Commission Green Lights Whole Foods Project

City planning commissioners recommended approval earlier this week of a key piece of a University of California project that aims to bring a to Albany.

The approval, by the city's , sends the project forward to , which could take action on the development at its second meeting in October.

(Get up to speed on project history on Albany Patch.)

Commissioners voted Tuesday on whether the project met the criteria to be deemed a "Planned Unit Development" (PUD). This designation allows for flexibility in certain zoning regulations in return for project improvements and public amenities.

Commissioners were unanimous in their recommendation for approval.

The City Council will be charged with making the final decision on whether to approve the PUD, but the commission's vote is an "important milestone" for the project, said Community Development Director Jeff Bond on Thursday.

Plans for the development have been underway since 2007.

, the Planning Commission also recommended approval of zoning changes and the development's environmental review.

KEY ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT

In exchange for, among other adjustments, permission to build up to a height of 62 feet (over the allowable 38 feet), University developers have agreed to several conditions and community benefits, which they define in the following way:

• The creation of Albany's , to allow residents to "remain in the community as they age"
• A full service grocery store and smaller retail shops, which will "result in more retail spending" and an "increase in sales tax revenue" for the city, as well as the revitalization of San Pablo Avenue, new jobs and other economic benefits
• A network of shared pedestrian and bicycle pathways, including a dedicated crossing at Dartmouth Avenue; about 1,000 square feet of shared bike and pedestrian pathways, including some that will border Codornices and Village creeks; extensive on-site bike parking
• A "complete streets" approach to include dedicated bike and pedestrian pathways, traffic calming measures, back-in angled parking, enhanced sidewalks, outdoor seating, extensive landscaping and the planting of mature trees
• Implementation of the Restoration project
• Open space to exceed 30,000 square feet
• The creation of publicly accessible "creek-side linear open space" along Village Creek (a "360 foot long riparian open space")

The university also agrees, according to the proposed language for the resolution approving the PUD, that plans and documentation for amenities will be reviewed and approved "prior to the issuance of any building permit or grading permit." 

The PUD also allows for some parking to be shared between the parcels north and south of Monroe Street; smaller parking stalls; less landscaping in surface parking lots; and flexibility in meeting loading area requirements.

(According to current plans, the Whole Foods would be built just west of San Pablo Avenue and north of Monroe; the and retail spaces would be developed south of Monroe.)

POTENTIAL FOR CYCLIST ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS

Over the past two weeks, an issue some have deemed a major problem with cycling access to the grocery store has come up before the Traffic & Safety Commission, the Planning & Zoning Commission and among cycling advocates in Albany.

Some members of , the city's only bicycling and pedestrian advocacy and service organization, have argued strongly in favor of a "cycle track" connecting the Dartmouth Street crossing to the front of Whole Foods. 

Under the current plan, cyclists from Dartmouth (who decline to brave San Pablo and cross at Monroe) would either need to cross at Dartmouth, then dismount on the west side of San Pablo and walk bikes north to the Whole Foods entrance at San Pablo and Monroe; or they would have to continue riding (clockwise) around the entire perimeter of the site (from Dartmouth along Codornices Creek to 10th Street, then north across Monroe to a path along the northern border of the store). 

Some cyclists had proposed, instead, a "cycle track" on the west side of San Pablo. This two-way bike path, in the road but separate from car traffic, would allow cyclists coming from Dartmouth a direct connection to and from the front of the grocery store. 

The Traffic & Safety Commission voted last week to veto the cycle track because of concerns about safety in what is projected to become a highly trafficked stretch of sidewalk between Monroe and Dartmouth. They cited an active bus stop located in that stretch, concerns about seniors and too-tight proximity to retail. 

(An AC Transit representative told the Traffic & Safety Commission last week that the cycle track would be a serious safety concern, and that the agency would not easily be able to move the bus stop to accomodate the cycle track.)

On Tuesday, planning commissioners decided not to include language about the cycle track in the PUD resolution, but indicated in their motion that developers will need to continue to work with community groups and cycling-access experts to revisit the bike access issue later in the process. 

Commissioner David Arkin recused himself from the discussion because he lives and works near the project site. 

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

According to an analysis completed for the city by Economic Planning Systems, included in a Sept. 13 staff report prepared for the Planning & Zoning Commission, the project would bring in revenues of about $466,000, including more than $200,000 in property taxes and about $175,000 in sales and use tax. 

The net annual fiscal surplus, after a reduction of about $262,000 in General Fund expenditures, is projected at $204,442. (See pp. 7-8 of the staff report, in the PDF section above, for the complete breakdown.)

A video of Tuesday's Planning & Zoning Commission meeting will be posted on the city website here.

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Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.