Foster City City Council
April 21, 2022

CITY OF FOSTER CITY
AND

FOSTER CITY PLANNING COMMISSION

THIS MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953 (AS AMENDED BY AB 361) WHICH AUTHORIZES TELECONFERENCED MEETINGS UNDER THE BROWN ACT DURING CERTAIN PROCLAIMED STATES OF EMERGENCY. THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PROCLAIMED A STATE OF EMERGENCY RELATED TO COVID-19 ON MARCH 4, 2020. THIS TELECONFERENCED MEETING IS NECESSARY SO THAT THE CITY CAN CONDUCT ESSENTIAL BUSINESS AND IS PERMITTED UNDER GOVER NMENT CODE 54953 IN ORDER TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ATTENDEES. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

THAT WISH TO ATTEND AND/OR PARTICIPATE IN A MEETING MAY DO SO IN PERSON OR BY

JOINING THE ZOOM MEETING
HTTPS://FOSTERCITY-ORG.ZOOM.US/J/85260676488 PUBLIC
COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED BOTH IN PERSON AND VIA ZOOM MEETING. ANY EMAILS SENT TO [email protected] WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION PRIOR TO THE MEETING.

Consistent with Government Code Section 54953, this City/District Meeting will be held via teleconference in addition to in person. City Counci l Members, Planning Commissioners and staff will attend in person or via teleconference.

To maximize public safety while still maintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can observe the meeting from home or attend the meeting in person. Below is information on how the public may observe and participate in the meeting.

To Attend the Meeting in Person:
• Location: 620 Foster City Blvd, Foster City, California, 94404

To Provide Public Comment in Person:
• Members of the public wishing to speak will be asked to fill out a Request to Speak Form. Forms will be accepted until t he staff presentation on an agenda item ends, or until the public comment period on non- agenda items is closed. For special meetings, public comment is limited to item(s) on the agenda only.

To Observe the Meeting via Teleconference/Video Conference:
• To access the meeting by computer / smartphone, go to:
https://fostercity-org.zoom.us/j/85260676488

• To dial-in via phone:
1-669-900-6833 or
1-408-638-0968
And enter Webinar ID: 852 6067 6488

To Participate in the Meeting by Providing Public Comment via Teleconference/Video Conference:
• During the Meeting: Live verbal public comments may be made by members of the public joining the meeting via Zoom. Zoom access information is provided above. Use the “raise hand” feature (for those joining by phone, press *9 to “raise hand”) during the public comment period for the agenda item you wish to address. The Zoom Host will call on people to speak by name provided or last 4 digits of phone number for dial-in attendees. Please clearly state your full name for the record at the start of your public comment.

Before the Meeting: Written public comments for the record may be submitted in advance by 4:00 p.m. 1 the day of the meeting by email to: [email protected] and will be made part of the written record but will not be read verbally at the meeting. Written public comments submitted by email should adhere to the following:
• Clearly indicate the Agenda Item No. or specify “Public” in the Subject Line for items not on the agenda
• Include the submitter’s full name (Recommended but not required)

Written public comments received by 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting will be provided in their entirety to the City Council and Planning Commission prior to the meeting and will be made part of the written record but will not be read verbally at the meeting. Written public comments will be posted to the City’s website for review prior to the meeting.

AGENDA

Thursday, April 21, 2022 6:30 PM

SPECIAL MEETING

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. ROLL CALL

Councilmembers Jon Froomin, Sanjay Gehani, Sam Hindi, Patrick Sullivan, and Mayor Richa Awasthi

Planning Commissioners Evan Adams, Charlie Bronitsky, Nicolas Haddad, Ravi Jagtiani, and Chair Rick Wykoff

3. PUBLIC

Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.3(a), members of the public wishing to address the Council and Planning Commission may do so, and the comments shall be limited to the Special Meeting notice topic(s). Speakers may join the Zoom meeting via the meeting link and using the “raise hand” feature and the Zoom host will call on people.

4. STUDY SESSION

4.1. Continued Discussion on the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update Including An Overview of the Preliminary Public Review Draft and Potential Housing Sites, Policies, Programs and other aspects of the Housing Element
a) Staff Report
b) No Action - Comments Only

2 5. ADJOURNMENT

The public is invited to attend.

Any attendee wishing special accommodations at the meeting should contact the City Clerk’s Department at (650) 286-3250 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the City Council or EMID Board regarding any item on this agenda after the agenda packet was distributed will be made available for public inspection in the City Clerk Department at City Hall located at 610 Foster City Boulevard during normal business hours and at the meeting.

City Council meetings on FCTV on Comcast Channel 27 and AT&T Channel 99:

LIVE every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month
REPLAY next day at 1:00 pm (that week only)
REPLAY Saturday at 5:00 pm (only on Saturday the week the actual meeting occurs) 3 DATE: April 21, 2022

TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
Chair and Members of the Foster City Planning Commission

VIA: Edmund Suen, Interim City Manager

FROM: Marlene Subhashini, Community Development Director Leslie Carmichael, Consulting Planner

SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE FOR THE 2023-2031 PLANNING PERIOD

PURPOSE

The purpose of this meeting is to: (1) provide the City Council, Planning Commission, and the public an overview of the Preliminary Public Review Draft of the 2023-2031 Housing Element; and (2) receive any additional feedback on Housing Sites, Policies, and Programs. The feedback received at the meeting will help staff further refine the Housing Element prior to the official Public Review Draft being published.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The City is continuing to make progress in updating its Housing Element for the 2023-2031 planning period. The Housing Element provides a roadmap for how to meet the City’s growth and housing challenges, identifies what the existing housing conditions and community needs are, identifies housing goals, policies, and programs while taking into account several state law requirements. The Housing Element creates a plan for additional housing while trying to balance the community’s desires to retain the aspects of Foster City that make it a great place to live, work, and play.

4 A “Preliminary Public Review Draft” was posted on the City’s website on April 15, 2022 (see Attachment 1 or link to the preliminary draft). Prior to the April 21, 2022 Joint Study Session meeting, staff is requesting that the City Council and Planning Commission review the Preliminary Public Review Draft document, particularly the chapters listed below and be prepared to provide feedback at the meeting.

1. Chapter 3: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

2. Chapter 5: Housing Resources and Sites

3. Chapter 8: Housing Goals, Policies and Programs
When Chapter 4: Constraints and Appendix C: Constraints are published on April 25, 2022, the official 30-day public comment period on the “Public Review Draft” will begin, closing on May 25, 2022. The Public Review Draft Housing Element is required to be circulated for a minimum of thirty (30) days. If comments are received, then the City is required to take an additional ten (10) business days to respond to comments prior to submitting the draft to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in June for their required 90-day review. Following HCD’s review, the City will have an opportunity to make additional changes prior to adoption. See additional discussion of the schedule below.

BACKGROUND

California's Planning and Zoning Law (Govt Code §65000 et seq.) establishes a framework for local land use regulation. It requires that every city and county adopt a General Plan for its physical development. The plan must be comprehensive, long-term, and up to date. The General Plan is required to contain the following seven mandatory elements: Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, and Safety. In 1969, the state mandated that all California cities, towns, and counties must adequately plan for the housing needs of everyone in their communities. This state mandate is called the Housing Element. Housing Elements are required to be updated every eight years. The due date for adoption of the Housing Element is January 31, 2023.

Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA)

The RHNA process is the part of Housing Element Law used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability of those homes, each local government must plan for in its Housing Element. HCD provides a Regional 5 Housing Needs Determination (RHND) to each region and each region develops a methodology to distribute the needs to the jurisdictions in the region. This process is repeated every eight years, and for this cycle (6th cycle), the Bay Area is planning for the period from 2023 to 2031.

The final RHNA for Bay Area jurisdictions was approved by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in the Final RHNA Allocation Report on December 16, 2021 and approved by HCD, as stated in its approval letter dated January 12, 2022. Additional information on the process for developing the RHNA is available on the City’s webpage on RHNA/Plan Bay Area.

Additional discussion of the RHNA is provided in the March 2, 2022 Joint Study Session Staff Report and in Chapter 2 of the Preliminary Public Review Draft Housing Element. The RHNA for Foster City is provided in Table 1.

Table 1: RHNA for Foster City: 2023-2031
Income Level No. of
Units
Percent
Very-Low-Income (0-50
percent of AMI) *
520 27%
Low-income (50-80 percent of
AMI)
299 16%
Moderate-income (80-120
percent of AMI)
300 16%
Above moderate-income (120
percent or more of AMI)
777 41%
Total 1,896 100%
*AMI is Area Median Income; Foster City uses the AMI for San Mateo County.

Housing Element Progress Update

The key components of the Housing Element and a progress update on them are provided in Table 2 below.
6 Table 2: Housing Element Components Progress Update
Component Requirement Progress
Update
Housing
Needs
Assessment
Examine demographic,
employment, and housing trends
and conditions; identify existing
and projected housing needs of
the community with attention
paid to special housing needs
(e.g., large families, persons
with disabilities).

See Chapter 2
and Appendix
A
Affirmatively
Furthering
Fair Housing
(AFFH)
Facilitate deliberate action to
explicitly address, combat, and
relieve disparities resulting from
past patterns of segregation to
foster more inclusive
communities, in compliance with
Assembly Bill 686 (2018).

See Chapter 3
and Appendix
B
Constraints
Analysis
Analyze and recommend
remedies for existing and
potential governmental and
nongovernmental barriers to
housing development.
*In progress
with assistance
from 21
Elements
Housing Sites
Inventory
Identify locations of available
sites for housing development or
redevelopment to ensure there
is enough land zoned for
housing to meet the RHNA at all
income levels and potentially
rezone areas, if necessary.

See Chapter 5
and Appendix
D
Evaluation of
past Housing
Element
Review the prior Housing
Element to measure progress in
implementing policies and
programs.

See Chapter 6
and Appendix
E
Community
Engagement
Implement a robust community
engagement program, reaching
See Chapter 7
and Appendix
7 out to all economic segments of
the community plus traditionally
underrepresented groups.

F which
includes
summaries of
Housing
Preferences
Survey, Map-
based
feedback, and
comment
letters
Policies and
Programs
Establish housing policies and
programs to be carried out
during the 2023-2031 planning
period to fulfill the identified
housing needs.

See Chapter 8
Environmental
Impact Report
Analyze the potential
environmental impacts
associated with adoption and
implementation of proposed
Housing Element Update and
Safety Element Update
Notice of
Preparation
(NOP) issued
1/26/22.

UPP selected
as
environmental
consultant firm
on 2/7/22.

Planning
Commission
Scoping
Meeting held
on 2/17/22.

Draft EIR due
in late summer.

Environmental Impact Report (EIR)

As noted above, an EIR will be prepared for the Housing Element Update and Safety Element Update in conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The purpose of CEQA is to inform decision-makers and the public about the impacts of a proposed project prior to taking action on the project. To that end, a lead agency (in this case, the City of Foster City) is 8 required to disclose a project’s potentially significant environmental effects to the community, decision makers, and responsible agencies, identify and implement measures that will limit such detrimental impacts, and consider project alternatives.

The EIR will be a “program level” EIR rather than a “project level” EIR. A program level EIR analyzes the potential environmental impacts of programs based on the level of specificity included. For program plans such as a Housing Element or Safety Element, the analysis will be at a more general level that does not analyze site-specific impacts. Site specific environmental impacts will be evaluated as part of the “project level” environmental assessment as part of the development review of each individual project. The EIR will analyze a wide range of issues, including transportation/traffic, public services and utilities, air quality, etc.

A Notice of Preparation was issued on January 26, 2022. The Planning Commission held a noticed Scoping Meeting on February 17, 2022. The Draft EIR will be circulated for public review and comment later this year, in advance of the City Council ultimately considering adoption on the Final Housing Element in early 2023.

Housing Element Update Schedule

An updated timeline due to a slightly later date for publication of the Public Review Draft is included in Table 3.

Table 3: 2023-2031 Housing Element Update Timeline
Timeframe Milestone
Q3 2020 –
Q2 2021 Launch Community Engagement
Housing Needs Analysis
Evaluate Current Housing Element
Receive Draft RHNA
Q1 2021 –
Q4 2021 Continue Community Engagement
Receive Final RHNA
9 Q1 2022
Continue Community Engagement
Sites Inventory/Analysis
AFFH Analysis
Constraints Analysis
Develop Draft Policies and Programs
Begin CEQA Analysis
Q2 2022
Continue Community Engagement
Publish Public Review Draft Housing Element:

Target Date 4/25/22
PC/CC Joint Study Session(s) April 21 and May
17 Submit for HCD review of Draft Housing
Element: Target Date mid-June 2022
Q3 2022
Continue Community Engagement
90-day HCD review period ends: mid-
September 2022
Publish Draft EIR
Q4 2022
Continue Community Engagement
Revise/Respond to HCD comments
Final hearings on EIR certification and Housing
Element by Planning Commission & City
Council: Target Date: November – December
2022
By January
31, 2023 Adoption
Q1 2023
HCD final review
10 Community Engagement/Previous Meetings

A description of the community engagement for the Housing Element Update is contained in Chapter 7 and Appendix F. Public comments received on the Housing Element Update as of April 14, 2022 are included in Appendix F. In February 2022, the City launched a new community engagement website for the Housing Element Update, including a combination of tools from Bang The Table and MapSocial, to provide opportunities for community engagement and feedback on the Housing Element Update. The website can be accessed here: https://engagefostercity.org/housing-element and automatically redirects from the main City website’s page for the Housing Element Update.

The City has held a number of public meetings to discuss various aspects of the Housing Element Update. These meetings have been advertised in a variety of ways, including the Housing Element email listserv, posted notices, newspaper notices, FCTV, electronic marquee, social media, City website, and City e-newsletter. The list of public meetings is on the Housing Element Update website and listed at the end of this report with links to the meeting materials.

The Preliminary Public Review Draft was posted on the City’s website on April 15, 2022. The Public Review Draft (including information on constraints) is tentatively scheduled to be posted on April 25, 2022 with the public review period from April 25, 2022 to May 25, 2022. The City’s Housing Element Update website provides instructions for submitting comments by mail or email to [email protected].

ANALYSIS

The Housing Element is required to include an extensive analysis of several factors to inform the jurisdiction’s housing goals, policies, and programs that will implement the Housing Element. The required analysis includes:
Housing Needs
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Constraints
Sites and Resources
Previous Housing Element Performance
11 The goals, policies, and programs are developed to address the identified needs, reduce constraints to the production of housing, and comply with other State-mandated requirements. The Sites Inventory identifies potential housing opportunity sites to meet the City’s RHNA for the next eight year planning period from 2023-2031.

The focus of the April 21, 2022 Joint Study Session is to provide the City Council, Planning Commission and the public an overview of the Preliminary Public Review Draft and receive any additional feedback on Housing Sites, Policies, and Programs.

Comments and direction can be provided at the April 21, 2022 Joint Study Session and/or at the May 17, 2022 Joint Study Session. The feedback received at these meetings will help staff further refine the Housing Element prior to the official Public Review Draft being published. Following the close of the 30-day public review period on May 25, 2022, changes will be incorporated into the Draft Housing Element before it is submitted to HCD for their 90-day review.

Housing Resources and Sites

At the Joint Study Session on March 2, 2022, the Planning Commission and City Council provided feedback on potential housing sites (see Attachment 2).

