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Commission keeps R&D and industrial uses as permit-review items, with AUPs for low-impact research
Summary
R&D uses (electronics, some pharmaceutical research labs) will remain subject to use permits to preserve flexibility, while low-impact nursery or agricultural R&D may be allowed administratively depending on scale.
Staff defined research and development as establishments engaged primarily in industrial or scientific research, including limited product testing, and specifically noted inclusion of electronics research firms and pharmaceutical research laboratories while excluding manufacturing.
Commissioners favored keeping R&D as a Use Permit category so the commission can review proposals that might pose neighborhood or health concerns, while acknowledging that innocuous research (e.g., nursery science or tree-resilience work) could be handled administratively. "We're doing the next dangerous and it is a UP, so you got to review it," one commissioner said when distinguishing higher-risk labs from routine nursery research.
The commission asked staff to identify clear examples and thresholds that would separate administrative allowances from full UP review, particularly when animal testing or other potentially hazardous activities are involved. Staff will return with recommended language that retains flexibility but protects public health and residential character.
