Residents packed Monday night’s Brisbane City Council special meeting to share their thoughts on a controversial housing and commercial development that the city is facing pressure from the state to approve.
The meeting was the first of several town halls scheduled to review the Specific Plan for the Brisbane Baylands project, a proposed development to add 1,800 to 2,200 housing units, up to 7 million square feet of commercial space, and more than 100 acres of open space and amenities to the town.
The project, which has been in the works for over two decades, could potentially double the size of Brisbane, a small city located along the shoreline in a pocket adjacent to U.S. Highway 101 between San Francisco and South San Francisco. Baylands Development, Inc. was formed as the property and development project manager of the site.
“The Baylands is not a collection of parcels with zoning applied to them,” said the company’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Stephanie Shakofsky, in a presentation to the council. “It is a fully realized vision for how people will live, work, move, and gather.”
But delays moving the project forward led the state to pull the city’s housing certification in July, putting pressure on the city to make the necessary rezoning approvals for the project to regain control of its certification. The city’s Housing Element, which entails plans to build enough housing as required by the state, largely depends on the approval of the Baylands development.
“We have a new plan on the table,” said Mayor Coleen Mackin in her opening remarks to the large audience. “We need to hear what you have on your mind.”
Councilmembers assessed the plan’s compliance with Measure JJ, which was approved by Brisbane voters in 2018 and amended the city’s general plan. It established a specific framework for the project to follow, such as requiring that it has an adequate water supply, incorporates sustainability principles, and safely remediates contaminated soil.
Environmental concerns
Some residents have raised concerns over environmental impacts and safety of the project since the proposed site was once a garbage dump and a rail yard. The area is designated as a brownfield site, which is a location where reuse of the land is complicated due to contamination from previous industrial activities.
The project has gone through an environmental impact report, which assesses the effects of the project on the environment, including plans for remediation to prevent health risks from contaminated soil.
“I don’t want people who are going to live out there or work out there to get sick and get cancer,” said resident Michele Salmon. “This is why remediation is really, really important. We really need to focus on making this as clean and safe as we possibly can, and if we can’t make it clean and safe for people to live there and work there, well, that’s a problem.”
Councilmembers also went through sustainability requirements under Measure JJ.
Energy generation for the site is planned to come from a solar farm, rooftop panels, and battery storage. But under the specific plan, the solar farm won’t be built until much later after the site’s housing is already complete.
“I don’t see how they’re going to be meeting their sustainability goals within Measure JJ if that solar farm is not done,” said Councilmember Terry O’Connell.
Water-sourcing for the site has not been finalized, but developers are working on a deal with the California Water Service, or Cal Water. Under Measure JJ, development cannot begin unless the project secures a reliable source of water supply.
“We haven’t worked the deal out totally yet with Cal Water,” Shakofsky said.
While some residents asked the city to pump the brakes, others urged the project to move forward, saying that the city will benefit from economic revenue and jobs that the development could bring.
“I believe that community expansion right now in Brisbane should be viewed as an opportunity to build a stronger, more diverse, and economically resilient city,” said resident Emily Wagner. “This growth can bring meaningful benefits to our community, such as new housing, new businesses, new jobs, and increased opportunities for all of us.”
After five hours, the council decided to pause the meeting for the night before getting through all the topics slated for discussion. The remaining topics, which include greenhouse gas emissions related to the project, will be rolled over to the next scheduled public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Several more special meetings to evaluate the plan in chunks are scheduled before any approval action is taken.
