Alameda Planning Board Meeting - March 9, 2020
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Alameda Planning Board Meeting - March 9, 2020
The Alameda Planning Board met on March 9, 2020, at 7:00 PM in City Hall. Key actions included decisions on a waterfront park palm tree design, a self-storage facility, and the Phase II Alameda Marina Master Plan. One item was continued.
Consent Calendar
- Item 6-A: A public hearing to consider a finding of General Plan conformity for the disposition of real property at 2800 Fifth Street was approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Oral Communications: Mayor Marilyn Ashcroft addressed the board, thanking members for their volunteer work and noting the importance of the planning board's role.
- Item 7-C (continued): Jerry Cerventi, a commissioner on the Public Utilities Board, expressed support for the Alameda Municipal Power solar facility and thanked staff for the mitigated negative declaration. The item was continued to March 23, 2020.
- Item 7-B: Two speakers, Wayne Chin (homeowner) and Madeline Sadek (Chamber of Commerce), voiced support for the self-storage project at 2390 Mariner Square Drive.
- Item 7-D: No public speakers.
Discussion Items
- Item 7-A: Waterfront Park Design Review Amendment (Palm Trees) – The applicant, Alameda Point Partners, proposed planting six palm trees in the park. The board discussed aesthetic versus zero-waste concerns. After a presentation on palm tree waste solutions and design intent, a motion to not approve the palm trees passed 4-3. The board directed staff and the architect to select alternative trees.
- Item 7-B: Self-Storage at 2390 Mariner Square Drive – The applicant, Banner NorCal Developer, LLC, presented a revised design eliminating most glazing, adding landscaping, and reducing the impact of the retaining wall. The board approved the use permit and design review with conditions including additional street trees, a darkened sign, and employee transit passes, by a vote of 6-1.
- Item 7-D: Phase II Alameda Marina Master Plan – The applicant, Alameda Marina, LLC, presented plans for 182 townhouses, a waiver from the 100% visitability requirement, and the affordable housing plan. Extensive discussion covered site plan orientation (staff's alternate vs. applicant's original), parking reduction, universal design, and kitchen configurations. The board voted to remove condition #3 (staff's alternate site plan) and condition #4 (ten single-car garages) – the latter removed by a 6-1 vote. The main motion, approving the project with conditions including removal of ground-floor kitchens (or rough-in only), addition of windows to stair enclosures, equitable distribution of affordable units, and exploration of relocating HVAC condensers to roofs, passed unanimously.
- Item 7-E: Discussion of Veterans Administration Fuel Oil Plans – The board tabled this discussion because VA representatives were not present.
Key Outcomes
- Item 7-A: Palm trees not approved; alternative trees to be selected by staff and architect. Decision appealable within 10 days.
- Item 7-B: Project approved with conditions: additional street trees along Mariner Square Drive, sign lighting to be halo-lit (not backlit), employee transit passes (EasyPass) for all employees, and work with staff on landscaping and tree placement (avoiding gas lines). Vote: 6-1.
- Item 7-C: Continued to March 23, 2020.
- Item 7-D: Project approved with conditions: removal of condition #3 (alternate site plan) and condition #4 (ten single-car garages) – condition #4 removal passed 6-1; overall approval unanimous. Additional conditions: add windows to stair enclosures on roofs, remove or rough-in only the ground-floor kitchens in 22 units (to avoid creating separate dwelling units), work with staff on color variations and bay window details, equitable distribution of affordable units, and relocate HVAC condensers to roofs where feasible. The board noted the pedestrian bridge from the master plan was not included in this phase and asked staff to report back on its status.
- Item 7-E: Tabled.
- Staff Communications: The next meeting is March 23, 2020, with items including the solar facility, boat works, and a subdivision. The ADU ordinance update will be brought back for re-approval on consent.
- Board Communications: Concerns raised about trash bin staging in townhouse developments with back-to-back garage doors; staff encouraged to work with applicants on sensible locations.
Meeting Transcript
Planning board meeting. Um we're gonna start off with the flag salute please standards to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all the mayor. Okay. Okay, can we have the roll call, please? Uh President Curtis. Here. Uh board member Kavanaugh. Present. Yes. Rothenberg. Here. Ruiz. Here. Sahiba. Present. Teague? Here. We have a quorum. Good. Good. Um we've got one change to the agenda. We're going to pull off item one B, which is the um, it's um. Am I wrong? 7C. 7C, I'm sorry. The negative declaration on the staff would request that we pull that item. We have a little more work to do on that. Um, but we would also appreciate it if the chair president would allow it if there's anybody here to speak. Is anybody here to speak on that item? Okay. Would you come forward? Um, we're not gonna have it tonight, but it would sure help staff to hear your point of view. If you would just state your name for the minutes, that would be perfect. My name is Jerry Cerventi. I am a commissioner on the public utilities board for the city of Alameda. And um I wanted to voice the sentiment of the public utilities board that we're very excited about the opportunity of doing the solar project. We uh I personally reviewed the uh negative deck. I've gone through it, I've gone through a number of negative decks when I was working at the Port of Oakland as the director of engineering, and I appreciate everything that went into it, and I believe that it's a um well it was a well put together document, and I think uh we look forward to you approving it, and we look forward to the ability to build this facility for the city of Alameda. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anybody else that would like to speak? Okay, and may I just uh President Curtis, just for the record, um we're can we'd like you to continue it to March 23rd. Okay, so let the minutes reflect that we're continuing this item until March 23rd. Yes, till March 23rd. Okay, our next item is oral communications, and we have one speaker slip slip. Um we have our mayor, Marilyn Ashcroft. Good evening, everyone. I cannot tell you how relaxing it is to be sitting in the audience just sitting watching a meeting. But um one of my new year's resolutions this year was to attend one of every board and commission meeting in the city, and so this is my night to be at the planning board, but it's just my opportunity to say thank you to all of you uh for the work you do and the staff that staffs the planning board. You may know that I um started out earlier in life as a as a planning board member, and I would say second to the city council.
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