San Carlos homes in on 20-year development plan: Northeast Area Specific Plan draft environmental impact report open for public review

The Northeast Area Specific Plan will guide growth over the coming 20 years, focused on reinvigorating the area, comprising the space north of Holly Street to Belmont Creek between Highway 101 and Old County Road.

The endorsed plan for the northeast area was selected to ensure a “right mix of use” that revitalizes the industrial spaces and adds some much needed housing zones to consider population growth in coming years, Senior Planner Rendell Bustos said. 

“The guiding principles aim to preserve this industrial legacy that’s built into the district and not eliminate it but still allow for some housing,” Bustos said. 

A 20-year development projection for the area studied is estimated around 4.5 million square feet of nonresidential land use and 1,890 new units of housing, Bustos said. This could equate to 9,794 new jobs and 3,611 residents within the northeast area, assuming a certain amount of individuals per square footage. 

The proposed development plans yield 2.7 times as many jobs as units, Chair Kristen Clements said, but the ratio was intentional to preserve some of the existing land use. 

“With this growth, the specific plan aims to guide development to ensure a resulting comprehensive and cohesive mixed use neighborhood,” Bustos said.  

In the draft EIR, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions were the only areas identified as having “significant and unavoidable” impacts. 

There will be air quality thresholds surpassed by the planned development outlined in the area’s specific plan, including an expected increase in the number of daily trips by 203%, a staff report said. 

The plan as written meets greenhouse gas emission targets set for 2030, but it can’t be known if ongoing emissions will meet the established 2045 targets simply due to the projection being so far out, consultant Akoni Danielsen said. 

The designated significant and unavoidable environmental impacts do not mean the developments and plans cannot go forward, but simply to inform the City Council of what they are approving. When the specific plan is finalized, the city essentially acknowledges understood consequence of moving forward with a proposal that aligns with San Carlos goals.

Otherwise, all other environmental impacts, including the effect of increased utility sourcing, construction and otherwise, can be mitigated sufficiently, Danielsen said. 

In addition to improving multimodal transportation throughout the district, the Northeast Area Specific Plan largely maintains industrial zoning but with amendments to activate ground floor retail and service use. 

The most meaningful change is the redesignation of two zones to allow for housing.

Between Taylor Way and Bragato Road, and Glenn Way and Old County Road, the zoning will change to allow for 90 dwelling units per acre. South of Taylor Way and between Glenn Way and Old County Road will be zoned for 75 dwelling units per acre. 

The draft EIR is open to receive public comment and review until April 16. After, staff will prepare the finalized EIR that responds to any comments and includes revisions. This final EIR document, to be completed by June, will then be considered by the Planning Commission and City Council before the Northeast Area Specific Plan is approved in its totality.