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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1998-03-04 Mayor Eugene R. Mullin Council: James L. Datzman Joseph A. Fernekes ~Xaryl Matsumoto ~ohn R. Penna MINUTES City Council Municipal Services Building Community Room March 4, 1998 SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO MARCH 4, 1998 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 54956 of the Government Code of the State of California, that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, the 4th day of March 1998, at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Services Building, Community Room, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, California. Purpose of the meeting: Proposed Materials Recovery Facility. City of South San Francisco Dated: February 19, 1998 CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: AGENDA (Cassette No. 1) Proposed Materials Recovery Facility. ACTION TAKEN 5:45 p.m. Mayor Mullin presided. Council Present: Fernekes, Matsumoto and Mullin. Council Absent: Datzman and Penna. City Clerk Battaya stated Councilman Penna in- formed her Office he had a conflict with the item and would not be attending. Chief Planner Harnish gave an overview of the proposed facility and stated he would then discuss the policy issue from the proposal which is not zoned for this type of use and presents a policy shift. Staff thought it would be best to have a discussion to proceed in the right direction. This project is proposed by the Scavengers who have a transfer facility on Oyster Point and South 3/4/98 Page 1 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN .~P. roposed Materials Recovery Facility 3/4/98 Page 2 Linden Avenue. The proposed new location is at the eastern end of the City, a ten acre site on the bay, this is on a portion of the property owned by Haskins. It is vacant, just south of the Fuller O'Brien Paint building and the reason this facility is being proposed is due to AB 939 which requires certain recycling goals be met and the current one is a 50% reduction by the year 2000. He stated these MRFs are by far the most common approach, throughout the State, to achieve that level. They were not required at the 25% level, but at the 50% level there has to be a process. The Scaven- gers propose to consolidate those into one to be more efficient, and it would include a hazardous waste collection site in coordination with San Mateo County, for the current facility doesn't have enough room. The proposal is that the Scavengers would collect the hazardous waste on behalf of the County. He described the five basic parts of the facility. He related: a portion of the Haskins property on Jamie Court would be vacant; there has been some discussion of a use on the site and the bay is on two sides and San Francisco bay is to the east; there are a couple of transfer facilities in proximity that staff visited and took photos that are adjacent to 101; this is relatively similar to this proposed facility; the photos show the adjacent use to BFI that has been in that location ten to fifteen years and is integrated into the use; he showed pictures of the new MRF transfer station in Sunnyvale which has a visitor center that school groups visit, offices, trash dump and there is a piece of equipment moving it around; adjacent to the property is a former land fill area and is screened from the surrounding area; the site selection process the Scavengers took to arrive at this site -- one of the concerns early on when this was discussed was whether or not there would be alternative sites that would not require a general plan amendment; they are looking for ten acres of land, freeway access and a reasonable shape for the lot to build the facility; several sites were considered by the Scavengers and there is a list of the eleva- tions of those in the staff report; the Redevelopment Agency employed a real estate person to assist; he did not evaluate all of the sites but in each case the Scavengers felt they did not meet the criteria for the facility, either too small, not really available or good access; so, from the sites considered the Haskin's site met the needs. AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ...P_roposed Materials Recovery Facility - Continued. 3/4/98 Page 3 Discussion followed: Mayor Mullin stated with the exception of the GSA Building he would agree, with respect to red tape and how that plays out -- he had walked that site today to see how it met the criteria and felt it met more of the criteria than the site proposed with respect to the zoning and surrounding uses; did the real estate agent look at sites outside the City; the Redevelopment Agency hired a real estate agent or broker to determine whether or not there were other sites close by and it was an infor- mal advice before they settled on the Haskins site; it was an effort to look at different operations, and this site is prime for hotels, and it would not require an amendment process; the applicants feel the Haskins site met all of the criteria, decent freeway access and a level terrain; the Haskins property is fifteen acres, and this would be a ten acre portion; staff sees the process as a general plan amendment to change the zone to light industrial use, change the zoning desig- nation, it needs a use permit and a tentative subdivi- sion map; the other activity