A real estate company proposed a building of at least 1,020 affordable homes in the long rocky quarry of Pacifica, taking advantage of the “constructor remedy” of California, a legal tool that allows developers to avoid the local state town.
If the project is carried out, Pacifica, which has a history of rejection of development proposals for the site, could meet half or its mandatory requirement to build 1,892 housing units by 2031.
Preserve @ pacifica, LLC, owner and developer of the site, presented the location of the Cresta Crest residents project near Rockaway Beach as a “missing medium” community, with approximately 80% of the units aimed at modern homes of the Stremos State and the remaining.
The “missing means,” explained the developer, who earn too much for traditional low -income housing, but cannot afford market rate options, or including workers such as teachers, police officers and emergency respondents.
The income limits of 2024 of the San Mateo County define average income for a single person as $ 130,600, with low -income categories in or less than $ 109,000.
According to Zillow, the average home in San Mateo County, which houses main biotechnology and technology centers, was sold for approximately $ 1.6 million last year.
Paul Heule, owner of Preserve @ pacifica, LLC, emphasized the need for the project.
“This is perhaps the area of greatest need throughout the country for affordable homes and I am proud to build it in an area where there is currently very little,” he said. “Pacifica has been fighting the house on this site for more than 30 years, and we are in a housing crisis, so this project feels very late.”
The administrator of the city of Pacifica, Kevin Woodhouse, confirmed this week that the city received a preliminary application for the quarry site and will process it in accordance with state law. The developer has six months to formally submit the application before the Planning Commission can go and then to the City Council.
Pacifica is subject to Builder’s remedy due to her breach with her mandatory state housing plans, an officer known as the “housing element.”
According to the data of the Department of Housing and Development of the Community of California, Pacifica is one of the five jurisdictions in San Mateo County, the most non -compliance county of the Bay area, which lacks an approved housing element. The Pacific City Council approved its housing element reviewed at the end of March, and state housing regulators are currently reviewing it.
The builder remedy, a component of the California Housing Law, allows developers to set aside local zoning rules if a project includes at least 20% of affordable units in cities with inadequate housing plans. Non -satisfied cities also run the risk of losing state and federal funds.
The Rockaway quarry has been vacant since 1987, and the development proposals conform to obtaining the approval of the City Council. Preserve @ Pacifica said that he first sought to develop the site in 2016 with a mixed use project that was finally reduced by a voting measure. In 2018, the developer submitted a request for a quarry trade permit, which the City Council rejected at the end of 2024 after a six -year review.
Sonja Trauss, Executive Director of Yimby Law, an organization that advocates the development of housing, said Pacifica is legally union to process the application due to state housing laws.
“We could not be more excited that the builder’s remedy is being used to address the shortage of missing average housing in one of the most needed areas of the State,” said Trauss. “Pacifica has the reputation of not building homes. Then, we will monitor them.”
The cities of the Bay area throughout the regional must collectively build 442,000 units to meet the demand, in accordance with the Association of Governments of the Bay Area.
