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San Mateo council approves 2024 annual progress reports for housing element, general plan and housing successor
Summary
Council voted unanimously on March 17 to adopt three annual progress reports and direct staff to submit required state reports; staff presenters highlighted permitting, ADU and pipeline activity and owners noted long timelines for large projects.
San Mateo — The City Council on March 17 unanimously approved three 2024 annual progress reports (APRs) covering the housing element, the general plan and the housing successor agency and directed the city manager to submit the reports to the appropriate state agencies.
Lede: The council approved the 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report to the California Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and the 2024 Housing Successor Agency Annual Report to the California Department of Finance. The motion passed 5‑0.
Nut graf: Staff said the reports document early progress in a new RHNA cycle, building‑permit activity that counts toward RHNA, a robust development pipeline and a number of state‑law compliance steps such as ADU and SB9 permit reporting. Councilmembers pressed staff on staffing, timelines and how to move projects through entitlement and permitting without sacrificing community review.
Key presentation points: Rachel Horst, housing manager, and Steve Golden, principal planner, summarized statutory requirements and local practice. Staff noted the city adopted the 2023–2031 housing element on May 20, 2024 and HCD certified it July 23, 2024. The general plan (Strive San Mateo 2040) was adopted March 18, 2024 and this APR marks its first year of reporting.
Project and units in 2024: Staff reported building permits and completions that count toward RHNA, including Peninsula Heights (67 permits counted in 2024 toward a 290‑unit project with 29 affordable units total), 470 Seventh/Ninth Avenue (entitled in 2024; permits issued in 2025), and completed projects reported in 2024: Kiku Crossing (225 fully affordable units), 303 Baldwin (64 rental units, six affordable) and 3069 East Keene (54 rental units, five affordable).
Accessory dwelling units and SB9: Steve Golden reported 84 ADU applications were submitted in 2024, 64 ADU permits were issued and seven ADU applications required discretionary review; 78% of ADU permits were in high‑resource areas. Regarding SB9, staff received five SB9 preliminary applications (three ministerial, two discretionary); two were considered complete in 2024 and one discretionary application was appealed to and upheld by the Planning Commission.
Public comment and council questions: Jeremy Levine praised staff work and urged the city to accelerate permitting timelines and increase staff capacity to process the growing number of applications. During council Q&A, staff said an internal review of processing, use of consultants as needed and a forthcoming comprehensive zoning update would address capacity and process improvements. Director of Community Development Zach Dahl said the city plans to publish an RFP for zoning code update consulting and to phase the code rewrite to concentrate on priority study areas.
Vote and direction: Council voted 5‑0 to approve the APRs and directed the city manager to submit the three state reports by the April deadlines.
Why it matters: The APRs document the city’s early compliance in the 2023–2031 RHNA cycle, record permit activity that counts toward the city’s RHNA obligation and set the stage for a multi‑year zoning code implementation to realize the general plan and housing element goals.
