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Home My WebLink About770 Airport Blvd - Staff Report 10.27.1997{ � � �► � i�. �' -� �;� ��f- �°G, y�� rl. io. �� Ms. Margaret Monroe, City Planner Department of City Planning 501 Primrose Road Burlingame, CA 94010 Re: 770 Airport Blvd. Dear Ms. Monroe: THE RAISER ORGANI2ATION BOO SOUTH CLAREMONT STREET SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA J4402 4'15 342 - J026 FAX 344 - 4158 E-MAIL raiserhq@ix.netcom.com November 6, 1997 C;�J!1�tvfU{ViC.�i+ti�'v i��;�.�4'�.�! ��R PREPARATIUIV v �= STAFF' REf'C�F� �f�' As President and owner of the Raiser Organization, I am writing in support of the Application for Special Permit and Parking Variance at 770 Airport Blvd., which is presently under consideration by the Planning Commission. I have reviewed the drawings submitted for planning approvals and discussed the project with the applicant and understand the scope of the proposed work. As the adjacent property owner at 111 Anza, I believe strongly that this project will be a visual improvement by eliminating the "industrial appearance" at the back of the building and will improve the quality of the immediate surroundings. I also believe that the conversion of 5,100 square feet of warehouse use to office use will make this building more compatible with the surrounding land uses. Thank you for the opportunity to voice our suppo��he project. �� -� Sincerely yours, �" 0� �� p,�`� �_-_-. �'�� PHR:pdj �� Q� � G\�y \ P�N�NG Q A•. �._ .�- \ Phillip H. Raiser President RAISER CONSTRUCIION COMPANY RAISER DEVELOPMENT COMPANY RAISER PROPEFfTY MANAGEMENT R.QISER REAL ESTATE SERVICES R.41SER SENIOR SERVICES, LLC RAISER R E S O U R C E S, LLC ITEM #3 City of Burlingame Special Permit & Parking Variance Address: 770 Airport Boulevard Meeting Date: 10/27/97 Request: Special Permit for office area in excess of 20 % of the structure area and a Parking Variance for dimension (unistall) at 770 Airport Boulevard, zoned C-4 (C.S. 25.41.025(a), 25.070.020(a)(1)). Applicant: Alan M. Katz APN: 026-342-270 Owner: The Gymboree Corporation Mr. Martin Lin Burlingame Shore Investments Lot Area: 56,850 SF General Plan: Office Use Zoning: C-4 Adjacent Development: Ofiice, Hotel, Restaurant CEQA Status: Article 19. Categorically Exempt per Section: 15301 - Existing Facilities, Class 1(a), Interior or exterior alterations involving such things as interior partitions, plumbing, and electrical conveyances, and Class 1(c), Existing highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities except where the activity will involve removal of a scenic resource including a stand of trees, a rock outcropping, or an historic building. Summary: The applicant, The Gymboree Corporation, is requesting a special permit to allow a structure with more than 20% office area and a parking variance for dimension for "unistall" parking spaces (8'-6"W x 19'-0"L where 9'-0"W x 20'-0"L is required) for the conversion of an existing warehouse space to office use located at 770 Airport Boulevard, zoned C-4. The existing 37,050 SF structure at 770 Airport Boulevazd is two stories and contains office, warehouse and storage space. The front portion of the two story building contains two floors of office area which has already been remodeled. No work is proposed in this area. The rear portion of the building contains office and warehouse space on the first floor and storage and mechanical space on the second floor. The applicant is proposing to remodel the office areas and convert the warehouse space (5,171.5 SF) into additional ofiice space. After the conversion, the total amount of office area in the structure will increase from 57.8% (21,367 SF) to 82% (26,538.5 SF where 20%, 6,479.3 SF is allowed). The C-4 zoning district requires that structures containing more than 20 % office area obtain a special permit. The applicant is also proposing to remove a second floor steel framed storage area (4,653.5 SF) above the warehouse area which was installed without a building permit. After the removal of the storage area, the gross floor area of the building will be 32,296.5 SF. There are 56 existing parking spaces on the site; the existing parking on the site is non- conforming. The conversion of 5,171.5 SF of wazehouse area to ofiice area requires an additional 11 parking spaces. The total parking requirement for the site is 67 spaces (56 existing + 11 spaces, ofiice conversion). Special Per;nit & Parking Variance 770 Airport Boulevard The existing parking lot is proposed to be re-striped, and a total of 69 spaces will be accommodated (67 spaces required). There is a minimum 24'-5" back-up aisle proposed (24'- 0" aisle required). All parking spaces except three disabled accessible spaces are proposed to be "unistall" parking spaces which measure 8'-6" x 19'-0" (9'-0" x 20'-0" standard space required). There is a recorded ingress/egress and parking easement on the right side of the property (adjacent to 700 Airport Boulevard) where 12 parking spaces are located. Parking is permitted in this easement. There is also an area within the easement which is cunently striped for tandem parking. The second portion of the tandem parking spaces is not included in the total number of spaces. The majority of changes are proposed to occur inside of the building. Proposed exterior changes include the removal of roll-up metal doors at the rear of the building which will be replaced by two banks of storefront windows. The windows will have black aluminum mullions and blue/grey reflective and frosted glass. New "punched" windows are proposed on the north side elevation. There are existing wall sconce light fixtures on the north and south side elevations which are not