Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAttachment 2 Project Descriptn GENERAL INFORMATION: PROPERTY OWNER: APPLICANT: LOCATION: ZONING: GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATIONS: SPECIFIC PLAN DESIGNATION: ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Alameda County Surplus Property Authority, c/o Stuart Cook, 1221 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94612 Jim Kachick, Alameda County General Services Agency, 1401 Lakeside Drive, Suite 1115, Oakland, CA 94612 North side of Gleason Road between Madigan and Arnold, Assessor Parcel Number 986-005-038 (partial) PD (Planned Development) Public/Semi Public Facility Public/Semi Public Facility The County of Alameda prepared a joint Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS), dated April 2003, to determine the potential environmental impacts occurring as a result of the proposed project. The Final EIR/EIS concluded that the preferred alternative for the location of the East County Hall of Justice was in Dublin at the subject site. The EIR/EIS identified mitigation measures to address the environmental impacts identified and the Final EIR/EIS and accompanying mitigation measures were adopted the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on May 6,2003. Alameda County is the lead agency for this project, and the City is a responsible agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a responsible agency, the City's role is limited. Rather than certify the lead agency's document as adequate, the decision-making body of a responsible agency is required only to certify that it reviewed and considered the information contained in the EIR/EIS prepared by the lead agency, according to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15050, Subdivision (b). The project as proposed is consistent with the project at described in the EIR/EIS. G:\PA#\2002\02-030 Alameda Co Court House\PC Staff Report.doc 7 Project Description East County Hall of Justice Dublin, California RECEIVEIì .!UL 0 8 2003 JUBLlN PLANNING The East County Hall of Justice (ECHOJ) is a court facility. The ECHOJ includes 13 courtrooms and their support agencies: specifically, Clerk of Courts, Court Administration, Jury Services, Family and Children Services, District Attorney, Public Defender, Probation, Court Security, Information Technology, Children's Waiting, Volunteer Services, Ancillary Services and Incustody Holding. All except Incustody Holding are office type functions and the space provided for them is classified as office space, Business Occupancy according to the California Building Code. The Incustody Holding are classified as temporary holding cells and will not accommodate detainees for longer than 12 hours, most for considerably less time. The Ancillary Services include a building cafeteria planned to serve the building tenants. The building is designed to accommodate approximately 3 I 5 employees. The planned hours of public operation are from 8:00 AM until 5:30 PM. Several nights a week, night court may be held which will extend these hours until 9:00 PM. Occasional night functions may be held at the ECHOJ involving community meetings, Supervisor meetings and other scheduled events. An Environmental Impact Statement / Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) was prepared in conjunction with this project that details the impacts, both positive and negative on the local community. Public hearings have been held in association with the preparation of this document that have allowed the community at large to comment on the appropriateness of this facility for this site. As a result of this EIS/EIR, a Mitigation Monitoring Plan has been developed which outlines the responsibilities of Alameda County under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The ECHOJ building and parking occupies approximately forty percent of the super block defined by Gleason Drive, Broder Boulevard, Arnold Road and Madigan Street. The new Highway Patrol offices and future fire station occupy the eastern portion of the block. The court building is oriented with its primary architectural feature centered on Hacienda Drive, the primary access. Hacienda Drive is an arterial street servicing the office and retail uses south of the site. This architectural feature terminates the view corridor down Hacienda Drive and will provide identity where none now exists. Unlike the previous county structures where the planners and architects sought to hide those facilities, this building will introduce a strong civic presence. Members of the public, including jurors and employees will access the site via the primary entry point on Gleason where Hacienda meets the site. There is a secondary access drive off Gleason several hundred feet east of the intersection with Hacienda. Judges will enter at Hacienda to access the secured parking located adjacent to and west of the building. Delivery and service vehicles will access the site via a secure entry gate at the northwest. This entry point is opposite the main entry of the Santa Rita facility's public entry. Detainees will share this secured entry point which is near the sallyport. Public parking is located east and south of the building. Pedestrian access to the building is on the east side. Pedestrians will walk from their cars along clearly defined landscaped walks, at either side of the central boulevard, that lead to the building entry plaza. Additional walkways are provided for pedestrian access from all parking areas. Accessible parking spaces are provided immediately east of the entry plaza and at an elevation that minimizes the need for ramps. Space for pedestrian drop-off and shuttle buses is provided at the entry plaza. A bus drop off is provided on Gleason, near the main entry. Gleason, Broder and Arnold streets have six foot wide landscaped sidewalks. Similar walks on adjacent blocks provide uninterrupted pedestrian linkage. Street trees that conform to City of Dublin standards will provide sufficient shade for pedestrians accessing the site or walking by or around the site. Sufficient secure bicycle parking will be provided for cOUlt staff and visitors. The ECHOJ is located within the City of Dublin, and within the planning area of the East Dublin Specific Plan / General Plan Amendment. The current Land Use Diagram identifies this site for Public / Semi Public land use. Sites designated as Public/Semi Public land use provide for the development of governmental or institutional uses. Clearly, the ECHO.l falls within this categorization. Attached is Figure 4.12 trom the Draft EISIEIR. Table 4.1 from the Draft ErS/EIR is attached which shows that this development would be at less than 0.25 FAR, well below the established maximum floor-area ratio allowed by the EDSP and the EDGP A. ATTACHI\;1ENT 1- Pagc I of.