|
<br />Joint BZAlPC Worksession Minutes
<br />Agenda No. 07-12
<br />
<br />June 28,2007
<br />Page 2 0/6
<br />
<br />residents from all districts. CAC members toured transit-oriented developments in
<br />Hayward, San Mateo, Redwood City and Mountain View. In addition to the CAC, a
<br />team of consulting experts provided ongoing reports on existing conditions, market
<br />studies, financial feasibility, traffic and parking studies. The TaD Strategy also reflects
<br />input from the Technical Advisory Committee, which includes representatives from AC
<br />Transit, BART, MTC, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and CalTrans.
<br />On three occasions (June and September 2006 and March 2007), the CAC and City staff
<br />- including representatives of the Planning Department, the Engineering Department and
<br />the Office of Business Development - held public meetings to generate additional input.
<br />They also hosted a developer symposium to receive input from the developer community
<br />as well as spark interest in developing in San Leandro.
<br />
<br />Like the General Plan, the TOD Strategy is a long-range plan (extending to 2030) that
<br />incorporates such principles as "smart growth," sustainability, responsibility for climate
<br />change, future market trends and housing solutions as it anticipates developments within
<br />the study area. Its primary goals are to increase transit ridership within the study area
<br />while attracting retailers and employers, enhance its appearance and image, increase
<br />safety and security, and provide development opportunities.
<br />
<br />As Ms. Livermore put it, that boils down into two simple goals: maximize transit
<br />ridership and improve the downtown to serve the community. The characteristics of a
<br />successful TaD, she added, are the same as a successful downtown, including:
<br />· An urban framework that incorporates the street and block pattern, circulation
<br />system for pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, a parking system, and planned open
<br />spaces. San Leandro has a good base from which to work, with short streets that
<br />make it interesting, and such improvements already made such as the history walk
<br />along Estudillo Avenue between BART and the city center. To the extent
<br />possible, the strategy will enhance the grid and reconnect portions that have been
<br />interrupted, without negatively affecting vehicular circulation. The CAC sees
<br />several opportunities to reorganize the existing parking supply, add satellite
<br />parking areas where people can park once and visit a number of establishments,
<br />and also phase in new parking ratio requirements as appropriate. Furthermore, the
<br />TOD Strategy envisions on-street parking that is better organized and more
<br />effectively priced (according to use and distance from services, shops and transit
<br />hubs such as the BART station). Interestingly, car ownership in the TOD study
<br />area is 1.2 cars per household (per the 2000 Census), suggesting that residents are
<br />already taking advantage of the area's transit-rich resources. Among open space
<br />opportunities identified are community parks, linear parks, creek-side parks, civic
<br />gathering spaces (possibly on the north or south side of Davis, perhaps
<br />incorporating San Leandro Creek), major recreational parks, neighborhood parks
<br />and community streets. Ms. Livermore pointed out that as BART does a seismic
<br />upgrade of the elevated tracks from Oakland south, it is working with Urban
<br />Ecology to create a greenway similar to the Ohlone Greenway along the BART
<br />tracks between Berkeley and Albany. (Urban Ecology, publisher of Blueprint for
<br />a Sustainable Bay Area, uses a combination of urban planning, ecology, and
<br />public participation to help design and build healthier cities.)
<br />· Supportive land uses, including the optimum mix of residential, office, retail and
<br />civic uses. The CAC and community meetings shaped this component of the TOD
<br />
|