CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 8
7 9
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 25 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-3111 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Community Development Department
MEETING DATE: June 17, 2024
SUBJECT:
1528 S. El Camino Real - Zoning Map Amendment and Modifications to an Existing Mixed-Use Building (PA-2023-057) RECOMMENDATION:
Introduce an Ordinance to approve a Zoning Map Amendment to rezone a portion of the site at 1528 El Camino Real from R3 to C2-1/R4; and adopt a Resolution to approve the Site Plan and Architectural Review (SPAR) for interior changes and modifications to the conditions of approval for an existing mixed-use building to replace ten (10) live-work units with ten (10) residential units; and determine the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Section 15183, based on the Findings for Approval and subject to the Conditions of Approval.
BACKGROUND:
In 1998, the City Council approved a new four-story, 60,790 square-foot, mixed-use building with commercial and office uses, and ten (10) live-work units, at 1528 S. El Camino Real. The project included a parcel map to merge three parcels separately zoned as R-3 and C2-1/R4, which resulted in a parcel with split zoning. Condition No. 69 imposed restrictions on the live-work units that the live-work units “shall be considered a residential occupancy” and the residential portion shall be no less than 540 square feet or 25% of the unit floor area, whichever is larger. In addition, the project received height and intensity bonuses to exceed the maximum allowable height and floor area ratio (FAR) of the base zoning district, given the mixed-use project included a residential component and provided amenities beyond the city requirements.
The property owner reported that since the building has been occupied, these live-work units have been challenging to occupy for their intended use. In 2020, a code enforcement case documented that these live-work units did not include a residential component and were instead used solely as office spaces. To correct these on-site violations, the Applicant seeks to modify the building to convert the 10 live-work units to 10 residential units. No expansion is proposed. The zoning map amendment allows for reconfiguration of the building’s interior space.
The site is currently split-zoned, with the front portion along El Camino Real zoned C2-1/R4 (Regional/Community Commercial with Residential Overlay District - Mixed Use), and the rear portion along Jasmine Street zoned R3 (Multiple Family Dwellings-Medium Density). The existing building straddles both zoning designations; the use is office uses on the ground floor within the R3 zone. The zoning map amendment would redesignate the rear of the lot from R3 to C2-1/R4 to create one zoning designation for the whole site and allow for the entire mixed-use building to contain commercial, office, and residential uses.
The Planning Commission reviewed the project application and unanimously recommended that the City Council approve the zoning map amendment and Site Plan and Architectural review (SPAR). The Draft Ordinance for the zoning map amendment is included in Attachment 1 and the Draft Resolution for the SPAR is included in Attachment 2.
Project Description
CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 8
7 9
The proposed project includes a zoning map amendment, interior improvements to establish ten (10) new residential units within the building, and modifications to the conditions of approval to remove the live-work requirements. The building, as originally approved, included ten (10) one-bedroom live-work units for a total of approximately 26,609 square feet, of which 5,400 square feet was required to be for the residential portion of each unit. The proposed modification would create ten residential units (four studios, five one-bedrooms, and one two-bedroom apartments) ranging in size from 667 to 1,152 square feet, totaling approximately 9,250 square feet within the existing building. The proposed project plans are included as Attachment 3 and the original plans approved in 1997 are included as Attachment 4.
The project site is located on an irregularly shaped parcel totaling 42,003 square feet (0.96 acres). The site has two street frontages and is bounded by S. El Camino Real to the east, Jasmine Street to the west, commercial and residential buildings to the north, and commercial buildings to the south. The site is designated Mixed-Use Medium II in the City’s General Plan 2040 Land Use Plan.
The existing four-story mixed-use building currently consists of professional and medical offices, a dance studio, a yoga studio, a massage facility, and a below-grade garage and surface parking with 112 parking spaces in total. The site is approximately one-half mile from the Hayward Park Caltrain Station. A location map showing the project site, its vicinity, and adjacent zoning designations is included as Attachment 5.
APPLICABLE CODE AND POLICY REVIEW:
General Plan and Zoning Map Amendment
The General Plan 2040 Land Use Map (Attachment 6) designates the project site as Mixed-Use Medium II. The Mixed-Use Medium II land use designation was established to provide for medium-density mixed-use buildings that provide a variety of commercial, office, and/or residential uses within the same site or building.
The current R3 zoning at the rear of the property does not allow for standard office or commercial zoning, and therefore is not consistent with the General Plan 2040 land use designation. However, the requested C2-1/R4 zone would allow for the proposed project, as the C2-1 zone supports a broad range of office, retail, and commercial uses and the Residential Mixed-Use Overlay District allows residential uses as part of a mixed-use development. Therefore, the proposed amendment would align the existing development with a zoning designation that is compatible with the General Plan 2040 land use designation of Mixed-Use Medium II. In addition, the proposed rezoning will eliminate the split-zoning and result in a single zone of C2-1/R4 throughout the entire lot.
There is no net loss in residential capacity with this zoning map amendment and the rezoning is consistent with State law (Housing Crisis Act, Government Code Section 66300(b)(1)(A)).The proposed zoning map amendment also does not involve a decrease in the allowable building height, maximum allowable density, or FAR; nor would it increase requirements for lot size, setbacks, or other development requirements or standards that would lessen the intensity of housing.
Interior Improvements
The proposed project consists of interior modifications to the existing four-story building as detailed in the table below.
The building’s total square footage and parking spaces would remain the same.
