COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

 

PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT

 
 

DATE:

September 25, 2007

BOARD MEETING DATE:

October 16, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 
 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

 

FROM:

Lisa Grote, Director of Community Development

 

SUBJECT:

Consideration of adoption of a resolution in support of the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County’s application for Priority Development Area status for the El Camino Real corridor.

 
 

County File Number:

PLN 2007-00359

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Adopt the attached resolution (Attachment B) expressing County support of the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) of San Mateo County’s FOCUS application for Priority Development Area (PDA) status for the El Camino Real corridor (“the corridor”).

 

VISION ALIGNMENT

 

Commitment: Offer a full range of housing choices; redesign our urban environment to increase vitality, expand variety, and reduce congestion.

 

Goals 9, 10, 11, 12: Housing should exist for all income levels and for all generations of families; public transportation choices should be convenient, affordable, accessible and safe; new housing should be clustered with jobs and commercial services along transportation corridors; and land use decisions should consider transportation and other infrastructure needs as well as impacts on the environment and on surrounding communities.

 

The FOCUS/PDA program emphasizes infill and transit-oriented development. The intent of the program is to afford areas granted PDA status priority for competitive state and federal planning and capital improvement funding sources targeting infill and transit-oriented development. The El Camino corridor is a major transportation and transit route through San Mateo County, and the availability of planning and capital improvement funding for areas along the corridor would help make public transportation more convenient, affordable and accessible to residents located along the corridor; would help cluster new housing and other development along this transportation corridor; would take into consideration transportation and infrastructure needs; and by prioritizing clustered development, would limit impacts on the environment.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Proposal: Adoption of a resolution in support of C/CAG’s FOCUS/PDA application for the El Camino Boulevard corridor.

 

Report Prepared By: William Gibson, Project Planner, Telephone 650/363-1816

 

Applicant: Project initiated by San Mateo County Planning and Building Department staff.

 

Location: The ¼-mile area surrounding the entire length of El Camino Real throughout the entirety of San Mateo County.

 

Size and APNs: The ¼-mile area surrounding the entire length of El Camino Real throughout the entirety of San Mateo County; Multiple APNs.

 

Sphere-of-Influence: The Boulevard passes through multiple jurisdictions and spheres of influence, including most incorporated cities within the County, as well as unincorporated County territory.

 

Flood Zone: The Boulevard extends north-south throughout the entire County, and passes through multiple flood zones, including areas of minimal flooding and some areas subject to potential flooding. However, the PDA application does not propose specific projects in any area, and projects related to PDA funding would be evaluated for flood risk at the time of proposal, by the appropriate jurisdictions.

 

Environmental Evaluation: The resolution of support for the PDA application is not a project under CEQA. In addition, no specific projects related to PDA designation are proposed as part of the application. Projects funded by funds relating to PDA status for any portion of the El Camino corridor would be evaluated at the time of proposal, by the appropriate jurisdictions involved.

 

Setting: El Camino Real runs north-south through the entirety of the County.

 

DISCUSSION

 

A.

BACKGROUND

   
 

C/CAG has submitted an application for PDA status for a ¼-mile area along the length of the corridor throughout the entirety of San Mateo County. The PDA application process is part of ABAG’s FOCUS program. Areas designated as PDAs are eligible for priority state and federal funding sources aimed at infill and transit oriented development, including funding for planning and capital improvement. Designation of the corridor is consistent with the County’s housing, transportation, and environmental policies and goals. Passage of a resolution in support of the application would express the County’s continued support for these goals, and support for prioritization of the corridor as an appropriate location for infill and transit-oriented development, and would improve the application’s chance of approval.

   

B.

KEY ISSUES

   
 

Conformance with the General Plan

   
 

Support for C/CAG’s PDA application for the corridor conforms with the following General Plan goals and policies:

   
 

7.3

Infrastructure” calls for distribution of land uses where public services and facilities exist or can be feasibly provided. C/CAG’s PDA application supports prioritization of development along the corridor, where public services and facilities are in many cases already located.

     
 

7.7

Land Use Patterns” emphasizes the designation of land uses in order to achieve orderly, understandable, coherent and workable land use patterns. Designation of the corridor as a priority site for higher-density and transit-oriented development is consistent with this goal.

     
 

7.16

Location of Land Use Designations” emphasizes locating land use designations in a way that discourages urban sprawl. By prioritizing development along the \corridor, C/CAG’s PDA application would achieve these goals by promoting development contiguous with other areas designated for development, promoting density near transportation routes, and promoting development adjacent to existing infrastructure.

     
 

Support for the PDA application is also consistent with the policies of the Colma Area Plan, which calls for planning for mixed-use development that allows more efficient use of land, and higher density development.

     

C.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

   
 

The resolution of support for the PDA application is not a project under CEQA. In addition, no specific projects related to PDA designation are proposed as part of the application. Projects funded by funds relating to PDA status for any portion of the corridor would be evaluated at the time of proposal, by the appropriate jurisdictions involved.

   

D.

PUBLIC COMMENT

   
 

No public comment required.

   

E.

REVIEWING AGENCIES/OTHER REVIEWING ORGANIZATIONS

   
 

San Mateo County Counsel

   

FISCAL IMPACT

 

The proposed project would have no direct fiscal impact on the County. In principle, the FOCUS/PDA program’s intent to incentivize higher density development along transportation and transit corridors might result in greater property tax base for the County, depending on the resultant amount of development realized. At worst, the project’s fiscal impact would be neutral; the project would have no negative fiscal impact on the County.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

A.

Recommended Action

B.

Resolution of Support

   
   

Attachment A

 
 

COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT

 

RECOMMENDED ACTION

 
 

Permit File Number: PLN 2007-00359

Board Meeting Date: September 25, 2007

 

Prepared By:

William Gibson

For Adoption By: Board of Supervisors

 

Project Planner

 
 

RECOMMENDED ACTION

 

Adopt the attached resolution (Attachment B) expressing San Mateo County’s support for the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) of San Mateo County’s FOCUS application for Priority Development Area (PDA) status for the El Camino Real corridor.