Development

San Bruno is facing some of the highest levels of development in decades. It is important to remember the San Bruno City Council approves projects, the developer builds them. The council’s approval is for “entitlement”; the right to build the project. After entitlement the developer needs a building permit. The approval of the permit may take several iterations of review based on the quality of the permit submittal. After the permit is issued construction may begin. Unfortunately some developments take a long time to complete for various reasons. Then are some developers that list their property for sale soon after receiving entitlement.

I voted in favor of the Bayhill Specific Plan and advocated for the addition of a housing overlay of 573 units. The Development Impact Fees and Community Benefits for this plan will provide much needed funding to San Bruno. This extensive detailed plan is a great example of community and developer cooperation in working together to obtain a win/win specific plan.

The projects listed below are in various phases of development: under construction, entitled, in planning. You can view detailed info on all of these projects at the City’s website.

PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

Skyline College I voted in favor of this project with a 70-unit residential project: 40 single-family detached homes on a 6-acre site, and 30 apartment units for college faculty and staff on a 2-acre site. The proposal includes a private loop street, two neighborhood parks, an offsite fitness park, and a path to the Sweeney Ridge Trail. The project includes 11 total affordable rental units: 6 units designated for low-income households and 5 for moderate-income households.

YouTube 1400 & 1450 Bayhill Drive (901 Cherry Phase II). I voted in favor of this project’s development agreement. The project was entitled many years ago and includes the development of two new office buildings, one 170,885 square foot building at the eastern portion of the lot and a 116,000 square foot building at the western portion of the lot. The city received a development agreement payment of approximately $4 million dollars for this project.

YouTube Phase 1 – I voted in favor of this project. YouTube is in the process of submitting Building Permits. Phase I Development area, proposes to retain the two existing office buildings on the Phase I Site and construct two new buildings with 440,000 square feet of additional office space. A maximum of three levels of subgrade parking would be provided at both parcels. Additional improvements and items include: (1) the construction of an off-street multi-modal transportation hub on an access way located between Grundy Lane and Bayhill Drive, on the west side of the parcel containing 950 Elm Street; (2) the realignment of Grundy Lane from Cherry Avenue to Elm Avenue; (3) the abandonment of northern portion of Elm Avenue located directly to the north of the realigned Grundy Lane; (4) the demolition of three existing buildings located at 1150–1250 Bayhill Drive to provide a construction staging and parking area during construction of the Phase I Development.

Southline Project, 30 Tanforan Avenue. Upon receiving public support from those neighbors most impacted by this development, I voted in favor of this project. It is currently in the demolition phase of the on-site structures. The project is located at the northern edge of San Bruno and includes improvements that will modify streets within San Bruno city limits. The project proposes: Beautification of Tanforan Avenue which serves as an access road for San Bruno residents. Connection of the Centennial Way Trail to San Bruno’s planned Huntington Cycle Track improvements. A new intersection at Huntington Avenue and Sneath Lane which provides bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicular connectivity to South Maple Avenue and Southline Avenue (new) within City of South San Francisco. A community benefit package of approximately six million dollars was approved by the San Bruno City Council. Additionally, the project proposes eight office / R&D buildings, parking garage, below grade parking, site amenities, open space and landscaping on a 26-acre site within South San Francisco. For project information with South San Francisco, click here.

ENTITLED PROJECTS

Mills Park, 602-611 and 643-799 El Camino Real, 711-777 Kains Avenue, 701-751 Camino Plaza. I voted in favor of this project after it was modified.

  • Two mixed-use buildings ranging in height from one to five stories located on a 5.38-acre site and divided into smaller components with articulated building setbacks and step backs.
  • 427 total dwelling units: Building A contains 184 units and Building B contains 243 units. There are a total of 65 affordable units, at various affordability levels (very low, low and moderate level incomes).
  • Approximately 7,947 square foot ground-floor commercial space. No tenants have been identified at this time, and the space could be utilized by a variety of permitted uses, including eating and/or drinking establishments, general retail sales and service uses, personal service uses, fitness uses, or offices.
  • Approximately 676 total parking stalls on-site. One parking space will be provided for each bedroom, plus dedicated residential guest parking. The project includes a two-level parking garage, one level at grade and one partially submerged. The project exceeds the recently adopted City parking code requirements

Glenview Terrace. I voted in favor of this project with 29 single-family dwelling units on the corner of San Bruno Avenue and Glenview Drive. The project site is 3.28 acres and consists of three parcels that will be merged into one parcel. The site formerly contained a gas station on San Bruno Avenue and a church on Glenview Drive. The gas station has been demolished and the church and parsonage will be demolished as part of the project. Proposed home sizes range from 1,700 to 2,600 square feet in size and all 29 homes will be constructed with attached garages. Amenities such as outdoor recreational open space and additional landscaping will be provided.

