Title
Staff Report for Work Session on Bay Fair Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Specific Plan - Draft Street Design and Development Scenario Concepts
Staffreport
SUMMARY
This report is for information only and no action is required. Staff seeks City Council feedback on the following topics and issues for the Bay Fair TOD Specific Plan: 1) draft visioning/desired outcomes, 2) preliminary street design and public realm, 3) preliminary development scenarios, and 4) potential policy topics to be addressed in the Bay Fair TOD Specific Plan.
The topics above, particularly Items 2 & 3, are meant to be conceptual and stimulate additional public input at this early planning stage. In the coming months, staff will continue to seek input from local stakeholders (such as nearby residents, businesses and property owners), the general public, the Planning Commission and the City Council to assist in the revising and/or refinement of these concepts and issues.
The study includes the Bay Fair BART station, Bayfair Center, Fairmont Square and Fashion Faire Place. A Plan Area Map is included as Attachment 1.
BACKGROUND
The City Council ratified the 21-member Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the Plan in February 2016 after a comprehensive application process. Four of the 21 members are residents from adjacent unincorporated Alameda County.
The City also created a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC consists of 10 members who provide more detailed and expert analysis from the varied public and private stakeholder perspectives. In addition to the City and Madison Marquette (owner of Bayfair Center), the TAC includes representatives from BART, Alameda County Planning Division & Flood Control District, AC Transit, Alameda County Transportation Commission, Association of Bay Area Governments/MTC and Caltrans. Both the CAC and TAC are required components of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission planning grant.
The CAC and TAC have each conducted two meetings since late February 2016. At their first meetings, both committees reviewed the Draft Existing Conditions Report <http://www.sanleandro.org/depts/cd/bftod/cac/default.asp> for the Plan area prepared by Raimi + Associates and staff. The Draft Report includes existing data on demographics, current long-range plans/studies and policies affecting the Plan area, zoning designations, land uses, street/circulation network as well as a market analysis, urban design analysis, and an affordable housing/anti-displacement strategy).
At their meetings, the CAC and TAC reviewed existing conditions data and the visioning/desired outcomes, draft street design & public realm, draft development scenarios, and policy options. Notable comments from these meetings are summarized in Attachment 2.
Analysis
Below are the four topics for review and discussion. In reviewing the scenarios and issues, staff would like to hear feedback on the three following questions:
• What do you like?
• What would you change?
• What is missing?
I. Draft Visioning/Desired Outcomes
• More Parks and Open Space. Increase the amount of parks, green space, plazas, and other public space that encourages pedestrian activity, recreation, and access to nature.
• Green Infrastructure. Improve and maintain basic infrastructure such as storm water management, flood control, water, sewer, and gas connections as needed.
• More Walkable Environment. Improve the pedestrian experience, public space, aesthetics, and design quality throughout the plan area making it a memorable place that attracts visitors, serves residents and promotes walking as the first choice in transportation.
• Better Mobility and Connectivity. Improve pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and vehicle connections in the plan area through the creation of an interconnected street grid, with a particular focus on better pedestrian connections between BART and the adjacent shopping areas.
• Compatibility with Adjacent Neighborhoods. Ensure compatibility with the residential neighborhoods that are adjacent to the planning area - including those within unincorporated Alameda County as well as the City of San Leandro - and encourage sensitive design transitions, public amenities, and uses and services within the Plan Area that benefit surrounding neighborhoods.
• Diversity of Uses: Retail, Housing, Workplaces, and Community Spaces. Support a diverse mix of uses within the plan area including retail, housing, workplaces, and community spaces. Encourage varied essential goods and services such as grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, laundromats, social service organizations and community spaces, restaurants, and diverse large and small retail or office businesses.
• Diverse and Affordable Housing. Support housing and affordable housing in and around the plan area - including deed-restricted affordable housing, “naturally affordable” market-rate housing, and other market rate housing - and seek to protect existing residents from involuntary displacement.
• Efficient and Shared Parking. Implement parking management solutions that most efficiently use parking resources, potentially through sharing of spaces between uses.
• Improved Safety and Less Crime. Improve safety in and around the Bay Fair plan area through a range of strategies including more “eyes on the street” and increased pedestrian activity, continued and expanded policing, and incorporating principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design in new and existing development.
• BART and Bus Station Improvement. Support and improve the Bay Fair BART station as an integral amenity for the surrounding neighborhoods, the City, the County, and the entire region.
• Zoning Aligned with Community Vision. Ensure consistency between zoning regulations and the community’s vision for land use, mobility, parks and open space, housing, and other issues critical to the development of Bay Fair.
