San Carlos City Council outlines strategic goals for 2026

The city’s downtown goal is largely to complete the construction of Harrington Park, with construction fencing just recently erected, and begin progress on what will become Centennial Plaza in early 2027, Interim City Manager Nil Blackburn said. 

A priority is to ensure regular and frequent high-quality communication with residents and downtown business owners to address any concerns during execution. Throughout the larger downtown area, the city also hopes to “develop strategies to preserve ground floor commercial uses” in mixed-use zoning districts, Blackburn said.

The city’s climate change mitigation goal is to support sustainability initiatives and prepare for emergencies. 

One of two new objectives include creating a community risk assessment, an effort that will largely be led by the fire department. This will establish a comprehensive identification of local risks to life and property in San Carlos and how to better response times. 

The second objective is to update the city’s local hazard mitigation plan, which was most recently amended in 2021. This will identify the most likely natural disasters that could occur in the area and outlines strategies to reduce risks, in collaboration with other agencies in San Mateo County. 

One of the city’s “most significant goals,” is to address mobility, traffic and transportation infrastructure, Blackburn said. 

Of San Carlos’ capital improvement plan, there’s an estimated $72 million dedicated to meeting this goal, Blackburn said. Key focuses will be to progress on the midterm and long-term improvements to the notorious Highway 101 and Holly Street interchange. Another 37 projects are underway in the city’s bike and pedestrian master plan and there are nine projects to improve traffic signaling throughout the city. 

A new objective in this area is to adopt and implement a citywide transportation demand management and parking reform plan, which will provide a holistic look at the city’s parking availability. The city also plans to develop and plan an East Side Integrated Transportation and Streetscape Master Plan, to ensure connectivity and flow in an incoming highly developed area.

The Northeast Area Specific Plan goal is close to being achieved, Blackburn said, with a formal plan adoption intended in June by the City Council. 

By this summer, the city also intends to adopt its completed Parks Master Plan that will guide an implementation process for the short-term projects identified in it. 

Next steps in recreation services will be identifying a site for the community center and aquatic center at either Laureola or Burton parks. 

The city’s housing goals remain ongoing, with very little changes to its objectives. The focus will continue to largely be on approving below-market rate units, facilitating completion and increasing the housing population overall, Blackburn said. 

The strategic goals were approved 3-0 with two councilmembers absent.