Housing Element

The 2023-2031 Burlingame Housing Element was adopted by the City Council on December 18, 2023 (with a minor clarifying amendment adopted on March 4, 2024). This is part of the City's commitment to developing housing to serve a range of households (learn more at www.burlingame.org/prohousing).

The State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has determined that the Housing Element meets statutory requirements and substantially complies with State Housing Element Law (Gov. Code, § 65580 et seq) as of March 20, 2024.

REVIEW AND ADOPTION TIMELINE

City Council Review and Adoption - December 18, 2023

The City Council adopted the Housing Element at its meeting on December 18, 2023.

City Council Staff Report - December 18, 2023

Planning Commission Review and Recommendation - November 27, 2023

At its meeting on November 27, 2023 the Planning Commission reviewed the Housing Element and recommended adoption to the City Council. The recommendation was to adopt both the Housing Element and the EIR Addendum.

Third Draft Housing Element - November 2, 2023

In an effort to address informal comments from the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the City of Burlingame revised the September 2023 version of the 2023-2031 Draft Housing Element. Comments on the revised draft Housing Element were received until November 9, 2023, and the revised draft was submitted to HCD on November 10, 2023. The City Council is scheduled to consider adoption on December 18, 2023 at its regular meeting starting at 7:00 pm.

City of Burlingame 2023-2031 Housing Element - Draft 3 (November 2, 2023)

Second Draft Housing Element - September 6, 2023
A second draft of the Housing Element has been prepared, and was submitted to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on September 15, 2023. The second draft responds to comments in HCD's response letter to the first draft, as well as comments from members of the community. A summary document provides responses to each finding in the HCD response letter.

City of Burlingame 2023-2031 Housing Element - Draft 2 (September 6, 2023)

First Draft Housing Element - February 17, 2023
A first draft of the Housing Element was submitted to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on February 17, 2023. HCD provided a response letter on May 18, 2023.

Public Review Draft
The Public Review Draft was available for review for 30 days, beginning on December 28, 2022 and concluding on January 27, 2023. The City thanks the community for its thoughtful comments. Copies of letters submitted may be found in Appendix B: Community Outreach Summary (revised).

City Council Review - January 17, 2023
The City Council reviewed the draft and received public comments at its regular meeting on January 17, 2023.

Staff Report
Presentation Slides (PDF format)
Presentation Slides (Powerpoint Show format)

Planning Commission Review - January 9, 2023
The Planning Commission reviewed the draft and received public comments on January 9, 2023.

Staff Report
Presentation Slides (PDF format)
Presentation Slides (Powerpoint Show format)

Community Outreach
There has been a series of online workshops, in-person "pop-up" events, and stakeholder meetings. Information and links are provided below:

Annual Joint City Council/Planning Commission Meeting
The City Council and Planning Commission met on Saturday, April 23, 2022 for its annual joint meeting and discussed the Housing Element Update.
Presentation Slides

City of Burlingame Housing Element Outreach Meetings
The City of Burlingame held two interactive online workshops to obtain community input on the Housing Element. The first was held on March 23, 2022 and the second on April 6, 2022. The workshops included presentations, polling questions, use of chat for comments and questions, and public comment.

Workshop #1 on March 23rd provided a high-level overview of Housing Element requirements and the planning process. Participants were asked to share their comments and concerns and ideas related to specific housing sites.

Workshop #1 Presentation Slides (pdf) - click here

The video of the workshop is below:

Workshop #2 on April 6th provided a review of the housing element process and the potential sites that would be included in the Housing Element. City staff shared some of the existing policies and identified seven new policy ideas for consideration. Participants were asked to share their opinion on the policies and then explain their response using the chat. The input provided a good understanding of community concerns along with some ideas for strengthening or bolstering these ideas.

Workshop #2 Presentation Slides (pdf) - click here

The video of the workshop is below:

Let's Talk Housing San Mateo County
In the fall of 2021, there was a countywide outreach program administered by the 21 Elements collaborative. 21 Elements includes all 20 San Mateo County municipalities, as well as unincorporated San Mateo County. The outreach was referred to as “Let’s Talk Housing San Mateo County” with the intention of increasing awareness of and participation in the Housing Element Update process. A dedicated Let’s Talk Housing website includes information on the Housing Element Update process, as well as a “Housing 101” primer. Four meetings were held virtually and can be viewed at www.letstalkhousing.org/past-events. There are also two general videos, “What’s a Housing Element” and “San Mateo County Housing Trends.” Videos are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.

About the Housing Element
The Housing Element is the City's master plan for accommodating the housing needs of Burlingame's current and future residents. It is a comprehensive document that addresses a range of housing issues such as affordability, design, housing types, density, and location. It includes a summary of past trends and future projections, the status of the City's housing stock, and opportunities for the development of new housing.

All local governments within the State of California are required to periodically update their housing elements on a schedule determined by the State Office of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Burlingame adopted its most recent Housing Element in 2023, for an eight-year cycle.

Housing element law requires local governments to adequately plan to meet their existing and projected housing needs including their share of the regional housing need. HCD provides a projection of future growth for the State, and this number is translated into housing units that should be built to accommodate this projected growth. Bay Area Metro (encompassing the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and Metropolitan Transportation Commission) has taken the housing number for the Bay Area region and provided each community with their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) number, which is the number of housing units that the cities must provide for in the next eight years.

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Annual Progress Reports: