Updating the Universal Design Ordinance, finalizing the Alameda Point Subdivision for RESHAP and West Midway
On April 14, the Planning Board will consider updating the Universal Residential Design Ordinance to reduce barriers to smaller and townhome-style developments. The Board will also consider recommending that City Council approve new street names to replace placeholder names on the final map to subdivide City-owned land at Alameda Point in order to create individual lots for the RESHAP (Rebuilding Existing Supportive Housing at Alameda Point) and West Midway housing projects. Below is a summary of what will be discussed and how to participate.
Proposal to update the Universal Residential Design Ordinance
Planning staff recommends finalizing the updating of Alameda’s Universal Residential Design Ordinance to better align with current planning practices and reduce barriers for smaller and townhouse-style developments. The aim is to balance accessibility goals with housing production feasibility.
The Universal Residential Design Ordinance supports housing needs for individuals with mobility difficulties or other functional limitations by ensuring that new housing provides accommodations that allow independent living. There are two types of these accommodations:
- Visitability accommodations focus on making homes accessible to guests with mobility impairments and apply to all units within new developments.
- Universal design accommodations focus on making the entire home accessible to all residents and visitors, regardless of ability, and currently apply only to 30% of new units in developments of five or more units.
The key proposals are to provide a visitability requirements exemption for units with less than 150 square feet of habitable space on the ground floor—mainly townhouse designs where garages comprise most of the ground floor—and a universal design exemption for small projects with fewer than ten units to reduce burdens on infill and small-scale developers. Planning staff believe these exemptions will reduce delays and costs for projects impacted by design constraints while ensuring continued compliance with state housing policies.
New street names for Alameda Point
In December 2023, the City received Planning Board approval for a tentative map to subdivide a 160.64-acre City-owned parcel of land at Alameda Point to create 23 individual lots for the RESHAP and West Midway housing projects. That map is now ready for final approval by the City Council. However, placeholder names appear on the map, and the City and the developers want to rename the streets as part of the final map process.
One of the desired names is Waves Avenue (presently “Avenue B”) to honor the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) stationed at Alameda Naval Air Station during World War II. The other desired name is Valor Avenue (presently “Avenue A”), which would be a tribute to the area’s naval history.
Finalizing the map will support finalizing the subdivision and is a critical step in transferring the land from the City to the developers, enabling the RESHAP and West Midway projects to move forward.
How to participate
The meeting will be held on Monday, April 14 at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue.
Members of the public may participate in person or on Zoom, and may comment on the Non-Agenda, Consent Calendar, and Regular Agenda portions of the Meeting Agenda (link downloads document).
The Non-Agenda portion of the meeting provides a chance to address the Board regarding any matter not on the agenda over which the Board has jurisdiction. The Consent Calendar is intended for routine items approved by a single motion. The Regular Agenda is the central portion of the meeting, during which each issue receives a presentation and time for Board discussion and public comment.
To make requests for reasonable accommodations contact the Planning, Building and Transportation Department’s Executive Assistant, Nancy McPeak via email at [email protected] or call 510-747-6805.
For Zoom registration, click here. Information to assist with Zoom participation is available on the City’s Public Comment and City Council Meeting Guide web page.
For Telephone Participants, the Zoom phone number is 669-900-9128, and the Meeting ID is 815 3979 3319. The meeting can also be viewed on the City of Alameda’s Facebook page, but comments posted there are not monitored.
Community members may also email Planning Board Members on issues of interest before meetings.
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
