May 8, 2023 Design Review Board Meeting

1. Call to Order and Meeting Procedure Review
2. Staff Update
3. B9 Island Parkway Life Sciences Development Project, City of Belmont, San Mateo County (First Pre-Application Review)
   The Design Review Board will hold their first pre-application review of the proposal by BioMed Realty Properties to develop a new life sciences campus at a mostly vacant 12.67-acre site at 300, 400, and 301 Island Parkway and 800 Clipper Drive with three 9 to 13-level office buildings and a new 12-story parking garage. The project would make improvements to the O’Neill Slough Trail and create a publicly accessible plaza with public art installations, diverse seating areas, and native gardens, and provide public shore parking spaces.
   (Shruti Sinha) [415/352-3654 shruti.sinha@bcdc.ca.gov
   Presentation (PDF)
4. Adjournment

Draft Summary of the May 8, 2023 BCDC Design Review Board Meeting

1. Call to Order and Meeting Procedure Review. Design Review Board (DRB) Chair Jacinta McCann called the hybrid meeting to order on Zoom, at approximately 5:00 p.m.

   BCDC Board Members in atendance included Board Chair Jacinta McCann, Board Vice Chair Gary Strang and Board Members Bob Batalio, Kristen Hall, Stephan Pellegrini.

   BCDC staff in atendance included Ashley Tomerlin, Yuriko Jewet, Shruti Sinha, and Katharine Pan.

   B9 Island Parkway Project Team: Ethan Warsh, BioMed Realty; Marcel Wilson, Bionic Landscape Architects; Ellie Knecht, WRA; Geoff Smick, WRA; and Cecily Barclay, Perkins Coie

2. Staff Update. Ashley Tomerlin provided an update to the Board Member Recruitment and announced the selection committee’s recommendations for appointment, Leo Chow for the Architect Board Member, Patricia Fonseca Flores, for the Landscape Architect Alternate, Guneet Anand for the Urban Design Alternate, and Cody Anderson for the Engineer Alternate.
3. B9 Island Parkway Life Sciences Development Project, City of Belmont, San Mateo County (First Pre-Application Review). The first pre-application review of the proposal by BioMed Realty Properties to develop a new life sciences campus at a mostly vacant 12.67-acre site at 300, 400, and 301 Island Parkway and 800 Clipper Drive with three 9 to 13-level office buildings and a new 12-story parking garage. The project would make improvements to the O’Neill Slough Trail and create a publicly accessible plaza with public art installations, diverse seating areas, and native gardens, and provide public shore parking spaces.
   1. Staff Presentation. Shruti Sinha provided a staff introduction to the project site and context.
   2. Project Presentation. Ethan Warsh and Marcel Wilson provided an overview, with a slide presentation, of project goals, background, local context, existing site conditions, and a detailed description of the proposed project.
   3. Public Comment. Gita Dev, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter. Submited a leter in addition to calling in. The comments included concern for the site proximity to the Redwood Shores Nature Preserve; the facades seem very glossy so please apply bird safe design, and minimize night lighting from building and exterior lighting as it’s adjacent to the slough. Additionally, she expressed concerns with the bio safety levels of the development and wanted to make sure the building is not up to a level 3. She also stated she understood the large plate design needs, but in light of OneShoreline and other requirements, it’s important to respect the 100’ setback and have a gentler slope like 20:1.
   4. Board Clarifying Questions from Project Presentation
      1. Clarification on intensity of site development between existing authorizations and proposed project.
      2. Clarification on risk levels and applicable building code requirements related to bio safety levels.
      3. Clarification on site vehicular circulation including loading access, passenger drop offs, and parking.
      4. Clarification on location of lobbies in relation to the roundabout and ground floor uses where adjacent to public access areas.
      5. Clarification on the public access space required by the City and if there is distinction between green/gray spaces and does it include/exclude emergency vehicle access route.
      6. Clarification on TMA/TDM requirements.
      7. Clarification on existing flooding conditions on site.
      8. Clarification on requirements for an emergency access plan related to flooding.
      9. Clarification on designed life of project and buildings.
      10. Clarification on extent of improvements along Concourse and Island Parkway; existing bicycle circulation and access from Oracle bridge.
      11. Clarification on whether developer will hold or sell site.
      12. Clarification on food and beverage services and tenants.
      13. Clarification on phasing of development and when public access is constructed.
   5. Board Discussion. The Board discussed how the project addresses the seven objectives for public access found in the Public Access Design Guidelines, provided feedback on the proposed public access improvements with respect to the Commission’s policies on sea level rise, and environmental justice and social equity, and addressed the staff questions listed below.

      The seven objectives for public access are:

      1. Make public access PUBLIC.
      2. Make public access USABLE.
      3. Provide, maintain, and enhance VISUAL ACCESS to the Bay and shoreline.
      4. Maintain and enhance the VISUAL QUALITY of the Bay, shoreline, and adjacent developments.
      5. Provide CONNECTIONS to and CONTINUITY along the shoreline.
      6. Take advantage of the BAY SETTING.
      7. Ensure that public access is COMPATIBLE WITH WILDLIFE through siting, design, and management strategies.

      Staff also has the following specific questions for the Board’s consideration:

      1. How does the project proposal result in public spaces that “feel public,” and does the project proposal allow for the shoreline to be enjoyed by the greatest number of people?
      2. What additional improvements would improve the public access experience to and along the shoreline?
      3. Are the public access areas appropriately designed to be resilient and adaptive to sea level rise in balance with ensuring high-quality public access opportunities?
      4. Does the design provide legible connections from the adjacent roadways and bike/pedestrian networks to draw users into and through the site to the O’Neill Slough Trail and shoreline?
   6. Summary of Key Issues
      1. Site Design
         1. The site is located in a particularly ecologically interesting place with the nearby nature preserve and existing habitat value. It is hard to reconcile a much-loved recreation complex, the ecological significance, and the proposed massing and paving of the project immediately adjacent to those uses.
         2. There is so much building on site that the vehicular circulation doubles as the public walkways. The Board questioned whether this would truly feel like a public space. The 25’ foot path is really adjacent to the building face. There needs to be a greater horizontal buffer and mediation between building mass and the public access area at the ground plane – use bigger trees to lower perception of adjacent buildings.
         3. The project should be consistent with larger regional goals and ecological wellbeing of the area. The site is tight and developing a site so heavily doesn’t leave room for adaptation and creates a situation that will demand a future levee and there are already so many levees.
         4. The Board understands the pressures, complexity, and numbers for development but it’s the DRB’s job to push back to maximize public benefit. Board recommends pulling Building 2 away from the shoreline to relieve the pinch point, provide greater buffer for public spaces and habitat, and provide greater capacity for future adaptation for sea level rise. Consider shifting building towards the road or changing configuration of drop off to create space. Until you have an adaptation strategy, maintain the space and capacity for future adaptation.

            Public Comment letter: Understand needs for large plate design, but in consideration of the OneShoreline and other requirements – it’s important to respect the 100’ setback and have a gentler slope like 20:1.

         5. There is a lot of parking, it seems that there is 1 spot per employee (400 SF/employee). Explore opportunities to reduce number of parking spaces and define shared needs between Campus and City uses. Parking demands for the Campus and City uses don’t seem incompatible and could be better coordinated. For example, can more City parking be accommodated within the garage outside of business hours?
         6. The Public Access seems to be encroaching into the marsh where typically we want to give more buffer to sensitive areas.
         7. Buildings
            • The public frontage along the promenade needs animation and an active ground floor use seems unlikely as shown. Explore a layered approach or give more attention to ground plane and the building edges: create seating areas, explore articulation of façade to provide depth, and enhance areas of landscaping to make it a more interesting experience. A more permeable design could benefit the project in terms of complementary ground floor uses (cafes etc.) that may benefit the overall project.
            • The height of the buildings compared to what is immediately adjacent is concerning. What is happening with shadows and public space? There is good southern/western exposure, but what happens with the wind? It is necessary to understand and design with the microclimates of public access areas.
            • Public Comment Letter: The facades seem very glossy. This site is adjacent to the Redwood Shores Nature Preserve; maintain bird safe design, and minimize night lighting from building and exterior lighting as it’s adjacent to the slough.
      2. Circulation. The introduction of more connectivity along slough is welcome. This is not the Bay Trail but it directly connects into the trail network and is well used even as an unimproved trail.
      3. Site Arrival
         1. The scale of the north vehicle drop off is not necessary and should not be used as the placemaking feature of the site. Central entry/drop off should be minimized.
         2. When driving to the site from Island Parkway, the first entry you encounter is the entry into the parking structure and it doesn’t feel like an entry experience. With the size of the garage and the assumption that employees will be driving themselves, explore reducing the size of the north drop off area and enhancing the south arrival point. There is a lot of current use at the existing surface lot; explore enhancing this arrival point.
      4. Onsite Circulation
         1. Explore the opportunities of reducing the surface lot and shrinking the north drop off to create more significant public spaces, improve connections, and allow for a softer slope at the shoreline. The city-owned parking lot should be a more significant connection to the Bay Trail at the south. The public access terminates at the garage.
         2. There’s a clear opportunity with a 12-story garage to reduce the need for surface parking; project needs to identify the needs for all the site use. Explore reducing the size of the surface lot in order to provide better connections with the trail network and the Bay Trail.
         3. It is strange to see a public walkway turn into the loading dock of buildings. Board questioned if approaching from the street, does someone really want to cross the loading areas.
      5. Street Circulation
         1. The Board questioned why Island Parkway was so wide.
         2. The Board noted the potential for conflict where cycle tracks cross vehicular areas, explore moving track or going with conventional lanes on north side of Concourse.
      6. Shoreline Protection
         1. A slope of 2:1 for a living shoreline is not something you would consider as a natural geomorphic slope for an edge and will limit ecological value. With sea level rise. the higher marsh plants may migrate up, but the lower portions may not facilitate lower marsh migration.
         2. The plant palette does not seem to be native or appropriate for marsh.
         3. The Board wanted clarification on whether the elevations shown accounted for settlement.
         4. The Board recommends consideration of other flooding sources beyond shoreline overtopping, ensure higher water levels are being studied.
         5. The Board stated it is important to frame plans in the context of bigger adaptation strategies for the sloughs.
         6. The Board wants to see the plans and sections. Water comes in from all directions.
      7. Public Access
         1. The Board supported the opportunity of creating a more open and welcoming public access along the slough. There are a lot of amenities and opportunity for a good landscape.
         2. The Plan is generally consistent with BCDC guidelines albeit scrunched up and tight. Ensure adaptative capacity.
         3. The Board requested clarification on whether the Master Plan envisioned an EVA counting toward public access.
         4. The deck is an effective focal point/terminus. As the frame/bird blind comes to life, explore additional uses/animations to provide more justification. The precedent image of the bird blind is interesting, but question whether the design is appropriate to this project.
      8. Community Engagement. No environmental groups listed on interested parties; since the Sierra Club wrote a leter, we encourage reaching out to them.

         The Design Review board directed the project to come back for a second review.

4. Meeting Adjournment. Vice Chair Strand made a motion to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Member Hall. Meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:30 PM.

Transcript

DRB Meeting Room: Board members. Please speak directly into the microphone in front of you and have it on only when you want to speak.

And please ensure that your video on your laptops is always on, but your audio is disabled.

Okay, thank you, Ashley.

DRB Meeting Room: So let’s start the meeting. Welcome everyone. My name is Jacinda Mccann and I’m. The chair of the B. Cdc’s Design Review Board

I’m located here at the Metro Center in San Francisco, and our meeting will include participants who are here and those who may be participating online. Although I think we have everyone here

which is terrific. Our first order of business is to call the role board members. Please unmute yourselves to respond, and then mute yourselves again after responding. Can you call the rolls. Please

chair, Mccann. Present vice-chair string

board Member Battalion. Is it? Board? Member Hall present board Member Pellegrini right and staff attending tonight. Are myself Ashley, Tamerlan.

Yeri Jewett Katherine Penn and Trouti-senha

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, very good.

