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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

South San Francisco Planning Commission Regular Meeting – March 16, 2023

Planning Commission — Thursday, March 16, 2023

BodySouth San Francisco, California

SessionPlanning Commission

DateThursday, March 16, 2023

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:47:17

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:32

Welcome to the Thursday, March 16th regular meeting of the South San Francisco Planning Commission.

0:38

This meeting is being held in person at the municipal service building, but online participation is available to the public.

0:46

To provide a comment during the meeting, please fill out a speaker card if you are in the meeting chambers, or use the raise hand function if you are online.

0:56

You will have three minutes to make your comments.

0:58

Please note that all commission time limits and rules of decorum will apply to public comments.

1:17

Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

1:23

One nation under God and the visible with liberty and justice for all.

1:33

May we have a roll call, please?

1:37

Absolutely, Chair.

1:40

Commissioner Sarah Funes.

1:43

Here.

1:44

Commissioner Michelle Evans.

1:46

Here.

1:47

Commissioner Sam Shahade.

1:49

Here.

1:50

Vice Chair Norman Faria.

1:52

Here.

1:53

Chair Alex Zhang.

1:54

Here.

1:55

All are present.

1:58

Agenda review.

1:59

Are there any changes to the agenda?

2:01

No proposed changes, Chair.

2:03

Thank you.

2:06

So we'll go to the oral communications.

2:08

Does any member of the public wish to address the commission on an item that is not on tonight's agenda?

2:15

If you are attending in person, please please fill out a speaker card.

2:20

If you are attending online, please use the raise hand feature.

2:29

Clerk, do we have any speaker?

2:35

Yes, we do.

2:47

Yeah.

2:51

Yeah.

2:51

So you just go up to the front.

2:55

Yes.

3:06

Yep.

3:07

Please uh come to the podium and identify yourself.

3:09

You have three minutes.

3:14

Good evening, Planning Commissioner.

3:16

My name is Kenneth Dale.

3:18

I'm a field rep for the Carpenters Union 217, representing 1,600 construction workers living throughout San Mattel County, and 38,000 members in Northern California.

3:30

Tonight I want to speak to you about the need for labor standard, standard that we all need that will help the working class, like most of us blue-collar workers in construction.

3:41

With labor standard comes a commitment to apprenticeship program to guarantee we have an experienced workforce to complete high quality project in a safe and timely manner, a livable wage with medical and retirement benefits to allow workers and their families to live in the community they work in.

4:01

This also means those wages will be reinvested back into the local community as they spend their earnings and their tax dollars or help fund local schools and government projects that invest in apprenticeship, prevailing wage health care are the best deals for workers and the community.

4:18

The peninsula needs more trained construction workers to meet the demand for the new housing and major public infrastructure projects that are in the pipeline.

4:30

Use experienced and well-trained workers.

4:33

This leads to a higher quality workmanship, meeting building standard and completing the project quickly.

4:39

South San Francisco should be set in example and be the standard of what's doing right for blue-collar families.

4:45

We would love to have a real valuable meeting with each and every one of you to answer questions you might have about what labor violation is and what labor standards should look like.

5:00

For all these reasons, the Carpenter Union urges South San Francisco adopt labor standard as requirement for any developers planning to build in our city.

5:06

We look forward for your support and thank you for your time.

5:11

Thank you.

5:14

Is there any other speaker in person or online?

5:25

Hearing no speaker, we will move online.

5:28

At one?

5:29

No, no speakers online.

5:31

Thank you.

5:31

Thank you, Kelsey.

5:32

So we'll move on to the next item, disclosure of Exparte Communications.

5:38

If any commissioner has had any communication with applicants, did any site or project visits had interactions with third parties or had any conflicts regarding any items on the agenda?

5:51

You may disclose them at this time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Affordable Housing████████████████████████████28%

Technology and Innovation█████████████13%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%

Land Use Planning█████████9%

Public Comment█████████9%

Environmental Protection████████8%

Procedural██████6%

Transportation Safety██████6%

Parking Management███3%

Summary of Proceedings

South San Francisco Planning Commission Regular Meeting – March 16, 2023

The South San Francisco Planning Commission held a regular meeting on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 7:00 PM in the Municipal Services Building Council Chambers. The meeting covered a consent calendar, a public hearing for a major residential development, and administrative business items including the annual housing element report and an informational update on a proposed all-electric reach code.

Consent Calendar

Approved the draft minutes from the February 16, 2023 Planning Commission meeting.
Approved the Master Sign Program and Design Review for two life science buildings at 480/490 Forbes Boulevard, finding the project categorically exempt from CEQA.

Public Comments & Testimony

Kenneth Dale, field representative for Carpenters Union 217, representing 1,600 construction workers in San Mateo County, urged the city to adopt labor standards for developers. He advocated for apprenticeship programs, prevailing wage, healthcare and retirement benefits, stating that these ensure a trained workforce and reinvestment into the local community.

