Belmont affordable housing development finally breaks ground

The affordable housing developer Linc Housing was selected by Belmont to build the units on two city-owned parcels in 2017. But the site proved particularly challenging, requiring complicated design and engineering work, and it took about another six years to receive entitlements. The project also ran into funding hurdles, going through several rounds of applications for state tax credits before finally securing them last fall.

Besides the property, the city also contributed $1 million, with additional funds from public and private sources, ranging from the county to Bank of America and the Housing Trust Silicon Valley.

“All affordable housing is great, and we’re happy to build it, but it’s even better when it’s a partnership, and I really think it also has to do also with the people of Belmont because it was their land, and I think they understand that this reflects our shared values,” Mayor Julia Mates said.

Despite the general difficulty in financing fully affordable developments, the city has several such developments in its pipeline, more than many cities that are even larger in size. In addition to the 900 El Camino Real development, a 125-unit 10% affordable project on Belmont Avenue is also under construction. A 65-unit development at 678 Ralston Ave. was approved last year, and a 63-unit project on Old County Road was recently OK’d earlier this year.

While the City Council has maintained support for such developments moving forward, it’s also clear that some leaders hope to retain some level of local control, especially given fully affordable housing projects are granted certain height and density privileges from the state, which could override local jurisdictions’ zoning policies. Councilmembers Tom McCune and Robin Pang-Maganaris voted against the city contributing $1 million to the 678 Ralston Ave. development, citing a lack of communication from the developer. McCune noted that while the developer is allowed to go above the city’s local zoning requirements, they “should not come to us to ask us to pay for it,” he said during a May council meeting.

To comply with the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the city needs to plan for 1,785 housing units between 2023-31, with 769 of those being low-income units. During the last housing element cycle, the city achieved its RHNA figures but not for the below-market-rate allocation, putting more pressure on the city for the current cycle. Almost 300 affordable units will be built between the four developments either approved or already under construction, which will count toward the city’s current RHNA allocation.

“Before the state started mandating these things, we realized there was a need for affordable housing and garnered community support for it,” Mates said. “We see how long it takes to build affordable housing — it can take the better part of a decade — so the fact that we started early on … is something I am extremely proud of.”

Construction is expected to be completed by the middle to end of 2026.

“Each development is a step toward our vision of a state where everyone has a safe, stable and affordable place to live. We’re grateful to partner with the city of Belmont and county of San Mateo to bring new opportunities and lasting housing solutions to the heart of this community,” Linc Housing CEO Rebecca Clark said in a press release. The project is the 100th community the developer has completed in the state.