Long vacant San Mateo lot sees another development plan

“The city insisted that we had to have all on-site parking, which is kind of impossible,” Mortazavi said of the original 2014 proposal that was eventually reduced to a 50% parking requirement. “That pretty much chills any project in San Mateo, but now it’s kind of out of their hands.”

Over the last few years, the state has further limited what cities can mandate in terms of parking requirements, especially if they are close to major transit areas. Assembly Bill 2097 — that became law in 2022 — removed parking requirements for projects within a half mile of a major transit stop, which would apply to the South El Camino site because it is within walking distance to the downtown Caltrain station.

Mortazavi’s first application 10 years ago was for a 23,089-square-foot, four-story, office and 10-unit residential building. But the 50% parking requirement was still too high a barrier, he said.

“When you ask for 50% of the parking to be on-site, you are pretty much downzoning the entire city,” he said. “There is not much room left for the building.”

A few years ago, he submitted a different preapplication for a three-story, 19,989-square-foot office building on the same site, however, a formal planning application was never filed.

In the current project plans, which were submitted as a preliminary application in February, four of the 28 units would be allocated for moderate income households.

“We feel this is a reasonable application, and with the state rules and regulations we will be able to provide some housing,” Mortazavi said.

Like many other cities, San Mateo has had to relax certain restrictions to meet its state mandated housing goals, or Regional Housing Needs Allocation. It must approve at least 7,015 housing units between 2023-31 as part of the requirements. During the housing element adoption process — a detailed document outlining how and where the city could build its housing — the city identified about 10 areas, such as near Caltrain stations, where highest and density limits could be increased. Voters passed Measure T, solidifying the zoning changes.