CITY OF SAN MATEO
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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 24 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 25-3112 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Community Development Department
MEETING DATE: June 17, 2024
SUBJECT:
By-Right Housing Opportunity Overlay District – Zoning Code and Map Amendments – Ordinance Introduction RECOMMENDATION:
Introduce an Ordinance amending San Mateo Municipal Code Title 27 Zoning, to add Chapter 27.94, Housing Opportunities Overlay District (H), which would allow certain types of housing projects by-right on specified parcels, and amending the San Mateo Zoning Map to establish the “H” overlay on 39 parcels; and introduce a separate ordinance reclassifying the zoning for 200 S. Fremont Street from R4-D to R4-D/H; and find that the ordinances are exempt from further environmental review pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 15183 (Projects Consistent With A Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning).
BACKGROUND:
Since 1969, California has required that all local governments (cities and counties) adequately plan to meet the housing needs of their community. Local governments meet this requirement by adopting housing elements, which are updated every 8 years. The housing element is a "chapter” of a city’s General Plan, which is also required by State law. However, it is the only element of the General Plan subject to State requirements for content, and the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) makes a determination regarding whether it is consistent with state law. State funding programs for transportation, infrastructure, and housing often require or consider a local jurisdiction’s compliance with housing element law and whether HCD has approved the housing element. In addition, non-compliance with housing element requirements could potentially affect a local jurisdiction’s ability to impose local zoning and land use controls over housing development and receive certain types of State funding and grants.
On May 20, 2024, the City Council adopted San Mateo’s 2023-2031 Housing Element to affirmatively further fair housing and accommodate the City’s 7,015-unit Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the Sixth Housing Element Cycle (2023-2031). The adopted Housing Element was submitted to HCD on May 24, 2024.
The Housing Element identifies how the City can accommodate its RHNA of 7,015 new units over the next eight years, and establishes goals, policies, and programs to help address the City’s current and future housing needs. Under Goal 1 – Production, the City commits to facilitate and support the production of new housing at all income levels, but especially affordable housing. Twenty policies with 52 implementing actions have been identified to support this goal.
One of the identified policies under the Production goal, Policy H 1.10, commits the City to establishing a by-right housing designation for housing opportunity sites identified in a prior housing element, pursuant to Government Code 65583.2(c).
Specifically, the implementation action within this policy requires the City to amend the Zoning Code and establish a by- right zoning designation for housing development projects in which at least 20 percent of the units proposed are affordable to lower income households on these reused sites. Zoning for these sites must allow for at least 30 units per
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acre to comply with the State law. These amendments need to be adopted to ensure that HCD can certify the City’s Housing Element. The adoption of the by-right ordinance was delayed beyond the statutory deadline of January 31, 2024, due to General Plan and Housing Element adoption hearings in early 2024. The City advised HCD of this delay and coordinated with HCD on the timing of the Housing Element and by-right ordinance. City staff shared a draft of the Ordinance with HCD for review and input on May 3, 2024, and HCD provided preliminary approval on May 6, 2024.
DISCUSSION:
To implement the General Plan and Housing Element policies, State law requires that the City review and update the Zoning Code to ensure that the review processes and requirements are compatible with the objectives, policies, and programs specified in the General Plan. San Mateo Municipal Code section 27.060.040(c) requires the Planning Commission to review amendments to the Zoning Code and make a recommendation to the City Council.
The proposed zoning code amendments (Attachments 1 and 2) would create a new chapter in the Zoning Code, namely Chapter 27.94, Housing Opportunities Overlay District (H) (“Ordinance”). The Ordinance would create eligibility parameters and review processes for housing development projects that meet the by-right requirements of Government Code 65583.2(c) and Policy 1.10 of the Housing Element. The Ordinance also amends the Zoning Map to create an H Overlay District on 40 identified parcels that were listed in prior housing elements as opportunity sites and thus qualify for this streamlined review process through the establishment of this overlay district. These sites include 35 nonvacant sites that were identified in the prior housing element and five (5) vacant sites that have been included in two or more consecutive housing elements and were not approved for development.
One Council member’s real property interest is within 500 feet of one of the eligible parcels, namely 200 S. Fremont. Staff therefore prepared a separate ordinance to rezone this property. The entire Council may first vote on the zoning text changes and overlay district, except for the parcel at 200 S. Fremont. Then, the rest of the Council may vote on rezoning the subject parcel while one Council member is recused. See Attachment 3 for a Parcel Disposition Table and a Map of the subject sites.
