Alameda Planning Board Meeting - June 8, 2020

The Planning Board met virtually on June 8, 2020, at 7:00 PM to conduct elections for board officers, hear an appeal of a design review approval for a wellness center at 1245 McKay Avenue, and handle routine consent items. The board unanimously approved the consent calendar, elected new officers for the 2020-2021 term, and denied the appeal, upholding staff’s design review approval.

Consent Calendar

• Item 6-A: Street Naming for Alameda Landing Waterfront Residential Development – The board approved eleven street names from the Official Street Names List for streets within the approved Alameda Landing development at 2800 Fifth Street. The action was exempt from CEQA. Motion passed unanimously.

Board Elections (Regular Agenda Item 7-A)

• The board held elections for the term July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. A nomination for Jeff Cavanaugh as vice president was withdrawn after he announced he would be leaving Alameda. Ashish Saheba was nominated and elected vice president (vote: 6-0 with one absent). Alan Teague was nominated and elected president (vote: 6-0 with one absent). The election was conducted despite staff’s initial suggestion to table due to an absent member; the board chose to proceed.

Appeal of Design Review (Regular Agenda Item 7-B)

• Project: 1245 McKay Avenue – Rehabilitation of a 50,517-square-foot existing building for use as a senior convalescent/wellness center by Alameda Point Collaborative (APC). Staff had approved design review on March 16, 2020; appellant John Healy appealed on March 26, 2020.
• Staff Presentation: Henry Dong presented the three findings for design review: consistency with General Plan and zoning, appropriateness for the site, and visual compatibility. Staff found the appeal raised no substantive architectural arguments and rehashed issues previously decided by the City Council and voters. Staff recommended denial of the appeal.
• Appellant (John Healy): He argued that the process had not followed legal requirements, including historical preservation review and state licensing. He requested equal application of the law and expressed concern about toxic contamination and financial viability.
• Applicant (Doug Biggs, APC): Responded that the design review was ministerial, the project followed all legal steps, and the appeal was an attempt to delay needed services for unhoused seniors. He emphasized the project preserves the existing building.
• Public Comments: 94 written comments were received; over three-quarters supported the project. Oral comments read into the record included: Rosalind DeFortuna (opposed – cited density, parking, toxic contamination), League of Women Voters (supported), Harvey Rosenthal (opposed – alleged bait-and-switch on housing), Toba Fry (supported), Laura Gamble (supported), and Zach Bulland (supported).
• Board Deliberation: Board members agreed the appeal did not meet the criteria for design review. Member Teague noted a phrasing issue in finding one (about architectural compatibility) and moved to strike that clause. City Attorney confirmed the board’s authority to make the findings and that other issues (hazardous materials, licensing, budget) were outside the scope of design review.
• Vote: Motion to deny the appeal and uphold staff’s design review approval with the removal of the clause “and the proposed physical improvements to the building are architecturally compatible with the building existing architectural style” from finding one. Passed unanimously (6-0, one absent).

Key Outcomes

• Board Elections: Ashish Saheba elected Vice President, Alan Teague elected President for the 2020-2021 term.
• Appeal Denied: The board denied the appeal of the design review for the McKay Avenue wellness center, allowing the project to proceed with the noted correction to the findings.
• Minutes Approved: The draft minutes from February 24, 2020, were approved with a minor correction, with one abstention (member Rothenberg who was not present at that meeting).
• Next Meeting: Scheduled for June 22, 2020, which will be Jeff Cavanaugh’s last meeting. Items include a use permit for commercial COVID-19 response and two use permits for cannabis dispensaries.