HAB and Planning Board to workshop and consider Objective Design Review Standards

 Tonight (4/6) HAB's meeting includes a public workshop for objective design review standards: Agenda Item 7-C, 2023-2957  These standards are also on the 4/10 Planning Board agenda.

Uniform objective standards are a useful way to streamline the consideration of applications.   It looks like the only written comments on the item are from the Alameda Architectural Preservation Society (AAPS).  I'm excited to see how these standards are considered/implemented. 

Update re: April 3, 2023 OGC

 On April 3, 2023, the Open Government Commission met with three new commissioners.  The Commission adopted a New Chair and Vice Chair.  

The Commissioners are now:

So it seems I simply missed the appointments of Klinton Miyao and Chris Miley, and only caught the appointment of Brenden Sullivan.

On April 3, the Commission voted Serena Chen to be Chair and Chris Miley to be Vice Chair this year.  

Brief thoughts on the March 21, 2023 City Council Meeting

Meeting details are here.  

Items of note to me:

1)  Councilmember Herrera Spencer has appointed a new member to the Open Government Commission after her prior appointment resigned.  Per the City's Open Government Commission page, as of March 21, 2023, most terms had already expired in December.  

I am curious to know when the other Councilmembers will appoint their OGC members, as the next OGC meeting is set for April 3, 2023, and the commission's membership can make or break its effectiveness as a semi-independent watchdog.

2)  In Item 7A, Alameda Police Dept., through Chief Joshi, is asking Council to approve a significant supposedly temporary increase in the hiring incentive for new police officers.  It would be $75,000:  "$25,000 paid upon being sworn in with proof of graduation from an accredited California POST academy," or an equivalent, and "$50,000 paid upon completion of the Field Training Program."  If the hire leaves before 5 years, the $50,000 is to be paid back in $10,000 increments.  The staff report states that this would be paid out of budgeted for vacant positions. Notably, this incentive is $35,000 more than the highest amount of incentives included in the the staff report ($40,000).  There's not really any clear explanation in the staff report why the numbers that were chosen were selected, given the discrepancy.  Our current (and apparently  unpersuasive) incentive is $30,000.   I call this a supposedly-temporary increase because it would remain in place until the City has 88 sworn officers - but the City has had a deficient in sworn officers since at least 2009 - so it seems unlikely the City would be able to reach the full authorized number of officers.

Another way of looking at this item is Transform Alameda's position, via Twitter

3)  In Item 7B, Council will consider improvements to Clement Avenue and Tilden Way - the first intersection in Alameda after the Fruitvale bridge.  As someone who lives east of Broadway and south of Tilden, and who has tried to walk to Nob Hill for groceries, I can confidently say that almost anything would be better than the current configuration.  I've tried taking Broadway, but it gets hairy at the Broadway Tilden intersection.  I've tried taking Versailles to Fernside, but the intersection of Tilden with Clement/Fernside is also horrible on foot.  The infrastructure is not friendly to peds, bikes, or cars.  The cars trying to cross Fernside to get to the bridge from Pearl, for example, currently must navigate the slip-late right turn from Tilden to Fernside, the cars coming straight from Clement to Fernside, and/or cars turning left from Fruitvale/Tilden onto Fernside.   

I know there's some folks who are just not happy with the idea of a roundabout, but I think it can be an effective calming device that reduces overall conflicts between users.

See also Bikewalk Alameda's position  via Mastodon.

First Hybrid City Council Meeting: March 7

 Tonight is the City's first hybrid City Council meeting.   Hyperlinked version of the agenda here.

I watched some of the hybrid Planning Board meeting last week via the local access channel (Channel 15 on our cable box).  There were a few hiccups with the technology.  In particular, the screen-sharing for the broadcast went haywire at one point, so the audio continued but the entire broadcast was black - but this was only for a few moments.  I don't know how it looked on the zoom, since I don't normally join via zoom unless I want to speak up - and then I'll just call in on my phone.  

There were no non-staff members in the audience by the end of that meeting - although a few folks showed up to speak in person for the Park St. hotel item.  It seems like the convenience of viewing and commenting remotely outweighed the communal experience that many claim they miss.  

I wonder how many folks will make it back to chambers tonight, as opposed to simply calling in.   

First Hybrid Meeting with 2-27-23 Planning Board

 The Planning Board is having its first hybrid meeting tonight!  My understanding is that the Board itself is supposed to be in chambers (with limited exception) but that the public can participate in person or via zoom.  Staff from the City Clerk's Office will coordinate the power point presentations and such, and Planning Staff will have to coordinate some of the moving parts as well.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially as to public comments.

Here's a link to the non-pdf list of agenda items.   I see the objective design criteria are on the agenda - which will be an important factor for City decisionmaking moving forward.  When a City's review of an action is merely to determine whether objective criteria are satisfied, then the type of decision that is made generally is considered ministerial instead of discretionary - and thus, the decision is likely not be subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and similar laws that apply to discretionary project approvals.

Feb. 7 City Council Agenda: Central Ave Project

 I'm excited to see that tonight's City Council Agenda includes, as consent calendar Item 5e, an item authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with Caltrans to complete the Central Ave. Safety Improvement Project. 

I've been feeling a bit like Gloria Stuart in Titanic for this Central Ave. project, and I wasn't even around for a lot of it.  Per the 2016 staff report  the "concept is the culmination of an extensive community based planning process that began in 1991 with the City’s General Plan . . ."  

The more recent history of the Central Ave. Safety Improvement Project includes a 2013 grant from Caltrans to develop a concept proposal, a 2014 community engagement process with workshops, May 2015 and November 2015 transportation commission meetings, December 2015 Commission on Disability Issues meeting (now known as the Commission on Persons with Disabilities), three surveys on the public works dept's open forum page, plus stakeholder meetings with local schools, businesses, AC Transit, Bike Walk Alameda, etc.  In 2016, the City Council approved a concept for Central Ave that didn't deal with the Webster Street intersection.  And in 2017 and 2018 the City continued moving forward with the project scoping, planning, and development with Caltrans, and in 2021 the Council approved the final concept for the Project.

After all this time, even the idea of approving a contract to complete this Project is very exciting.  

January 3, 2023: City Council Agenda

Jan. 3 will be the first City Council meeting for 2023.  The pdf of the posted agenda is available here, and and the 16 meeting items are also viewable in a different format here.

I'd note that one of the agenda items is for the name for the new Alameda Marina Park.  The staff report goes into details about how one of two potential names was raised at the end of, and not in compliance with, the public process for submitting and soliciting new names.  In addition (and perhaps because the submission was at the eleventh hour) the name as submitted to Council is spelled wrong (Svendson Maritime Park  instead of Svendsen).

It will be interesting to see how the newly formed council will run through the meeting.