The Milpitas City Council recently passed an ordinance to create recent zoning districts in town. The council's June 18 vote also updated town's zoning map to implement recent land use policies approved as a part of the updated General Plan in 2021 and the brand new Metro-Specific Plan in 2023.

The recent zoning districts include the Business Park Research and Development (BPRD) zone, which covers a big light industrial area within the southwest a part of Milpitas, west of Interstate 880 and south of Calaveras Boulevard.

“We are excited about the potential of this zone to transform our industrial areas and spur economic growth,” City Manager Ned Thomas said in a press release. “The city aims to use the BPRD zoning regulations to stimulate redevelopment of underused industrial areas, attract new businesses and create good-paying jobs.”

“The goal of this zoning update is to promote sustainable development, ensure affordable housing and foster vibrant neighborhoods,” said Mayor Carmen Montano.

The creation of the brand new zoning districts is the primary phase of the City's Comprehensive Zoning Code Update project, which began in February 2023 and is scheduled to be accomplished in summer 2025. The full update features a reorganization of the City's zoning code, which is an element of the Milpitas Municipal Code, to make it clearer and more user-friendly.

For more information, contact the City Planning Department at 408-586-3279 or planningdepartment@milpitas.gov.

Originally published: July 14, 2024 at 7:32 am

Months after the State Housing Authority deemed the town of San Mateo's housing plans “substantially compliant,” the City Council voted unanimously this week to approve the newest round of revisions before sending them back to supervisors for final approval.

The city is planning 10,000 recent housing units, about 40% greater than its regional housing goal of seven,000 units, with a good portion planned along the busy El Camino Real thoroughfare.

Every eight years, local governments must submit a housing element, a document that outlines how cities will add a certain variety of homes at different prices. The city's housing plan is already greater than a 12 months overdue.

The lack of a licensed housing element means a city could face consequences comparable to the developer's treatment, which allows developers to disregard a city's zoning rules so long as 20% of units are put aside as inexpensive.

In recent years, state regulators have scrutinized cities' housing plans more closely than ever before because the state grapples with rising housing costs and a housing shortage.

“I think it's a very strong document. You never know what's going to happen in the future, but we have a very good plan for the 7,015 units and a 40% buffer,” San Mateo Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash said of the recent revision. “While we can't tell developers where and how to build, we just have to show that it's doable.”

Some residents and community organizations expressed concerns because there are reportedly no rezoning plans and city-owned land or land earmarked for housing is already occupied. On Tuesday, housing group Housing Action Coalition sued San Mateo, saying the town couldn't realistically expect to construct on land it had earmarked for brand new housing.

“The housing element overestimates how much housing is being produced,” said Ali Sapirman, South Bay and Peninsula organizer for the Housing Action Coalition. “This includes websites that are unavailable because they are already being used for something else.”

Sapirman's organization called on the City Council to vote against the town's latest housing plan.

But Diaz Nash explained that the inclusion of land in existing buildings is because the town is “fully built out.”

“It’s reality,” Diaz Nash said. “For us, there are very few places we can go that aren’t already built.”

She explained that the town's location portfolio is always evolving.

“It’s not like this is the end of the matter,” Diaz Nash said. “We will continually review and monitor it. When something becomes a possible location or someone raises their hand and says they want to develop here, we add it to the map. If someone turns it into a commercial building, we will take it off the map.”

Responding to criticism that the plan maintains a “status quo” on zoning, Diaz Nash said she disagrees with that evaluation.

“I don’t know what they were trying to say, but the zoning will be changed for all ten study areas along El Camino, Bridgepointe, Hillsdale and along the Caltrain lines,” Diaz Nash said.

Later within the 12 months, the City Council is considering putting an amendment to Measure Y on the November ballot that might allow taller and denser projects to be built along Camino in hopes of integrating planned residential projects with transportation, business and office developments .

The mayor maintains her long-held position that tall buildings mustn’t be inbuilt single-family neighborhoods.

“I mean, we don’t want to put up 12-story buildings (in single-family zones),” Diaz Nash said. “It just means everyone will get in their car and there will be a lot more cars on the road.”

The city plans to submit the latest housing element by the tip of June and hopes to receive certification sometime in July.

Local News

On Tuesday, Marblehead became the most recent Massachusetts community to thrust back against a state law requiring zoning changes to make it easier to construct multifamily housing.

The Marblehead Town Meeting rejected a proposal that may have brought the town into compliance with state law. This proposal, referred to as Article 36received 377 yes votes and 410 no votes Marblehead Stream.

Town presenter Jack Attridge reportedly doubted this could be the ultimate word on the matter.

“I’m sure we’ll be back before the end of the year,” he said, in keeping with Current.

The focus of the vote is compliance with the MBTA Community Act, which got here into force in 2021. It requires “MBTA communities” to permit the development of multifamily housing resembling apartments and condos near T stops without special permits. There are 177 communities in eastern Massachusetts which can be subject to the law, because it applies to each communities that directly provide MBTA service and people which can be adjoining to a city or town with MBTA service.

More than 100 of those communities have until the tip of 2024 to adopt latest zoning rules, and plenty of others have already approved such plans. But in some places, residents are resisting what they see as government overreach.

The most outstanding conflict occurred in Milton, where 54% of voters selected to reject changes to the charter that may have forced town to comply. Attorney General Andrea Campbell threatened legal motion against town before the vote and took motion shortly thereafter. Her office is now suing Milton with the support of Gov. Maura Healey.

State leaders have emphasized that compliance is mandatory and that the law is a vital option to address Massachusetts' housing affordability crisis. Municipalities that don’t comply also risk losing hundreds of thousands in state subsidies.

Residents of other cities like Marshfield, Rockport and Littleton are resist it also state officials.

