A South City project for 70 new townhouses is moving forward, with plans to occupy a longtime vacant lot on Railroad Avenue.
The 2-acre property has been unused since the city’s Southern Pacific rail line was decommissioned in 1990 and will eventually consist of five separate townhome buildings with a mix of two- and three-bedroom units, ranging from 1,250 to 2,200 square feet each.
“I’m personally happy to see some family-sized units, especially close to our increasingly vibrant downtown,” Commissioner John Baker said.
The city’s Planning Commission recommended approval, despite voicing concerns on the lack of affordable housing in the development. Per the city’s ordinance, developers can opt to include a certain amount of below-market-rate units in their project or pay an in-lieu fee, which would go toward other affordable housing developments in the city. The developer plans to pay a little over $4 million in exchange for not building any below-market-rate units.
“We had a report here just two meetings ago that we’ve really been behind the ball in permitting and authorizing below-market units,” Baker said. “It’s not going to hold me up in recommending this project … but ultimately I think this should help us as a commission and as a city to maybe modify that ordinance.”
The city prefers developers to build the BMR units, rather than paying the fee, but the incentive to do so is not as high for certain types of projects, said Nell Selander, Economic and Community Development director.
“The [in-lieu fee] is really high if you look at our colleagues in the region,” Selander said. “We did that to try to get the developers to build the units. Townhouses are probably the only product type where you might see them willing to pay the fee and not build the units because … generally, townhome projects are less expensive to build.”
The new units will go toward the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation, a state-mandated number of housing units a jurisdiction must approve between each cycle. Between 2023-31, South City must approve 3,956 units.
Despite the challenges, other commissioners, including Vice Chair Aysha Pamukcu, also said they also would have preferred more BMR units.
“While I do understand the constraints, I think it’s a missed opportunity, given our equity goals and wanting to make South City an inclusive place,” she said.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
Daily Journal staff
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