Millbrae gears up for the future with General Plan

The plan will bring the city's policies and programs up to date and respond to changing state and regional plans, projects, regulations, and circumstances such as state housing legislation, mobility, high speed rail, water supply, and more, Smith went over in a presentation.

The city hopes to create a more pedestrian-friendly El Camino Real by improving its bicycle and pedestrian network, and enhancing connectivity to the rail station and bus lines.

Future work the city plans to address is the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA, for the next Housing Element Update cycle in 2023, improvements to the city’s objective design standards and concise development requirements, and responding to changing market trends and demands, shifting work patterns and different lifestyle and mobility choices people are making now, such as implementing permanent outdoor dining throughout downtown if that’s what people want.

More development plans include additional design standards related to open space including landscape and parking, updated floor area ratio, density and height standards, objective commercial and multi-family development and design standards, and a streetscape master plan for Broadway and El Camino Real with more detailed design for these streets. And there would be zoning code and zoning map amendments to implement in the General Plan, Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan and Housing Element.

Councilmember Gina Papan also brought up electric infrastructure to be put into the General Plan, referring to the governor’s deadline for electric cars. This was discussed as possibly being put under sustainability in the plan.

After listening to comments from the public, Mayor Ann Schneider brought up the concerns that there needs to be outreach to those without Wi-Fi and to lower-income residents.

Smith said they will be reaching out separately as part of the housing element update to those communities, and that these documents will be available at the public library at the reference desk and also at City Hall at the public service desk. Planning Commissioner Maureen Davis also suggested this information be added to the water bill to include the website, email, number and directions to the library.

The council and commission will be looking over the revised elements and plan to circle back around July 20.

The plan was last updated in 2015, where the city initiated a comprehensive General Plan update, along with the development of a Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan and the related program Environmental Impact Report for the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.

The website for the General Plan can be found at millbrae2040.com.

julia@smdailyjournal.com

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