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Chapter 1
Introduction
This chapter summarizes the 751 Gateway Boulevard Project (proposed project), outlines the
purpose of this Environmental Impact Report (EIR), summarizes the environmental review process,
and describes the organization of the draft EIR.
1.1 Project Summary
The project sponsor, 701 Gateway Center LLC, proposes to redevelop a 7.4-acre, irregularly shaped
site within the City of South San Francisco’s (City’s) Gateway Specific Plan planning area with a
research and development (R&D) facility and office building. The project site is in an area referred
to as the Gateway Campus (consisting of eight buildings at 601, 611, and 651 Gateway Boulevard;
681 to 685 Gateway Boulevard; 701 Gateway Boulevard; 801 Gateway Boulevard; and 901 to 951
Gateway Boulevard). The project site is bounded by a commercial and office building (901 Gateway
Boulevard) and a surface parking lot to the north, Gateway Boulevard to the east, a surface parking
lot to the south, and commercial and office buildings to the west. The 7.4-acre project site
(Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 015-024-290 and 015-024-360) currently consists of an existing six-
story, approximately 170,235-square-foot office building at 701 Gateway Boulevard and a surface
parking lot with approximately 558 parking spaces.
The proposed project involves construction of a 148-foot-tall, seven-story building with
approximately 208,800 square feet of space (60 percent R&D uses and 40 percent office uses). The
new building would be constructed on the existing surface parking lot. The existing office building at
701 Gateway Boulevard would remain. The ground floor of the proposed building would include a
“through lobby” with access from the north and south; the lobby would include an amenity space for
tenants. An entry plaza and landscaped visitor lot would be constructed north of the proposed
building. An entrance and screened service yard would be constructed south of the proposed
building. The proposed project would improve pedestrian connections between the nearby Gateway
Campus buildings at 701, 901, 951, and 801 Gateway Boulevard by creating a pedestrian hub central
to the campus. The proposed project would also include surface parking lots with a total of 418
parking spaces on-site (including approximately 42 parking spaces in a lot north of the proposed
building) for use of the tenants on-site and within the Gateway Campus. Construction of the
proposed project, if the related entitlements are approved by the City, would begin in 2020 and
occur over approximately 18 months, with an anticipated completion date in 2021.
1.2 Purpose of This Draft EIR
This EIR has been prepared by the South San Francisco Planning Division in the City of South San
Francisco, the Lead Agency for the proposed project, in compliance with the provisions of CEQA and
the CEQA Guidelines (California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq., and California Code of
Regulations Title 14, Section 15000 et seq., “CEQA Guidelines”). The lead agency is the public agency
that has the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving a project.
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As stated in CEQA Guidelines Section 15121(a), an EIR is an informational document intended to
inform public agency decision-makers and the public of the significant environmental effects of a
project, identify possible ways to minimize the significant effects, and describe reasonable
alternatives to the project. This EIR assesses potentially significant impacts as defined in CEQA
Guidelines Section 15382 as substantial, or potentially substantial, adverse changes in any of the
physical conditions within the area affected by the project including land, air, water, minerals, flora,
fauna, ambient noise, and objects of historic or aesthetic significance.
The degree of specificity required in an EIR should “correspond to the degree of specificity involved
in the underlying activity which is described in the EIR” (CEQA Guidelines Section 15146). Pursuant
to CEQA Guidelines Section 15161, this is a project-level EIR, defined as an EIR that examines the
environmental impacts of a specific development project. As stated above, the EIR analyzes a
specific project site development plan.
Before any discretionary project approvals may be granted for a proposed project, the official or
decision-making body responsible for taking action on that project must take action on the required
environmental documents, including (if applicable) certifying that the EIR was completed in
compliance with CEQA, that the decision-making body reviewed and considered the information in
the final EIR, and that the EIR reflects the City’s independent judgment and analysis. EIR adequacy is
defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15151, which states “[a]n EIR should be prepared with a
sufficient degree of analysis to provide decision-makers with information which enables them to
make a decision which intelligently takes account of environmental consequences.”
CEQA requires that public agencies approve projects only after all feasible means available have
been employed to substantially lessen the significant environmental effects of such projects. City
decision-makers will use the certified EIR, along with other information and public processes, to
determine whether to approve, modify, or disapprove the proposed project, and to require any
feasible mitigation measures as conditions of project approval.
1.3 Environmental Review Process
The environmental review process for the proposed project includes a number of steps: publication
and circulation of a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for public comment, publication of a draft EIR for
public review and comment, preparation and publication of responses to public and agency
comments on the draft EIR, and certification of the final EIR. These steps are described below.
