When the San Carlos City Council reviews the controversial Transit Village mixed-use proposal on Tuesday, it may reconsider the developer’s request to build fewer affordable apartments than required.
It’ll be the council’s second look at the eight-building development proposed along railroad tracks on a 6.3-acre strip east of El Camino Real, between Northwood Drive and Hall Street. On Oct. 28, council members shared the planning commission’s concerns that the project’s mass and scale seem too large.
Legacy Partners wants to construct half a dozen four-story buildings with 280 upscale apartments, as well as a pair of three-story office and retail buildings. Four of the buildings would be north of Holly Street and four south of it.
Although planning commissioners approved the project early last month following several meetings, they recommended that Legacy soften its look by lengthening the setback on a top floor of one building and eliminating a bridge walkway between two others.
A Legacy Partners representative told commissioners at the meeting those changes would cause a loss of eight apartments.
But Legacy faces even more potential reductions. In response to the council’s initial concerns, the planning staff has outlined two alternatives: Drop three of the four-story buildings to three stories and reduce the number of apartments to 260, or drop a floor from four of the four-story buildings and one of the three-story buildings and reduce the number of apartments to 251. The second alternative also would reduce the project’s commercial space.
If the project is approved as originally proposed, Legacy would be expected to pay the city about $7.9 million in impact fees to help cover affordable housing needs, based on the development’s square footage. In lieu of paying that amount, the developer could charge lower rent for 15 percent of the apartments, according to the city ordinance.
Legacy’s lawyers asked the city in July to either waive the affordable housing requirement altogether or allow the developer to charge lower rent for just 10 percent of the apartment units at a price affordable for moderate-income households. The council rejected the request in September.
If the council chooses one of staff’s recommended downscale options, City Attorney Gregory Rubens recommends in a memo that it give Legacy’s offer a second look.
Legacy Partners officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Email Bonnie Eslinger at beslinger@dailynewsgroup.com; follow her at twitter.com/bonnieeslinger.