We have a quorum. So we at the meeting up.

So thanks, Ashley.

DRB Meeting Room: Let’s

start with some instruction. and i’m going to read them, because quite long. So I want to share some instructions on how we can best participate in this meeting, so that it runs as smoothly as possible

for everyone who is participating online and in the meeting room. please make sure you have your microphones or phones muted to avoid background noise for board members. If you have a webcam. Please make sure that it is on. So everyone can see you

for members of the public. If you would like to speak during a public comment period this evening. You will need to do so in one of 3 ways.

DRB Meeting Room: for members of the public who are attending our meeting in person in our Headquarters building. Please complete a comment card found at the meeting room door.

The Board Secretary will call you up to the podium for public comments

DRB Meeting Room: wearing masks is optional, but recommended in this building.

you will be asked to come up to the podium one at a time, and to state your name and affiliation prior to providing your comments during the meeting.

DRB Meeting Room: If you are attending on the Zoom Platform, please raise your virtual hand in zoom.

If you are new to zoom and you join our meeting. The zoom application, click the hand at the bottom of your screen. The hand should turn blue when it’s raised. If you are joining our meeting via phone, you must press Star 9 on your keypad to raise or lower your hand to make a comment and star 6 to mute or unmute your phone.

We will call on individuals who have raised their hands in the order that they are raised during the public comment period for each process.

DRB Meeting Room: After you are called on you will be unmuted, so that you can share your comments.

Please state your name. An affiliation at the beginning of your remarks. Remember, you have a limit of 3 min to speak on an item, and we will tell you when you have 1 min.

Please keep your comments respectful and focus. We are here to listen to everyone who wishes to address us. but everyone has a responsibility to add in a civil Atlanta. We will not tolerate hate, speech, threats made directly or indirectly, and or abuse its language.

We will mute anyone who fails to follow these guidelines, or who exceeds the established time limits without permission for online public comments. Please note that we will only hear your voices. Your video will not be enabled

DRB Meeting Room: if you are attending the meeting in person on the Zoom. If excuse me if you’re intending the meeting on the Zoom Platform, we recommend using the gallery view option in view settings in order to see all the panelists

audio. For in-person Panelists is recorded through the rooms audio system and is not synced to individual panelists videos.

DRB Meeting Room: If you would like to add your contact information to the interested parties. List to be notified of future meetings concerning these projects.

please call or email Ashley, Tommy and his contact information the screen, and can also be found on the

DRB Meeting Room: and finally, every now and again you’ll hear me refer to the meeting host.

Yuri. you’re use our B Cdc. And up Bcbc. Staff are acting as hosts for the meeting behind the scenes to ensure that the technology moves the meeting forward smoothly and consistently.

Please be patient with us needed. And now the Board secretary will provide us staff.

Thank you, Chair Mccan. I do have a couple of updates tonight. First, an update on the board member recruitment. The selection committee has been busy over the last few months working on identifying candidates to recommend for the board and alternate opening.

We received 17 sets of qualifications, and interviewed 10 candidates for the 4 openings. The committee has the following recommendations for appointments.

Vo chao of som for the architect, board member. Patricia Fonzeka Flores, formerly with a calm Esa and Wendy for the landscape architect, alternate

the neat amount of site lab for the urban design alternate. and Cody Anderson from Sherwood for the engineer alternate. You will be giving, with the recommendations to the chair of the Commission

for concurrence at the May eighteenth meeting, and the new appointees should begin their terms in June.

DRB Meeting Room: Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, June Fifth.

and will be a review of the Port of Oakland, Middle Harbor, Shoreline Park, Seventh Street Connection. This was previously went to the Board last October

DRB Meeting Room: for newly reopened public access. The breakwater trail at Loch Lom and Marina and Janathob has recently reopened

the project, raised the elevation of the trail 2 and a half feet to 9.5, and installed a 100 foot long boardwalk with bird viewing platform

for for project updates. We have 3 previously reviewed projects going to the Commission for permits in May and June. Oyster Point phases 3 and 4 in South San Francisco. 5 5 7, Bashore and Redwood City, and 7 7 7 airport Boulevard and Berlin game are scheduled to be presented to the Commission in the upcoming meeting.

That, concludes the staff update. I’ll pause here to answer any questions from the board, and if there are none. then we can move on to the next item.

I’m just going to jump in for a minute. So our board members and I first of all just want to say thank you to Ashley and Gary Gary for being on the interview committee with me and Ashley for organizing quite a series of

complex scheduling to get everyone together for the interviews. and we had really high quality candidates. I just want to thank all of you for putting forward ideas

it makes. And so I think you know, we’ve got a

DRB Meeting Room: a slate here of recommendation recommended candidates that are really going to see the Board through into the next era

board. Members

that of a sort of roll off in coming years roll off so to be able to have this

any comments from anyone.

DRB Meeting Room: Well, anyway, thanks for you to, since it for

the charge, and we’re super happy with how it turned out, and as he said. we’ve got a couple of people who are going to really show up. you know, are going to bring a lot.

This conversation. looking forward to that being a deeper in.

Yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: very happy about that.

And so actually, these will be likely approved, and the candidates will be, or these recommended candidates are being notified. Yes. not yet. They have been notified. They stated that they were still interested in serving, and so we brought the recommendations here, and then the recommendations will go to the Commission

on the administrative listing or the chairs report, so it’s

there. There will not be a vote on it.

And so, just thinking in terms of timeline, we might be able to see the architect at our

DRB Meeting Room: July, June, July, possibly June, but certainly July

for meetings.

DRB Meeting Room: Yes, the terms are supposed to start in June, and the June Drb. Is June sixth, so that might be a tight turnaround. That’s what July meeting. I would definitely want to have the architect on board. Yeah.

Excellent.

Okay.

DRB Meeting Room: good.

So we’ll move to the next item on the agenda, which is public comment on what on the board Secretary’s report. If anyone attending

yeah online would like to make a public comment, please raise your virtual hand to speak and remember all of the guidelines that I just said before, is there anyone raising their hands for public comments?

We have no public comments. Okay, thanks very much. Good. Okay, that gets all of the administrative things out of the way, and we can move to the next agenda item, which is the first review of B. 9 Island Parkway Life Sciences Development Project in Belmont.

and really appreciate being the team here in person.

DRB Meeting Room: and we will begin our review on the gender item. For now it’s this: it’s the

first review correct correct

DRB Meeting Room: of B. 9 Island Parkway development in San Mateo County. So we will be doing the following here in terms of the review. There’ll be a staffer introduction, followed by the project proponent presentation.

followed by board, clarifying questions in public comments. then board, discussion and summary. and then a project proponent respond to brief response optional. But

you know, always welcome. And with that the B Cdc. Permanent analyst, shudy Sinha will introduce to, thanks to thanks a shreddy. Go ahead.

DRB Meeting Room: Thank you. Chair Mccain.

We just need a couple of more minutes.

Been a while.

DRB Meeting Room: Thank you again. Chair, Mcken, and Good Evening Design Review Board Members.

My name is Shrizi Sinha, and I am a shoreline development analyst. At Dcdc. Before I present the staff introduction. I would like to remind the project team and staff to please turn on your video when you are speaking or answering questions.

When you are not actively engaged with the board. Please turn off your video and mute your microphone so that you minimize distractions on screen.

DRB Meeting Room: And now i’d like to introduce the project for tonight’s review, which is the redevelopment of a 12.6 acre, former oracle campus, located at 300 301

and 400 island pathway, and 800 Clifford drives.

DRB Meeting Room: This project is proposed by developer

biomed realty. Biomed realty has submitted its application to the the city of Belmont, received comments and just recently resubmitted an update to their application.

The city of Dumont will commence the Sqla Environmental Review process this spring

DRB Meeting Room: Tonight is the project’s first Drb Review.

DRB Meeting Room: We would like to begin by acknowledging that the project area was once

water and historic tidal flats located near Lampson. The unseeded ancestral homeland of the Ramitosh Boloni. we offer gratitude to the indigenous peoples

who are the original stewards of the bountiful natural resources of the bay area.

DRB Meeting Room: The project is located in the city of Belmont, just outside of the redwood shore’s waterfront community.

It sits at the confluence of Foster City, Belmont and Redwood City. It also sits at the confluence of the O’neal and Belmont sleeves. The 2 schools wrap around the properties surrounding the project site such that they create a moat-like enclosure of the area, within.

DRB Meeting Room: and this area is called Island Park, by the project that developed the area in the Mid 80 S.

DRB Meeting Room: The site is surrounded by office campuses, a Hotel, and a residential community.

To the north, to the southwest is the Belmont Sports Complex, owned by the city of belmont

DRB Meeting Room: pedestrian and bicycle access to this so-called island is provided

by 3 foot bridges, circled in yellow along the south of Islands Park. also circled in yellow, is the land bridge to the northwest of Island Park and the Bay trail at the northeast.

DRB Meeting Room: The only vehicular access to Island Park is provided

via Island Parkway. A pile supported 5 Lane Bridge.

DRB Meeting Room: which crosses over O’neal’s food from the south, and terminates at the project site.

DRB Meeting Room: Here’s some regional context for public parks and trails.

This map is taken from the Bay Trail Division of the Metropolitan Transportation. The Bay Trail is shown in dark green. Note that no portion of the bay trail lies within the project site.

DRB Meeting Room: This map doesn’t show it, but there is a short line pedestrian path within the project limits

it. It is an approximately 500 linear foot segment of what is locally called the O’neal Flu Trail.

DRB Meeting Room: This slide contains, if you cite photos taken by the applicant.

DRB Meeting Room: except for the public streets and a parking lot owned by the city of Beaumont. The project site is unimproved for public use.

Existing use of the site includes pedestrian traffic along the Project’s northwestern Shoreline via the O’neal Free Trail, and parking on the 400 Island Parkway parcel.

Associated with events at the Sports complex.

DRB Meeting Room: the existing permit was issued to the Oracle Corporation.

DRB Meeting Room: Although Oracle built out the buildings that exist today

at 3 0 1 4, one and 501 Island Parkway, it did not construct the buildings authorized for 300 400 islands. Approximately half of

the authorized project was never built out.

DRB Meeting Room: Likewise, the public access conditions required by the permit

seem to have only been partially fulfilled. based on recent satellite imagery. It appears that some of the above-mentioned public access requirements were implemented and exist today some were implemented and later abandoned, and others

were never implemented.

Just

DRB Meeting Room: slide.

I’ll try to go through the several

DRB Meeting Room: public access requirements in the existing permit to give you a sense of

what the Commission thought was commensurate with the type of development that would cover this area.

So

DRB Meeting Room: so these are the addresses.

DRB Meeting Room: This is the

the shoreline band.

DRB Meeting Room: This is the trail.

It’s a pedestrian path that was supposed to go all around the island.

DRB Meeting Room: and it’s mostly built out

in one way in one form or another.

DRB Meeting Room: over a 100,000 square feet of landscaping was also required.

A raised turf area at the the Cul de Sacs. a on either side of Concourse Place.

DRB Meeting Room: 5 foot wide, bike lanes on Concourse and Island parkways.

DRB Meeting Room: If I put wide access path to the Bridge plaza.

DRB Meeting Room: public shore, parking along

Concourse Place and

80 evening and weekend parking spaces in the 400 Island park, wait lot for

DRB Meeting Room: for events associated with the sports complex

DRB Meeting Room: 2 foot bridges

across Onio, Flu and Delamont flu

DRB Meeting Room: 10 foot wide and 8 foot wide.

DRB Meeting Room: and that appears to be it.

and then

DRB Meeting Room: off to the side. There’s

see that there’s signage lighting. picnic tables, benches. trash with obstacles and restrooms. minimum numbers for those required.

So

DRB Meeting Room: that was for the project was that was only half built.

