DATE: February 23, 2023
TO: Council Economic Development Committee
FROM: Acting Development Services Director
SUBJECT: Preliminary Concept Review: Zoning Text Amendment to Allow Self-Storage Flex Industrial Development at 29265 Pacific Street.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council Economic Development Committee (CEDC) reviews the report and provides feedback to City staff and the prospective applicant.
SUMMARY
A property owner and applicant for a potential mixed industrial development composed of self-storage and speculative flex industrial space on an approximately 1.7-acre site at 29265 Pacific Street is seeking feedback on a proposed Zoning Text Amendment to allow public storage (self-storage) facilities on industrially zoned property in Hayward where such a use is currently not permitted.
BACKGROUND
On May 28, 2019, the City Council adopted a comprehensive update to the City’s Industrial Districts regulations creating three sub-districts. The Industrial sub-districts are:
Light Industrial (IL) sub-district applies to areas that generally contain small parcels located in relatively close proximity to residential areas, accommodates a wide variety of light industrial uses taking place primarily within enclosed buildings and producing minimal impacts on nearby properties. This is the most restrictive sub-district with regard to outdoor use and storage, heavy industry, and warehousing and distribution and is the most permissive with regard to non-industrial uses such as office, retail, and service commercial uses. Approximately, 11% of the industrial area is zoned IL District.
Industrial Park (IP)sub-district applies to areas with larger parcel sizes with existing or potential industrial park development, and is intended to provide areas for high technology, research and development, and industrial activities in an industrial park or campus-like atmosphere. A variety of industrial, manufacturing and high technology uses are allowed, but this Subdistrict is more restrictive with regard to heavy industrial uses than the General Industrial Subdistrict. Approximately, 46% of the industrial area is zoned IP District.
General Industrial (IG) sub-district applies to areas with a variety of parcel sizes and where a wide range of general industrial uses already exist and is intended to accommodate the widest variety of industrial uses including heavy industrial and warehousing/distribution uses. Approximately, 30% of the industrial area is zoned IG District As part of that update, the City Council updated the permitted and conditionally permitted uses in the industrial sub-districts to prioritize high tech, biotech, manufacturing, and other emerging technologies and to limit space-intensive, lower tax, and lower job-generating uses. One use that was eliminated with the update was Public Storage (also referred to as self-storage), which is defined in the Municipal Code as “individual storage spaces for a weekly or monthly fee to the public.” In late 2022, the property owner and architect of the property located at 29265 Pacific Street (APN 083-0450-002-04), an approximately 1.7-acre site currently being used as an outdoor contractor yard, approached the City to inquire about the process to construct a new 113,340 square foot building with a mix of self-storage and industrial flex space. The proposed self-storage use would be located in the basement and on the second and third floors of the new structure and the ground floor would be split into two 12,800-square-foot speculative, industrial flex spaces (Attachment II). Generally, the proposed site layout and architecture appear consistent with applicable regulations; however, staff has not conducted a thorough Code Compliance review because public storage is not a permitted use in the applicable IL District.
DISCUSSION
Public storage (self-storage) is not a permitted or conditionally permitted use in the Industrial sub-districts; therefore, the project as proposed would require approval of a Zoning Text Amendment, which is applicable to all properties within the amended district, not just a specific parcel.
Currently, there are 18 public storage facilities with approved business licenses operating in Hayward. One facility is specific to wine storage but the others are open to the public for the storage of goods. The majority of the facilities are located in industrially zoned areas, but three are located in commercial zoning districts (along Mission Blvd, on Cannery Court), where they were established prior to the adoption of current zoning regulations.
When the industrial regulations were updated in 2019, Planning and Economic Development staff discussed the benefits and costs of eliminating this particular use as a conditionally permitted use in the industrial districts, and determined that as a space-intensive, low-job, low-tax-generating use, it should be eliminated, particularly since there were a number of such facilities already operating in Hayward. However, according to this applicant, there is an additional unmet demand for public storage space in Hayward.
Zoning Text Amendments require City Council approval after public hearings and a thorough environmental analysis of the potential impacts of the proposed change. Given the significant time and cost in this process, the applicant is seeking high-level feedback from the CEDC about whether there is support for such a change.
Specifically, the applicant and City staff would like to obtain feedback on the following questions:
Would the members of the CEDC support a Zoning Text Amendment to allow self-storage as a conditionally permitted use in the IL (Light Industrial) District where the subject site is located? Would the members of the CEDC support requiring that such a use be a component of a mixed-use development with a flex warehouse and office space like the proposed project (Attachment II)? Or would the CEDC support allowing self-storage as a standalone use? Would the members of the CEDC support a Zoning Text Amendment to allow self-storage as a conditionally permitted use in the IP (Industrial Park) District and/or the IG (General Industrial) District?
NEXT STEPS
Following this meeting, the applicant will consider whether they would like to submit a Zoning Text Amendment application. If the applicant submits such an application, staff will process it as directed by the Municipal Code, conduct an environmental analysis, and bring it to the Planning Commission for a recommendation and to the City Council for a decision.
Prepared by: Leigha Schmidt, Principal Planner
Recommended by: Sara Buizer, Acting Development Services Director Paul Nguyen, Chief Economic Development Officer
Approved by:
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Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
Hayward Municipal Code Section 10-1.1600, Industrial Districts. https://library.municode.com/ca/hayward/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=HAYWARD_MUNICIPAL_CODE_CH10PLZOSU_ART1ZOOR_S10-1.1600INDI