Marin County city preps for biotech company expansion

The city of Novato wants to give its two primary biotech employers the shot in the arm they need to expand by dedicating a half-million-square-foot area east of U.S. Highway 101.

Changing direction on its 2035 General Plan, the Marin County city is rolling out the red carpet to companies such as BioMarin Pharmaceuticals and Ultragenyx by designating the area flanked by Hamilton and Ignacio industrial parks and split by Bel Marin Keys Boulevard as a biotech campus.

The definition of what constitutes a biotech firm will be established within 60 days by the city, Community Development Director Vicki Parker told the Business Journal.

For now, the land zoned light industrial will allow these biotech firms to go higher and spread out their lab, production and office space. The allowable height has been set at 68 feet, and the floor area has tripled.

“Both companies knew they needed to do more with the existing property. The natural evolution of their future was limited,” Parker said.

The mutual agreement came about as a result of good timing, Parker explained. The city’s last general plan update was completed in 1996. The 2035 version adopted by the City Council on Oct. 27 represents the culmination of a decade of meetings.

Both the public and private sector saw this policy maneuver as beneficial.

The city considers biotech companies as ideal, civic-minded neighbors that attract well-paid employees who often patronize their employer’s community and live in the area.

“Novato is the perfect place and location for what we need. It’s good they’re repurposing what they have,” said Eric Knight, Ultragenyx senior director of facilities and global chief of environment, health, safety and sustainability.

Life sciences employees relish the idea of thriving beyond four walls when they punch out of work, Knight said. Cycling routes, pedestrian trails and SMART rail stations connected or near to their facilities make working there more attractive than other areas, he pointed out.

“We will always have an open campus. You will not see gates and fencing at our facilities,” he said. The gene therapy biotech company manages facilities in Novato, South San Francisco and Brisbane.

As Ultragenyx celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year, its employees have created a unique culture of collaboration, Government Affairs Executive Director Lisa Kahlman pointed out.

“The big concern of why the general plan was really important is we’re limited from what we can occupy. Scientists do a lot of work in a lab. We don’t want to outgrow our space if we don’t have the support to do our work,” Kahlman said.

The public-private win-win was also acknowledged by the company with the longest tenure.

Founded in 1997, BioMarin develops therapies for people with life-threatening illnesses. The global biotech company now covers almost a half million square feet in 2020, but executives believe the need to expand is imminent.

“This is our birthplace, and we’re continuing to grow,” BioMarin spokeswoman Debra Charlesworth said. “We’re grateful we’re able to do that in Novato. They’ve done an incredible job attracting biotech and these jobs.”

Designating a cluster of businesses to a certain industry is par for the course, Charlesworth indicated.

“You see it in tech — in South San Francisco, the East Bay, Boston and San Diego,” she said. “We’re all trying to advance medications on behalf of people and patients who have unmet medical needs.”