San Mateo Block 21 developers ask for planning extension

Bustos said the area is still a construction site, but if it sits vacant for 180 consecutive days, Windy Hill would have to fence it and put up a landscaping perimeter. According to Chapter 7.48 on vacant lots in the city municipal code, a minimum 5-foot-wide landscaped buffer area must be maintained along the perimeter of a vacant lot, between all sidewalks, streets, alleys or other public rights-of-way and the fence. Bustos said the site had finished the demolition phase, which is when the city code states the countdown starts.

Bustos said the extension would allow Windy Hill more time to get its permits in order and noted that it is typical for a large project to request extensions that often last years. Bustos said the developer provided no reason for the extension. A representative with Windy Hill Property Ventures did not respond in time for comment.

Around 40 property owners agreed to sell to Windy Hill to make the project possible. The site previously featured eight residential units and businesses for gas, restaurants and retail — including a check cashing store, an adult book store, an Arco station and the Wing Fat Restaurant. The proposal exceeds San Mateo Measure Y building height restrictions of 55 feet because it meets state housing density laws. The site is not far from another block demolition proposal from Windy Hill at 500 E. Fourth Ave., called Block 20. The proposal would build a 75-foot mixed-use building at 216,000 square feet with 143,000 square feet of office space and 86 residential units, nine of which would be in the very low-income category.

Windy Hill has filed a preliminary application for the Block 20 site using elements of Senate Bill 330 that prohibits certain regulations that would impede new housing development. The builder’s remedy refers to a chapter of SB 330 that says if the city doesn’t have a compliant housing element, it can be used to avoid local zoning requirements.

The alternative development proposal for the Block 20 site would have 353 units, 161 studios, 141 one bedroom and 51 two bedrooms. There would be 71 affordable units distributed through all three unit types. The building would be eight stories tall, at around 85 feet, one story taller than Kiku Crossing being constructed nearby.

Under the San Mateo Zoning Code, no formal hearing must be held for the Block 21application, with a decision by the zoning administrator with the city to be reached no earlier than May 22. The city is accepting comments on the issue until May 22 at 5 p.m.