San Mateo may poll on Measure Y

Some on the council, like Councilmember Rich Hedges, wanted to limit office building heights and protect single-family R-1 neighborhoods. He suggested seven stories be the limit for office buildings in the 10 study areas of the land use plan. The 10 areas include El Camino Real, Bel Mateo and Mollie Stone, downtown, Peninsula Avenue, Campus Drive, North Shoreview, Parkside Plaza, Hillsdale and Bridgepointe. For mixed-use buildings, he favored five- to eight-story high buildings, provided there were more housing units included in plans than currently. However, as were others on the council, he was open to comprise. He wanted to prioritize more affordable housing instead.

“We have to stop this cycle of building more jobs than we are building housing,” Hedges said.

Vice Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash agreed with Hedges about height limits and protecting single-family neighborhoods and suggested up to eight stories in limited areas and maintaining single-family zoning in San Mateo. The height limit would allow for transitions between medium- and high-density areas.

“For me, 10 stories with a potential to go up to 12 is just too high and goes beyond the limit of what compromise is all about.”

Councilmember Adam Loraine disagreed with Diaz Nash and Hedges on capping office space without further study. He felt the current constitution of proposed office space was appropriate, noting office spaces gave the city new neighbors and an asset to the economy.

“I believe what is being proposed tonight is a compromise,” Loraine said. “It’s a product of community input that attempts to keep a lot of the spirit of Measure Y intact in our city, seeking responsible growth by concentrating it near our transit areas, preserving the R1 neighborhoods while giving more San Mateans, present and future, an opportunity to stay here.”

The council also directed staff to conduct a poll about the level of support for Measure Y and its willingness to have a ballot measure in 2024 that could repeal it. The poll would be similar to the 2022 poll about property tax rate Measure CC. Mayor Amourence Lee suggested it so the council has a better update about how people feel about height and density limits.

“We had a statistically valid professional survey done to have us work to establish and analyze the feasibility of various tiers (for Measure CC), and that was a helpful way to make informed decisions about what the community will actually support,” Lee said.

Staff said the City Council could place a measure on the November 2024 ballot that would remove Measure Y growth limits within the 10 study areas of the land use plan. A city staff report said some land use designations exceed Measure Y but are only proposed within the study areas and are generally located near a Caltrain station, the El Camino corridor or the Bridgepointe Shopping Center area. The measure has been cited as a barrier to larger developments, with an updated vote of the people required if any part of the land use document conflicts with Measure Y. Any components of the general plan update inconsistent with Measure Y will require voter approval before taking effect.

Some public speakers at the meeting supported keeping Measure Y limits while others called to revise it to allow for increased housing production.

Nancy Schneider, a San Mateo resident and housing advocate, suggested increasing high-density transit-oriented development and increasing height limits for residential buildings along the El Camino corridor and in the downtown core. She called for overturning Measure Y at the earliest possible time.

“Measure Y’s height limits impose unavoidable roadblocks to meeting our [Regional Housing Needs Allocation] and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing obligations, thereby exposing our city to state sanctions including onerous fines and loss of its control over land use,” Schneider said in an email comment.

However, Ronnie Eaton and others called for keeping Measure Y, given that people voted it in only three years ago, and it helps ensure measured growth.

“We have to expect that the people put into place by the voters of this community will serve their constituents first and not try to undo what those constituents have voted for,” Eaton said in an email comment. “San Mateo is not an urban center and should not be treated as such. Measure Y is a sensible answer to unreasonable development that is at the expense of those who cannot afford market-rate prices.”

Go to strivesanmateo.org to learn more about the general plan process.