San Mateo Drive apartments approved, pushing forward city’s active pipeline post-Measure T

Despite some community concerns around the parking spaces and potential impact in the surrounding area, the project is protected by a number of state laws that prohibit local jurisdictions from mandating a certain number of parking spaces, especially because it is located within a half mile of a Caltrain station. The project would comprise a two-level parking garage with 180 spaces.

"When it comes to housing projects, those decisions have largely been taken out of the hands of local jurisdictions,” Chair Seema Patel said during the meeting. “There's not a lot that the Planning Commission can do … to require certain changes or design guidelines of these projects."

Commissioner Maxwell Schaumkel added that he was supportive of the project, though the parking concerns are going to be “something that we constantly wrestle with” throughout the city.

However, the development is also reflective of the changes made under Measure T, which passed in November 2024 and amended the city’s previous five-story building limit. Now, several parts of the city, including transit-rich corridors like downtown have higher building caps that make it easier for developers to build denser and taller buildings. As a result, the city has seen one of the highest influxes of multi-family residential development applications in the last two years in the county.

All cities in California must plan and issue permits for a certain number of housing units, as determined by the Department of Housing and Community Development, known as the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. During this current eight-year cycle, which ends in 2031, San Mateo must plan for at least 7,015 units. As of a recent City Council meeting, San Mateo’s development pipeline has reached 97% of its housing goals, though much of those have not yet been entitled.

At least six new developments have been proposed in just the last couple months in San Mateo, totaling more than 1,100 housing units.

The developments with the most units include the Hillsdale Shopping Center redevelopment, which will replace the mall with 1,670 new housing units and retail and office buildings, as well as the Concar Passage development that will construct 850 new housing units and some commercial space.

The commission approved the North San Mateo Drive project 4-0 during the meeting March 24.