Through its Below Market Rate (BMR) Housing Ordinance, the City of Menlo Park has adopted several policies to assist in the production of affordable housing. These include an inclusionary zoning policy, which requires that a certain percentage of units in new residential developments be designated as affordable at certain income levels, and a commercial linkage fee, which requires new commercial developments pay a fee to offset their impact on the local housing needs. Those fees are collected in a the BMR Housing Fund, which helps fund the production and preservation of affordable housing throughout the City.
To help determine the appropriate linkage fee amounts and percentage inclusionary requirements, cities study the nexus of new development and its impact on the need for affordable housing. In 2026, 11 jurisdictions in San Mateo County are collaborating on an initiative to explore updates to and/or enact new affordable housing policies to be applied to new development projects. These policy studies include some combination of residential affordable housing impact fees, inclusionary requirements and in-lieu fees, and commercial linkage fees. If implemented, the policies or policy updates will be applied to proposals for new residential and/or commercial development. The requirements will not affect existing developments.
Different jurisdictions have opted into different components of the study. Some of these jurisdictions currently have affordable housing ordinances in place, and some are exploring them for the first time. Strategic Economics is performing a set of economic analyses to support this effort and will be recommending updates to policies for the various communities later this year. Community Planning Collaborative is facilitating coordination between the cities and Strategic Economics.