Housing & The Largest Upzoning in County History
active• sanmateo
San Mateo County is making a historic housing bet along its transit corridors. On April 21, 2026, the Board of Supervisors adopted an amended Housing Element on a 4-1 vote, creating three new high-density zoning districts near Colma BART — what Supervisor Canepa called the largest housing upzoning the county has ever approved, enabling up to 150 units per acre. The county simultaneously received $6 million in federal funds directed toward affordable housing and homelessness services as part of the same session's CDBG, HOME, and ESG allocations. The challenge ahead is translating zoning capacity into actual permitted units — a gap that plagues every Bay Area jurisdiction — while managing the displacement pressures already pushing lower-income residents out of the Peninsula. The one dissenting vote signals that community divisions over density, infrastructure capacity, and neighborhood character are far from resolved.
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Related cause: Development & Neighborhoods
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