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Millbrae council pauses downtown community benefit district formation amid economic uncertainty
Summary
The council voted 5‑0 to pause and rescind petitions and to indefinitely continue related balloting steps for a proposed Millbrae Downtown and El Camino Real Community Benefit District, citing federal trade policy uncertainty and potential impacts on local businesses and key property owners.
The Millbrae City Council voted unanimously April 22 to pause efforts to form a proposed Millbrae Downtown and El Camino Real Community Benefit District (CBD) and to rescind submitted petitions that would have initiated a formal balloting process.
Community Development Director Andrew Mogensen told the council the ad hoc subcommittee — Mayor Fung and Vice Mayor Holiver — recommended pausing formation “due to growing economic uncertainty tied to evolving federal trade policies and the potential impacts on local businesses.” He said staff will notify property owners in the proposed district by mail if the council approves the recommendation.
Mayor Fung and several council members said the pause is temporary and reflects concern for downtown businesses, many of which are sensitive to trans‑Pacific travel and hotel occupancy. Vice Mayor Holiver noted that timing matters because of county assessor deadlines and that a pause now would likely delay any new district formation for at least a year.
Staff provided a weighted‑vote breakdown for the top 10 property owners in the proposed district at the council’s request. The list showed the top 10 owners account for roughly 37.05 percent of the weighted vote; among those were the City of Millbrae (5.35%), hotel owners including Starwood properties (combined about 7.4%), station‑area owners and other commercial property owners.
Multiple members of the public spoke in favor of moving forward with downtown improvement, but the council’s majority said the economic and tariff uncertainty — and the outsized share of assessments likely coming from hotels and station‑area properties — justified pausing formation. Mayor Fung said the pause gives the council time to “fine tune some of the details” and to bring the proposal back when conditions improve.
The council also voted to continue an associated consent resolution that would have authorized the city to sign a petition as a property owner; that item was continued indefinitely alongside the rescind/pause vote.
Council members emphasized that pausing the petition process was not the end of the effort. Council Member Rinaldi said the delay would allow additional outreach and refinement, while council members reiterated support for downtown revitalization once economic conditions are steadier.
Formal council actions on the item: a motion to accept the ad‑hoc subcommittee’s recommendation to pause and rescind the petition (mover: Mayor Fung; second: Councilmember Nguyen) passed 5‑0. A separate motion to continue the related petition authorization indefinitely also passed 5‑0.