In addition, the community provided their feedback via the survey and mapping feedback tool provided on the City’s Housing Element engagement website. Based on the feedback received at the meeting and input provided by the community, staff reached out to property owners to ascertain their interest in housing development and prepared the sites analysis. The outreach is a required component of the sites inventory exercise in order to determine the realistic development capacity of each site. In a built-out city like Foster City which has no vacant land, HCD reviewers are looking at realistic development capacity in the sites inventory and one of the measures they use is property owner/developer interest to develop their site.

For information on the requirements for the sites analysis, please refer to Attachment 3 also linked here: March 2, 2022 Joint Study Session Staff Report and Appendix D.

Following the March 2, 2022 Joint Study Session and staff outreach to property owners, the following new information regarding specific sites became available:
12 Four (4) accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are under construction that can be considered “Pipeline Projects” if they are not completed by June 30, 2022.
Equity Residential indicated they intend to submit a preliminary application in April 2022 for additional units at Schooner Bay Apartments.
Preliminary plans were submitted for 22 multi-family ADUs at The Eaves Apartments.
Preliminary plans were submitted in January 2022 for 10 multi-family ADUs at The Triton Apartments.
Vincent Curci, owner of 1010 Metro Center Boulevard, submitted a letter dated April 8, 2022 expressing interest in analyzing residential development scenarios (see p. F-45 of Appendix F)
Woodmont Companies, owner of Beach Cove, Sand Cove, and Shadow Cove submitted a letter dated March 24, 2022 indicating interest in exploring the potential for additional housing at their sites (see p. F-46 of Appendix F)
Gilead Sciences submitted a letter dated March 21, 2022 requesting that their Chess Hatch site that has vested development rights not be included in the Sites Inventory (see p. F-47 of Appendix F) Essex Property Trust submitted a letter dated April 6, 2022 indicating interest in exploring additional units at Foster’s Landing Apartments (see p. F-48 of Appendix F)
CalTrans provided an email dated April 11, 2022 that their sites along East Third Avenue are being held for environmental mitigation and that they do not have any intentions of consolidating their other two locations (maintenance facility at 380 Foster City Boulevard and Maintenance area at the base of the San Mateo Bridge) (see p. F-58-61 of Appendix F)
The owner of 5A Rent-a-Space informed staff that they are not interested in pursuing housing development at this time. Representatives of Hudson Pacific informed staff that they are not interested in pursuing opportunities for housing at The Marketplace in Metro Center.
Some property owners did not respond to staff request to meet and/or engage with them.

The methodology for assignment of the capacities to the various affordability levels is different for the different types of sites. For Pipeline Projects or Proposed Projects, the affordability levels are as proposed or required by the 13 City’s inclusionary ordinance. The affordability levels of ADUs are based on the DRAFT Affordability of Accessory Dwelling Units, prepared by ABAG, dated 9/8/2021. For the remainder, for sites with capacity at or above the “default density” of 30 units per acre, the site can be assumed to be suitable to meet lower income needs. For these sites, the assignment of the estimated capacity of sites to the various income categories uses the percentages in the RHNA. The Draft Sites Inventory is provided in Table 4.

Table 4: Draft Sites Inventory

14 The State’s “No Net Loss” requirements (Government Code Section 65853) stipulate that a jurisdiction must provide sufficient site capacity at all times throughout the RHNA planning period. A jurisdiction can fall out of compliance if they take actions such as:
Reduce a site’s residential density
Approve development applications with fewer units on the site than identified in the Housing Element
Approve development applications with higher income units than projected in the Housing Element
For additional information on buffers, see “Housing Element Site Inventories:

Why Buffers and Excess Capacity Matter,” prepared by ABAG and HCD’s Guidance Memo, “No Net Loss Law-Government Code Section 65863.”

Draft Housing Goals, Policies and Programs

Using the feedback from the March 2, 2022 Joint Study Session, staff researched potential housing policies and programs, also considering examples from other jurisdictions and feedback from HCD to other jurisdictions. As part of the 21 Elements facilitation of conversations with HCD staff, City staff was able to provide a “virtual tour” to HCD staff on March 21, 2022 and obtain feedback on some of the challenges in a “built out” city, such as Foster City. Additional information continues to become available through the 21 Element collaborative as well as through review of HCD comment letters provided to other jurisdictions.

Staff will continue to strengthen and refine the policies and programs based on the feedback we receive from 21 Elements. 21 Elements has indicated to staff that HCD reviewers while reviewing Housing Element goals, policies, and programs are looking for specific measurable metrics and action items to occur within specific timeframes. So far, HCD has certified only 7 of the 197 SCAG jurisdictions and two of the most common comments are related to AFFH and policies and programs. Staff will continue to strengthen and refine the policies and programs based on the feedback we receive from 21 Elements and review of other HCD letters. These refinements would be to strengthen policies and programs language that is weak, tie in more specificity of the outcome and establish specific timeframes that are realistic based on staffing and resources.

One of the new requirements for this Housing Element Update is the AFFH 15 analysis and links to programs. This is included beginning on page HE-20 in Chapter 3 of the Housing Element and Appendix B with the links to programs summarized in Table 5, below.

Table 5: Fair Housing Action Plan: Summary Matrix of Fair Housing Issues and Actions

16 The proposed housing goals, policies and programs are contained in Chapter 8, beginning on page HE-45 of the Housing Element. For this draft of the Housing Element, yellow highlights are used to denote new or substantially modified policies and programs. For comparison to the existing policies and programs, see the evaluation of the current Housing Element in Appendix E, but some of the numbers and order have changed. A matrix is provided at the end Chapter 8 beginning on page HE-68, listing the titles of the proposed goals, policies, and programs with their target timeframes and an indication of whether financial support is needed. A list of the new or substantially modified policies and programs is included in Table 6.

Table 6: New or Substantially Modified Policies and Programs Number Title
H-A-1-c No Net Loss
H-A-3-b Water and Sewer District Coordination
H-A-3-c Water Conservation Requirements
H-A-4-a Commercial Linkage Fee
17 H-A-4-c Expand Sources of Funds for the City Affordable Housing Fund
H-A-4-d Budgeting for Housing Programs
H-B-2-a Lower-Income Homeowner Rehabilitation Loans
H-B-2-b Facilitate Non-Profit Rehabilitation Maintenance Assistance
H-B-3-b Expedited Energy Conservation Permits
H-B-3-c Increase Awareness Regarding Energy
Conservation
H-B-3-d Climate Action Plan
H-B-4-a Update Architectural and Solar Guidelines for
Single Family Homes
H-B-5-g Traffic Impacts
H-B-5-h Water Supply Assessment
H-C-1-b Amend Percentage of BMR Units in Conversions
H-C-2-a Monitor Affordable Housing Regulatory
Agreements
H-C-2-c Replacement Unit Requirements
H-C-3 Tenant Protections
H-C-3-b Anti-Displacement Strategy
H-C-3-d Facilitate Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB
1482)
H-C-4-a Rental Housing Assistance Information
H-D-1-c General Plan and Zoning Amendments to
Facilitate Housing on Housing Opportunity Sites
in the Sites Inventory
H-D-3-a Update Planned Development Process
H-D-4 Accessory Dwelling Units
H-D-4-a ADUs
18 H-D-4-b ADU/JADU Financial Incentive Program
H-D-4-c Preapproved ADU/JADU Designs and Expedited
Review
H-D-4-d Improved Public Information on ADUs
H-D-4-e Amnesty Program for Existing Unapproved
ADUs
H-D-4-f Objective Design Standards for ADUs
H-D-4-g Multi-family ADUs
H-D-4-h ADU Monitoring
H-D-5 Institution-Owned Sites
H-D-5-a School Sites
H-D-5-b Religious and Nonprofit-Owned Sites
H-D-6-b Zoning Incentives
H-D-6-e Multi-Family Objective Design Standards
H-D-6-f SB9 Objective Design Standards
H-D-6-g Farmworker Housing and Employee Housing Act
H-E-1-a Existing Unit Purchase Program
H-E-2-a Inclusionary 20% Requirement
H-E-2-b Affordable Housing Overlay Inclusionary 15%
Requirement Including Extremely Low-Income
H-E-5-a New Agreements for Affordability of Existing
Rental Units
H-E-7-a Housing Provisions in Development Agreements
H-F-1-c Adaptable/Accessible Units for the Disabled
H-F-1-g Age Friendly Initiative
H-F-2-e Low Barrier Navigation Centers
H-F-2-h Supportive Housing
19 H-G-2 Improved Access to Fair Housing Information
H-G-2a Anti-Discrimination Regulations
H-G-2-b Fair Housing training for Landlords and Tenants H-G-2-c Information Specific to Fair Housing
H-G-2-d Multi-Lingual Tenant Resources
H-G-2-e Rental Registry

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.

CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA

The Housing Element Update supports the City Council’s Value/Priority Area under “Smart Planning, Development, and the Local Economy” which is to protect, maintain, and enhance our community character through thoughtful planning as well as “City Council Operations and Improved Community Engagement” where the City Council operates at the highest level of civil discourse, encouraging resident engagement and full transparency. The Community Engagement portion of the Housing Element Update is part of the City’s ongoing commitment to its Vision to “Create a sustainable Foster City through smart, inclusive, and efficient actions to enhance our quality of place for current and future generations” and to its Mission to use “community engagement and data to make decisions and measure progress based on economic, social and environmental factors.

ATTACHMENTS:
 Attachment 1 – Preliminary Public Review Draft Housing Element (for links to the Preliminary Public Review Draft and Appendices, see below)
Attachment 2 – Notes from March 2, 2022 City Council and Planning Commission Special Joint meeting
Attachment 3 – March 2, 2022 Joint Study Session Staff Report (also linked below)
20 Link to Housing Element Update Webpage:
https://engagefostercity.org/housing-element

Links to Preliminary Public Review Draft of the Housing Element:
 Chapters 1 through 8 of the Preliminary Draft Housing Element (except Chapter 4)
 Appendix A: Housing Needs Assessment
 Appendix B: Foster City Fair Housing Assessment
Appendix C: Constraints to Housing (to be published on April 25, 2022)  Appendix D: Housing Resources and Sites
 Appendix E: Review of Previous Housing Element
 Appendix F: Public Participation
 Appendix G: Definition of Housing Terms
Links to past meeting materials:
 October 7, 2019 City Council Meeting (RHNA and subregion)  September 21, 2020 City Council and Planning Commission Joint Special Meeting
 March 24, 2021 City Council and Planning Commission Special Meeting
 April 13, 2021 Countywide Community Meeting - Meeting Summary  April 14, 2021 City Council and Planning Commission Joint Special Meeting
 April 22, 2021 Countywide Community Meeting
 June 7, 2021 City Council Meeting (RHNA appeal)
 July 15, 2021 Planning Commission Study Session (Needs and policies)
 September 27, 2021 21 Elements Countywide Listening Session #1 – Meeting Summary (Fair Housing)
 October-December 2021 21 Elements 4-part Let’s Talk Housing Webinar – Meeting Summary
 October 18, 2021 21 Elements Countywide Listening Session #2 – Meeting Summary (Housing Advocates)
 November 1, 2021 21 Elements Countywide Listening Session #3 – Meeting Summary (Builders/Developers)
 November 1, 2021 City Council Meeting – Report on Community Workshops
 December 13, 2021 City Council (RFP for EIR)
21  February 7, 2022 City Council Meeting (Award EIR contract)  February 17, 2022 Planning Commission Meeting (EIR Scoping)  March 2, 2022 Joint Study Session Staff Report
Links to related documents and other relevant information:
 New State Housing Unit Set to Enforce Local Housing Mandates, ABAG, October 2021
 Housing Site Inventories: Why Buffers and Excess Capacity Matter, ABAG, October 2021
 Pending, Approved and Under Construction Housing Projects, 21 Elements, 2/14/22
 DRAFT Affordability of Accessory Dwelling Units, ABAG, 9/8/2021  Housing Element Fact Sheet
 RHNA/Plan Bay Area Webpage
 Final RHNA Allocation Report on December 16, 2021
 HCD approval letter to ABAG dated 1/12/22
 AB 215
 AB 1398
 Housing Element Compliance Report
 Housing Element Review Letters
 Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook-Government Code Section 65583.2, HCD, June 20, 2020
 Housing Element Update and Public Safety Element Update map  No Net Loss Law – Government Code Section 65863, HCD, October 2, 2019
 Housing Accountability Act Technical Assistance Advisory, HCD, September 15, 2020
22 City of

FOSTER CITY

PRELIMINARY PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT
Prepared for:

City of Foster City
April 2022
URBAN

PLANNING

PARTNERS
INC.
2023 - 2031 Housing Element Update
23 24
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-i

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 | HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT ........................................ 5 CHAPTER 3 | AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING .................... 17 CHAPTER 4 | CONSTRAINTS SUMMARY .............................................. 23 CHAPTER 5 | HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES ................................... 25 CHAPTER 6 | OVERVIEW OF 2015-2023 HOUSING ELEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS .................................................... 35 CHAPTER 7 | PUBLIC PARTICIPATION .................................................. 39 CHAPTER 8 | HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS ................... 45

APPENDICES
Appendix A: Housing Needs Assessment
Appendix B: Foster City Fair Housing Assessment
Appendix C: Constraints to Housing
Appendix D: Housing Resources and Sites
Appendix E: Review of Previous Housing Element Policies Appendix F: Public Participation
Appendix G: Glossary

25 TABLE OF CONTENTS
HE-ii CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1: Population Growth Trends .................................................................................................. 6 Figure 2-2: Foster City Population by Race, 2000-2019 ........................................................................ 7 Figure 2-3: Jobs-Household Ratio ......................................................................................................... 8 Figure 2-4: Housing Type Trends ........................................................................................................ 10 Figure 2-5: Households by Household Income Level........................................................................... 14 Figure 5-1: Map of Sites ....................................................................................................................... 31

LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-1: Number of Unsheltered Individuals by San Mateo County Cities ...................................... 15 Table 2-2: Foster City’s Current and Past RHNA ................................................................................ 16 Table 3-1: Summary Matrix of Fair Housing Issues and Actions ......................................................... 20 Table 5-1: Foster City Regional Housing Needs Allocation, 2023-2031 .............................................. 25 Table 5-2: Sites Inventory .................................................................................................................. 28 Table 5-3: Housing Site Selection Criteria ......................................................................................... 34 Table 6-1: RHNA Progress for 2015-2023 Planning Period Permits Issued by Affordability ............... 35 Table 8-1: City of Foster City Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for 2023 -2031 Planning Period ................................................................................................................ 65 Table 8-2: Summary of Foster City Housing Element Quantified Objectives by Income Category (2023-2031) ....................................................................................................... 66 Table 8-3: Sites Inventory (2023-2031) .............................................................................................. 67 Table 8-4: Policy/Program Matrix ...................................................................................................... 68

26 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-1
CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT
The Housing Element is one of the eight State -mandated elements of the General Plan and must address the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The purpose of the Housing Element is to identify the community's housing needs; state the community's goals and objectives with regar ds to housing production, rehabilitation, and conservation to meet those needs; and define the policies and programs that the community will implement to achieve the stated goals and objectives. The Housing Element of the Foster City General Plan identifie s and addresses housing needs in the City.