1.3.1 Notice of Preparation
The City of South San Francisco Planning Division of the Economic and Community Development
Department (Planning Division), issued an NOP of an EIR for the proposed 751 Gateway Project on
January 21, 2020, in compliance with Title 14, Sections 15082(a), 15103, and 15375 of the California
Code of Regulations (CCR). The NOP review period commenced on January 21, 2020, and concluded
on February 20, 2020, and a scoping meeting was held on January 30, 2020. Two commenters spoke
at the meeting. The Planning Division received three comment letters from interested parties during
the public review and comment period and one letter from the State Clearinghouse providing the
NOP to responsible agencies. The Planning Division has considered the comments made by the
public in preparation of the draft EIR for the proposed project. The NOP comments letters are
provided in Appendix A of this draft EIR.
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Comments on the NOP raised the following issues:
Aesthetics
l Confirmation that landscaping on a Caltrans-owned parcel near the project site will be
maintained.
Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources
l Compliance with Assembly Bill 52.
Noise
l Noise impacts on sensitive receptors and associated mitigation measures.
l Consistency with Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan noise policies.
Land Use
l Consistency with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan policies concerning noise, safety,
height restrictions/airspace protection, and overflight notification, as well as project
consistency with land use criteria within the end safety zones described in the Plan.
Hydrology and Water Quality
l Project-related discharge rates and proposed drainage features to address location within the
Colma Creek Flood Control Zone.
Project Description
l Confirmation of the project construction schedule.
l Confirmation of the proposed building foundation type.
Transportation
l Traffic impacts to the project site and surrounding area because many existing employees
commute via vehicle to the area already.
l Pedestrian circulation through the project site and surrounding area.
l Site access and ensuring that access to the northern driveway on the project site is
maintained.
l Confirmation that the parking garage behind the 801 Gateway Boulevard building would
remain as is.
l Proposed onsite bus or shuttle services.
1.3.2 Draft Environmental Impact Report
This draft EIR has been prepared on behalf of the City of South San Francisco, the Lead Agency, in
accordance with CEQA. It provides an analysis of the physical environmental impacts of
construction and operation of the proposed project, and the project’s contribution to the
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environmental impacts from foreseeable cumulative development in the project site vicinity and
the City as a whole. It considers all environmental topic areas in Appendix G of the CEQA
Guidelines and takes into consideration NOP comments.
Hard copies of the draft EIR, all documents referenced in this draft EIR, and the distribution list for
the draft EIR are available at the Planning Counter, South San Francisco Planning Division,
315 Maple Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Planning
Division is not open to members of the public. If you would like to review a physical copy of the draft
EIR, please call the Planning Division at (650) 877-8535 to make arrangements to review the
document. The draft EIR is also available for viewing or downloading at
http://www.ssf.net/ceqadocuments under 751 Gateway Boulevard.
How to Comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report
The City, on September 22, 2020, filed a Notice of Completion (NOC) with the State Clearinghouse,
indicating that this draft EIR has been completed and is available for review and comment. This
draft EIR will be available for review by the public and interested parties, agencies, and
organizations for a review period of at least 45 days, as required by California law. Reviewers should
focus on the document’s adequacy in identifying and analyzing the proposed project’s significant
effects on the environment and ways in which the significant effects of the proposed project might
be avoided or mitigated (California Code of Regulations Section 15204(a)).
The 45-day review period for the draft EIR is from September 22, 2020, to November 8, 2020.
Comments should be submitted in writing during this review period to:
Adena Friedman, Senior Planner
Department of Economic and Community Development
City of South San Francisco
315 Maple Avenue
South San Francisco, California 94080
Comments may also be sent via email to: [email protected]
For comments sent via email, please include “EIR Comments: 751 Gateway Project” in the subject
line and the name and physical address of the commenter in the body of the email. All comments
on environmental issues received during the public comment period will be considered and
addressed in the Final EIR.
There will be a public hearing before the Planning Commission during the 45-day public review
and comment period for this draft EIR to solicit oral comments on the adequacy and accuracy of
information presented in this draft EIR. The public hearing on this draft EIR has been scheduled
before the Planning Commission for October 15, 2020, via teleconference beginning at 7:00 p.m.
or later.