related to the process is for the City to prepare an environmental impact report; it needs a permit from waste management; this is inconsistent with the General Plan and East of 101 due to increased truck and traffic on East Grand Avenue; there are air quality and odor impacts in processing garbage on the site; geology tests must be made to handle the development; aesthetics of the proposed use with the surrounding development and the issue to be addressed is an alternate site and analysis; the EIR will be coming out in six or seven months and if we wait until then to look at alterna- tive sites, then it is difficult for the Scavengers to go through the process and meet the goals in time; so, the alternative site analysis will be more for compar- ison than a true search of the site; the Fuller O'Brien site sits in the center area and is just below Genentech, so this is down hill; the upper portion of the property is owned by Fuller O'Brien and is 27 acres; Glidden owns half and they have the structure parcel and the vacant land is owned by Fuller; that portion on the other site is hilly, so a lot of that area is not usable; this is only one of two areas identified as coastal in the planning of the Oyster Point Busi- ness Park and Marina; it would impact these two areas, the one we are talking about and Oyster Point; no, only to this area; R&D could be put in the other portion of the property; emphasize the closeness and the use of the water or coastal orientation, and the mixed land use is one where there is a combination of uses, and over time this AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ,~_P..roposed Materials Recovery Facility - Continued. 3/4/98 Page 4 would be a transition of use and an industrial use would be hotels; this area was looked into for stor- age facilities, but there was no formal Council ac- tion just discussion of the development; the Scav- engers are trying to have a facility to operate at the end of the next year, so the schedule staff has is responsive to that need and the application is after the beginning of the process and Design Review, Planning Commission and City Council; the law does not mandate a specific form of facility to allow them to meet the requirement; the recently approved franchise agreement does obligate the City to assist in the development of a site, so that the Scavengers will continue to indemnify the obligation; so, they need some sort of facility like this and they have to have a MRF; one other development discussed is AES, who builds power plants, to use the other acres which would be a compatible use if the land use is changed; staff is in the selection process for a consultant by Friday or Monday who will do the EIR; the application has been submitted, it is not fully completed and it needs architectural drawings, but staff expects that to be completed; the EIR should take up to August, public hearings in August and September and then Council; assuming the project is acted on, then the expense will initiate this year and it will be completed in the fall of next year; Mayor Mullin does not know what the BCDC process is or if the range of time would go on con- currently; concerns about landfills and liquefaction; that will be addressed in the EIR regardless of the use; is there something the City can do to expedite the Federal process of the GSA building; GSA has not sold and is not for sale which is a dilemma; Mayor Mullin found it curious the GSA site was on the list when it is housing IRS use; one of the rea- sons it was included was because it met a lot of the criteria; Councilman Fernekes heard they are going to get rid of it and it was going to be traded and become a casino for an indian tribe; all of the Scav- enger activity will be enclosed; what about the ware- housing uses that are adjacent to the Haskins site, because there are trucks coming in and out with pri- vate roads, produce market, J&P Produce are in there bringing in fruit and it goes back out; staff thinks the Scavengers looked at Brisbane and Millbrae; City Manager does not think so, it was focused on this community and staff is just exploring any options in our jurisdiction. Ms. Stephanie Uccelli, S.S.F. Scavenger Co., relat- AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ,_Pyoposed Materials Recovery Facility - Continued. 3/4/98 Page 5 ed: the Company has looked for the last several years for a MRF site due to the change in the law; traffic is a concern and will be a part of the EIR; they are studying their traffic patterns to and from and will explore some of the alternatives; another concern is air quality and typically for Council's information, garbage not transferred in a timely way is a problem and important in meeting the State standards; geology must be looked at because it is filled property; they are keenly aware of the esthet- ics in relation to the land use and have hired an architect to make it attractive and they want to have a smooth roof line conducive to blending into the surrounding area; some of the sites they looked at where the building was good and the access, but it was an impossibility unless we could take the hill and move it, but in its present state no; there was a realtor that contacted them, there were several conversations about properties that were for rent, not for sale; if the GSA became available, it must be made available to the