Date: February 13, 2026
Time: 12:00pm – 3:00pm PST
Where: Zoom

Learn the basics of zoning reform to make housing easier to build in the City of San Mateo and jurisdictions throughout San Mateo County!
Zoning controls most aspects of what kind of housing you can build: Whether you can build a house or an apartment, a business or a parking lot. This training will overview the basics of zoning, best practices for reform, and next steps for ongoing zoning update processes happening in San Mateo and beyond.
This presentation will feature architects Elaine Uang and Alfred Twu, both of whom have extensive experience navigating the infamously onerous zoning codes of cities around the Bay Area to create beautiful buildings.

Spanish interpretation available!

Meet the Speakers!

Elaine Uang, Architect with Van Meter Williams Pollack (and HLC Board Member!)
Elaine is passionate about crafting human centered places and good community design, and has extensive experience both with physical design and engaging communities in the design process. She joined VMWP in 2018 to merge her residential architecture design skills with her interest in housing policy, planning and community design.  Before joining VMWP, Elaine ran a residential architecture and community design practice and co-founded housing and transportation advocacy group. She holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia and B.A in Human Biology from Stanford University. She lives with her family in a historic structure that was the first post office of Palo Alto.

Alfred Twu, Architect and Berkeley Planning Commissioner
Alfred is dedicated to helping people understand and improve our communities. With extensive experience in planning, building codes, and problem-solving, Alfred works as an architect and as an artist, designing housing and infrastructure, and producing graphics on housing and transportation policy to make complex city planning processes easily understandable and accessible to the public at large. Alfred also serves as a member of the Berkeley Planning Commission and the Berkeley Rent Board, working on issues including zoning, tenant protections, habitability, and adapting to climate change.