Title
Ordinance amending the South San Francisco Zoning Map to rezone the properties at 131 Terminal Court, 120 Terminal Court, 196 Produce Avenue, 160 Produce Avenue, and 140 Produce Avenue from Mixed Industrial High (MIH) to Business Technology Park - High (BTP-H).
body
WHEREAS, US 131 Terminal Court Owner, LLC (“Applicant”) has submitted an application requesting approval to redevelop a 17.67-acre industrial site in the Lindenville Sub-Area with up to 1.7 million square feet of R&D / office development, commercial amenities, open space improvements, and on- and off-site infrastructure improvements at 131 Terminal Court, which would require approval of Design Review, Vesting Tentative Map, Transportation Demand Management Plan, and a Development Agreement, as well as amendments of the General Plan, Lindenville Specific Plan, and Zoning Map to change the existing land use and zoning designations from Mixed Industrial High (“MIH”) to Business Technology Park - High (“BTP-H”) (“Infinite 131 Project”); and
WHEREAS, in addition to the 131 Terminal Court site, five parcels north of the project site at 120 Terminal Court, 196 Produce Avenue, 160 Produce Avenue, and 140 Produce Avenue would also be redesignated and rezoned from MIH to BTP-H (“Off-Site Redesignation Parcels”); and
WHEREAS, the proposed amendments to the General Plan, Lindenville Specific Plan, and Zoning Map would also be in keeping with the adjacent office / R&D project at 101 Terminal Court (“Infinite 101 Project”) that was entitled by the Planning Commission in September 2023; and
WHEREAS, approval of the entitlements for the Infinite 131 Project and the Off-Site Redesignation Parcels is considered a “Project” for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act, Pub. Resources Code §21000, et seq. (“CEQA”); and
WHEREAS, in accordance with CEQA, the City has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) which evaluates the significant and potentially significant impacts of the Project, the growth inducing impacts of the Project, the cumulative impacts of the Project, and alternatives to the proposed Project; and
WHEREAS, the DEIR was circulated for the required 45-day public comment period from June 20 to August 5, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a lawfully noticed public hearing on August 1, 2024, to solicit public comment on the DEIR; and
WHEREAS, the Design Review Board reviewed the Infinite 131 Project at its July 23, 2023, meeting and recommended approval of the project; and
WHEREAS, the San Mateo County Airport Land Use Commission reviewed the proposed legislative enactments associated with the Project on June 12, 2025, and found them consistent with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan; and
WHEREAS, on September 4, 2025, the Planning Commission for the City of South San Francisco held a lawfully noticed public hearing at which time interested parties had the opportunity to be heard, to review the Project and to consider the Project EIR, as well as supporting documents. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council certify the Project EIR and to approve the Project and its associated General Plan Amendments, Lindenville Specific Plan Amendments, and Zoning Map Amendments; and
WHEREAS, the City Council reviewed and carefully considered in the information in the DEIR and FEIR (EIR), and by separate resolution, certified the EIR and adopted a Statement of Overriding Considerations; and
WHEREAS, the City Council reviewed and carefully considered the proposed Specific Plan Amendments, General Plan Amendments, and Zoning Map Amendments; and
WHEREAS, on September 24, 2025, the City Council of the City of South San Francisco held a duly noticed public hearing at which time interested parties had the opportunity to be heard, to review the Project and the Project EIR, and to receive public comments; and
WHEREAS, the City Council exercised its independent judgment and analysis, and considered all reports, recommendations, and testimony before making a determination on the Project.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that based on the entirety of the record before it, which includes without limitation, the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§21000, et seq.) (“CEQA”) and the CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations §§15000, et seq; the South San Francisco 2040 General Plan and General Plan EIR; the South San Francisco Municipal Code; the Project applications; the Project Plans, as prepared by SOM Architects, dated August 25, 2025; the Draft Transportation Demand Management Plan prepared by Fehr & Peers, dated March 2024; the Infinite 131 Project EIR, including the Draft and Final EIR and all appendices thereto; the draft General Plan Amendments; the draft Lindenville Specific Plan Amendments; the draft Zoning Map Amendments; draft Development Agreement; all reports, minutes, and public testimony submitted as part of the Planning Commission’s duly noticed September 4, 2025 public hearing; all reports, minutes, and public testimony submitted as part of the City Council’s duly noticed September 24, 2025 public hearing; and any other evidence (within the meaning of Public Resources Code §21080(e) and §21082.2), the City Council of the City of South San Francisco hereby finds as follows:
SECTION 1 FINDINGS
A. General Findings
1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and made a part of this Ordinance.
2. The Exhibit attached to this Ordinance, including Zoning Map Amendments (Exhibit A), is incorporated by reference and made a part of this Ordinance, as if set forth fully herein.
3. The documents and other material constituting the record for these proceedings are located at the Planning Division for the City of South San Francisco, 315 Maple Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080, and in the custody of the Chief Planner.
4. By separate resolution, the City Council, exercising its independent judgement and analysis, has found that an EIR was prepared for the Project in accordance with CEQA, and the EIR adequately discloses and analyzes the proposed Project’s potentially significant environmental impacts, its growth inducing impacts, its cumulative impacts, and analyzed alternatives to the Project. For those impacts that could potentially exceed CEQA thresholds of significance, where feasible, the City has identified and imposed mitigation measures that avoid or reduce the impact to a level of less-than-significant. The City Council has further found that the benefits of approving the Project outweigh the Project’s significant and unavoidable impacts. Accordingly, the City Council certified the EIR for the Project and adopted a statement of overriding considerations, in accordance with CEQA.
B. Zoning Map Amendment
1. The proposed Zoning Map amendments, attached hereto as Exhibit A, are consistent with the SSF 2040 General Plan, as amended per the General Plan Amendment, because the Zoning Map Amendments will rezone parcels from Mixed Industrial High to Business and Technology Park High, ensuring consistency with the General Plan and Lindenville Specific Plan.
2. The subject properties, including the Infinite 131 Project site and the Off-Site Redesignation Parcels, are suitable for the uses permitted in the Business and Technology Park High Zoning District in terms of access, size of parcel, relationship to similar or related uses, and other considerations deemed relevant by the Planning Commission and City Council because the proposed uses would redevelop large underutilized sites with high density life science developments in close proximity to the previously entitled Infinite 101 project, and all of the properties are in close proximity to the U.S. Highway 101 corridor.
3. The proposed Zoning Map Amendments are not detrimental to the use of land in any adjacent zone because the Zoning Map Amendments would provide for sufficient development, land use, and performance standards related to new development or alteration.
SECTION 2 AMENDMENTS
The City Council hereby amends the South San Francisco Zoning Map, as shown in Exhibit A to reflect the proposed Zoning Map Amendment. All other areas of the Zoning Map that are not amended by this Zoning Map Amendment are not included in Exhibit A and shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 3 SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Ordinance, including the application of such part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The City Council of the City of South San Francisco hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable.
SECTION 4 PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE
Pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 36933, a summary of this Ordinance shall be prepared by the City Attorney. At least five (5) days prior to the Council meeting at which this Ordinance is scheduled to be adopted, the City Clerk shall (1) publish the Summary, and (2) post in the City Clerk’s Office a certified copy of this Ordinance. Within fifteen (15) days after the adoption of this Ordinance, the City Clerk shall (1) publish the summary, and (2) post in the City Clerk’s Office a certified copy of the full text of this Ordinance along with the names of those City Council members voting for and against this Ordinance or otherwise voting. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days from and after its adoption.
Introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of South San Francisco held the 24th day of September 2025.
* * * * *