Land Use Designations Background – General Plan and Zoning Districts 2016 General Plan
A City’s General Plan is a comprehensive, long- term blueprint for various goals, policies, and programs of the City. Pursuant to CA Government Code Section 65302, every city and county must adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan with seven mandatory elements, including a Land Use Element.. In Foster City, the combined Land Use and Circulation Element (“LUC Element”) was updated in 2016. The City of Foster City’s 2016 Land Use and Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan focus on past, present and future development issues affecting Foster City. The General Plan includes both general descriptions of land use patterns and land use categories. Land use patterns are descriptions of where general neighborhood commercial and mixed uses currently exist and where development, anticipated at the time of General Plan adoption (2016), will be. General Plan Land Use Categories (“GP Land Use Category”) are generalized groupings of land uses and titles that define a predominant land use type . GP Land Use Categories (mapped in 3.4 of the Land Use Element) are the land use designations for properties in the City and have defined density within each category and restrictions on what is allowed under the General Plan.
Land Use Patterns
Based on the General Plan, commercial and industrial uses make up approximately 16% of the land use patterns within the City . Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed- Use patterns are generally where Pilgrim Triton, Foster Square, Miramar Apartments, and Marlin Cove apartments are located. Office Commercial land use patterns are generally located in the Metro Center 100- acre area and along East Hillsdale Boulevard. Light industrial and Research and Development (R&D) land uses are generally concentrated on the north side of State Route 92 with three distinct major areas in the Hatch Drive/Chess Drive, Lincoln Centre, and Vintage Park. While compatible R&D options were approved through Resolution 2022- 138 for Town Center Commercial Land Use Category designation, the land use patterns and description of commercial and industrial uses, generally, remain relatively unchanged since the 2016 LUC Element was adopted. Detailed descriptions of the land use patterns are available in the Land Use Category in the General Plan LUC Element on pages 3-10 through 3-16.
GP Land Use Categories
Under the Land Use Categories, non -residential and non -public services (i.e., government facilities and parks) are generally in one of the following categories: Town Center Commercial, Neighborhood Commercial, Service Commercial, Waterfront Commercial, Light Industrial, Research/Office Park (ROP), and Chess/Hatch Office Research. Below is a short summary of what each Land Use Category allows:
• Town Center Commercial: The language to this designation was updated in 2022 through Resolution No. 2022- 138. This designation is reserved for the area located northwest of East Hillsdale Boulevard, bounded by Foster City Boulevard to the north and State Route 92 to the west. The area includes a 100 -acre development known as Metro Center, in addition to Parkside Towers and other office developments. The Town Center area is intended to serve as Foster City’s downtown core and allows for a mix of uses, including residential, commercial office, retail, service and compatible research and development (R&D). R&D uses are considered compatible with this designation if project design (i.e., site planning, architecture, and landscape architecture) is consistent with nearby uses and functional or operational characteristics of a hazardous or nuisance nature can be mitigated or reduced to an acceptable level through design control.
Land Use Designations Background – General Plan and Zoning Districts Generally, R&D covers facilities for industrial, scientific, or technological research, product design, prototype production, development, and testing. The highest intensity uses in the City would be allowed, with Floor Area Ratios (FAR) for office/R&D developments ranging from .55 to 2.0 FAR. Town Center office developments located outside Metro Center, have lower FARs which range from 0.18 to 1.5 FAR. Residential developments range from Cityhomes townhouses at 15 units per acre to Metro Senior Apartments at 60 units per acre.
• Neighborhood Commercial: Reserved for small neighborhood convenience shopping centers whose primary focus is servicing the immediate neighborhood. Although uses allowed in the centers are mostly limited to neighborhood serving uses, a percentage of the floor area of each center may be occupied by uses which are community serving in nature. In addition, the City will allow housing or a mix of housing and commercial development at specifically designated “housing opportunity sites”, consistent with Housing Element Policies. FARs of neighborhood commercial centers generally range between .20 and .30 FAR.
• Service Commercial: Includes a mix of uses providing general services. The area bounded by Foster City Boulevard, East Hillsdale Boulevard, and State Route 92 is designated Service Commercial and contains a mix of research and development firms, storage and professional offic es. Also located in this area are food establishments, including several fast food restaurants, and a community theatre (Hillbarn). Land use intensities vary greatly in this area, from relatively low FAR of .03 to .12 FAR for restaurant and gas station uses, to higher intensity office developments with FAR’s ranging from .20 to .98 FAR (although most developments fall in the lower end, .20 to .40 FAR, of this range).
