Title
Report regarding resolutions making a determination that a proposed project to construct a new Security Building (B38) at 380 DNA Way in the Genentech Master Plan (GMP) Zoning District is fully within the scope of the Genentech Master Plan and Program Environmental Impact Report under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15168, and approving a request for a Use Permit and Design Review for the proposed project in accordance with Title 20 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code. (Adena Friedman, Principal Planner)
label
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt resolutions:
1. Adopt a resolution making findings and a determination that the project is fully within the scope of environmental analysis provided in the 2020 Master EIR and that no additional environmental documentation is needed.
2. Adopt a resolution making findings and approving Use Permit and Design Review Permit requests to construct a new manufacturing facility (B38) at 380 DNA Way in the Genentech Master Plan Zoning District subject to the draft Conditions of Approval.
MOTIONS FOR THE COMMISSION TO ADOPT STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
• Move to adopt the resolution making a CEQA determination that the project is within the scope of the Genentech Master Plan EIR
• Move to adopt the resolution approving the entitlements request
Body
BACKGROUND
In 2020, the City approved an updated Genentech Master Plan, and certified a corresponding Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The Genentech Master Plan District (“GMPD”) Zoning District, 2020 Master Plan, and 2020 EIR provide the regulations, policies, and environmental requirements for all new development within the Genentech Campus. This project, as proposed, requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit and Design Review Permit per SSFMC 20.260.006. The proposal for a new Security Building (B38) is the first new building proposed under the updated 2020 Master Plan.
PROPOSED PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Overview
The project site is located on the hilltop of the Upper Campus, immediately adjacent to DNA Way. It is identified in the Master Plan as an opportunity area for new development, or redevelopment, The site is approximately 2.3 acres, and currently includes two surface parking lots with 130 parking spaces, and the existing Building B39, which is a two-story, 15,000 square foot (sq. ft.) building that currently houses Genentech’s Security and Resilience team. The existing B39 is unable to meet all of the needs of the Security and Resilience team, and will be demolished as part of this project. Genentech is proposing the new Security Building to replace all of the services that are housed at the existing B39, which would be demolished once the new facility is constructed and operational. The proposed Security Building will be 12,100 sq. ft. and will contain:
• Genentech’s Emergency Response Team, with four apparatus bays for emergency vehicles, a training room, and a team room
• Offices for Security staff
• A public-facing lobby with a lost and found
• Supporting spaces such as a meal room and wellness rooms
• A public entry plaza facing DNA Way
• A secure staff amenities area at the north side of the building
Building Orientation, Massing, and Scale
The single-story building is focused towards DNA Way, with a landscape buffer located between the building frontage and the street (project plan set attached as Exhibit A to the Associated Entitlements Resolution). The building is designed as a secure building, with a public-facing entry. The public-facing uses are located closer to the street frontage and building entrance, and the high security areas are located towards the rear of the building further from the main entrance.
The project includes 80 vehicle parking spaces, located to the sides and rear of the building, with visitor parking spaces located adjacent to the building entrance. Secure bicycle parking is provided within the building. The project site will also include an outdoor mechanical yard that houses a stand-by emergency generator for power supply, in the event of a power outage. There is an enclosed exterior amenity space (approximately 3,000 sq. ft.) located to the rear of the building for employee use.
Building Materials
The materials proposed for the building are consistent with many of the exterior materials used throughout the Genentech campus.
These exterior materials include:
• Mass timber
• Fluted cement panels
• High-performance glazing
• Cast-in-place concrete
• Perforated metal fencing
The building also includes roof-mounted solar panels, and solar panels covering a portion of the rear parking area.
Outdoor Areas and Landscaping
The landscape plan envisions four distinct landscape zones throughout the site, including courtyard landscape, stormwater bioretention areas, landscape berms, and perimeter landscaping. The landscaping plan also includes pedestrian pathways, concrete unit pavers, wooden seating elements and cast-in-place concrete seat walls, and metal planter walls. All of the landscape materials are complementary to the building design, and are consistent with the landscape design and material throughout the Genentech campus.
Sustainability
The building is designed as a sustainable building, constructed of mass timber and utilizing solar arrays both on the rooftop and in the parking area. The architectural design is intended to maximize natural light, while shielding the interior from stronger sunlight. The building itself will use all-electric energy, drought-tolerant planting, and water efficient irrigation control systems to contribute to overall building and site sustainability.
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
The Design Review Board, at its meeting on April 19, 2022, reviewed the application and recommended approval of the project. The DRB comment letter is attached to this staff report.
ZONING CONSISTENCY ANALYSIS
Design Review
Both staff and the Design Review Board have reviewed the application and determined that the proposal meets the City’s regulations and design goals of the adopted Genentech Master Plan. The existing site would be substantially improved as part of the B38 construction and would be further upgraded with the addition of a new Security Building. The Master Plan provides direction for evaluating all new developments on the Genentech campus and is detailed below.
Master Plan Urban Design Goals
The 2020 Master Plan identifies urban design goals and objectives; relevant recommendations are included below:
• Strengthen the Upper Campus at the “heart of the Campus” by programming active uses, establishing places that prioritize people over cars and incorporating outdoor spaces for daily and / or special events
• Foster creative streetscape and productive landscape design that supports sustainability goals
• Continue to commission superior architecture that will distinguish Genentech as a leader in innovative and high-quality development
• Incorporate placemaking design decisions into every new project
• Use low water-use landscaping materials that meet Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance and Assembly Bill 1881 goals and requirements
• Select long-lived native and adaptive plant species that work well in cool and windy marine conditions
Developing a new Security Building on the Genentech Campus achieves the design vision of the Genentech Master Plan, while providing a centrally-located and state-of-the-art facility for the campus’ critical security and emergency operations. The application is consistent with the urban design, architectural, and landscape design direction in the 2020 Master Plan.
