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San Mateo adopts submission of 2025 housing element and general plan progress reports; pipeline shows thousands of potential units
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Summary
Council approved submission of three statutory annual progress reports covering the housing element, general plan and housing successor agency. Staff reported 602 building permits toward RHNA so far and noted almost 6,800 units in the pipeline, robust ADU production, and ongoing tenant‑protection and affordable‑housing policy work.
The San Mateo City Council voted unanimously March 16 to submit three required annual progress reports: the 2025 housing element APR, the general plan APR (Strive San Mateo 2040), and the housing successor agency report. Staff said the reports are required by state law and must be filed by April 1.
Rachel Horst, housing and neighborhood services manager, said 602 units had received building permits during the reporting cycle (about 8.6% of the city’s RHNA allocation to date) and highlighted stronger‑than‑expected accessory dwelling unit (ADU) activity, with 92 ADU permits in 2025 versus the 55 units the housing element projected for the year. Steve Golden, principal planner, summarized the pipeline: about 20 preliminary multifamily applications (≈1,600 preliminary units) and nearly 4,000 units in formal applications, with roughly 800 entitled units and 411 units under construction — together approaching a pipeline nearing 6,800 units.
Staff noted implementation steps taken during 2025: zoning code amendments to align with Measure T and the general plan, streamlined review for projects up to 99 units, updated definitions and allowances for supportive housing, and work on tenant‑protections and an emergency rental assistance program administered by Samaritan House. Rachel Horst said the city used successor agency funds to support an emergency rental assistance program and to help fund the homeless outreach team; as of the January 31 reporting period the program had spent $56,459 and served 909 households (2,131 persons) since August 2025.
Councilmembers asked for clarity on timelines for major downtown and waterfront sites and requested more outreach and notification of neighborhood meetings. Staff said financing and market timing largely determine when pipeline projects move from entitlement to building permits and that a handful of large projects remain contingent on financing.
Next steps: staff will file the three reports with the appropriate state agencies and continue implementation of tenant protections, ADU tracking and community outreach. Council approved the report submissions by a 5‑0 vote.