California State law requires that the Housing Element be updated every eight (8) years to be responsive to changing conditions, new State law requirements, updated Regional "fair share" Housing Needs Allocations, and analyses on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFHH). This Housing Element for the 2023–2031 planning period is an update of the City of Foster City's previous Housing Element for 2015–2023, which was adopted by the City Council in February 201 5 and certified by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in April 2015.

Statutory requirements for the Housing Element are delineated in California State Government Code Section 65580 – 65589.9. Per State law, the Housing Element has two main purposes:

1. To provide an assessment of both current and future housing needs and constraints in meeting these needs; and

2. To provide a strategy that establishes housing goals, policies, and programs.

The 2023–2031 Housing Element Update provides a roadmap for how to meet the City’s growth and housing challenges, identifies what the existing housing conditions and community needs are, identifies goals, and creates a plan for additional housing in a way that is balanced with the community’s desires to retain the aspects of Foster City that make it a great place to live, work, and play . Since the last Housing Element update in 2015 , many statewide housing bills have passed, with goals ranging from addressing segregation, to housing accountability , and climate resiliency. This Housing Element include s goals, policies, and programs that guide the community to meet these new requirements so Foster City can grow in a way that is safe, fair , and consistent with the City’s other long -range plans . Consistent with State law, this Housing Element consists of the following major components:
27 1. INTRODUCTION
HE-2 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
 Housing Needs Assessment
 Fair Housing Assessment (AFFH analysis)
 Constraints to Housing Development
 Housing Resources and Sites Inventory
 Effectiveness of the Previous Housing Element
 Community Engagement
 Housing Goals, Policies, and Implementation Programs
Because the shortage of housing is a matter of statewide concern, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), mus t certify the compliance of every jurisdiction’s Housing Element upon adoption. Pursuant to AB 72 (2016), HCD also has new statutory authority to revoke Housing Element compliance if the local government’s actions do not comply with state law. In addition, HCD may notify the California Office of the Attorney General that the local jurisdiction is in violation of state law for non-compliance with housing element law (or other state housing laws).

This document has a summarized version of each major componen t with full analyses found in their respective Appendices.

WHY HOUSING IS IMPORTANT: KEY FINDINGS
The “housing crisis” in the Bay Area has been an evolving phenomenon over the past decades as high demand (and need) has continually exceeded supply and aff ordability. The Bay Area has experienced substantial movement, intensified by concerns about climate change, to find ways to grow sustainably— that is, to encourage regional development patterns that are more compact, transit -oriented, pedestrian-oriented, well-designed, and highly livable. A central focus of this movement —the very foundation for achieving a more sustainable and livable Bay Area— is rethinking the way in which cities plan, design, rehabilitate, preserve, and manage housing in conjunction with transportation systems, jobs, and services. Key findings and factors in this Housing Element are listed below.  Insufficient Housing Near Job Centers Hinders the State’s Environmental Quality and Runs Counter to the State’s Environmental Goals. When Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are released, putting in jeopardy the achievement of the S tate’s climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.  About 26% of the City’s Households Are Considered Lower Income. The exact income category of a household is dependent upon the size and overall income of the household . U.S.

Census Data shows that about 7% of the households in Foster City are estimated to be extremely low income, 8% are estimated to be very low income, 1 1% are estimated to be low income (the combination of which comprises 26% considered “ lower” income), 10% are estimated to be moderate income, and the remaining 64% are estimated to be above moderate income.  Market Rate Ownership Housing Continues to be Affordable Only to Above Moderate - Income Households. Market rate for-sale housing is only affordable to above moderate-income households. The median price for a single-family home in Foster City in 2020 was approximately $1,650,000 according to Zillow.
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CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-3
 Renters Are Often More Cost-Burdened Than Owners. While the housing market has resulted in home prices increasing dramatically, homeowners often have mortgages with fixed rates, whereas renters are more likely to be impacted by market conditions and rent increases. When looking at the cost burden across tenure in Foster City using U.S. Census Data, 18% of renters are cost burdened, which means they spend 30% to 50% of their income on housing , compared to

19.6% of those that own. Additionally, 15% of renters are severely cost burdened, meaning they spend 50% or more of their income on housing, while 13% of owners are severely cost-burdened.

Black or African American, Non -Hispanic residents are the most cost burdened with 3 3% spending 30% to 50% of their income on housing, and Black or African American, Non -Hispanic residents are also the most severely cost burdened with 2 6% spending more than 50% of their income on housing.
 Foster City has a Good Mix of Housing Types. In 20 20, the California Department of Finance estimated that there are 13,174 housing units in Foster City. Of these, Foster City has a good mix of housing types with about 3 5% of the units being single -family detached homes, 20% single - family attached, 7% in structures of 2 to 4 units, and 38% in structures with 5 or more units.  Foster City’s S enior Po pulation 65 Years and Older had the Largest Population Increase Between 2000 a nd 2019 of 97% Compared to an 18% Increase in the Total Population.

According to the San Mateo County Health Department and other sources, the numbers of seniors in the population will increase significantly over the next several decades. An increase in the older population may mean
there is a developing need for
more senior housing options. In
the year 2030, seniors will be
more diverse than today, with the
greatest increase in L atino and
Pacific/Asian population. San
Mateo County is an expensive
place for seniors and has the
highest cost of living of anywhere
in the state for seniors who rent.

There has also been a move by
many to age -in-place facilities or
downsize to stay withi n their
communities, which can mean
more multi-family and accessible
units are also needed. Families
and seniors of color are even
more likely to experience challenges finding affordable housing.

Senior Housing Building at Foster Square
Source: https://www.atriaseniorliving.com/retirement-communities/ atria-at-foster-square-foster-city-ca/photo-gallery
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THE VISION OF FOSTER CITY AS PRESENTED IN THE HOUSING

ELEMENT
The Housing Element is an instrumental part of implementing the City’s vision to create a sustainable Foster City through smart, inclusive, and efficient actions to enhance our quality of place for current and future generations. The Housing Element balances goals related to:
 Preserve the unique character of Foster City as a master planned community created around neighborhoods with access to amenities and services;  Address the housing needs of all segments of the community as well as those who seek to make Foster City their new home;
 Continue the City’s history of diversity and inclusion;  Maintain the City’s standard of excellence with respect to the ability of infrastructure to serve our residents and businesses; and
 Contribute to the sustainability of the community and the region by using smart growth to provide opportunities for people to live closer to their jobs and thereby reduce the impacts on traffic, air quality, greenhouse gases, and climate change.

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER GENERAL PLAN ELEMENTS
The General Plan serves as the ‘constitution’ for development in the C ity. It is a long -range planning document that describes goals, policies , and programs to guide decision -making. All development - related decisions must be consistent with the City of Foster City General Plan, of which the Housing Element is but one part. If a development proposal is not consistent with a city’s general plan, it must be revised or the plan itself must be amended. State law requires a community’s general plan to be internally consistent. This means that the Housing Element, although subject to special requirements and a different schedule of updates, must function as an integral part of the overall Foster City General Plan, with consistency between it and the other General Plan elements.

The Housing Element is consistent with all the goals and policies contained in the other elements of the City of Foster City General Plan. In particular, policies related to land use designations, infrastructure capacity (transportation, services, etc.), and environmental protection are consistent with the housing sites and quantified objectives contained in the Housing Element. Specific programs in the Housing Element to modify the Zoning Ordinance, such as provisions to remove or reduce c onstraints to the production of housing, are also consistent with the General Plan. 30 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-5
CHAPTER 2 | HOUSING NEEDS

ASSESSMENT
To successfully plan for housing needs, the demographic and socio- economic variables of the community must be assessed. This chapter discusses the components of housing needs, which include population characteristics, household characteristics, and employment and housing stock conditions. Unless otherwise specified, the data in this chapter is specific to the City of Foster City. This chapter summarizes the Housing Needs Assessment. Additional information and graphs can be found in Appendix A. For the Assessment of Fair Housing required under California’s Assembly Bill 686 of 2018, please see Appendix B or a summarized version in Chapter 3.

The data for this chapter has been collected using available data from the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the 2010 U.S. Census and 2015-2019 5-year American Community Survey, the Department of Housing and Urban Development Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS), the California Department of Finance, the San Mateo Annual Homeless Point in Time Count Report and other currently available real estate market data.

COMMUNITY PROFILE
Housing needs are generally influenced by population and employment trends. This section provides a summary of the changes to the population size, age, and racial composition of the city. For a more detailed analysis of housing needs, see Appendix A.

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND TRENDS
Population Growth
Generally, the population of the Bay Area continues to grow because of natural growth and because the strong economy draws new residents to the region. San Mateo County makes up 10 percent of the total Bay Area population, which is the fifth largest metropolitan area in the country. In 2020, the County’s population was estimated to be 773,244, an increase of 19 percent since 1990. That trend is expected to continue—despite the impact of th e pandemic –because jobs continue to be added.

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HE-6 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
As Figure 2 -1 highlights, the population of Foster City increased by 17.2 % from 1990 to 2020, which is slightly below the growth rate of 14.8% for the Bay Area. As of January 2021, Foster City had a total population of 32,842. ABAG predicts Foster City’s population will continue to grow over the next two decades, reaching 39,070 in 2040.

Figure 2-1: Population Growth Trends
Source: California Department of Finance, E -5 series
Note: The data shown on the graph represents population for the jurisdiction, county, and region indexed to the population in the first year shown. The data points represent the relative population growth in each of these geographies relative to their populations in that year.

For some jurisdictions, a break may appear at the end of each decade (1999, 2009) as estimates are compared to census counts.

DOF u
ses the decennial census to benchmark subsequent population estimates.

Age Composition
In 2019, Foster City’s youth population under the age of 18 was 7,455 and senior population 65 and older was 5,710. These age groups represent 21.9% and 16.8%, respectively, of Foster City’s population. The senior population 65 and older had the largest increase between 2000 and 2019 of 97% compared to an 18% increase in the total population.

An increase in the older population may mean there is a developing need for more senior hou sing options. There has also been a move by many to age -in-place or downsize to stay within their communities, which can mean more multi -family and accessible units are also needed . F amilies and seniors of color are even more likely to experience challenges finding affordable housing. People of color make up 41.9% of seniors and 63.9% of youth under 18.
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Race and Ethnicity
Understanding the racial makeup of a city and region is important for designing and implementing effective housing policies and programs. These patterns are shaped by both market factors and government actions, such as exclusionary zoning, discriminatory lending practices and displacement that has occurred over time and continues to impact communities of color today. Since 2000, the percentage of residents in Foster City identifying as White has decreased—and the percentage of residents of all other races and ethnicities has increased—by 21.0 percentage points (see Figure 2-2).

Figure 2-2: Foster City Population by Race, 2000-2019
Universe: Total population
Notes: Data for 2019 represents 2015 -2019 ACS estimates. The Census Bureau defines Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity separate from racial categories. For the purposes of this graph, the “Hispanic or Latinx” racial/ethnic group represents those who identify as having Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity and may also be members of any racial group. All other racial categories on this graph repre sent those who identify with that racial category and do not identify with Hispanic/Latinx ethnici ty.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Table P004; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5 -Year Data (2015-2019), Table B03002
In absolute terms, the Asian/API, Non -Hispanic population increased the most while the White, Non - Hispanic population decreased the most. Foster City has become more diverse since 2000 and today no one racial group comprises a majority of the city’s population. Asian/API, Non-Hispanic residents make up the largest percentage (48%), which is larger than the Asian/API, Non-Hispanic population of both San Mateo County and the larger Bay Area (30% and 27% , respectively). White residents ( 37% of Foster City’s population) and Black or African American residents make up a similar proportion compared 34%
45% 48%
58% 42% 37%
6% 7% 8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2000 2010 2019
Share of Population
Hispanic or Latinx
Other Race or Multiple Races, Non-Hispanic
White, Non-Hispanic
Black or African American, Non-Hispanic
Asian / API, Non-Hispanic
American Indian or Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic
33 2. NEEDS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
HE-8 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
to the County and region, while Hispanic or Latinx residents in Foster City (8%) make up a significantly smaller proportion (24% in both the County and region).

EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME TRENDS
The balance between jobs and workers may directly influence the housing demand in a community. New jobs may draw new residents, and when there is high demand for housing relative to supply, many workers may be unable to afford to live where they work, particularly whe n job growth has occurred in relatively lower wage jobs. This dynamic not only means many workers will need to prepare for long er commutes, but in the aggregate , it contributes to traffic congestion and time lost for all road users. In Foster City, the congestion on the freeways has also resulted in more congestion on local City streets due to cut-through traffic or back -ups of traffic trying to access the freeways. If there are more jobs than employed residents, it means a city is relatively jobs -rich, typically also with a high jobs -to-household ratio. Although there are variations in the specific metric used, such as jobs-households, jobs-employed residents, or jobs -housing units, for the purposes of comparison to the County and the r egion, jobs- households provides a good indicator. The jobs-household ratio in Foster City has increased from 1.37 in 2002, to 1.76 jobs per household in 2018 (see Figure 2-3) which has consistently been higher than both the County and the Bay Area region. Since 2010, the number of jobs located in the jurisdiction increased by 2,420 (12.7%).

Figure 2-3: Jobs-Household Ratio
Universe: Jobs in a jurisdiction from unemployment insurance -covered employment (private, state, and local government) plus United States Office of Personnel Management -sourced Federal employment; households in a jurisdiction Notes: The data is tabulated by place of work, regardless of where a worker lives. The source data is provided at the census block level. These are cross -walked to jurisdictions and summarized. The ratio compares plac e of work wage and salary jobs with households, or occupied housing units.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Hous ehold Dynamics, Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) files (Jobs), 2002- 2018; California Department of Finance, E -5 (Households) 34 2. NEEDS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-9
Although Foster City has a higher percentage of households (64%) with incomes greater than 100% of Area Median Income (AMI) compared with San Mateo County ( 49%), there are a significant number of households in the lower income ranges, including 14.6% of owner-occupied households and

17.3% of renter-occupied households in the very low-income category (up to 50% of AMI), including 6.6% of owners and 9.6% of renters in the extremely low -income category (less than 30% of AMI). According to 2019 Census data, the vast majority (76%) of jobs within Foster City pay over $3,333 per month. 14% pay between $1,251 and $3,333, and 10% pay less than $1,251. American Indian or Alaska Native residents experience the highest rates of poverty at 26.5%, followed by Black or African American residents at

8.3%.

Throughout the region, there are disparities between the incomes of homeowners and renters. Typically, the number of low -income renters greatly outpaces the amount of housing available that is affordable for these households. In Foster City, although the largest proportion of both renters and owners falls in the greater than 100% of AMI income group, 9.6% of renters earn less than 30% of AMI compared to 6.6% of owners, and 28% of renters earn less than 80% AMI compared to 25.7% of owners.

HOUSING STOCK CHARACTERISTICS AND TRENDS
Housing Growth
The number of new homes built in the Bay Area has not kept pace with the demand, resulting in longer commutes, increasing home prices, and exacerbating issues of displacemen t and homelessness. The number of homes in Foster City increased 5.7% from 2010 to 2020, which is above the growth rate for San Mateo County of 3.6% and above the 5.0% growth rate of the Bay Area region’s housing stock during this time period.

Housing Costs and Cost Burden
A diversity of homes at all income levels creates opportunities for Foster City residents to live and thrive in the community.

