1995-10-05 ARRA Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
ALAMEDA REUSE AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Thursday, October 5, 1995
The meeting convened at 5:34 p.m. with Chair Mayor Appezzato presiding.
I. ROLL CALL
Present: Chair Mayor Ralph Appezzato, City of Alameda; Vice-Mayor Charles
Mannix, City of Alameda; Alternate Jay Leonhardy for Councilmember Henry
Chang, Jr., City of Oakland; Alternate Tony Daysog for Councilmember
"Lil"Arnerich, City of Alameda; Alternate Garry Loeffler for Mayor Ellen
Corbett, City of San Leandro; Alternate Doug DeHaan for Councilmember
Albert DeWitt, City of Alameda; Alternate Greg Alves for Councilmember
Karin Lucas, City of Alameda; Supervisor Wilma Chan, Alameda County Board
of Supervisors, District 3; Ex-officio Member Lee Perez, Chair, Base Reuse
Advisory Group (BRAG); Ex-officio Member Gail Greely, Alameda Unified
School District
Absent: Vice-Chair Sandré Swanson, 9th Congressional District.
II. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Approval of Minutes - Regular Meeting of September 6, 1995.
A motion was made by Vice-Mayor Mannix to approve the minutes. The motion
was seconded by Alternate Leonhardy. The motion carried by a unanimous voice
vote.
III. ACTION ITEMS
Chair Mayor Appezzato announced that he had received a letter signed by President Clinton
in response to a request from the ARRA and the City Council for federal funding in the form
of loans to finance capital improvements on the base. Chair Mayor Appezzato read one
sentence from the letter that he found hopeful: “I have asked the National Economic Council
to assemble officials from the Department of Defense, Commerce, and OMB to explore
whether such a program could be accomplished under existing law or whether specific
legislation is needed.”
B. Report from the Executive Director Recommending Endorsement of the Preferred
Land Use Plan for the Long-Range Community Reuse Plan.
Kay Miller, ARRA Executive Director, stated that she was recommending its adoption
as a framework plan. This framework plan will then be refined to greater levels of
detail and staff will work at resolving the remaining issues (most notably, determining
the extent of the wildlife refuge area with Fish & Wildlife and addressing public trust
issues with the State Lands Commission). After a presentation from John Petrovsky
of EDAW on the present state of the plan, direction was solicited from the Governing
Body.
Public Comment:
Tom Okey of the Conservation Science Institute made a presentation of the results of a
postcard survey mailed to 31,000 residents of Alameda in September.
Michael Warburton, representing the Public Trust Working Group, presented their
goals in supporting the Public Trust and its allowable uses. He urged the Governing
Body and its staff and consultants to work with the State Lands Commission and his
group to insure more public trust uses.
Leora R. Feeney, a wildlife biologist and member of the Golden Gate Audubon
Society, encouraged the ARRA to consider the heritage of Alameda and its wildlife
population and to be as generous as possible in allotting land at the northern end of the
refuge to ensure the Least Tern’s survival.
William John Smith of the Sierra Club presented citizen petitions with 1,004
signatures in support of establishing a National Wildlife Refuge on approximately 600
of the 1,700 acres at Alameda NAS.
Arthur Feinstein, Program Coordinator for the Golden Gate Audubon Society, urged
the ARRA to support of the National Wildlife Refuge.
Tim Little, representing ARC Ecology and the Military Base Closures Environmental
Network, cited that while DoD has projected $8.83 billion nationwide for base closure
cleanup, only $2 billion has been budgeted. He stressed that we must all pull
together and fight for the toxic cleanup money needed to clean up Alameda NAS
properly. He then presented a paper to the Board titled “Environmental Principles for
Military Base Closures” published by the ARC/Arms Control Research Center in
collaboration with the Center for Economic Conversion Urban Habitat Program.
Ruth Gravanis, a Bay Area educator, stressed the importance of establishing a large
refuge with an interpretive center in the old aviation tower as an educational resource
to meet a major Bay Area-wide deficit. She also urged the ARRA to remember that
the state trust portions of the base are to be held in trust for all the citizens of
California.
Corinne Stefanick of Citizens for the Alameda National Wildlife Refuge and Alameda
citizen, stated that she held her own Sunday afternoon survey at the Lucky Store,
gathering 97 signatures in three hours supporting open space, wildlife, refuge,
education, and trails.
Chair Mayor Appezzato clarified that presently, 44% of the base is planned in open
space of which 585 acres (or approximately one-third of the base) is planned as a
wildlife refuge. Laura Collins of the EBCRC (who currently manages the Least Terns
at NAS Alameda) answered questions on predator management.
Ex-officio Member Greeley, President of the School Board, voiced the need to insure
an appropriate site for school facilities if the present level of housing is set aside, as
strict siting requirements make it very difficult to find appropriate sites. She also
stressed that outdoor education opportunities raise self-esteem and awareness of the
natural world and AUSD would make full use of any educational opportunities
provided by the wildlife refuge.
After comprehensive discussion and questions from the Governing Body, Chair Mayor
Appezzato asked for a motion. A motion was made by Vice-Mayor Mannix to
endorse the Preferred Land Use Plan and Alternate Daysog seconded the motion.
Alternate Alves requested an amendment to change the designation of the inner harbor
to a mixed use area and to delete the housing.
