Faced with demands by the state to be more aggressive with its plans to build additional housing, San Mateo County staff are considering even bigger upzoning measures in Colma, along the coast, West Menlo Park and the Harbor Industrial area.
San Mateo County must plan for more than 2,883 homes to be built in the unincorporated area over the next eight years as part of its Regional Housing Needs Allocation determined through the state’s housing element process. The county is shooting to surpass that goal by 700 units for a total of 3,580 new homes.
Staff initially planned to achieve that goal with 675 units coming from vacant single-family sites, 250 from vacant multifamily sites, 1,384 through redevelopment, 726 units from projects currently in the pipeline, 355 through accessory dwelling units and 176 units developed through Senate Bill 9, legislation that allows for up to four units to be developed on a single-family zoned lot. And any increases in zoning proposed at the time were only for parcels already zoned for housing.
But that plan was rejected by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development that shared doubts about the likelihood the county would actually build the number of SB 9 units and ADUs it claimed it would and requested additional information on a number of programs.
“This is going to entail a full reanalysis of the inventory except for our single-family sites of which are the only categories of sites where we have a surplus and don’t have any challenges,” Will Gibson, a project planner with the county’s Planning and Building Department, said during a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. “We anticipate, regardless of the nature of the reassessment, we are going to have a shortfall and will continue to require a rezoning program to meet that shortfall.”
Now, the county’s Planning and Building Department and Department of Housing are proposing the county upzoning all of unincorporated Colma to allow for between 100 units and 150 units per acre on parcels, rather than the previously proposed 87 units per acre.
They also plan to reassess whether to rezone some R-3 lots on the coast from medium-high density to high density, allowing up to 87 units per acre. Some commercially zoned parcels on the coast may also be rezoned to mixed-use residential and some vacant or unused lots in West Menlo Park zoned for parking or commercial use may also be rezoned for higher density multifamily use.
In addition to reducing the number of ADUs and SB 9 units the county was projecting, staff also plans to reassess some sites in the Harbor Industrial Area proposed for development. That change came after Belmont officials informed the state they plan to possibly annex some of the land for commercial life science development.
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Supervisor Ray Mueller said removing Harbor Industrial Area parcels from the county’s list of developable sites would be “odd” and questioned whether the current market calls for more life science development. If Belmont doesn’t ultimately annex the land, Mueller said the county would lose out on the opportunity to upzone developable parcels. And he also questioned whether other jurisdictions could put forward similar challenges, causing the county to lose more sites.
Community Development Director Steve Monowitz said a key issue with the Harbor Industrial Area land is that the county would need to tap into Belmont’s utility infrastructure to develop there.
“We’re all interested in working on solutions to those infrastructure problems and that’s another reason we’re trying to take a collaborative approach with Belmont,” Monowitz said.
Alternatively, Supervisor Noelia Corzo, whose District 2 includes the Harbor Industrial Area, said she would support upzoning some portions of the Harbor Industrial Area as long as other parts of the county, specifically West Menlo Park, are also upzoned. Mueller previously cautioned staff from proposing to upzone commercial lots in West Menlo Park given that doing so could push out vital struggling businesses in the small area.
Corzo also encouraged staff to consider upzoning other portions of the county not along transportation corridors, spreading the responsibility of housing county residents across all areas.
Supervisor David Canepa pushed back on Corzo’s idea, asserting that officials have found consensus that building taller in transit areas is best since it provides people with access to bus and train lines and other essential businesses. But Corzo argued many low-wage workers already enter single-family neighborhoods and should also have the opportunity to live in those communities.
“I think it’s again worth noting that we have a responsibility to interrupt exclusionary rezoning and to not continue to burden communities of color already vulnerable to gentrification,” Corzo said. “I believe it’s incumbent upon us to make sure the entire community shares the responsibility and opportunity to help us meet our RHNA numbers and house community members.”
No formal decision was made on the housing element Tuesday. Instead, staff plans to revise the plan before bringing it back to the board for a vote Sept. 12.
Maybe San Mateo County staff can check to see if the Oracle buildings in Redwood Shores are still up for sale. Plenty of square footage and parking, and like Oracle did in the past, you can open a food court on the bottom floor. Let’s continue to let folks in Colma rest in peace.
And Ms. "Corzo said. “I believe it’s incumbent upon us to make sure the entire community shares the responsibility and opportunity to help us meet our RHNA numbers and house community members.” Why is it my responsibility to provide for housing of others? Nobody ever came to my door to offer a roof over my head. This entire RHNA effort is illegal, caters to underachievers and should be dumped before the Corzos of the world destroy the little privacy and joy that we still have.
Corzo does not get to tell anyone to do anything. She is an example of dumbing down.
An embarassment. San Mateo stand up to the Stupids. Look how El Camino Real looks here. The brains need to step up. Drive down the streets do you like looking at this? Are you embarassed when people ask you why the shabbiness of it?