DRB Meeting Room: Pcbc’s community vulnerability mapping tool shows the majority of the project site as having moderate

social vulnerability based on based upon the 2,014 to 2,018 census data gathered by Bcd. In 2,020. The social vulnerability indicators in the seventieth percentile for this census block include children under 5 years of age.

single-parent household people who are not us citizens and people who are severely housing costs burdened

DRB Meeting Room: regarding the potential sea level rise.

and

DRB Meeting Room: regarding potential sea level, sea level rise and using current site elevations. This map shows what 24 inches of sea level rise would look like if the site remained unchanged.

we use the medium to high risk aversion scenario for the public access improvements. The bottom row shows what equivalent future total water level. This map corresponds to for each risk. Scenario

for the medium to high-risk aversion. Scenario 24 inches of sea level rise is equivalent to the mean high high water level along with 2050 sea level rise, which would also not cause

flooding on the site.

DRB Meeting Room: This map shows what 66 inches of sea level rise would look like at the site if it remained unchanged.

I shaded the project site in yellow because red represents overtopping. according to this key for the medium to high-risk aversion scenario. 66 inches of sea level rise is equivalent

to mean higher high water in the year 2,090 or the 100 year storm events at mid-century.

DRB Meeting Room: the San Francisco estuary and institute adaptation mapping tool recommends existing and potential tidal marsh

and hold your management as nature based as nature-based adaptation opportunities.

DRB Meeting Room: Lastly, i’d like to quickly summarize the questions in the staff report that

you’d like the Board to consider in your in its review. First, please consider how this project meets the public access objectives provided in B. Cbc’s public access design guidelines.

then staff has that it identified some specific questions. We would like to ask the Board about the design at this stage. These are

one.

DRB Meeting Room: How does the project propose a result in public spaces that feel public?

And does the project proposal allow for the shoreline to be enjoyed by the greatest number of people?

DRB Meeting Room: What additional improvements would improve the public access experience to and along the shoreline

3 are the public access areas appropriately designed to be resilient and adapted to sea level, rise and balance with ensuring high quality, public access opportunities. and 4.

Does the design provide legible connections from the adjacent roadways and bike and pedestrian networks to draw users into and through the site to the O’neal food trail and shoreline.

DRB Meeting Room: At this point I would like to check to see if the Board has any clarifying questions for me on anything presented in this introduction.

Yeah, I I do. Could you go back to the the diagram that shows the permit or the permit requirements? Can you switch back to that

that you I just want to double check. So when the permit was originally given to oracle for a development of this site. the green area up on the list that

it says 40,000 47,000 square feet of landscape was that part of the permit.

DRB Meeting Room: Yes, that that is required in the permit that’s in the public.

And then the second thing I wanted to ask was the line that delineates the 100 foot shoreline band was that in the permit. Originally

DRB Meeting Room: I

DRB Meeting Room: it might have been in the exhibits, but that that’s an approximate that we put in. Okay.

but it would have been discussed at the time. The 100 foot shoreline band was clearly in place at the time the person was Yeah. So it would be understood that any development approach. Proposal needs to

follows the requirements for the 100 foot shoreline band and provide that 47,000. It is green space. Is that correct. correct.

Thank you.

DRB Meeting Room: Any other clarifying questions.

Thank you for the presentation. I was wondering.

DRB Meeting Room: The boundary on the exhibits

does it? It seems, to include sometimes the parcel linking all the way to the Belmont flu

DRB Meeting Room: Is that part of the site, or is that not included?

DRB Meeting Room: So this is the extent of the project

that’s being proposed today.

DRB Meeting Room: Biomed realty actually owns

You can’t see my cursor, but where it says 301 Islands Parkway, that’s part of the project. But biomed realty owns the the the area, the campus south of that also

at

DRB Meeting Room: it doesn’t show the the

I believe it’s 401 and 501. Yeah. but that’s not part of this project within the scope of this project, but all the areas shaded in red are

part of the project, including the there’s this little section, this parking lot at the South. next to the sports complex that’s a city-owned parking lot.

and the applicant is part of their. It’s part of their project at. I I believe, as a part of their agreement with the city to

redevelop that do some like surface redevelopment to that parking area. In some of the exhibits it shows building. One included in the boundaries

and some of these good T-shirt. I just want to confirm. That’s not part of the

DRB Meeting Room: so if you flip forward a few slides

DRB Meeting Room: it it going all the way to

DRB Meeting Room: oh.

one more

DRB Meeting Room: like in this one.

so that that building is not part of it. Okay, just one

DRB Meeting Room: and then the other question.

Never mind that’s it. Thank you.

DRB Meeting Room: So I have one question. Can you go back to the

to the permit drawing that you have at previously?

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, that’s the one

so

on the right it shows a 10 foot wide, oracle footbridge across Belmont. With

DRB Meeting Room: that that doesn’t exist. Oh, it does.

Okay.

That’s already been constructed.

Yes, 3 foot bridges have been constructed. The pro this shows what required in the permit, but so you’ll see one

at on on the onial side of the the slew. which is required to be 8 foot. Wide wooden pile supported foot bridge that’s been built, and then there’s another one

on that side. so that 2 on the O’neal flu side, and then the oracle footbridge have all been constructed.

Okay, Thank you.

Yeah. I have a question. The sea level rise diagram, what we showed. I just want to clarify. I understood that at the 100 years storm

at mid century the this entire area in blue would be underwater. It would be over time.

DRB Meeting Room: No that

no

DRB Meeting Room: 66 inches.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, maybe you could just run run me

by that one more time. What is the condition? Mid-century? 100 years so

DRB Meeting Room: 2050

sea level rise plus 100 years storm.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, thank you.

This is if the site remains unchanged. Right? So i’m looking at the surrounding areas. Yeah. I know we’ll hear about the site. Surely I was kind of just wondering about the access.

DRB Meeting Room: the

sorry to backtrack. But can you go back to the permitting diagrams?

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, I. I just wanted to clarify those picked to Grants down the left hand side. Were they part of the permit as well? 24 benches, etc., etc.,

and 2 toilets that that that indicate some sort of restroom. Yes.

okay.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay. Any other clarifying questions.

all good.

DRB Meeting Room: Well, it’s really thanks very much for providing that information

very helpful. So we’ll go to the next item on the agenda, which is the project proponent presentation. So we’ll hand to

thank you.

Hello.

DRB Meeting Room: All right. Good evening.

Everyone can hear me. Okay. My name is Ethan Warsh. I’m. A director of development with biomed realt

just to one sentence on biomed biomed realty is a leading provider of real estate solutions. For the

we focus. We focus exclusively on the

So I want to take a moment and introduce my team. I’m. Joined here tonight by Marcel Wilson, with Bionic landscape architects. Jeff Smith and Ellie Nekt, with

Cecily Barkley, our Land use Council with Perkins, Kui

especially. and my colleagues solely and actually hear me both with biomed Marcel and I are going to be presenting our Island Park project to you this evening, and others on the team will be available to answer questions. And so with that i’d like to hand things over to myself.

DRB Meeting Room: Good evening to be here

DRB Meeting Room: just to orient everyone the Island Parkway life, science campus

in in Belmont. So, Jason to the one to one freeway. You may recognize the in the oracle towers.

surrounded to the north by a hotel and a dealership. There is a residential community close by, and then to the and then existing segments of the annual slew trail run to the new.

DRB Meeting Room: The project say it’s generally flat.

of mostly disturbed disturbed area and compacted gravel. It’s developed portions of the project includes existing office space and parking areas.

3 street trees and land.

DRB Meeting Room: and aside from the public streets, city owns

parking lot. At the south end of the project site. The project location is currently not open to the public. However, people informally use the area to traverse the western edge of the to connect the O’neal slew trail.

and it’s through the through a gap through the site. If you look at the image on the lower left, you can see the there’s some carpeting that’s been put down there by users to

traverses. So this is A. And then there’s another part of the site which is a parking area to the south end. and that is also in the in the, in the

DRB Meeting Room: a variety of trails and infrastructure. The bridges there’s

to tunnel converge on this site. and their the conditions of those trails are all.

DRB Meeting Room: The bay trail is located on the east side of the island. That’s the

you know. New O’neal slew trail is in green. It’s not designated as Bay trail, but it surrounds the rest of the perimeter of the island. With the exception of the trail gap that crosses the 800

clipper property, the Dash.

This. This is an identified gap, and you can see the 100 foot set back is indicated in blue. and so along the slew. That’s in the upper part of the drawing, and then on the lower part of the drawing you see the area shaded in blue. That’s the

sports complex parking lot which I supports

DRB Meeting Room: the

the future circulation. Here will be bicycles and pedestrians, which are will move along with kind of orange lines. The larger pink lines are for primary access to the to the shoreline.

These circulation routes connect existing trail networks and provide users with site accesses to Delmont and Redwood shores in the greater bay area. So this is a this site can really act.

It’s kind of like a a trail head for a much larger, wider trail that. although it is

DRB Meeting Room: even is going to walk through the building.

So before Marcel walks you through the details of the shoreline design. I wanted to provide a broader overview of the project. So the project i’m about to describe is what’s included in our to the city of Belmont, and reflects months of close enough.

DRB Meeting Room: So Bmr. Is proposing approximately 860,000 square feet of life. Sciences. Space

spread across 3 different buildings and one parking structure with ground ground floor amenity programming as well. We call our buildings, building one in the middle there building 2 planned north and building 3 planned east

building, 3 includes podium parking. So is self-sufficient. From that perspective, and the parking structure will serve buildings one and 2, and also includes ground floor. Amenity programming directly adjacent

sports complex. All of our buildings are shorter than the the highest point of the

and one detail I wanted to highlight is that the parking structure also includes 80 parking spaces available to the sports, complexes, sports, complex users. and we are proposing an additional 6 spaces that are specifically designated for users.

and one other item I wanted to pause on that I wasn’t planning on just because our the rest of the presentation doesn’t cover it, and I saw it come up earlier is the the bike lanes. And so we are proposing significant bike lane infrastructure as part of the project, so that includes

protected class 2 bike lanes all the way down Island Parkway, and then on Concourse Place, sort of connecting the both sides of the island. We’re proposing a protected for a bike lane, as well as

just painted class 2 around the

so filling in all of the you know. would be a very robust.

DRB Meeting Room: So this was covered briefly by Marcel, but this slide shows the BC. DC. Shoreline band in relation to our proposed project in blue. You can see that there are 2 areas of overlap, one which is the primary subject of this project

adjacent to our building to plan north. The other is within the surface parking lot plan set The this parking lot is existing, owned by the city of Belmont, and associated with their sports complex.

We are not proposing a new use here, but the city has asked that we reconfigure their lot in order to streamline the access from the street. and so it interfaces more coherently with our lot, which, if you recall, they will

to, and so they really will in many ways operate, you know, for the for the same users you can’t find a spot in the surface parking lot. You may want to to jump over parking lot.

DRB Meeting Room: As a result of the reconfiguration the city will also gain an additional 15 spaces on the surface. Parking lot. They’ll also

will benefit from a much improved

city and sports complex.

DRB Meeting Room: So before I hand things back over. I would like to focus for one moment on the portion of the shoreline band that is adjacent to our building, too.

this area of the project, and specifically the interface and proposed overlap between building 2 and the shoreline band is something that the team has spent a lot of time talking and thinking about.

while our proposal to include a portion of building to within the shoreline band is an allowable use. We also understand the importance of balancing that placement with the need to provide meaningful, attractive, inviting, and adaptable shoreline.

And so with that in mind we approach this site specifically, this building to site. But you know broadly as well with, and all of its constraints with a few objectives. So one is that you know

we have an objective to build a building that is viable for our tenants. You know our ability to build a campus that attracts high-quality life. Science, tenants is at the core of our business. and is also what allows us to make the all of these proposals

to place making and access. We believe that strong place making will make our project a success for our tenants, for trail users. for nearby residents and users of sports, complex and clear trail and sports. Complex access is central to our place, making.

and 3 harmony with adjacent. So we we do seek to build a project with an interface that makes sense. Given the diverse other nearby uses, including

so the proposed building to design. we think, achieves those objectives in the following ways.

DRB Meeting Room: The building design is viable for our tenants by providing a floor, plate, size, core design, and layout and ground floor loading plan that supports their needs.