ì July 7, 2003 Because we are maintaining the existing bern1 across the northern portion of the development site, views ffom the residential neighborhood immediately south and east of the proposed development will still not be able to see Santa Rita behind the bern1. Where we are eliminating the berm we are placing the building. We have designed the building to screen service as accessed from Broder Boulevard. Cut and fill on the ECHO.l site will be balanced. An approximately 340 foot wide section of the existing berm on the north end of the site will be removed under the footprint of the building and the excavated material will be used to widen the remaining 650 feet of the berm to form the upper parking terrace. No off-haul of excess fill will be needed. The site will be graded to accommodate the building and parking on two gently sloping terraces. The lower terrace, which slopes up from Gleason Drive, will have an average elevation of about 380 feet above sea level. This is approximately the same as the existing elevation. The lower terrace will extend along the entire southern side of the site and wrap around the west side of the building to encompass the secure parking and loading area behind the building. The parking on this terrace will be screened from view from Gleason Drive by a low, planted berm along Gleason Drive. The higher terrace, which will be constructed on the existing berm and which will provide access to the building entrance, will rise to an elevation of 398 to 405 feet at the north side of the parking lot. The upper terrace extends along the entire north side of the site and would wrap around the east side of the building. The existing eucalyptus trees along Broder Boulevard, which are planted on the existing berm, will remain. The ECHOJ building itself has an entry level of 393.5 feet, which is accessed from the upper terrace. There is a Lower Level at elevation 379.5, which is accessed directly from Broder Boulevard in the back of the building for secure deliveries to the building. The development of the architecture has proceeded along the dual aims of creating a building, which would not only reflect the dignity and honor appropriate to a courthouse, but also would make a notable yet sympathetic addition to the fabric of the city. Development of the massing and architecture was centered on creating a more elegant silhouette, integrating fenestration requirements into the exterior design and further exploration of building materials and detailing. Careful attention was given to create a hierarchy of exterior scales both for the skyline seen from various vistas and the pedestrian experience of approach to the building. The Design Team worked both "inside out" and "outside in" to define the massing. The massing is a subtle interplay of simple rectangular masses clustered around a central atrium space that aligns with the visual axis of the prominent vehicular approach from Hacienda Ave. This visual axis gives the building a strong presence on the skyline and arrival destination. The Western half of the building mass is four stories in height against the lower three story height of the Eastern office wing. The massing of the courthouse has been intentionally designed to accommodate a perception of lower scale to lesson the visual impact to the adjacent residential neighborhood. This was accomplished from a massing concept by keeping the 3 story office wing in front of the higher 4 story courtroom wing. Finally, the architectural expression must make a civic statement about the value and importance of a judicial facility within the context of a suburban environment. Pedestrians will enter the plaza from the East rather than on axis with the Hacienda approach. As a result, thc entrance pavilion form serves as the primary pedestrian orientation element. The building lobby and screening area are situated in this element and are connected to the central atrium space through a connecting corridor. It is intended that this 30 foot tall lobby creates a heroic sense of arrival with its elegant proportions and reinforces the ceremonial procession into the courthouse. The predominant interface between this site and the City of Dublin to the south is Gleason Drive. As such, this street will present a landscape buffer that compliments those existing on surrounding streets. New trees and other planting will screen the parking lot and the Santa Rita facility. Street trees and other plantings will conform to the City of Dublin guidelines. Vehicular and pedestrian entrances and exits will include accent plantings and clear visibility for safety. Similar to the architecture, the site improvements proposed at the primary entrance and terminus of Hacienda Drive are intended to give appropriate prominence to this civic building and its position in the City of Dublin and in Alameda County. A symmetrical greensward lined by columnar trees extends the civic prominence of the architecture onto the ground plane and connects the building to the city fabric. A pedestrian plaza provides a base for the architectural focus of the building that is suitably scaled and proportioned. The Hacienda entrance leads directly to the east facing building entrance and drop off An island separates the drop off area from the central boulevard. This island will feature a sculpture, flags, a raised planter or other identifying element. It will also provide an element of site security by serving as a vehicular banier. A centrally aligned boulevard extends from the entry plaza to the East Terminus at the secondary means of site ingress/egress. This central boulevard with one-way driving lanes is divided by a landscaped median and lined with landscaped pedestrian walks. A cross section of the central boulevard would show it level with the entry plaza, lower than the parking at Broder and Pagc 2 of .ì July 7, 2003