Board Adopts Largest Housing Upzoning in County History Near Colma BART

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors cleared a major housing milestone on April 21, adopting an amended Housing Element on a 4-1 vote and creating three new high-density zoning districts that Supervisor Canepa called the largest housing upzoning the county has ever approved. The marathon session also saw the introduction of a first-in-Bay-Area ban on kratom products, alarming data on youth suicide, and $6 million in federal funds directed toward affordable housing and homelessness services.

• Board adopts amended Housing Element 4-1, creates three new zoning districts near Colma BART enabling up to 150 units per acre

• First-in-Bay-Area ordinance introduced banning kratom and synthetic 7-OH products; chronic pain patients urge regulation over prohibition

• 988 crisis contacts in San Mateo County up 160% in 18 months; school data show two students per classroom have attempted suicide

• $6M+ in federal housing funds approved for affordable housing, childcare, homelessness services, and community development

• Supervisors push for eviction tracking ordinance as displacement pressures mount countywide

The Board took its most consequential land use actions in years, adopting an amended 2023-2031 Housing Element and immediately implementing phase one of a rezoning program that creates hundreds of new housing sites near transit.