The City Council adopted the Knox Freeway/Cutting Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan, dated September 1991.

Area wide Goals and policies

Goal 4: Enhance employment opportunities for residents of the City, with emphasis on opportunities for the unemployed.

Goal 5: Protect existing and new land uses by providing adequate buffer zones that avoid or mitigate conflicts in land uses.

Policy 6: The City shall promote the development of port-maritime uses in those areas designated as port-priority use areas by the BCDC/MTC Seaport Plan, in the event that the existing uses are terminated.

Policy 7: For the Richmond Ancillary Port Use Zone, the base land use designation is research and development/business park/light industrial. Long-range development consistent with the City’s overall goals and policies for a research and development/business park on the Ford Peninsula will apply to this zone should the Seaport Plan and/or MOU be revised in the future. The City may approve development within this zone, which is consistent with this intent and the MOU.

Policy 8: The City shall require waterfront developments, as part of any project approval process, to provide the maximum feasible public access to the San Francisco Bay shoreline consistent with the project, including adequate links to inland areas.

Economic Development Objectives

Objective 1:

Achieve an increase in the number of medium-sized industrial establishments with growth potential in the West Cutting Boulevard, Ford Peninsula and South Shoreline Sub-areas where the plan identifies research and development, light industrial, heavy industrial, and port-maritime uses.

Economic Development Policies

Policy 1: The City shall facilitate and promote the establishment of new commercial and industrial development that conforms to the Plan by efficient processing of applications and permits.

Policy 2: The City shall give highest priority to the construction and improvement of major traffic arterials within the Specific Plan Area.

Policy 3: The City shall encourage the conversion of underutilized industrial areas to uses consistent with the Plan by contacting and providing developers and property owners with the most up-to-date information on development in the area.

Policy 4: The City shall support residential development which is consistent with the Specific Plan by retaining existing residential zoning within the "interior" of the existing established residential neighborhoods.

Policy 5: The City shall require non-residential activities occurring adjacent to residentially zoned land to be responsive to existing and potential residential development.

ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The issues and opportunities for the Knox Freeway/Cutting Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan area are many. As enumerated in Technical Memorandum One: Existing Conditions, Potential Objectives and Actions, January 1988; the Shoreline Conservation and Development Strategy Report, December 1987; and the Ford Peninsula Study, December 1987, the issues and opportunities are area wide and include land use, economic and market trends, transportation, utilities and public services, and Knox Freeway and Cutting Boulevard related issues. The following is a listing of these issues and opportunities:

Area wide Issues and Opportunities

• Public and private sector decisions need to be coordinated to ensure coherent development in the Specific Plan area.
• Noise will be a factor in planning land uses near such noise sources as the freeway and railroad tracks in the area.
• The high unemployment rates in the residential Sub-areas suggest that economic activities should be generated to serve the local residents. The proximity of residential neighborhoods to potential jobs in the South Shoreline Sub-area should be viewed as a positive factor. • Residential and public uses and community facilities are more sensitive to traffic and railway impacts than commercial or industrial uses. Public improvements and development guidelines should be designed to protect sensitive land uses.

FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING

The area wide goals for the Knox Freeway/Cutting Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan evolved from discussions of the Citizens Advisory Committee for this Plan and earlier studies of the Richmond Shoreline. The area wide goals express the fundamental aspirations and visions for development within the Specific Plan Area.

Area wide Goals

Goal 1: Protect and improve the quality of the existing residential neighborhoods.

Goal 2: Conserve and enhance the character of existing areas.

Goal 3: Enhance the identity, image, and development potential of the Specific Plan Area.

Goal 4 Enhance employment opportunities for residents of the City, with emphasis on opportunities for the unemployed.

Goal 5: Protect existing and new land uses by providing adequate buffer zones that avoid or mitigate conflicts in land uses.

