Affordable housing pressure for wellness community

A top district official said board members are receptive to the idea but need to study the issue more to assure such a development is feasible and in alignment with the charge to serve the local health care community.

Lawrence Cappel, chair of the health care district’s board of directors, detailed the willingness to further examine affordable housing as the project proposal moves through the planning process.

“I think we’ve got a lot on our plate to discuss and the good news is we are very willing to discuss it and see how it fits into our plans,” said Cappel, in response to the call for affordable housing.

Health care district officials are crafting a vision for a project proposed to include 375 senior housing units, 250,000 square feet of professional office and medical research space, plus additional amenities across 8 acres near Trousdale Drive.

Burlingame Mayor Michael Brownrigg and San Mateo Councilman Joe Goethals were among those who spoke at the most recent meeting encouraging health care officials to blend affordable housing into those plans.

Brownrigg said he would like to see health care officials seize their chance to join the broader effort to relieve the housing crunch facing many by constructing some below-market-rate units.

“This is really a crisis and they have an opportunity not to be a silver bullet, but be one of the silver buckshot that we are going to have to use to fix this problem,” he said.

Brownrigg, who has said previously he cannot see the project getting approved without affordable housing, and his colleagues on the Burlingame City Council will hold ultimate authority on allowing the project to be constructed.

Brownrigg and Goethals followed letters sent by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, and Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, who also advocated for affordable housing development.

Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, in conjunction with the Public Interest Law Project and the Housing Leadership Council, sent a letter pushing for a similar outcome as well.

“The Peninsula Health Care District, as a local government agency, must honor its legal responsibilities to use its public land for public good,” said the letter sent earlier this month.

Cappel noted the district was planning to include some affordable units for seniors in the development, alongside a variety of care services accommodating an aging population.

But with local housing prices and rents untenable for so many and the generation of new jobs at the site, affordable housing advocates believe workforce or other below-market units should be provided to lessen the general affordability crunch.

Meanwhile, Cappel noted the project is still in its formative stages and suggested it is at least five years away from breaking ground. Over that time, officials will continue discussing the opportunities available at the site.

He said health care district officials will also examine chances to build affordable units elsewhere, suggesting he would be open to a partnership with a builder specializing in such projects.

“To me it comes down to — are we going to put it here? Or are we going to do something else that might have housing somewhere else?,” said Cappel, noting the district has not identified other surplus property which could host such a project.

Cappel said health care district officials will remain committed to discussing the issue and attempting to address the concerns raised, adding another community meeting discussing affordable housing is on the horizon.

In the meantime, he said officials will continue looking at the variety of opportunities as they attempt to heed the community’s call while also developing a project serving the district’s best interests.

“All options are still open. No door has been closed at this point,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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