The Ordinance would also allow housing development projects that propose 20% of the units as affordable to lower income households to be reviewed and approved without discretionary review or environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(i). Qualifying housing projects compliant with the City’s Municipal Code and Objective Design Standards (approved by the Council on November 20, 2023) would be subject to Zoning Administrator approval without discretionary review or public hearings. All applicable standard conditions of approval may still be imposed on these projects. Since this approval would be ministerial, the Zoning Administrator decision for such projects would be final, and thus could not be appealed to the Planning Commission or City Council. This new process would allow further streamlining during the review process for all by-right housing projects proposed at these sites.
Collectively, if developed at 30 units per acre, the 40 identified sites would result in 1,007 housing units, out of which 220 units would be affordable to the lower income households. The sites may be developed at higher or lower densities as allowed by the underlying base zoning. All requirements and standards associated with the underlying base zoning would remain unchanged, and existing permitted uses would not be affected by the creation of the H Overlay District.
The zoning designation for by-right residential uses allowing 30 dwelling units per acre is within the density limits of the land use designations of the San Mateo General Plan 2040, and as set by Measure Y (the City’s voter approved density limits). The proposed code amendments will implement Policy H 1.10 of the Housing Element; therefore, the proposed Ordinance is consistent with the City’s adopted General Plan.
Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed amendments on May 28, 2024 , and recommended that Council adopt the proposed amendments to the zoning code and the zoning map to establish the H Overlay District. The Planning Commission also included an advisory recommendation that Council consider allowing by-right housing projects at the City’s existing inclusionary requirement (15% of base density) when prevailing wages are paid. Staff does not recommend
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incorporating the Planning Commission’s advisory recommendation into the Ordinance. The City’s adopted General Plan 2040 includes policies and actions that support local hiring and address living wages issues. Moreover, the Ordinance is narrowly focused on creating a specific zoning designation to comply with State law.
Next Steps
Following the City Council public hearing to introduce the Ordinance, it will be brought back for adoption through a second reading at a subsequent City Council meeting and would become effective 30 days after adoption. The final adopted version of the Ordinance will be shared with HCD to facilitate certification of the City’s Housing Element.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Policy work and code updates to support Housing Element implementation are accounted for within the Community Development Department’s annual budget, with funding for this activity coming from the Advance Planning Fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
The Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for the San Mateo General Plan 2040 analyzed new residential development of up to 19,764 new housing units and growth around the City through 2040. On March 18, 2024, the City Council certified the EIR. In accordance with California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines Section 15183, the Ordinance to establish a by-right residential overlay district and reclassify parcels with the overlay district (“project”) is exempt from further environmental review because the Project is consistent with the land use designation for the sites adopted as part of the General Plan 2040 for which an EIR was certified. Also, the residential development density allowed by the Ordinance is consistent with the development density established by zoning or general plan policies.
Applying Section 15183, there are no project specific effects that are peculiar to the project or the sites; there are no project specific impacts that the General Plan EIR failed to analyze as significant effects; there are no potentially significant off-site and cumulative impacts that the general plan EIR failed to evaluate; and there is no substantial new information which results in more severe impacts than anticipated by the General Plan EIR. Furthermore, any future development of sites specified in these code amendments would not constitute a “project” for CEQA purposes due to their non- discretionary nature, pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(i). A detailed analysis in support of this CEQA determination is included as Attachment 4.
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met. A public hearing notice of the proposed code amendments, pursuant to Government Code Sections 65090 and 65091, was published in the San Mateo Daily Journal, and posted at three public locations within the City. Mailed notices were provided to the 40 property owners that would qualify for the new H Overlay District and to the Department’s general notification list; and information about this initiative was sent out through the Department’s e-newsletter.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Staff has not received any public comments as of the publication of the agenda report. Public comments submitted after agenda publication will be posted to this item on the City’s Public Meeting Portal as “Post Packet Public Comments.”
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 - Draft Ordinance
Exhibit A: List of Parcels
Exhibit B: Ordinance Map
Att 2 – Draft Ordinance for 200 S. Fremont
Exhibit A Ordinance Map
Att 3 - Parcel Disposition Table and Map
Att 4 - CEQA Section 15183 Findings
STAFF CONTACT
Manira Sandhir, Planning Manager
CITY OF SAN MATEO
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[email protected]
650-522-7203
Steve Golden, Principal Planner
[email protected]
650-522-7215