Alamedans expressed concerns over increased traffic, parking availability, and the multi-floor design for a new affordable housing development during a community engagement meeting at Rosefield Village on Tuesday, August 19.
The Housing Authority of the City of Alameda (AHA) hosted the meeting to review the project site and development process for a new community, The Poplar. Previous statements by AHA stated the community would include 40 to 50 units. It has since increased to 50 to 60 units, with preference for up to 25% of the units to be considered for Alameda Unified School District teachers and staff.
Residents who live near the development site showed up to voice their concerns. Though the majority of attendees said they supported new affordable housing communities, there was considerable pushback on the density of the building being proposed. The concerns were primarily regarding how it would affect traffic and parking in the area.
The development site is located on the edge of the Fernside neighborhood at 2615 Eagle Avenue. Tilden Way, a thoroughfare with consistent traffic, borders the site on one side, and Eagle Avenue, a slower and smaller residential road, borders another side. Alameda residents at the meeting objected to proposed entrances of the building being placed on Eagle Avenue, stating their concerns that it would increase traffic. Instead, many suggested entrances and egresses to be accessible from Tilden.
William De Souza, an Alamedan who lives across from the proposed entrance to Poplar, said an entrance on Eagle Avenue could significantly impact traffic in the neighborhood because access to the avenue is limited. He described having to drive around the perimeter of almost two blocks to be able to park in front of his home.
“Our street [Eagle Avenue] is very difficult,” De Souza said. “ If you’re coming from Fruitvale, you have to go around the block to come in and then do a U-turn to park.”
Other issues residents raised included the potential parking shortage that would come with the addition of 50 to 60 housing units in such a small area and concerns over the design of the building. Some expressed worries over whether The Poplar would fit in with the surrounding area, especially due to its planned five stories.
AHA chose to host the meeting at Rosefield Village to give attendees a chance to explore and see what a current community looks like. However, De Souza did not like the designs of the buildings, calling it an “eyesore.”
“They’re all kind of generic, kind of the same,” De Souza said. “There’s no character there.”
Jay Faustini, a resident who lives next to the development site, said he much preferred the look of another AHA affordable housing community, Everett Commons, because it blends in with its neighborhood.
“I live right next door [to the site of The Poplar]. They’re going to be putting in a driveway with this many cars coming by my living room every day,” Faustini said. “I’m going to have no sunlight in my yard or my house anymore,” he added, regarding the five-story design eclipsing the neighborhood of bungalows.
In response to concerns about density, AHA Housing Development Director Sylvia Martinez said it was an effort to provide as much housing as possible.
“The City needs to produce affordable housing. It’s one of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals for the City. They’re asking us to do as much as we can,” Martinez said. “The Housing Element now allows for more density, so we’re trying to provide as much housing as possible.”
In addition, addressing concerns over traffic would be a challenge for AHA, she added.
“There’s a lot of things that’s bigger than us. The traffic on Tilden, for instance, is a lot bigger than any one project or any one neighborhood,” Martinez said.
She added that she hopes the City’s initiatives to make the island more walkable and bikeable will encourage alternative forms of transportation.
The meeting was the first of five scheduled community engagement meetings about the proposed new development. The next meeting, to discuss the design charette, will be at the Edison Elementary School multi-purpose room on Wednesday, September 10, at 7 p.m.
“It was great that so many people showed up (at the first meeting),” Martinez said. “We’re really thrilled, and we hope they communicate to their other friends and neighbors to look at the website. Get the information, come to the next meeting.”
AHA purchased the property site of the development from Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) in 2022. It was previously used as a maintenance yard and for storage. The projected timeline for start of construction of The Poplar is 2027-2028.
Vicky Nguyen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Vicky-Nguyen.
