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Page 5 of 12 airport influence area. Procedures in the ALUCP (pursuant to State law) permit the City Council to override the ALUC to allow new residential uses in the APA. To do so, a two-thirds City Council majority (i.e., in the case of 5 voting members, 4 of the 5 members) would need to find the project consistent with state airport land use compatibility law. Specifically, the City Council would need to find the approval consistent with PUC Section 21670a.2, as follows: “It is the purpose of this article to protect public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring the orderly expansion of airports and the adoption of land use measures that minimize the public's exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards within areas around public airports to the extent that these areas are not already devoted to incompatible uses.” Alternatively, the City could also allow residential uses in the East Lakes APA by securing an amendment to the ALUCP, approved by the Alameda County ALUC, to allow new residential uses in this area. Staff notes that, with respect to potential bases to support an override of the ALUC, the APA is not a zone established for the purpose of ensuring airport safety, which is separately regulated through a series of safety/land use compatibility zones, but rather to reduce the potential for airport-related noise exposure and related complaints and concerns. There are several facts that suggest an override of a consistency determination may be supportable, if it is validated by noise and other site-specific analysis: • The Livermore APA is more restrictive than the outer airport safety zone (Zone 7), which does permit residential uses. Zone 7 lies between Zone 6 and the Airport Influence Area boundary. • The East Lakes site is outside the 55 CNEL Noise Contour area as depicted in the ALUCP. The City’s Noise Ordinance establishes 60 dBA noise limit as acceptable for residential uses. • The City of Livermore has recently approved residential uses in the APA, in locations closer to the airport than the East Lakes site, including nearly 1,500 units as part of the Isabel Neighborhood Specific Plan. The applicant has indicated their strong preference for an East Lakes plan with residential development in the APA. Although an alternative design that places residential uses outside the zone may be feasible, it would likely include fewer units and would involve a number of compromises in the site design. For example, open space would be less dispersed throughout the site with open space clustered in the APA, and internal street connectivity would be reduced since the developable area of the site would be more of an “L” shape versus a rectangle. Staff requests City Council feedback on whether the applicant should proceed with a project with residential uses in the Livermore APA. Staff recommends the proposed project include residential uses in the APA for further analysis to be prepared during the City’s project review process. The City will prepare additional technical studies and analysis for City Council review when considering an ALUC override and project approval. Based on the outcome of these studies and analysis, the City Council could require project revisions to remove residential uses from the APA. Alternatively, the applicant could revise the Page 328 of 348