The real threat to San Mateo

State law didn’t ban parking. It ended the requirement that every new home come bundled with a fixed number of stalls, whether residents want them or not. Homebuilders can now provide the parking their buyers and renters will actually use — no more, no less.

That matters because parking is astoundingly expensive. A single structured parking stall in the Bay Area costs $50,000 or more to build, and the bill for it shows up in every mortgage and lease — whether the household owns a car or not. The “2.3 cars per household” figure Isoardi keeps citing averages every garage in California — suburban two-car driveways, rural ranches, the works. It tells you nothing about who’s actually living in a downtown apartment or condo near a Caltrain station.

Mandates carry costs that don’t appear on any sticker price: homes that never get built and daycares that never open. The Gateway project Brady cites includes 140 bike parking spaces. Homebuilders aren’t sentimental — they build what their residents will use.

If you’re worried about property values, your neighbor’s new building isn’t the threat. The real threat is a region so unaffordable our kids can’t move back and our employers can’t hire.

Max Mautner

San Mateo