San Carlos misses state housing goal

Permits have been issued for more than 600 units to be built since 2015 but the city is still short of meeting its state-determined Regional Housing Needs Allocation goal of 596 new homes by 363 units given that most of the permitted housing has been priced at moderate or above moderate income levels.

The city will likely not meet its goal by 2023, still needing 173 very-low-income level units, 93 low-income level units and 97 moderate income level units to meet its RHNA goal by 2023, according to the Housing Element Annual Progress Report for 2021.

But Planning Manager Lisa Porras said staff has made substantial progress in preparing its Housing Element for the next cycle in which the city will be required to build at least 2,735 units between 2023 and 2030.

If the city fails to make sufficient progress on its goals, some local control over development could be lost under Senate Bill 35 that would require a city to streamline the review process of some projects.

“While the role of the city is not necessarily that of a residential development the city is required to ensure that zoning and programs are in place to facilitate the construction of new development,” Porras said.

Following a number of community workshops and meetings with Planning Commissioners and councilmembers, staff ultimately envision meeting its goal by focusing on increasing density and height limits in areas already zoned for residential use, about 70% of the city’s land. In doing so, considerations would be made to phase in heights in areas near single-family zones.

Meanwhile, a staff proposal that would increase the level of below-market rate units required in for-ownership residential developments and the ratio of below-market rate units required in rental projects is expected to come before the council within months, Adam Aronson, the city’s economic development and housing manager, said.

While recognizing staff’s progress and the council’s drive to build more housing, Councilmember John Dugan said the city needs to be “thinking about doing things differently if we’re serious” about meeting future housing demand given the roughly 9,000 new employees who will come to the once life science developments in the east side of the city is complete.

Officials have anticipated that level of growth for years, having identified a similar number in its General Plan adopted in 2009, but the sudden burst of development has drawn concerns around whether the city will be able to accommodate existing needs and new demand.

“I just want us to collectively recognize we’re not really achieving our housing goal here and I know we’re doing some good work,” Dugan said. “What we’ve done in housing over the last couple years just isn’t getting it done.”

Dugan encouraged the council to keep housing as a top priority in negotiations with large developments in the East Side Innovation District and said it should be “top of mind” as the city develops specific plans for different areas of the city, including downtown and the industrial area.

Still, McDowell and Councilmember Laura Parmer-Lohan shared confidence in the city’s ability to encourage new residential development, noting officials have expressed a commitment to combat the housing crisis and staff has worked hard in the past few years to engage the public on the issue to collaborate on potential solutions that take into consideration a variety of needs.

“I believe that the wind is at our back on this and we’re putting pencil to paper and talking to diverse stakeholders to understand what conditions we need to put in place in order to get this housing created,” Parmer-Lohan said. “Clearly there’s more work to do. I know we can because we think we can.”

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