Our proposal supports place basic place, making by focusing on a well-designed ground plane and strong access to the shoreline trail and the sports complex for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles, and we do that a couple of ways.

One is that we locate. We’ve located building to loading plan north, so along that eastern that top property line on the on the map there. rather than between buildings, one and by doing that

the area between building one and 2 becomes a central access point for the shoreline sports complex and our buildings and taken together with adjacent spaces, becomes a dynamic, multi-purpose open space that really is

the central plaza.

DRB Meeting Room: And lastly, to create harmony between uses. We’ve ensured with this design that trucks can access the loading area of building 2 without having to loop around the island through the resident.

which is is important to us from the get go. So with that i’ll hand things back over

DRB Meeting Room: to

talk about the improvements. It makes sense to zoom way back and talk about them from outside the and it first.

Currently there are views to the slew you can see on the lower left corner of from Concourse Place. There’s big, wide, open view aligned to Concourse place, and and to the

new buildings. One and 2 are going to be cited, as you can see, in the bottom right corner, so that there’s a very wide aperture in a sense of the bay Beyond is

will be telegraph to people passively. They use the sidewalks. crosswalks to to access the trail. proposed improvements of sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian safety bike lanes will kind of be aligned

also to these buildings, just sort of reinforcing a the kind of intuitive way finding for the access.

DRB Meeting Room: These drawings illustrate a a kind of a a visitor or sequence

to the trail. You’d be able to access the trail from the north, the east and the south. So so, and O’neal slew is sort of interesting in its own right as a vestige of a much larger system. There’s a lot there to explore.

I want to Also, just point out to you in the plan. Drawing on the left, you can see that there’s a bend in the trail. and and we’ll talk about that bandit, how it the sequence.

So in in the view one you’re all the way back down down the this kind of multi-purpose trail. It’s at least 26 feet wide, paves the entire way ada accessible

and the sports complex is on. and as you move more closely in in. In the second view that you see this trail consistency

as wide. There’s amendments along the sides of the trail view. 3 actually looks at it from approaching on Concourse Place. big, wide view to the bay and view 4 looks back at the sports complex.

where again you can see certain the nature-based solutions to sea level rise on the bank. I’ll talk about a little bit more about that later, and amenities to kind of stop and pause.

It’s at this point that you can in view 5 that you can see this kind of vertical element that we created at that turning point. It’s a large frame. It’s meant to in a in a big deck. There’ll be an observation point there, and it’s really a vertical marker to indicate that the trail does move on from

either perspective from north or south, and it’s kind of an invitation to continue through the trail and make it very clear that it’s it’s.

DRB Meeting Room: This next set of views are, Show a little bit more of the architectural character, and give you a

of what the experience might be. So this is is demonstrating just the the kind of generosity of the street. and the kind of planting and massing of the buildings.

the big, wider views as you. This is on Concourse place, looking west. the building on the corner building one have a more kind of an iconic presence. you know, and it it sort of announces itself as the

I can’t answer. And then the you look at them. The relationship between building one and 2 big, wide opening. I would say.

this is looking from kind of the slew back to the east. This is the plaza where you would arrive. This is where sidewalks and a vehicle drop off All arrive at a kind of public ceiling. Plaza.

you’ll notice on the slew edge. There are decks. kind of areas that will welcome people as they arrive to walk right out to that edge.

DRB Meeting Room: And then this is a view from from the sports complex doing a pretty good job of showing how, between the sports complex and

the parking garage. There’ll be a very active edge there. and it’s a long continuous connector closing that gap in the system. And then this is at eye level along

along the parking garage on the right and the sports complex on the left, so people would be able to come here, park. unload and go to the sports complex or continue on

the trail. There will be some amenities in the base of the garage activating

and the sports complex is very popular, and you

DRB Meeting Room: and then finally of you. Looking back from this observation deck to the Sports complex

building 2, unless you can just see there’s a generous set back at least 26 feet of of trail width there, and in addition to some. then the the slope of the bank.

DRB Meeting Room: There’s been some conversation already about the adaptation to sea level rise, the project will be adapted to or designed initially, to meet, projections to 2,080,

and then there are death. Adaptation approaches in scenarios allow us to adapt up till 2,100, and this is also sort of pegged to the life of

building. of of the buildings.

DRB Meeting Room: It it might be helpful to know that towards the top of the drawing that’s lower and towards the bottom of the drawing that’s higher. The average site elevation right now

on the low side is about 13. That’ll be real 2 to 15. There’s a variety of

DRB Meeting Room: our our team has developed various options that

keep the public shoreline accessible through your 2,100, with a couple of different adaptations. scenarios. I’ll show you in in sections later how those

work! And it’s anticipated that that potential flooding from other off-site properties could occur in the future there’s a bypass. It’s a bypass to the north, with a levy only on one side and not the other.

And so these are beyond the control of the project, but it’s anticipated that this project will be able to respond to any improvements that are made along that edge. In the diagrams that were shown

DRB Meeting Room: shows that there’s no over topping there, because there is no ready to.

It’s an anomaly in the

DRB Meeting Room: These next slides show typical sections. I won’t talk through them all. But these 2 are important to note just the general nature-based approach to elevating the site and the existing bank.

This project does not do any work in the bay. We have no in water work. but we will be raising the site and planting that edge with with natives and adaptive species.

And then, if you see at the top of in each of those sections it shows a band that’s approximately 5 feet wide, and that is a zone where in the future, if

adaptation scenarios called for something even taller than what we’ve projected. We can accommodate within that. But right now would would be a a

kind of future proofing the site through 2,080. These are other sections in the drawing package I won’t speak to them much more than to say, Notice the sort of flatness and the ease of transition

from the public streets drop off areas as you go towards the towards the slew on the left. Very easy to get there. Not a lot of visual instructions.

DRB Meeting Room: Again a couple of additional sections of the condition.

I will

DRB Meeting Room: happy to come back to

DRB Meeting Room: to summarize this. The drawing on the top shows today’s conditions and what we’re proposing to build initially. The drawing on the bottom shows

how all of the access and the amenities that are being built will be but I a future proofs through 2,100. That’s the 2,100 scenario on that.

But

DRB Meeting Room: the the the decks, the trail, the seating areas.

the access to the access all be adapted to

DRB Meeting Room: this is going to be a great place to

to sort of transition out of a vehicle and onto a bike or your feet to explore the trail system. being sort of gracious to all the visitors that we’re anticipating, though we’re planning on a variety of amenities. This is where you might

pump up your tires, fill your water bottle, get some orientation or information. and then set out on on the trail

DRB Meeting Room: the surfacing will be on the on. The main alignment of the trail is going to be cast concrete

in other sort of special areas or off to the sides there will be cast con or concrete pairs, or

DRB Meeting Room: and then along the

blue edge of the trail. The the idea is that that has a variety of different areas to stop and pause. They’re all sort of different for different shaped sort of bodies and in sizes and ages and and just experience

experiences to kind of observe. Observe the slew and all that’s going panorama. So.

and then the nature-based Adaptation. Approach of raising that bank and replanting with natives and adaptives. is, we refer to it as the kind of native garden. In addition to that, there will be some interpretation. Opportunities

about about the about the flora, and

DRB Meeting Room: and there is a a preliminary plant, palette of adaptive and native

species. This is not. This is for the whole project. but I would maybe point out that we’re fully anticipated paying that aquatic species might migrate up to bank, and the

slopes and species that we’re choosing are are all well sued for.

DRB Meeting Room: and I will now pass back to even

talk about the public outreach.

So just one note on the amenities that I wanted to add is that you know we are proposing at the ground floor of that parking structure 15,000 of the that would be open to the public. You know where we envision it now is

beverage like amenity in talks with the city and talks with complex users. is what they’re most about. You know

a lot of us at that sports complex. If you go there any given weekday evening, you know there’s hundreds of people different fields, and so. the idea being asset to them, you know.

You know, after a game. etc., you know.

and celebrated. get back together. Talk about the game

we’re also providing we’re also proposing a small cafe space

use and build 3, which we also

there really is no. except for the hotel and

dealership on the one. And so we

and i’ll talk more, you know. That’s a good segue for me to talk about.

And so to date we’ve hosted an informational session with development. Belmont sports complex users, and that really kicked off our community outreach this week. We’ll be sending a mailer out to all residential addresses on the island advertising and open house that we’ll be hosting at the sports complex on J.

7. Following that meeting we’ll also be reaching out to 2 communities on the other side of one on one from our project sterling Downs and home View, and we will seek to present at their regular fea meetings. But if we need to, we will also

specifically to present our project. And lastly, we’ll also complete outreach to Residents shores, although a different jurisdiction, obviously extremely close to this project, and we’ll either reach out

to their Hoa or a separate community organization.

In all cases we’ll be providing an email address and other contact information likely my personal email now in phone number, so individuals can convey their comments or concerns to the project team, and we will

conduct additional meetings where follow up is right.

DRB Meeting Room: So with that i’ll wrap it up. Thank you so much for your time and consideration tonight, and the whole team is available to answer any questions.

Okay, thank you very much. Eton and myself very clear. I’m sure we have a few clarifying questions

like to go through this fault. Go ahead.

Thank you.

So let’s see.

DRB Meeting Room: I was looking at the project summary and the exhibits, and

I think I calculated, did I calculate, 800 square feet of of space building space, and whereas on the permit drawing it was something

close to really

DRB Meeting Room: 200,000.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, we are proposing 860,000 square feet. I think the original permit for these

sites was closer to 235,000 very different look and feel and quality of

Okay.

DRB Meeting Room: yeah, I Just wanted to make sure I had that. I mean it’s it’s a

kind of an upgrade, I guess you would say.

DRB Meeting Room: and then i’m not super familiar with what is involved in

biomedical facilities, or whatever the term is. But does that mean that you handle, or whoever on the tenants would handle contagious

things like Covid and and the like. And and is there a risk of

DRB Meeting Room: of that like any kind of a release or anything?

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah. So the types of tenants that we work with handle a wide

activities. You know, that fits under sort of the very broad umbrella.

So you know, we have tenants like lucid motors or

research all the way to the

you know, curing

DRB Meeting Room: generally, we’re. Our tenants are regulated by something called biosafety levels, of which there are for bio safety level, one being those

sort of the least risk to human health and safety and bio for being things like that. Ebola.

DRB Meeting Room: but that are really only dealt with

in government

right now. There are discussions going on at the county level about. and if the local on the peninsula about which bio safety levels to allow, and so we’re closely tracking that, and obviously we’ll comply with the

put in place here. Typically, you know, we see the majority of our tenants within the bio safety level. We

DRB Meeting Room: and I’ll just add to that they are also a highly regulated industry. And so there are a number of Federal and State

agencies that do you know, ensure that.

Yeah, Thank you for that answer. And I appreciate the education it’s not something i’m, that familiar with. But I am familiar with what’s somewhat familiar with the building codes based on

the level of life safety risk.

DRB Meeting Room: And I was wondering what level this building, being a biomedical, potentially biomedical activities.

location. Is is there a significant risk to life safety that would raise the risk level to a 3 or 4? The critical facility in the

engineering architectural Jordan.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, this Isn’t on my area of expertise. But i’ll typically say, I will say typically, no. You know the one area that we are, You know, sort of you’ll see

typically how the building code will interact with us is for lab space and chemical storage. And so that is dealt with in the California building code. And again, it’s

life safety. like how many chemicals can elevation, you know, just risk to hazard. And so we comply. We we comply with all. Yeah, the reason why i’m asking is because

we haven’t. I didn’t see a Ge a technical report. But the area is, you know, in in the Bay, and the soils that are typically weak bay Mods and bill. And so if there’s a seismic of that.

you know, that could cause a a structural load that more critical facilities that are associated with life, safety, or high density would require

a more conservative or strong, or more capable of being able to handle an event like that and not collapse. let’s say. And likewise there’s it brings in the risk of a tsunami like flood.

which would penetrate the site if there was one. So that’s why i’m wondering what what level of facility would be from an engineering building code standpoint. And

it’s okay. If you don’t have the answer for that, because I I I think it’s just. It’s probably a special case that i’m not familiar with. But that’s why I’m asking, and I think it’s. It’s important. I think we’re all a little sensitive to the.

to the virus issue, and also these are big buildings that may have enough people that raise the risk level. I’m not sure.

