Provide Final Comments on the Draft Transportation Demand Management Plan Compliance Strategy for Site A (Jennifer Ott, Alameda Point) , May 27, 2015

Enclosures:
1. Final Development Plan
2. Alameda Point Site A TDM Compliance Strategy Final
3. Alameda Point Site A TDM Compliance Strategy Financial Program
4. Alameda Point TDM Final Report
5. Site A Checklist

Provide Final Comments on the Draft Transportation Demand Management Plan Compliance Strategy for Site A (Jennifer Ott, Alameda Point)
Body

Transportation Commission
May 27, 2015
Item 5A
Action

Provide Final Comments on the Draft Transportation Demand Management Plan Compliance Strategy for Site A

BACKGROUND

On November 18, 2014, the City Council approved an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with Alameda Point Partners (APP), the preferred developer for a 68-acre mixed-use development site at Alameda Point (Site A) consistent with the Waterfront Town Center Plan. The Site A development includes 800 housing units, 600,000 square feet of commercial uses, and 15 acres of parks. The ENA requires that APP complete a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) and a Development Plan for Site A before the end of the 6-month ENA period with two possible 3-month extensions. The first 3-month extension was granted by the City Manager in May extending the ENA until September 1, 2015. The following provides a summary of the community outreach process leading up to tonight's discussion of the Site A transportation strategy:

· On January 20, 2015, the City Council held a public meeting to review the initial development concepts and development terms for Site A.

· On January 26, 2015, the Planning Board held its first public workshop on the APP conceptual Development Plan for Site A.

· On January 29th APP and the City also held a community open house at Building 14 at Alameda Point.

· On February 5, 2015, the Historical Advisory Board reviewed the draft Development Plan.

· On February 12, 2015, the Recreation and Park Commission reviewed the draft Development Plan.

· On February 17, 2015, the City Council reviewed an updated Development Plan, comments from the various boards and commissions and staff's initial responses to those comments.

· On February 23, 2015, the Planning Board reviewed an updated Development Plan.

· On February 25, 2015 at the joint meeting of the Transportation Commission and the Planning Board, the Transportation Commission reviewed the draft Development Plan for the first time and both boards provided initial comments on a transportation strategy for Site A consistent with the recently approved Alameda Point transportation strategy.

· On March 4, 2015, APP and the City held a second open house at Bladium for the community to review updates to the draft Development Plan since the January 29th open house.

· On March 28, 2015, the City and APP held a walking tour of Site A.

· On April 21, 2015, the City Council held a public hearing to review the Development Plan and TDM Compliance Strategy.

· On April 27, 2015, the Planning Board held a public hearing to review the Development Plan, draft conditions of approval, draft Development Agreement, and draft TDM Compliance Strategy. All of the Planning Board's April 27th comments were incorporated into the appropriate documents as requested.

· On May 7, 2015, the HAB reviewed the updated Development Plan. Staff will transmit the HAB comments to the Planning Board verbally on May 11, 2015.

· On May 19, 2015, the City Council held a public hearing to review the financial and fiscal aspects of the Site A development.

DISCUSSION

As required by the Naval Air Station Alameda Community Reuse Plan, General Plan, Alameda Municipal Code and Master Infrastructure Plan for Alameda Point, the Development Plan (Exhibit 1) and DDA for Site A include a robust transportation program to minimize the significant transportation impacts associated with Alameda Point development. The transportation program includes:
· $10 million for construction of a new Ferry Terminal at the Seaplane Lagoon to support expanded ferry services to San Francisco and the region.

· Over $8.5 million to construct complete streets in and around Alameda Point, including key transit improvements, such as dedicated bus lanes on Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway to support expanded transit services from Alameda Point to downtown Oakland and BART.
To further minimize transportation impacts, APP prepared a Site A TDM Compliance Strategy and memorandum explaining the TDM financial program (Exhibits 2 and 3) for the Site A development, which describes how the Site A development will comply with, fund, and implement all of the key aspects of the Alameda Point TDM Plan (Exhibit 4). In certain instances, such as initial transit services, services may be provided at a level greater than proposed in the TDM Plan. The TDM Compliance Strategy is designed to be approved by the City Council as an attachment to the DDA.
Beyond mitigating the potential traffic impacts of Alameda Point development, TDM promotes regional goals that include reducing traffic congestion on the Bay Area's routes of regional significance; reducing the primary source of mobile emissions; improving safety, and thus increasing mobility, for those who bicycle, walk or take public transit; conserving energy; and improving the health of the population by encouraging physically active forms of transportation.

