Title
PLN23-0167 - Development Plan and Development Agreement - 500 W. Midway Avenue - Applicant: Collaborating Partners. Public hearing to consider approval of the Rebuilding the Existing Supportive Housing at Alameda Point (RESHAP) Development Plan and recommending approval of the RESHAP Development Agreement. The streamlining provision of Public Resources Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines apply and no further environmental review is required.
Body
To: Honorable President
and Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas
Planning, Building and Transportation Director
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A long standing goal of the City of Alameda’s General Plan, Housing Element 2023-2031, and Alameda Point Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan is the rebuilding, expansion, and improvement of the existing supportive housing and associated programs and facilities at Alameda Point.
On behalf of the Collaborating Partners (Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC), and Operation Dignity), nonprofit affordable housing developer MidPen Housing Corporation submitted an updated Development Plan and Development Agreement for the rebuilding, expansion and improvement of the supportive housing at Alameda Point.
Staff is recommending approval of the draft resolution (Exhibit 1) in support of the RESHAP Development Plan (Exhibit 2) and draft Development Agreement (Exhibit 3). The necessary CEQA findings are supported by a CEQA Checklist prepared for the project (Exhibit 4).
BACKGROUND
On November 15, 2022, the City Council approved the Planning Board’s recommended City of Alameda Housing Element 2023-2031, which includes policies and programs related to the development of housing on City owned land at Alameda Point. Housing Element Program #1 commits the City of Alameda to take all necessary actions to facilitate and expedite the construction of 1,482 housing units on City owned land at Alameda Point during the 2023-2031 housing cycle period.
The City-owned lands at Alameda Point provide a great opportunity to build housing and especially affordable housing, but these lands have unique constraints that must be overcome before housing can be constructed. Unlike the rest of Alameda, which includes existing EBMUD waste water and potable water systems, AMP power systems, communications systems, and City storm water systems, all of these utilities and systems must be constructed at Alameda Point before any housing can be constructed. Infrastructure is expensive and time consuming to build.
The Housing Element program identifies three projects on City owned land that are critical to the success of the City’s efforts to address the housing crises and provide housing for vulnerable and low income communities. The three projects are the project at Site A, the RESHAP project, and the adjacent West Midway project.
In 2022, the Planning Board recommended and the City Council adopted amendments to the Site A Development Plan and Development Agreement to enable 700 more housing units on the Site A property in support of the City’s commitment to construct 1,482 units over the next 8 years.
To accommodate the additional 782 units for the Housing Element, the Housing Element identifies 34 acres of land immediately north of Site A Phase 2 bordered by West Tower Avenue on the south, Pan Am Way on the West, Main Street on the east, and West Midway Avenue on the north. The two projects planned for these lands are the RESHAP project and the West Midway project.
The RESHAP project implements a long-term goal and commitment by the City of Alameda to help the Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC), and Operation Dignity (the “Collaborating Partners”) build 200 new housing units to replace the deteriorating Navy units that they have occupied at Alameda Point since the late 1990s.
On March 21, 2017, the City Council approved the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan which establishes the City’s specific development policies and standards on the lands north of West Tower Avenue (the “Main Street Neighborhood”). One of the primary objectives of the Specific Plan is to facilitate the consolidation and rebuilding of the existing supportive housing groups that are currently scattered across 34 acres of the Main Street Neighborhood in 70+ year old deteriorating housing.
In 2018, the Planning Board and City Council approved the Development Plan and Development Agreement for the RESHAP Project for a 9.7-acre site at the corner of West Midway and Main Street.
In 2020, the City of Alameda issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) and selected the development team of Catellus and Brookfield for the development of 26 acres of residentially zoned land immediately adjacent to the RESHAP project within the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan area. The RFP and the subsequent Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) requires that the Catellus/Brookfield residential development fund the necessary infrastructure improvements and site preparation costs for the adjacent RESHAP property.
