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| With no public hearing, BCDC is prepared to approve a permit for the “Portside Commerce Center.” The announcement states:
From: Amezcua, Reyna@BCDC <reyna.amezcua@bcdc.ca.gov>
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2024 1:15 PM
To: Amezcua, Reyna@BCDC <reyna.amezcua@bcdc.ca.gov>
Cc: Pan, Katharine@BCDC <katharine.pan@bcdc.ca.gov>
Subject: BCDC Notice of Administrative Listing for Applications Pending with the Commission_Application No. M2023.008.00_Portside Commerce Center Project at Terminal 3 at 1411 Harbour Way South, in the City of Richmond, Contra Costa County
Dear Interested Parties,
This is to confirm that the above-referenced permit application has been filed and is being listed with the Commission as indicated in the attached PDF and link at https://bcdc.ca.gov/event/august-1-2024-commission-meeting/.
The Commission will not hold a public hearing on the administrative listing. The only reason for the list is to give the Commission and the public an opportunity to review those matters the staff considers administrative.
Please note that due to the cancellation of the meeting of August 1, 2024, and pursuant to Commission Regulation Section 10620(a), the Executive Director will take final action on these matters unless a Commissioner requests full Commission consideration by communicating with the staff prior to August 1, 2024. In the absence of such a request, the listed matters will be executed administratively after August 1, 2024.
If you have views on the project you would like us to consider, please contact Katharine Pan, at 415/352-3650 or katharine.pan@bcdc.ca.gov, the staff member assigned to the project.
Reyna Amezcua
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
Bay Area Metro Center
375 Beale St., Suite 510
San Francisco, CA 94105
reyna.amezcua@bcdc.ca.gov
info@bcdc.ca.gov
Main Office Number: (415) 352-3600
The staff report is copied below:
On June 28, I emailed both City of Richmond and BCDC staff with a number of questions and requests but received no response from either agency.
From: Tom Butt
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2024 4:42 AM
To: Hector Rojas (Hector_Rojas@ci.richmond.ca.us) <Hector_Rojas@ci.richmond.ca.us>; hector_lopez@ci.richmond.ca.gov
Cc: Goldzband, Larry@BCDC <larry.goldzband@bcdc.ca.gov>; Pan, Katharine@BCDC <katharine.pan@bcdc.ca.gov>; Abrahamson, Pierce@BCDC <pierce.abrahamson@bcdc.ca.gov>; Shasa_Curl@ci.richmond.ca.us; Dave Aleshire <daleshire@awattorneys.com>
Subject: Portside Commerce Center (Moxion) Richmond
Please help me understand how this project comports with the Richmond General Plan and Zoning, as well as the San Francisco Bay Plan. The parcel is designated as a Port Priority Area and is zoned IW. The IW zoning does not allow manufacturing except under Note L6, which states: “Transportation equipment, ship and boat building & repair are allowed, industrial uses including more than incidental use of hazardous materials require a conditional use permit.”
There is no waterfront-related use proposed for the Moxion manufacturing facility. Apparently, the City felt that the issue has been resolved by stating in the staff report, “ Moxion is required by the lease to use commercially reasonable efforts to explore utilizing the waterfront. Sause Brothers, another in place tenant, will continue to utilize the waterfront. Separately Applicant and Terminal 3 is negotiating a maritime management agreement to allow them to continue to bring in additional maritime traffic in the event the City/applicant determines that Moxion has not satisfied their contractual obligations.”
The staff report also states, “The proposed tenant Moxion Power is a battery assembly facility that would use reasonable efforts to utilize the wharf area of Terminal 3 for import of materials used in its manufacturing and may also export materials or goods. Additionally, the project would not ‘impair the future use of a port priority use area that is not currently used for port purposes’ for purposes of Port Use Priority Area Policy 4. As such, the project is consistent with the Seaport Plan. A BCDC use permit amendment is required to complete this project.”
Other than a note “Port Operation Area” on the site plan, there is no provision for port operations. The “Port Operations Area” is simply maneuver space for the truck docks on the west side of the building. In fact, the “Port Operation Area” is separated from the waterfront pier by a “security fence,” leaving only 51.5 feet in the “Maritime Loading/Unloading Zone,” not enough to facilitate loading of unloading of a ship. The closest this comes to being a port facility is the requirement in the lease for the owner to, “use commercially reasonable efforts to explore utilizing the waterfront,” which is simply an evasion of the zoning, general plan and San Francisco Bay Plan requirements.
At this date, no BCDC use permit amendment has been issued.
I haven’t seen the BCDC draft permit, but I am surprised that the applicant was not required to improve the strip of land along the southwest corner for public access, it may not be on the project property, but it is public property currently weed infested. It blocks the indicated public access area from the actual waterfront.
 
https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/64157/Portside-Commerce-Cntr-ADMIN-DRAFT_Compliance-Checklist_clean
Project Contact
Hector Lopez, Senior Planner
hector_lopez@ci.richmond.ca.us
(510) 620-6702
Proposal
The applicant, IV1 1411 Harbour Way S. JV LLC, is requesting approval of a Design Review permit to construct a new ±214,895 square-foot manufacturing warehouse/maritime break bulk facility. The project will include 18,798 square feet of warehousing/manufacturing space, 30,097 square feet of office space, dedicated/wharf loading space as illustrated on Exhibit A (attached). As described by the applicant, the southern portion of the property will be designated for mixed uses or port facility use. The proposed improvements would also include site lighting, landscape, and hardscape areas.