DRB Meeting Room: We are a seismic importance Level

2. So which is the your typical commercial building. When we have an assembly space increased it. 3. Okay. But we would very rarely in no cases.

unless you know, we do have a case for this.

that elevator.

DRB Meeting Room: Oh, typically we’re it, too, and I will also just note that this is a very proven asset class. San Francisco is the

behind the bait behind the Boston Bridge area the largest science cluster in the world, I think. And so and certainly in the country. And so there are a lot of

DRB Meeting Room: yeah. No, I appreciate that. Thank you for educating me on that. I I sorry to take so much time.

Not sure. I’m totally comfortable with us, being in the lead, and in terms of all that. But I think it’s great that that I have a better understanding. Now, Thank you.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, I have a clarifying question.

Thank you for the presentation, and the extra background, too, on the bike. LAN. I think that was helpful. And I was wondering, Can you kind of just describe the vehicular circulation on site

and like, where is the parking and loading access for the buildings? And then how does the drop off work with parking like? Do you drop off and then go drive to the parking garage or just helping us understand where where cars are and where pedestrians are.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, please

DRB Meeting Room: always control.

Yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: especially page 8 is probably a good place to be.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah. So Island Park is one way in and one way out which is planned south there. So you cross the bridge over

on Island Parkway, across the bridge.

headed Plan North

DRB Meeting Room: Building one and building 2 are both served by parking by the main parking structure on your left there.

And so the majority of of us

would take I first, or

into the

to access that parking structure. That’s also how you access. The loading area for building

between the parking structure and the

DRB Meeting Room: users of the sports complex would use that same

first entrance to the parking structure as

to where access

DRB Meeting Room: users of building 3 would make the first right

DRB Meeting Room: off of Island Parkway before getting to concourse onto this

coding and parking structure. Loading is located in that same so occurring in building

by taking a look off the bylaw

before getting to

building 2, is really the only

DRB Meeting Room: site that requires people to

penetrates the the residential area at all. And so you’d come up to the section of concourse the left. If you were a truck loading, you would make that first right to clipper and then a left into the

you, and to building two’s loads like I mentioned before. What we really wanted to avoid was a truck. You is required a truck to make a right on concourse, and a left and circle of

clipper to access the the rear of building

for folks getting dropped off.

DRB Meeting Room: you would. Each building has a drop off a designated drop off area.

So for building 3 you would pull up past that first right for parking, and the drop off area is located on Island Parkway. On that planned west

to be dropped off at building 2. You would go up to concourse, make a left. and enter into that roundabout and drop off there, and we’ve made sure that that that roundabout is generously

the confluence of the different types. Users can, if need be, stacked 2 or 3 cars. So folks using building 2 and and likely building, one also would get dropped off there. Additionally, there is a drop off area for building a.

If you were to go back around that roundabout head back on Island Parkway and pull off to the right to be

the right Turn on.

so there’s no cars going from the round about to the parking structure along the sort of slew front along the slew front. No, you cannot access like the roundabout and the pathway that circles the parking structure, or can’t be accessed.

That’s good. And then the it is a

so

DRB Meeting Room: for building one loading, so we do show

the entire parking structure circled by, you know, vehicle access. However, the vehicle access on the planned west of the parking structure is only Eva, and very occasional

loading traffic for trucks that you know, are bolt gas delivery for building occasional and that loop, but otherwise that area adjacent to the parking structure and and and

sports complex is really imagined as a multi-purpose. So it will be designed with the materiality signals shared space.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, Thank you for that. And then for buildings, one and 2

there. Do they have lobbies directly. I imagine, on that round about the drop off

DRB Meeting Room: building 2, does the building. One lobby is

right now, I mean, these are preliminary designs. But right now the building one lobby is imagined

DRB Meeting Room: for the in the center of the building a long

Okay. And can you just kind of describe, like the ground floor active uses on buildings, one and 2

DRB Meeting Room: for building, one and 2. So typically our buildings are. Our ground floor or a ground up building

are 18 feet

forward, feeling on the first floor, and then 6 to feet above that for every other floor. That’s one of the unique aspects building

on the ground floor. The the uses are taken up largely by the lobby and by area, and potentially by utility areas like interior transfer transformer. leaving limited tenant space or

the ground floor. But there is some tendency

for building 2 and building one. We currently don’t, have planned any in any space, or we typically don’t. Put retail space on the ground floor of our buildings. I’m. Building 3. We do have that

so like building one has this plaza out front. Is that sort of a plaza in front of a blank wall, or what sort of nature of that. So i’ll be glazing. I think you want to go back to some.

DRB Meeting Room: And then it was mentioned that the

the whole master plan for this area had a certain amount of public space square footage that was required. Do you know how much public square footage space you’re required to provide, and how much this

is proposing. I believe the number that was. What do you something 1,000 in here? We’re we’re proposing, I think 1.8,

40, somebody. Okay. just a follow up clarification. Yeah. But can you break that down? What’s the breakdown between green space and

but that

DRB Meeting Room: approximately.

DRB Meeting Room: I mean looking at the drawing. What would you? Your

right?

But let’s not include that, because it

it’d be good to clarify that

also. Just wondering.

DRB Meeting Room: Is there any kind of Tdm required, or Tma that you have to participate in with the shuttle that’s in the area, or anything like that?

There is a Tdm required will be submitted with the. you know, for our sequel documentation. and that obviously

forward. And we get tenants, etc. One of the measures is. Yeah, I know that

area called

on our rate. Okay? And then do you know what the Tbm requirement is? The percent reduction required?

We don’t have the exact number, but we we know that we meet requirement. Yeah. So you don’t know what the number is, but you know you’re below it. We targeted to be both. I know that, like

it’s better than

Good afternoon evening. I’m Cesley Barkley and I wanted to clarify. We have hired a company called hexagon to do all of our transportation. They’ve prepared a local transportation analysis.

a vehicle, miles traveled analysis and a separate Tdm program that looks at 25 ways points that we could earn to get

that are viable for this project we need to have at least 18 to meet the city’s requirements. I don’t remember right now, if it’s like 2025. But there is a number. and we have plenty of opportunities

to meet that number. And One of them is to Okay, and the shuttle is even mentioned. So we’ve submitted that to the city in our most recent on April nineteenth, and

Mexican works a lot with the city and their traffic engineers.

Jason said. As this develops, we’ll have a little more detail, and we can get you this production. Okay, but that’s helpful to 20 to 25. Yes, thank you.

Last question. I’m. Just looking at the B Cdc’s adapting your eyes inside maps, and it it looks like this whole area is probably experiencing some flooding today. Do you know, if there’s any flooding happening in the neighborhood that you’re aware of

it’s by the neighborhood. You mean. Yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: they’re certainly flooding risks.

and to the north they just finish widening culverts raising the

they built a the seawall on top of the Di.

It wouldn’t, because that below.

on the southern edge of the

DRB Meeting Room: bypass

there’s a things levy

in there

DRB Meeting Room: so

there could be

into the

in today’s.

And to the that one day

by passes

proves we don’t know what now. But

this project has.

or whatever that.

DRB Meeting Room: So there’s no sort of adaptation strategy

area at a higher level. That would probably I believe that the flight control district question.

And it happens just off of this.

Yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: okay.

One shoreline is that

whole region

anecdotal.

I know that ours encounter any flooding.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, Well, it’s just it’s all connected right? So if you guys raise everything, but nobody else does it doesn’t

help you so just wondering if you’re kind of aware of a larger or not, or if there is a one.

DRB Meeting Room: I don’t know that. There, I I think that there I mean I I don’t. I will say I don’t know

affirmatively, but I think that there are a lot of people looking.

but are looking at this whole region, and and I think that

DRB Meeting Room: I think the levy, the the

it’s along this

planned north.

DRB Meeting Room: but increase whether or not Belmont right now

it’s set aside to do it that I don’t know.

Go ahead.

I wanted to mention a couple of things just if you saw the if we go back. Don’t need to go back to the flooding, but when you do, Island Park itself is out and the sports complex and much of the parking structure. I can’t remember how much you 501

as you come up on the island. It’s actually and we don’t ever have a problem until you get up closer to where the shoreline band is, and then we’ll raise that. And

just right outside this picture Foster City is putting in a levy for just now. So when you listen a little bit to this talk. there does need to be a levy of some sort or raising of the edge of the island

around, and there is a connection between the reservoir in the middle. and there’s a

DRB Meeting Room: underground culvert that goes out, and there are ways to manage that covert with gates.

The islands so well. This doesn’t, because our whole site will be high enough. happens to be where the site is, and then these improvements are on the edge of the high. That’s good, but I think there will be lots that

being paid but to kind of get the whole park, and then, as everybody is noting that Blue went a lot.

DRB Meeting Room: you know, further than just the island. It goes quite broadly, and

you mentioned one shoreline and and other agencies

necessarily paying a lot of

DRB Meeting Room: to this as our

you and your entire

thanks? No more question.

Other questions. Sorry, yes.

Is there any accommodation for like a emergency access plan in the event of flooding, since seems like that could happen in 2,050, some regularity. So

something that would happen. Is there a way to evacuate? Or if you are, you required to deal with that, or

DRB Meeting Room: we have? We are not, as far as I know, required to.

I think the one thing that we are doing is raving the not only the line area that

the floor level of all of

28, 100 years level. So we do think that residents in the bill

we don’t anticipate. We we hope that we are anticipated condition that

for our participants firm

cannot be saved on site.

And then there was a mention about the life cycle of the project as tied to the projected sea level like now. Okay.

DRB Meeting Room: i’m not sure that we have like a

specific. I think I don’t think we have a

I don’t think we have a very specific license

more broad. L.

It’s curious. What is that in in this? In your in terms of

future planning? What do you? How far ahead do you look before you is out. It’s.

DRB Meeting Room: you know. I mean it’s extremely hard to tell, but obviously like I said.

we’re we’re we’re adapting to a 28

60 years from now, you know, because we’re dealing with life, sign

the cutting edge of technology that intermittently with have to make upgrades to it to make sure that

DRB Meeting Room: for them.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, it’s not a perfect question, but it’s

not a perfect answer. No, it it’s not a your question. I’m just trying to to educate myself on that. Thank you.

Other questions.

and because you

DRB Meeting Room: maybe briefly just

describe the extent of the improvements along Concourse and Island Parkway that are essentially offsite. You mentioned at 1 point a class for Bike Lane

and I’m. Trying to read the drawings. I believe it’s on the south side of concourse. Is that correct?

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah. So we’re proposing so our our so typically the streets will work the same way. But we are proposing I’ll just start from the bottom of the plan. So when you come on dial in Parkway

we are proposing a hawk signal in order for existing existing bike lanes, existing bike pads adjacent to the you can see sort of the gray outsport field at the very bottom of the plan. There

the bike lane that circles that and cuts across for people who want to access between. We’re proposing a hawk signal for that crossing. We’re proposing protected class 2 bike lanes, more or less from the edge of the plan on the bottom of the plan there, all the way up to Concourse Place

at Concourse Place, like you mentioned, we are proposing a class for Bike Lane. So essentially a you know, protected 2 way cycle track planned north. So if you would cross the street.

DRB Meeting Room: Sorry you’re right. Plan plants out so on that side of the street that would connect essentially folks who have access to bay trail from that oracle bridge

and want a short cut across to the area. And then for the loop that goes on clipper drive. So if you go, you know, to the right of the plan, through the residential area and back around to our building, too.

We’re proposing class 2 typical class 2.

And then essentially, if you’re on the I guess it’s an extension of the bay trail or the Flew trail. You can pass under Island Parkway if you’re traveling from east to west.

