and therefore the replacement of turf with other low ground cover would not alter the visual character of the front yards.
Pursuant to Alameda Municipal Code 13-21.5, the HAB shall determine whether to issue a Certificate of Approval for alterations of a Historical Monument, with or without conditions of approval, based on whether plans and specifications meet the standards established by the HAB and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines, which provide general direction and guidelines for various preservation situations. The Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation are as follows:
1. A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships.
This project consists of replacement of existing lawn and associated landscaping with drought-tolerant landscaping to reduce water consumption. No new use is proposed.
2. The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided.
The project proposes to replace existing lawn and associated landscaping with drought-tolerant landscaping. While specific plants will be removed and replaced and the configuration of the landscape may be different than existing, the proportions or spatial relationships of these elements are being preserved. Where lawn currently exists as a low-profile groundcover and is a character-defining feature of the historic landscaping, the low-profile appearance will be maintained through the use of similar low-profile plants.
3. Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or elements from other historic properties, will not be undertaken.
No conjectural features or architectural elements from other historic properties are proposed for this project.
4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
There are no alterations to the any other features that have acquired historic significance over time.
5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.
Where lawn currently exists as a low-profile groundcover and is a character-defining feature of the historic landscaping, the low-profile appearance will be maintained through the use of similar low-profile plants. Existing spatial relationships between the building and landscape areas will be preserved.
6. Deteriorated historic features will be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature will match the old in design, color, texture, and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features will be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence.
This project consists of the replacement of existing lawn and associated landscaping with drought-tolerant landscaping to reduce water consumption. Replacement of lawn at City Hall West will follow the landscape guidelines in the Cultural Landscape Report for NAS Alameda Historic District to ensure that the character-defining spatial relationships and appearance features remain intact.
7. Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate, will be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments that cause damage to historic materials will not be used.
No chemical or physical treatments are proposed for this project.
8. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
The project will not disturb any archeological resources.
9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment.
No additions for habitable space are proposed for this project.
10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction will be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.
No adjacent new construction shall be undertaken as part of this project.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS:
Property owners and residents within 300 feet of the project’s boundaries were notified of the public hearing and given the opportunity to review and comment on the proposal.
CLIMATE IMPACT
The proposed project involves replacing existing landscaping at City Hall West, which primarily consists of high-water use plants including grass, with drought-tolerant landscaping that will significantly reduce water usage. Three percent of the nation's energy is used to pump and treat water, so conserving water conserves energy that reduces greenhouse gas pollution. In addition, the frequency, intensity, and duration of drought events is expected to increase with climate change. Implementing measures that lead to permanent water use reductions builds resiliency in the face of climate change.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
This project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15304(b) - Minor Alterations to Land, which consists of new gardening or landscaping, including the replacement of existing landscaping with water-efficient landscaping. The proposed actions would replace existing high-water use landscaping with drought-tolerant native landscaping to significantly reduce water usage during the current drought.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and then approve Certificate of Approval PLN21-0469 at 950 W. Mall Square per findings contained in the draft Resolutions.
Respectfully Submitted:
Erin Smith, Public Works Director
Allen Tai, City Planner
Reviewed By:
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Proposed Landscape Concept Plan at City Hall West
2. Draft Resolution for PLN21-0469 City Hall West