COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

The City began preparing the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan alongside the 2040 General Plan Update and Active Transportation Plan through a combination of technical analysis and public input. The City designed each step of the process to ensure the planning team gathered feedback from residents, business and property owners, decision-makers, and other stakeholders. This section describes the public outreach process.

MARCH 15, 2016

The City Council and Planning Commission held a Joint Study Session to kick-off the planning process and learn more about the need for and purpose of the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan, key steps in the process, and the outreach program.

March To April 2016

The Consultants conducted interviews with key stakeholders to learn about major issues and opportunities in Millbrae.

APRIL 11, 2016

Over 65 people attended the first Community Workshop. During the workshop participants learned about the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan, General Plan, and Active Transportation Plan; discussed their views on the community’s major assets, issues, and opportunities; and shared their vision for the future of the city.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

The City Council and Planning Commission held a Joint Study Session on the draft vision and guiding principles that were used to guide the planning process. The City Council and Planning Commission also reviewed and discussed the Phase I Public Input Summary: Issues and Opportunities and Existing Conditions Report, which covers community engagement from March and April 2016.

MARCH TO

APRIL, 2016

Stakeholders Meeting

APRIL, 2016

Community Workshop

SEPTEMBER, 2016 City Council and Planning Commision Joint Study ession

NOVEMBER, 2016

Community Workshop

Series to Shape the Future of Downtown and El Camino Real

FEBRUARY, 2017

Study Session to review Community Workshop Series results

MARCH, 2017

Study session to provide direction on the preparation of the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan

JUNE, 2021

Study Session to review Community Workshop Series results

DECEMBER, 2021

Study Session

SEPTEMBER, 2021

Study Session

MARCH, 2022

Study Session

NOVEMBER 1 TO 7, 2016

The City hosted the Community Workshop Series to Shape the Future of Downtown and El Camino Real. The workshop series brought residents, business owners, and the project team together to explore options and provide “real time” input as the work unfolded for the Specific Plan.

Day 1: Kick-off Presentation | November 1, 2016

The project team kicked off the workshop series at the Chetcuti Room with a presentation to the community. The presentation included:

• an overview of the project,

• a summary of the outreach and project milestones completed to date,

• an initial site assessment of the Plan Area,

• a description of market conditions in Millbrae, and

• an overview of the workshop series and forthcoming activities.

More than 60 community members attended this session.

Day 2 (Morning): Walking Tour | November 2, 2016

The project team conducted a walking tour of the Plan Area, which began and ended at the Project Headquarters set up at 439 Broadway, a storefront space in downtown, to maximize visibility and accessibility of the process. About 40 community members participated in the tour. During the walking tour, participants examined the positive and negative attributes of downtown, the Station Area, and the El Camino Real corridor.

Day 2 (Evening): Visioning Session | November 2, 2016

The visioning session was held at the Project Headquarters, and approximately 50 people attended. The goal of this session was to encourage the community to visualize and articulate the changes they would like to see in the Plan Area. The session was organized around two exercises. The first exercise focused on describing an ideal experience in the Plan Area. The second activity was a visual preference exercise in which community members identified select images of design ideas that they would like to see implemented in the Plan Area.

Day 3: Concepts Exploration Session | November 3, 2016

The project team held a concepts exploration session at the Project Headquarters, and nearly 40 community members attended. The session included a brief presentation on land development economics and financial feasibility. The project team then introduced the evening’s exercise, a “board game” in which each team was given an aerial plan of the Plan Area (the “game board”) and asked to create a conceptual land use plan using “game cards” marked with specific land use colors and areas, streetscape elements, symbols related to pedestrian safety, and special land uses. The cards also had a plus or minus sign to indicate land uses or infrastructure improvements where capital investment is required from the City versus land uses that could bring economic growth.

Day 4: Final Presentation |

November 7, 2016

The project team concluded the workshop series with a final presentation in the Chetcuti Room and nearly 80 people attended. The project team brought together the six design concepts developed by the community during the concepts exploration session and translated them into two preliminary land use concepts. The project team also provided a summary of the various events and public input received.

FEBRUARY 22, 2017

The Planning Commission held a study session to review the results of the Community Workshop Series and to discuss proposed concepts for the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan.

MARCH 14, 2017

The City Council held a study session to provide direction on the preparation of the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan. The City Council reviewed the results of the Community Workshop Series and provided direction on the Planning Commission’s recommendations.

JUNE 28, 2021

The City Council and Planning Commission held a Joint Study Session to discuss the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan. The purpose of the study session was to kick-off the relaunch of the Specific Plan Update effort since the effort was largely stopped in 2019 due to a need for revisions to the project scope and budget.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

The City Council and Planning Commission held a Joint Study Session to discuss the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan and Housing Element Opportunity Sites Analysis. The study session was more informational and was centered around the topics of land use designations and development criteria including maximum building heights, floor area ratios, and residential densities.

DECEMBER 2, 2021

The City Council and Planning Commission held a Joint Study Session to discuss the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan, with a focus on the Broadway and El Camino Real Streetscape Plan. The City Council and Planning Commission provided comments to staff and the Specific Plan consulting team.

MARCH 8, 2022

The City Council and Planning Commission held a Joint Study Session to review the Draft Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan. The City Council and Planning Commission provided comments to staff and the Specific Plan consulting team.