San Carlos is preparing a new vision for the northeast side of town, potentially bringing housing, public spaces, improved multimodal connections and other infrastructure upgrades to the largely industrial district, but business owners continue to raise concerns about being left behind.
The city has invested $1.5 million into developing a Northeast Area Specific Plan. The two-year study, being led by the firm Perkins&Will, is meant to develop a holistic picture for how the roughly 145-acre section of town should transform.
Perkins&Will, with support from a team of other firms, began conducting community outreach on the project in March but business owners in the area have raised concerns they haven’t been adequately consulted on their needs, wants and worries for the plans.
As they did during last week’s Planning Commission meeting, many returned to Monday’s City Council meeting to ask officials to slow down the planning process to ensure the perspectives of small business owners are better reflected in the final document.
“We just want to make sure that as this area does urbanize — we understand that — that it’s a process of ‘and,’ not a process of ‘or,’” said Derek Hunter with Hunter Properties which owns a self storage business at 151 Industrial Road. “We understand there are community benefits. We understand this is a negation. But we just want to be considered as part of the process.”
Councilmembers in April 2022 temporarily paused development in the northeast area with the intention of helping the city get ahead of an anticipated influx of new development, particularly from life science developers who’ve already proposed numerous projects on the east side of the city.
By developing a specific plan, Community and Economic Development Director Al Savay said the city would provide clarity and certainty for the market as to what the city is looking to welcome into the area, driving “vitality” and “immediate interest.” The process also creates a “menu” of community benefits for future developers to help establish.
“It gives us pause. It gives us time to look at zoning techniques and perhaps even incentives or requirements of new development to incorporate these smaller businesses into their development,” Savay said.
Principal Planner Megan Wooley-Ousdahl presented the council with three possible configurations for the area — one without housing and two with housing. The housing in both options would largely be contained between Old County, Bragato and Industrial roads but option 2A would bring in about 3,600 units compared to the 5,200 units staff expects 2B would accommodate.
All three options call for substantial improvements to public transportation connections and pedestrian and bike paths, enhanced stormwater channels, restoration of Belmont Creek and additional green and open space, and addressing other infrastructure issues. The two housing options also include a community recreation space for new nearby residents.
Councilmember Ron Collins said he wasn’t committed to adding housing in the area. If it must be done, he said the units should be placed near existing residences. And he also highlighted concerns business owners raised about new roads and paths proposed under all three plans. The paths and roads would cut through some priorities, reducing their market value, and would need to be created either as part of a land donation from developers or through eminent domain.
Meanwhile, Mayor Adam Rak, Vice Mayor John Dugan and Councilmember Sara McDowell shared varying levels of support for adding housing to the area, citing increasingly demanding state housing goals. Councilmember Pranita Venkatesh said she wasn’t ready to share a preference for any of the three options, instead requesting staff conduct an economic study.
Where the council did agree was on the need for staff and consultants to gather more input, particularly from small businesses. Now about half way through the plan development, staff and consultants will next determine a preferred option and begin the environmental review of the plan. Adoption of both the specific plan and environmental review is expected to occur fall of next year.
“I can feel your energy around preserving your family businesses that have been in your families for decades and generations,” McDowell said. “I don’t think that’s lost on any of us up here and that’s why we do want to be very thoughtful of this process and why we put a moratorium in this area so we could take a pause before the big developers came and gobbled up all of the land.”
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