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Millbrae staff to implement CloudPermit; housing study finds 8% inclusionary feasible
Summary
City staff told the Planning Commission Feb. 3 that the City Council approved a contract for CloudPermit software to allow online permit submittals later this year, and presented findings from an inclusionary housing and density bonus study that found 8% inclusionary set-aside would be feasible under current market conditions.
City planning staff told the Millbrae Planning Commission on Feb. 3 that the City Council approved a contract to implement CloudPermit, a new permit-tracking and online submittal system, and summarized recent planning studies and project updates.
Staff said the CloudPermit contract will allow fully online submittals, payment intake and a public-facing permit search. "The City Council approved a contract with Cloud Permit, and the City will be implementing a new permit tracking system," staff said, and added the system is expected to roll out toward the end of the year.
Staff also summarized an inclusionary housing and density-bonus study commissioned by the city. The presentation recalled that a 2021 inclusionary housing ordinance requires a 15% affordable set-aside for projects of 10 units or more. The consultant's analysis, staff said, found that a 20% requirement would not be feasible under current market conditions and that 15% remained infeasible for most projects; the study concluded that about 8% inclusionary units would be feasible while also recommending local density-bonus incentives to encourage development.
Staff said the City Council directed outreach to local property owners and that further action would come back through the commission if council requests a formal ordinance change. "If the council recommends that we come back with a formal ordinance, then it would have to go through you," staff told commissioners.
Additional planning work noted included objective design standards, which staff said is scheduled for a City Council study session next week, and project pipeline updates. Staff reported the El Rancho project remains incomplete in permit review and is awaiting applicant resubmittal; the all-affordable project at 1301 Broadway is under permit review and has submitted a second revision; and a core-shell (amenity) permit at a separate Alexandria project has been signed off by planning with final inspections underway and tenant move-in anticipated in March.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about the CloudPermit rollout schedule and whether historical permit records would be available in the initial launch; staff said the initial rollout will support new permits and that digitizing older permit records would be a later phase. Staff indicated online submittals will eventually include design review, building permits and tree-removal applications.
Staff framed the CloudPermit rollout and the housing-study outreach as city priorities for the coming year; next steps include public outreach on inclusionary housing recommendations and returning to the council and commission as ordinances or formal code changes are prepared.
