SIGNIFICANT BOUNDARIES

The City received a grant from Caltrans to prepare this Specific Plan for the Millbrae Priority Development Area. Priority Development Areas (PDAs) are areas identified by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) with the potential to accommodate growth as a part of the Bay Area’s regional land use and transportation plan, Plan Bay Area. For the purposes of this Specific Plan, the City of Millbrae created the Downtown and El Camino Real Specific Plan boundary (Plan Area), which includes the PDA, but encompasses a slightly larger area (see Figure 2.2).

The Plan Area is exceptional because it is near the Inter-modal Station, which is the largest inter-modal terminal west of the Mississippi. The station serves BART, Caltrain, SamTrans, and is a proposed station for the California High-Speed Rail. The station also connects to the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The City adopted the Millbrae Station Area Specific Plan (MSASP) in 2016 and is in the process of developing a high-amenity, dense, urban center in the Station Area, as guided by the MSASP. No amendments are proposed to the MSASP as part of the adoption of this Specific Plan. Each Specific Plan will be a standalone policy document.

The Plan Area spans El Camino Real (State Route 82), a key corridor for the Peninsula that stretches from Daly City to San Jose. El Camino Real has three traffic lanes in each direction that has created a challenging environment for pedestrians and cyclists. This regional linkage is at the heart of the Plan Area and presents the opportunity to create a local and regional destination that fosters a stronger city identity, public safety, and economic investment.

The Plan Area also encompasses downtown, which spans from Victoria Avenue to the south and Meadow Glen Avenue to the north. The Downtown core, between Victoria Avenue and Taylor Boulevard, is characterized by small storefronts and restaurants, many of which are locallyowned. Downtown also includes large, national retailers and grocery stores.

WHAT IS A PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT AREA?

PDAs are areas within existing communities that cities and counties throughout the Bay Area have identified as future infill development opportunity areas for new housing, jobs, and community amenities. These areas have high-quality public transit access and are near job centers, shopping districts, and other services. PDAs are created and planned by local governments, which nominate eligible areas to ABAG. MTC and ABAG designated the boundary of the Millbrae PDA, which includes El Camino Real and the downtown area. Concentrating higher density growth in the PDA takes advantage of transit resources and reduces use of personal vehicles, and minimizes traffic impacts in communities and development pressure on open space and agricultural lands.

Millbrae City Limits

Downtown and El Camino Real Speci c Plan Boundary

PDA Boundary

MSASP Boundary

Existing Land Use

The Plan Area encompasses approximately 97 net acres and contains a wide variety of land uses, as shown in Figure 2.3 and Table 2.1. The downtown district is defined as the area between Magnolia Street and El Camino Real, bound by Victoria Avenue to the south and Meadow Glen Avenue to the north. Downtown is characterized by small-format commercial uses along Broadway, with occasional residential uses. The two blocks between Taylor Boulevard and Meadow Glen Avenue contain larger blocks with major retailers, including Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Living Spaces.

The Plan Area is also home to many of the City’s civic facilities. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has a large facility located east of El Camino Real. There is a U.S. Post Office in the eastern portion of downtown. There are also City-owned parking lots for public use.

Table 2.1 shows existing land uses in the Plan Area. There are several apartments, duplexes, and triplexes on Broadway, between Victoria Avenue and Murchison Drive, that are within walking distance to grocery stores and other retail locations. The majority of uses along El Camino Real are commercial and mixed-use with residential above ground floor commercial. There is a concentration of multifamily and mixed-use developments along the southern end of El Camino Real past Victoria Avenue. East of Magnolia Avenue, Palmito Drive, and El Camino Real, there is single family residential bordering the Plan Area.