Alameda Planning Board Approves Site A Housing Increase with Commercial Clarity Conditions (July 25, 2022)

The Alameda Planning Board met via Zoom on Monday, July 25, 2022, at 7:00 PM. Four members were present: Board Members Ariza, Curtis, Hom, and Vice Chair Ruiz presiding, constituting a quorum. President Saheba and Board Members Teague and Cisneros were excused. The board welcomed newly appointed Board Member Diana Ariza, who said she has lived in Alameda for about 16 years and works as an architect designing schools. The main item was a public hearing on the Alameda Point Site A Development Plan Amendment and Development Agreement Amendment to increase housing capacity. After initially voting to continue the item, the board reconsidered and approved both resolutions with conditions once the applicant supplied a block-by-block commercial square footage breakdown.

Convening and Roll Call

• Meeting called to order at 7:00 PM; roll call showed four members present and a quorum.
• Agenda change: Item 7-B (Board Elections) was continued to a future meeting because a full board was not present.
• No consent calendar items were listed.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Karen Bay, a public commenter, said Site A is the waterfront town center and that retail is an important community benefit. She asked that the approximately 60,000 square feet of retail shown in the illustrative plan, including 50,000 square feet in Block 11 and 10,000 square feet in Block 10B, be memorialized in the development agreement and phasing plans. She also requested a detailed breakout of commercial square footage by type and phase, since the project was giving up a substantial amount of commercial space.

Discussion Items

• Staff planner Alan Tai, filling in for Andrew Thomas, presented the amendments with Stephanie Hill of Alameda Point Partners and Jessica Murphy of Cypress Equity Investments. The proposal would add about 416 market-rate units and 194 affordable units at Site A to help meet the city's Regional Housing Needs Allocation. This would require reducing commercial square footage, including converting Block 10 from its originally envisioned large retail use to residential with ground-floor commercial.
• Existing development at Site A includes 454 completed residential units and 220 units expected to start construction later in summer 2022. Two parks are complete, including a waterfront park that opened earlier in 2022. On-site affordability is set at 25 percent, which is higher than the citywide 15 percent requirement. Completed affordable projects include Corsair Flats, 60 senior units with set-asides for veterans and formerly homeless residents, and the Starling, 70 affordable family homes with set-asides for formerly homeless families. Aero Apartments provides 200 market-rate rental units.
• Proposed Phase 1B includes Block 10 with 90 affordable homes along West Atlantic with ground-floor commercial, 88 market-rate units behind them, and 20 additional units in Block 1A. Phase 2 would include approximately 400 residential units (about 300 market-rate and 100 affordable), a community-oriented use adjacent to the waterfront park that could be a performing arts center, the second phase of the waterfront park at about 3.5 acres with a kayak launch, and critical infrastructure to support the neighboring West Midway project, which is planned for about 800 units.
• Board Member Curtis asked about coordination and alignment of infrastructure with West Midway. Staff and the applicant said there was no joint tentative map, but design coordination is occurring with city staff and public works, and the disposition and development agreement includes a schedule of performance with mechanisms for the city to step in if infrastructure timing fails.
• Board Member Hom asked where the additional units would be located and how much commercial space would be reduced. The applicant said Phase 2 commercial space would be reduced by approximately 175,000 square feet, and Block 10 retail would be reduced from about 65,000 square feet to about 10,000 square feet. Hom also asked about a public open-space connection, and staff said a public access easement would be addressed at the site plan stage.
• Chair Ruiz and other board members raised concerns that the resolution used up to language and the development plan did not clearly show a block-by-block accounting of commercial and non-residential square footage. They said the development agreement should include a schedule specifying commercial square footage by block to avoid future misunderstandings and repeated amendments.
• The board first voted 4-0 to continue the item for clarification. The applicant then provided block-by-block non-residential figures: Block 9, 10,000 square feet of retail; Block 10B, 10,500 square feet; Block 11, 15,000 square feet; Block 1B, 38,000 square feet of commercial; Block 3, 70,000 square feet; Block 4, 16,500 square feet of retail plus approximately 100,000 square feet of hotel; and a theater of approximately 53,000 square feet in Blocks 12A, 12B, and 13. Board Member Hom described the total as about 303,000 square feet.
• The board voted 4-0 to reconsider the continuation motion, then took up a new motion to approve with conditions.

Key Outcomes

• The Planning Board approved the resolution approving the Site A Development Plan Amendment (PLN22-0172) on a 4-0 vote. Conditions included updating the land use diagram/sheet 11 to reflect the commercial square footage presented, establishing a not less than minimum commercial floor area, and clarifying in the Development Agreement Amendment that the planning and zoning regulations are locked in as of the City Council's 2022 approval rather than the original 2015 agreement.
• The board approved a separate resolution recommending that the City Council approve the First Amendment to the Development Agreement on a 4-0 vote.
• Item 7-B on Board Elections was continued.
• Staff reported that August is summer recess and September will be busy, with HCD comments on the Housing Element update expected, an Active Transportation Plan review, and other projects. A written communication from YIMBY Law to the California Department of Housing and Community Development dated July 8, 2022 was acknowledged.
• Board Member Hom announced the APA California conference on October 1-4, 2022 in Anaheim, with a limited virtual option; Board Member Curtis encouraged new board members to attend planning commissioner training sessions.

No minutes were approved, and no further oral communications were received before adjournment.