Ownership – The typical home value in Foster City was estimated at $1,642,750 in December of 2020, per data fro m Zillow. Since 2001, the typical home value in Foster City has increased 161.5 % from $628,240 to $1,642,750. This change is above the change in San Mateo County and the region. Single people and families earning a moderate income or below fall far short o f being able to afford these prices.

Rental Prices – The typical contract rent for an apartment in Foster City was $3,060 in 2019. To rent a typical apartment without cost burden, a household would need to make $122,640 per year. 1 A household is considered “cost-burdened” if it spends more than 30% of its monthly income on housing costs, while those who spend more than 50% of their income on housing costs are considered “severely cost-burdened.” In Foster City, 18% of households spend 30% to 50% of their income on housing, while

13.3% of households are severely cost burdened and use most of their income for housing.

1 Note that contract rents may differ significantly from, and often being lower than, current listing prices. 35 2. NEEDS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
HE-10 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
Housing Type and Tenure
It is important to have a variety of housing types to meet the needs of a community today and in the future. In 2020, 35.4% of homes in Foster City were single family detached, 20.0% were single family attached, 7.0% were small multifamily (2-4 units), and 37.5% were medium or large multifamily (5+ units) (see Figure 2-4).

Figure 2-4: Housing Type Trends
Universe: Housing units
Source: California Department of Finance, E -5 seri es
Between 2010 and 2020, the number of multi- family units increased more than single -family units.

Generally, in Foster City, the share of the housing stock that is detached single family homes is below that of other jurisdictions in the region. 57% of housing units are owner occupied and 43% of housing units are renter occupied.

Vacant units make up 5.7% of the overall housing stock in Foster City. The rental vacancy stands at 5.9%, while the ownership vacancy rate is 0.7%. A vacancy rate of at least 5 % for rental housing and 2% for ownership housing is generally considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.

The number of residents who own their homes compared to those who rent their homes can help identify the level of housing insecurity – ability for individuals to stay in their homes – in a city and region.

Generally, renters may be displaced more quickly if prices increase, and are more likely to experience overcrowding. Homeownership rates often vary considerably across race/ethnicity in the Bay Area and throughout the country. In Foster City fewer residents rent than own their homes: 42.9% versus

57.1%. By comparison, 39.8% of households in San Mateo County and 44% of Bay Area households rent their homes.
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All neighborhoods in Foster City are identified as “Highest Resource” or “High Resource” areas by State- commissioned research . There are no neighborhoods designated as “Low Resource” or “High Segregation and Poverty” areas. These neighborhood designations are based on a range of indicators covering areas such as education, poverty, proximity to jobs and economic opportunities, low pollution levels, and other factors. 2 100% of households in Foster City live in neighborhoods where low -income households are likely excluded due to prohibitive housing costs (except for the limited number of units in affordable housing programs). Risk of displacement may increase as older housing stock is redeveloped or replaced.

Housing Condition
Generally, there is limited data on the extent of substandard housing issues in a community. However, Census Bureau data gives a sense of some of the substandard conditions that may be present in Foster City. 1.1% of renters in Foster City reported lacking a kitchen (likely as a result of unpermitted ADUs/garage conversions and rented rooms with no kitchen privileges) and 0.2% of renters lack plumbing, compared to 0% of owners who lack a kitchen and 0% of owners who lack plumbing. The City’s Code Enforcement staff estimates that approximately 10 ownership units, comprising .08% of the housing stock, need rehabilitation. The City works with non -profit organizations, such as Rebuilding Together Peninsula, to assist low-income homeowners with repairs.

The age of a community’s housing stock can provide another indicator of overall housing conditions.

Typically, housing over 30 years in age is likely to have rehabilitation needs that may include new plumbing, roof repairs, foundation work, and ot her repairs. In Foster City, the largest proportion of the housing stock was built from 1960 to 1979, with 8,910 units constructed during this period . With the majority of the City’s housing stock built prior to the 30-year benchmark, it is a City priority to ensure that housing units are maintained and in compliance with health and safety codes.

SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS
Finally, some population groups may have special housing needs that require specific program responses, and these groups may experience b arriers to accessing stable housing due to their specific housing circumstances. For resources available for these special needs populations, see Chapter 7 , Resources.

SENIOR HOUSEHOLDS
Senior households often experience a combination of factors that can make accessing or keeping affordable housing a challenge. They often live on fixed incomes and are more likely to have disabilities, chronic health conditions, and/or reduced mobility. Understanding how seniors might be cost-burdened

2 For more information on the “opportunity area” categories developed by HCD and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, see this website: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/opportunity.asp. The degree to which different jurisdictions and neighborhoods have access to opportunity will likely need to be analyzed as part of new Housing Element requirements related to affirmatively furthering fair housing. ABAG/MTC will be providing jurisdictions with technical assistance on this topic this summer, following the release of additional guidance from HCD.
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is of particular importance due to their special housing needs, particularly for low-income seniors. 74.3% of seniors making less than 30% of AMI in Foster City are spending the majority of their income on housing. For seniors making more than 100% of AMI, 85.6% are not cos t-burdened and spend less than 30% of their income on housing . Seniors who rent may be at even greater risk for housing challenges than those who own, due to income differences between these groups. The largest proportion of senior households who rent make 0%-30% of AMI, while the largest proportion of senior households who are homeowners falls in the income group greater than 100% of AMI.

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
People with disabilities face additional housing challenges. Encompassing a broad group of in dividuals living with a variety of physical, cognitive, and sensory impairments, many people with disabilities live on fixed incomes and are in need of specialized care, yet often rely on family members for assistance due to the high cost of care. In Foste r City, 7.1% of residents have a disability of any kind and may require accessible housing, which is a lower percentage than the County and the region. 3 The American
Community Survey (ACS) documents the presence of the following types of disabilities amon g Foster City’s residents:

Ambulatory – 3.3%
Cognitive – 1.8%
Independent Living Difficulty – 2.6%
Hearing – 2.1%
Vision – 0.9%
Developmental Disabilities
In Foster City, of the population with a developmental disability, children under the age of 18 make up

48.3%, while adults account for 51.7%. The most common living arrangement for individuals with disabilities in Foster City is the home of a parent, family member, or guardian.

Large Households
Large family households often have special housing need s due to a lack of adequately sized affordable housing available. The higher costs required for homes with multiple bedrooms can result in larger families experiencing a disproportionate cost burden than the rest of the population and can increase the risk of housing insecurity. In Foster City, for large households with 5 or more persons, most units (58.3%) are owner occupied. In 2017, 1.2% of large households were very low -income, earning less than 50% of AMI. Large families are generally served by housing units with 3 or more bedrooms, of which there are 6,778 units in Foster City. Among these large units with 3 or more bedrooms, 17.6% are owner-occupied and 82.4% are renter occupied.

3 These disabilities are counted separately and are not mutually exclusive, as an individual may report more than one disability. These counts should not be summed up.
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Female-Headed Family Households
Households headed by one person are ofte n at greater risk of housing insecurity, particularly female - headed households, who may be supporting children or a family with only one income. In Foster City, the largest proportion of households is m arried-couple family households at 62.2% of total, while f emale- headed households make up 7.9% of all households. Female-headed households with children may face particular housing challenges, with typically just a single wage -earner and pervasive gender inequality resulting in lower wages for women. Moreover, the added need for childcare can make finding a home that is affordable more challenging. In Foster City, 7.8% of female-headed households with children fall below the Federal Poverty Line, while 8.2% of female- headed hous eholds without children live in poverty.

Farmworkers
Across the state, housing for farmworkers has been recognized as an important and unique concern.

Farmworkers are traditionally defined as persons whose primary incomes are earned through seasonal agricultural work. Farmworkers have special housing needs because they earn lower incomes than many other workers and move throughout the season from one harvest to the next. Farmers and farmworkers are the keystone of the larger food sector, which includes the industries that provide farmers with fertilizer and equipment; farms to produce crops and livestock; and the industries that process, transport, and distribute food to consumers. While overall the Bay Area has shifted away from our historical agricultural economic base, Bay Area counties still preserve strong agricultural roots . And yet, the responsibility for farmworker housing is not just with these counties . In many counties, farmworkers choose to live within incorporated cities due to the diversity and availability of housing, proximity to schools and other employment opportunities for other family members, and overall affordability. Many farmworker households tend to have difficulties securing safe, decent, and affordable housing. Far too often, farmworkers are forced to occupy substandard homes or live in overcrowded situations.

In the Bay Area, about 3.7% of farmworkers, including both seasonal and permanent residents, are in San Mateo County. However, per the USDA, today’s farmworkers can commute up to 75 miles to the workplace. Based on this, the need for housing for agricultural workers is not just the responsibility of Bay Area counties with a robust agricultural economy . In Foster City , according to the U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Data (2015-2019), there are approximately 75 residents employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.

Extremely Low-Income Households
In Foster City, 63.9% of households make more than 100% of AMI, compared to 7.9% making less than 30% of AMI (1,008 households), which is a much lower percentage than the region or San Mateo County (see Figure 2 -5). In San Mateo County, 30% AMI is the equivalent to the annual income of $44,000 for a family of four. Many households with multiple wage earners – including food service workers, full-time students, teachers, farmworkers, and healthcare professionals – can fall into lower AMI categories due to relatively stagnant wages in many industries. 39 2. NEEDS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
HE-14 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031

Figure 2-5: Households by Household Income Level
Universe: Occupied housing units
Notes: Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located. The data that is reported for the Bay Area is not based on a regional AMI but instead refers to the regional tota l of households in an income group relative to the AMI for the county where tha t household is located.

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabul
ation, 2013-2017 release
HCD’s guidance notes that instead of using U.S. Census data to calculate the perc entage of very low - income RHNA that qualifies for extremely low -income households, local jurisdictions can presume that 50% of their RHNA for very low-income households qualifies for extremely low-income households. The City assumes that 50 % of the very lo w-income housing need is equal to the extremely low -income housing need. As such, there is a projected need for 260 extremely low -income housing units in Foster City, or half of 520.

People Experiencing Homelessness
Homelessness remains an urgent challenge throughout the region, reflecting a range of social, economic, and psychological factors. Homelessness is disproportionately experienced by people of color, people with disabilities, those struggling with addiction and those dealing with traumatic life circumstances. In San Mateo County, the most common type of household experiencing homelessness is those without children in their care. Among households experiencing homelessness that do not have children,

75.5% are unsheltered. Of homeless households with children, most are sheltered in emergency shelters.

NOTE: San Mateo County conducted the latest Point in Time (PIT) Count on February 24, 2022. Volunteers were deployed to conduct an observational count of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. San M ateo County conducted the unsheltered homeless survey through March 3, 2022. Data from the One Day Count will be available 40 2. NEEDS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-15
later this year in a report by the County’s Center on Homelessness and will be publicly available and will be used to update this section. In 2019, Foster City had 4 homeless according to the most recent PIT San Mateo County https://www.smcgov.org/hsa/2019-one-day-homeless-count. Foster City’s strategy has been to support Countywide efforts and agencies providing services and facilities that are better located to be effective (see Table 2-1).

TABLE 2-1: N UMBER OF UNSHELTERED INDIVIDUALS BY SAN MATEO COUNTY CITIES City
2011
Count
2013
Count
2015
Count
2017
Count
2019
Count
Atherton 1 0 1 0 1
Belmont 1 43 11 3 7
Brisbane 0 34 21 19 4
Burlingame 3 13 7 21 25
Colma 1 7 3 1 8
Daly City 44 27 32 17 66
East Palo Alto 385 119 95 98 107
Foster City 0 7 0 6 4
Half Moon Bay 41 114 84 43 54
Hillsborough 0 0 0 0 0
Menlo Park 72 16 27 47 27
Millbrae 1 21 8 7 9
Pacifica 95 150 63 112 116
Portola Valley 16 2 0 1 0
Redwood City 233 306 223 94 221
San Bruno 14 98 8 26 12
San Carlos 9 10 20 28 30
San Francisco International Airport 9 5 1 3 21
San Mateo 68 103 82 48 74
South San Francisco 122 173 55 33 42
Unincorporated 47 46 32 30 73
Woodside 0 6 2 0 0
Total 1,162 1,299 775 637 901
Note: Universe: Population experiencing homelessness.

Source: San Mateo County: Annual Point in Time Count Report.

More information on each of these population groups can be found in Appendix A.

ASSISTED RENTAL HOUSING “AT RISK” OF CONVERSION
Foster City prioritizes preserving assisted housing developments and at-risk units that could be lost over the next 10 years and adequately planning for preventing or minimizing tenant displacement and reduction in the local affordable housing stock. At-risk units are defined as multifamily rental housing complexes which are eligible to convert to market -rate due to the expiration of some types of 41 2. NEEDS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
HE-16 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
affordability restrictions, such as termination of subsidy contract, mortgage prepayment, or expiring use restrictions. The only affordability restrictions due to expire in the next ten years are the last ten of the 74 units at Foster’s Landing, set to expire on December 31, 2023. The City has worked with the landlord, Essex Property Trust, to develop and implement several programs to assist the tenants to relocate. The majority of Foster City’s affordable housing inventory is at a low risk with many of the existing affordable units secured in perpetuity or owned and operated by non-profit housing providers.

REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ALLOCATION (RHNA)
The RHNA process is the part of Housing Element Law used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability of those homes, each local government must plan for in its Housing Element. This process is repeated every eight years, and for this cycle the Bay Area is planning for the period from 2023 to 2031. In the case of the San Francisco Bay Area, ABAG, and HCD determine the number of housing units that should be produced in the region . This determination of need is primarily based on e stimated job growth. ABAG then allocate d that need for each jurisdiction , based on their share of the region’s households and adjusted for access to high opportunity areas, proximity of jobs to transportation and transit, and an equity adjustment to ensure that each jurisdiction receives an allocation of lower-income units that is at least proportional to its share of the region’s total households in 2020 (see Table 2-2).

TABLE 2-2: F OSTER CITY’S CURRENT AND PAST RHNA
Housing Element Cycle Very Low Low Moderate Above Moderate Total 2001 – 2006 96 53 166 375 690
2007 – 2014 111 80 94 201 486
2015 – 2022 (5th Cycle) 148 87 76 119 430
2023 – 2031 (6th Cycle) 520 299 300 777 1,896
Source: ABAG, 2021. Final RHNA Allocation Report 2023-2031, December.

As shown above in Table 2-2, the amount of housing being required is significantly higher than required for the last Housing Element. Approximately 43% of all new housing is required to be affordable to low- and very low-income households.

42 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-17
CHAPTER 3 | AFFIRMATIVELY

FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
Assembly Bill (AB) 686 requires that all housing elements due on or after January 1, 2021, must contain an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) consistent with the core elements of the analysis required by the federal Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Final Rule of July 16, 2015.

Under state law, AFFH means “taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, which overcome patterns of segregation and foster i nclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics.”
In order to comply with AB 686, the City has collaborated with Root Policy Research , 21 Elements, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABA G), and UC Merced to complete a full assessment and outreach plan , including an analysis of the history of the region in regard to fair housing, which can be found in Appendix B. The Fair Housing Assessment for Foster City includes the following sections: fair housing enforcement and outreach capacity, integration and segregation, access to opportunity, disparate housing needs, and contributing factors and the C ity’s fair housing action plan. A summary of the major findings is as follows:

 Foster City replicates San Mateo C ounty and region overall in terms of household size and household composition but
diverges in household income and racial diversity: Foster City has a much higher proportion of households with incomes greater than 100% AMI than the C ounty or region, a much lower proportion of lower than 50% AMI households, and a much higher share of Asian households. Foster City’s residents have grown more racially diverse since 2000 largely due to the growth of Asian residents , primarily A sian Indian and Chinese . Where segregation exists in the City, it is for Asian residents.
 Poverty rates vary modestly across races and ethnicities—except for residents identifying as “other” races or mixed -race.

