RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PLANS

The City prepared the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan concurrently with the 2040 General Plan. The Active Transportation Plan (ATP) was adopted by the City Council on October 12, 2021. This section describes the relationship between the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan and other plans that supported its development and also have a role in guiding development in the Plan Area.

2040 General Plan

The 2040 General Plan is the overarching document that provides the policy framework that will guide citywide growth and development over the next 20 years. California State Law requires that every city adopt a general plan “for the physical development of the city and any land outside its boundaries that bears relation to its planning” (California Government Code Section 65300). A general plan serves as the jurisdiction’s “constitution” or “blueprint” for future decisions concerning a variety of issues, including land use, health and safety, and resource conservation. All specific plans, subdivisions, public works projects, and zoning decisions must be consistent with the local jurisdiction’s general plan.

In accordance with Government Code Section 65454, the City prepared the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan concurrently with the 2040 General Plan to ensure consistency. The 2040 General Plan provides the broad goals and policies for downtown and the El Camino Real corridor, whereas the Specific Plan provides a focused analysis on the area and more specific policies and development standards related to land use, urban design, and circulation and parking.

Millbrae Station Area Specific Plan

The Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan builds upon and complements the Millbrae Station Area Specific Plan (MSASP), which the City adopted in 2016 to establish land use regulations and development standards, design guidelines, and streetscape standards for the Station Area. The MSASP is located in the southeastern corner of the city, adjacent to the city of Burlingame to the south; El Camino Real and Broadway to the west; and Victoria Avenue, the City’s Public Works storage, and Highline Canal to the north. The MSASP was adopted in February 2016, and is an update of the original 1998 plan. The goal of the MSASP is to guide the creation of Millbrae’s new economic center, including vibrant, diverse, and transitoriented developments in and around the Intermodal Station.

While the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan is located outside of the MSASP planning area, the two plans share a common border along the southeastern portion of the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan.

Broadway And El Camino Real Streetscape Plan

The Broadway and El Camino Real Streetscape Plan was prepared in conjunction with and is provided as an appendix to the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Pan . The Streetscape Plan recommends improvements to the El Camino Real and Broadway corridors within the Specific Plan Area. The Streetscape Plan defines potential changes to roadway layout and function, including roadway geometry, number of travel lanes, bicycle facilities, transit and multimodal facilities, sidewalk width; and improvements to the design character of the corridors, including pavement materials, furnishings, lighting, planting, wayfinding and public art. Additionally, the Streetscape Plan describes green-infrastructure opportunities consistent with the City’s Green Infrastructure Plan. Both plans are intended to compliment and be consistent with one another.

Active Transportation Plan

The Active Transportation Plan (ATP) is the citywide bicycle and pedestrian master plan that will enhance circulation and connectivity. The ATP was adopted by the City Council on October 12, 2021. The purpose of the ATP is to assess the needs of pedestrians and cyclists in Millbrae; identify improvements to infrastructure and programs; ensure eligibility for certain transportation funding sources; and coordinate pedestrian and bicycle local actions and regional projects. The Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan weaves the recommendations from the ATP into this plan as they relate to the Plan Area.

Grand Boulevard Multimodal Transportation Corridor Plan

The Grand Boulevard Initiative is a regional collaborative of 19 cities, counties, and local and regional agencies, to improve the El Camino Real corridor from northern Daly City to central San Jose. The vision of the Grand Boulevard Initiative is to transform El Camino Real into a more walkable, transit- and bicycle-friendly boulevard with mixed-use development. The Grand Boulevard Initiative Task Force, with representation from the City of Millbrae, adopted the Grand Boulevard Multimodal Transportation Corridor Plan on September 15, 2010. The Plan contains multimodal access strategies, street design guidelines, and prototypes for development along the corridor.

Plan Bay Area

Plan Bay Area is an integrated longrange transportation, land housing plan for the San Francisco Bay Area that was jointly prepared by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). Plan Bay Area 2050 is a 30year plan that provides a blueprint for Bay Area growth that is affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant for all residents through 2050 and beyond. The Plan encompasses 35 strategies to improve housing, the economy, transportation, and the environment across the Bay Area’s nine counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma). MTC and ABAG adopted Plan Bay Area 2050 in October 2021, which is an update of the original 2017 plan.

Plan Bay Area is a result of the California Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375), which requires each of the state’s 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to prepare a sustainable communities strategy (SCS) that integrates planning for transportation, land use, and housing with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Plan Bay Area 2050 highlights focus areas for future housing and jobs growth, referred to as Growth Geographies. These geographies are identified for growth either by local jurisdictions or because of their proximity to transit or access to opportunity. Four types of Growth Geographies analyzed in Plan Bay Area 2050 are:

• Priority Development Areas (PDAs): Areas generally near existing job centers or frequent transit that are locally identified for housing and job growth.

• Priority Production Areas (PPAs): Locally identifiable places for job growth in middle-wage industries such as manufacturing, logistics, or other similar trades. An area must be zoned for industrial use or have a predominantly industrial use to be a PPA.

• Transit Rich Areas (TRAs): Areas near rail, ferry or frequent bus service that were not already identified as PDAs. These are areas where at least 50 percent of the area is within ½ mile of either an existing rail station or ferry terminal (with bus or rail service), a bus stop with peak service frequency of 15 minutes or less, or a planned rail station or planned ferry terminal (with bus or rail service).

• High-Resource Areas (HRAs): State-identified places with wellresourced schools and access to jobs and open space, among other advantages, that may have historically rejected more housing growth. This designation only includes places that meet a baseline transit service threshold of bus service with peak headways of 30 minutes or better.

MTC and ABAG designated the boundary of the Millbrae PDA, which includes El Camino Real and the downtown area. While Plan Bay Area does not regulate development, the Millbrae PDA is eligible for transportation funds through MTC and ABAG that support and encourage residential and commercial development within the PDA.