Land Use Plan

The Land Use Plan consisting of one map of each sub-area, illustrates the arrangement and amount of uses in the Specific Plan Area. This plan is based on the analysis of existing conditions, siting and functional requirements, and compatibility of each land use Sub-Area Land Uses

The intent of the Land Use Plan is to conserve the residential neighborhoods of the Central Cutting Boulevard and East of Carlson Boulevard Sub-areas; encourage the gradual redevelopment of existing underutilized or vacant property on the Ford Peninsula and outh Shoreline Sub-areas into an integrated urban high-technology center; and preserve the maritime and light industrial activities on the West Cutting Boulevard Sub-area.

The Land Use Plan identifies potential commercial nodes at key intersections and interchanges to serve the residential neighborhoods as well as community and regional needs. The plan recommends that neighborhood commercial areas be concentrated along Cutting Boulevard, at the intersections of Harbour Way South, Marina Way South, South 23rd Street and Carlson Boulevard, and on Carlson Boulevard at the intersections of Potrero Avenue and South 47th Street. Regional Commercial Centers would include the areas at the Knox Freeway interchanges of Canal Boulevard, Cutting Boulevard, 23rd Street/Marina Bay Parkway, and Central Avenue.

The West Cutting Boulevard Sub-area should retain its light industrial and maritime character. Light industrial uses along South 2nd Street should be encouraged.

For the Ford Peninsula and South Shoreline Sub-areas, the Land Use Plan envisions gradual redevelopment of existing underutilized or vacant property into an integrated urban high-technology center capitalizing on the Ford Peninsula and South Shoreline Sub-area's accessibility, location, and land availability for large scale development. Future development in the Ford Peninsula and South Shoreline Sub-areas should build on the success of the Marina Bay Project and encourage the proposed University of California Berkeley Field Station concept of a research campus and technology transfer center, the Point Richmond Tech Center project, and the reuse of the historic Ford Building for mixed uses.

Development in the Ford Peninsula and South Shoreline Sub-areas generally should be characterized by attractive high quality buildings and aesthetically-pleasing working environments. It should be recognized, however, that the properties on the Ford Peninsula between Harbour and Marina Ways South are within a transitional zone between the Port/Maritime uses to the west and the mixed-use Marina Bay Development to the east. Further, this area acts as an entry from the I-580/Harbour Way interchange into the South Shoreline area. It is important that this area develop carefully and appropriately to establish a buffer between existing incompatible uses and to provide an appropriate entrance into the area.

To ensure that the uses proposed between Harbour and Marina Ways South provide the transition that is needed, this area has been designated as Light Industry/R&D/ Business or mixed use with a transitional overlay zone that requires a conditional use permit for all proposed uses. No residential uses would be permitted, conditionally or otherwise. It is intended that this designation provide the flexibility for development of these properties such that light industrial uses or the storage or truck/service entry area of R&D/Business uses are located on the westerly half of the properties near Harbour Way South and uses more compatible with residential and office uses are located on the easterly half of the properties near Marina Way South.

As part of the conditional use permit review and approval process the following findings shall be made in addition to the three standard use permit findings:

1. The project is designated such that heavy truck traffic or large volumes of vehicular traffic use Harbour Way South rather than Marina Way South or Regatta Way.

2. The project is designed so as not to detract from Harbour Way South as an attractive entry way into the area.

3. The uses on the westerly portions of the property shall not be in conflict with the uses to the west of Harbour Way South.

4. The uses on the easterly portions of the property shall not be in conflict with the uses to the east of Marina Way South.

5. There is a recording with the title of the property that insures that future owners and users of the property are aware that there are heavy industrial uses and activities to the west of Harbour Way which may generate heavy truck traffic and on occasion generate noise, vibrations, glare, odors, and fumes. By purchase or occupancy, the owner or user accepts the conditions found in the area within the established laws and regulations. (This finding does not imply that an operation can violate the performance standards of the Richmond Municipal Code for continuous, frequent, or repetitive actions.

For the Richmond Ancillary Port Use Zone, the base land use designation is research and development/business park/light industrial. Long-range development consistent with the City's overall goals and policies for a research and development/business park on the Ford Peninsula will apply to this zone should the Seaport Plan and/or MOU be revised in the future. The City may approve development within this zone, which is consistent with this intent and the MOU.