proposed to be altered. Other exterior changes include new air- handlers and skylights on the roof. The existing landscaping is not proposed to be altered. The height of the building is proposed to remain the same, however, the three new air handlers on the roof will extend approximately 6'-0" above the parapet (10'-0" above parapet allowed), and the five new skylights (6'-0" x 6'-0") will extend approximately 2'-0" above the top of the parapet (10'-0" above parapet allowed). As proposed, the air handlers and skylights will cover approximately 1.6%, 300 SF of the roof (5%, 934 SF allowed). The hours for the Gymboree Corporation are Monday - Friday, 7:00 am to 6:30 pm. The total number of present employees is 50 full-time. In the next 2-5 years the applicant anticipates 95 employees at this site (as a result of the remodel). It is anticipated that 5 employees will work after 5:00 pm, and approximately 10 people will work after 5:00 pm in the next 2-5 years. The applicant expects the number of visitors to double in the next 5 years from 5 to 10 per day. The applicant stated that when built out, a maximum of 75 people are anticipated on the site at any one time, including visitors (69 parking spaces provided). The applicant indicated that the 75 employees is less than the maximum number of employees assigned to this location because of sick leave, travel, and partial telecommuting. Staff Comments: This application was reviewed by the Senior Engineer, Chief Building Official and the Fire Marshal. The Chief Building Ofiicial and Senior Engineer noted in their September 29, 1997, memos that one of the three handicap parking spaces must be a van accessible space with an 8'-0" unloading space. The applicant has provided two handicap accessible spaces and one van accessible space as requested (plans date stamped October 14, 1997). The Fire Marshal indicated in his September 29, 1997 memo that an automatic fire sprinkler protection shall be modified to meet ofiice design, and that all sprinkler work is to be done by a licensed sprinkler contractor. Planning staff would note that a request was made for "unistall" parking (8'-6"W x 19'-0"L) in February of this year for a new 5-story office building at 577 Airport Boulevard. At the time of that request, staff looked into what other cities have accepted proposals with unistall 2 Special Peimit & Parking Variance 770 Airport Boulevard p�rking, and what their experience has been with the smaller sized spaces. Staff contacted the cities of Belmont, Menlo Park, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, Redwood City and San Mateo. The cities of Belmont, Menlo Park, Los Gatos and San Mateo have adopted standards which allow 8'-6"W x 18'-0"L parking stalls as a standard size stall. Most of these cities adopted these standards between 1990 and 1996. None of the cities noted any problems or complaints � associated with the reduced size of the space, however, since some of the regulations were adopted as late as 1996, some of the cities have not had projects built to the new standards. Sunnyvale has adopted a parking space standard of 8'-6"W x 18'-0"L for industrial development, but still requires 9'-0"W x 18'-0"L spaces for office and commercial development. Redwood City has approved several major office developments using the unistall design (8'-6"W x 19'-0"L), including the Oracle office development. Their experience has been that this concept has been successful for large office developments which have Transportation System Management (TSM) programs. Redwood City staff would not recommend the unistall standard for a commercial development with higher turnover such as retail use. One limitation of the unistall approach is that there is no room left for increasing the number of pazking spaces by further reducing space size if there should be a problem. Planning staff would note that a parking usage survey was undertaken by the applicant at the site for the weeks of September 8-12 and September 15-19. He indicated that these weeks were typical for the Gymboree Corporation. The applicant stated that at the present time, based on the cunent levels of stafiing in the building (50 full-time employees), the maximum number of existing parking spaces used has varied on any given day between 21 and 30, out of a total available of 56 spaces. The time that the survey was performed each day was 11:00 am. Planning staff would also note that since the building envelope is not proposed to be expanded, and the site conditions are not proposed to be altered (with the exception of the parking lot restriping), the Bayfront Guidelines are not applicable. Kristin Johnson Planner c: The Gymboree Corporation, applicant Burlingame Shore Investments, property owner [c. Special Per►nit & Parking Variance 770 Airport Boulevard ZONING REQUIREMENTS - 770 AIItPORT BOULEVARD PROPOSED EXISTING ALLOWED/REQUIRED _ _ __ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ . _ _. ... _ _ _ _.. _. .. _ ....... ..... ... L�SE O,�ce *1 - 26,538.5 SF 21,367 SF O�ce - 6,479.3 SF 82 k 57.8 °b 20 � Warehouse 0 SF 5,171.5 SF Storage 5,087 SF 9740.5 SF Total 5087 SF - 2rx1 Floor Storage 4653.5 SF (Steel framecl storage - 2nc1 floor) Mechanical 771 SF 771 SF Total Bldg 32,296.5 SF 37,050 SF PARKING Starulard 0 44 53 9'-0 "W x ZO'-0 " Unistall *2- 66 0 0 8'-6"W x 19'-0 "L Compact 0 9 11 8'-0"W x 17'-0 "L Handicap 3 3 3 Parking 1 of which must be van accessible Total Spaces 69 56 67 *1 Special Permit required for a structure which contains more than 20% office azea, 82% office area requested. *2 Variance required for parking dimension, unistall - 8'-6"W x 19'-0" spaces requested (9'-0"W x 20'- 0"L required) All other zoning requirements have been met. 4