Planning Commission approves vesting tentative map for Concar Passage, 847-unit mixed-use project

The San Mateo Planning Commission on June 23 approved a vesting tentative map for the Concar Passage project at 678 Concar Drive, a 14.5‑acre mixed‑use redevelopment that would create 847 residential units and parcelize the site for the new construction.

Steve Golden, principal planner in the Community Development Department, told commissioners the proposal would yield 847 units (59 units per acre), including 139 for‑sale townhouse units and 708 apartments; 186 units — about 22 percent — are proposed as affordable (37 very‑low income and 149 low‑income). Golden said the vesting tentative map before the commission would create 26 lots, parcelize private streets and set dedications and easements required for frontage improvements. He also summarized anticipated development fees cited in the staff report: the park‑in‑lieu fee (approximately $17 million), a child‑care development fee (nearly $3 million), a wastewater capacity charge (about $6.8 million) and school‑district fees calculated per square foot. Golden said site plan and architectural review were handled ministerially by the zoning administrator and that the project is subject to state housing‑law provisions (including vesting under SB 330 and the Housing Accountability Act) and to statutory tribal‑consultation notice requirements under AB 130.

Lisa Borba, the applicant’s project manager with Brookfield Residential, said the team agrees with staff recommendations and emphasized the developer’s voluntary investments in bicycle and pedestrian improvements around the transit‑oriented site. Borba said the team expects to continue construction‑document submittals through the summer and anticipates moving toward construction in 2027 if approvals proceed as planned.

One in‑person speaker, who introduced himself as Rich, urged conversion of the older shopping‑center property to housing and offered a history of the site. No other public commenters spoke on the item.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about public art (the applicant may provide art or pay an in‑lieu fee equal to 1.19 percent of construction value), building proximity to Highway 92 and health concerns raised by setbacks near freeways, and the location and integration of affordable units. Golden estimated the edge of the building would be roughly 120 feet from the embankment to the property line and approximately another 40 feet from the property line to the building face, and said staff considered the project consistent with the city’s mixed‑use medium land‑use designation and with the Hayward Park Station TOD overlay standards.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and the commission adopted a resolution approving the vesting tentative map, including the addendum to address AB 130 requirements and a revised below‑market‑rate housing agreement condition identified in staff materials. The motion passed 3–0. Vice Chair Klafter, Commissioner Bush and Commissioner Williams voted in favor; there were no recorded nay or abstentions. The commission’s decision can be appealed to the City Council within 10 calendar days.

What happens next: the approval authorizes the tentative map and associated parceling; ministerial approvals for site plan and architectural review proceed through the zoning administrator, and construction‑document work can advance if the approval survives the appeal period. The project team said it would continue coordination with city staff as it moves toward construction.