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Jan 24

Streamlining Changes for Hazardous Materials Use Permit Requirements

Posted on January 24, 2015 at 10:57 pm by Clay Curtin

The City recently streamlined the Hazardous Materials Use Permit submittal requirements. Hazardous materials use within the M-2 zoning district is allowed, provided a use permit from the Planning Commission is obtained. As part of the use permit requirements, businesses were previously required to submit a number of technical documents, which were reviewed by City staff, safety agencies, and the Planning Commission. Recently, the San Mateo County Environmental Health Division changed their system for one of the technical documents, which spurred the Planning Division to comprehensively review the submittal requirements and review process entirely. After researching the requirements of other jurisdictions, the safety reviews by outside agencies, and local information critical for Menlo Park, the Planning Division has developed a new Menlo Park-specific process. The streamlined submittal requirements improve the permit process while still providing City staff, safety agencies, the Planning Commission, and the public with all information necessary to consider individual requests. As a reminder, ConnectMenlo is expected to consider the potential for more substantive changes to the hazardous materials review process in the M-2 District.