East side of every town in San Mateo County is the most racially diverse as well as the most densely populated with the highest traffic and pollution. White folks who live in Belmont Hills, San Carlos Hills etc, use the excuse of Transit Oriented Development but conveniently leave out the fact that Caltrain ridership is down 50% and unless you are destitute, you own a car which is less expensive to drive, even with gas prices compared to public transportation. Nobody uses $15 worth of gas to drive into San Francisco. It also takes longer to get into the city as the Bullet train no longer stops in San Carlos or Belmont. Are the people who live in high rise apartments in San Carlos and Belmont supposed to WALK to Hillsdale? Walk to Safeway, Walk their kids to Ralston, Walk their kids to Soccer practice? The idea that the 95%+ of people who live in the Bay area and drive cars will suddenly start walking and biking everywhere is a myth. Belmont's most walkable downtown area was and still is Alameda de Las Pulgas and Ralston where the is a grocery store, restaurants, High School, Library, Community Center, and Middle School all within walking distance. Is it safe for families to cross the streets on Ralston by El Camino Real where cars go 50mph? Where are they actually going to as we have no downtown other than Safeway and Starbucks. Our Governor has decided he has to force cities to build more housing by passing laws that circumvent local government and the will of the people. I campaigned for Belmont City Council and spoke to over 500 residents and many said they moved to Belmont because of its safe family atmosphere away from high density development, traffic, pollution, and congestion, yet every politician seems to be towing the party line of build, build, build to make the suburbs more like the urban areas people are trying to get away from.
The "affordable" units aren't affordable for many low income families and only 10% are typically set aside for them. The 85-90% are market rate units and 6 story high rise apartments don't fit in communities with single family homes. Most of these units will have only .75 parking spaces each- how many apartment dwellers do you know that have less than one car even if they live across the street from a train station? So where do all the cars park? Do all the TOD'S demand that there can be no more than .75 cars per unit? These are real issues that most City and County planners don't care about. They just see dollar signs. Will property values go down for single family home owners who have the misfortune of a giant apartment complex being built right next to them? Highly likely, but don't worry about it politicians, you likely live in the hills so these problems won't affect you because you didn't put it in YOUR backyard!
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(5) comments
Yes! Way too many dead people taking up way too much space in Colma. There are profits to be made!
Maybe San Mateo County staff can check to see if the Oracle buildings in Redwood Shores are still up for sale. Plenty of square footage and parking, and like Oracle did in the past, you can open a food court on the bottom floor. Let’s continue to let folks in Colma rest in peace.
And Ms. "Corzo said. “I believe it’s incumbent upon us to make sure the entire community shares the responsibility and opportunity to help us meet our RHNA numbers and house community members.” Why is it my responsibility to provide for housing of others? Nobody ever came to my door to offer a roof over my head. This entire RHNA effort is illegal, caters to underachievers and should be dumped before the Corzos of the world destroy the little privacy and joy that we still have.
Corzo does not get to tell anyone to do anything. She is an example of dumbing down.
An embarassment. San Mateo stand up to the Stupids. Look how El Camino Real looks here. The brains need to step up. Drive down the streets do you like looking at this? Are you embarassed when people ask you why the shabbiness of it?
East side of every town in San Mateo County is the most racially diverse as well as the most densely populated with the highest traffic and pollution. White folks who live in Belmont Hills, San Carlos Hills etc, use the excuse of Transit Oriented Development but conveniently leave out the fact that Caltrain ridership is down 50% and unless you are destitute, you own a car which is less expensive to drive, even with gas prices compared to public transportation. Nobody uses $15 worth of gas to drive into San Francisco. It also takes longer to get into the city as the Bullet train no longer stops in San Carlos or Belmont. Are the people who live in high rise apartments in San Carlos and Belmont supposed to WALK to Hillsdale? Walk to Safeway, Walk their kids to Ralston, Walk their kids to Soccer practice? The idea that the 95%+ of people who live in the Bay area and drive cars will suddenly start walking and biking everywhere is a myth. Belmont's most walkable downtown area was and still is Alameda de Las Pulgas and Ralston where the is a grocery store, restaurants, High School, Library, Community Center, and Middle School all within walking distance. Is it safe for families to cross the streets on Ralston by El Camino Real where cars go 50mph? Where are they actually going to as we have no downtown other than Safeway and Starbucks. Our Governor has decided he has to force cities to build more housing by passing laws that circumvent local government and the will of the people. I campaigned for Belmont City Council and spoke to over 500 residents and many said they moved to Belmont because of its safe family atmosphere away from high density development, traffic, pollution, and congestion, yet every politician seems to be towing the party line of build, build, build to make the suburbs more like the urban areas people are trying to get away from.
The "affordable" units aren't affordable for many low income families and only 10% are typically set aside for them. The 85-90% are market rate units and 6 story high rise apartments don't fit in communities with single family homes. Most of these units will have only .75 parking spaces each- how many apartment dwellers do you know that have less than one car even if they live across the street from a train station? So where do all the cars park? Do all the TOD'S demand that there can be no more than .75 cars per unit? These are real issues that most City and County planners don't care about. They just see dollar signs. Will property values go down for single family home owners who have the misfortune of a giant apartment complex being built right next to them? Highly likely, but don't worry about it politicians, you likely live in the hills so these problems won't affect you because you didn't put it in YOUR backyard!
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Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.