government. Discussion followed: who is the real estate person the staff hired; Mark Studeley is the person staff hired, but staff does not know if they looked at real estate outside the City; Mayor Mullin wants to see a copy of his report; Ms. Uccelli stated the last site was a piece of the property by Gull Drive off of Oyster Point, but the slope and grade of the property made it impossible to do that facility; have the Scav- engers looked at property other than in S.S.F.; because they serve three areas they looked at Millbrae and other cities using the same criteria and there were none; they looked at what is a good location centrally with a business and there are the economics in trying to find a facility where you don't have to travel too far, for we collect our gar- bage and 70% is from S.S.F.; another issue is that we are very aware that is a visible site from a num- ber of different directions; the Scavengers had dis- cussions with BCDC and discussed concerns, like the extension of the bay trail; Mayor Mullin stated, if this is the site then the bay trail will have to go inland; to the bay side; he stated everyone recognized that this was a major shift on everything the Council has done in our City and this use will move us in a counter direction in what we have been pushing for, an upscale R&D and reduce the traffic; there are a lot of cities having problems complying with AB939 and there is a move afoot in Sacramento to give more time, and questioned if the City did AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ~_P. roposed Materials Recovery Facility - Continued. 3/4/98 Page 6 any work for the enactment; have we heard about the Fuller site with respect to that site being devel- oped by other entities; the Chief Planner has had conversations with different companies that are interested in purchasing the site and turning it over for development and there are discussions with Genentech; Mayor Mullin wants a memo to Council on a response from any of the people interested in a facility being developed, including someone who would clear it and put it up for sale; the people the Chief Planner talked to did not have a specific pur- pose, they said if we do this what can we do with the site and were looking for direction; Mayor Mullin stated he was going to look at San Carlos and Sunnyvale facilities and see how they fit into the community, and asked staff to contact Lantos' Office to see the intermediate and long term plans for the GSA site; Councilman Fernekes wants the addresses and a map of the other sites showing how to get there; Ms. Uccelli stated she could accommodate the Councilman by setting up a tour; Mayor Mullin would like to do that. Planning Commissioner Teglia stated he was speak- ing as a concerned resident tonight. He has been aware of the need for the MRF and when he heard the Haskins site was being considered, it shocked him. The whole area as the R&D has really turned around with new biotech companies going out there and all the effort put in, in restricting freight for- warding, land the problems with Avis is diamet- rically opposed and he thinks it would be a major detriment. Right now there is a biotech company building and as that moves down he can see that encouraging more and more campus type groups. Putting the MRF at the end of East Grand, he thinks, will stunt all other development. Not only the stunting, but the impact of the traffic whether the Scavengers are careful with the debris you are going up and down Grand Avenue. He recalls the City Council meeting when the Scavengers franchise was discussed and Councilman Yee brought up the sub- ject of what City would you be locating in, and it was encouraging and they said they could locate outside the City. He would like to see them at the GSA site, but in other areas and don't give up all the efforts in the last few years for that would be a shame. He stated in Brisbane there are many scavenger companies and it seems like more space and it ap- AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ~.Pyoposed Materials Recovery Facility - Continued. ADJOURNMENT: pears to be a better area to locate. He asked the Council to keep in mind, while we need the facility this is the most inappropriate, while this fits their need, perhaps that allows them to meet most of their needs and should be considered. Perhaps a joint effort with the Scavengers on another site would be more appropriate. He urged the Council to consider this soon because he can see how this process will go on and on and get close to the deadline and it will be almost impossible to change your mind. It is an issue to be determined on an alternative site -- this is a great site, he is sure, but if they have to look elsewhere they will find a site. To put this on East Grand, East with the whole R&D there would be a shame. Fernekes/Matsumoto - To adjourn the meeting. Carried by unanimous voice vote. Time of adjournment was 6:50 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, APPROVED. Barbara A. Battaya, City Clerk~ City of South San Francisco The entries of this Council meeting show the action taken by the City Council to dispose of an item. Oral communica- tions, arguments and comments are recorded on tape. The tape and documents related to the items are on file in the Office of the City Clerk and are available for inspection, review and copying. 3/4/98 Page 7