San Mateo height limits

Jul 31, 2018
Jul 31, 2018 Updated Apr 13, 2025
6

Editor,

Three years ago, I was evicted after 10 years in my San Mateo apartment by new ownership along with all the other tenants in the building.

(6) comments

kevinburke Jul 31, 2018 9:29am

The problem is if we don't build any new housing, the apartments that are currently rented by low and middle income residents are going to get really expensive.

Rich people are moving here whether we want them to or not. If we don't build housing for them they're going to bid up rents and displace existing residents from older, cheaper apartment buildings.

kevinburke Jul 31, 2018 9:31am

If you want to add housing without adding more traffic, I would suggest writing the City Council and asking them to lower parking minimums. Right now every new 3 bedroom apartment requires 2.2 new parking spaces (and, probably, cars). If you don't want more cars make it more difficult for new residents to bring them.

Not adding housing also causes traffic. We force a lot of people who would rather walk, bike, or take the bus to work to live so far away that they have no option but to drive. Longer commutes == cars are on the road for more time == more traffic.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/daily-commute-takes-its-toll/article_d8343772-ca8b-11e7-b5f5-6f04699f16d6.html

TheUrbanist Jul 31, 2018 10:48am

Kevin is completely right. Bill, if your concern is affordability, maintaining height and density limits is a sure fire way to make the area UNaffordable. The last decades of underbuilding residences relative to job growth are evidence of that. And concerns about water can be addresses with vigilant Environmental Impact Reports. let the engineers sort that out. Folks who want affordable living, diversity and low traffic should be advocating for dense mid-rise residential coupled with enhanced walking and biking infrastructure to get people out of cars.

Thomas Morgan Jul 31, 2018 4:56pm

Kevin, I do not think you can force better off people to rent market rate housing. Part of the housing problem is related to an individuals credit. A landlord will select the person with the best credit and people with good credit will go after the most affordable housing, and get it. Leaving only the most expensive units available. Not sure if you have seen the 2017 RHNA numbers for San Mateo 1,076 of the 1,242 (just under 87%) in 3 years of a 9 year plan. While over the same period only 169 units (most 94 of these units going to moderate income) affordable have been built over the same period. RHNA would imply a 59.9% affordable housing requirement, yet most cities only require 10 percent. I would like to see the the general plan update correct this, the currently proposed 20% is not good enough.

kevinburke Jul 31, 2018 5:43pm

If you can find a funding source or a magical building technology that makes projects pencil when you have to build low density housing at 20% BMR, 2.2 parking spaces per unit, as well as pray your application makes it through a NIMBY-dominated 2 year long application process, let's do it, I'm all ears. Otherwise 20% of 0 new apartments is going to get you 0 new BMR units.

89% of the San Mateo housing stock was built before 1990. You are contending that if we build a ton of new market rate housing with nice things like earthquake retrofits and air conditioning, people won't actually want to pay premiums rent them. I don't think that's true - vacancy rates on the Peninsula are about 3% - and if it were true, the new housing developers would have to lower rents, which if you were forgetting, was the goal all along.

Thomas Morgan Jul 31, 2018 5:45pm

Sorry that is 8 years, standardized form with 9 years.

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