Posted May 20, 2020, 10:30 PM
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heavy user of walkability
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Mission Bay, San Francisco
Posts: 3,148
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San Bruno
little tidbit from San Bruno
Quote:
Major San Bruno housing project is revived following city rejection
A year ago, San Bruno became the poster child for anti-housing politics when it rejected a 425-unit apartment complex despite the project’s compliance with the city’s transit corridor plan, which 70% of voters had approved.
The City Council’s no vote got statewide attention and prompted a threat from California’s Department of Housing and Community Development. City officials were warned that they were legally compelled to approve the project since it met all city requirements and that fines could be $600,000 a month.
The threat seemed to work: 10 months later, the property owner is back with a new plan for 427 units on the Mills Park site, a vacant office complex on El Camino Real. And this time it seems likely to pass, according to city officials.
On Monday night, San Bruno City Manager Jovan Grogan repeatedly said that the city doesn’t have the authority to reject the project during an online meeting.
The new Mills Park plan differs from the previous one in that it no longer features a Whole Foods on the ground floor, a concession to neighbors who complained it would create gridlock and make street parking tougher. The store has been replaced with two housing units, increased bike parking and a smaller 4,000-square-foot retail space.
The new proposal also no longer involved the Signature Development Group — the Oakland developer decided to walk after spending several years and $3 million on the first proposal. Longtime property owner G.W. Williams Co. is leading the development itself.
The 2019 no vote on the project was unusual because only one City Council member actually voted against it. While the project required three yes votes on the five-member council, two members recused themselves because they own property within 1,000 feet of the site. That meant that the project needed the support of all three remaining councilors — one of those, Marty Medina, voted no.
The latest plan comes as San Bruno faces a $9.8 million deficit in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, a number that could get worse if the coronavirus health emergency extends into the summer. As part of the Mills Park development agreement, G.W. Williams Co. has agreed to pay a $10 million fee and contribute $100,000 for bike and pedestrian street improvements.
Like other Peninsula cities, San Bruno has been rapidly adding jobs over the last decade, but housing production has been limited. San Bruno approved 119 units between 2016 and 2019, less than 10% of its state goal of 1,155 units, which is supposed to be met by 2023. The state has rarely taken action against cities that fall behind.
Williams also floated the possibility that if the city were to again reject the project, the owner would submit a much larger project allowed under SB35, which streamlined housing development near public transit. The SB35 alternative, which would not require city approval, would have 631 units and would lack the open space and setbacks the current scheme includes.
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