Consistent with the General Plan, the performance objectives of the TDM Plan are to reduce peak hour trips generated from Alameda Point, as projected in the EIR, by 10 percent for new residential development and 30 percent for new commercial development. To achieve these goals, all developers, property owners, residents, and employers at Alameda Point and in the Site A development plan are required to fund, comply with, and collaboratively manage, monitor and continuously improve upon a TDM program that mitigates traffic impacts as well as improves the quality of life for those who live and work at Alameda Point. The primary components of the TDM Plan include:
· Transit Services: The TDM Plan provides subsidies for public transit or privately operated transit services for convenient, frequent, and direct connection to the regional rapid transit systems (AC Transit, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and downtown Oakland.

· Car and Bicycle Share Programs: The TDM Plan includes the provision of a collective system of vehicles and bicycles accessible to employees who use transit and residents who do not have access to a vehicle for business or personal purposes.

· Parking Management Strategy: In concert with the development standards regulating private parking included in the recently approved Alameda Point Zoning District, the Parking Management Strategy in the TDM Plan outlines a plan for the public supply of parking that is designed to utilize public and private parking spaces efficiently and encourage alternate modes of transportation. The careful management of parking supply and pricing can be very effective in influencing parking utilization and use of single occupancy vehicles.

· Support Services: The TDM Plan includes a variety of optional services and incentives that support and encourage the use of programs such as free AC Transit Easy-Passes, carpool matching service, and a guaranteed ride home in the event of emergencies for transit users.

· Transportation Management Association (TMA). The TMA will oversee the ongoing implementation of the TDM Plan, including compliance strategies prepared by individual employers and resident associations, and is funded by special tax revenue generated annually by Alameda Point property owners. The TMA Board of Directors is likely to include some combination of representatives of the following organizations: Alameda Point employers, tenant associations, homeowner associations, and developers; City of Alameda staff; the Transportation Commission, and/or regional transit agencies. In early years before major development has occurred, the services and functions of the TMA may be served by a collaboration of City staff, the first developers, such as APP, transit agencies and key commercial tenants.

· Annual Monitoring and Reporting. The TDM Plan tasks the TMA with annual monitoring and reporting of TDM Plan performance in meeting the established trip reduction goals. The monitoring will result in refinements and modifications to the Plan as development occurs. Monitoring will use a combination of survey instruments; traffic counts; utilization surveys of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities and services; and employee and resident surveys. This approach to monitoring and enforcement results in a system of financial awards and penalties because the length of the cycle and the cost associated with introducing and monitoring new programs is an incentive to implement robust TDM strategies and packages of complementary services from the beginning.

· On-Site Parking. As each phase of the development is submitted to the Planning Board for Design Review approval, those plans will be reviewed by staff and the Planning Board for consistency with the Town Center Plan parking regulations.

The Development Plan identifies the location and amount of additional public parking that will be provided within Site A consistent with the Alameda Point TDM Plan and with the needs for on-street and shared parking to support the public and private uses proposed in the Site A development. As depicted on Page 31 of the Development Plan, approximately 375 public on street parking spaces and 294 public surface parking lot spaces will be provided in the initial development phases. As the demand for public parking increases, the surface parking lots are designed to be expanded into parking structures.

City staff requests that at this evening's meeting the Transportation Commission provide final comments on the Site A TDM Compliance Strategy so they can be transmitted and/or addressed before recommending approval to the City Council.

BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS/FISCAL IMPACTS

There is no financial impact to the City's General Fund budget from the action recommended in this report. The Financial Program Memorandum describing the budget and funding strategy for Site A's TDM Compliance Strategy is provided herein as Exhibit 3.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

On February 4, 2014, the City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point FEIR in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The FEIR evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point consistent with the Alameda Point Waterfront and Town Center Plan, which included Site A. Consistent with the February 2014 action, the approvals will require that the project proponent comply with, and implement, all the relevant mitigations measures adopted by the City Council in February 2014.

Under Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines, where a project is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, a community plan, or a general plan for which an EIR was certified, additional environmental review is not required. The density and land uses of the proposed Site A development are consistent with the Town Center Plan and Alameda Point Zoning District. As documented in the environmental compliance checklist (Exhibit 5), Site A would not result in significant impacts that: (1) are peculiar to the project or project site; (2) were not already identified as significant effects, cumulative effects, or off-site effects in the FEIR; or (3) were previously identified as significant effects, but are determined to be substantially more severe than discussed in the EIR. Thus, the streamlining provision of Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines apply and no further environmental review is necessary.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff requests that the Transportation Commission provide final comments on the Site A TDM Compliance Strategy.

Respectfully submitted by,
Jennifer Ott, Alameda Point

Enclosures:
1. Final Development Plan
2. Alameda Point Site A TDM Compliance Strategy Final
3. Alameda Point Site A TDM Compliance Strategy Financial Program
4. Alameda Point TDM Final Report
5. Site A Checklist