More
than one -fourth of these residents live below the poverty line, many of whom are children. Hispanic/Latinx 1 residents also have lower income distribution and higher poverty rates.

1 Throughout this report, we will use the term used by the original data source, including Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx interchangeably. 43 3. AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
HE-18 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
 Foster City offers a variety of housing types with mostly medium or large multi -family (37.5%) and single family detached units (35.4%). One -fifth are single family attached and 7% are small multi-family units.
 Renters are more likely to be living in 1 - and 2 -bedroom units than owners, and owners are more likely to be occupying 3 - to 4- and 5- bedroom units. To the extent that larger renter households desire to live in Foster City, the lack of rental housing stock to accommodate their needs could limit their access to housing in the City.
 There are disparities in housing cost burden in Foste r City by race and ethnicity —but not by tenure (renters/owners) . Black or African American (58%) and Hispanic households (42%) experience the highest rates of cost burden in the C ity. Asian (29%) and non- Hispanic White households (30%) are least likely to be cost burdened.
 Barriers to housing choice are largely related to the City’s very high costs of housing and lack of affordable production. Since 2015, the housing that has received permits to accommodate growth has largely been priced for above moderate -income households. Just 9% of the C ity’s rental units rent for $2,000 and less. The County has four times the proportion of rentals priced under $2,000 than the City.
 Mortgage denial rates are relatively modest —ranging from 12% to 20% —and similar across races and ethnicities.
 Racial and ethnic minority students served by the San Mateo Union High School District, of which Foster City is part , experience lower educational outcomes compared to other students. Many high schoolers in the County met admission standards for a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) school. However , Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Black students in the San Mateo Union High School D istrict were less likely to meet the admission standards.

Although San Mateo Union High School District has relatively low dropout rates—4% of students— compared to other districts in the C ounty, dropout rates among Hispanic (7%), Black (6%), and Pacific Islander students are higher.
 Resident-reported housing challenges and discrimination. Nearly 150 residents of Foster City completed a survey about their housing challenges conducted by Root Policy Research for all San Mateo County jurisdictions. Most respondents did not report housing concerns, and most were owners. Respondents represented Black or African American and Hispanic residents in the City proportionally; however, more residents were White and fewer were Asian than in the City overall.  The top needs identified by those with challenges include:
o 80% of Housing Choice (Section 8) voucher holders said finding a unit that takes vouchers is “somewhat” or “very” difficult . These respondents cited a variety of factors for those difficulties including vouchers not covering rent (38%), not enough time to find units that accept vouchers (38%), landlords not renting to voucher holders (23%), and difficulty finding information about units that accept vouchers (23%);
o 20% of respondents said that public transit does not go to needed locations or operate during times needed, and 14% said they cannot get to transit easily or safely; o 20% said their house or apartment is not large enough for their family; 44 3. AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-19
o 15% of respondents said they would like to move from their current housing but cannot afford to; and
o 11% said the HOA in their neighborhood would not let them make desired changes to their house or property.
 Some residents reported experiencing housing discrimination:
o Respondents with disabilities said they had been told their rent would cost more because of their service or emotional support animal and/or told they could not have a service or emotional support animal.
o 20% of residents who thought they had been discriminated against in sales transactions said a real estate agent required prequalification before they would show properties; 17% were refused a mortgage loan; 10% said a real estate agent would not make a disability accommodation.
o The top reasons for being denied housing were:
‒ Landlord not accepting the applicants’ source of income such as social security or disability benefits (28% of those denied).
‒ Lack of a stable housing record (28%).
‒ Lack of a regular or consistent job or job history (28%). ‒ Income too low (17%).
‒ Health care or service needs (17%).
‒ Foreclosure, children in the household, real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, COVID, and/or language spoken (each 11%).

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AND FAIR HOUSING ACTION PLAN
The disparities in housing choice and access to opportunity discussed above stem from historical actions, socioeconomic factors that limit employment and income growth, broad barriers to open housing choice, and until recently, very limited resources to respond to needs.

Foster City has historically accommodated a diversity of housing needs by offering a variety of housing types—more so than many jurisdictions in the County. Yet home values and rents are much higher in Foster City than in the C ounty and the Bay area overal l. Foster City’s fair housing actions that are part of the overall Housing Element are intended to address barriers to housing choice by adding affordable housing options and preserving existing housing opportunities. Table 3-1 below summarizes the fair housing issues, contributing factors, and implementation programs included in the Housing Element to affirmatively further fair housing in Foster City.

45 3. AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
HE-20 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031

FAIR HOUSING ACTION PLAN
TABLE 3-1: S UMMARY MATRIX OF FAIR HOUSING ISSUES AND ACTIONS Fair Housing Issue Contributing Factors Meaningful Actions Targets and Timelines Foster City’s high housing costs limit
housing choice and have a disproportionate
impact on Black or African American and
Hispanic households.

Black or African American and Hispanic
residents typically work lower wage jobs,
stemming from historical employment
discrimination and lack of access to
quality educational environments. These
jobs often do not support the City’s
housing costs. As a result, Black or
African American and Hispanic residents
face very high levels of cost burden.

The lack of housing in Foster City to
accommodate larger renter households
can disproportionately impact
households of color, which tend to be
larger.

Increase the supply of affordable housing
through a variety of programs:
 H-B-2-a: Lower- and Moderate-income
homeowner Rehabilitation Loans
 H-D-4-b: ADU Financial Incentive Program
 H-D-4-c: Preapproved ADU Designs and
Expedited Review
 H-D-4-d: Improved Public Information on
ADUs
 H-D-4-e: Amnesty Program for Existing
Unapproved ADUs
 H-D-4-f: Multifamily ADUs
 H-E-1-b: First time Homebuyer Program
 H-E-6-a: Home Sharing Program

 2024
 2023
 2024
 2023
 2025
 2023
 Ongoing
 Ongoing: 10 new matches
per year
Foster City’s low production of affordable
housing limits housing choices of Black or
African American and Hispanic households
who have lower incomes.

Foster City has had limited production of
affordable housing. Since 2015, the
housing that has received permits to
accommodate growth has largely been
priced for above moderate-income
households. Pursuant to the City’s
inclusionary requirements,
approximately 20% of the new housing
units since 2015 are restricted for very
low-, low- and moderate-income
households, leaving approximately 80%
at market rate, which is affordable to
moderate or above moderate-income
households. Just 9% of the City’s rental
units rent for $2,000 and less. San Mateo
County has four times the proportion of
rentals priced under $2,000 than the City.
 Increase the supply of affordable housing
through a variety of programs (described
above).

46 3. AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-21
Fair Housing Issue Contributing Factors Meaningful Actions Targets and Timelines Foster City’s multi-family housing is aging
and vulnerable to redevelopment and
displacement of low- and moderate-income
households.

The high water table in Foster City
creates maintenance needs, particularly
for multi-family buildings.

Aging, low-density apartment
developments may have economic
incentives to redevelop.
 H-C-2-c: Replacement Unit Requirements
 H-C-3-b: Anti-Displacement Strategy

 2023
 2024

Residents report experiencing fair housing
discrimination in Foster City mostly based
on disability and/or being a voucher
holder/source of income. Few of those
experiencing discrimination file complaints
or take action.

Tenants’ and property owners’ lack of
knowledge about fair housing laws.

Property owners violating fair housing
laws.

Tenants fear of retaliation, few options
to relocate.
 H-E-1-a: Existing Unit Purchase Program
 H-D-4-d: Improved Public Information on
ADUs
 H-F-1-a: Facilities and Services for Special
Needs
 H-G-1-a: Non-Discrimination
 H-G-2-a: Anti-Discrimination Regulations
 H-G-2-b: Fair Housing Training for
Landlords and Tenants
 H-G-2-c: Information Specific to Fair
Housing
 H-G-2-d: Multilingual Tenant Resources
 H-G-2-e: Rental Registry
 2023
 2023
 Ongoing
 2023
 2023
 2024

 2023

 2024
 2024
Black or African American, Hispanic, and
Pacific Islander students are less likely than
other students to meet college admission
standards and have higher high school
dropout rates.

The underlying factors for these
differences are unknown and need to be
examined as part of AFFH actions.
 Increase the supply of affordable housing
through a variety of programs (described
above).

47 3. AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
HE-22 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031

48 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-23
CHAPTER 4 | CONSTRAINTS SUMMARY
Note to Reviewers: Constraints Chapter to follow
49 4. CONSTRAINTS SUMMARY
HE-24 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031

50 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT HE-25
CHAPTER 5 | HOUSING RESOURCES

AND SITES
Resources to provide additional housing include both physical sites as well as financial and administrative resources. State Housing Element Law ( Government Code Sections 65583(a)(3)) requires that cities demonstrate they have adequate sites to meet their housing obligations.

The City must complete an analysis of land resources to demonstrate capacity to meet the projected housing needs during the p lanning period, taking into consideration zoning, development standards, and the availability of public services and facilities to accommodate a variety of housing types and incomes. (See Appendix D for the detailed analysis of sites.) For a built -out city such as Foster City , finding sufficient sites can be a challenge.

The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is the State- required process that seeks to ensure each California jurisdiction is planning for enough housing to accommodate their “fair share ” of the S tate’s housing needs for all economic segments of the community. For this Housing Element cycle the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) provided the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) with a Regional Housing N eeds Determination (RHND) of 441,176 units. ABAG then developed a RHNA methodology to allocate the RHND across all cities, towns, and counties in the region.

Foster City’s RHNA by income category is provided in Table 5-1.

TABLE 5-1: FOSTER CITY REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ALLOCATION, 2023-2031 Income Category Units
Percent
of Total
Very Low-Income (0-50% AMI) 520 27%
Low-Income (51-80% AMI) 299 16%
Moderate-Income (81-120% AMI) 300 16%
Above Moderate-Income (Over 120% of AMI) 777 41%
Total 1,896 100%
Note: AMI = Area Median -Income. Percentages may not add up to 100 % due to rounding.

Source: Association of Bay Area Governments, Final Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) Plan, 2021.

51 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
HE-26 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
Recent changes to State law require jurisdictions to
continually maintain adequate capacity in their sites
inventories to meet their RHNA. The State’s “No Net Loss” requirements (Government Code Section 65853) stipulate
that a jurisdiction must provide sufficient sites at all times throughout the RHNA planning period. A jurisdiction can fall out of compliance if they take actions such as:
 Reduce a site’s residential density.
 Approve development applications with fewer units on the site than identified in the Housing Element.
 Approve development applications with higher income units than stated in the Housing Element.

In the event that a site is developed below the density projected in the Housing Element or at a different income level than projected, a jurisdiction must have adequate sites available to accommodate the remaining balance of the RHNA. If a jurisdiction does not have adequate sites, it must identify and potentially rezone additional sites that can a ccommodate the remaining need. In order to ensure that sufficient capacity exists in the housing element to accommodate the RHNA throughout the Planning Period, HCD recommends that jurisdictions create a buffer of at least 15 % to 30% more capacity than required, especially to accommodate the lower income RHNA.

The sites analysis demonstrates that there is adequate supply of suitable land to accommodate the City’s housing allocation of 1,896 units, including housing for very low-, low-, moderate-, and above moderate- income households.

The Sites Inventory includes several categories of sites. The types of sites are listed below, followed by a summary of the requirements for all sites and the specific requirements for the various types of sites. The categories of sites in Foster City include:
 Pipeline projects (units permitted or under construction but not completed as of June 30, 2022).  Proposed Projects (projects that have submitted a project proposal but are not yet approved).  Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
 Previous Housing Element (RHNA 5) Sites.
 Other Residential Sites.
 Commercial Sites to Convert to Residential or Allow Mixed Use.

The City examined several factors to assess the suitability and feasibility of properties for residential development, using the criteria included in Housing Element Program H-D-1-a, which are closely related to the recommended “Best Practices” in the HCD Site Inventory Guidebook. In order to have measurable indicators, the following were used:
 Distance to major roadways. The City’s roadway system is classified into arterials, collectors, and local streets as indicated on Map G-5 in the Land Use and Circulation Element. Proximity to an arterial would minimize impacts on local streets.
 Distance to an evacuation route. Foster City is basically an island with limited ingress/egress points:

East Hillsdale Blvd. to San Mateo, SR 92 on/off ramps at Edgewater Blvd. and Foster City Blvd., and

RHNA CYCLES
This current RHNA cycle is the sixth time
the State has gone through the
RHNA/Housing Element process. When
referring to the current RHNA and current
Housing Element planning period, the
term “6th cycle” may be used.
52 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-27
East Third Avenue to San Mateo. From the areas south of SR 92, access to Eas t Hillsdale Boulevard was used to gauge distance to a major evacuation route.  Distance to a park.
 Distance to a grocery store.
 Distance to a bus stop (excluding the routes intended for school children).  Distance to the public library or City Recreation Center.  Adjacencies. The percentage of border not adjoining single-family or townhouse development was used to identify sites with more ability to locate new units away from existing low -density development.
 Affirmatively furthering fair housing by expanding the geographic distribution and variety of housing types and sizes in the City.

A chart showing ratings for these factors is included in Table 5-2.

Appendix D of the Housing Element also includes an analysis of the realistic capacity of each site. This can include:
 Use of minimum densities provided by the zoning of the parcel, or  Utilize various factors to calculate realistic capacity and describe the methodology used including:
o Typical densities of existing or approved residential development at a similar affordability level. o Current or planned availability and accessibility of infrastructure. o Applicable land use controls and site improvement requirements. o Adjust for any areas that cannot be developed.
 The capacity calculation must be adjusted to reflect the realistic potential for residential development, including factors such as local or regional development trends, track records/past production trends for similar sites, and current or planned availability of infrastructure.

PIPELINE PROJECTS
Units permitted or under construction but not yet completed as of June 30, 2022 will count toward the 2023-2031 RHNA. The only residential units permitted or under construction at this time (as of April 1, 2022) are in the Pilgrim Triton Phase C (Laguna Vista) development and four ADUs, as shown in Table 5-3.

The Laguna Vista developer’s current construction timeline indicates that all of the 22 w orkforce apartments and 41 of the 70 townhouses will be completed by June 30, 2022, leaving 29 townhouse units to count toward the 2023 -2031 RHNA, all of which are above -moderate income. In addition, there are four ADUs under construction, for a total of 33 units. The final number will be confirmed as of June 30, 2022.

