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Planning staff recommends disapproval of rezoning for Division/Rhode Island parcels; commission votes unanimously to disapprove
Summary
Staff told the commission the proposed rezoning from PDR1D to urban mixed‑use conflicts with Eastern Neighborhoods plan policies and could set a precedent for piecemeal loss of industrial PDR space; the commission voted unanimously to disapprove.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously on March 12 to disapprove legislation that would rezone parcels at 1–25 Division Street and 45 Rhode Island Street from PDR1D to Urban Mixed Use.
Planning department staff briefed commissioners that the sites are covered by the Eastern Neighborhoods rezoning EIR and that the proposal — which the department said would allow roughly 99 dwelling units and about 21,000 square feet of commercial uses — conflicts with multiple general plan policies and area‑plan priorities intended to retain productive industrial (PDR) space. Staff recommended disapproval in part because this was the first case seeking to convert PDR parcels under the newly adopted Eastern Neighborhoods controls and because piecemeal rezonings could undermine the district’s integrity before a scheduled five‑year review.
Alice Barclay, representing the project sponsor Urban 44 Management, told the commission the existing building contains approximately 39,000 square feet of PDR space but only about 16,000 square feet is occupied in modern configuration; she said the sponsor planned to provide modern high‑ceiling PDR space on the ground floor and housing close to a proposed park. Neighbors and community commenters urged the commission to respect the recently completed Eastern Neighborhoods process and said the rezoning would chip away at the plan’s protections.
During deliberations commissioners discussed the environmental review record, grandfathering rules for pipeline projects and board‑level changes to code language. After debate, a motion to disapprove the rezoning was made and carried on a unanimous roll call.
The staff report noted that the Eastern Neighborhoods EIR had analyzed a range of alternatives and that the housing‑intensive alternative had included this site as urban mixed use, but staff said the city’s adopted map and policies currently favored PDR for this parcel and urged a comprehensive evaluation at the five‑year mark rather than case‑by‑case rezonings.
