Whole Foods Project: Officials To Discuss Environmental Report Tuesday

City commissioners will take a close look Tuesday night at the environmental impact report related to a  planned for University Village. 

 members held a about the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and plan to hold several more study sessions with the public, and perhaps one with the City Council, in July. (The City Council ultimately will decide whether or not to certify the EIR.)

The roughly 6.3-acre project site consists of two lots located north and south of Monroe Street, just west of San Pablo Avenue. At this point, the project includes a Whole Foods market, up to 55,000 square feet in size, north of Monroe, and a mixed-use development to the south. The southern lot would include about 30,000 square feet of retail space and approximately 175 independent or assisted living senior housing units.

At last week's meeting, consultant David Clore of LSA Associates gave a quick overview of the environmental report to city commissioners. Clore said LSA's "response to comments" section was "particularly voluminous" due to extensive public comment following the publication of the draft EIR in July, 2009.

(See both versions of the EIR, along with all other project documents, .)

Clore said LSA ultimately determined that none of the comments, or responses to them, would affect the California Environmental Quality Act standards or impacts outlined in the draft EIR. This resulted in very few changes to the main text of the EIR from the draft to the final versions. 

"The EIR should summarize the main points of disagreement among the experts," he told commissioners, and result in a "linear and not habitually looping process." 

He said that the final EIR, with 600 pages of main text and 450 pages of appendices, achieves that goal. 

But it would be up to the commission to decide, he added, "whether more analysis would help, or whether 1,000 pages is enough."

During the public comment period, Albany resident Ed Fields asked officials to consider an alternative plan, described in the EIR, that he felt would be better for the environment.

Ajay Martin, transportation planner for AC Transit, told the commission that he would be looking at the project's impacts on buses nearby "to make sure it works for transit."

AC Transit currently has service on both San Pablo and Monroe, he said. Martin said he was disappointed to see parking spaces in project plans where bus stops currently exist, and added that there are no bus stops shown on Monroe in the plans he looked at. 

He said AC Transit will be looking at the development to make sure it will be easy for riders to get from the grocery store to bus stops. 

Martin also pointed out that even short delays could end up costing AC Transit in the long run, and said he hoped planners would include mitigations, such as improved signals or queue jumps, if bus service would be affected by the development. 

board member Tod Abbot urged the commission to move the project forward. 

"It's time to show some leadership," he told officials. "Up or down, let's just move this forward..... We've been here long enough."

Amy Smolens, an Albany resident and member of the cyclist and pedestrian advocacy group , said she'd like to see the university land start generating income. (University land related to students or student housing is not taxable, but a for-profit enterprise open to the community would no longer be exempt.)

"It's not perfect but I feel like they're on the right track," she told the commission about the plans. "Let's welcome this so we can make the improvements and enhancements that our residents need."

City planner Jeff Bond told commissioners that he'd like to be able to tell the City Council "what the commission feels about the EIR."

Officials will also need to decide about rezoning the land, and whether to designate it a Planned Unit Development (PUD), which would relax certain zoning restrictions but require additional amenities from the university. 

Commissioner Leo Panian said the PUD decision likely would be the "topic of most contentious discussion," as it relates to building height, size and open space. 

Commissioner Stacy Eisenmann asked why the senior housing was shown to include air conditioning units "to ensure that windows can remain closed to prevent noise from San Pablo." 

Clore said the parcel's proximity to railroad tracks, freeways, nearby activities and San Pablo Avenue likely would require the air conditioning units.

"I think here you're stuck with a site that has certain noisy things near it," he said.

Commissioners spent a fair amount of time discussing exactly what they would need to provide to the city council, and what the goal of their vote on the EIR would be. 

"When we certify this, it's not picking one project over another project," said Chairman Phillip Moss. "That comes later on."

Panian said he saw the document as "a set of guidelines that help us preserve the environment."

Other commissioners described the EIR as "well organized" and "a good starting document."

(Commissioner David Arkin recused himself from the discussion, and did not attend the study session, because he works near the project site.)

Officials are hoping to make some decisions about the project in the coming months.

In addition to the June 28 Planning & Zoning meeting, city planner Bond said, he has reserved council chambers for a July 7 study session. There may also be a study session with the City Council on July 18, Bond said, though plans are not yet final.

If commissioners are able to discuss and agree on PUD and zoning decisions on July 7, the City Council could potentially discuss the plans on July 18, before its August recess. 

Commissioners said they thought that might not be feasible, given the complexity of the PUD decision, and that the decision on the PUD might not come until fall. 

University project manager Kevin Hufferd asked the commission to keep an open mind about the time line and "allow for the possibility of approval on the 7th, including PUD." 

"If you don't feel satisfied that the conditions are there, of course that's your decision," he told the commission. "But we would like the opportunity for approval at that time."

about the plans for senior housing and a Whole Foods grocery story at University Village.

CORRECTION: The time line for approving any aspect of this project remains unknown. The original headline and body text of this story indicated otherwise, and has been updated. The City Council ultimately will certify the EIR when it feels the document is complete. 

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.