53 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
HE-28 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
TABLE 5-3: H OUSING SITE SELECTION CRITERIA
Site Name
Distance
to
Arterial St
Distance to
E. Hillsdale
Blvd
(Evacuation)
Distance
to Park
Distance
to
Grocery
Store
Distance
to Bus
Stop
Distance
to Rec
Center or
Library
%
Border
with SF
or TH
AFFH-
Expand
Locations Size
Pipeline Projects
Laguna Vista Condos 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.1 0.5 0 N
Project Applications
1601 Beach Park Blvd 0.0 0.9 0.4 1.1 0.0 1.9 25% Y 1.35 Lantern Cove 0.3 1.4 0.2 0.8 0.8 2.0 13% Y 16.8
Schooner Bay 0.0 1.7 0.1 1.0 1.1 2.2 0% Y 24.8
Eaves Apartments MF ADUs 0.0 0.9 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.0 42% Y 11 Triton Apartments MF ADUs 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.9 0.1 0.6 0% N
RHNA 5 Sites
Franciscan Apartments 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.6 30% N 6.4 Sand Cove Apartments 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0% Y 8.77
The Lagoons Apartments 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.5 0.1 0.2 0% Y 9.64 Beach Cove Apartments 0.0 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 14% Y 18.7 Shadow Cove Apartments 0.0 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.9 15% Y 7.9 Harbor Cove Apartments 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.6 0.0 Y 15.1 Other Residential Sites
Eaves Apartments 0.0 0.9 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.0 42% Y 11.0
Foster's Landing Apartments 0.0 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.1 0% N 46.35 Commercial Sites to Convert or Allow Mixed Use
OSH 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.6 0.1 0.5 0% N 6.345
Notes: = Up to 0.5 miles; less than 30% border with SF or TH = 1.0 miles or more
= 0.6 to 0.9 miles; 30% or more border with SF or TH
Y = would expand geographic area of BMR housing
N = would not expand geographic area of BMR housing
Source: Urban Planning Partners and Foster City Community Development Department.

54 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-29

PROPOSED PROJECTS
Proposed projects are those that have submitted a project proposal but have not yet been approved.

Affordability must be based on the projected sales prices, rent levels, or other mechanisms establishing affordability. These include two large apartment redevelopment projects at Lantern Cove (356 units) and Schooner Bay ( 646 units) to remove some buildings and replace them with larger buildings with more units, a 32-unit proposal for 1601 Beach Park Boulevard (site of a former church), and multi- family ADU proposals at The Eaves Apartments for 22 units and The Triton Apartments for 10 units.

This Housing Element includes Program H-D-1- c providing General Plan and zoning actions to be approved concurrently with or prior to adoption of this Housing Element for residential use of the 1601 Beach Park Boulevard site.

These projects equal 1,066 units.

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS
In addition to pipeline projects, HCD guidance stipulates that a projection of ADUs expected to be built within the 8-year planning period can also be counted as part of the inventory. The units projected in this section include ADUs and Junior ADUs (JADU) at single-family houses (not multi-family ADUs). The City has had a few ADUs permitted and constructed at single-family houses in recent years, particularly since 2018 State legislation was enacted to facilitate the construction of ADUs. Even if no more ADU permits were issued in 2022 after March 31, the City has issued an average of 2.66 building permits for ADUs over the last 3 years (2020-2022), with the biggest growth in the last 2 years.

The significant growth in ADUs, including three permits issued in the first 3 months of 2022, indicates that the City can reasonably expect increased ADU production at the 2021 rate of three per year through the duration of the planning period, especially since the COVID -19 pandemic disrupted permitting and construction during much of 2020. At a rate of 3 ADUs/year, a total of 24 ADUs would be constructed in Foster City during the 8-year planning period this cycle. This number is conservative given additional changes in State law, the City’s efforts to further facilitate ADU construction, actual ADU production over the last 2 years, and new programs to promote the production of ADUs.

SITES FROM THE PREVIOUS (5TH) CYCLE HOUSING ELEMENT
Sites that were used in the previous Housing Element can be reused if certain requirements are met:
 A program is included requiring rezoning to allow residential use “by right” at specified densities for projects that include at least 20% of units affordable to lower income households. – OR –
 If a site is rezoned to a higher density, it can be considered a “new” site (only if it was not utilized to accommodate a shortfall of sites to accommodate the previous RHNA).

Sites proposed to be used from the previous Housing Element include:
 Harbor Cove
 Beach Cove
55 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
HE-30 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
 Franciscan
 Sand Cove
 Lagoons
 Shadow Cove
This Housing Element includes Program H-D-1- c providing zoning actions to be approved concurrently with or prior to adoption of this Housing Element, including these actions that relate to the RHNA 5 sites:
 Rezone R-3 RHNA 5 sites to R-4. These sites include Harbor Cove, Franciscan, Sand Cove, and The Lagoons.
 Rezone R-4 RHNA 5 sites to allow by right development for projects with 20% or more lower income units. These sites include Beach Cove and Shadow Cove.
 Amend R-3 (Chapter 17.18) and R-4 (Chapter 17.20) for consistency with General Plan minimum and maximum densities.

Collectively, these RHNA 5 sites include a capacity for 847 additional units.

OTHER RESIDENTIAL SITES (NON-VACANT)
In addition to the previous Housing Element sites, the City has selected some other non -vacant residentially zoned sites with potential for additional residential development. Given the difficulties of aggregating and redeveloping ownership units, apartment developments as the most likely candidates in the “residentially zoned” category. The Eaves Apartments and Foster’s Landing sites were selected based on the criteria for housing sites and owner interest in developing additional units. Collectively these two sites have capacity for 1,000 additional units.

COMMERCIAL SITES TO CONVERT TO RESIDENTIAL OR ALLOW MIXED USE (NON-VACANT) The City has included one non-vacant non-residential site in the Sites Inventory, the former OSH site at 1010 Metro Center Boulevard. The site is 6.345 acres with frontage on both Metro Center Boulevard and Foster City Boulevard. Given the large area of the property encumbered with easements, a realistic capacity is 35 units per acre applied to the entire site but with the development concentrated in the building portion of the site. A building of 4 to 8 stories would be similar to the height of ot her buildings adjacent to this site. This Housing Element includes Program H -D-1-c providing General Plan amendment and zoning actions to be approved concurrently with or prior to adoption of this Housing Element to allow residential, commercial, or mixed use at this site.

At 35 units per acre, a realistic capacity is 222 units.

SITES INVENTORY LIST
The Sites Inventory List with capacities including the sites discussed above is provided in Table 5-3.

The location of these sites is shown on Figure 5-1.

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TABLE 5-3: S ITES INVENTORY
Site Name
Extremely
Low
Very
Low Low Moderate
Above
Moderate
Total
Capacity
Pipeline Projects
Laguna Vista 29 29
ADUs Under Construction 2 1 1 4
Subtotal 2 1 1 29 33
Proposed Projects
1601 Beach Park Boulevard 6 26 32
Lantern Cove 14 14 25 302 355
Schooner Bay 26 26 45 549 646
Eaves Apartments MF ADUs 7 7 7 1 22
Triton Apartments MF ADUs 3 3 3 1 10
Subtotal 90 80 16 879 1,065
Accessory Dwelling Units
ADUs (Single-Family) 7 7 7 3 24
Previous Housing Element (RHNA5) Sites
Franciscan Apartments 28 17 17 42 104
Sand Cove Apartments 38 22 22 57 139
The Lagoons Apartments 43 26 26 66 161
Beach Cove Apartments 65 38 38 98 239
Shadow Cove Apartments 31 18 18 46 113
Harbor Cove Apartments 25 15 15 36 91
Subtotal 230 136 136 345 847
Other Residential Sites
Eaves Apartments 27 16 16 41 100
Foster’s Landing Apartments 243 144 144 369 900
Subtotal 270 160 160 410 1,000
Commercial Sites to Convert to Residential or Allow Mixed Use 1010 Metro Center (OSH) 60 36 36 90 222
Subtotal 60 36 36 90 222
Total 659 420 356 1,756 3,191
RHNA 520 299 300 777 1,896
Surplus 139 121 56 979 1,295
Surplus (Buffer) Percentage 27% 40% 19% 126% 68%
Source: Foster City Community Development Department.

57 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
HE-32 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
Figure 5-1: Map of Sites
Source: xxx
58 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-33

AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING ANALYSIS OF SITES INVENTORY The location of housing is a key factor in addressing disparities in access to all types of housing and to facilitating inclusive communities. Providing additional housing opportunities in high resource areas can provide improved access to public services, recreation amenities, educational and employment opportunities, and other essential services such as grocery stores and medical services.

AB 686 requires an analysis of sites identified to meet RHNA obligations for their ability to affirmatively further fair housing. As indicated in the AFFH analysis, all of Foster City is considered a high resource area. In addition, there are not concentrations of poverty or significant racially segregated housing areas.

Foster City’s primary fair housing issue is the high cost of housing and the need for more affordable housing.

Location of Existing Affordable Housing
The geographic distribution of existing deed restricted below market rate housing is shown in Figure 5-1.

These units are located primarily in the central core of the City along East Hillsdale Boulevard from Metro Senior Apartments on Village Lane and Town Green Lane on the west to Miramar Apartment s at Gull Avenue on the east, with Marlin Cove Apartments on Foster City Boulevard being the most southerly location. ADUs and the Existing Unit Purchase Program provide scattered additional affordable housing units throughout the single-family neighborhoods.

Distribution of Sites in the Sites Inventory
The proposed housing sites in the Sites Inventory are well distributed throughout the city. The additional housing site locations in the Sites Inventory will expand deed restricted affordable housing to the southern edge of the c ity with inclusion of the Lantern Cove and Schooner Bay sites, farther east along Beach Park Boulevard to the 1601 Beach Park Boulevard site, and farther west to the Harbor Cove site.

In addition, ADUs distributed throughout the single-family neighborhoods with increase housing options in these areas.

Potential Effect on Patterns of Segregation
Although Foster City doesn’t have significant segregation issues within the City, from a broader regional perspective, providing increased lower-income housing opportunities in a high resource community such as Foster City will help overcome Countywide and regional patterns of segregation, disparate impacts for impacted racial and ethnic groups, and foster more inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity.

Potential Effect on Access to Opportunity
The wide distribution of housing sites will provide additional housing options for lower income households to choose housing near amenities and services that are important to them, such as parks, schools, transit, or other features. The sites in the Sites Inventory were selected based on accessibility to a variety of services and amenities, such as parks, schools, shopping, transit, and transportation. From a broader regional perspective, providing increased lower income housing opportunities in a high resource community such as Foster City will help overcome Countywide and regional patterns of disparate 59 5. HOUSING RESOURCES AND SITES
HE-34 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
impacts for impacted racial and ethnic groups by providin g more affordable housing choices near desirable resources such as employment and high -quality education. This will foster more inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity.

Potential Effect on Disproportionate Housing Needs
“Disproportionate housing needs generally refers to a condition in which there are significant disparities in the proportion of members of a protected class experiencing a category of housing need when compared to the proportion of members of any other relevant groups, or the total popu lation experiencing that category of housing need in the applicable geographic area. For purposes of this definition, categories of housing need are based on such factors as cost burden and severe cost burden, overcrowding, homelessness, and substandard housing conditions.” 1 Overpayment is a significant housing challenge for lower- income residents. There is not a geographic concentration of cost burdened renters, but there are concentrations of cost burdened owners. There are disparities in housing cost burden in Foster City by race and ethnicity. Black or African American (58%) and Hispanic households (42%) experience the highest rates of cost burden in the City. Asian (29%) and non-Hispanic White households (30%) are least likely to be cost burdened.

The increased quantity and distribution of affordable housing as proposed in the Sites Inventory will address disproportionate housing needs by providing more affordable housing in a wider variety of locations in the c ity. From a broader regional perspective, providing increased lower income housing opportunities in a high resource community such as Foster City will help overcome Countywide and regional patterns of disproportional housing needs.

FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE HOUSING RESOURCES
In addition to p hysical resources such as housing sites, the City also has financial and administrative resources that can be utilized to assist the development of housing as well as address other housing needs. The City has funding sources dedicated to affordable housing from the Successor Housing Agency (to the former Community Development Agency), City Affordable Housing Fund that received payments from the Commercial Linkage Fee and other sources. Other housing resources are described in more detail in Appendix D, including:
 Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)
 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
 Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA)
 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
 Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART)
 HIP Housing
 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Vouchers
See Appendix D for additional detail on financial and administrative housing resources.

1 California Department of Housing and Community Development Guidance, 2021, page 39. 60 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-35
CHAPTER 6 | OVERVIEW OF
2015-2023 HOUSING ELEMENT

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
This Housing Element builds upon the successes of the City’s 2015-2023 Housing Element . This is described in more detail in the appendices, which include a matrix that lists all of the 2015 -2023 Housing Element programs and describes whether the program target has been achieved and if it should be retained, deleted or modified.

REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS
For the 2015 -2023 planning period, the City was required to plan for a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of a minimum of 430 units in four income categories. For this planning period, the City issued permits for 885 dwelling units inclu ding 166 below market rate (BMR) units. (Units completed by June 30, 2022 , will count toward the 2015 - 2023 RHNA; units under construction but not yet completed as of June 30, 2022, will count toward the 2023 -2031 RHNA.) This addressed between 31.5% and 6 1.5% of the Below Market Rate (BMR) RHNA, as shown in Table 6-1. (NOTE: Text above and Table 6- 1 to be updated after 6/30/22 with additional units completed between 1/1/22 and 6/30/22.)
Foster City was one of only 30 out of the 539 jurisdictions in California to be exempted from the streamlined ministerial approval process ( per SB 35 , Chapter 366, Statues of 2017) based on the prorate d progress toward meeting the l ower (very low - and low -income) and a bove moderate-income RHNA for the RHNA 5 Cycle (2015-2023).

TABLE 6-1: RHNA PROGRESS FOR 2015-2023 PLANNING PERIOD PERMITS

ISSUED BY AFFORDABILITY
Income Level RHNA
Total Units Permitted
(As of 12/31/21) % RHNA Met
Very Low 148 91 61.5%
Low 87 51 58.6%
Moderate 76 24 31.5%
Above Moderate 119 717 NA
Total 430 885
Source: City of Foster City, 2022.
61 6. OVERVIEW OF 2015-2023 HOUSING ELEMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS HE-36 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031
Some of the particularly noteworthy accomplishments of the 2015-2023 Housing Element include:

TIER 1 HOUSING OPPORTUNITY SITES
The City has worked with developers to facilitate the Pilgrim Triton and Foster Square mixed -use developments, which include 20% affordable h ousing. Included in the Pilgrim Triton Phase C development is the 22 -unit Workforce Apartments, which will be owned by the City. The preference categories adopted by the City Council will enable the units to provide preference to house first responders and disaster service workers to retain/improve the City’s emergency response capabilities (H-D-2-a Tier 1 Housing Opportunity Sites and H-D-4-a Mixed Use Housing).

HOUSING IMPACT FEE
The City adopted a Commercial Linkage Fee in December 2016 applicable to new commercial developments to support the provision of affordable housing (H-D-8-a Housing Impact Fee and H-E-1-a Funding for Affordable Housing).

MINIMIZE IMPACTS OF EXPIRATION OF AFFORDABILITY

COVENANTS
The City worked with Essex Properties to develop and implement several programs to assist the BMR tenants at Foster’s Landing as the affordability covenants began to expire in phases between 2020 and 2023. In September 2020, the City Council approved the e xecution of the Post BMR Expiration Rent Agreement, which is an agreement between the City and Essex Property Trust to provide up to $800,000 (split 50/50 between the City and Essex) to preserve the affordability of 50 units for 1 year for Phase I tenants of Foster’s Landing BMR units, which were set to expire on December 31, 2020. In February 2021 an Early Relocation Assistance Program was approved to provide financial assistance to off-set relocation costs. The City obtained a Permanent Local Housing Assistance (PLHA) grant from San Mateo County to provide additional relocation assistance and rental subsidies and hired Housing Industry Foundation (HIF) to administer the program (H-E-5-b New Agreements for Affordability of Existing Rental Units) and (H-E-5-d Minimize Impacts of Expiration of Affordability Covenants).

