San Carlos officials send back plans for 24 condos

Proposed to include six one-bedroom, 17 two-bedroom and one three-bedroom units, three of which would be offered at a below-market rate, the project would replace two vacant commercial buildings where a restaurant and a bar formerly operated. One 1,320-square-foot retail space and a 1,436-square-foot restaurant space with covered seating and patio area are also included in plans for the ground floor of the building facing El Camino Real.

Architect Steve Kellond explained that because of an AT&T easement running through the property, building underground parking was not possible and the developer instead chose to focus on providing three forms of surface parking. In addition to 11 regular parking spaces, eight tandem spaces offered to residents living in the same unit and a three-stack puzzle lift system with 14 spots would make a total of 35 parking spaces available with the project, for which 39 are required, according to a staff report.

Unbundled parking

The developer is also proposing a concept by which parking spaces are unbundled from a homeowner’s purchase of a condominium, a strategy aimed at encouraging homeowners without cars to move there and take advantage of the building’s proximity to public transportation hubs, such as the city’s Caltrain station and SamTrans bus stops.

Though commissioners commended the developer for presenting an innovative alternative to traditional parking plans, they voiced concerns about how the purchase of unbundled spots would be administered, whether sufficient spaces would be available to guests and how spaces would be transferred among residents as the units are sold over time.

In acknowledging the project’s proximity to downtown San Carlos and its position across the street from a 202-apartment, eight-building project dubbed the San Carlos Transit Village, Commissioner John Dugan noted the project’s density may be consistent with the area. But he asked for clarification from the developer as to why so many aspects were reaching the allowable limits.

“I just have a growing sense of this project as one that has tried to maximize every dimension available,” he said, according to a video of the meeting. “Maybe this is our highest density corner and there’s other large projects and so maybe we’re OK with that.”

Though Kellond acknowledged the parking plan included in the proposal may not work for projects on other sites in the city, he said the developer felt it could work well given the nearby public transportation available. He noted the developer wanted to create a building in the California Spanish style of architecture consistent with the buildings around it and with small retail and restaurant spaces in the hopes of encouraging foot traffic on El Camino real and reducing car trips in and out of the project.

In response to Dugan’s question about how the sale of the parking spots would be administered, Kellond said the purchases would be coordinated through the homeowners association formed for the project. Though there is no requirement to provide parking spaces for the commercial spaces, Mike Bruno, owner of the building directly behind the project at 567 and 569 Laurel St., expected residents to face issues with guest parking on already crowded nearby streets.

Reduction in height?

Though she commended the developer for taking steps toward offering unbundled parking as well as the style of the building, Commissioner Shannon Bergman wondered if reducing the project from four stories to three stories could be considered.

With the three-story buildings included in the Transit Village project going up across the street and several other one- and two-story buildings nearby, Bergman felt the project was too big and tall and questioned whether the number and type of parking spaces in the proposal would meet homeowners’ expectations. Because the city’s zoning allows a four-story building at the site, City Attorney Greg Rubens noted officials’ ability to require a height reduction of the building is limited.

Though Kellond noted setbacks on the fourth story of the building would reduce its visual impact, Bergman suggested the developer to explore further changes to the design that would reduce its mass.

“That is like our showcase of our city,” she said. “That’s exactly where we want to have everything aligned and I have a hard time as it is with four stories.”

Though he supported the idea of offering parking spaces in an unbundled fashion, Dugan said he would like to see more detail on the ongoing administration of the parking spaces, noting concerns about what the pricing would be for those living in the below-market-rate units as well as the possibility of residents selling them to non-residents in the future. Though he shared some of the concerns about the project’s fit for the site, Dugan acknowledged the benefits of the dense, mixed-use project in a part of the city where four stories is allowed.

“That’s what we need on El Camino,” he said. “We need that housing over commercial. That’s what’s going to get people out of cars and using their neighborhoods.”

In other business, the commission also approved a below-market rate housing plan for an 18-unit condominium project at 1525 San Carlos Ave. Initially approved in 2015 as a four-story apartment building with a commercial space, the developer sought approval to offer the units as for-sale condominiums and proposed to offer one one-bedroom unit affordable to low-income households as well as one two-bedroom and one three-bedroom unit affordable to moderate-income households to comply with the city’s ordinance. Commissioners approved the item with a condition that the developer work with city staff to ensure the below-market-rate units are not adjacent to each other and are not all located on the same floor.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106