Dear Neighbor,
You have requested updates about plans or projects that are proposed at the Claremont Resort and Spa. Here are the most recent developments. On September 17th, 2001, the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board (LPAB) adopted a formal resolution recommending that the Claremont Resort and Spa, including the building and the grounds, be nominated as a local landmark.
The LPAB recommendation will be considered by the Planning Commission in a public hearing on Wednesday, March 6th, 2002, 6:30 pm, in Hearing Room One, City Hall, One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. City planning staff currently is preparing a staff report to accompany the LPAB recommendation. There is a chance that this hearing will be rescheduled, so please call 238-3941 to confirm prior to March 6th.
The staff report will recommend that the building be landmarked, but will not recommend that the grounds be landmarked. Instead, staff most likely will propose some version of an S-4 Design Review Combining Zone for the grounds. An S-4 Design Review Combining Zone, according to the City's zoning ordinance, is designed "to preserve the design integrity of special properties with historic significance." It requires Regular Design Review "prior to constructing, establishing, altering, or painting a building, sign or other facility," and such projects will also be subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Regular Design Review requires notice to surrounding property owners and neighborhood groups for all applications.
Under Regular Design Review, the Planning Director has the discretion to approve an application, to refer the application to either the Design Review Committee of the Planning Commission or the LPAB for a recommendation to the Planning Director, or to refer the application to the Planning Commission. However, all decisions may be appealed by anyone to either the Planning Commission or the City Council, depending on the size of the proposal.
The S-4 Design Review Combining Zone, therefore, unlike the landmark process, does not require automatic referral to the LPAB. Additionally, the criteria for reviewing projects in an S-4 Design Review Combining Zone are less specific than the landmark criteria, especially with regards to the impact on the special character of the landmarked building. If you are interested in learning about the Berkeley/Oakland Neighbors of the Claremont (BONC) position on landmarking the grounds versus S-4 Design Review Combining Zone, you may email [email protected].
The case planner for this project is Pat McGowan. If you have any questions, you may email her at [email protected] or call her at 510- 238-3063. The planning staff report will be available on Wednesday, February 27th, one week before the hearing. You may obtain a copy from the Strategic Planning Division of Oakland's Community and Economic Development Agency, located at 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3330. The report also will be available on the City of Oakland homepage at www.oaklandnet.com by selecting "City Boards and Commissions" under the "City Resources" heading. Select "Planning Commission," then "Planning Commission Agenda." Staff reports are available by selecting the highlighted case file number. For further information on how to retrieve the staff report from the web site, please call 510-238-3941. If you are interested in communicating with the Planning Commission about this issue, the Planning Commission advises the following:
"Interested parties are encouraged to submit written material on agenda
items in advance of the meeting and prior to the close of the public
hearing
on the item. To allow for distribution to the Commissioners, staff,
and the
public, 20 copies of all material should be submitted. Material
submitted
at least ten days prior to the meeting may be included as part of the
agenda
packet; material submitted later will be distributed at or prior to the
meeting. To ensure that material is distributed to Commissioners, it
should
be received by the Commission Secretary no later than 48 hours prior to
the
meeting, and preferably by February 25th, 2002."
After the public hearing by the Planning Commission, the Commission's recommendation will be forwarded to the Oakland City Council, which, after holding another public hearing, has the final authority to designate local landmarks.
Unrelated to the question of landmarking the Claremont, in October of 2001, the Planning Commission accepted and deemed adequate the Parking Management Plan submitted by the Claremont Resort and Spa. According to the plan, "the Claremont has adequate parking supply to meet parking demand of the current health club membership of 1,333." Staff included the conditions that the Claremont designate additional on-site employee parking for spa staff and asked the Claremont to "amend the Claremont Employee Parking Policy to state that employees are requested not to park in the adjacent residential neighborhoods and to clarify that on-site parking is free to employees during their work-shift." Should health club membership reach 1,600, the Parking Management Plan will need to be updated and deemed adequate by the Planning Director.
On other fronts, you may see workers handing out leaflets in front of the Claremont. 140 Claremont Spa workers are attempting to unionize, while over 100 other union workers are bargaining for new contracts with the Claremont. If you are interested in finding out more information about their efforts, call Liz Oakley, with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, Local 2850, at 510-893-3181 x 133.