Discussion Items

Public Hearing – 7 South Linden Avenue Residential Development (543 Units): Senior Planner Christy Usher presented the project. The 4.2-acre site, zoned T5 Corridor, would be developed with a 7-story, 85-foot-tall building containing 543 units (62 studios, 255 one-bedrooms, 229 two-bedrooms), with 82 units (15%) designated as affordable (55 at 80% AMI, 27 at 50% AMI). The project is all-electric, includes 563 parking spaces (1.04 per unit), 154 bike parking spaces, and various amenities. The applicant, Essex Property Trust, presented the design, noting community support and the project’s consistency with the General Plan. Commissioners questioned staff and applicant on storage exceptions, parking unbundling, traffic signal improvements, ventilation, and height. The project received no public comments. The Commission voted unanimously to adopt the CEQA resolution (Resolution 3a) finding consistency with the 2040 General Plan EIR, and the entitlements resolution (Resolution 3b) approving Design Review and Transportation Demand Management Plan subject to conditions.
2022 Housing Element and General Plan Annual Progress Report: Chief Planner Tony Rozzi presented the final report for RHNA Cycle 5 (2015-2023). The city issued building permits for 1,511 housing units against the 1,836-unit goal. The city exceeded its above-moderate income allocation but fell short on moderate, low, and very low-income categories. The report will be submitted to the state by April 1, 2023.
Proposed All-Electric Reach Code and EV Charging Reach Code: Chief Sustainability Officer Christina Fernandez and consultant Layla Silver presented an informational update on a proposed ordinance requiring new non-residential buildings to be all-electric (with limited exemptions for industrial processes, laboratories, medical uses, commercial kitchens, backup power, and projects with existing entitlements). The ordinance also proposes EV charging infrastructure beyond 2022 CalGreen standards for new residential and non-residential construction. Public comments included: Dasha Leeds (Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter) supporting the code but recommending removal of certain exemptions and clarifying definitions; Melanie Cohn (Biocom California) urging exemptions for life sciences due to technological limitations and grid capacity concerns; Tom Kearney (resident) suggesting gas stub-outs for future flexibility and cost considerations; and Louis Marante (Bay Area Council) supporting the life sciences industry. Commissioners discussed the need for flexibility for future tenants and life science exemptions. Staff will incorporate feedback before presenting to City Council.

Key Outcomes

The consent calendar (items 1 and 2) was approved unanimously (5-0).
The CEQA determination for 7 South Linden Avenue (Resolution 3a) was approved unanimously (5-0).
The entitlements approval for 7 South Linden Avenue (Resolution 3b) was approved unanimously (5-0).
The 2022 Housing Element Annual Progress Report was received as information; staff will submit to the state.
The informational update on the all-electric reach code was received; staff will consider public and commission feedback and present the ordinance to City Council at a later date.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the Thursday, March 16th regular meeting of the South San Francisco Planning Commission. This meeting is being held in person at the municipal service building, but online participation is available to the public. To provide a comment during the meeting, please fill out a speaker card if you are in the meeting chambers, or use the raise hand function if you are online. You will have three minutes to make your comments. Please note that all commission time limits and rules of decorum will apply to public comments. Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God and the visible with liberty and justice for all. May we have a roll call, please? Absolutely, Chair. Commissioner Sarah Funes. Here. Commissioner Michelle Evans. Here. Commissioner Sam Shahade. Here. Vice Chair Norman Faria. Here. Chair Alex Zhang. Here. All are present. Agenda review. Are there any changes to the agenda? No proposed changes, Chair. Thank you. So we'll go to the oral communications. Does any member of the public wish to address the commission on an item that is not on tonight's agenda? If you are attending in person, please please fill out a speaker card. If you are attending online, please use the raise hand feature. Clerk, do we have any speaker? Yes, we do. Yeah. Yeah. So you just go up to the front. Yes. Yep. Please uh come to the podium and identify yourself. You have three minutes. Good evening, Planning Commissioner. My name is Kenneth Dale. I'm a field rep for the Carpenters Union 217, representing 1,600 construction workers living throughout San Mattel County, and 38,000 members in Northern California. Tonight I want to speak to you about the need for labor standard, standard that we all need that will help the working class, like most of us blue-collar workers in construction. With labor standard comes a commitment to apprenticeship program to guarantee we have an experienced workforce to complete high quality project in a safe and timely manner, a livable wage with medical and retirement benefits to allow workers and their families to live in the community they work in. This also means those wages will be reinvested back into the local community as they spend their earnings and their tax dollars or help fund local schools and government projects that invest in apprenticeship, prevailing wage health care are the best deals for workers and the community. The peninsula needs more trained construction workers to meet the demand for the new housing and major public infrastructure projects that are in the pipeline. Use experienced and well-trained workers. This leads to a higher quality workmanship, meeting building standard and completing the project quickly. South San Francisco should be set in example and be the standard of what's doing right for blue-collar families. We would love to have a real valuable meeting with each and every one of you to answer questions you might have about what labor violation is and what labor standards should look like. For all these reasons, the Carpenter Union urges South San Francisco adopt labor standard as requirement for any developers planning to build in our city. We look forward for your support and thank you for your time.

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