Consenting adults

Tonight, the City Council — in addition to reviewing the two Police contracts — will also be considering the Boatworks density bonus application and approving (or not) the tentative map for the property.    As I mentioned last week, there was no opposition at the Planning Board meeting when the Planning Board voted to recommend approval of the application and tentative map.

To recap, there will be 182 units on site and the developer has put in a density bonus application to waive Measure A for certain units on the site.   And unlike other projects, the City will have to tread carefully because of the ruling in the lawsuit filed against the City.

In the Boatworks

On Monday night, the Planning Board approved Francis Collins’s Boatworks project with fairly little fanfare given the back and forth and litigation that it took to get to this spot.   There were only two public speakers on this agenda — a definite surprise  — apparently most people were there to talk about the Point Marina Vista use permit (operating as Hannah’s on the Bay or something in that realm).

Boatworks, for those that don’t know, is that big, really horribly blighted looking property next to Park Street Landing near the Perforce building.   There was a fire on the property recently.   After reworking the plan several times, the Planning Board was presented with a tentative map and a Density Bonus application.

Let me kick my credentials

Good lord.

Thanks for giving us the nutshell version of development/housing/redevelopment/density bonus/kitchen sink issues in Alameda SFGate real estate blog, On The Block! Just what we need, another barely skimming the surface assessment of highly complex and complicated issues from the reporters at the SF Chronicle.

First of all, the density bonus ordinance was not passed in order to shepherd in a new age of crazy home building in Alameda. It was done because we want our fricken Housing Element to finally get approved.   And as real estate bloggers, I’m sure that the authors know that the density bonus is required by state law and even if Alameda did not pass one the City would still be required  to grant one, if requested by a developer, but using the state parameters instead of ones that we bring upon our own heads.

Too close for comfort?

Francis Collins, the owner of the Boatworks property, is officially the first developer in the City of Alameda to use the Density Bonus Ordinance in order to develop his parcel of land.   The plan will be before the Planning Board tonight.    He is asking for certain concessions and incentives from the City of Alameda as allowed under the state density bonus ordinance since Alameda has yet to adopt one.

They include:

1. Waiver of development fees
2. Direct financial subsidy for building the low and very-low income units ($134K (x 20) and $184K (x29) respectively)
3. Reduction in the minimum parking requirements.