Planning commission approves addition of nine units at 11 El Camino Real, including two more below‑market units

The Planning and Transportation Commission voted unanimously by those present April 7 to approve a design‑review amendment and a below‑market‑rate (BMR) housing plan amendment for a previously approved six‑story, 242‑unit development at 11 El Camino Real.

Laura Richstone, the city’s senior planner for community development, told the commission staff supports the change because the additional nine units do not alter the building’s height, footprint or architectural style. The amendment increases the total to 251 rental units and adds two BMR units, bringing the BMR total to 38 units, or 15 percent of the project, as required by the San Carlos Municipal Code.

The applicant, Summer Hill Apartment Communities, is represented by Richard Norris, director of development. Norris said the nine units—six added on the top floor and three on lower floors—were designed to integrate with the previously approved scheme and that construction drawings will be submitted shortly. He said the team had coordinated a new sign and trash enclosure with San Carlos Plaza neighbors and expects to begin construction later this year.

The commission and applicant discussed operational details. Commissioners pressed on parking and driveway access after a neighbor comment about driveway width; the applicant said construction drawings will retain a 24‑foot driveway despite a plan diagram showing a 20‑foot width. Commissioners also questioned the mechanical parking slider system: staff and the applicant confirmed the sliders will improve access by converting previously landlocked tandem stalls, that maintenance will be paid by the building operator, and that the slider units do not include dedicated emergency backup power.

Richstone described the project’s approvals history: the original 242‑unit design review and associated entitlements were approved Sept. 18, 2023; the applicant received a one‑year permit extension in July 2024 that extended entitlements to Sept. 18, 2025; the December 2024 amendment application proposed the additional nine units. Staff noted no changes to other entitlements (tentative map, grading permits, protected tree permit) and said a memo updated the parking trip count to account for the new units; no new TDM plan was required.

The motion to approve the design‑review amendment and BMR plan amendment passed on a roll call vote: Commissioners Bundy, Anand, Castanita and Vice Chair Garvey voted yes; Chair Clemens was excused. The commission’s action is final unless appealed to the City Council within 10 days; the deadline to file an appeal is 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, 2025.

What happens next: The applicant will submit construction drawings reflecting the retained driveway width and the mechanical parking system. Because the approval was a planning commission action, it will stand unless an appeal is filed to the City Council by the stated deadline.