Excerpt:

Exhibits:
1. Ferry Terminal Plan
2. Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal Design Plans
3. VerPlank Historical Evaluation of Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal
4. Draft Resolution

BACKGROUND

In June 2015, the City Council approved a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) with the private developer, Alameda Point Partners, LLC (APP), for the Site A Development at Alameda Point, consisting of a 68-acre mixed-use project at the gateway of Alameda Point. Contingent upon the closing for the City’s transfer of land for Phase 1 of the Site A development, APP must pay $10 million towards the costs incurred for permitting, design and construction of the Seaplane Lagoon (SPL) Ferry Terminal and associated parking improvements. The Site A Development Plan, which included mention of a new ferry terminal, was previously reviewed by the Historical Advisory Board (HAB) in early 2015.

On April 5, 2016, the City Council approved the Seaplane Lagoon (SPL) Ferry Terminal Plan (Exhibit 1), adopted a CEQA Addendum and approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) for future ferry service at SPL Ferry Terminal. The ferry terminal includes a new pier, gangway and boarding float which would extend into the Seaplane Lagoon (Exhibit 2), which is part of the locally and National Register-listed Naval Air Station Alameda Historic District (Historic District). The landside improvements are temporary and include roadway and landscape improvements and a 400-space surface parking lot which are outside of the historic district. Together, the waterside and landside improvements comprise the SPL Ferry Terminal Project (Project). Since the City Council action on the SPL Ferry Terminal Plan, the City, APP and their teams of architects and design professionals, have been designing the Project. The work has been informed by a Planning Board Study Session on May 9, 2016 and a Bay Conservation Development Commission Design Review Board meeting on June 6, 2016.

Pursuant to the Historic Preservation Ordinance, the HAB shall approve a Certificate of Approval for alterations and improvements to historic resources. The requirement for a Certificate of Approval stems from the fact that the new pier would extend into Seaplane Lagoon. Additionally, other features of the proposed project are located adjacent to Seaplane Lagoon, and even when they are not located within the boundaries of the Historic District, they are required to receive the same level of review as projects within the boundaries of the Historic District. Staff is recommending that the HAB hold a public hearing and approve a Certificate of Approval for the Project.