Matthew D. Francois
Direct Dial: (650) 798-5669
E-mail: [email protected]
April 4, 2022
Rut an & Tuc k er , LLP | 4 55 Mar k et St r eet , Sui t e 187 0 San Fr anc i s c o, CA 9410 5 | 650 - 2 63 - 7 900 | F a x 6 50 - 26 3- 790 1 Or ange C ount y | P al o Al t o | S an Fr a nc i s c o | www. r ut an. c om 2696/028208-0002
17691151.2 a04/04/22
VIA E-MAIL [[email protected]]
Honorable John Bauters, Mayor
and Members of the City Council
City of Emeryville
1333 Park Avenue
Emeryville, CA 94608
Re: Study Session-Marketplace Redevelopment Project Parcels A, B and F; April 5, 2022 Special Study Session, Agenda Item No. 6.1 Dear Mayor Bauters and Members of the City Council:
We write on behalf of our client, Wareham Development, in regard to the above-referenced development project. For over 15 years, Wareham has been actively engaged to ensure that the Marketplace project is developed in accordance with the enhanced design aesthetic and mixed-use vision reflected in the Marketplace Preliminary Development Plan (“PDP”). Because the latest proposal is fundamentally at odds with both of these key principles, Wareham feels compelled to again comment on development plans for the site.
Since its inception, one of the key aspects of the Marketplace project was to connect east and west Emeryville. The project was to serve as a physical, visual, and psychological link between the Emeryville Public Market and the Amtrak Station and Emery Station campus. In this regard, it would also serve to promote pedestrian, bicycle, and transit use throughout the City.
Contrary to this key connectivity goal, the proposed development builds walls, not bridges, between east and west Emeryville.
What was approved as a 470 foot long building on Parcel B has turned into three buildings totaling 830 feet in length. While there are two small “gun slits” for mandatory fire access, the length and volume of the buildings remains massive. The PDP specifically discourages such placement of walls or box-like forms along the railroad tracks. The project ignores this key aesthetic requirement.
Additionally, the PDP envisioned a pedestrian bridge from the Amtrak station landing into a pedestrian plaza on the Marketplace site. Under the proposal, the pedestrian bridge would instead land in the middle of a 7-story parking garage. The creativity and thoughtfulness rightfully demanded by the PDP are entirely lacking in this proposal. These three parcels are the last Marketplace parcels to develop. They should reflect the City’s long-term vision and legacy.
Attachment 2
Honorable John Bauters, Mayor
and Members of the City Council
April 4, 2022
2696/028208-0002
17691151.2 a04/04/22
Another major concern is with respect to the proposal’s impact to the City’s jobs-housing balance. The approved PDP designated Parcel A for more than 200 units of housing. The proposal eliminates all housing on Parcel A, replacing it with an 883-space garage. Eliminating all housing on Parcel A conflicts with the City’s Housing Element, designating the site as a housing opportunity site for more than 200 housing units. It also violates the State Housing Crisis Act and related laws that prohibit a local agency from eliminating housing from or downzoning sites where housing is an allowable use. (Gov. Code § 66300, see also Gov. Code § 65863 [prohibits an agency from reducing the residential density of a parcel identified for housing in its housing element where such action would be inconsistent with its adopted general plan and housing element, as is the case here].)
Contrary to the Development Agreement’s requirement that 18 affordable housing units be developed on Parcel A and dispersed with the market rate units, the proposal is to force all of these units onto Parcel F or not build them at all and instead pay a fee. While the payment of a fee may be tempting, it is important to keep in mind that it would not be enough to produce the 167 housing units authorized by the latest Final Development Plan for Parcel A. Moreover, payment of the fee will not and cannot rectify the proposal’s inherent conflict with state housing laws.
Adding to the jobs-housing imbalance, the commercial development approved on Parcel B has ballooned in the current proposal by over 200 percent to approximately 400,000 square feet.
This is the size of nearly three big box stores all placed on top of one another. The significant increase in commercial space and the associated impacts to, among others, transportation, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, wind, and shadow, were not studied in the 15-year old environmental impact report (“EIR”). An entirely new EIR would be needed to fully examine the impacts of the proposal as well as a reasonable range of alternatives. The City would likely need to make findings that there are no feasible mitigation measures or alternatives for significant environmental impacts and adopt a statement of overriding considerations detailing the project benefits that outweigh such impacts.
Because the proposal necessitates major amendments to the PDP and Development Agreement, all rules concerning the Marketplace development are appropriately up for discussion.
The permitted uses, densities, heights, parking ratios, amenities, and public benefits are all topics that the City Council can and should thoroughly consider and assess. The City should require the proposal to provide housing, including affordable housing above that required by the City’s inclusionary housing ordinance. Further, instead of being parked to antiquated standards, the City should impose the Transit Hub overlay standards on the proposal. The important thing is that the issues to be considered are much larger than just affordable housing and uses of Parcel F.
Honorable John Bauters, Mayor
and Members of the City Council
April 4, 2022
2696/028208-0002
17691151.2 a04/04/22
Thank you for your consideration of Wareham’s views on these important matters.
Wareham looks forward to working with the City and the applicant to achieve the City’s vision for the Emeryville Marketplace. Representatives of Wareham will be in attendance at your April 5, 2022 study session on this matter. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me, Rich Robbins, or Geoff Sears with any questions regarding this correspondence.
Very truly yours,
RUTAN & TUCKER, LLP
Matthew D. Francois
cc: Rich Robbins, via email
Geoff Sears, via email
John Gooding, via email
John Kennedy, via email
Christine Daniel, via email
Charles Bryant, via email
Sheri Hartz, via email