500 Sylvan Avenue. I voted in favor of this project which will demolish an existing building and construct a new three-story, 9-unit apartment building within the Transit Corridors Plan downtown area. The project will include one studio, two one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units. A total of 13 parking spaces will be provided on-site.

It is my understanding this property has been sold.

160 El Camino Real. I voted in favor of this project which proposes to construct a three story, 28 room boutique hotel with underground parking spaces on a vacant parcel that measures 9,811 square feet (.22 acre) in area. The building would measure approximately 19,107 square feet in area and 50 feet in height. This property is for sale.

271 El Camino (Formerly Lee’s Buffet). I voted in favor of this project which proposes to construct a three-story multi-family residential building with 23 dwellings and 49 off-street parking space on a vacant site that measures approximately 25,030 square feet (.57 acres) in area. The building would measure approximately 39,643 square feet in gross floor area and 48′-2″ in height. This property is for sale.

IN PLANNING PHASE

300 Piedmont Avenue (Former Crestmoor High School). The approximately 40.2-acre site is owned by the San Mateo Union High School District and formerly housed Crestmoor High School. The project proposes to demolish the existing structures, athletic facilities, parking, and other improvements to build a new 156-lot single family detached home development of new two-story houses. The project also proposes to dedicate to the City of San Bruno 12 acres of open space land with the intent that the City may construct new recreational amenities. The project includes an additional 8 acres of additional open space area which will be accessible to project residents and guests. It is anticipated that the project may require a Vesting Tentative Map and Planned Unit Permit in addition to CEQA environmental review and may also require additional planning approvals and permits. The applicant is seeking to take advantage of the State Density Bonus Program to receive waivers and/or incentives/concessions related to open space and lot size requirements. Of the 156 homes, 132 are proposed to be market rate and 24 (15%) are proposed to be on-site below market units: 8 (5%) affordable to Low-income households and 16 (10%) affordable to Moderate-income households.

2101 Sneath Lane (former Engvall School Site). The project proposes to develop 118 single family homes and common open spaces across the 21-acre site. Single-family homes are proposed to be clustered on the site to minimize grading and maintain a landscaped area along areas of the western edge of the site. Proposed circulation for the site would allow vehicles to enter and exit the development primarily from Sneath Lane.

300 El Camino Real, (former Salvation Army site). The project proposes to adaptively reuse the existing one story, 8,756 s.f. building (former Salvation Army retail facility) and parking area on a ½ acre site for a six-room preschool, 3,600 s.f. playground and 15 space parking lot to educate up to 144 students with 14 staff.

170 San Bruno Avenue West. The Planning Division recently received preliminary plans initiating the Transit Corridors Plan pre-submittal process for a new mixed-use development located at the Northeast corner of San Bruno Avenue West and Mills Avenue. The project would involve the demolition of the existing vacant building and the construction of a new 6-story, 69-foot tall building, with 42 dwelling units (condominiums), approximately 1,114 square feet of ground floor commercial space, and a subgrade garage with 43 parking spaces. The applicant is seeking to take advantage of the State Density Bonus Program to increase the residential density for the project. The project includes 6 affordable units, all of which are designated at the very low-income Area Median Income (AMI) level.

111 San Bruno Avenue (Former National Bank site). The project proposes a five‐story mixed‐use building including 46 multi‐ family dwelling units and 2,670 sq. ft. of ground floor commercial space with 51 parking spaces. It has not been officially submitted.

A larger project at his location was previously entitled.

732-740 El Camino Real (Former Toyota lot). The project proposes to construct a six-story, residential building on a 0.612 acre site with 25 off-street parking spaces (including 2 EV stalls) on the ground level. The ground floor will consist of a leasing office, a mail room, utility rooms, trash collection room, bicycle storage rooms and a parking garage within the podium. A total of 136 rental units will be distributed between floor 2 through floor 6. The residential building is a total of 120,900 square feet in area and consists of 126 studio units and 10 one-bedroom units. Proposed density for the site is 226.7 units/acre and has a development FAR of 2.3. The project will also provide 140 long-term bicycle parking spaces and 14 short-term bicycle parking spaces on the ground level.

840 San Bruno Avenue West. Proposed construction of a 10 story, 445 unit 100% affordable multi‐ family housing project with 109 parking spaces.

Admiral Court/
Commodore Drive, The Crossing.
The project proposes the construction of two new automobile dealerships, with automobile repair and ancillary sales service uses at this vacant 1.5‐acre site, formerly entitled for a hotel use. Required entitlement reviews include General Plan Amendment; U.S. Navy Site and Its Environs Specific Plan Amendment and Zoning Ordinance Amendment. Proposed building is 171,610 square feet, with two stories and rooftop parking.

1000 San Mateo Avenue. Amazon purchased the former SkyPark site and proposes to establish a warehouse and distribution center.