AgdaPkt 2018-01-22 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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8.C. - Page 4 Proiect Alternatives In addition to commenting on the scope of the environmental review for the proposed project, the Council and public may comment on proposed alternatives to the project, as the EIR will also include evaluation of alternatives. At this time, the following alternatives are being considered by the staff and consultant team: • "No Proiect" Alternative: An evaluation of a " No Project" alternative is required pursuant to CEQA. The " No Project" alternative considers development allowed under the existing Industrial Restricted (IR) zoning regulations. This alternative will assume a Biotech development with 825,823 square feet of research and development space (combination office/cubicle space and laboratory space), which is the most likely type of development under current zoning is given the current market. • "Less Intense" Proiect Alternative: The "less intense" alternative will include evaluation of an Office development project with a reduction in floor area to reduce identified significant environmental impacts to a less than significant impact level. The City Council may provide direction on these alternatives and recommend additional alternatives to be studied in the EIR. The EIR will contain an analysis of the Project and if warranted, would identify potentially significant unavoidable impacts (significant impacts that cannot be avoided by the proposed project) and potentially cumulative impacts (significant impacts generated by past and future projects in addition to the current proposal). Economic/Land Use Analysis The City retained Keyser Marsten to prepare an Economic Analysis of the change in Land Use from Industrial to Office Park (Attachment 2). The analysis evaluated the market feasibility of three scenarios; 1) the developer requested Commercial Park Tech Office; 2) Biotech research and development (R&D) (with lab space) as allowed with the current Zoning (IR); and 3) other Light Industrial uses. The following is a summary of the consultant's findings. The full report, including a cover memo, is attached to this report, and provides greater detail than the bullet points below: • The report notes high market support for tech office space, medium market support (but trending up) for biotech office and lab space. It also notes high market support, but low financial support, for light industrial use. The analysis also notes that the nearby port -side properties are unlikely to change over time given the high demand for construction material producers. • The report notes that a major biotech developer has recently acquired sites in Page 4of8