HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 136-2020 (20-785)Exhibit A: DRAFT Findings
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SECTION 1 FINDINGS
1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and made a part of this Resolution.
2. That the Public Utilities Code Sections 21676 and 21676.5 provide that a local
governing body may overrule the Airport Land Use Commission if it makes specific
findings that the proposed action is consistent with the purposes of Public Utilities Code
Section 21670. The City Council therefore finds the following:
a. The first purpose of Section 21670 is to provide for the orderly development of
each public use airport in this State, and the area surrounding these airports so as to
promote the overall goals and objectives of California airport noise standards and
to prevent the creation of new noise and safety problems. The second purpose of
Section 21670 is to protect public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring the orderly
expansion of airports and the adoption of land use measures that minimize the
public’s exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards within areas around public
airports to the extent that these areas are not already devoted to incompatible uses.
b. With respect to safety, the majority of the proposed Project site is located outside
of all of the Safety Zones for the San Francisco International Airport. A small
portion of the site is located within Safety Zone 4, the Outer Approach / Departure
Zone, which prohibits biosafety facilities, schools, child day care centers, stadiums,
and arenas. Per the Project plans, the only public space identified within this safety
zone is the leasing office, which is considered a compatible use. Thus the Project
is consistent with the ALUC safety policies.
c. With respect to the Airspace Protection Policies, per the ALUCP, airspace
protection policies are established with a two-fold purpose: 1) To protect the public
health, safety, and welfare by minimizing the public’s exposure to potential safety
hazards that could be created through the construction of tall structures, and, 2) To
protect the public interest in providing for the orderly development of SFO by
ensuring that new development in the Airport environs avoids compromising the
airspace in the Airport vicinity. This avoids the degradation in the safety, utility,
efficiency, and air service capability of the Airport that could be caused by the
attendant need to raise visibility minimums, increase minimum rates of climb, or
cancel, restrict, or redesign flight procedures.
The proposed Project site includes three buildings that range in height from three
to five stories, with the maximum building height of approximately 60 feet. The
proposed Project site is located within an area that requires filing FAA Form 7460-
1, Notice of Proposed Construction or Alteration, for structures exceeding 30 feet
in height. The project will include a Condition of Approval requiring that the
applicant demonstrate compliance with this FAA requirement, prior to obtaining
building permits. The Project site is also located within the Part 77 airspace
Exhibit A: DRAFT Findings
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protection surfaces for SFO. The applicant has submitted a detailed airspace
analysis completed by Williams Aviation Consultants which concludes that the
Project will not penetrate the Part 77 Imaginary Surface. The height for the
imaginary surface established for the horizontal surface at the site location is 163.2
feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL). The proposed Project parcels are located at
between 35 and 48 feet above MSL. The proposed buildings at the 410 Noor project
site are designed to be constructed at a maximum building height of 59 feet above
ground level. Maximum structure heights would be approximately 94 to 107 feet
above MSL. A structure built at a maximum of 107 feet above MSL would be well
below the imaginary surface height established. Based on the proposed Project’s
maximum height of 107 feet above MSL, no additional safety requirements are
anticipated. Therefore, the proposed Project would be consistent with the airspace
policies as established in the adopted 2012 SFO ALUCP.
Per ALUCP Policy A4, proposed land uses with characteristics that may cause
visual, electronic, or wildlife hazards, particularly bird strike hazards, to aircraft
taking off or landing at the Airport or in flight are incompatible in Area B of the
Airport Influence Area. As a mixed-use residential project, the 410 Noor proposed
Project does not contain any characteristics that would cause these hazards.
Additionally, t he South San Francisco Zoning Ordinance (Section 20.300.010)
contains performance standards to ensure that all development protects the
community from nuisances, hazards and objectionable conditions, including those
which could be aircraft hazards, including light, glare, air contaminants, or
electromagnetic interference. As proposed, the 410 Noor project is consistent with
the performance standards cont ained in the Zoning Ordinance, and would not create
an aircraft hazard.
d. With respect to noise, the applicant has submitted an on-site noise study prepared
by Salter and Associates which shows that on-site noise monitoring and SFO noise
monitoring from 2017 to the present indicate that the Project site is within the 65-
70 dB CNEL contour, not within the 70dB CNEL contour as was the case when the
ALUCP was adopted. While the Project is not consistent with the ALUCP noise
policies, recent site specific data shows that the airport noise patterns are lessening
over time, and that the Project site is currently less impacted by airport noise than
at the time the ALUCP was adopted. Additionally, the Salter Noise Study also
illustrates that implementation of noise control measures and construction
standards will lessen noise impacts to residents. Prior to issuance of building
permits, detailed acoustical analyses shall be completed as part of the final design
for the proposed residential structures. The Project shall incorporate construction
methods, sound attenuation features, and sound reducing barriers that reduce noise
impacts in accordance with Section 21670, State Building Code, and General P lan
requirements to meet the interior noise levels of 45 dBA CNEL. Sound control
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treatments shall include mechanical ventilation for all units so that windows can be
kept close at the resident’s discretion to control noise, and special building
construction techniques (such as sound-rated windows and building façade
treatments) for all units. The Project is also required to include real estate
disclosures in residential leases, disclosing the presence of an airport within two
miles of the property, per Section 11010 of the Business and Professions Code.
e. As illustrated by the above discussion, approval of the proposed Project as
configured would provide for orderly development adjacent to the airport and
promote the overall goals and objectives of the California airport noise standards
and prevent the creation of new noise and safety problems because the proposed
Project provides much needed housing near transit on an underutilized site, while
also utilizing advanced construction techniques to minimize any noise impacts to
residents, and the location, size, height and configuration of the Project would not
create any safety problems. Furthermore, approval of the proposed Project protects
public health, safet y and welfare because as configured the Project minimizes the
public’s exposure to excessive airport noise through the application of advanced
construction techniques and does not expose the public to any safety hazards or
create any aircraft hazards.
3. The documents and other material constituting the record for these proceedings are
located at the Planning Division for the City of South San Francisco, 315 Maple
Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080, and in the custody of the Planning Manager,
Sailesh Mehra.
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