In 2021, after joint site planning and consideration, City staff, MidPen, the Collaborating Partners, Catellus and Brookfield made the determination that relocating the RESHAP campus from Main Street at the periphery of Alameda Point to Pan Am Way near the center of Alameda Point resulted in a better, more integrated site plan for Alameda Point and for RESHAP. The decision to relocate the RESHAP project necessitates the need for an amended Development Plan and Development Agreement for the RESHAP Project.
In September 2022, the Planning Board and the City Council held public workshops to review the initial site plans with the new location of the RESHAP campus and the adjacent West Midway townhome development.
DISCUSSION
Land Use Program: The proposed RESHAP Development Plan (Exhibit 2) provides 309 housing units and shelter for extremely low, very low and low income households, associated services and community spaces, and up to eight units for on-site managers and staff. The project replaces 200 existing deteriorating 70+ year old navy dormitory units that are currently dispersed across 34 acres at Alameda Point’s Main Street Neighborhood and addresses a critical, citywide and regional need for supportive housing.
The plan differs from the 2018 approved Development Plan in that it is located on a different site at Alameda Point and the number of housing units has been increased from 267 to 309. Similar to the 2018 plan, the 2023 Plan includes approximately 40,000 square feet of community space for services programming and administrative offices for the Collaborating Partners, on-site property management and resident services.
The development plan is designed to be consistent with the Alameda General Plan, Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan, and the Alameda Point Zoning Ordinance policies, standards, and development densities.
A Supportive Campus Design: The plan is designed to provide an accessible, pedestrian-oriented community campus with pedestrian-scale streets and buildings and safe spaces for residents who may have suffered from past traumas, while also providing residents opportunities to connect to the larger Main Street Neighborhood through strategic park and open space placement and street design. The proposed street designs and sections are consistent with the requirements of the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan.
A network of open spaces and community facilities are integrated into the plan. An active farm and new “barn” structure will serve as a gathering space for residents, including a commercial kitchen within close proximity to APC’s existing Ploughshares Nursery and farm, supporting the site’s “urban agriculture” image and identity along Main Street. A well landscaped community plaza connects the barn and ground floor community spaces where residents receive supportive services and socialize, and a variety of smaller open spaces at different scales, including courtyards, children’s play areas, indoor community spaces and private open spaces are designed to support this unique community.
Buildings are placed to activate the streets on one side and face inward to the central plaza and open space on the other side. Exterior public street facing elevations will include a variety of residential and non-residential design treatments depending on the ground floor uses consistent with the City’s objective design standards and recommended design conditions of approval included in the draft resolution.
The 309 apartment homes are distributed into three and four story elevator-served buildings. Commercial spaces will be located on the ground floor of the first APC building facing Pan Am Way, and non-residential commercial uses, including administrative offices, will be included in the second APC phase and in the Building Futures building. The building heights are consistent with Specific Plan height limits and the RESHAP plan exceeds the City of Alameda Universal Design Ordinance requirements.
Each building will be designed to maximize energy efficiency and sustainable development standards, including adoption of the LEED Gold or equivalent certification such as Build It Green’s Green Point Rating.
Design Review and Objective Design Standards. The campus will be constructed in phases over the next eight years. Per the Alameda Municipal Code 30-37 Design Review Regulations, the applicants are required to submit architectural plans for each building for Design Review approval, prior to issuance of building permits. State Government Code 65913.4 and local AMC 30-37.2.19 provide for ministerial design review for 100% affordable and supportive housing project, such as RESHAP, provided that the project is consistent with adopted Objective Design Review standards. If a project does not meet the Objective Design Standards, then ministerial design review is not available and the Design Review is conducted by the Planning Board.
Based on the current Planning Board adopted Objective Design Standards, discretionary Design Review will be necessary because the project will not meet every standard. Specifically, as planned by the applicants, the project will not satisfy the following Objective Design Standards:
• Main Entries. The objective standards require main entries of buildings to face the public street. The proposed design includes main building entries that face inward toward the center of the campus.
• Exterior Stairs. The objective standards prohibit unenclosed exterior stairs. The applicant believes that there will be a need for unenclosed exterior stairs on one or more of the buildings.
