Alameda council introduces Marina Master Plan amendment to allow 8% very‑low‑income compliance for final phase

The Alameda City Council on June 16 introduced an ordinance to amend the Alameda Marina Master Plan, allowing the project’s final residential phase to comply with the city’s newly adopted inclusionary housing rules by meeting an 8% very‑low‑income requirement.

Planning staffer Tristan Swier told the council the amendment does not change the total number of units in the Marina project but changes how the affordable units are configured under the city’s newly adopted inclusionary options. “The developer is requesting to comply with the 8% very low requirement,” Swier said, describing the amendment as necessary for the project to move forward with building permits.

Developer Shawn Murphy of Alameda Marina Pacific Development said the Founder phase (also referenced as the Foundry) includes 259 units and would deliver 21 very‑low‑income units under the option the developer plans to use. “We plan to build the project utilizing the option three which is the 8% very low … it will deliver 21 important very low housing units,” Murphy said, adding that the phase also includes public open space, shoreline remediation, sea‑level rise protections and public access improvements.

Council members pressed staff on how the 8% very‑low‑income option relates to the city’s earlier inclusionary requirement—historically framed as a 15% inclusionary target—and were told the new ordinance (adopted earlier in the month) offers multiple compliance pathways and that the first phases of Alameda Marina were approved under prior rules. Swier reiterated the amendment would align the master plan with the recently adopted ordinance and allow the final phase to proceed through building permits when it becomes effective.

Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft and council members who spoke supported the amendment on the grounds of getting housing built while balancing required public benefits and sea‑level‑rise protections. The council voted unanimously to introduce the ordinance, which requires a second reading before final adoption; staff told the council the inclusionary ordinance takes effect 30 days after its adoption, and the Marina amendment will follow the normal ordinance adoption timetable.

Next steps: the council will schedule second reading/adoption and the ordinance will take effect 30 days after final adoption, as required by law. Staff and the developer said the amendment is intended to remove a procedural obstacle so the Foundry can proceed with final plan checks and building permits.