Park, Webster Zoning Fix Stalls After Two Meetings Canceled

Alameda's Planning Board has canceled two meetings in a row, on Sept. 14 and Sept. 28, leaving a zoning rewrite aimed at empty storefronts on Park Street and Webster Street and a plan for 16 new apartments at South Shore without a new hearing date.

• Where: Alameda City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Ave., Council Chambers, 3rd floor
• When: The Sept. 14 meeting was called off at 4:52 p.m. that day for lack of a quorum; the board's next meeting, set for Sept. 28, has also been canceled
• What's stalled: A citywide zoning rewrite for the Park Street and Webster Street corridors, and a plan to add 16 apartments at South Shore Beach and Tennis Club
• Who's behind the proposals: Alameda's Planning, Building and Transportation Department (zoning) and Rockhill Management, LLC (apartments)
• What's next: No new hearing date has been set for either item as of Sept. 21

Why did the Sept. 14 Planning Board meeting get canceled?

The city called it off at 4:52 p.m. that afternoon because it didn't have a quorum, the minimum number of board members needed to hold a vote. The meeting's page on the city's Legistar system flags it plainly: "THIS MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELED... DUE TO A LACK OF A QUORUM." Nothing on the agenda got heard.

What was the board supposed to decide?

Two things that matter to a lot of Alamedans. One is a zoning text amendment meant to make it easier for offices, health clinics, artist studios and grocery stores to open on Park Street and Webster Street without a discretionary permit, part of a push to fill vacant storefronts on the two corridors. The other is a request from Rockhill Management, LLC, to convert existing office and commercial space at the South Shore Beach and Tennis Club Apartments on Westline Drive into 16 new apartments, growing that complex from 446 units to 462.

Is there a new hearing date?

Not yet. The Planning Board's next scheduled meeting, Sept. 28, has already been marked canceled too, with zero items listed on its agenda. Both the zoning amendment and the South Shore proposal still show Sept. 14 as their "on agenda" date in the city's legislative tracking system, with nothing rescheduled in its place.

What this means for Alameda

For now, the status quo holds on both fronts. Businesses that want to move into empty storefronts on Park and Webster still need to clear the same permit hurdles the rewrite was meant to simplify, and the South Shore complex can't add its 16 planned apartments until a Planning Board actually meets to vote. Neither delay kills either project, but it does mean residents watching Alameda's vacancy and housing pushes will be waiting past the end of September for a vote. The Pulse will follow the city's meeting calendar and update this story once a new hearing date is set. For more on projects moving through City Hall, see the Pulse's development coverage.