Project Overview

The City of Millbrae is a unique Bay Area community. It is the location for the Peninsula’s only multimodal transit station, making it a leader in California and the nation for progressive, contemporary mobility and connectivity. Adjacent to the San Francisco International Airport, Millbrae serves as a gateway to the Bay Area, California, and the world.

In contrast to being a hub for thousands of travelers, Millbrae is also known for its quality neighborhoods, excellent schools, friendly downtown, and numerous local festivals and events. Millbrae’s population is aging and has an active, vibrant senior community. At the same time, 90 percent of the employed residents commute daily elsewhere to work. This is a city of both stability and change; a city of contrasts and opportunities; and a city of great possibilities. Millbrae’s planning efforts should capitalize on the potential opportunities for positive change while preserving the qualities and traditions of the community.

The Millbrae General Plan Update process consists of three separate plans:

General Plan Update

The City adopted its current General Plan in 1998. The existing General Plan has served the City well, but much has changed in the last 20 years. The Plan is now out of date and the City needs a comprehensive, unified Plan that integrates past and current planning efforts and positions the City to consider choices for future growth and change.

Millbrae Priority Development Area Specific Plan

The City has received a grant from the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) to prepare a specific plan for its Priority Development Area (PDA). A specific plan is a comprehensive planning document for a specific region of the city. Priority Development Areas (PDAs) are areas that communities identified as possible areas to grow as a part of the Bay Area’s regional land use and transportation plan, Plan Bay Area (see below). The PDA, which also includes the Grand Boulevard Initiative and the Downtown area, will be the central focus for change in Millbrae.

Active Transportation Plan

The City has received a grant from C/CAG to prepare a pedestrian and bicycle master plan for Millbrae. The purpose of the plan is to:

• Assess the needs of pedestrians and cyclists in Millbrae;
• Identify improvements to infrastructure and programs;
• Ensure eligibility to certain transportation funding sources; and
• Coordinate pedestrian and bicycle local actions and regional projects.

The active transportation plan process will be conducted along with the General Plan Update and PDA Specific Plan Process to ensure consistency between all three documents.

Related Plans and Initiatives

Plan Bay Area

Plan Bay Area is a long-range integrated transportation and land-use/housing strategy through 2040 for the San Francisco Bay Area. Plan Bay Area marks the nine-county region’s first long-range plan to meet the requirements of California’s landmark 2008 Senate Bill 375, which calls on each of the state’s 18 metropolitan areas to develop a Sustainable Communities Strategy to accommodate future population growth and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks. Working in collaboration with cities and counties, the Plan advances initiatives to expand housing and transportation choices, create healthier communities, and build a stronger regional economy.

Plan Bay Area plans for 80 percent of future growth to be directed to Priority Development Areas (PDAs). These are neighborhoods within walking distance of frequent transit service, offering a wide variety of housing options, and featuring amenities such as grocery stores, community centers, and restaurants. Millbrae’s PDA runs the length of El Camino Real and includes the Millbrae BART, Caltrain, and SamTrans intermodal station.

Grand Boulevard Initiative

The Grand Boulevard is a collaboration of 19 cities, counties, local and regional agencies united to improve the performance, safety and aesthetics of El Camino Real. Starting at the northern Daly City city limit and ending near the Diridon Caltrain Station in central San Jose, the initiative brings together for the first time all of the agencies having responsibility for the condition, use and performance of the street.

All of the cities, counties, and agencies, Millbrae included, have accepted the Grand Boulevard Vision – to make the El Camino Real Corridor a more urban, pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented corridor for residents to live, work, shop and play. The Millbrae General Plan Update and the Active Transportation Plan will be consistent with this vision and further the goals of the Initiative.