• Waterfront Commercial: This designation allows only for commercial development which is directly related to, and enhances the public use of, the waterfront without damaging environmental effects. Appropriate commercial uses would avoid impacting wetlands and could include restaurants, commercial recreation, marine -related retail and offices and marina berths. The site could also be used to expand the wetland areas in order to provide mitigation for off- site projects. At the present time, only the proposed Foster City Marina site is designated for waterfront commercial uses.
• Light Industrial: Includes wholesale facilities, storage warehouses and the manufacturing, processing, repairing, or packaging of goods. Emission of fumes, noise, smoke or other pollutants or nuisances are strictly controlled. A limited amount of general office use is acceptable in this area provided the uses meet the requirements established for the M -1 (Light Industrial) zoning district. The M -1 zoning district is proposed to be amended to allow general office uses part of this element. FARs for developments in the industrial area range from .20 to .60 FAR.
• Research/Office Park (ROP): Areas with this designation contain office, research and development, and manufacturing establishments whose operations are clean and quiet.
Mixed-use projects which include some retail and residential uses in addition to office and research uses may, under certain conditions, be considered compatible with this designation. Such conditions include compatibility of uses and project design (land planning, architecture, etc.). Vintage Park, the Lincoln Centre area, the Mariners Golf site and the Bayside Towers development are all designated for Research/Office Park use.
The intensity of development varies, with FARs generally ranging from .30 along Foster City Boulevard, to .44 for Bayside Towers to a campuswide average of .79 for the Gilead Campus within Vinta ge Park. The intensity of development for the vacant Vintage Park sites is anticipated to have an FAR up to 1.0.
Land Use Designations Background – General Plan and Zoning Districts • Chess/Hatch Office Research: Areas with this designation allow commercial, office, industrial, biotechnology and other such compatible uses, including vehicle parking in both parking structures and at -grade parking lots on the project site. Incompatible uses such as housing, schools, day care, and other uses serving primarily children are prohibited.
Vertically and horizontally mixed- use developments that maximize the use of land, organize land uses and pedestrian/vehicular circulation in a safe, logical and functional manner and establish a safe, logical and functional design relationship with adjacent land uses is allowed within this designation. Uses must meet the requirements of Chapter
17.68, General Performance Standards, of Title 17, Zoning, of the Foster City Municipal Code. FARs for developments in this area would range from 0.6 to 1.55 FAR.
ROP specifically has component of offices with R&D uses and is located mostly north of State Route 92 and where the Gilead Integrated Campus is. Each category includes description of allowable uses, density, and restrictions (if applicable).
Figure 1. General Plan Land Use Category Map (2016)
Land Use Designations Background – General Plan and Zoning Districts One notable Land Use Category that was not specified above, but does have a component of retail is Civic Center Mixed Use Category. This is a specific designation to the Foster Square location that has a mix of retail, housing, and civic centers. Detailed description of each Land Use Category is in the General Plan LUC Element on pages 3-16 thru 3-19. Figure 1 below shows the 2016 Land Use Categories and should be noted that the legend on this map includes both descriptions of the land use and the Land Use Category itself.
Zoning Districts
Another layer that governs land
uses is Zoning District which
defines allowable uses,
development standards,
performance standards, and more.
Non-residential and non- public
services (i.e., government facilities
and parks) are generally in the
following districts: C-O Commercial
Office, C-1 Neighborhood Business
District, C -2 General Business
District, C-M Commercial Mix
District, C-A Commercial
Automobile Repair and Service
District, M-1 Light Industrial District,
and variations of those zoning
districts with PD Planned
Development combined. Figure 2
below shows the general locations
of these zoning districts. A llowable
uses in each districts is available on
the City’s Municipal Code.
However, it should be noted that
PD combined districts often time
are more specific in allowable uses
and development standards. Any
sites with a PD combined district
should refer to the latest General
Development Plan and
associated adopted ordinance to
determine allowable use.
Figure 2. Commercial and Industrial Zoning Districts