CITY OF ALAMEDA PLANNING BOARD Draft RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF ALAMEDA APPROVING DESIGN REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN AMENDMENT APPLICATION PLN13-0157 TO CONSTRUCT ELEVEN BUILDINGS ON A 24 ACRE SITE BETWEEN FIFTH STREET, STARGELL AVENUE, MITCHELL AVENUE AND MARINERSQUARE LOOP AND COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE ALAMEDA LANDING RETAIL PROJECT. WHEREAS, an application was made by Catellus Development Group, for a Development Plan Amendment and Design Review approval for eleven buildings at the Alameda Landing Retail Center; and WHEREAS, the subject property is designated Specified Mixed Use on the General Plan Diagram; and WHEREAS, the subject property is located in a MX (Mixed Use - Planned Development) Zoning District; and WHEREAS, on December 5, 2006 the City certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Landing Mixed Use Development Project (a Supplement to the 2000 Final Environmental Impact Report for the Catellus Mixed Use Development Project), and adopted the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; and WHEREAS, the proposed project is consistent with the Bayport-Alameda Landing Project Master Plan (the Master Plan ) as approved by the City Council on January 2, 2007; and WHEREAS, the Planning Board adopted the Transportation Demand Management Program and Development Plan for Fifth Street and Mitchell Mosley Avenue on May 14, 2007; and WHEREAS, the Planning Board adopted the Alameda Landing Site-Wide Master Landscape Development Plan Amendment and Waterfront Promenade Development Plan on May 29, 2007; and WHEREAS, the Planning Board approved the landscape and site improvements for Fifth Street and Mitchell Avenue Extensions on July 23, 2007; and WHEREAS, the Planning Board approved the Third Addendum to the Supplemental EIR and the amended Development Plan and Street Plans for the Alameda Landing Retail Center on January 9, 2012; and Planning Board Meeting Page 1 of 5
WHEREAS, on February 27, 2012, the Planning Board held a public hearing and approved the Design Review application for the Alameda Landing Retail Center Landscape and Open Space Plan, Building K Design Review, and Building K Sign Program; and WHEREAS, on June 10, 2013, the Planning Board held a public hearing on the Development Plan Amendment and Design Review application for eleven buildings at the Alameda Landing Retail Center and has examined pertinent maps, drawings, and documents; and WHEREAS, pursuant to AMC Section 30-37.5 and the Alameda Landing Mixed Use Commercial Project Development Agreement, the Planning Board on June 10, 2013, made the following findings relative to Development Plan Amendment and Design Review Application PLN13-0157; Development Plan Amendment Findings: 1. The development is an effective use of the site. The amended Development Plan continues to provide for a retail center, associated parking and pedestrian, transit and bicycle facilities designed to provide a vital commercial center that is pedestrian, bicycle and transit-friendly. The Development Plan utilizes street extensions, landscaping, building placement and orientation, and parking placement to create an effective and successful commercial center that can be marketed and developed expeditiously, that can create a compatible interface with the adjacent properties and uses, and provide strategies for the conservation of non, renewable energy and sustainable design 2. The proposed use relates favorably to the General Plan. The proposed development supports General Plan policies for the redevelopment and reuse of the former Naval Air Station and Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC) facilities, General Plan policies to increase job opportunities and retail opportunities in Alameda, and General Plan policies to extend public streets, bicycle lanes, transit lanes and pedestrian access through the area. 3. The proposed use, if it complies with all conditions upon which approval is made contingent, will not adversely affect other property in the vicinity and will not have substantial deleterious effects on existing business districts or the local economy. The Development Plan Amendment is designed to be compatible with the adjacent residential and institutional uses by providing attractive public improvements, ample pedestrian, transit, and bicycle facilities, and placing parking and garbage facilities at the rear of the buildings where they will be screened from adjacent properties. The Urban Decay Analysis completed for this project and included in the EIR Addendum shows that the project will not have substantial deleterious effects on existing business districts or the local economy. Planning Board Meeting Page 2 of 5
Alameda residents are currently traveling off-island for many of their shopping needs and this retail center will provide on-island shopping opportunities that do not currently exist on-island. 4. The location of the proposed use is compatible with other land uses in the general neighborhood area, and the project design and size is architecturally, aesthetically, and operationally harmonious with the community and surrounding development. The project site plan is designed to conform to the Alameda Landing Master Plan standards and requirements adopted to ensure that the project would be compatible with adjacent College of Alameda, Bayport residential neighborhood, future development of the former Alameda Naval Air Station and Coast Guard Housing site, and existing and future waterfront uses. The Development Plan Amendment will provide for adequate landscaping including native plans as required by the Site Wide Landscape Development Plan and take maximum advantage of the screening capabilities of landscaping. 5. The proposed use will be served by adequate transportation and service facilities including pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities. The Development Plan is designed in a manner compatible with existing and potential contiguous uses. The street network, location of driveways, orientation of retail frontage to Fifth Street, and the location of bicycle facilities, pedestrian facilities, and transit facilities are all designed to complement and support the planned surrounding uses. Design Review Findings: 1. The project will have no significant adverse effects on the persons or property in the vicinity. The landscape and architectural design provides for visually interesting and varied facades and public spaces that are accented with multiple changes in materials and colors to differentiate public spaces, provide for a pleasant pedestrian experience, and create a visually appealing district. Visually appealing vertical elements and materials are used to accent the building, provide for compatibility between the building and future buildings in the vicinity of the project. 