A 7-Story Building in Downtown: Yay or Nay?

This month, the for the city's downtown transit corridor plan, which aims to drastically modernize the area through development.

The plan calls for an additional 1,610 housing units, 147,700 square feet of retail space, 988,100 square feet of office space and 190 hotel rooms within San Mateo Avenue, San Bruno Avenue and El Camino Real over the next 20 years. The plan will be anchored on the new Caltrain station that is being built along with the grade separation project.

Before the City Council considers the plan, the Planning Commission has had to take public comment on a draft of the environmental impact report—which has already taken place—and recommend changes, if necessary, so that a final document can be put together. An environmental impact report looks at any potential consequences on the development area if the plan were implemented.

One of the biggest changes coming to downtown San Bruno is a proposal to raise the height limit on buildings, which is currently only 50 feet or three stories.

Under the transit corridors plan, the city is proposing to change the height limits to the following areas:

• San Mateo Avenue, 55 feet (four floors)
• El Camino Real, 70 feet (five floors)
• San Bruno Avenue, 65 feet (five floors)
• Huntington Avenue, 65 feet (five floors)
• Caltrain station area, 90 feet (seven floors)

Because of an ordinance passed in 1977 that excludes buildings over three stories, a ballot measure would have to be passed by the majority of voters for the change to take place.

The city, however, has said that an overwhelming majority of residents already support increasing the building heights.

What do you think?

For more information about the draft environmental impact report and the downtown transit corridors plan, visit planbruno.org.

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