South San Francisco Planning Commission Regular Meeting - January 19, 2023
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South San Francisco Planning Commission Regular Meeting - January 19, 2023
The South San Francisco Planning Commission held a virtual regular meeting on January 19, 2023, at 7:00 PM. The meeting focused on the Housing Element Update for 2023-2031, annual reports, and routine business. Public comments largely centered on the future of the Municipal Services Building (MSB), though the item was not on the agenda. The Commission adopted the CEQA determination and recommended the Housing Element to the City Council, elected new officers, and received the Genentech Annual Report.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Draft minutes from December 15, 2022, approved unanimously.
- Item 2: Master Sign Program for the Safeway project at 180 El Camino Real, with a categorical CEQA exemption, approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Brian Shields (Carpenters Local 217) spoke during Oral Communications about Assembly Bill 2011, effective July 2023, which offers streamlined entitlements for developers meeting labor standards (prevailing wage, healthcare, apprenticeship).
- Wendy Sinclair-Smith asked whether the MSB (33 Royal) was on the agenda. Staff clarified it is not; the MSB is identified as a potential housing site in the Housing Element, but no development proposal is under consideration.
- Tom Carney urged preserving the MSB as a senior/community center, noting the lack of senior facilities and recent investments in the building. He asked that the commission consider its community value.
- Cynthia Markopoulis requested the MSB be removed from the Housing Element entirely, arguing the aging population (24% of residents) needs a senior center on that side of the city. She criticized the city’s priorities favoring east-side biotech development.
- During the Housing Element public hearing, no live comments were made, but approximately 46 pages of emailed comments (primarily regarding the MSB) were received and will be shared with the City Council.
Discussion Items
- Housing Element Update (2023-2031): Chief Planner Tony Rozzi presented the Housing Element, a policy blueprint required by state law. South San Francisco’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is 3,956 units over eight years, a significant increase from the prior 1,800. The proposed zoning allows up to 13,000 units to provide flexibility. Four geographic areas are identified: South Airport, Lyndonville, North El Camino Real, and South El Camino Real. The city has a pipeline of over 3,000 units and estimates ~300 ADUs. The aggressive timeline aims to adopt by January 31 to avoid “builder’s remedy” streamlined approvals. The state’s HCD comments were addressed. The Commission voted unanimously (4-0, one vacancy) to adopt the CEQA resolution (3A) and recommend the General Plan Amendment (3B) to the City Council. Commissioners emphasized this is a policy document, not a specific project approval.
- Genentech 2022 Annual Report: Principal Planner Adena Friedman and Genentech representatives Jessica Prasad and Sophie Martin presented the report. No new square footage was added in 2022. The campus has 5 million sq ft built out of 9 million allowed (FAR 1.0). Transportation mode share is shifting: 34% drive alone (down from 59% pre-pandemic), but remote work is at 50%. Single-occupancy vehicle trips average 3,174 per day, well below the 5,216 limit. Parking supply dropped 14% to ~6,400 spaces due to conversions. Development agreement prepayment of $2 million for commercial linkage fee and $100,000 community fund distributed among four local organizations. Commissioners commended the TDM performance and discussed manufacturing shifts, with clinical production remaining in South San Francisco. Public comment from Tom Carter requested improved maintenance of the Bayfront trail. No action taken; report received.
- Annual Reorganization: The Commission elected new officers. By tradition, Vice Chair Alex Tzang was nominated and approved as Chair (vote 5-0). Commissioner Norm Faria was nominated and approved as Vice Chair (vote 5-0).
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- Housing Element: (1) Resolution 3A (CEQA finding) adopted by a 4-0 vote. (2) Resolution 3B (General Plan Amendment) recommending approval to City Council adopted by a 4-0 vote.
- Officer Elections: Alex Tzang elected Chair, Norm Faria elected Vice Chair, both by 5-0 votes.
- Staff Report: Future meetings will be hybrid (in-person and virtual) starting in March 2023.
- Next Steps: The Housing Element will go before the City Council for adoption on January 24, 2023.
Meeting Transcript
Planning Commission reach out to them. They just uh extended the recruitment for a couple weeks. All right, Chair, it's uh seven o'clock and we've got our city attorney, so we can't get in trouble. Let's uh start when you're ready. Good evening. Welcome to the Thursday, January 19, 2023 regular meeting of the South San Francisco Planning Commission. This meeting is being held in accordance with the Brown Act as currently in effect under the provisions of Assembly Bill 361, which allows attendance by members of the Planning Commission, city staff, and the public to participate and conduct the meeting by teleconference. Teleconference locations are not open to the public to provide comments during the meeting. Please use the raise hand function indicating you would you wish to speak, and you will be unmuted in order during the time's reserve for public comment. You will have three minutes to make your comments. And we will read into the record emails or message comments that you provide. Please note that all commission time limits and rules of decorum will apply public comments. Will you please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Yes, Chair. Uh Commissioner Fria. Here. Here. Commissioner DePaz Fernandez. Vice Chair Zang. Chair Shahade. Here. Commissioner Funas is excused. And we have one vacancy. Okay. Are there any changes to the agenda? No proposed changes, Chair. Does any member of the public wish to address the commission on an item that is not on the agenda tonight at this time? Please use the raise hand feature to indicate that you would like to provide a comment. At this time, I will ask the clerk if there are any members of the public who would like to provide comments or if there are any comments we receive by email or voicemail. Chair, I have uh plenty of comments emailed. They are related to item three. They've been forwarded to you as a commission and posted online. Um, I do see a couple hands raised. That should not be for anything on the agenda. This would be for open comments on things not on the agenda. So see three hands raised. I'll start with the first one. It's a phone number starting in 1831. Uh, you should be able to unmute and speak now. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Brian Shields. I'm a field rep for Carpenter's Local 217, uh, covering San Mateo County. I just wanted to take a moment this uh evening to talk a little bit about Assembly Bill 2011. Uh AB 2011 is a bill authored by Buffy Wix that'll come into effect July 1st. It offers a shortened entitlement period that uh developers can take advantage of so long as they adhere to a few conditions, prevailing wage, health care for not just only that worker, but also for their family and apprenticeship. Uh the fourth condition is a lever uh lever of labor compliance, where we'll now be able to see if a developer has used that to get it through uh entitlement. We'll be able to look then at the contractor to see that the workers are being paid correctly and that uh there are no labor compliance issues on that job, such as misclassification of workers or extra hours work. So I just wanted to bring that to the commission tonight as uh food for thought moving forward into uh 2023.
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