Dear Brisbane Residents, Business Owners and City Staff,
Brisbane has a proud industrial heritage and a long history of environmental protection on San Bruno Mountain. With the Quarry Innovation Center (QIC), formerly known as the Guadalupe Quarry Redevelopment Project, our goal is to honor these values by permanently closing the 130-year-old quarry and building a new sustainable development for advanced manufacturing.
Our plans for the QIC are the culmination of more than a decade of hard work by our entire team, including technical studies, biological surveys, community outreach and evaluation of many project alternatives. The QIC also reflects direct feedback from YOU – Brisbane residents and businesses.
The QIC would be built on 62 acres within the disturbed area of the quarry property. The remaining 82 acres (or about 57% of the property) will be permanently set aside and maintained as protected open space, including habitat for threatened and endangered butterfly species.
The QIC would be a two-level building, totaling 892,000 square feet for advanced manufacturing, a use that combines light fabrication, assembly, manufacturing, and other ancillary uses.
Additionally, the project would:
- Provide substantial initial and ongoing funding for the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for active management of plant communities that support protected butterfly species,
- Increase funding for vital City services like law enforcement and public safety,
- Create high quality jobs for residents of Brisbane and the entire Peninsula, and
- Improve local infrastructure for stormwater, transportation, etc.
In this way, our approach has integrated both economic benefits and environmental protection.
Based on community feedback we received on the originally proposed project, we have reduced the size of the QIC by 33% and have changed the proposed uses. Instead of warehouse, our revised project is now focused on advanced manufacturing, which has the potential to create more than 1,000 high quality jobs, while reducing truck traffic and related noise, compared to our original proposed uses.
The City of Brisbane is committed to completing a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for this project and we have promised that we will not pursue an exemption for advanced manufacturing facilities that’s now allowed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Looking ahead, our next steps include working with the City toward submission of a new draft EIR for public comment, City hearings on entitlements and a development agreement, and County, LAFCO and other agency approvals on the reclamation plan, annexation and other required elements.
From the beginning, we have been committed to transparent community outreach and engagement. We know that by working together, we can finally transform the quarry and build something remarkable for Brisbane and its residents.
Lastly, without the QIC, mining activity on San Bruno Mountain may continue for decades and given the lack of other in-fill quarries serving the Bay Area, may increase its production activity in the future.
Thank you for taking time to read this letter and to visit the QIC website. All of us on the QIC team appreciate your interest, support, and involvement in making this the best project we can. As always, we welcome your feedback and questions.
Sincerely,
Tyler Higgins
Managing Partner
Orchard Partners