San Carlos commissioners are split on outreach time frame for permanent SB 9 ordinance

Senate Bill 9 took effect Jan. 1, loosening restrictions around lot splits in the hope of spurring more housing development. In response, the City Council approved an urgency ordinance temporarily implementing the greatest restrictions permitted under the law. The urgency ordinance has a 45-day expiration period but staff intends to request an extension Feb. 14, which could add an additional 10 months and 15 days to the schedule.

In that time, Planning Manager Lisa Porras said staff plans to conduct public outreach and meetings with the Planning Commission and City Council to draft a more permanent policy. Councilmembers argued the city would need adequate time to develop a policy that best reflects the community’s interests but some planning commissioners questioned whether staff would need the full extension to complete the work.

On the commission, Clements was the strongest critic of the urgency ordinance, sharing her disappointment in the city being one of a handful of Bay Area jurisdictions to pass such a measure and arguing staff should be looking to more housing-friendly jurisdictions for guidance. Clements also noted her opposition to extending the ordinance and pushed for staff to conduct their work within six months.

“I was hoping we could be a little bit more … perhaps innovative with our thoughts while the engine is running, not stop the engine and wait and plan the whole trip,” Clements said.

Chair David Roof and Commissioner Ellen Garvey were also concerned about the time frame and suggested staff try to expedite it.

Noting that most lots in San Carlos are deep, Roof also suggested staff consider loosening rules around lot splits that require both units front the road, essentially banning a split that would place a unit behind another.

“I also think we as a city should act in good faith in trying to achieve the intent of the law but I do understand the difficulty,” Roof said, likening the effort to building a plane while in flight.

Alternatively, other commissioners shared their own concerns for shortening the amount of time staff could have to conduct adequate outreach. Commissioner Jim Iacaponi agreed with the intent of SB 9 in alleviating the housing crisis by putting “more products on the shelf,” he said he was hesitant to tell staff how long their process drafting a permanent ordinance should take.

And Commissioner Don Bradley, who argued legislators pushed forward the bill too quickly without thinking about traffic implications, noted ample public feedback is vital. He went on to highlight his disappointment in a lack of turnout to the meetings in which the issue was being discussed.

“So far, I’m amazed we haven’t heard from more people. Certainly, we do when someone wants to build a second story,” Bradley said. “This is more consequential.”

Of the city’s 8,100 single-family zoned parcels, about 6,400 would qualify for an SB 9 subdivision, according to a study by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. But staff previously noted very few inquiries related to the issue have been made to the city thus far. The legislation could potentially allow for up to four units on formerly single-family-only lots.

Eugene Sakai, a member of the city’s Residential Design and Review Committee, said he was still formulating his opinion around the urgency ordinance but argued the law disincentivizes development by limiting additions to 800 square feet.

Still, he shared hope the time would allow staff to facilitate enough community feedback that could contribute to a broadly accepted ordinance.

“That’s a very difficult balance to strike and it would be amazing to achieve that within a year’s time to be perfectly honest,” Sakai said. “I think the real work is in the next months to come up with something that honors the intent of SB 9, incentivizes developers to create SB 9 units and is something the community can ultimately accept, perhaps begrudgingly.”

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