Art Center. in April, Economic Development and Housing Staff Continued to Hold Periodic Meetings with Orton Development, Inc
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CALIFORNIA MEMORANDUM DATE: May 13, 2019 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Christine Daniel, City Manager SUBJECT: Progress Report for April 2019 The following provides the Mayor, City Council, staff and the public with a summary of the activities in the City Manager’s office for the month of April 2019. Meetings & Events The City Manager attended City Council meetings: 4/2 and 4/16 The City Manager attended the following City Committee meetings: - ECCL JOA Administrative Committee meeting: 4/2 - Joint Meeting of Public Works & Transportation Committees: 4/11 - Public Safety Committee: 4/11 - Quarterly Meeting with ACFD: 4/15 The City Manager: - accompanied the Mayor to the Alameda County Mayor’s Conference meeting in Union City, CA: 4/10 - attended the Alameda County City Manager’s Association meeting: 4/17 - participated in the EOC Table-Top Exercise for Disaster Preparedness: 4/25 Miscellaneous - The City Manager met with City employees during the Employee Breakfast: 4/10 - The City Manager and admin staff supervisors appreciated City admins on Administrative Professionals Day: 4/24 CITY OF EMERYVILLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DATE: May 1, 2019 TO: Christine Daniel, City Manager FROM: Charles S. Bryant, Community Development Director SUBJECT: PROGRESS REPORT – APRIL 2019 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH As directed by the City Council, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on reconsideration of the Marketplace Parcel B office/laboratory building on April 25 and then continued the matter to May 14. The Planning Commission approved the modification of an existing single unit building at 1291 55th Street into two units. A “scoping session” for the Environmental Impact Report for the Onni Christie Mixed Use Project, which includes a 54-story residential tower and 15-story office tower, was held on April 4 and was attended by approximately 14 members of the public. Staff attended a community meeting on the MacArthur Maze Vertical Clearance Project at the Emeryville Center of Community Life on April 10, at which Caltrans staff announced that the project has been put on “pause” to allow for further environmental evaluation. Pursuant to a recent FCC Ruling, the Community Development Director has adopted aesthetic standards for wireless telecommunications facilities, effective April 15. A certificate of occupancy was issued on April 30 for the EmeryStation West/Transit Center development, finally bringing this decades-long project to the “finish line”. Staff attended the grand opening ceremony for Decathlon Sports’ first full-scale store in the United States, in the East BayBridge shopping center, on April 9. Alameda County Transportation Commission staff held an open house on the San Pablo Avenue Corridor Study on April 24 at ECCL and presented three options for design of the corridor. Planning Commissioners and staff attended the American Planning Association National Planning Conference in San Francisco on April 13-16. Staff led three “mobile workshops”, including tours of Emeryville, a modular housing factory in Vallejo, and cannabis manufacturers in Emeryville, Oakland, and Berkeley. April 2019 Progress Report • Community Development Department | 1 MEETINGS AND CONTACTS Below are listed substantive meetings and other contacts that staff has had during the month of April with individuals and organizations from outside the City of Emeryville. (To jump to the full write-up, click on the title of any item below; to return, press Alt + ) Art Center. In April, Economic Development and Housing staff continued to hold periodic meetings with Orton Development, Inc. to discuss terms of a Lease Disposition and Development Agreement, as well as to facilitate ODI’s due diligence by providing access to the project site. Business Outreach. Staff corresponded with businesses interested in locating in Emeryville, brokers regarding available properties, and various new and existing businesses. Housing Developers. Staff spoke to one housing developer. Building Division Pre-Submittal Meetings. During the month of April, the Building Division held numerous pre-submittal meetings with building permit applicants, as listed below in the Building Division section. JBEI/ABPDU Tour. On April 8, Economic Development and Housing staff toured the facilities of the Joint Bio Energy Institute and Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit in the EmeryStation development. Sherwin Williams. Planning and Public Works staff held their regular semi-monthly meeting on April 9 with the Lennar team to discuss issues related to the Sherwin Williams project. Onni Christie Mixed Use Project. On April 12, staff held a conference call with the applicant and consultants