Matt RodriguezThe Emeryville Planning Commission held a study session on Thursday, March 27 to review plans for a proposed Rivian Service Center at the former Engine World Warehouse on 67th & Shellmound streets.
Rivian is an American electric vehicle manufacturer founded in 2009 by Robert Joseph “RJ” Scaringe. They are headquartered in Irvine, CA with most of their vehicles are manufactured in Illinois.
67th Street was of course the same proposed corridor of the recently aborted Tesla Collision center, albeit closer to the Greenway and a bigger concern for cyclists and pedestrians. The location of the proposed Rivian center is zoned for heavy industrial while the proposed Tesla center was for light industrial.
The withdrawal by Tesla may have been fortuitous in the wake of recent protests against the brand that is synonymous with Billionaire Elon Musk. Tesla properties have become a magnet for protest activity and vandalism in recent weeks with the nearby Berkeley showroom being called “Ground Zero” for this political unrest.
Overview of the Proposed Project
Rivian’s application for a Major Conditional Use Permit proposes a 61,775 square-foot facility that would provide service to Rivian vehicles and include office space plus additional storage. Proposed services include wheel alignment, tire changes, hardware replacement, and software updates.
Unlike the aborted Tesla Collision center, there would be no heavy duty repair or maintenance at the site. No collision, body work, or exterior vehicle paint would occur there although battery replacement service and a nominal amount of battery storage would be included.
The service center plans to receive customers from 8 am to 6 pm during weekdays and abbreviated hours of 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday. However, non-customer-facing operations would continue from 5 pm to 2 am. Rivian states the loudest dBA instrument they use does not exceed 67 dBA. However, planning regulations prohibit noises in excess of 60 dBA after 9 pm.
The center expects a customer intake of 20-25 appointments in a given day, including up to two tow-ins a day. They also expect an average of four delivery trucks, plus typical traffic consisting of car rentals and ridesharing.
The service center would include 60 interior parking spaces including 30 for employees, 25 for vehicle storage and 5 for loaner vehicles. 18 of the spaces would include EV charging. In addition, there would be 4 spaces for customer drop off. City regulations allow for only 11 parking spaces necessitating Planning Commission review and approval.
To improve retail access, the property would construct an ADA ramp and a new sidewalk along 67th (already underway). City staff proposed the addition of four trees in addition to a landscaping strip at 1483 to ornament the site.
Rivian’s Expansion Throughout the Bay
Rivian currently operates properties in SF’s Hayes Valley neighborhood, South San Francisco, San Jose, and recently received approval on a new facility in Milpitas.
Although not presented as one Rivian’s “Spaces” showrooms, representatives were straightforward about Rivian’s intention to sell their vehicles out of the space if approved.
Both Rivian and Tesla do not operate lots with inventory of their vehicles but sell online and alert the buyer when pickup is available.
Representative for Rivian included Sr. Regional Development Lead Karolina Kaczmarczyk and Real Estate Lead Zachary Ryburn.
“When we are thinking about where we’re building and communities we’re coming to, we’re looking for ones that share similar values that we have,” Kaczmarczyk provided. “And so, we feel like Emeryville absolutely shares a lot of values with sustainability and innovation. And so for that reason and alone, we feel like we’re this would be a really great fit for us.”
“Northern California specifically is an extremely important market for Rivian,” Ryburn detailed teasing additional locations in Hayward and Martinez. “our business is here, our customers are here, our demographics are here.”
Planning Commission Comments
Following the staff and applicant presentations, The Planning Commission made several comments and recommendations with most centered around concerns over battery storage/fire suppression and employee parking.
- Commissioner Martinez highlighted the need to ‘take seriously’ the Deputy Fire Marshall’s recommendation for Rivian to take on a dedicated Fire Protection Engineer’s analysis. She did not recommend tying it to the Condition of Use Permit, not wanting to ‘proactively constrain the applicant.’
- Commissioner Chafe spoke positively about the fact that the proposed center would not include a paint booth, nor body and collision work. She advocated for installation of ‘public charging infrastructure’ and efforts to improve bike access in this corridor. She also highlighted an inconsistency in terms of the number of parking spaces with the city’s efforts to decrease traditional car use.
- Commissioner Small echoed the idea that the area is a ‘transit-friendly environment’ and also thought 30 spaces seemed excessive, with opportunities for sustainable travel post-car drop-off.
- Commissioner Henmi also spoke positively about the EV-friendly project but saw that ‘perpendicular parking should not be allowed in front of this building anymore’ given the new usage. The current use ‘destroys totally the whole front as a place to drive, walk, etc.’
- Commissioner Wax also echoed positive sentiment, but noted how ‘badly needed’ changes to parking configuration and sidewalks are with this plan and the importance of creating a ‘pro-transit environment.’
The applicant will be tasked with addressing the Commission’s feedback before returning for a Public Hearing where approval could move the project forward.
Video of the Study Session can be viewed above beginning at [26:40].
The complete staff report and submitted docs can be downloaded on Emeryville.org.