AT-RISK TENANT PREFERENCE POLICY
On March 18, 2020, City Council Approved Resolution 2020 -24, an amendment of Resolution 2000 -123 to place tenants at -risk of displacement in the top tier (1a) o f the affordable housing preference categories. This allowed impacted tenants at Foster’s Landing Apartments to move to the top of BMR waiting lists at other properties because of termination of the affordability restrictions at Foster’s Landing (H-E-5-e Affordable Housing Preference for Displaced Residents).

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The City launched a number of community outreach initiatives (H-A-3-a Community Outreach) (see the Community Outreach section for a summary of findings from these efforts). 62 6. OVERVIEW OF 2015-2023 HOUSING ELEMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-37
 Foster City’s CommUNITY Dialogue Series. This community engagement series was initiated in 2017 and included workshops regarding the evolution of the c ity, housing, transportation and mobility, and commercial retail.
 Foster City Age Friendly Community Initiativ e. In September of 2020, Foster City initiated the process of planning for an Age Friendly Community. The City asked residents who are age 55 and over what they think would help make Foster City a more “livable” community than i t already is for older adults. Residents were invited to participate in one of a series of virtual focus group discussions that took place throughout the month of September. These meetings were facilitated by the Center for Age Friendly Excellence (CAFE).
 Home is Foster City Initiative . In FY 2019 -2020, the City launched the “Home is Foster City” initiative that began with the intent of hosting conversations on who we are as a community, to better learn together, and understand various factors as they relat e to housing. Due to the public health orders, the initiative was paused but was resumed in 2021 with Community Workshops held on September 28 (virtual) and September 30, 2021 (in-person).  Housing Element Update Engagement. In 2020, the City launched a Hou sing Element Update webpage with basic information and an invitation for people to sign up for a notification list to stay involved. In February 2022, the City launched an updated community engagement website for the Housing Element Update, including a combination of tools from Bang The Table and MapSocial, to provide opportunities for community engagement and feedback on the Housing Element Update.

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64 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-39
CHAPTER 7 | PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Foster City believes that community input is a critical aspect of developing a Housing Element that promotes a community-based vision for housing and responds to community needs and preferences. While the Housing Element provides an opportunity to have a community conversation about how to address local housing challenges, develop policies, and find solutions, in Foster City we ensure that the community engagement process is ongoing throughout the 8-year RHNA cycle. This included the CommUNITY Dialogue Series and the Home i s Foster City outreach program. Specific to the Housing Element update, Foster City hosted web-based information, workshops, meetings, surveys, and City Council and Planning Commission Study Sessions (see Appendix F for a complete list).

In 2020, the City launched a Housing Element Update webpage with basic information and an invitation for people to sign up for a notification list to stay involved. In February 2022, the City launched a n updated community engagement website for the Housing Element Update, including a combination of tools from Bang The Table and MapSocial, to provide opportunities for community engagement and feedback on the Housing Element Update. The website is available here:
https://engagefostercity.org/housing-element. The website includes links to:
 Housing Preferences and Priorities Survey
 Interactive Map with opportunities to provide feedback on sites  Share your Foster City Housing Story
 Link to subscribe to project updates
 Background information on the Housing Element
 Links to related documents and related websites
 Links to agenda packets for previous meetings
In add
ition to conversations focused on Foster City, the 21 Elements working group provided additional opportunities for community input. 21 Elements is a multi
-year,
multi-phase
collaboration between all San
Mateo County jurisdictions, along with partner agencies and stakeholder organizations, that aims to support jurisdictions in developing, adopting, and implementing local housing policies and programs.

The D
raft Housing Element was posted on the City’s website and notification sent to stakeholders on __________ for a 30 -day review period. During this time, the draft Housing Element was advertised for public review and comment.
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SUMMARY OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
This section summarizes key outcomes from all the outreach activities. A more detailed summary of the feedback received from all community engagement methods is contained in the Appendix F.

COMMUNITY DIALOGUE SERIES
The Community Dialogue Series (CDS) , a series of
conversations that brings together community members
that live and work in Foster City to discuss the challenges facing Foster City , held dialogues on land use , affordable workforce housing, transportation, traffic and commercial retail. Foster City community members were first invited to participate from May through December 2017. Home is
Foster City is a continuation of the CommUNITY Dialogue series that took place from 2019 to early 2020. Home is Foster City included a webpage with facts about housing and related issues, a photo contest, and an online survey.

The effort was promoted through a series of “pop -ups” at community gathering spaces, such as grocery s tores, soccer games, food truck events, etc. The Community Meeting scheduled for April 21, 2020 was cancelled due to COVID. 21 ELEMENTS / LET’S TALK HOUSING
21 Elemen ts organized a Let’s Talk Housing series of
countywide meetings and provided community members
with an introduction of the Housing Element update and
why it matters in fall of 2021 . These meetings were
attended by more than 1,000 community members.

Additionally, an All About RHNA webinar and a
countywide four
-part
webinar series helped educate and
inform San Mateo County residents and stakeholders on
regional and local housing issues.

CITY-WIDE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
The City of Foster City held two community workshops on September 28, 2021 (virtual) and September 30, 2021 (in - person). A presentation about the contents and goals of the Housing Element update, including the findings to
date about related trends and needs . Following the
discussion, groups reconvened to share what each group
discussed and receive any additional ideas. about 80
community members participated.

TOPICS REVIEWED
 Why Affordability Matters
 Housing and Racial Equity
 Housing in a Climate of Change
 Putting it All Together for a Better Future
 Building Market‐Rate or Affordable Housing
 Addressing Fair Housing Issues
 Advocating for Affordable Housing
 Providing Housing Services

TOPICS REVIEWED
 Infrastructure that should be paired with new
housing.
 Sites to prioritize for new housing, including
repurposing commercial space.
 Preserving green space and community
character while building new housing.
 How to balance affordable and market rate
housing.
 Hou
sing types to prioritize (e.g., mixed‐use,

townhomes, and workforce housing).

WHAT WE HEARD
 Housing cost is too high.
 People value that Foster City is close to their
work, and is community oriented.
 Need more playgrounds and open space.
 No mor
e low‐inc
ome housing, it brings in the
wrong people.
 Con
gested housing takes away green spaces
for children.
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ONLINE SURVEY
A Housing Preferences and Priorities survey was
publicized by the City and available on the City’s website from February 23, 2022 until March 28, 2022. Invitations to participate were distributed to community members ,
organizations, local employers, renters, and others with the intent to reach more members of the community than
were represented during meeting s. The questionnaire
included questions about a set of housing policies and a set of resiliency policies, the same policies which were presented during the meeting. Participants were asked to select any and all policies which they supported.

ONLINE MAP-BASED FEEDBACK
A map-based engagement tool was provided to provide
information on potential housing sites and to gather
community feedback on the pros and cons of specific
sites. Participants could suggest new sites, leave
comments, or give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to
sites suggested by the City or by other previous
participants. Full results can be found in Appendix F:

Public Engagement Input.

STUDY SESSIONS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS
A Planning Commission Study Session was held on July
15, 202 1, to present and receive feedback on housing
needs identified to date, policies and programs, and next steps for engaging the community. Additional Joint City Council and Planning Commission Study Sessions were
held on March 2, 2022, April 21, 2022, and May 17, 2022.

The Public Review Draft Housing Element was available
for public review and comment for over 30 days between XX, 2022 and XX, 2022. The availability of the draft Housing Element was publicized online and in the local newspaper. The Planning Commission and City Council received a presentation on the Public Review Draft Housing Element on April 21, 2022, and also had the opportunity to provide comments. A second Joint Study Session will be held on May 17, 2022.

The Housing Element will be considere d for adoption by the Planning Commission and City Council at public hearings in Fall/Winter 2022.

WHAT WE HEARD
 Foster City Residents are concerned about
the impact of new housing on existing infra‐
str
ucture (schools, transportation, services).
 Saf
ety/security is a top priority.
 Resi
dents want to maintain a single‐fam
ily
character and open space in the city.
 Ther
e are many underutilized sites,
primarily office spaces and older duplexes
and apartments.
 Housing should be placed near the
highways.
 Resi
dents approve of mixed‐use h
ousing
and retail, but do not want to lose the retail
that exists.
 Ther
e are mixed opinions about building on
the golf course.
 There is a need for more affordable
homeownership options.

TOPICS REVIEWED
 RHNA
 Scoping of Issues for Environmental Impact
Report
 Housing Element Requirements
 Housing Needs
 Evaluation of Current Housing Element
 Considerations for Housing Sites
 Policies and Programs
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HE-42 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031

AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING (AFFH)
Changes in Housing Element Law since the last cycle require the careful consideration of populations who have historically been excluded from planning processes and deliberate and proactive actions to remove barriers to participation. Consistent with HCD guidance, the following best practices were utilized to include public participation from all economic segments of the community.  Leveraging the efforts of 21 Elements to engage with historically excluded communities, including low-income households and those with disabilities.
 Promoted survey conducted by Root Policy Research on AFFH issues.  Public meetings scheduled outside of working hours and in a variety of formats.  Robust and diverse meeting publicity implemented digitally and in person.  Publication of various Fact Sheets one pagers ( examples shown below) explaining terms to avoid jargon and make information more accessible.
 Tabling at public events, such as the Farmer’s Market.  Outreach to historically underrepresented groups, such as renters, through apartment property managers.
 Outreach to Foster City workers who may not live in Foster City through Chamber of Commerce and major employers.
 Outreach to nonprofit housing and service providers to discuss potential housing programs.  Use of a wide variety of print and social media.

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HE-44 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031

70 CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-45
CHAPTER 8 | HOUSING GOALS,

POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
Note to reviewers: In this Draft, new policies or programs compared to 2015-2023 Housing Element are highlighted in yellow
The section below contains the City’s Goals, Policies , and Programs related to the Housing Element. Goals are shown in capital letters, e.g., H-A. Policies related to each Goal include the Goal plus a number, e.g., H-A-1. Programs related to each Policy include the Goal and Policy reference followed by a lower-case letter, e.g., H-A-1-a.

H-A Reinforce the City's Commitment to Meeting Housing
Needs
Establish and monitor goals, policies, and programs to address the City's housing needs, encourage public participation in all housing policy matters, and promote equal housing
opportunities.

H-A-1 City Leadership. Provide an active leadership role in helping to attain the objectives of the City's Housing
Element by following through on the actions prescribed
in the Housing Element in a timely manner and
monitoring progress annually to review housing goals
and target achievements.

H-A-1-a Annual Tracking of Housing Activity. The
City will provide a statistical summary of
residential building activity tied to various
types of housing, household need, income
and Housing Element program targets.

Target: Annually by April 1 as part of General
Plan Annual Progress Report
Responsible Agency: Community
Development Department
H-A-1-b Construction of New Units. The Association
of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), through
the San Mateo County sub-region, has
calculated Foster City's regional housing
share at 1,896 units for the 2023-2031
period. The City will continue to review
residential proposals as they are received.

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CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-46
Target: Potential for up to 1,896 housing units between 2023-2031, including sites identified in Housing Program H-D-1-b, Housing Opportunity Sites in the Sites Inventory
Responsible Agency: City Council; Planning Commission; Community Development Department
H-A-1-c No Net Loss. Evaluate residential development proposals for consistency with the 2023-2031 Housing Element Sites Inventory. If a development approval will cause the Sites Inventory to be unable to accommodate all income levels of the RHNA, then additional site(s) shall be added pursuant to Government Code Section 65863(b)(1).

Target: Upon each residential or mixed-use project approval Responsible Agency: City Council; Planning Commission; Community Development Department
H-A-1-d Future Housing Element Updates. The City will update its Housing Element, consistent with State Law requirements.

Target: Next update by January 2031
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-A-2 Community Engagement . Encourage and support community engagement in the formulation and review of the City's housing policy, including encouraging neighborhood level planning and working with community groups such as homeowners associations and service clubs as well as the building and real estate industry to advocate programs that will increase affordable housing supply and opportunities.

H-A-2-a Community Outreach. The City will build on the success of “Home is Foster City” and “Community Dialogue Series” outreach programs to improve citizen awareness of housing needs, rehabilitation and disaster assistance loan subsidy programs, code enforcement, energy conservation programs, fair housing laws and affordable housing resources by:
(1) having printed housing information available at City Hall, library and other key locations;
(2) providing special presentations to community groups, service organizations, and senior citizens as needed; and
(3) providing public information through articles in the local newspaper, on the City’s website, the digital marquee, social media, and with cable TV public service announcements.

Target: Update website and print materials by 2023; then ongoing Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-A-2-b Outreach to Community Service Clubs and Organizations. The City will connect homeowners and renters with volunteer-based organizations such as community service clubs and organizations such as Rebuilding Together Peninsula if they need assistance with home improvement projects and repairs for homeowners physically or financially unable to maintain their properties.

Target: Provide referrals for at least two properties per year Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
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CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-47
H-A-3 Cooperation with Other Agencies. Continue participation in County -wide housing assistance programs and coordinate with other public and private agencies in the use of available programs to provide lower-cost housing in Foster City.

H-A-3-a Technical Assistance to Non-Profits. The City will update the City’s BMR Administrative Guidelines to provide technical assistance, such as information on applicable regulations and policies and how to coordinate various programs, to non-profit groups organized to encourage provision of affordable housing and sponsors of affordable housing projects and programs. The City will facilitate provision of affordable housing by providing technical assistance in a liaison role with non-profit housing groups and managers of affordable housing units in the City.

Target: Update City’s BMR Administrative Guidelines and post of the City’s website by 2024;
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department and City Attorney H-A-3-b Water and Sewer District Coordination. Within one week of adoption, deliver the Housing Element to the Estero Municipal Improvement District (EMID) Board of Directors. Work with EMID on updates to the Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and other policies and procedures to ensure implementation of the required priority for water and sewer service for developments with units affordable to lower-income households, as required by California Government Code 65589.7.

Target: Provide Housing Element within one week of adoption; Assist with update of next UWMP due in 2025
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department and Public Works Department
H-A-3-c Water Conservation Requirements. Work with EMID to develop water conservation requirements that will ensure sufficient water capacity to accommodate the RHNA, such as the potential use of water demand offset policies and/or require new and renovated developments to be “net neutral”, i.e., use both on-site and off-site conservation measures to not increase net water demand.

Target: Report to EMID Board by 2023
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department and EMID H-A-4 Secure Funding for Housing Programs. Identify and/or develop source s of funding for affordable housing programs.

H-A-4-a Commercial Linkage Fee. Continue to implement the City’s commercial linkage fee on new commercial development as a way to provide funding for affordable housing programs, including periodic review and update of the fee.

Target: Review and update by 2025
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, City Council H-A-4-b Local, State and Federal Funding for Affordable Housing. Monitor the availability of local, state or federal funding sources that could be used to provide funding for affordable housing programs.
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Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-A-4-c Expand Sources of Funds for the City Affordable Housing Fund. Provide the necessary legal framework to be able to accept grants and donations to the City Affordable Housing Fund from County, State, or Federal programs; employers; organizations; and individual donors.

