South San Francisco Planning Application: Genentech Master Plan Update (Rezoning and General Plan Amendment)
Project Description
Introduction
Since it was founded in 1976, Genentech has served as the biotechnology anchor of South San Francisco. With approximately 9,000 employees working in South San Francisco, Genentech is also the City's largest employer. The company's facility growth and development in South San Francisco is guided by its 2020 Genentech Campus Master Plan and associated Development Agreement. Genentech continues to meet or exceed its Master Plan obligations. Over the last decade, Genentech has invested approximately $5 billion in its South San Francisco campus in both infrastructure and capital projects and contributed significant community benefits to the City of South San Francisco through its Development Agreement obligations.
The Master Plan continues to provide a useful framework for Genentech's growth, but planning would be better integrated with the addition of properties owned or used by Genentech under long-term lease. Recent and anticipated property acquisitions by Genentech necessitate rezoning at this time, as the South San Francisco Zoning Code, containing provisions for the Genentech Master Plan overlay district, anticipates the rezoning of properties that are subsequently purchased or leased by Genentech. Additionally, conforming changes to the General Plan and Master Plan are proposed in order to provide consistency between all relevant planning documents.
2025 General Plan Amendment, Master Plan Amendment and Rezoning Request The following properties are proposed to be added to the Master Plan and rezoned to the Genentech Master Plan District:
● Owned:
○ The property located at 333 Point San Bruno Boulevard, APN 015-250-410, consisting of approximately 0.5 acres and APN 015-250-140, consisting of approximately 1.4 acres.
○ The property located at 525 DNA Way, APN 015-250-210, consisting of approximately 3.1 acres.
● Future Ownership/Current Long-term Lease:
○ The property located at 383-393 East Grand Avenue, APN 015-250-390, consisting of approximately 4.7 acres.
● Street Vacation
○ The segments of existing roadways identified for street vacation, including approximately 1,238 linear feet or roadways, consisting of approximately 8.55 acres as shown in Figure 1 below.
This application does not include any new development or construction. The existing buildings on properties that are being rezoned into the Master Plan may be repurposed for Genentech’s use, but no redevelopment of these properties is currently proposed.
Similarly, Genentech does not have any pending project applications for new development involving any of the rights-of-way of the proposed street acquisitions. Pursuant to this Project, the existing streets at DNA Way, Point San Bruno Boulevard and the short segment of Cabot Road will remain, but as private streets primarily serving the Genentech Campus. Genentech is not currently proposing removal or closure of these streets for public travel, but approval of the requested street vacation would give Genentech the right to close these streets at Genentech’s discretion (while maintaining public access to the Wind Harp).
The Genentech Master Plan requires that the following provisions be met for the addition of property to the Genentech Master Plan zoning district (page 148 of the 2020 Master Plan):
● The acreage of any new property added to the Campus shall be aggregated with the approximately 207 acres of existing Campus properties, and shall contribute to the overall Campus FAR of 1.0.
● The AM peak hour vehicle trips attributed to any existing use of property added to the Genentech Campus shall be added to the Trip Cap, but any future redevelopment that generates an increase in vehicle trips shall be subject to the Trip Cap total of this Master Plan Update (i.e., no net increase in AM peak hour vehicle trips). ● New properties added to the Genentech Campus shall be subject to the TDM goals and requirements of this Master Plan Update.
● Parking requirements that apply to any new properties added to the Genentech Campus shall conform to the parking rates of this Master Plan Update, based on the TDM rates effective at the time the property is added. Parking requirements attributable to new Campus properties may be met at off-site parking facilities within the Genentech Campus.
● All other provisions of the Genentech Master Plan zoning district shall apply to any new property added to the Campus.
With the addition of these properties to the Campus Master Plan Area, the total Campus acreage will increase from 207 acres to 225.25 acres. While the addition of these properties would increase the baseline of existing development included within the Master Plan District, Genentech is not requesting an increase in the potential buildout beyond the 9 million square feet assumed in the 2020 Master Plan. As stated on page 118 of the 2020 Campus Master Plan:
“...within the approximately 207-acre Campus shall be limited to 9,008,000 square feet (a FAR of 1.0), and shall be further regulated by a Trip Cap equivalent to a maximum of 5,216 total drive-alone trips arriving at the Campus during the AM peak hour”. While the proposed rezone would increase the total campus acreage to 225.25 (resulting in a corresponding 422,530 square feet of development potential at an FAR of 1.0), Genentech does not propose to increase the potential buildout and development capacity beyond the 9,008,000 square feet approved in the 2020 Master Plan. Further, the additional sites will be subject to the TDM goals for the Campus as well as comply with all parking and other provisions of the Genentech Master Plan zoning district listed above. The proposed rezoning is consistent with all applicable provisions for adding parcels to the Master Plan (see above excerpt of page 148 of the Master Plan).
Conforming changes will need to be made throughout the General Plan and Master Plan to reflect the new properties and baseline conditions. Proposed General Plan Amendments are outlined in Exhibit A and the proposed Master Plan Amendments are outlined in Exhibit B.
Genentech's MEIR, which was updated and certified in November 2020, will not be affected by these administrative Master Plan updates.
Attached to this application is a letter from the property owner of 383-393 East Grand Avenue (East Grand Avenue, LLC) authorizing the filing of this planning application.
Environmental Assessment
The City of South San Francisco certified the Genentech Campus Master Plan EIR (SCH #2017052064) on November 24, 2020 (Resolution 20-672). The 2020 Master Plan EIR evaluated Genentech's vision for new growth and development within the 207-acre Genentech Campus, including all environmental impacts associated with the overall buildout of approximately 9 million square feet within the Campus Master Plan Area. The proposed actions do not increase the potential buildout; rather, it adds new land area to the Master Plan area while maintaining the 9 million square foot building envelope that was approved by the City in the 2020 Campus Master Plan update. The proposed actions are consistent with the development program established in the 2020 Genentech Master Plan, which was accompanied by the 2020 Genentech Campus Master Plan EIR. Please refer to Exhibit C for a complete Environmental Analysis for the proposed action.
Figure 1: Street Vacation Segments and Measurements
Figure 2: Sites to be rezoned to Genentech Master Plan zoning