Director reports Board adopted housing element; rezoning and zoning amendments will follow

At the March 26 meeting Planning Department staff reported that the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on March 25 adopted the county’s updated housing element, a step staff described as critical to seeking state certification. The director told the Planning Commission that the next major task is pursuing zoning amendments to implement the housing element and increase allowed residential density where needed to meet the county's RHNA allocation.

The director said the county remains noncompliant with state housing requirements until zoning amendments are adopted and the state certifies the housing element. "Until we complete those zoning amendments and obtain the state certification, we remain noncompliant, and there are consequences associated with that," the director said, noting two consequences discussed in the meeting: ineligibility for certain grants and the potential for developers to invoke the so‑called "builder's remedy" for projects that qualify under state law. Staff emphasized it has not seen any builder's remedy projects to date but that zoning amendments outside the coastal zone could satisfy some site‑capacity requirements.

Staff outlined likely steps: identifying parcels where zoning can be revised to allow greater density, preparing environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, notifying and consulting local advisory committees where applicable, and processing recommendations to the Board of Supervisors (the Board is the final decision maker). The director also said the county prepared an assessment of fair housing to avoid concentrating lower‑income housing in a single area, and that the housing element included a sites inventory providing some buffer above the assigned RHNA.

Commissioners asked how the rezoning process works, whether interested parties have already been contacted and how the county will be monitored on progress. The director answered that the housing element development included public outreach and that the county will submit annual implementation reports to the state monitoring progress toward housing production targets; if production lags, staff may prepare additional zoning amendments during the cycle. The director urged commissioners to keep zoning-amendment work on a high priority.

Staff announced a study session on the long-range work program for April 9 and said the housing-implementation effort will be a top long-range priority for the department.