San Bruno makes housing element progress

While the housing element, which is currently behind schedule, hasn’t yet been formally approved by HCD, this is major forward progress, councilmembers said.

“We can’t just kind of gloss over that that is a massive milestone, and I just wanted to pause for a second to acknowledge that that is a huge milestone to hit, for you, and your team and the entire organization,” Councilmember Tom Hamilton said.

The city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation is 3,165 units. Accounting for approved projects and accessory dwelling unit credits, the city has developed a site inventory of 2,552 housing units in its housing element — 2,158 of which are required and another 394 of buffer.

To facilitate the production of housing at certain sites along El Camino Real — including the Tanforan development — the City Council is moving ahead with overriding noise compatibility policies for residential purposes, a decision not supported by entities like the Federal Aviation Administration, per the staff report. The Tanforan development seeks to replace the shopping center with 1,000 units of new housing, a new Target, life sciences campus, and central space with surrounding retail units.

“It’s been a long road to get here,” Councilmember Marty Medina said. “This is something, anytime it’s near the airport flight path, we’re going to be dealing with this. Noise and development kind of don’t mix, and we have to do what we need to do.”

The City Council also passed a ministerial ordinance allowing for housing projects to be approved by-right on certain sites if they provide 20% or more lower-income housing units, including in mixed-use areas that offer 100% to 50% residential zoning.

Other goals for the housing element include expeditiously processing the Tanforan redevelopment and a 2028 ballot measure that would allow for extra ADUs, as well as developing a plan for if the ballot measure doesn’t pass.