Peninsula Affordable Housing Project Clears Hurdle: Report

SAN MATEO, CA — A proposed 100 percent affordable housing development has cleared a major hurdle as the San Mateo Planning Commission voted unanimously in support of the project, The San Mateo Daily Journal reports.

The 225-unit project will go before the City Council next month, the report said.

The proposed development of a seven-story building with a five-level garage connected by a pedestrian bridge would be built on a city-owned parcel at 480 E. Fourth Ave. and 400 E. Fifth Ave. according to the report.

The proposal includes a plaza at the corner of Fourth and Railroad avenues that would be accessible to the public.

“This project greatly benefits the city as a whole. It’s a terrific opportunity to add 225 much needed affordable housing units to help 225 families in need of affordable housing,” said Commissioner Mike Etheridge during the July 14 meeting, according to the report.

The proposal calls for the construction of 65 studio apartments and 48 one-bedroom, 53 two-bedroom and 59 three-bedroom units, of which 122 units are to be reserved for low-income households earning between 30 percent to 60 percent of median household income, the report said.

The development was originally proposed as a 164-unit five-story building, but the proposal was redesigned after the passage of Assembly Bill 1763, which relaxed height and density restrictions near transit hubs, the report said.

Read more in The San Mateo Daily Journal.