• Ground Floor Ceiling Heights. The objective standards require a minimum of 14 feet of ceiling height for ground floor non-residential uses in mixed use buildings. The applicants believe it will not be possible to provide for these heights for reasons of cost.
• Ground Floor Windows and Doors. The standards require that ground floor elevations facing the public right of way shall provide windows, doors, or other openings that constitute more than 75% of the wall area. The applicants believe that it will be difficult to meet a 75% transparency standard on the public street facing elevations.
• Wall Surfaces. Require that ground floor elevation with surfaces in excess of 15 feet without windows, doors, or decorative features be adorned with landscaping or art. The applicants believe there will be exterior surfaces in excess of 15 feet where art and landscaping will not be possible or appropriate.
As the result of these inconsistencies, design review must be considered by the Planning Board for each building at a future public meeting, unless the Planning Board amends its Objective Standards prior to submittal of these future plans for Design Review.
Transportation Demand Management: The project site is served by AC Transit Line 96 and is within walking distance of two ferry terminals with direct access to Oakland and San Francisco. The Collaborating Partners are existing members of the Alameda Transportation Management Association (ATMA). The ATMA provides every household at Alameda Pont with transit passes, electric bicycle rebates, and other transportation services. As Alameda Point continues to grow, the services provided by the ATMA to its members will also increase.
Currently, less than one-third of the APC residents living in the existing 200 units at Alameda Point own a car. The proposed parking plan reflects the fact that formerly homeless and low income households have a very low rate of car ownership, but acknowledges that parking will also be needed for staff, service providers, and visitors. Parking is provided in a combination of surface parking lots and a garage in the Phase 1 APC building. The automobile parking plan is consistent with the parking requirements of the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan and the Alameda Municipal Code Parking Regulations. Long and short term bicycle parking facilities will also be provided consistent with the AMC requirements.
Development Agreement: The proposed RESHAP Development Agreement (Exhibit 3) differs from the 2018 approved RESHAP Development Agreement in that it is an agreement for a development on a different site at Alameda Point and the number of supportive housing units has been increased from 267 to 309. Similar to the 2018 Plan, the 2023 Development Agreement provides vested rights to develop the project for 10 years. In all other respects, the draft agreement is similar to the agreement adopted by the City Council in 2018 for the previous site. The parties intend to terminate the 2018 Development Agreement concurrently with approval of the proposed Development Agreement.
Development Schedule: As currently proposed and if the City Council approves the RESHAP and West Midway agreements this summer, the pad and infrastructure for RESHAP Phase 1 (see RESHAP Development Plan phasing diagrams) will be ready for vertical construction of the first building (APC Building 1) in 2024 and Operation Dignity first building in 2025. The third and fourth buildings will be constructed after completion of the first two buildings.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The streamlining provision of Public Resources Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines apply and no further environmental review is required. The proposed project is consistent with an adopted Specific Plan for the area. The environmental impacts of the development of the area consistent with the Specific Plan were considered in the Alameda Point Project (APP) Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) adopted by the City Council on February 4, 2014, in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed project is consistent with, is specifically listed, and implements the City of Alameda Housing Element adopted on November 15, 2022. The environmental impacts of the Housing Element and the development of the sites included in the Housing sites inventory were considered in the General Plan Update EIR adopted by the City Council on November 30, 2021.
Further, as documented in the project CEQA Checklist (Exhibit 4), the RESHAP project would not result in significant impacts that: (1) are peculiar to the project or project site; (2) were not already identified as significant effects, cumulative effects, or off-site effects in the FEIR; or (3) were previously identified as significant effects; but are determined to be substantially more severe than discussed in the EIR.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution (Exhibit 1) approving the RESHAP Development Plan (Exhibit 2) and recommending approval of the RESHAP Development Agreement (Exhibit 3)
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Planning Building and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Draft Resolution Approving RESHAP Development Plan and Recommending Approval of RESHAP Development Agreement
2. RESHAP Development Plan
3. RESHAP Development Agreement
4. CEQA Checklist and MMRP