San Carlos moves closer to its final downtown vision

At its council meeting June 23, the council gave its feedback on how to ensure the downtown is pedestrian friendly, accessible to all, a place for celebration and is both attractive and inviting to residents and visitors.

As downtown prepares for a likely influx of development and residents in the area, only a menial zoning change was proposed, allowing a denser, taller building at a parcel currently owned by SamTrans. The current zone allows for a 50-foot-tall building and is proposed to increase to 75 feet tall.

Councilmember John Dugan noted that if the parcel ultimately becomes a multifamily, affordable housing development, which is very likely considering the needs and market, state density bonus laws may mean the building becomes even taller. Still, councilmembers and staff voiced approval for the upzoning, which is on par with nearby parcels.

“This is a place where the city can take advantage of a new parcel that is going to become available for redevelopment and place a little more density in a place that in our opinion is compatible with adjacent land uses,” consultant Jim Stickley said.

The council directed staff to reevaluate and return with more information about ways to relax the city’s formula business ordinance, which could allow for some smaller chain stores. It also asked for more information on possible aesthetic requirements for outdoor dining and what the pros and cons are for possible parking management strategies.

Councilmembers were split on whether they preferred more permanent outdoor dining barricades between restaurants or easily-removed structures and a more al-fresco bistro-style.

“One of the things that drives me crazy is when a dog walks through my expensive meal,” Councilmember Neil Layton said.

Parking was a point of lengthy discussion. Staff proposed ultimately establishing parking maximums downtown to “promote land efficiency and reduce vehicle dependence,” according to a staff report.

Consultant Brian Canepa said parking-limit measures may be needed in the long term.

“There’s a lot of development coming to this city,” Canepa said. “If you continue to develop parking the same way it’s been developed in the past, you’d be facing gridlock.”

Some councilmembers were wary of this extreme policy change. Mayor Sara McDowell asked staff to look further into how employees of downtown businesses park in the area and what can be done to promote turnover particularly in the Wheeler Plaza Garage, which often remains vacant.

City staff and hired consultants will be returning in August to hold another study session to finalize some of these details, after meeting with downtown business owners and various subcommittees.

With the added work, the official public draft of the Downtown Specific Plan will not likely be completed until mid-September, rather than late July. Adoption of the finalized plan would occur in November, when a budget will also be considered to tackle all the goals outlined.

The Downtown Specific Plan has been an effort underway in tandem with the city’s Downtown Streetscape Master Plan, which it finalized and adopted in April. The two guiding documents will “govern future development and street improvement in the downtown over the next 20 years,” according to a staff report.