Recent population growth has made rents and home prices in California among the highest in the US. In 2015, the California Supreme Court decided that municipalities have “broad discretion to regulate the use of real property to serve the legitimate interests of the general public,” thus laying the foundation for local governments to require developers to include Below Market Rate (BMR) housing in proposed projects.
The brick design and BMR component for the 650 Live Oak mixed-use project has “set a high bar” for the below market rate housing component of residential development projects. As noted in an article on the Menlo Park municipality website the project was unanimously approved by the Menlo Park, CA Planning Commission who commended brick.’s design for its use of underground parking, addition of a public park amenity, and creating units in excess of the development’s BMR requirement.