Correct. If you were to cross the Oracle Bridge and hook a left. you would go under under Island Parkway. And can you just sort of describe to me sort of if you were coming from that direction, or from the Oracle direction on a bicycle

trying to reach building one or building to you that system along the western side basically would come onto the new promenade. Sure, if you so, if you were coming, let’s say, from the oracle campus. Now

you cross over that bridge to get to building one or building 2. You can make a right and then jump on to that class for a psychopath, the the cycle track that we were just discussing, or you can make a left and take the path that exists.

Go under Island Parkway. You would end up at the sports complex surface parking area at that point right after you pass their parking lot, and you see a small building that’s they call that the Sports Complex Conference Center.

You could make a right there, and there is a path that travels on the Belmont sports complex site, more or less following the line of our property line, to connect with

with our proposed path more or less. We’re, you know, adjacent to building one or right, we see that blue shoreline band pick up. That would be a mixed youth mixed. Use path, or you could circle around

the the complex and pick it up in Exactly.

I believe the city has.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, Thank you for the clarification.

Okay, and just a couple more questions for me. Sorry to wrap up. Could we go back actually? Could you just go back to the rendering for building to the ground level.

and

DRB Meeting Room: I just want to make sure I understand

you

the

DRB Meeting Room: that that that’s

we could probably discuss it here. So you can see this one was little. This is

yeah in the

DRB Meeting Room: but it this would be okay.

Pause here for a minute. So inside there, that’s the space you refer to. That would be a some type of

Is that correct and just question, do you? I’m not familiar with your company. Do you hold the assets when you develop these projects. Or do you sell them on?

We are typically long-term owners. We are developers long-term owners. Operators. It’s part of a sure key component of our brand.

So would you manage the tenancies? It’s like a ground for it, or cafe or yeah. So for for ground floor space in this market, Typically, because we we know that these are amenities that our tenants require

market to our tenants going to be at. We don’t take a risk with making me like 4 leads retail space. Rather, we enter into a contract with

amenity, food, and beverage operator, and so we can guarantee that the services that were telling them will be there are there.

And

DRB Meeting Room: could you comment on, just have you thought about how the project would be faced? Where would you start?

Yeah, right now, I mean. Obviously, everything is somewhat subject to market forces. But right now we imagine that phase one building, what we’re calling, building one and the parking structure phase 2 would probably include building 2, because it’s

by the same parking structure that we bills. And then phase 3 would be building 3. And typically you know, things like these.

DRB Meeting Room: We are proposing to build these

public amenities, including amenities as part of phase. One.

DRB Meeting Room: Thank you. And just I. I just want to check. Is there a ground level rendering similar to that for building 2?

The package there is on the

DRB Meeting Room: more focused on the trail experience. But you can see building 2 to the left.

maybe goes rendering.

DRB Meeting Room: You know, the other one

with high quality.

Now that these are

DRB Meeting Room: you towards the end, like right past the

moving to

so on the list there, and I know it’s early days in design. But on the list we see. Can you describe what that is we’re seeing in at ground level, and

I mean, or something.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah. So here we’re I mean, this is really sort of a renderers interpretation of something that a tenant could be doing in there. We are corn shell developers, and so we don’t program.

You know all of the space except that in core building space. So lobbies. you know, elevate

like this. So we would. We would have to. That. Would that would be at the

DRB Meeting Room: the tenant would get

Exactly. Okay. So the umbrellas and the outdoor representation for the sorry I missed I misinterpreted that I thought so. Interior would be at the tenants

on the exterior, and we haven’t gotten to the level of programming yet of Carrier Ss: and you things like this. But you know we could and typically do with the ground floor program things like

furniture.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay. But there isn’t a cafe.

No, the cafe would be farther up at the right when you hit the corner of the parking structure. Yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: okay, that concludes clarifying questions

from the Board.

DRB Meeting Room: We’ll move to public comment

on the presentation of presentation. So we’ll open up the meeting to public comment. Any members of the public attending the meeting in person. Please notify the Board Secretary if you would like to make a comment.

any comments.

Okay. And if you’re attending online and would like to make a public comment, please raise your virtual head to speak.

DRB Meeting Room: We do have one public comment.

DRB Meeting Room: Kita des i’m going to unmute you.

and you will have 3 min.

Gita Dev: Good Evening Board members. My name is Peter Dev. I’m with the Sierra Cloud, and I did send in a short letter

Gita Dev: on Friday, which I hope you had a chance to take a look at.

Gita Dev: I I want to thank everyone for a wonderful presentation. and as an architect myself I can appreciate a lot of the work that’s gone into it.

Gita Dev: I do have a few comments

Gita Dev: that I hope that the Board will consider.

Gita Dev: and I hope that the that the owner will consider, too.

Gita Dev: One of them is that this is very close to the Redwood shores, ecological reserve, which is all along Redwood shores, and all along Belmont slew it’s a Federal reserve. It’s a very rich bird watching area. It has a lot of species. You should see the website. It’s really fun.

Gita Dev: So bird, safe design is a really important issue, and in looking at the facades they are extremely glassy about the parking.

Gita Dev: and it is very important that we do bird safe design, and that we

Gita Dev: maintain the lighting, so that I know that biotech labs often stay up all night. They steal it all night.

Gita Dev: however, where they are facing onto the slew it’s really important that we have automatic shades that come down. So we do get nocturnal creatures that

Gita Dev: can feed at night. and also for exterior lighting to be sensitive to the purge safe design standards. We’d be happy to provide you more information on that.

Gita Dev: I do want to thank someone for raising the issue of fire, safety. Life sciences, labs are bio hazardous. and these are not issues that our codes have caught up with As an architect. I’m very familiar with the codes.

Gita Dev: and even with the State Fire Marshall’s office.

Gita Dev: They are very familiar for a 100 years of chemical hazards and radiological hazards, but bio hazards are so new that they have not caught up with them. They don’t maintain a database.

Gita Dev: So the 4 bio safety levels. as the client pointed out by a safety level, 3 and 4 deal with very infectious agents

Gita Dev: and most of the labs do not deal with by a safety level 3.

Gita Dev: But we would like to make sure that

Gita Dev: in such a hazardous area we Don’t get involved in such a serious biohazard that cannot be contained in the event of you know, serious seismic events flooding events, interruption of power.

Gita Dev: I just want to let you know.

Thank you. Okay.

Gita Dev: 1 min left. Very good.

Gita Dev: The the last point i’d like to make is that while truly understanding the issue of a large plate design for for tenants.

Gita Dev: I do feel it’s really important from one shoreline’s policy point of view, and from a safety point of view to maintain the 100 feet of setback.

Gita Dev: and to provide a much gentleness, slope on the water side.

Gita Dev: The one shoreline recommends a 100 feet set back from the water’s edge.

and to keep the trail at the land side of that 100 foot, so as to allow it very gentle slope

Gita Dev: to allow migration of species upland on a gentleness. Look, then 2 to one, an eco-tone slope is 20 to one, but something more than 2 to one would be a much much desirable. I think there may be a way to

Gita Dev: thank you.

Gita Dev: I appreciate your efforts, and

Gita Dev: and from the Board to manage the design process. Thank you.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, Thank you very much for that comment. We appreciate it. They are important issues.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, is that the end of public comments?

DRB Meeting Room: There are no more public comments. Okay, thank you.

Good. Okay. We’ll move to the next item on the agenda, which is for discussion and advice. And so the stage where of the meeting with the Board

Discuss with this, amongst ourselves, we have been given 4 questions by the staff to consider in our discussion. and the first one is just to make sure that we have maximum sense of feeling of publicness along the shoreline, so

on that. and commenting the second area just to comment on anything that we could see that might improve public access along the shore. The third one is

DRB Meeting Room: to make sure, yeah to our thoughts on the public areas and

residency and adaptation. Given what lies ahead. the sea level rise. And then the fourth area was really focused more on connections and adequacy and legibility of quick connections for bikes.

pedestrians from the adjacent by pedestrian networks, and from the so we’re all very familiar with those

areas. And so we can build

DRB Meeting Room: the dialogue around

these 4 questions and other things that we think are important. So

DRB Meeting Room: we set.

I don’t think we’ll Well, we we could stop by

DRB Meeting Room: going down the questions, if you like, for 4 questions, or we could just go by person and have a

people come in on what they Thank you important in. But

I think we might do it that way today. This project. So who would like to lead off? Well. yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: thank you.

Yeah, thanks for the presentation and and and the answers to our questions really appreciate that.

DRB Meeting Room: So I will may have a list of

thoughts

DRB Meeting Room: for our Board discussion

that cover

several of the questions.

My first comment is a slope with 2 to one, which I think is the slope where the living shoreline is not something that you would consider a geographically natural slope on a

a wetland

in the inner title. So I I think that

DRB Meeting Room: you know, as sea level rises the

higher marsh plants could migrate up, but I think the lower part of the slope would be steep. unvegetated slope, you know. Once they got to the depth. That core dress couldn’t grow like I see you have. Wra, so I think they’re going to get on that

and and work with you on that. But I think the bottom line is a flatter slope would be better. and if it’s not a flatter slope, i’m not really sure it’s a live in shoreline.

DRB Meeting Room: even though they may, it may have some benefit at the upper part of the

slow in terms of you know, some up when habitat.

DRB Meeting Room: my next comment is.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah. The exhibits on page 7 and 8 show the building to encroaching into the shoreline band.

and

DRB Meeting Room: that, combined with the the massive

square footage, makes me wonder if that building could

DRB Meeting Room: back out of the shoreline, Dan, to provide room again for

flattening the slope on that living shoreline, and providing kind of more space

DRB Meeting Room: for adaptation, but also just for people within. The

My next question comment is. this is kind of a funny one. Exhibit 27 be

DRB Meeting Room: that bird blind looks really interesting, but I just

I guess that’s just a generic bird blind it. It didn’t look like the ones I normally see around here. I don’t know.

Look like you could see people through it which so I

DRB Meeting Room: not an expert on bird blinds

it looked. It looked cool, though. Let’s see the exhibit. 26 A. It shows a boardwalk with people sitting on the edge over the water.

which is something that I think you know people like to sit on the edge of the board walk around the day. I’ve heard

DRB Meeting Room: that was an engineering joke. I don’t know if you remember this all

sitting at the dog. Okay, so. but I have to explain it so. But I don’t know it. Just seems like you might want to have railings or have maybe have that floating, or have some sort of down ramp.

you know, or something, just because you don’t really want people to stumble off of that at night, so I I guess that’s an artistic kind of thing. It isn’t necessarily what you’re going to do.

Let’s see.

Talked about the 2 to one slope.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, I think the question about

other than they water level flood sources. whether it be direct precipitation. run off groundwater. I don’t think groundwater is going to be an issue with your

high grades, but I think all those factors will probably be considered later in the design, and I would assume that the applicant would be responsible to

upgrade there elevation criteria to conform to any additional higher water levels.

DRB Meeting Room: Exhibit 28 marsh plants

didn’t seem to be

DRB Meeting Room: yeah, i’m not a botanist, but they just didn’t seem to be quite the

native plants to me. So I assume that’s going to change

exhibit 29. I didn’t see any environmental groups mentioned, and the Sierra Club provided some comments, so I suggest it might be worth reaching out to some broader than just the residents

and neighbors in the city.

DRB Meeting Room: And then you know again, this Hasn’t been under engineering your view. If this is new, fill

it would go to the engineering Criteria Review board. But I don’t think it is, and so

DRB Meeting Room: there is a question as to whether or not the fill elevations or post settlement.

because you’re adding a lot of hill, and then, of course, around here the certainly the

DRB Meeting Room: they mud below the fill consolidates with the extra overburden.

You get some settlement that can be substantial.

DRB Meeting Room: you know it could be 2030% of the fill thickness. I don’t know. I mean it’s possible.

So I think that’s something that I I would suggest that staff have you check as you move on into your work. So those are all my comments. I guess the main one is, I like the idea of the living living shoreline.

I I do think you could move the shore back and flatten that slope. but it might require you to reduce your building footprint on building 2. I think it is, and maybe some other ones.

Yeah, thanks, Bob, and we will, as we continue through, and we’ll probably come back to some of those points of very helpful Yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: Do you want to

comment on some of the questions or other things?

