Council hears staff plan for two-tier Regional Commercial zoning, biosafety rules and a programmatic EIR

Deputy Community Development Director Laura Russell briefed the City Council on proposed amendments to the Regional Commercial (RC) zoning district on April 22, recommending a two-tier approach, clearer use rules for research-and-development (R&D) and life-science facilities, and a city-initiated programmatic environmental impact report (EIR) to streamline future reviews.

Russell said the 2017 General Plan created a Regional Commercial land-use classification east of U.S. 101 intended for community-serving commercial uses and, more recently, had seen market interest from R&D and life-science developers. To balance growth and community objectives, staff proposes: (1) an RC‑1 tier that preserves the district’s existing standards (floor-area ratio 1.8 and a 55-foot height baseline for most of the area), and (2) an RC‑2 tier with higher floor area and height limits available only by rezoning to RC‑2 through a legislative action and an individually negotiated community-benefits package.

On height, Russell recommended a maximum of about 225 feet for the RC‑2 tier on parts of the east-of-101 area within airport height constraints, and presented local comparables (projects in Burlingame and Foster City and the 1301 Shoreway proposal) to show market precedent for mid‑200‑foot buildings in some peninsula locations.

On biosafety levels, staff proposed permitting BSL‑1 and BSL‑2 activities in both RC‑1 and RC‑2 without a special permit, subject to performance standards to be developed. Russell recommended allowing BSL‑3 operations only in RC‑2 and only with a special administrative permit that would provide notification to police and fire and allow city oversight on safety and emergency-response coordination. BSL‑4 work would be expressly prohibited.

For CEQA, staff recommended preparing a city-initiated programmatic EIR rather than only a minimal zoning CEQA review. Russell said the programmatic EIR is estimated at about $200,000; staff proposed funding the EIR from the general plan maintenance fund and recouping costs from future applicants through a fair‑share mechanism if council approves. The EIR would take an estimated 12–18 months to prepare and would allow future applicants to tier project-level CEQA documents off the programmatic analysis, reducing duplication and time in the long run.

Councilmembers asked about flexibility for future non‑biotech commercial uses and the risk that a programmatic EIR could grow stale if projects do not come forward for many years. Russell said staff aims to draft flexible standards applicable to a range of R&D, office and lab uses and noted that project‑level review would still be required; staff and consultants will monitor the EIR’s scope and keep it updated as needed. Councilmember McKeown confirmed the RC amendments and Harbor Industrial Area (HIA) work are being coordinated by the same team.

Councilmembers generally signaled support for proceeding to solicit CEQA consultant proposals and returning with formal code amendments, a public outreach plan and a timeline for planning‑commission and council hearings. No final legislative action or rezoning occurred at the April 22 meeting; staff said it will return with a consultant contract for the EIR, draft code language and a public-outreach schedule.