South City officials favor Genentech growth plan

No decision was made at the meeting and no specific development projects have been identified yet, but officials indicated they were largely comfortable with the plan’s progress.

“Overall, the draft [environmental impact report] looks really robust and good,” said commission Chair JulieAnn Murphy, according to video of the meeting. “And I’m happy to see the flexibility that it offers.”

The brief discussion among planning commissioners arrived in advance of a deadline Monday, Dec. 23, for the public to respond to the draft report which has been prepared for the campus expansion. Following the window closing, comments to the responses will be included in the final document, expected to be published this spring, according to a city report.

Scott Gregory, whose firm Lamphier-Gregory was hired by Genentech to navigate the environmental review process, said the draft report received only a few, brief comments so far. No other planning commissioners provided feedback during the meeting.

The crown jewel and foundational piece of South San Francisco’s thriving biotechnology business community, Genentech has been headquartered along Oyster Point since 1976.

With about 10,000 employees occupying its 4.7-million-square-foot campus in the northeastern region of the city, Genentech hopes to create space for up to an additional 12,000 workers over the coming 20 years, according to the report.

Genentech crafted two scenarios — a reduced project which would cap development at 7.9 million square feet and a fuller development reaching the 9 million square foot threshold. A no-growth option also exists, which would limit the company to the cap established by a previous master plan.

Should Genentech ultimately propose building to the fullest extent allowed under the proposed master plan update, developments could include 2.4 million square feet of new office space; 1.6 million square feet of new lab space; and .3 million square feet of amenities for employees, according to a company report.

The draft environmental report identified specific areas where those projects could be built, such as surface parking lots, aging facilities ready for redevelopment and other zones linking pieces of the campus together.

The proposed update, initiated in 2017, would be the most recent in a series of revisions to the campus plan first established in 1995. It was initially updated in 2007, when a development cap was established at 6 million square feet. In 2013, the master plan was amended to make way for a 27-acre development.

Considering the scope of development proposed, Gregory said it is impossible to avoid certain environmental impacts, most notably traffic congestion issues on surrounding streets, freeways and intersections.

But Genentech officials have worked diligently to craft a comprehensive traffic demand management plan which would try to ameliorate many of the transportation problems potentially compounded by the expansion, according to the report.

Noting the long history of Genentech being a thoughtful corporate citizen, South San Francisco resident Toni Allen said she is confident the company can be trusted to comprehensively manage such a sweeping expansion effort.

Allen, who works on the city’s Community Emergency Response Team, said she is familiar with the safety precautions needed to manage such growth and favors the company’s plan.

“I think they would be a really good citizen for South San Francisco or candidate for expansion,” she said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105