City pursues affordable housing at Bay Meadows: San Mateo proceeds with new apartments as tenant protection debate heats up

The massive 160-acre transit-oriented development and home of the former race track off Highway 101, is well into Phase II with office buildings, retail space and housing units completed or under construction.

As part of the negotiated development terms approved in 2008, San Mateo received a 1-acre site on which it could build an affordable housing complex.

On Tuesday, the city released a request for affordable housing developers to submit their qualifications and proposals as San Mateo seeks a partner to create up to 68 rental units geared toward very low-income families.

The plan is to construct a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units for those making up to 50 percent of the area’s median income at the site, which is nestled next to a large park and the private Nueva School along 25th Avenue, said San Mateo Housing Manager Sandy Council.

“This is a really special situation because we have always supported these kinds of projects, but finding an available site is really difficult. To obtain a 1-acre site that’s essentially undeveloped and … it’s really a great transit-oriented location; it’s just the sort of project we want to see,” Council said.

As one of the largest transit-oriented developments in the state, gone are the former days of betting on the horse races with Bay Meadows now known as a bustling mixed-use site near the Caltrain corridor. Now, the former practice track site is home to a Whole Foods, Kaiser Permanente medical center, Franklin Templeton Investments, San Mateo’s police station and more. The track site’s first of several large office buildings is underway with SurveyMonkey already having agreed to lease the site.

Mixing in affordability

With hundreds of housing units already completed or under construction at Bay Meadows, San Mateo’s 1-acre project will not be the first below-market rate units at the development, Council said.

The city’s voter-approved Measure P outlines an inclusionary zoning policy allowing it to require developers to incorporate below-market rate units within a new development.

Five completed communities at Bay Meadows are offering 42 affordable units — 31 are homes owned by those making up to 120 percent of the area’s median income and 11 of the units are rentals for those making up to 80 percent. Another 30 units are currently under construction with 23 slated to be rentals for those making up to 80 percent and seven units set aside for homebuyers making up to 120 percent of the area’s median income, according to Council.

But housing experts project thousands of more units are needed before the county can begin catching up with the influx of jobs created over the past few years.

Still, after completion, San Mateo’s project at Bay Meadows will have about 10 percent to 15 percent of the housing units set aside as affordable, Council said.

“The nice thing about Bay Meadows is having the 10 percent spread around, plus having 1 acre where we concentrate on the lower income, it’s such an inclusive policy. There’s a little bit of something for everybody,” Council said.

But San Mateo is somewhat unique in being able to require developers to contribute below-market rate units for rental buildings as state appellate court cases have dismantled others’ ability to do so.

Between developments not keeping up with the astronomical job growth in the Bay Area and affordable housing tools stripped from municipalities; nearly all in San Mateo acknowledge there’s a crisis at hand.

Considering more immediate action

In response, the City Council formed a housing task force last September that compiled a report highlighting that few can afford to buy a home and how many landlords have responded by increasing what they’re asking for rent nearly 40 percent to 60 percent over the last four years.

One thing both real estate professionals and affordable housing advocates can agree on is the need to expand the housing stock. But while excited by the Bay Meadows project, it also highlights how long the development process can take. The affordable complex will take another three years before being completed — nearly two decades since the entire development was first proposed.

In the meantime, many are advocating for more immediate measures.

The City Council met last week to consider a 90-day emergency rent control and just cause eviction ordinance prompting hundreds to pack City Hall.

With the task force and council unable to achieve consensus, officials opted to reconvene Monday, April 11, to reconsider a temporary ordinance outlining a relocation assistance program. Landlords who raise rents by more than 10 percent within a 12-month period for tenants who have not violated the terms of their lease, could be required to pay the equivalent of six months of the area’s median rent.

Concerned the council will fail to pass any meaningful tenant protection measures, the nonprofit Faith in Action Bay Area is planning a ballot initiative asking November voters to support just cause evictions and keeping rent increases paired with inflation for properties constructed before 1995.

As the city’s housing manager who helped oversee the task force, Council agreed she expects another large crowd to turn out at Monday’s meeting and while pleased the Bay Meadows project will provide opportunities for up to 68 families, said she recognizes the magnitude of the problem.

“We know from experience [these units] will be much in demand and it’s not going to solve the problem, but it’s a tool in the city’s tool kit. You do every little thing you can and everything makes a difference, even if it’s small,” Council said. “Definitely we need to address the supply side of housing and that takes time and it doesn’t help in the short term. So now, our challenge is to figure out what we can do in the short term for tenants now.”

The City Council meets 6 p.m. Monday, April 11, at City Hall, 330 W. 20th Ave. Visit cityofsanmateo.org for more information about the Bay Meadows affordable housing development.

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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