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1 CITY OF SAN MATEO
RESOLUTION NO. ____ (2026)
ADOPTING A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT TO AMEND THE PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED 2023-2031 HOUSING
ELEMENT, IN ORDER TO AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHER FAIR HOUSING AND TO COMPLY WITH STATE LAW
WHEREAS, the Legislature has found that, “California has a housing supply and affordability crisis of historic proportions. The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront this crisis are hurting millions of Californians, robbing future generations of the chance to call California home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining the state’s environmental and climate objectives.” (Gov. Code Section 65589.5); and WHEREAS, the Legislature has further found that, “Among the consequences of those actions are discrimination against low-income and minority households, lack of housing to support employment growth, imbalance in jobs and housing, reduced mobility, urban sprawl, excessive commuting, and air quality deterioration.” (Gov. Code Section 65589.5); and
WHEREAS, the Legislature adopted the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330) which states, “In 2018, California ranked 49th out of the 50 states in housing units per capita… California needs an estimated 180,000 additional homes annually to keep up with population growth, and the Governor has called for 3.5 million new homes to be built over 7 years;” and
WHEREAS, State Housing Element Law (Government Code Sections 65580 et seq.) requires that the City Council adopt a housing element for the eight-year period of 2023-2031 to accommodate the City of San Mateo (City) regional housing need allocation (RHNA) of 7,015 housing units, comprised of 1,777 very low-income units, 1,023 low-income units, 1,175 moderate-income units, and 3,040 above moderate-income units; and WHEREAS, the City prepared its 2023-2031 Housing Element (“Housing Element”) in compliance with State Housing Element Law and has identified sites that can accommodate sufficient housing units to meet the City’s RHNA plus a buffer; and
WHEREAS, on May 20, 2024, the City Council adopted a General Plan Amendment to repeal the previously adopted Housing Element and adopted the revised Housing Element for the Sixth Housing Cycle (2023-2031); and WHEREAS, on July 23, 2024, the City received a letter from the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) stating that the adopted Housing Element was in substantial compliance with State Housing Element Law; and
WHEREAS, consistent with a settlement agreement with the Housing Action Coalition, the City of San Mateo is revising the Housing Element by updating the Housing Sites Inventory to remove seven sites, add additional sites, identify sites that cannot be used for “no net loss,” update site capacities based on the voter- approved Measure T and add new pipeline project sites, along with corresponding changes to Housing Element Appendix C (Housing Resources and Sites Inventory list). The amendments also include minor updates to Implementation Plan action items and text changes in the main document to reflect these changes. Collectively, these changes are referred to herein as the “2023-2031 Housing Element Amendments”; and WHEREAS, as provided in Government Code Section 65350 et seq., adoption of the Housing Element constitutes a General Plan Amendment; and
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65354 requires that the Planning Commission make a written recommendation to the City Council on the adoption of a General Plan Amendment; and 1 2
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1 WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65353(a) and City of San Mateo Municipal Code Section
27.06.040(b) require the Planning Commission to review and provide a recommendation to the City Council on General Plan Amendments; and
WHEREAS, as provided in Government Code Sections 65352 – 65352.5, on July 26, 2025, the City mailed a public notice to all California Native American tribes on the contact list provided by the Native American Heritage Commission and other entities listed; and
WHEREAS, no California Native American tribe requested consultation; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Government Code Section 65585(b), on October 10, 2025, the City published the Housing Element Amendments and requested public comment for a seven-day review period; and WHEREAS, after completion of the seven-day review period where the City did not receive any comments on the Housing Element Amendments, on October 20, 2025, the City submitted the Housing Element Amendments to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD); and WHEREAS, on December 18, 2025, the City received a letter from HCD determining that the City’s amended Housing Element would continue to be in substantial compliance with Government Code Section 65580 et seq. and would be found to be in substantial compliance with state law once the Housing Element Amendments were adopted locally; and
WHEREAS, on January 27, 2026, the Planning Commission conducted a duly and properly noticed public hearing to receive public comment and consider this Resolution and the 2023-2031 Housing Element Amendments, reviewed the Housing Element Amendments and amended Appendix C, including HCD’s comments, the agenda report and all attachments, and oral and written public comments and voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt the 2023-2031 Housing Element Amendments based on the findings listed in this resolution; and
WHEREAS, on February 23, 2026, the City Council conducted a duly and properly noticed public hearing to take public testimony and consider this Resolution regarding the 2023-2031 Housing Element Amendments and amended Appendix C, including HCD’s comments, the agenda report and all attachments, the Planning Commission recommendation and oral and written public comments.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA HEREBY finds and determines that, based on substantial evidence in the record, that:
1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference.