concerning environmental remediation studies for the site. Day on the Bay 2019. On April 17, Economic Development and Housing staff participated in a kickoff planning meeting with Community Services staff and the operator of the Emeryville Marina to discuss the third annual Day on the Bay community event. Marketplace Redevelopment Project, Parcel B. On April 17, staff met with Wareham Development representatives to discuss their appeal of the project. April 2019 Progress Report • Community Development Department | 2 CITY COUNCIL, PLANNING COMMISSION, AND COMMITTEES CITY COUNCIL April 2 Proclamation Honoring Catherine Firpo. The Mayor presented Housing Coordinator Catherine Firpo with a proclamation upon her retirement, honoring her eight years of continuous and outstanding service to the City of Emeryville. Catherine administered all of the City’s affordable housing programs as well as the City’s homelessness strategy. Her first day of retirement was April 2, 2019 and she will be missed. Emery Go-Round. The Council approved a letter of support to the Oakland City Planning Commission for the Emery Go-Round’s application for a shuttle yard under the MacArthur Maze along Mandela Parkway. [The Oakland City Planning Commission unanimously approved the conditional use permit on April 3.] April 16 1400 65th Street Noise Waiver. The City Council approved a request for a noise waiver at the EmeryTech building on 65th Street for a Saturday crane lift to replace 18 air conditioning units on the roof on any single Saturday from April 27 to May 18. The Council had previously considered this request on March 19, but continued the item because the applicant advised that the requested date for the noise waiver had changed. Development Impact Fees. The Council approved the annual increase in the Development Impact Fees, which includes the Transportation Facility Impact Fee, the Parks and Recreation Facility Impact Fee, and the Affordable Housing Impact Fee. The increase is based on the annual increase in the Construction Cost Index for San Francisco as published by Engineering News Record. This year’s increase was only 0.28%. It will take effect on July 1, and will be effective for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which runs through June 30, 2020. Sherwin Williams Project. The Council approved a Parking and Construction License for the Sherwin Williams Mixed Use Project. This will allow the Sherwin Williams developer to use the adjacent City owned parcel for construction worker parking and other construction activities. PLANNING COMMISSION The Planning Commission considered the following items at its April 25 meeting: Duplex Conversion. The Commission unanimously approved a Conditional Use Permit and Design Review application to modify an existing single unit building at 1291 55th Street into two units with six Commissioners voting in favor and one Commissioner absent. Reconsideration of Marketplace Redevelopment Project, “Parcel B”. As directed by the City Council, the Commission held a public hearing on reconsideration of a new Final Development Plan (FDP) for “Parcel B” of the Marketplace Redevelopment Project Planned Unit Development (PUD04-12) and rescinding of Final Development Plan FDP15-001 that was approved by the Planning Commission on June 23, 2016. The previously approved FDP included 26,000 square April 2019 Progress Report • Community Development Department | 3 feet of retail space and 300 parking spaces. The proposed FDP includes 14,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office/lab space, and 565 parking spaces. The new project was previously approved by the Planning Commission on January 24, 2019, appealed to City Council on February 8, 2019 by Wareham Development, and remanded to the Planning Commission by the City Council on March 19, 2019. After closing the public hearing, the Commission continued the item to May 14, 2019, to allow staff to review a comment letter submitted by Wareham Development two hours prior to the hearing, and to make modifications to the resolution. Capital Improvement Program. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65403(c), the Commission unanimously found that the proposed Five-Year Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2019-20 through 2023-24 is consistent with the Emeryville General Plan. Discussion of American Planning Association National Planning Conference. Commissioners discussed sessions they had attended at the APA National Planning Conference held in San Francisco on April 13-16, and agreed that it was a worthwhile event. BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY SUBCOMMITTEE The BPAC met on April 1 and discussed organization for a pedestrian tour of the Public Market area, Christie Avenue, and Powell Street leading to Frontage Road scheduled for Saturday, May 4 from 10 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. The Committee also discussed the height of bike racks