A proposed city-owned affordable housing development on El Camino Real at Hill Street in Belmont has received City Council commitment and approval to apply for a streamlined state review process.
The important city project will help Belmont meet state-mandated housing requirements and provides needed affordable housing near downtown and public transit as the city works toward improving the future downtown area. The 43,347-square-foot proposal would have 37 affordable housing units across two project sites. Site A at 900 El Camino Real will have 24 units, containing 14 one-bedroom units, four two-bedrooms, and six three-bedrooms. Site B covers parts of the 800 block of El Camino Real and would offer 13 units, mostly evenly distributed between one-, two- and three-bedroom units. It would have 12 parking spaces. The property is near Belmont Hardware and has been vacant for years.
“It calls for the creation of truly affordable housing at multiple different levels of income across the street from the Caltrain station,” Councilmember Charles Stone said. “It is a perfect transit-oriented development project.”
Developer Linc Housing will apply for project approval and a streamlined review process through Senate Bill 35, a housing bill aimed at reducing housing shortages and high housing costs. SB 35 eligible projects get faster reviews and are not subject to minimum parking requirements and California Environmental Quality Act review. Eligible projects also can apply for more state and county funding. The bill requires cities to offer streamlined ministerial review for projects to meet unfulfilled Regional Housing Needs Allocations. The allocation requires cities to plan for additional housing unit development and remove constraints, increasing development opportunities.
The city has a 2018 exclusive negotiating agreement with Linc Housing for site development that has been extended several times, with construction estimated for December 2023 if all goes to plan. At its June 21 special meeting, the council unanimously authorized the application for the state process through SB 35 and extended an exclusive negotiating agreement term sheet with Linc Housing.
Vice Mayor Davina Hurt supported the recommendation but remained concerned about the developer meeting the ambitious timeline.
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“I applaud you all for going after different resources and grants to make this happen, and I know that’s been a large part of the time that’s it taken to get us here to 2022 since 2017, but I definitely hope we can move faster,” Hurt said.
“It’s a complex site and complex funding. These kinds of projects take time,” Councilmember Warren Lieberman said.
The city-donated property is worth an estimated $4 million, with the city required to use it for purposes around affordable housing. San Mateo County has awarded Linc Housing $1.9 million since 2018. The developer is applying for $9 million in funding from the state’s Housing and Community Development Multifamily Housing Program, with SB 35 projects receiving a competitive advantage.
A county funding requirement is that the developer creates an updated financing plan and apply for state funding through the Housing and Community Development program. Linc Housing has also asked the city for $2.3 million structured as a residual receipts loan, with the city repaid during the life of the loan. The council did not take action on financial requests from the developer to the city at its meeting.
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(2) comments
The quaint Belmont from days of yore are gone forever thanks to our construction crazy council.
TT - I don't think we have a choice. Big Brother in Sacramento is now telling us what to do with our community.
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