Floors Floor Area Allowed Uses per PA-1997-033 Proposed Uses 1 17,529 sq.ft. •R3 zone: residential recreation area
•C2-1/R4 zone: commercial
Office only
2 18,390 sq.ft.
•R3 zone: Live-work Units #1, 2, 3, 4
(downstairs)
•C2-1/R4 zone: commercial
Four residential units (one studio, two one-bedroom,
and one two-bedrooms), offices, and health studios
3 16,528 sq.ft.
•R3 zone: Live-work Units #1, 2, 3, 4 (upstairs)
•C2-1/R4 zone: Live-work Units #6, 7, 8
(downstairs) and #5,9
Six residential units (three studios and three one-
bedrooms) and office uses
4 7,509 sq.ft. •R3 zone: Roof deck Office only
CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 8
7 9
•C2-1/R4 zone: Live-Work Units #6, 7, 8
(upstairs), and Live-Work Unit #10
The project will maintain its existing off-street parking layout with 112 unassigned parking spaces, of which 84 are in the subterranean garage and 28 are in the surface parking lot. This project is located within one-half mile of the Hayward Park Caltrain Station and therefore is not required to provide off-street parking spaces for residential or commercial uses, pursuant to Assembly Bill (AB) 2097. A full list of the required and proposed changes to the building are listed in the project data sheet (Attachment 7).
Modification to Conditions of Approval
With the proposed interior modifications to remove the live-work units and replace them with independent residential units, two Conditions of Approval from the 1997 Council approval need to be updated to align with this change. To remove the live-work requirement and ensure that residential uses are maintained as part of the project to account for the allowed FAR and height increases that were approved with the original application, the Condition #69 would be updated as follows:
69. RESIDENTIAL UN–TS - The building shall maintain a minimum of ten (10) residential units for the life of the project, unless modified by a City-approved entitlement, in order to remain consistent with the requirements of PA97-033, through which height and intensity bonuses were provided in exchange for a residential component and specified amenities. The residential units shall be the same sizes or larger and provide the same or greater number of bedrooms as the approved plans submitted on December 15, 2023. (PLANNING) In addition, Condition #57 which sets restrictions related to the live-work units would be deleted. The proposed changes maintain the residential components of the approved mixed-use building and is consistent with the Senate Bill (SB) 330, as described above. Besides modification to the conditions for the live-work units, other departments and divisions also provided or updated corresponding conditions of approval based on current standards for the interior improvements. The conditions of approval from PA-1997-033, previously adopted by City Council on May 18, 1998, are superseded by those in PA-2023-033, and the full list of proposed effective conditions are included as Exhibit A under Attachment 2. With these updated conditions, the Site Plan and Architecture Review would be in compliance with all applicable requirements.
Details on the findings for approval are included in Attachment 2.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The applicant held a formal Neighborhood Informational Meeting on September 19, 2023. The applicant’s summary of the neighborhood meeting is included as Attachment 8. The Planning Commission heard the item on April 23, 2024. One member of the public expressed concerns about ingress and egress and inquired about the scope of work relating to the floor plan reconfiguration.
NEXT STEPS:
If the Council approves the project, the Zoning Map Amendment Ordinance will be brought back for adoption (second reading) at a subsequent meeting. The ordinance would be effective 30 days after adoption.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
In accordance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 15183 (Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning), the zoning map amendment from R3 to C2-1/R4, the interior changes to the building and the modifications to the conditions of approval are exempt from further environmental review because the project is consistent with the development density established by the General Plan policies for which an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was certified on March 18, 2024. In addition, the map amendment to C2-1/R4 is consistent with the current General Plan land use designation for the property; no additional floor area or exterior modification to the existing building are proposed; there are no project specific effects which are peculiar to the project or its site; there are no project specific impacts which the General Plan EIR failed to analyze as significant effects; there are no potentially significant off- site and cumulative impacts which 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
CITY OF SAN MATEO
4 8
7 9
the site would be subject to a project specific environmental assessment consistent with the CEQA statutes and guidelines in effect at that time.
NOTICE PROVIDED:
In accordance with Government Code section 65090, notice of this Public Hearing was published in the San Mateo Daily Journal newspaper more than ten days in advance of this City Council meeting. In accordance with Government Code section 65091 and the City’s Municipal Code noticing requirements in Section 27.08.050, this hearing was noticed to the following parties ten days in advance of the City Council meeting:
Property owners, residential tenants and business tenants within 1,000 feet of the project site; The City’s “900 List” which contains nearly 100 Homeowner Associations, Neighborhood Associations, local utilities, media, and other organizations interested in city-wide planning projects; The City’s Planning “Notify Me” email list; and,
The interested parties list, which includes interested individuals who contacted the City and requested to be added to the project notification list.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Draft Ordinance for Zoning Map Amendment Exhibit A – Zoning Map
Attachment 2 – Proposed Resolution for SPAR with Findings Exhibit A – Modified Conditions of Approval (Clean Copy) Attachment 3 – PA-2023-057 – Proposed Project Plans
Attachment 4 – PA-1997-033 – Approved Plans
Attachment 5 – Location and Zoning Maps
Attachment 6 – General Plan 2040 Land Use Map
Attachment 7 – Project Data Sheet
Attachment 8 – Neighborhood Meeting Summary
STAFF CONTACT
Elaine Ling, AICP, Principal Planner
[email protected]
(650) 522-7216