The topic is controversial in lots of places. During Marblehead's town meeting, a resident threw a microphone and voting machine onto the stage in frustration before storming out. Another resident requested a reconsideration of the article after it had already been rejected and plenty of opponents had left, prompting some in attendance to repeatedly shout “sham,” the Current reported.

If Article 36 passes, 58.4 acres in three counties in Marblehead can be affected. Zoning for nearly 900 multi-family residential units has been proposed. In a presentation, city officials emphasized that the zoning changes were simply intended to permit for more housing; the law doesn’t require anything to truly be built.

The proposal, if adopted, likely would have had minimal impact on Marblehead while keeping the community out of a costly dispute with the state, officials said of their presentation. Now town must either develop and pass a brand new proposal by the tip of the yr or risk being sued like Milton and losing state funding.

Opponents of Article 36 argued that its passage would deprive town of its “right to shape its own community character.” They argued that the extra housing proposed by the proposal would potentially result in more traffic congestion, reduce property values ​​and place an extra burden on schools and emergency services.

Almost 400 people have signed a petition against the changes. According to Current, when Article 36 was rejected, many participants burst into applause.

For others, like Salem attorney and city planner Jonathan Berk, the vote was a mistake.

“The Marblehead Town Council voted not to do even the bare minimum,” he said on social media post after the vote. “Marblehead voted tonight out of fear of change, accepting the scaremongering and lies of a few in a world where the currency is increasingly becoming an increasingly dangerous currency.”

What is the reason behind the present housing shortage and high housing costs within the United States?

Jessica Trounstine: Most metropolitan areas have seen Housing shortages and skyrocketing prices within the last decade for each rents and mortgages. And as these prices have increased, tax assessments are being raised have also increased, leading to higher property tax burdens. The total amount that residents pay for his or her apartments is subsequently higher than before.

When households spend greater than 30% of their income on housing, the Census calls those households “cost-burdened.” And in keeping with some recent data, even greater than One-third of households within the United States are cost-burdened, and the numbers are even higher for renters than for owners. In some metropolitan areas even greater than 50% of tenants are cost-burdened.

How do local governments influence the provision of housing?

Jessica Trounstine: Local governments could make it tougher to construct housing, which contributes significantly to housing shortages and skyrocketing prices. They do things like charge high fees for development or introduce cumbersome verification processes. You can Implement historical overlays or Create open space requirements.

But crucial way local governments reply to housing shortages is: Prohibit density and only detached single-family homes could also be built. Many cities expressly prohibit multi-family housing. Everything from duplexes to high-rises might be prohibited by a city's zoning or administrative regulations.

You can even do things like: B. Provide requirements for big setbacks from the road. You can set minimum lot sizes for every unit. Since higher constructing density and smaller residential units are cheaper, these regulations limiting constructing density apply associated with higher housing costs.

Many local land use regulations have been in place for a very long time. Why are they causing such problems now?

Jessica Trounstine: It is true that these regulations existed first used 100 years ago, but the present pattern of restrictive zoning didn't really come to fruition within the United States until the Nineteen Seventies. Land use regulations are inclined to turn into more complex over time. Once an area government enacts land use regulations, it will not be inclined to reverse them. As a result, land use regulations often turn into more restrictive over time.

At the identical time, the population has increased in large metropolitan areas for a wide range of reasons. But Housing construction has slowed. The market comes under pressure over time. Only in the previous few a long time have we seen the convergence of all of those events, in order that even housing prices for middle-income families may be very high.

How did zoning and land use policies contribute to racial segregation?

Jessica Trounstine: For a long time, segregation was driven primarily by private market decisions: Racial steeringblockbusters, restrictive clausesand even violence to defend the colour line. But these tactics became no less than technically illegal within the mid-Twentieth century through lawsuits, state laws, etc Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Essentially, restrictive zoning was created take the place of such tactics. The United States is far more segregated today than can be the case if it weren't for the restrictive zoning. Additionally, restrictive zoning freezes segregation patterns that emerged a long time ago through overt racist actions. We have about twice as much racial segregation as we might otherwise have if such regulations didn't exist.

What strategies can municipalities use to combat housing shortages and segregation?

Jessica Trounstine: You can take into consideration having something all types of apartments in every neighborhood – all types of housing to appeal to several types of individuals with different income levels.

For example, you’ll be able to remove parking minimums and expand height restrictions. Even more dramatic, they’ll allocate public funds to low-income developments.

Which strategies make zoning and land use reforms more practical?

Jessica Trounstine: No single reform can work by itself. It is usually not enough to permit the development of semi-detached houses. But we all know that reform packages can work together.

You can allow maisonettes, but at the identical time concentrate to floor space ratios and minimum lot sizes. And addressing all of those different regulatory constraints can expand opportunities within the housing market. There are also indications that something is occurring in California is named “the builders’ remedy.” is working to advance development. It essentially allows developers to override local regulations based on state guidelines.

Some of my work also shows this Lawsuits may be effective in combating patterns of segregation and long-standing regulatory restrictions within the housing market.

How do development and land use decisions affect the environment?

Jessica Trounstine: spread, or The development continues to expand attributable to population density is in itself harmful to the environment. It results in long commutes and alters the built environment in ways in which may be costly for the environment. Increasing density is drawing people back to the middle an environmentally friendly type of politics.

What is the connection between zoning reforms and gentrification?

Jessica Trounstine: Historically, it’s true that when neighborhoods experience economic and racial change, communities turn into marginalized are damaged in the method. So one answer to concerns about gentrification is to make sure that marginalized communities have a seat on the table and take part in the conversation concerning the built environment and development.

What is mostly not clear in gentrification research is whether or not these are latest developments causes gentrification. So before we restrict development to forestall gentrification, we’d like more research and a greater understanding of the interaction between these two mechanisms.