Concar Passage Re-submission

August 13, 2025

Jason Bernstein
Brookfield Properties
12657 Alcosta Blvd. Ste. 250
San Ramon, CA 94583

Via Email: Jason Bernstein (jason.bernstein@brookfieldrp.com)
Kohar Kojayan (kohar@kohplanning.com).

Subject: Concar Passage Re-submission, 678 Concar Drive, San Mateo

Dear Jason Bernstein and Kohar Kojayan,

The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter's Sustainable Land Use Committee (SLU) advocates on land use issues in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.

Following our meeting on June 23rd, below are the main comments we made verbally at the meeting on the preliminary application (of February 14, 2025)1. SLU would like to see these comments factored into the final approved project. SLU would also be interested in meeting with you again to further discuss the final submitted project and our comments.

In general, the concepts presented in your application are a much-simplified project compared to those in the original project that was approved in 2020. SLU performed a detailed evaluation of your original project and concluded that the project scored well in our SLU guidelines for station-area plans at that time. The simplified new project does not have some of the positive features of the original project, but the new project has some improvements in important areas.

Here are our current main comments on the revised project as presented in your preliminary application and that we covered in our June meeting. We expect to have more detailed comments as the final application is submitted and reviewed.

  1. Increase the affordable housing

    1. This project proposes a significant increase in affordable housing from 73 units in the 2020 proposal to 223 units (25.7% of all units) in the current proposal. This is a very positive new feature; however, given that this project is using the SB 330 process to streamline its approval and this law was enacted to stimulate more housing, particularly affordable housing, in California, as a recipient of the benefits of the SB 330, this project should make a very strong showing that it is maximizing the housing potential, particularly for affordable units.

    2. Possible improvements to the project would be to increase the number of affordable units that are extremely-low income (now proposed as 22 units) and very-low income (now proposed as 22 units).

    3. Another suggested improvement would be to consider increasing the height of the affordable housing building to add more affordable units2.

  2. Maintain approximately 3 acres of public space/open space

    The original project had approximately 3 acres of public space/open space. The revised project should aim for a similar amount, preferably with native landscaping. It is important to have public open space with natural vegetation in high-density living environments.

  3. Maintain the expanded pedestrian and bicycle paths that were included in the original project plans around the perimeter of the project.

    The original project had wide pedestrian oriented sidewalks as well as bike lanes consistent with the city master plans. These pedestrian and bike improvements should be fully included in the revised project. Given the proximity to the Hayward Park Train Station, it is very beneficial to have strong, safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure. The wider sidewalks can include shade trees as part of green infrastructure.

  4. Enhance the energy systems for the project

    The project will be all electric and has solar on the townhouse roofs, which is good. Including solar panels on the roofs of the apartment buildings, as well, can enhance the project.

  5. Other important improvements to consider

    1. Work with Caltrans to have an improved highway vegetation barrier3 that includes trees and shrubbery, between the three apartment buildings and Highway 92. This will reduce noise, dust and toxic pollution from the highway to the residents of the apartment buildings.

    2. Consider providing subsidies for transit passes to all the residents. This is particularly important for residents of the affordable units.

    3. Include a safe pedestrian activated mid-block crosswalk light from the project site across Concar Drive to Concar Park.

SLU looks forward to further discussions with you on the project.
 

Respectfully,

Gita Dev signature

Gita Dev, FAIA
Chair, Sustainable Land Use Committee
Chair, Conservation Committee
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter

Cc: James Eggers, Chapter Director, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
sgolden@cityofsanmateo.org
ssmith@cityofsanmateo.org

1 These comments are only based on our review of the preliminary application. We will be reviewing your formal application and will provide additional comments, if needed, in a future letter.

2 The project approved in 2020 had 961 units; the revised project has 869 units. So adding more units to this site could be feasible in terms of impact on the local area.

3 "Highway Vegetative Barrier" is a natural or strategically designed and maintained area of vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, and bushes, planted on public or private lands where buildings are located alongside highways or heavily used roadways to mitigate air pollution and protect nearby communities from traffic-related emissions. Effective vegetative barriers are dense, layered, and tall enough to block, filter, and reduce pollutant airflow, while also providing additional environmental benefits like stormwater management, noise, and glare reduction, habitat creation, and urban heat island effects mitigation. Vegetative barriers can consist of vegetation alone and may include solid structures like fencing or noise barriers to optimize air pollution mitigation.