Vision for San Mateo in 2040 takes shape

Comprised of two councilmembers, two planning commissioners, two members of the city’s Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission and one member of the Park and Recreation Commission, the subcommittee was formed to provide input and assist in engaging community members as they form a vision for what the city could look like in 20 years.

Initiated last year, the effort is to chart a vision for San Mateo’s future and help the city navigate shifts in the Bay Area’s demographics, jobs and traffic congestion, among other changes. It has included discussions on housing, land use policy, circulation, open space, noise, safety and conservation. Several community meetings aimed at scoping how residents feel about their city today and what they envision for its future as well as two meetings of the seven-person subcommittee informed the components of the draft vision statement presented this week.

While residents and officials offered suggestions as to whether the draft statement could be more explicit in outlining the city’s housing shortage or a need to maintain the character of its neighborhoods, among other priorities, the dozens who weighed in on the draft statement this week could agree on the weight of the document on the future of the comprehensive planning process.

Though the 12 statements included in the draft document were grouped under topics such as parks and public spaces, circulation and community life, among others, two statements grouped under housing drew feedback from housing advocates and those concerned about the impact of growth in neighborhoods, traffic patterns and infrastructure in the city.

In acknowledging the city’s housing shortage, Councilman Eric Rodriguez advocated for inclusion of a focus on neighborhoods and the city’s commitment to addressing the impact of future housing built in San Mateo, such as neighborhood parking constraints.

“Everyone here in this room knows that we need to build housing,” he said. “I think that mentioning somewhere that we are going to do our best to make it feasible to create this housing is going to be very, very important.”

For residents like Gloria Moreno, how the statements could better capture the experience of low-income residents, renters and members of the Latino community as they struggle with the rising regional housing costs was top of mind. Noting many are forced to live in their cars or together with multiple families, Moreno emphasized the stress some community members feel in trying to make ends meet.

“I think this is more that just an affordable housing issue, this is a moral issue,” she said. “People are living in their cars, people can barely afford to live here.”

Planning Commissioner Ramiro Maldonado asked how feedback offered at a vision workshop in Spanish was weighed against other similar workshops offered in English. Because many of the comments offered at the Spanish-speaking workshop aligned with those offered at other workshops, the feedback from the meeting largely amplified or made the draft statements more dynamic, said Charlie Knox, a principal with Placeworks, the firm contracted to guide the planning process. Knox added a statement outlining a goal that San Mateo businesses offer living wages to employees of all abilities stemmed from the Dec. 2 meeting conducted in Spanish.

Adam Loraine, a member of the city’s Infrastructure and Sustainability Commission, acknowledged the wide range of priorities pegged in the statement, which included a desired balance between jobs and housing creation, diversity in the city’s recreational facilities and leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He also noted the interrelated nature of all the priorities captured in the draft in advocating for sustainability matters to be featured prominently among the priorities, adding issues like housing and traffic have connections with sustainability.

“Whether people are feeling it today or not, this is going to be a huge part of what San Mateo will be like in 2040,” he said.

Though she commended residents for their participation in previous meetings as well as staff for their efforts in drafting the statements, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Amourence Lee wondered if more time could be taken in honing the draft before it goes before the Planning Commission and City Council for review next year. Though videos and notes were taken at prior meetings held in the fall, city planner Julia Klein said some have yet to be made available online, resources Lee felt would be helpful to review before offering feedback on the drafts.

“It makes me really nervous about the pace that we’re moving at,” she said. “I strongly believe that words matter, these are the most important words that will matter in 2040.”

Klein said staff would work to post materials from the meeting online as soon as possible, and noted feedback offered over email and in future meetings, such as a bus tour slated for January, would continue to be considered as commissioners and councilmembers review the draft at their meetings in 2019.

Visit strivesanmateo.org for more information on the San Mateo’s General Plan update.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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