SAHA project faces depleted Planning Commission

The busy if besieged Sonoma Planning Commission will meet again on Thursday – its second meeting this month – this time in special session, to review the affordable housing project proposed at 20269 Broadway by Berkeley's Satellite Affordable Housing Association (SAHA).

The special session was called by City Planning Director David Goodison “in order to ensure that there is adequate time for public comment and Planning Commission discussion,” he said in the Aug. 25 announcement of the session. The Planning Commission's agenda has been stacking up all summer with high-profile discussions – not least the City Council's own consideration of a complete revamping of the process for appointing city commissioners.

The current Planning Commission has only five members – as opposed to its typical seven, plus alternate – as the commission sits in limbo awaiting the establishment of a new appointment model. The status of one of the remaining commissioners, Michael Coleman, is also in question: he was appointed in March 2015 by then-Mayor David Cook, for an initial two-year term. Coleman was not reappointed, yet continues to serve as the City Council sorts out its appointment procedures. Added to that uncertainty, Coleman has missed two meetings of late, due in part to injuries suffered in his job as a fireman, when he fell off a fire truck on Sept. 9.

According to city code, a commissioner is removed if they miss three meetings in a row – and Coleman's third strike would be this Thursday. There was some discussion if Coleman could ask for a waiver due to his medical issues, but when reached by phone on Monday, he said, “I plan on making it” to the Sept. 28 meeting.

Also on Monday, the City Manager re-affirmed Coleman's presence on the commission. “Michael is still a sitting Planning Commissioner and eligible to participate in Thursday's Planning Commission meeting,” said Cathy Capriola. “The City's practice has been that commission members whose terms end continue to serve until a replacement is appointed.”

With its diminished numbers, at least one – and likely more – appeals over Planning Commission decisions have been made to the City Council, which further casts a shadow on the commission's authority or ability to perform its tasks.

The Index-Tribune has seen several letters from residents to the city requesting a delay of action by the Planning Commission because of these uncertainties. But so far the City is sticking with the current Commission, in spite of its depleted numbers.

“The City has a functioning current Planning Commission with sufficient members (five sitting members) to conduct meetings and carry out its duties,” said Capriola. She added that a revised Planning Commission will likely be appointed in November by the City Council, somewhat earlier than the February date previously reported.

That's the table set for Thursday's Planning Commission meeting to evaluate SAHA's applications for use permit, site design and architectural review, and potentially to ask for further environmental review before a permit is issued.

The Altamira Affordable Housing Project is SAHA's name for the project, after the Catholic priest who founded the Sonoma Mission in 1823. In its current iteration, Altamira will be a 48-unit development primarily aimed at low and very low affordable housing categories, including a special recruitment for homeless veterans.

It was approved by the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission last month by a unanimous vote, following a lively discussion that lasted almost two hours.

But many residents are concerned about the development on several fronts; the potential for over 200 residents in the 1.9-acre property; the impact of the two-story buildings on the neighborhood sightlines and aesthetics; and questions about noise levels, not only from the new development itself but how the ambient noise at the intersection of Clay and Broadway might potentially affect the residents of Altamira.

Part of the city staff report for the Sept. 28 meeting is a supplemental and updated Environmental Noise Study to address potential noise generated by the project activities such as the use of outdoor areas and the parking lot. A revised noise study is included in the report, with noise readings from two locations on the property – just off Broadway on the northeast corner of the lot, and at the southwest corner facing the Renaissance Lodge and Spa.

Based on those readings and other factors, the noise assessment recommends several mitigations, including a 6-foot wood fence at the property's northwest corner, thermal insulating windows and weather sealed doors, and, especially along Broadway and Clay, and the recommendation that tenants keep their windows closed.

This is coupled with a recommendation that “a mechanical ventilation system capable of providing adequate fresh air to the residence while allowing the windows to remain closed to control noise” – in other words, air conditioning – be added to the building plans for six of the nine buildings in the development.

The schedule of levels of affordability will also be reviewed, though a final determination will probably be among the last elements to be decided, based on city review and project funding. At present the allocation of affordable units is slanted toward the lower end of the Area Median Income schedule, with half of the 48 units proposed for the lowest incomes, and only 20 percent affordable to households between 60 and 80 percent of AMI.

There's even a more arcane issue – whether or not a projected road easement on the west side of the property, known as the First Street Easement, is included in the legal property title. It's often referred to as a “paper street” – a projected roadway that was never built, but has been carried through the property description for decades. Nonetheless, it's created some confusion over whether the property is 1.97 acres in size, or only 1.53 acres, a question that will likely be addressed, again, at this week's meeting.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 28, in the Community Room, at 177 First St. W.

Note: An earlier version and of this story incorrectly said there were both two-story and three-story buildings in the project. The three-story buildings are no longer part of the proposal.

Contact Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.