The prospective tenant to occupy the building, Moxion Power, is a battery manufacturing business that is headquartered in the city of Richmond. As described by the applicant, Moxion is the creator and manufacturer of a zero emission, mobile battery storage module which replaces diesel generators used on construction sites and as a back power for homes, offices, and hospitals. The operation will involve prefabricated components to be delivered to the site, assembled on-site, and shipped out to users.
Background
The subject property is a 15.75-acre parcel located on Harbour Way South in the Ford Peninsula. It is one of the facilities under the jurisdiction of Port of Richmond known as Terminal 3. The zoning designation of the property is IW, Industrial (Water Related) and designated by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) as a “Port Priority Use”. The property is surrounded by a wide range of light industrial uses, including incubator-Research and Development businesses. An existing 80,000 square-foot dilapidated metal warehouse structure is currently on the property, including several ancillary office buildings; the remainder of the property is paved. A 1.3-acre portion at the northwest corner of the site is currently in use by Sause Bros, a marine transportation company.
The property is characterized by a wide street frontage on Harbour Way South with access to the Harbor Channel in the rear. The Ford Assembly Plant and the Cannery building are located across the street on Harbour Way South. Richmond Ferry Terminal and parking lot are located to the south of the site. Existing land uses located to the north of the site are primarily heavy industrial uses. This port facility, including the buildings and pier have not been in operation for several years and need significant repair.
Project and Related Documents
EXCERPTS FROM DESIGN REVIEW STAFF REPORT
1.2.1.4 CITY OF RICHMOND ZONING ORDINANCE The site is designated under City of Richmond Zoning code as Industrial, Water-Related (IW).11 Per Richmond Municipal Code Article XV, this zoning permits waterfront-relate industrial development that includes manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, marine services, supporting office uses and other large-scale uses that support the Port of Richmond. Permitted uses include incubator-research facilities for marine-related activities, prototype manufacturing, testing, repairing, packaging, and storage as well as offices and support facilities. Accessory or secondary small-scale retail uses that serve local employees, Port users and visitors are also permitted.12 Office and warehousing are allowed. Marine and Waterfront Commercial designation includes water-oriented uses such as boat repair, recreation equipment rentals, water transit, marinas, services, restaurants and water-related storage and office uses. Development character should complement the shoreline’s natural resources.13 The applicant has signed a lease with Moxion. Moxion is required by the lease to use commercially reasonable efforts to explore utilizing the waterfront. Sause Brothers, another in place tenant, will continue to utilize the waterfront. Separately Applicant and Terminal 3 is negotiating a maritime management agreement to allow them to continue to bring in additional maritime traffic in the event the City/applicant determines that Moxion has not satisfied their contractual obligations.
1.2.1.5 BAY CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION SAN FRANCISCO BAY SEAPORT PLAN The Seaport Plan constitutes the maritime element of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC’s) Regional Transportation Plan, and is incorporated into the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s (BCDC’s) San Francisco Bay Plan, where it is the basis of the Bay Plan port policies. The MTC uses the Seaport Plan to assist in making project funding decisions and managing the regional transportation system, and BCDC uses the Seaport Plan to help guide its regulatory decisions on permit applications, consistency determinations, and related matters. Relevant goals to this project in the Seaport Plan include14: § Ensure the continuation of the San Francisco Bay port system as a major world port and § contributor to the economic vitality of the San Francisco Bay region; § Maintain or improve the environmental quality of San Francisco Bay and its environs; § Provide for efficient use of finite physical and fiscal resources consumed in developing and operating marine terminals through the year 2020; § Provide for integrated and improved surface transportation facilities between San Francisco Bay ports and terminals and other regional transportation systems; and § Reserve sufficient shoreline areas to accommodate future growth in maritime cargo, thereby minimizing the need for new Bay fill for port development. The 2020 update to the Seaport Plan identifies Terminal 3 (project site) as a Port Priority Land Use Area and allows for restoration of the Terminal to a working waterfront asset, consistent with the General Plan’s Port Priority Use designation. These uses include, but are not limited to marine transfer stations, ferry and truck parking, container and other storage, ship repair, outdoor event space, farmers markets, and related activities. This was determined to be necessary for future port development so that other uses that would not impede development of the sites for port purposes, such as marine terminals and directly related ancillary activities like container freight stations, transit sheds and other temporary storage, ship repairing, support transportation uses including trucking and railroad yards, freight forwarders, government offices related to the port activity, chandlers and marine services. The proposed tenant Moxion Power is a battery assembly facility that would use reasonable efforts to utilize the wharf area of Terminal 3 for import of materials used in its manufacturing and may also export materials or goods. Additionally, the project would not “impair the future use of a port priority use area that is not currently used for port purposes” for purposes of Port Use Priority Area Policy 4. As such, the project is consistent with the Seaport Plan. A BCDC use permit amendment is required to complete this project. The Commission issues permits for work in and along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay. BCDC permits may be amended to authorize project changes or revise project completion dates. To amend an existing BCDC permit, project applicants must submit a request either by letter (for simple project changes) or by submitting a new permit application (for larger, more complex changes).15
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