DRB Meeting Room: Sure, I think

you know, welcome others to sort of build on this. I think

you know.

DRB Meeting Room: I I want to say that I I like the opportunity of

creating a

DRB Meeting Room: more open welcoming public access along this blue.

and that’s you know.

DRB Meeting Room: It’s the western side of the project. It’s got good solar access.

It’s sort of

DRB Meeting Room: makes a lot of sense to me. I’m

trying to figure out why you wouldn’t make a stronger public connection to the Bay trail. with the understanding that the

DRB Meeting Room: majority of the public accesses with the southern portion of

this conference. And there’s this really strong statement that’s being made in front of this project. and it sort of stops

at the southern edge. You can know that

DRB Meeting Room: the way it we’re understanding is that the

city parking lot is being repaved. So it seems like there’s a really strong opportunity there. It seems crazy to

DRB Meeting Room: invest in a twelve-level parking garage, and not figure out how to

DRB Meeting Room: share that ability with

a

DRB Meeting Room: as a as this boot field.

DRB Meeting Room: I don’t understand why

there’s why we still need a surface lot.

DRB Meeting Room: and it’s I don’t know.

Maybe there’s enough demand on weekends, but I can imagine that the majority of the

DRB Meeting Room: like that there’s got to be sort of a perfect demand relationship between when

a sports facility means parking, and when people are actually working

I don’t know it Just even if you could actually make the parking lot a little smaller and create a more significant public space where the patrol comes into

this new promenade that’s being created. It seems like there’s a real opportunity there, and that’s like the fourth point. I think that

DRB Meeting Room: the staff mentioned

the

in the letter.

and then I I I I I like the attention to the sort of

DRB Meeting Room: public frontage and the experience against along this promenade

the

DRB Meeting Room: the like animation of that space.

It’s a to be a sort of active. unlikely.

DRB Meeting Room: since i’m wondering if there’s

like sort of another more layered approach. I could sort of imagine a little bit of retail or restaurant activity, but it also seems like

DRB Meeting Room: more attention to the ground plane.

Whether it’s. You know. edges of the building that can sort of become seeding areas, or

DRB Meeting Room: you know, some articulation of the depth of the building of the ground plane

DRB Meeting Room: areas of landscaping on the building side, just things that can sort of make that more an interesting 2 sized experience for pedestrians.

I think I would

DRB Meeting Room: maybe appreciate some attention to that.

And then

DRB Meeting Room: I I I always have a concern with you.

DRB Meeting Room: Life, Science buildings actually are really tall.

or their their.

DRB Meeting Room: They really talk

compared to what’s around. They’re less significantly taller. And so I would always sort of want to sort of understand

what’s happening

DRB Meeting Room: with shadow and public space. I think we have good again.

good Southern and Western exposure on here. But i’m curious about what happens with the wind. and if there are

issue with orientation to the bay, and sort of significant down drafts that would be occurring on the public spaces that are occurring that sometimes that’s sort of a

I think important thing to think about when we’re thinking about the quality of the public experience in these cases.

i’ll stop there. Thank you. Thanks. Everyone

DRB Meeting Room: some really good points right there. I think we’ll keep going along. Everyone can get their key points on the table, and then we can

build on that.

Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah. Good point. And I think I think it’s important to put these plans into the kind of bigger picture or planning context. And it seems like we don’t necessarily know exactly what the bigger picture is in terms of the adaptation strategies

for the slues. I think that’s helpful to kind of get that understanding of kind of conceptually what’s happening so lacking that, you know, if we look at the master plan, the whole island has, like a 100 foot set back.

and this would be the first place on the island to break it. That sort of gives an opportunity to create those levies and have more room for adaptation. and we’ve seen this.

you know, on a number of projects where

I completely understand the R. And D. Buildings have a very inflexible floor, plate and dimensions, and all of that. And then you combine that with the 100 Footstep Academy, and then the setbacks on the streets and the grade to be able to get up to the higher level and all that, and I understand it. It becomes constrained

particularly for that building, one building, 2. It’s just it’s really. It’s kind of jammed in there.

DRB Meeting Room: And I wonder if

I just seems like that’s a a big pinch point, and I wonder if there’s opportunities to minimize that pinch point as much as possible.

so that there could be more room for more adaptation areas. And maybe you just have one place where it’s sort of pinched. But there’s a lot more other space where you can be more generous with this kind of ecotone levy idea, and I don’t know if the If B. Cdc. Has

guidance on exactly what in cotton Levy needs to look like, or what slope dimensions should be one to one, or whatever to the one, whatever it is. But I think that would be helpful.

DRB Meeting Room: and it just

DRB Meeting Room: it it Everything’s getting so jammed that, like public access, is now kind of encroaching into this March marsh area, and the slope is really steep. And

you know, when we talk about habitat areas, we’re generally wanting to create more of a buffer between the kind of the public access and the wetland. And those are things that require space.

DRB Meeting Room: So I don’t know if there’s something to do there around pushing the building close to the road, or minimizing the drop off area, or something that could give you more space to kind of minimize that pinch point

DRB Meeting Room: i’ll. I’ll also just say

the I agree with Stefan’s comments about the access to the bay trail at the southern end being sort of lost in this parking lot, and then an entrance into the parking structure.

And besides the sort of bay trail there’s not a clear.

There’s not a very big, clear kind of public access entry into this trail system.

so I think that could be improved. and I also

DRB Meeting Room: I I don’t know it.

I don’t think you can consider this Eva area that has loading access on it part of a trail. Specifically, if there are vehicles coming through there. I don’t know if that counts as public access

in the way the master Plan conceptualizes it

DRB Meeting Room: also. Just say cycle tracks are really good for t intersections where they they can be not interrupted, but where cycle tracks are crossed by roads.

it creates like a 6 way intersection that can be dangerous for the cyclists, so I don’t know. Maybe move the cycle track to the north side of that street where you can manage those intersections a little more cleanly, or just do

a bike lane that’s more kind of a typical condition, maybe.

DRB Meeting Room: And then the last thing i’ll say is.

there’s just there’s just a lot of parking. A lot of like the arrival to the site is just going to be a lot K. A huge parking structure, and then building 3 with the however, many levels of parking below it, and

I I

DRB Meeting Room: I know that those aren’t areas aren’t in the B Cdc. Jurisdiction and all that. But

I would just encourage you to try to reduce parking if you can, by using some of those Tma Tdm measures. It looks like you have one space per employee offered right now if I do my math about 400 square feet per employee.

so I don’t know if there’s some ways to reduce that, but I think it just. It’s a very to step on’s point. There’s just so much density here, and I love density. but a lot of the density is in the parking mass.

which

DRB Meeting Room: so I think sort of.

you know, impacts the public ground experience quite a bit.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah, these are. These are all great comments. I’m going to try hard not to be redundant, but I I agree with so much of what has been said.

The West

experience, you know. I think there’s an opportunity for a really wonderful landscape. And you know, I think, that you know that’s been demonstrated in this presentation. There are a lot of amenities, and that are put forward, and the connection to the trail system, I think, is also, you know, a big benefit.

What What i’m concerned about a little bit is that you know, when you when you do get to the West it is. It was a nice experience, and i’m glad you brought up Stephen with the idea of the South

focal point, because, you know, you really have to go deep into the site to get to the turnaround entry plaza. You know where you really have a point of arrival. and the you know the entry experience

coming up Island Parkway, I mean. This is a tremendously wide road, like an arterial serving the side, and I I kind of have a question about why why it’s so wide, and even in the renders

it seems like I could use more mediating elements, something between the scale of the very tall buildings and the rather flat ground planes. You know, more large trees, or some kind of architectural gesture to make a more human scale experience on your way

to the the shoreline area. and when you do get to the point of arrival, you know it’s described as a plaza. There’s a tremendous amount of paving in order to get to the plaza, and then, when you get there.

you know, I think there’s a question about whether maybe the plaza is better as a you know as the magnetism. the green burden space, which is the gateway to the you know, to the to the water print.

DRB Meeting Room: I like the you know the deck as a as a kind of a terminus and a focal point at the north end of the

the open space. I think that’s really nice, I think, is that maybe Bobble, you’re referring to as the bird blind, or whatever, which I think is actually a side sculpture, you know.

of sorts, and and it’s interesting that you were wondering what that was, and I and I was thinking. Maybe there’s a way of.

DRB Meeting Room: you know, as that thing comes to life that it maybe has a.

you know, sheltering function and starts to do a whole bunch of different things. you know, for people to pause there. so I I like having a focal point there. It just seems like maybe

to be. i’m sure it will become more justified as as it goes on.

You know the there’s just a lot of paving throughout, and the and I think the 2 to one slope has been mentioned, you know, as an indication that the site is tight. and you know I don’t. I don’t think that

DRB Meeting Room: the Design Review Board should make a habit of of.

You know. endorsing buildings which are inside the shoreline band, and there are so many converging site, condition. and sea level rise issues and access issues that I, I agree with Christine and others that there needs to be

more space. you know, to adapt in the future, given that there is no future adaptive adaptation plan in place. and i’m sure you know, something will happen. But

you know we really don’t know what economic conditions and timelines. you know, is is ahead of us. So you know, it seems very, you know, very helpful, very optimistic, that that will be solved. I think that

you know to date the way those problems are being solved on the bay is with levees. and I need to see more levies around the bay. We’ve seen some really big ones in Foster City and burling game and

building, you know, building a site like this so so happily, I think it creates more demand for. So

DRB Meeting Room: I think, given given the times that that it would be great if this if the project had a narrative which was all about.

DRB Meeting Room: so I think i’ll just. I’ll just send it to that.

Thank you.

It looks thanks, Gary, and I just put a few ideas forward.

really stemming from. I think you know one of the early comments in the presentation. I don’t think Staff have made this point as well is, You know this site located in a particularly interesting ecological area with the confluence of these 2.

And

you know you. The

public comment and their submission made some very strong points

how to And so

DRB Meeting Room: and when we looked at the permitting diagram.

green spaces. 47,000 seat, I think, in the original permit the there was probably it was envisaged. I’m sure that it’s the green space.

You know this is not bay trails per se that connects into a network of trails that connect to the Bay trail. So it’s got some significance. And when I was down

on site the weekend before that. and walking, there is no question, as the proponents said, but this is well used, and you know the magic on the unformed trail

being tested outside. I was walking along, and there are cyclists trying to cycle through there and and then. You know the sports park very well used, in fact.

on the plan. The little white rectangles. It’s a little white square there, that’s the the small brick building where the volunteer parents serve the hot dogs

baseball there in the afternoon, and and it was just, you know. I was looking at the site plan on site next to the bleaches where I sat and ate my hot dog and

contemplated the drawings, and and it just. It’s very hard to reconcile a much loved recreation area.

DRB Meeting Room: and the environmental significance of the adjacent sleuths with the amount of hardscape that’s immediately adjacent, and and

if you we’ve got 25 feet right

DRB Meeting Room: I mean it’s within probably 8 to 10 feet of that little brick building where

and I was going to hop down and and you know. And so the age to to the point about. you know, raised in those questions. You know how public this public space field.

DRB Meeting Room: You know. I think there needs to be more down to just green, more green space.

the site softening the interface with the building talking structure. I mean, we’ve all worked on many, many projects over the years space as a promised

the ground floor. That will be welcoming, and uses that

DRB Meeting Room: may not materialize.

or it’s originally envisaged.

DRB Meeting Room: And I do, you know, just on building 2, I

I just.

DRB Meeting Room: I really struggle to lift away the

entry. You know the the loop around the the tree and the green in the middle. I I think that should be absolutely minimized to the minimum amount needed to come in

drop set down. You know we see all sorts of configurations and projects

necessarily like that. I think the challenge in this project is, there is so much

DRB Meeting Room: building on the site that you know the Eda access and truck access really has to

circle encircled all of these buildings. So you end up with. you know. basically, all circulation

DRB Meeting Room: doubling, as you know, the the public

walkways. So you know, I struggle with this proposal as it is currently presenting to really feel public. I you know I struggle, I I just.