2. The 2023-2031 Housing Element Amendments were reviewed for conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and are found to be exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that the proposed amendments (which propose no rezonings or intensification of land use) would not have a significant effect on the environment. The proposed amendments involve an update to the Housing Element’s Sites Inventory, associated text amendments to align with these Sites Inventory updates and minor updates to various policies, programs, and actions to support meeting the City’s RHNA and AFFH goals. The 2023-2031 Housing Element is strictly a policy document that does not provide entitlements to any specific development projects and would not result in any direct or indirect physical changes to the environment. The proposed amendments are aligned with, and do not change, the Housing Element functioning as a policy document. Further, the proposed amendments do not include specific amendments to any land use regulations at this time, but rather update the policies and programs that will guide future implementation actions. Any subsequent 1 2
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1 implementation actions that include amendments to the City’s land use or zoning regulations would be subject to separate CEQA review at the time those amendments are prepared, if required. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the amendments to the City of San Mateo 2023-2031 Housing Element would not have a significant effect on the environment and are therefore exempt from CEQA review.
3. In accordance with Government Code Section 65300.5, the 2023-2031 Housing Element Amendments are internally consistent with the Strive San Mateo General Plan 2040 that was adopted on March 18, 2024; and as required by state law and San Mateo Municipal Code Section 27.06.040(b), the Planning Commission has reviewed and provided a written recommendation to the City Council on this General Plan Amendment.
4. The Housing Element Amendments substantially comply with the Housing Element Law, as provided in Government Code 65580 et seq., and contain all provisions required by the Housing Element Law as demonstrated in the Compliance with Statutory Provisions Table, adopted by City Council on May 20, 2024 in Resolution No. 37 (2024). The Housing Element Amendments revise specific sections of the document and did not eliminate or materially change the content that was previously determined to be consistent with state law, and HCD has determined that the Housing Element will continue to be in substantial compliance with state law once the Housing Element Amendments are adopted.
5. Based on substantial evidence in the record, the existing uses on the non-vacant sites identified in the Sites Inventory to accommodate the City’s RHNA are likely to be discontinued during the planning period and/or do not need to be discontinued to accommodate the assigned housing units, and therefore do not constitute an impediment to planned residential development on the site during the planning period. Government Code Section 65583.2(g)(2) requires that any jurisdiction relying on non-vacant sites to meet more than 50 percent of the RHNA for lower-income households must make findings based on substantial evidence that the existing use on the non-vacant site is not an impediment to residential development during the planning period. In the City of San Mateo, 95 percent of the RHNA for lower- income unit capacity is on non-vacant sites (190 of 199 sites are non-vacant). The City has provided such substantial evidence in Appendix C of the revised Housing Element that the existing uses will be discontinued and/or will not be an impediment to residential development during the planning period based on the physical characteristics, existing uses, redevelopment potential (including improvement to land value ratio, floor area ratio, age of structures, existing height, lot coverage and known developer/owner interest), location and context, local knowledge, and environmental and infrastructure constraints.
6. The City Council hereby adopts the 2023-2031 Housing Element Amendments in their current form, which have been found by HCD to be in substantial compliance with all applicable state statutes and HCD requirements. All other provisions of the Housing Element and its appendices shall remain effective and unchanged.
7. Sections 1-5 and 7-9 shall become effective upon adoption of this resolution by the City Council. Section 6 relating to the Housing Element Amendments shall become effective upon receipt by the City of written confirmation from HCD that the Housing Element, as amended by the Housing Element Amendments, substantially conforms with state law.
8. The City Manager or their designee is hereby directed to file all necessary materials with HCD for HCD to find that the Housing Element is in conformance with State Housing Element Law and is further directed and authorized to make all non-substantive changes to the Housing Element to make it internally consistent or to address any non-substantive changes or amendments requested by HCD to achieve certification.
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1 9. The Community Development Director or their designee is hereby directed to distribute copies of the revised Housing Element in the manner provided in Government Code Sections 65357 and 65589.7.