A new six-story, 136-unit apartment building has been proposed to take the place of a vacant parking lot at 732 and 740 El Camino Real near downtown San Bruno.
The project, submitted by the developer late last month, is aiming for approval under Senate Bill 35, a law requiring cities to approve such projects if the city as a whole is not meeting state-set goals to build more housing. Unlike normal projects subject to review by the City Council, which could lead to required changes or rejection of the project completely, if the project is found to comply with SB 35, the city will be required to move it forward.
Plans for the 120,000-square-foot building include 126 studio units and 10 one-bedrooms, with just over half of the units to be below market rate. Plans indicate 25 parking places and 154 bicycle parking places. SB 35 does not require any on-site parking in developments but does require at least half the units be affordable.
“I am very excited to see very-low-income in this project, I think it’s desperately needed here,” Councilmember Linda Mason said. “I do wish the developer is more thoughtful around parking, because parking is still an issue.”
Mason pointed to new jobs being added within the city, including YouTube, the city’s second-largest employer, planning to add 400 jobs yearly for the next several years, in addition to biotech and other employers continuing to move into the area.
The development is a few blocks from the San Bruno Caltrain station, in addition to being situated along the El Camino Real bus route.
The below-market-rate apartments would be divided between eight units for households earning 50% or less of the area median income, 59 units for those earning 80% or less, and six units for those earning 110% or less. The median household income in San Bruno was $109,387 in 2019, according to census figures.
Along with SB 35, the development seeks to take advantage of a state law allowing for denser developments if affordable units are included. The building will be one story taller than the city’s five-story maximum, and also feature smaller setbacks than usually allowed.
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Given the inevitability that some residents would park on surrounding streets, the neighborhood could elect to adopt the city’s parking permit system in the area. The move would allow for a maximum of two cars to be street parked in the neighborhood per residential address.
City Manager Jovan Grogan noted a single parking spot generally costs developers $100,000 if in a below-ground garage. Surface level spots cost $60,000 but take up valuable space that could include residential units, given caps on total development density, he said.
San Bruno has built 203 of 1,155 units required to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment goal between 2015 and 2023, the metric upon which SB 35 eligibility is based, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The city will likely need to build another 3,192 units between 2023 and 2031 to meet future RHNA requirements.
A potential 1,000 units of housing were proposed along with other development types earlier this year to replace the Tanforan shopping center. Part of the Bayhill YouTube expansion envisions 400 or more units. Both projects still require various approvals and are likely several years away from groundbreaking. Last year, the council issued final approval for a 427-unt development at Mills Park Center.
“As we see our city grow and more employers come in, the units are going to be needed,” Mason said. “We do need the housing, we have not met our RHNA requirements.”
Per SB 35, the city has 90 days from the date the plans were submitted to determine if the project meets the laws requirements for streamlined approval.
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(1) comment
The vast majority of these apartments are for single lower income people. What about families or couples?
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.