II. Preliminary Street & Public Realm Design Scenarios
a. Fairmont Drive (Attachment A-1)
Option 1 - Buffered Bike Lanes (Attachment A-2)
• Replace third traffic lanes with buffered bike lanes
• Add second row of street trees and landscaping
b. Hesperian Boulevard (Attachment A-3)
Option 1 - Separated Bike Lanes (Attachment A-4)
• Replace third traffic lanes with separated bike lanes
• Add second row of street trees and landscaping
c. East 14th Street (Attachment A-5)
Option 1 - Reconstruct Median (Attachment A-6)
• Replace right turn lane with Class II buffered bike lanes per the County’s Ashland and Cherryland Business District Specific Plan
• Shift median west by seven feet and add row of trees
• On-street parking south of Bayfair Center entrance would be removed
Option 2 - Keep Median (Attachment A-7)
• Replace right turn lane with buffered bike lane
• Integrate sharrow (Class III) bike lane
• Maintain median position and add row of trees
d. Hesperian & East 14th Street Intersection (Attachment A-8)
Option 1- Improved Crossings (Attachment A-9)
• New Landscaped Area at Triangle
• Improved Crossings
• Potential New Development site
Option 2- 150th Connection (Attachment A-10)
• Direct Hesperian traffic to 150th Ave by closing portion of
Hesperian
• Create new plaza along existing office building
• New development site
e. Bayfair Drive & East 14th Street Intersection (Attachment A-11)
Option 1 - Bayfair Drive Connection (Attachment A-12)
• Normalize the Bayfair Drive & East 14th intersection
• Remove dedicated right-turn lane into Bayfair Center
• Convert portion of Plaza Drive and triangle parcel into public park with potential new neighborhood building
• Develop King property fronting a new Bay Fair entry plaza
Option 2 - Plaza Drive Connection (Attachment A-13)
• Normalize the Plaza Drive & East 14th intersection
• Remove dedicated right-turn lane into Bay Fair Center
• Convert portion of Bayfair Drive and triangle parcel into public plaza with potential new neighborhood building
• Develop King property and portion of Bayfair Center property fronting a new Bayfair entry plaza
III. Preliminary Development Scenarios
a. Bayfair Center
Existing site: 42.1 Acres; 823,116 square feet (SF) retail; 2,290 parking spaces; and 59,711 SF for the movie theater with 635 parking spaces
• Option 1 Improved Connections (Attachment A-14)
Turn existing drives into streets with sidewalks, street trees and bike lanes
• Option 2 Partial Redevelopment + Improved Connections (Attachment A-15)
Make improved connections in Option 1, add 580 housing units (including 5 story mixed use building in Area 2 with 360 units and 5,000 SF retail).
• Option 3 Major Redevelopment (Attachment A-16)
Redevelop a majority of Bayfair Center with 800 to 1,400 new housing units (in 5 to over 7 story buildings), retain 150,000 to 250,000 SF retail, and retain Target & Century Theaters.
• Shared Parking Potential (Attachment A-17)
Look for opportunities to share parking between BART commuters and Bayfair Center current and future uses
b. Fashion Faire Place (Attachment A-18)
Existing site: 6.16 Acres; 95,000 SF retail; 190 parking spaces
• Option 1 (Attachment A-19)
Add 414 housing units and 75,000 SF retail (townhomes and 7 story buildings)
c. Fairmont Square (Attachment A-20)
Existing site: 5.8 Acres; 60,000 SF retail
• Option 1 (Attachment A-21)
Add 360 housing units with 23,000 SF Retail in 5 story mixed buildings (Attachment A-21)
d. BART Station Property (Attachment A-22)
Existing site: 17.7 Acres; 1,665 BART parking spaces
• Option 1 (Attachment A-23)
Add 437 Housing Units, 1,250 BART parking spaces (townhomes and 5 story buildings)
• Option 2 (Attachment A-24)
Add 690 Housing Units, 1,250 BART spaces (townhomes and 7 story buildings)
• Option 3 (Attachment A-25)
Add 853 Housing Units, 1,250 BART spaces (townhomes and 15 story buildings)
IV. Policy Issues to Address in the Plan
• Desired community uses
• Affordable Housing/Anti-Displacement
• Clean Energy + Infrastructure
• Others?
Timeline - A tentative schedule of upcoming events/milestones follows:
• May 19 - Planning Commission Work Session
• May 23 - City Council Work Session
• Summer/Fall 2016 - City-wide Community Workshop #1
• Summer-Winter 2016 - Local stakeholder meetings (e.g., affected homeowners associations, businesses, and property owners)
• Fall/Winter 2016 - CAC/TAC Meeting #3
• Early 2017 - CAC/TAC Meeting #4
• Spring 2017 - Draft Specific Plan/Draft EIR completion
• Spring 2017 - City Council Work Session
• Spring/Summer 2017 - Final Specific Plan/Final EIR
ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment 1- Plan Area Map
• Attachment 2 - Comments from CAC & TAC Meetings
• Attachments A-1 to A-25 - Existing and Preliminary Street Designs & Public Realm and Development Scenarios
PREPARED BY: Tom Liao, Deputy Community Development Director, Community Development Department