Affordable housing reduction for Marina project, tenant utility protections
On June 16, City Council will consider two housing measures. The first is a proposal to reduce the affordable housing requirement for the final phase of the Alameda Marina development to advance construction of a stalled 259-unit apartment project.
The second is an ordinance that would prohibit landlords from using Ratio Utility Billing Systems (RUBS). Tenants say this controversial utility-cost allocation method can lead to unpredictable, opaque charges. The proposal seeks to strengthen tenant protections and close a potential loophole in the City’s rent control system.
Council will also reappoint John Lipp and Jane Schmitz as Members of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities, reappoint Yatin Shastri as a Member of the Golf Commission, and reappoint Elise Hunter as a Member of the Public Utilities Board.
Below is a summary of the issues and information on how you can participate.
Alameda Marina Master Plan amendment
On June 16, City Council will consider amending the Alameda Marina Master Plan to reduce the affordable housing requirement for the project’s final phase, a 259-unit apartment building known as Phase III, the Foundry, located within the larger development along Clement Avenue between Lafayette and Chestnut Streets. The Planning Board recommended approving the proposal on May 26.
The Alameda Marina project, approved in 2018, includes up to 760 housing units, commercial and maritime commercial space, shoreline open space, and a 530-slip marina. Phase I, the Launch rental housing development, has been completed and occupied, while Phase II ownership housing is under construction. Phase III has not moved forward because of financial challenges tied to economic conditions.
To improve the project’s feasibility, the developer requested permission to reduce the number of deed-restricted affordable units from 43 to 21. The original requirement called for 23 very low-, 7 low-, and 13 moderate-income units. Under the proposed amendment, the project would provide 21 very low-income units, representing 8% of the building’s total units.
The request is tied to recently adopted amendments to Alameda’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, which allow entitled projects that have not yet received building permits to comply with updated affordability standards. According to the applicant, aligning Phase III with the revised ordinance would allow construction to begin this summer.
City staff supports the amendment, arguing it is consistent with General Plan and Housing Element policies aimed at facilitating housing production. Staff notes that Alameda must accommodate 5,353 new housing units during the 2023-2031 housing cycle, but has issued permits for only 449 units during the first two-and-a-half years of that period. Advancing the Phase III project would help the City progress toward its goals. The proposal does not change the building’s size, design, or total number of units.
Tenant utility protection
Council will consider an ordinance to prohibit landlords from using Ratio Utility Billing Systems (RUBS), a method of allocating utility costs among tenants in multi-family properties based on formulas related to unit size, number of bedrooms, or occupancy rather than actual usage. City staff argues that RUBS charges, which can fluctuate significantly, generate an increasing number of tenant complaints and may be used to circumvent Alameda’s rent control limits.
Under the proposal, landlords would only be allowed to charge tenants separately for utilities that are individually metered. RUBS would be prohibited for new tenancies immediately, while existing tenancies would transition away from the system through a one-time utility adjustment process. Landlords currently using RUBS could petition to permanently incorporate average utility charges from the previous year into the base rent. Those amounts would then become subject to the City’s annual rent increase limits. Tenants could challenge adjustments if the utility charges used in the calculation were inconsistent with their lease agreements.
City staff cites growing concerns over transparency, unexplained billing increases, administrative fees, delayed charges, and allocation methods that can force smaller households to subsidize larger ones. To encourage more accurate utility billing, the ordinance would allow landlords to recover the cost of installing separate utility meters over time as a capital improvement.
How to participate
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 16, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, located on the third floor of City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue.
Members of the public are welcome to participate in person or via Zoom. They may comment on the Non-Agenda, Consent Calendar, and Regular Agenda portions of the Meeting Agenda (link downloads document).
The Non-Agenda portion of the meeting provides an opportunity for members of the public to address the Council regarding any matter not on the agenda over which the Council has jurisdiction. The Consent Calendar is intended for routine items and is approved by a single motion. The Regular Agenda is the central portion of the meeting, where each issue receives a presentation and time for Council discussion and public comment.
Complete this online form to request reasonable accommodation.
Click here for Zoom registration. The Zoom phone number for telephone participants is 669-900-9128; the Meeting ID is 889 4166 3698.
Information to assist with remote participation is available online in the Public Comment and City Council Meeting Guide. The meeting can also be viewed on the City of Alameda’s Facebook page. Note that comments posted there are not monitored.
For each issue, public speakers will have three minutes to speak if fewer than five are speaking, or two minutes if five or more are speaking.
Community members may also email Council Members on issues of interest before meetings.
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