I think they need to. If you, if you on question.

you know, if you are improving public experience along the shoreline. I think it’s very hard to see how you can do match with the the current. You know where the 25

huh?

Basically adjacent to the even with start building too right?

I think we’ve talked about resiliency and adaptation.

and I think

DRB Meeting Room: the point is really well made, particularly about on the southern entrance.

You know there are really 2 entry points here. There’s like

predominantly. Staff entries to the parking structure 31, and then there’s the building to drop off that it just seems that the area to the south did you see

the city parking lot is.

DRB Meeting Room: and and there are plenty of people parking there on the weekends.

Some of probably the neighbors may be great. Go. but there’s definitely uses talking. So you know the city parking lot. I get it. but putting it, you know, as you.

if I, you know, right next to really big parking garage. you know. Can there be more synergy between the 2, and it’s it’s just sort of strange to see the the public

walkway sort of turning back into to to

DRB Meeting Room: it. I find that hard, you know, if you’re coming in from the stream.

would you really intuitively feel that, you know.

across the

delivery area to get to the walking trails? It seems

So

so that sort of where. I think, if what I’m hearing you say is that that tightness of the sort of promenade and the limitation of the

you know

the

DRB Meeting Room: buildings coming right up to that line, that there’s sort of a real limited

space. That is sort of linear that you just described 2 spaces where that could actually broaden out into the larger public space that might be more appropriate for gathering and testing, and not be so dependent on ground for activity, and one would be

reconfiguring at least a portion of the

DRB Meeting Room: the cities

parking lot, a surface lot of the South. But the other one would be shrinking the drop off and looking for a larger public space to emerge at that end.

You could be thinking about that. proud to add more sort of a connector between 2 larger, more significant public spaces. and those are both connecting back

to the primary access point into the site.

DRB Meeting Room: not to mention that just the idea of

DRB Meeting Room: softening the prominent and giving some relief to that space still seems to be desirable.

And can I jump in on that? I mean, I think there is some space around the turnaround

DRB Meeting Room: which I think is what you’re referring to when you

you can say the plaza and and to flatten the slope without impacting the building. and I think that would still be in the 100 foot band. But I do

think I understand all this this isn’t what I do, but I understand that there’s a need to have or turn around there for vehicular access. I understand it is. but it does seem like they’re

all along that west side of left side of building 2

down to the turnaround promenade area. There is a space for.

DRB Meeting Room: I think, flattening the slope, and and providing, you know, maybe letting the water in a little bit

as the whole rises. maybe doing something interesting. so that you can still have the trails that apply. Then maybe you can get down to the water

in there, or just passively observed

Wildlife

down there, and then provide more space. And and I think you have more of an Ec tone because below the emergent marsh vegetation is typically mud flat, and you have a 2 to one slow and

the water level. So

DRB Meeting Room: you know, midslope or higher, you just have

what their but right, and

DRB Meeting Room: it’s not a high energy area, so it might not a road, but I just don’t think it’s really.

DRB Meeting Room: you know, for the long term. I don’t think it’s going to be

all that attractive.

You know. We review lots of campus projects. and it is interesting that you know most to see here on the plan on

Island Parkway, which is developed.

It is right now. But the first entry you’re going to arrive to is the entry to the parking structure and building one, and there are lots of campuses where that might be the only entry and building, too.

would walk to building 2 from that first entry point.

DRB Meeting Room: And so you could imagine

another scenario where you actually downplay that Northern circular. But you might.

and loading access if you have to. but really play down that so that you. you know, not just trying to think creatively, how do you catch it

back? Because we also see lots of sit down with. Nobody ever uses it, because the staff all park in the garage, and so

DRB Meeting Room: there could be some

potential A with the

down to modified

DRB Meeting Room: Well, it. And i’m still interested in this idea that the

building square footage is over 80,000. Where is the the permit? 800? I’m. Sorry. 800. Yes, I should know that

800,000 over 800,000 square feet versus the old permit drawing to something like 200 and 30,000 your feet. I was well. and then I realized, oh, yeah, the buildings are a lot bigger.

but it does seem like there should be some

DRB Meeting Room: room economically to move the buildings out of the

the line band and create some space. I don’t i’m not a developer, but it just. My intuition is that that’s something that’s not unreasonable for us to ask for.

or at least to be considered. especially if it provides

DRB Meeting Room: ecological benefits, adaptation, benefits, and public access. And you know all the things that

Vc. DC’s.

DRB Meeting Room: Yeah.

DRB Meeting Room: I mean, I can imagine that

when that permit was approved, however long ago, that that probably was a feasible project and cost of construction have gone way up and probably all of the geo-technical stuff you talked about, like I don’t know how many piles you’re going to have to put into this ground, and i’m sure that makes it

very expensively in the develop. Just the fact of the vulnerability, sea level rise, vulnerability, and having to add surplus weighed on on top, you know more so. And that’s all very expensive.

and i’m sure that’s one of the things that’s driving you to try to seek water, square footage to be able to pay for the horizontal stuff that’s happening. I mean the the building. and I know to like

these R. And D. Buildings. They like they’re very rigid, right? And and I think there’s a lot of factors here that are pushing these buildings. you know.

DRB Meeting Room: into that shoreline band.

but it’s our job to push back on that. And it’s our job to be looking out for future adaptation strategies for these areas and ensuring that there’s enough room for those adaptation strategies to happen

and ensuring that it’s happening in a way that is

consistent with kind of larger regional goals and visions and the the ecological Well, being of these areas. So I think, Understand?

I I think it’s safe to say that we understand the pressures. And also there’s there are these other pressures. Hmm. Sort of have to look out for on this board, so I think

DRB Meeting Room: that’s sort of a bigger picture view of it. I also think some of these ideas about like, do you have to have a big automobile drop off as the place making idea for

your campus. I think you’re hearing from us that that may not be the best place making idea, and that would also allow you to have some opportunities to give more space to the

the levy and the resilience strategies within the campus.

DRB Meeting Room: Look, I think we’ve

we’re all in pretty close agreement in terms of the concerns we have. I don’t. I think it’s fairly clear, so I don’t think I need to go back and recap.

DRB Meeting Room: This is our first review, and obviously we’re getting to know the project. And and I just want to echo. What Kristen said. You know we completely understand the complexity of developing

in the bay area. and we understand the factors that are driving the amount of square foot each. You. you know, to you would like on the side

right?

I think we’ve given you just

DRB Meeting Room: clear as clearer feedback as we can on the the issues that are of interest to us

and of interested Ecdc. So. But I think you know we we can end the Board at this point. and

I think. but the next step is

some response from the proponents.

You know there’s there’s a lot but looks very good in the project. It sounds like. you know, phrase a lot of concerns. But there is a lot that looks really good, and I think some of the positives. But

clearly there is, you know, introducing some greatly enhanced and much-needed connectivity along the sleuths of the history in cycles

DRB Meeting Room: really applaud you on a number of the things you’re doing.

But we are really concerned about. but issues people I Middle East shoot

going to be facing every project we’re reviewing. Now, that is new development.

DRB Meeting Room: you know, when we talk about mid century we are in 2023 now. So you know, this is not

something that really off South Eastern it’s something that everyone will be.

DRB Meeting Room: you know.

Probably everyone at the table now will still be

DRB Meeting Room: around in mid-century, you know. So it’s it’s these, are.

you know, very

DRB Meeting Room: immediate.

So it’s

such seriousness.

Yes. so normally. I’m. I’m. Asking for more accommodation and and and I should have mentioned this. I think your plan is consistent with

DRB Meeting Room: the Pcbc guidelines.

DRB Meeting Room: I’ll be at the you know, scrunched up and tight on that side, and and with the

kind of

DRB Meeting Room: anyway the other comments we already have, but I but I think that you know, filling the side as much as you are planning to.

and raising the the floor elevations for 28

and

DRB Meeting Room: 100 year event, and

DRB Meeting Room: having some adaptation.

plan and capacity. is consistent with the guidelines. especially at the medium high risk, a version level so.

and then, as far as yeah. One of the comments I was going to make as an engineer was what happens to the drainage that comes off the site as you raise it. You know the kind of floor plane management stuff we think about, but the site’s already higher than the other ones, and

DRB Meeting Room: so I don’t know that that applies here. And then also we

this is something I don’t think any of us have quite figured out, and, as you point out, one shoreline is looking at. How do you put all this together? You know? How do you make an integrated plan with a bunch of private parcels and

and over. I think you know I kind of feel like your civil rise Plan is is pretty reasonable. It must be pretty expensive to

I just follow that for a second. Yeah. Does it follow DC. DC. Guidelines? I mean, I I see the adaptation strategies put forward, which is

a couple of typical sections of how they would be adapted. But I I think that we always should ask for a plan of the adaptation plan as well as the section, because.

you know. I think it’s mentioned. You know water comes in from everywhere. and although I think it’s a suggest here, it’s the best we can do with the information we have. I don’t think that that

is an effective plan without others, you know, stepping in and making some major move, so I don’t know. I just want to say, but I just want to moderate your enthusiasm for the adaptation plan. I I didn’t realize I sounded enthusiastic, but

but I I actually just here I just wanted to jump into. I really appreciate your earlier comment about how the I paraphrase the email, so you can correct me. But

it seemed like

DRB Meeting Room: you felt like the development didn’t seem to quite necessarily fit in some ways

in the bigger picture, in terms of perhaps instigating more levies than the like, and I think that’s a really good comment and valid comment. I just don’t know that we have

figured out how the hands

DRB Meeting Room: at least, I I haven’t figured out

adaptation strategies. But until you really have an adaptation strategy, I think you can do it with landscape, and you can do it with the initial building. The you know, the architecture that we have tomorrow. Not.

you know, plan on something coming along to save the day and 20 years.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay, good. I think that concludes our

discussions. So the next item on the agenda is project proponent response, and we the project. He like to respond to that call just into you know

we’re confirming they’re coming back, or you’d like to see them again. I think we would. Yes.

i’ll keep it brief, just because there’s a lot to respond to, and I was

much more than

first. I’ll just say thank you, an extremely long list of thoughtful comments. I’m impressed by your guys as a board and as a bay area resident. even if it’s affecting me. Not necessarily

this moment, and very. I heartened to see the level of sophistication that’s brought to me.

You’ve brought up a lot of of of of really good points, and all of which we’ve we’ve talked about is

the hypothesis. you know, for how we thought we might solve it, while also that we want to build that we think is

right. You know the right product for our tenants and the right ecosystem that they’re attracted to. But obviously we have a of work to do. And I think in all of these areas. You’ve had everything that there’s

So we’re happy to go back and and

with building 2, I think you a few of you nailed it. I mean all of you brought it up, and you know I think it was mentioned that this is a pretty constrained site, and you know we do need to. We can’t. It’s harder to just shrink. It’s harder than just shrinking the floor plate right to shrink the building because the floor plate has to work, you know.

and so I can’t just make a smaller floor plane.

It’s a it’s a and so that’s what something we’ve been struggling with, and we’ll bring that we’ll, we’ll take another look at that, and we’ll bring that back to the board for a potential system. I think we can with the the loading area, too. I heard that as a

that we look at again. We had a hypothesis about how that might work and feedback from you guys that’s actionable. and we can come back with another.

and then the southern end, I think, is a a different sort of challenge, just because it is is not ours that interfaces the bay trail.

It’s something that we’ll take on hard. Look at to see what we can do with within our project bound.

And then, obviously, there’s

DRB Meeting Room: a lot of other comments.

But those are the big bullets that I took away is sort of central area on. and we’ll do it. So okay. thank you very much anything else

before we adjust.

There’s nothing else.

DRB Meeting Room: Okay?

Well, that concludes our project review for the meeting. I would like to have a motion to adjourn the meeting. I will make a motion to adjourn. Thanks, Gary. Second

DRB Meeting Room: Second.

Thank you. Kristen. Okay. Any objections.

DRB Meeting Room: Hearing none. The meeting is adjourned. Thanks, everyone. Good night.

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