Climate Action Plan
The Climate Action Plan (CAP) was adopted by the City Council in 2014 to establish sustainability measures and greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies for the City, consistent with state legislation (AB 22 and SB 375). New residential, commercial, and industrial construction is subject to the adopted CAP provisions. These include electric vehicle charging stations, alternative energy use, solar conduit pre-wiring, and reduced water demand for landscaping. Genentech has been an early adopter of sustainable construction due to health, functionality, and cost concerns and the proposed building would conform to these standards, as included in the draft Conditions of Approval.
Use Permit
The Genentech Master Plan District (GMPD) requires that any new construction be evaluated for consistency with the Master Plan. As proposed, this application achieves the Master Plan’s vision, as discussed in the Design Review analysis. The proposed project complies with the required use permit findings contained in SSFMC § 20.260.006, as well as the standards for development within the Genentech campus and urban design guidelines. If approved, regular updates on the construction and operation of B38 would be provided through the Annual Development Review report by Genentech. Accordingly, the project is consistent with the Master Plan guidelines and purpose.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY ANALYSIS
The proposed project is consistent with the City’s General Plan, which designates the site as Business and Technology Park. This land use designation promotes campus-like environments for corporate headquarters, research and development facilities such as manufacturing, and offices.
TRIP CAP & TDM
As part of the 2020 Master Plan, Genentech has established a Campus-wide Trip Cap of 5,216 AM peak-hour drive-alone trips. To achieve this Trip Cap, Genentech implements Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs for all of its employees at levels that can reduce drive-alone trips so that the Trip Cap is not exceeded. The B38 building is estimated to house approximately 110 employees (or less than one percent of the current employment at the Campus). The majority of these employees already work on the Campus, and many of them are currently housed at B39 (to be demolished). Therefore, the Security Building’s contribution to overall Campus-wide employee population growth, and thus vehicle trips, is minimal.
Genentech’s existing TDM programs will eventually need to increase in capacity commensurate with new employee growth, in order to maintain the required Trip Cap. However, given the scale of the existing gRide program and other current TDM measures, Genentech has available capacity within its current TDM program to absorb additional participants, including those new or relocated employees attributed to the B38. No new or substantially modified TDM programs are necessary to maintain the Trip Cap thresholds, with the addition of the B38 project
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In 2020, the City certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Genentech 2020 Master Plan Update. The EIR was a Program EIR, meaning that it provides sufficient detail to enable the City to make informed site-specific decisions on the individual development projects within the Genentech Campus. When individual projects contemplated under the Master Plan Update are proposed, the City will consider whether those projects’ environmental effects were fully disclosed, analyzed and as needed, mitigated within the 2020 Program EIR. That consideration will determine whether the subsequent project is exempt from further CEQA review, whether the subsequent project warrants preparation of a subsequent or supplemental environmental document, or whether the subsequent project warrants preparation of focused environmental review limited to certain site-specific issues.
As provided for pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15168 (c), later activities within a program (i.e., the Genentech Campus Master Plan Update) must be examined in the light of the 2020 Program EIR to determine whether an additional environmental document must be prepared. Lamphier-Gregory prepared an Initial Study (Exhibit A to the Associated CEQA Resolution) to determine whether the B38 project is within the scope of the 2020 Genentech Master Plan Program EIR, or whether a new environmental document is required.
No new environmental document is required if all of the following can be demonstrated:
• That the Project is a subsequent project within the scope of the Project Description as analyzed in the Program EIR for the 2020 Genentech Master Plan.
• That the Project will have no significant environmental effects not previously addressed in the 2020 Genentech Master Plan Program EIR, and will not have any significant effects that are more severe than those previously addressed in the 2020 Genentech Master Plan Program EIR
• That no substantial changes to the Genentech Master Plan are proposed as part of this Project. No substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the 2020 Genentech Master Plan Program EIR was certified, and no new information, which was not known and could not have been known at the time that the 2020 Genentech Master Plan Program EIR was certified as complete, has become available.
• That no new or additional mitigation measures or alternatives are required
• That all applicable regulations and mitigation measures identified in the 2020 Genentech Master Plan Program EIR will be applied to the Project.
The analysis within the Initial Study demonstrates that the B38 project is within the scope of the Genentech Master Plan Program EIR, and no new environmental document is required (per CEQA Guidelines 15168).
CONCLUSION
The proposed Building B38 is consistent with the adopted policies and regulations guiding development for the site and represents an opportunity to provide a state-of-the-art facility for critical Genentech Campus security operations within a sustainable and attractive building and landscape setting. Therefore, staff recommends that the Planning Commission take the following actions:
1. Adopt a resolution making findings and a determination that the project is fully within the scope of environmental analysis provided in the 2020 Master EIR and that no additional environmental documentation is needed.
2. Adopt a resolution making findings and approving Use Permit and Design Review Permit requests to construct a new manufacturing facility (B38) at 380 DNA Way in the Genentech Master Plan Zoning District subject to the draft Conditions of Approval.
Attachment:
1. DRB Comment Letter
Associated CEQA Resolution (Legistar File 22-534)
1. Exhibit A: B38 Security Building Project Initial Study
Associated Entitlements Resolution (Legistar File 22-535)
1. Exhibit A: Entitlement Submittal Set Project Plans
2. Exhibit B: Draft Conditions of Approval