Excerpt:

BACKGROUND

The City of Alameda is preparing a comprehensive zoning ordinance amendment, General Plan amendment, Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP), Town Center and Waterfront Precise Plan, and an environmental impact report (EIR) for Alameda Point for City Council consideration in early 2014. These project approvals are intended to facilitate near-term construction at Alameda Point.

The MIP presents a plan for new backbone infrastructure systems at Alameda Point, including new streets, flood and sea-level rise protection, shoreline stabilization, geotechnical mitigations, and wet and dry utilities, for the proposed project contained in the Naval Air Station Alameda Community Reuse Plan, consisting of 1,425 units and 5.5 million square feet of commercial space. The replacement of aging infrastructure with new infrastructure systems is one of the single most important requirements for supporting new development at Alameda Point. The MIP will guide infrastructure development at Alameda Point over the next 25 to 30 years and is intended to be flexible and responsive to different disposition and development scenarios. The draft MIP establishes the requirements and standards for the infrastructure to support the redevelopment and reuse of Alameda Point.

The draft MIP was presented to the Planning Board on August 21, 2013, and the City Council on September 17, 2013. Based on the feedback provided from the Planning Board, City Council and community members at these meetings, City staff revised the MIP (Exhibit 1). The revised draft MIP was presented to the Planning Board on November 13, 2013, and the comments from the November 13th Planning Board meeting will be presented verbally to the City Council this evening. In addition, this evening, City staff is seeking comments on the revised MIP from the City Council and Alameda community.

The draft MIP's proposed strategy for protection of Alameda Point from sea-level rise was discussed and commented on at these meetings. Additionally, City staff gave a presentation on the sea-level rise strategy for Alameda Point at a public forum held by the League of Women Voters attended by approximately 60 people (Exhibit 2). Staff provided this same presentation to the Planning Board on November 13th and will be providing it again this evening for the City Council.