Letter to Editor: Old Town Residents Need OUR Input at Planning Commission Meeting Thurs Oct 15th

South San Francisco, CA   October 12, 2020 by a native South City Resident

Please attend the Planning Commission Meeting

Thursday, Oct 15, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting CLICK HERE
Meeting ID: 882 3138 0027 Password: 365780

It’s important to voice concerns of further high rise buildings that may potentially infiltrate vulnerable areas in SSF, which would result in loss of privacy and quality of life. One area that is particularly susceptible is the historical Downtown/Old Town neighborhood due to its proximity to East 101 and that has not had zoning protections offered to other areas of SSF.

Regarding The Daily Journal article on Oct 10-11 titled, “Genentech campus vision up for review.”

Photo credit: Kyle Mortara on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC

The expansion would have such a huge impact on SSF and although Genentech has made generous contributions to schools, not sure of other mitigating actions it has taken in terms of housing and transportation. During ShapeSSF workshops, it was made clear that the driving force for housing is the biotech industry. The new housing is not taken into consideration what may be affordable for SSF income levels (excluding biotech), rental assistance programs, or other mitigating factors in the disturbance of historical Old Town neighborhood. It’s unfair for Old Town to take the brunt of the housing needs that Genentech and other biotech companies have had on SSF. During the ShapeSSF meetings, it appeared there was an inclination not to build on El Camino Real, which is next to SSF BART. Don’t know about Brisbane, but it also appears that it is escaping from State’s mandate for housing.

The article mentions Genentech’s Vice President Allen Napetian statement regarding its commitment to staying in SSF, however, the article didn’t mention much of a commitment in return, only how it would help mitigate the housing needs of its own employees (which is confirmed through ShapeSSF workshop) and how it would transport its employees to other companies (no mention of using shuttles or buses to mass transit areas). Perhaps this would not be a good idea, however, one shuttle bus is better than 50 cars heading towards Hwy101.

The article states that the proposed master plan could create 12,000 additional employees (“double the 10,000 currently occupying the site”). Genentech “has offered significant financial contributions to local and regional efforts to build additional affordable housing and homes for the missing middle….and looking to offer its fleet of buses and shuttles to workers from other adjacent companies.”