Executive Director Miller clarified that she took that to be direction to review whether
the housing in the marina area should be removed or flipped over into the area
currently designated as a regional park. She stated that those are all options that the
consultants can consider and that can be taken back to the BRAG for their further
consideration.
Alternate Alves requested that the regional park area currently located below the inner
harbor be joined with the inner harbor and designated as mixed use for possible
commercial developer use, relocating the park to the east shore. Chair Mayor
Appezzato then summarized the Governing Body’s guidance to the staff: Ensure
housing is consistent with Measure A; continue discussion with BCDC regarding port
designation; residential areas should be consistent with the Tidelands Trust provision;
and talks should continue to resolve the issues around the Fish & Wildlife refuge areas.
The motion carried by a unanimous voice vote. Chair Mayor Appezzato thanked the
public for their participation and the BRAG and the staff for all their hard work.
C. Report from the Personnel Director of the City of Alameda Recommending Approval
of a Proposed Policy on Benefits for the Staff of the Alameda Reuse and
Redevelopment Authority (ARRA).
After a short discussion, a motion was made by Alternate Alves and seconded by
Vice-Mayor Mannix to approve the proposed policy on benefits for the ARRA staff.
Public Comment:
Martha Caron, on behalf of Alamedans for a Better City, asked to be heard on item
III.B regarding housing within the Long-Range Community Reuse Plan. Upon
receipt of a speaker’s slip, Chair Mayor Appezzato asked for a motion to reopen item
III.B. Alternate Alves motioned that item III.B be reopened for public comment.
The motion was seconded by Alternate DeHaan. Ms. Caron questioned why, when
the City of Alameda has committed itself under the Guyton Settlement to 2,386 units
of low income housing by April 1997, those housing needs are not being primarily
addressed in the NAS land use plan. Chair Mayor Appezzato directed Assistant
General Counsel McLaughlin to meet with Ms. Caron to address those concerns. A
motion was made by Alternate Loeffler and seconded by Vice-Mayor Mannix to close
the item. The motion carried by a unanimous voice vote.
The motion to approve the proposed policy on benefits for the ARRA staff carried by a
unanimous voice vote.
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D. Report from the Executive Director Recommending Endorsement of a Proposal to
Lease Portions of the NAS Alameda Piers for Docking of the Hornet Aircraft Carrier
as a Private Museum.
Executive Director Miller stated that the BRAG had recommended that the item be
tabled until information from the Port/Marina Study consultant on possible uses of the
piers is received and reviewed.
Public Comment:
Mr. Jerry Lutz, Executive Director and CEO of the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation,
gave a presentation on the Foundation’s goal to make the U.S.S. Hornet a world-class
museum.
A motion to table the recommendation pending results of the study on marina and port
uses was made by Alternate Alves and seconded by Vice-Mayor Mannix. The motion
carried by a unanimous voice vote.
IV. ORAL REPORTS:
E. Oral Report from the Chair of the Base Reuse Advisory Group (BRAG) Updating the
Reuse Authority on BRAG Activities.
Lee Perez, Chair of the BRAG, emphasized that this is a critical time for the work
groups. They are attempting to get the most information so they can provide the
best advice.
F. Oral Report from the Executive Director on Current ARRA Matters.
Alternate Leonhardy requested that Item III.F.6 be carried over to the November 1
meeting and Chair Mayor Appezzato concurred.
1. Executive Director Kay Miller introduced ARRA Planner Paul Tuttle, who
reviewed the timeline for final plan preparation and adoption.
2. Talks have begun with the Coast Guard over where the 582 units of housing they
will occupy will be located and the possibility of the ARRA retaining title of the
property and leasing it back to the Coast Guard.
3. CALSTART has begun building improvements and the lease may be
consummated within a week.
4. AEG lease negotiations are ongoing; the City of Pittsburg is offering a very
attractive package and we are striving to make our package equally attractive.
5. The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is a DoD agency that
supplies all of the exchange services. AAFES is setting up four regional
warehouse distribution centers and they are interested in a 75-acre site to house a
700,000–1,000,000 sq.ft. facility.
6. MBE/WBE update to be carried over to November 1 meeting.
7. (a) Staff is presently in negotiations with UARCO; (b) National Airmotive and
Francis Plating have entered into a joint venture to lease the plating shop; (c) the
Marina/Port Feasibility Study will address some port designation issues and a
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meeting will be held with BCDC on port designation; (d) NAS Alameda will
not be designated as a Superfund site; and (e) Jo Chavez-Backster, the new
Departmental Secretary, was introduced to the Governing Body.
V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS, NON-AGENDA (PUBLIC COMMENT)
(Any person may address the Governing Body in regard to any matter over which the
Governing Body has jurisdiction or of which it may take cognizance, that is not on the
agenda.)
Richard Nevelyn, Hornet volunteer, urged people to attend Fleet Week and tour the
Hornet, which provides a wonderful educational opportunity for the City.
IV. COMMUNICATIONS FROM GOVERNING BODY
Supervisor Wilma Chan thanked Kay Miller, Paul Tuttle, and Lee Perez for conducting a
San Leandro forum in September. Doug DeHaan thanked the representatives of
environmental organizations and BRAG participants who served on the Fish & Wildlife
working group for all of their hard work.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by Chair Mayor Appezzato at 7:53 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Margaret E. Ensley
Secretary
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