PC 07/24/96 - Laserfiche WebLink

. . . , . Mr. Iserson presented the application on the PUD design review approval for Phase I of the Boehringer Mannheim Corporation West Coast headquarters project. Phase I consists of two buildings with over 178.000 square feet of floor area. The future plans are to build out the entire site. At this time, the application covers one-half of the site. The biotechnology facility does research for diagnostic test kits for various blood stream tests. The site will be used primarily for research and development, quality control, manufacture development and a limited amount of manufacturing. When the manufacturing needs are large enough, the process is moved to another Boehringer Mannheim facility specifically designed for full-scale manufacture and distribution. Mr, Iserson described the campus-like design of the proposed buildings. The buildings are of a contemporary design, with off-white precast walls with dark gray accents. Glass and split face masonry columns will be used as design elements, Almost 44% of the site will be landscaped and will be in conformance with the Hacienda Design Guidelines. The only signage will be low-rise entry signs at Stoneridge and Hacienda Drives. The proposed land use is a permitted use within Hacienda Business Park. Staff has looked at the operations of the facility regarding the use of chemicals, and they feel there are very few chemicals on site and is safe from an environment standpoint. The application is subject to the City's Hazardous Material Ordinance which does have restrictions and controls on storage of materials and secondary containment. The applicants are required to submit a Hazardous Materials Management Plan. With respect to the concern expressed by Commissioner Cooper, staff has discussed the "voluntary no release" agreement with the Boehringer Mannheim officials. They are in agreement in the spirit of the agreement and desire to be good corporate citizens, however, some details need to be further reviewed by the corporate officials. Boehringer Mannbeim will work with staff on the specifics of such an agreement; this is reflected as a condition of approval. The Fire Department has requested a secondary access on the northern portion of the site. The applicants have included this on the plans. Staff feels the this project meets or exceeds all requirements of Hacienda Business Park except for parking, The applicant is proposing nearly 500 spaces which is about 95 spaces less than called for in the Hacienda Design Guidelines. However, the guidelines do allow case-by-case exceptions. The corporate officials have reviewed their parking needs and feel that the maximum number of employees should not exceed 400 persons. Staff is satisfied that adequate parking will be provided. Also, some portion of the Boehringer Mannheim employees are expected to take advantage of BART. Commissioner Barker asked whether compact parking is successful. Me. Iserson stated staff has had no problem with 40% of parking allocated to compact sizes. Commissioner Barker would like to see all spaces regular size and believes the first phase would have sufficient area to allow this change. Ms. Barker inquired about the use of the undeveloped portion of the site for soccer fields. Commissioner Wright advised staff to strike Condition 33. He also asked if the estimate of 50 trucks is for Phase I only or for facility buildout. Mr. Iserson believes it is for the Phase I facility estimate. Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 July 24, 1996