STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of July 26, 2022
TO: Members of the City Council
VIA: Dante G. Hall, City Manager
SUBMITTED BY: Tim Rood, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Bayfront Heights Public Outreach
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive a presentation on the results of the outreach process and next steps, ask any questions, and take public comment. This item is for information and discussion only.
FISCAL IMPACT OF RECOMMENDATION:
There are no direct fiscal impacts associated with this item.
BACKGROUND:
Following a presentation from Ledcor, the Bayfront project developer, and discussion by City Council on July 13, 2021, staff was directed to work with Ledcor to conduct public outreach on Ledcor’s alternative development concept for developing Bayfront Blocks A-B-C-D, an area formerly known as “The Bowl” (due to its amphitheater-like topography) and currently referred to as “The Heights.” The project area is regulated by the Waterfront District Master Plan (WDMP). As embodied in the WDMP, the Hercules Bayfront is envisioned as a transit-oriented, traditional neighborhood, mixed-use project anchored by the planned Regional Intermodal Transit Center, which would provide rail, bus, and eventually ferry access. The WDMP was prepared in 1999–2000 and unanimously adopted in July 2000. The WDMP is guided by the principles of “New Urbanism,” “Smart Growth,” and pedestrian-oriented development. Key objectives of the WDMP are to create a fully functional pedestrian- and transit-oriented community, where residents have easy access by foot or bike to ferry, bus, and rail service. The vision contained in the WDMP was the catalyst for the development of the community’s charette-based Regulating Code for the Central Hercules Plan adopted in 2001.
In 2008, the City Council adopted by resolution the Waterfront Now Initiative, a developer-led amendment to the WDMP for the project area known as the Bayfront Project, consisting of a total of 1,392 residential units, 115,000 sq. ft. non-flex office space, 90,000 sq. ft. non-flex retail space, and 84,000 sq. ft. flex space. The Bayfront Project, which was approved by City Council in 2012, included a comprehensive Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), and two Development Agreements.
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The WDMP allows for the full scale of development analyzed in the EIR for the Bayfront Project, which assumed the Bowl Area’s portion of the overall project would include up to:
336 multi-family residential (non-flex) units;
75,000 square feet of office (non-flex) floor area, including adaptive re-use of the Administration Building and the Clubhouse (two historically designated buildings from the Hercules Powder Works); 125-room hotel (or alternatively, an additional 125 non-flex multi-family units); 12,500 square feet of retail (non-flex) space; and
30,000 square feet of flex space.
Ledcor’s conceptual alternative plan is a lower-density and less mixed-use plan that would include:
142 multi-family residential units (2- and 3-story townhouses); and Rehabilitation of the Administration Building as office/co-working space and of the Clubhouse as a community facility.
OUTREACH PROCESS
Staff, Ledcor, and the City’s consultants PlaceWorks collaborated to hold two community meetings: a virtual meeting on June 6, 2022 attended by approximately 48 participants, and an in-person meeting on June 15, 2022 attended by approximately 69 participants. In addition, an online survey was introduced at the workshops and was open through June 29, 2022, during which a total of 109 survey responses were received. The meetings and survey were publicized through mailed notices to Bayfront residents and property owners, flyers, the City Manager’s bi-weekly newsletter, and the City website.
The City’s consultants from PlaceWorks will present a summary of the results of the two community meetings and the online survey. Summaries of the workshop input and the survey responses are attached to this report.
DISCUSSION
Prior to the Council discussion in 2021, staff had determined that the Ledcor alternative concept was inconsistent with the WDMP as adopted and codified in the City’s Zoning Ordinance, because the alternative concept does not adhere to major components of the WDMP, including the circulation layout, street designs, development capacity, mix of uses, building frontage, and particularly the proposed automobile orientation of the site plans, with access alleys proposed to provide both vehicular access to garages and pedestrian access to front doors of the residences.
Under the terms of the Bayfront Development Agreement, the WDMP can only be modified by mutual agreement of the City and the developer. Thus, in order to approve Ledcor’s alternative conceptual plan, the Council would have to first either substantially rewrite or revoke the applicable sections of the WDMP.
After considering the online survey results, Ledcor representatives have indicated to staff that they do not intend to further pursue the alternative concept for the site.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
The Council’s discussion of the alternative conceptual plan for Bayfront Blocks A-B-C-D is: (1) not a “project” as defined by CEQA Guidelines 15378; and (2) certain not to result in a significant effect on the environment under CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3). Any future project for Blocks A-B-C-D will undergo CEQA review. Projects involving activities outside the scope of the Bayfront EIR, including any amendments to the WDMP, may require preparation of additional environmental documents.
ATTACHMENTS:
Summary of June 6, 2022 virtual community meeting
Summary of June 15, 2022 in-person community meeting
Summary of online survey results
2 Date Page 1