2. The project will be compatible and harmonious with the design and use of surrounding area. The project design is appropriate for the site because it is consistent with the Alameda Landing Master Plan and Site-Wide Master Landscape Development Plan and compatible with adjacent planned buildings in scale and character. The proposed design utilizes a number of strategies to create an integrated architectural and landscape design that will result in ten buildings that are compatible with their surroundings, visually interesting, pleasant for shoppers and pedestrians, and adequate to meet the needs of retailers. Each elevation of the buildings is designed as a composite of smaller elements to create a visual relationship with the smaller buildings on and adjacent to, the site and provide some visual interest and rhythm to Planning Board Meeting Page 3 of 5
the wall surfaces. Materials with different textures, surfaces, and colors are used to distinguish the repeating elements on the building elevations and create a more interesting façade. The palette of materials and colors that will be supplemented with additional compatible colors and materials to be used on the adjacent residential buildings to ensure that all the new buildings, in combination with a unifying landscape plan and well-designed street system, create a visually appealing new district. The project is consistent with the City of Alameda's Commercial Design Review Guidelines. As conditioned, the project will be consistent with the commercial design guidelines for the project as outlined in the Alameda Landing Master Plan. The architectural design and exterior materials and colors provide for visually interesting and varied facades that are accented with multiple changes in materials and colors to differentiate portions of the building. Visually appealing vertical elements are used to accent the buildings and reinforce the relationship between the building, the landscape, and the surrounding developments. The designs provide for high level architectural design with clean, modern, utilitarian and expressive forms and materials. The designs include bold, simple forms that express an individual identity while maintaining a sense of overall unity with surrounding buildings and landscape. Openings for windows will be recessed into the wall surface in order to express the difference in materials. High quality, durable materials which enhance the building and convey a sense of permanence. The colors are harmonious and the color schemes are simple, using the minimum number of colors necessary to achieve the desired appearance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Planning Board finds that the proposed project implements the Master Plan evaluated in the Environmental Impact Report for the Alameda Landing Mixed Use Development Project (a Supplement to the 2000 Final Environmental Impact Report for the Catellus Mixed-Use Development Project) in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (State Clearinghouse #2006012091) and the proposed Design Review approval will not result in any new or substantially more severe environmental impacts than identified in the SEIR and Addenda thereto. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Planning Board approves Development Plan Amendment and Design Review Application PLN13-0157 (Attachment A), subject to the following conditions, and readopts by reference the CEQA findings, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) and statement of overriding considerations previously approved by City Council Resolution No. 14048 dated December, 2007: 1. Approved Plans: The plans submitted for the Building Permit shall be in substantial compliance with Exhibit A: Alameda Landing Retail Center Design Review Plans prepared by MCG Architecture and dated May 30, 2013, which are on file in the office of the City of Alameda Planning Division, subject to the conditions specified in this resolution. Planning Board Meeting Page 4 of 5
2. Additional Revisions. The applicant shall revise the elevations for buildings B, C, J, H, and I for Planning Board review and approval at a subsequent Planning Board meeting. 3. Bicycle Parking The Building Permit Plans shall show the location of all of the propose bicycle parking areas and that those areas be located adjacent to the main entry areas to the building. 4. Window Insets The Building Permit Plans shall show window details to ensure that windows are recessed at least 2 inches to create shadow lines. 5. Landscape and Open Space Plan The applicant shall comply with all conditions related to site and landscape improvements included in Planning Board Resolution PB12-01. The site Improvement Plans shall include the following modifications: a. Tree plantings and seating locations shall be coordinated to ensure that shade is provided for seating areas. b. The tree placement and landscaping within the Stargell Entry Plaza at 5 th Street shall be modified as necessary to provide a buffer for pedestrians in the plaza from passing cars. c. Consideration should be given to including a fountain with falling water in the Stargell Entry Plaza to create background noise and buffer automobile noise. d. The landscape plan will include a full variety of plantings shown on the February 27,, 2012 submittal 6. Amendments: Minor project design details requested by the applicant may be established, modified, and approved by the Director of Community Development or their designee provided that the findings can be made that the proposed changes to the building are consistent in character and quality to the design review plans approved by the Planning Board and attached as Attachment A to this resolution. 7. Vesting: The Design Review approval shall terminate two years from June 10, 2013, unless actual grading, construction under valid permit has commenced, or the developer applies for and is granted a one time twenty four month extension prior to the expiration of the Design Review. The decision of the Planning Board shall be final unless appealed to the City Council, in writing and within ten (10) days of the decision, by filing with the Planning and Building Department a written notice of appeal stating the basis of appeal and paying the required fees. Planning Board Meeting Page 5 of 5