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March 31, 2024, 07:00 PM
The City of Menlo Park, as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act, has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the following application:
EIR certification, Use Permit, Architectural Control, Lot Merger, Heritage Tree Removal Permit, and Below-Market-Rate (BMR) Housing In-Lieu Fee/Tarlton Properties/1105, 1135, and 1165 O’Brien Drive and 1 Casey Court:
The proposed project would demolish the existing buildings and develop a five-story research and development (R&D) building containing approximately 131,825 square feet of gross floor area, in the LS-B (Life Sciences, Bonus) zoning district. This proposed building would contain 129,166 square feet of R&D uses and approximately 2,700 square feet of commercial (Café) uses. The proposed project floor area ratio (FAR) would be 74 percent. The project site consists of four parcels containing three one-story buildings of approximately 59,866 square feet and an existing drainage channel. The four parcels would be merged into two legal parcels. The project site is commonly referred to as 1125 O’Brien Drive and includes buildings currently addressed 1105, 1135 and 1165 O’Brien Drive and 1 Casey Court.
The proposed project would include 229 parking spaces in surface parking lots located behind the building and adjacent to the building along O’Brien Drive. The two surface parking lots would be accessed from O’Brien Drive and Casey Court. The proposal includes a request for an increase in height and FAR under the bonus level development allowance in exchange for community amenities. The applicant is proposing payment of a community amenities in-lieu fee. To comply with the City’s BMR requirements for commercial projects, the applicant has proposed to pay the BMR commercial linkage in-lieu fee. The project includes a hazardous materials use permit request to allow a diesel generator to operate the facilities in the event of a power outage or emergency.
The proposed project includes requests to modify the surface parking along street frontage requirements along Casey Court, and to transfer development rights (height) from the applicant controlled parcel at 1140 O’Brien Drive to comply with the Zoning Ordinance average height requirement. The proposed building would be up to approximately 97 feet in height (excluding stairs/elevator shafts) and would have an average height of approximately 60.6 feet with the inclusion of the 1140 O’Brien Drive building. If necessary to ensure water flow volumes for the proposed project meet the requirements of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and based on timing of the necessary water line improvements, the proposed project could include upgrades of water lines beneath O’Brien Drive from the project site to the intersection with Willow Road. The environmental effects of upgrading the waterlines were previously evaluated in the certified EIR for the 1350 Adams Court project. The City Arborist conditionally approved the removal of 11 heritage trees. The project is requesting an exemption from the City’s reach code to allow for the use of natural gas for space conditioning in the proposed laboratory spaces. The Planning Commission is the final decision-making body on the requested use permit and architectural control permit, and the certification of the EIR.
Previously, a Draft EIR was released on March 24, 2023, with the public comment period ending on May 8, 2023. A Notice of Preparation (NOP) was released on July 30, 2021, and included a public review period from July 30, 2021 through August 30, 2021, to solicit comments on the scope and content of the Draft EIR. In accordance with CEQA, the certified program-level ConnectMenlo EIR served as the first-tier environmental analysis. Further, this EIR was prepared in compliance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement between the City of East Palo Alto and the City of Menlo Park. The Final EIR includes responses to all substantive comments received on the Draft EIR including any analysis on project changes that might have occurred following the circulation of the Draft EIR. The Project location does not contain a toxic site pursuant to Section 6596.2 of the Government Code.
The Final EIR will be available on the City’s website at menlopark.gov/1125OBrienDrive, starting Friday, September 1, 2023. A hard copy will be available for review at the Main Library, 800 Alma Street, and the Belle Haven Branch Library, 413 Ivy Drive. Interested parties should inquire at the library information desk.
The 10-day comment period runs from Friday, September 1, 2023, through Monday, September 11, 2023. If you would like to submit written comments on the Final EIR, you are encouraged to do so before 5:30 p.m., Monday, September 11, 2023.
The Planning Commission will be conducted as a hybrid meeting, virtually via Zoom and in the City Council Chambers, 751 Laurel Street, Menlo Park, CA 94025, on Monday, September 11, 2023, beginning at 7 p.m. or as near as possible thereafter, at which time and place interested person may appear and be thereon.
Written comments may be submitted to Contract Planner Payal Bhagat or mailed to:
Payal Bhagat
Community Development
701 Laurel St.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Email correspondence is preferred.