Month: January 2025

San Mateo County releases bold new housing plan, while Atherton gets credit for infeasible proposals A tale of two housing elements

Evelyn Stivers

San Mateo County housing element update

San Mateo County released a new draft of its housing element last Thursday, marking an important step toward achieving housing element certification. 

The draft makes several meaningful changes to better support affordable housing development, including commitments to: 

  • Change development standards to allow “low minimum lot sizes, no minimum lot area per unit, no minimum lot sizes for attached multifamily ownership projects, no FAR for residential development, reduced minimum setbacks of no more than 5 to 10 foot front, rear, and side, parking ratios of one space per unit or less, and maximum heights of at least 60 to 70 feet” (pdf p. 44)
  • Add a new program to pursue “Identification of additional unincorporated areas appropriate for changes to zoning, beyond those identified in Program 11.2 that are required to meet the County’s RHNA, in order to further diversify the County’s housing stock and address fair housing issues and goals identified in Appendix G (Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing)” (pdf p. 46). This may open up potential for the County to pursue rezoning in West Menlo Park and other high-cost areas we identified that so far have not been included in the housing element. 
  • “Monitor the annual issuance of permits for residential development in the County’s Urban Midcoast, and if the 40-unit limit on annual permit issuance poses a constraint to development during the Housing Element Period, amend the limit to allow additional permit issuance” (pdf p. 46)–this could create more opportunities for coastal housing

The draft also includes new commitments to upgrade infrastructure in North Fair Oaks (p. 51) and maintains prior commitments to promote farmworker housing on the South Coast, incentivize accessible housing for the IDD community, and rezone in various areas for increased housing densities. 

Because it is long past the due date, the County will need to pursue rezoning before it can be fully certified–a process that might take a year or more. The newest draft includes a number of meaningful pro-housing improvements on top of strong commitments to policy change the County had already made.  

Atherton housing element update

Atherton received a review letter from HCD indicating the town is close to achieving housing element certification, even though Atherton has made few meaningful changes from prior housing element drafts. 

Atherton’s most recent draft housing element claims the town can meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals with: 

  • 208 ADUs
  • 81 new single-family homes
  • 48 homes from SB 9 subdivisions and duplexes
  • 96 homes on a handful of sites owned by local school districts

The housing element makes commitments to policies that will help realize these goals, including incremental rezoning and incentives for accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The city has entered into a creative partnership with HIP Housing to help connect local employees to lower-cost ADUs. 

However, among some unlikely claims, Atherton projects 90% of new ADUs will be affordable to lower- or moderate-income households, and that Menlo College and Menlo School will build affordable multi-family homes on two parking lots each. Both schools have suggested they will need public subsidy to afford building housing, subsidy that Atherton has no plans to provide. 

As it has implemented its new zoning to reflect the goals of its housing elements, Atherton has added additional constraints to multi-family development. Some of these constraints include 

  • A 12-foot landscape screening requirement between properties, imposing large landscaping costs on new residents (p. 17 of the new zoning code); 
  • Parking requirements tying the parking minimum to bedroom count, so a one-bedroom home requires one spot whereas a two-bedroom home requires two. As a result, Atherton is dis-incentivizing family-sized homes (p. 29);
  • Window detail requirements mandating windows on the second story or higher must be elevated at least 54 inches above the floor and made “translucent but not transparent”–essentially eliminating the ability to build windows on second or third stories that future multi-family residents can look out of (p. 26);
  • A maximum of four primary entryways to any one building, dis-incentivizing townhomes (p.19); and more. 

As part of its housing element, the town is currently studying implementing an inclusionary zoning ordinance or housing in-lieu fee. A housing in-lieu fee on single-family mansions could help provide essential funding for affordable homes; an inclusionary zoning ordinance, mandating a minimum percentage of new market-rate multi-family housing be affordable, risks imposing additional costs that could make such development infeasible. Since Atherton has never had multi-family housing construction of any kind, it would make more sense to focus on an in-lieu fee. 

In past letters, HLC has advocated for Atherton to pursue policies that would more effectively increase housing opportunities in the community, such as broader rezonings along El Camino Real. Atherton has made some meaningful progress in this direction, but it can continue to more effectively promote homes for all who need them with broader rezoning and more flexible zoning standards. We will continue to advocate that every community does its part to meet regional housing needs, including Atherton and beyond.