After a quarter-century of progress as a scientific analysis hub, Novato is letting the sector increase much more.
The City Council voted 3-1 on May 24 to permit corporations in a lot of the Bel Marin Keys Industrial Parks to construct larger warehouses, laboratories, places of work and manufacturing buildings than presently allowed.
More than 22% of the 200-acre park, or about 575,000 sq. ft, is utilized by biotechnology and life sciences corporations comparable to Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Sutter Instrument, Karuna Corp., Raptor Pharmaceuticals and Marin Biologic Laboratories. The plan permitted final month will enable for 300,000 sq. ft of expansion within the complicated — and probably as much as 500,000 sq. ft if projected site visitors points ensuing from the expansion will be addressed.
“We believe that this is a home for the life sciences and a place for us to continue to contribute to the community, not only to help our patients but to also be a good citizen, to give back through charitable giving, to give back through employment and taxes and the like,” BioMarin authorities affairs director Stacey Beckhardt informed the council earlier than the vote.
Councilwoman Pat Eklund solid the dissenting vote towards the expansion plan. Eklund stated she helps the work that the businesses do, however she doesn’t help growing the utmost constructing heights from 42 ft to 68 ft. The plan additionally permits for an extra 8 ft of peak for rooftop gear.
Allowing buildings of this peak may have implications for different growth within the metropolis, together with housing, Eklund stated.
“I feel very strongly that having a 68-foot building, plus the roof and all the stuff on top of it of another 8 feet, is going to make it very hard for us to really fight against having six-story buildings elsewhere in town,” Eklund stated, “especially with some of the state legislation that has been passed taking away a lot of our local control.”
Councilman Mark Milberg recused himself from the dialogue and the vote as a result of he’s an Ultragenyx worker.
Mayor Eric Lucan and councilwomen Denise Athas and Susan Wernick disagreed with Eklund. They stated there isn’t a higher space within the metropolis to permit for this sort of progress and expansion.
“We’re not increasing building heights just so that we can pack more people into a building,” Lucan stated throughout the assembly. “It’s these specialized buildings and equipment that are needed to be able to do the groundbreaking work that is being done right here in Novato to save lives around the world.”
“There is give and take to everything and I think it’s worth it,” Wernick stated earlier than the vote. “The benefit far outweighs any of the negatives.”
The plan would solely have an effect on the Hamilton and Ignacio sections of the economic park. The southern part, referred to as the Bel Marin Commerce Park, wouldn’t be included due to its proximity to the Los Robles Mobile Home Park.
While town will enable for as much as 500,000 sq. ft of expansion, the lifelike restrict can be round 300,000 sq. ft, workers stated.
An environmental evaluation of the plan adopted in 2020 acknowledged that expansion past 300,000 sq. ft may lead to vital site visitors movement points on close by streets due to the elevated employment and enterprise exercise. To tackle these, town must make large-scale adjustments to the Ignacio Boulevard interchange at Highway 101, comparable to widening the flip pockets, ramps and sign adjustments, lots of which might require approval from Caltrans.
Any corporations planning expansion tasks can be required to chop automobile journeys by 10%, a discount that might be achieved by carpools, rideshare providers, electrical automobile parking necessities, vouchers for public transit providers and set up of bicycle racks, in response to Sean Kennings, a planning guide for town.
Novato resident Madelon Montobbio wrote a letter opposing the challenge, stating it should create site visitors gridlock for residents. She additionally raised considerations about potential impacts to the close by Pacheco Pond, Bel Marin Keys wetlands and Hamilton wetlands.
“The significantly increased traffic flow will cause gridlock not only for the residents of Bel Marin Keys as there is only one road out of the area but also the community at large,” Montobbio wrote. “Ask San Rafael residents how the BioMarin campus has impacted traffic in San Rafael.”