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1.3.3 Final Environmental Impact Report
Following the close of the draft EIR public review and comment period, the City will prepare responses
to comments, which will contain a summary of comments submitted during the public hearing and a
copy of all written comments received on this draft EIR as well as the City’s responses to significant
environmental points raised in the review and consultation process and any necessary changes to the
text. Responses to comments will be prepared and published in a final EIR. The final EIR will be
available to all commenting agencies at least 10 days prior to the certification hearing, in accordance
with CEQA requirements. The South San Francisco Planning Commission, as the decision-making body
for this project, will review the final EIR documents and will determine whether or not the final EIR
provides a full and adequate appraisal of the project and its alternatives.
The Planning Commission will review the final EIR for adequacy and certify that the EIR has been
completed in compliance with CEQA and that it reflects the City’s independent judgment pursuant to
the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15090. The City will consider certification of the final
EIR and then consider the project separately for approval or denial. Findings on the feasibility of
avoiding or reducing the project’s significant environmental effects will be made and, if necessary, a
Statement of Overriding Considerations will be prepared, balancing the benefits achieved by the
proposed project against unavoidable environmental impacts, should the City choose to approve the
project with remaining significant impacts that cannot be avoided.
A Notice of Determination (NOD) will be prepared and filed with the State Clearinghouse if the City
approves the proposed project. The NOD will include a description of the project, the date of
approval, and an indication of whether Findings and Statements of Overriding Considerations were
prepared. The NOD will also provide the address where the EIR and record of project approval are
available for review.
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1.4 Report Organization
This draft EIR is organized into the following chapters.
l Chapter 1, Introduction, summarizes the purpose and organization of the draft EIR and the
environmental review process.
l Chapter 2, Executive Summary, summarizes the proposed project and environmental
consequences that would result from the implementation of the project (including significant
and unavoidable impacts that cannot be mitigated to a level of less than significant, impacts
reduced to a level of less than significant through mitigation, and impacts determined not to be
significant), the alternatives to the proposed project that were analyzed, and a summary table of
project impacts and mitigation measures.
l Chapter 3, Project Description, describes the existing setting, the project sponsor’s objectives, the
proposed project, and required approvals and actions including the agencies involved in the
actions.
l Chapter 4, Environmental Setting, Impacts, and Mitigation, begins with Section 4.1, Approach to
Environmental Analysis, which presents the methodology for environmental analysis, including a
list of baseline projects and cumulative projects. Sections 4.2 through 4.9 are each devoted to a
particular environmental topic. Each section describes the environmental setting and regulatory
framework, provides an analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the project and
cumulative impacts, and identifies mitigation measures (if necessary) to reduce significant
impacts. The following topics are analyzed:
¡ Air Quality (Section 4.2)
¡ Biological Resources (Section 4.3)
¡ Cultural Resources and Tribal Cultural Resources (Section 4.4)
¡ Energy (Section 4.5)
¡ Geology and Soils (Section 4.6)
¡ Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Section 4.7)
¡ Noise and Vibration (Section 4.8)
¡ Transportation and Circulation (Section 4.9)
Section 4.10, Less-than-Significant Impacts, summarizes the environmental effects found not to
be significant. The following topics are analyzed:
¡ Aesthetics
¡ Agricultural and Forest Resources
¡ Hazards and Hazardous Materials
¡ Hydrology and Water Quality
¡ Land Use
¡ Mineral Resources
¡ Population and Housing
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¡ Public Services
¡ Recreation
¡ Utilities
¡ Wildfire
l Chapter 5, Alternatives, summarizes three alternatives to the proposed project as well as the
comparative environmental consequences and benefits of each alternative. The No Project
Alternative and two additional alternatives are analyzed (the Reduced Surface Parking Lot
Demolition Alternative and the Reduced Building Footprint Alternative). This chapter also
identifies the environmentally superior alternative and discusses any alternatives that were
considered for analysis in the EIR but rejected, then gives the reasons for their rejection.
l Chapter 6, Other CEQA Considerations, contains the discussion of mandatory findings of
significance (including cumulative impacts), growth-inducing impacts, significant impacts that
cannot be avoided, significant irreversible environmental changes, and areas of known
controversy and project-related issues that have not been resolved.
l Chapter 7, Report Preparers, identifies the Lead Agency, organizations, and individuals consulted
during preparation of this draft EIR. In addition, the project sponsor team and the consultants
working on the EIR are identified.
Appendices to this draft EIR are as follows:
l Appendix A Notice of Preparation and Comments
l Appendix B Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Materials
l Appendix C Assembly Bill 52 Consultation Materials
l Appendix D Transportation Impact Analysis