Target: 2023 for legal framework and then ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, City Attorney, City Council
H-A-4-d Budgeting for Housing Programs. As part of the annual budget, allocate funds from the City Affordable Housing Fund or other sources to fund programs to address housing needs identified in the Housing Element, that may include but are not limited to:
(1) Staffing and other resources to administer housing programs. (2) H-B-2-a: Lower and Moderate-Income Homeowner Rehabilitation. (3) H-B-2-b: Facilitate Non-Profit Rehabilitation and Maintenance Assistance. (4) H-D-4-c: ADU Financial Incentive Program.
(5) H-D-6-e: Development Fee Waivers.
(6) H-E-3-c: Reduced or Waived Fees for Affordable Units. (7) H-F-2-a: Emergency Housing Assistance.
(8) H-G-2-a: Fair Housing Training for Landlords and Tenants.

Target: Annual as part of budget
Responsible Agency: City Council, Community Development Department H-B Protect Existing Housing, Community Character, and Resources Maintain the high quality of existing housing and community character and assure energy efficiency in new and existing housing.

H-B-1 Encourage Maintenance of Existing Housing. Encourage maintenance of the existing housing stock by continuing to enforce zoning and property maintenance regulations, housing and other codes for all types of residential units.

H-B-1-a Continue Code Enforcement. Continue the existing Zoning and Building Code Enforcement and Property Maintenance programs. In addition, continue the mandatory fire code inspection program.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department; Fire Department H-B-2 Encourage Rehabilitation of Existing Housing. Encourage rehabilitation to the extent feasible and when necessary for lower- and moderate-income homeowners.

H-B-2-a Lower-Income Homeowner Rehabilitation Loans. The City will provide or partner with a regional program to provide rehabilitation loan, energy improvement such as weatherization or solar, and disaster assistance programs to lower-income homeowners.
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Target: Create program by 2024; 20 new loans by 2031
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-2-b Facilitate Non-Profit Rehabilitation/Maintenance Assistance. The City will initiate a rebate program to provide up to $5,000 in funding for very low- income homeowners who cannot otherwise afford the repairs. Eligible repairs include weatherization of doors and windows, broken windows and doors, installation of smoke detectors, water-heater replacement, electrical/mechanical work, plumbing repairs, solar photovoltaic, and accessibility improvements. The City will identify possible non-profit organizations (such as Rebuilding Together Peninsula, churches, service clubs, or Girl or Boy Scouts) that can provide assistance and will provide information on the City’s website and handouts at City Hall.

Target: Develop program by 2024 and ongoing thereafter
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-3 Encourage Energy Conservation in Housing. Encourage adoption of energy conservation measures and promote energy conservation programs and City staff training that provide assistance for energy conservation improvements.

H-B-3-a Encourage Energy Conservation. The City will continue to encourage Energy Conservation measures by enforcing CALGreen Energy requirements and continue to waive building permit fees for solar permits (photovoltaic panels).

Target: 20 electric vehicle charging and 100 photovoltaic permits per year Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-3-b Expedited Energy Conservation Permits. Continue to provide expedited processing for solar permits and Electric Vehicle charging stations permits.

Target: Review 80% of expedited permits in five business days Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-3-c Increase Awareness Regarding Energy Conservation. The City will continue to partner with regional agencies, such as Peninsula Clean Energy, RICAPS, and BAYREN, to provide information about energy conservation resources, programs, and rebates on the City’s website.

Target: 2024 to update website; then ongoing
Responsible Agency: City Manager Department, Community Development Department
H-B-3-d Climate Action Plan. Implement recommended energy conservation measures for housing upon completion of the 2023 Climate Action Plan update.

Target: 2024 to adopt CAP implementation programs; then ongoing Responsible Agency: City Manager Department, Community Development Department
H-B-4 Housing Design. Assure excellence in housing design consistent with existing community character (architecture, site planning, and amenities), including room additions. Provide adequate flexibility to allow a variety of housing types to meet different housing needs, including room additions that provide affordable housing 75 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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opportunities by allowing families to more economically meet their needs than by moving and purchasing a new home.

H-B-4-a Update Architectural and Solar Guidelines for Single Family Homes.

Update the Architectural and Solar Guidelines to implement the City’s Architectural Review requirements contained in Chapter 17.58 of the Foster City Municipal Code to ensure that development preserves the architectural character and scale of the neighborhoods and community and is well designed.

Target: 2024-2025
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5 Review Potential Environmental Impacts of New Housing. When a new housing development is proposed that meets threshold requirements for review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) , perform a review of potential environmental impacts to ensure that the impacts on existing and prospective residents are considered.

H-B-5-a Air Quality Impacts. When site-specific development is proposed and/or a Rezoning application is processed, potential air quality impacts from project traffic and other significant sources shall be studied, and mitigation measures to ensure compliance with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District standards in effect at the time shall be recommended if necessary.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5-b Geotechnical Studies. Prior to any residential construction on the project sites, geotechnical studies would be required by the City unless a site-specific geotechnical study is already on file with the City.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5-c Seismic Hazards. Buildings shall conform to the requirements of the latest adopted edition of the California Building Standards Code to reduce potential seismic-related hazards.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5-d Environmental Site Assessment. When a site-specific development is proposed for housing on a site that was previously used for commercial or industrial uses, a Phase I and II Site Assessment shall be conducted to identify the extent of contamination and the clean-up measures necessary to meet the requirements of the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5-e NPDES Requirements. All National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements will be met or required as mitigation measures for applicable housing projects.
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Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5-f Noise Studies. Noise studies shall be undertaken for each site when a site- specific housing development is proposed. These studies will identify needed mitigation measures to reduce noise levels to an acceptable level for residential uses of the sites as identified in the Noise Element of the Foster City General Plan.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5-g Traffic Impacts. Traffic impacts shall be evaluated for housing development pursuant to the threshold requirements for CEQA analysis of traffic impacts.

Each site-specific evaluation will consider Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), intersection and freeway impacts, TDM measures incorporated into the project, parking, transit, pedestrian/bicycle safety, and potential impacts on evacuation.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-B-5-h Water Supply Assessment. A Water Supply Assessment (WSA) shall be performed for housing development proposals pursuant to the threshold requirements for WSAs contained in California Water Code Section 10910 et seq. and California Government Code Section 66473.7.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-C Protect the Supply and Affordability of Rental Housing H-C-1 Regulation of Conversions. Regulate the conversion of apartments to condominiums, community apartments and stock cooperatives to preserve the existing stock of rental apartments.

H-C-1-a Condominium Conversion Regulation. Continue implementation of the condominium conversion ordinance linking any conversions to the development of additional rental housing within the city. The ordinance provides for lifetime leases for seniors and handicapped tenants. Continue the requirement for deed restrictions on resale (unless financing is impossible), or 1% of gross sales must be contributed to the City, and comparable rental housing must be available in the Housing Market Area.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-C-1-b Amend Percentage of BMR Units in Conversions. Review the existing conversion regulations in Chapter 17.76 of the Municipal Code to ensure conformance with applicable state law pertaining to the percentage of converted units required to be set aside for qualified lower- and moderate- income owners.

Target: 2024
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Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-C-2 Protection of the Rental Housing Stock. Promote the retention of rental units and encourage rental subsidy programs that can be applied to existing housing.

H-C-2-a Monitor Affordable Housing Regulatory Agreements. The City will continue to monitor and enforce existing affordable housing regulatory agreements, including but not limited to exploration of ways to improve the efficiency of the process, and updating the City’s BMR Administrative Guidelines to incorporate procedures for investigating complaints.

Target: 2024, then ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-C-2-b Continue to Monitor Expiration of Affordability Covenants. Monitor affordable housing developments that are at risk of conversion to market rate (there are none in this 2023-2031 planning period). Work with landlords, tenants and other agencies prior to the expiration of affordability covenants to minimize the impacts of the expiration of affordability covenants through extension of affordability covenants, use of rental vouchers, preference at other affordable housing sites or other means.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-C-2-c Replacement Unit Requirements. The City shall not approve a housing development project that will include the demolition of existing housing units unless provisions are included to demonstrate compliance with California Government Code Sections 65915(c)(3) and 66300(d), requiring replacement units to be restricted to lower-income households to match the percentage of lower-income tenants. The City shall include the necessary information in the planning application submittal requirements.

Target: 2023 and ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-C-3 Tenant Protections. Mitigate potential impacts of displacement and promote greater awareness of tenant and landlord rights and obligations.

H-C-3-a Phased Redevelopment of Existing Multifamily Developments. If an existing multifamily apartment development is redeveloped including the removal of 25 or more units, the project construction shall be phased such that displacement of residents is minimized to the greatest extent feasible. A Planning application submitted for redevelopment including removal of any units shall include a plan that demonstrates how impacts to existing tenants that are being displaced are minimized. Such plan shall also include a robust outreach plan to affected tenants.

Target: 2023 to amend submittal requirements; then ongoing Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-C-3-b Anti-Displacement Strategy. Develop an Anti-Displacement Strategy, including assessment of a variety of tenant protection measures to determine 78 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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if appropriate for Foster City, including but not limited to: a) expansion of relocation benefits beyond those required by California law for landlords to pay to lower-income tenants to also apply to moderate-income tenants; b) expansion of the amount of relocation benefits beyond those required by California law for lower-income tenants; c) minimum lease terms; d) required notifications to tenants and landlords of legal requirements; and e) expansion of any other relocation/anti-displacement provisions.

Target: 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-C-3-c Facilitate Resolution of Rental Disputes. Continue working with the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center and the Tri-County Apartment Association as vehicles to moderate rent increases and minimize displacements in the City and to resolve rental disputes between renters and property owners.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: City Council, Community Development Department H-C-3-d Facilitate Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482). In coordination with programs promoting fair housing under H-G, provide information on laws regarding maximum annual rent increases, just cause evictions, and financial compensation requirements.

Target: 2023 to update website; then ongoing
Responsible Agency: City Council, Community Development Department H-C-4 Rental Assistance Programs. Continue to publicize and participate in rental assistance programs such as Section 8, Housing Voucher programs, and other available rental programs.

H-C-4-a Rental Housing Assistance Information. Encourage the use of federal, State and Local rental housing programs by providing information on the City’s website. Continue to publicize and promote programs offered by the San Mateo County Housing Authority including, but not limited to the Section 8 Rental Assistance Program, landlord incentive programs (such as Landlord Continuity Bonus, New Landlord Bonus, and Landlord “No Loss” Bonus) programs for landlords to rent to holders of Housing Choice or HUD-VASH (Veteran) Vouchers.

Target: 2023 to update website; then ongoing
Responsible Agencies: Community Development Department
H-D Consider Potential Public and Private Redevelopment Opportunities to Increase the Supply of Housing
Assure excellence in architecture and site planning in all new projects, provide a variety of housing types and tenure and meet the City's "fair share" of regional housing need.

H-D-1 Housing Opportunity Areas. Given the diminishing availability of developable land, the City will continue to identify housing opportunity areas and sites with potential to provide additional housing consistent with other General Plan policies. 79 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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H-D-1-a Selection of Housing Opportunity Areas. The City will use the following criteria in selecting Housing Opportunity sites or areas:
(1) Potential for adequate and safe internal and external vehicular and pedestrian circulation, including emergency evacuation. (2) Convenient access to existing public transportation or the potential for such access as public transportation systems are expanded.
(3) Convenient access to typical neighborhood services and amenities typically required by residents.
(4) Convenient access to typical neighborhood recreation amenities or designed to provide adequate recreation amenities on-site. (5) Cost effective mitigation of physical site constraints (including geologic hazards, flooding, drainage, soils constraints, wetland limitations, etc.) (6) Cost effective provision by the City/EMID of typical residential services and adequate utilities to the site.
(7) Ability to meet internal residential noise standards. (8) Adequate size to provide required parking; parking requirements should be flexible based on the expected needs of the project’s prospective residents. (9) The development of a specific project on the site will not result in significant adverse individual or cumulative environmental impacts on other properties in the neighborhood or area, unless the City/District adopts a Statement of Overriding Considerations as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act.
(10) Housing on the site will help affirmatively further fair housing by expanding the distribution and variety of housing types and sizes in the City.

Target: As opportunities arise
Responsible Agency: City Council, Planning Commission, Community Development Department
H-D-1-b Housing Opportunity Sites in the Sites Inventory. The City will work with the developers of the Housing Opportunity Sites identified in the Sites Inventory listed under Goal H-A, New Construction Objectives, to assure that the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) can be met. The Housing Element concludes that these sites are sufficient to meet all of the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the 2023-2031 planning period, including the need for very low-, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income housing.

Target: All approvals within one year of each application Responsible Agency: City Council; Planning Commission; Community Development Department
H-D-1-c General Plan and Zoning Amendments to Facilitate Housing on Housing Opportunity Sites in the Sites Inventory. Concurrent with adoption of the Housing Element, adopt the following General Plan and zoning amendments:
(1) Adopt General Plan Amendment and Rezoning for 1601 Beach Park Boulevard. Amend the General Plan Land Use Designation from Public and Semi-Public to Condominium Residential and rezone the site from PF to R-3/PD.
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(2) Rezone R -3 RHNA 5 si tes to R -4. These sites include Harbor Cove, Franciscan, Sand Cove, and The Lagoons.
(3) Rezone R -4 RHNA 5 sites to allow by right development for projects with 20% or more lower -income units. These sites include Beach Cove and Shadow Cove.
(4) Amend R -3 (Chapter 17.18) and R -4 (Chapter 17.20) for consistency with General Plan minimum and maximum densities.
(5) Rezone Commercial Housing Opportunity Sites to Allow Residential , Commercial, or Mixed-Use. Concurrent with or prior to adoption of this Housing Element, rezone the Housing Opportunity Site currently developed with commercial uses to allow r esidential, commercial, or mixed-use. This includes the 1010 Metro Center Boulevard site.
(6) Mixed-Use Densities. The City will amend the Zoning regulations and General Plan Land Use Designations for Town Center Commercial , Civic Center Mixed Use, and other land use designations as appropriate, to establish allowed densities in mixed use zoning districts.

Target: Upon Housing Element Adoption
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-D-2 Encourage Housing as Part of New Development Projects. As opportunities for the development or redevelopment of property occur, whether financed with public funds or not, evaluate whether the subject site and project could and/or should include multifamily housing units as a part of the overall project, including apartments, condominiums, townhouses, or a mix of housing types.

H-D-2-a Potential Re-Use of Commercial Sites. The City will reevaluate the land use designations for the City's neighborhood shopping centers or other commercial sites if, at a future date, any of these commercial activities become not viable. If residential or mixed use developments are considered, criteria for determining the appropriate housing types include:
(1) The type of street (major, collector, etc.) which would provide access to the site and levels of service on the street in the morning and afternoon p eak hours.
(2) Availability of public services and facilities such as infrastructure (water, sewer, etc.), school capacity, parks and open space.
(3) The ability of the project to provide landscaping for parking areas, facade modulation and orientation of buildings which would ensure privacy for, and minimize impacts on, any adjacent single family homes, and reduce the perception of density in a multi-family project.

Target: As appropriate
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-D-3 Planned Development Process. Encourage the use of the planned development process to achieve a diversity of housing types and ten ure and to provide greater choice for residents and workers in Foster City.
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H-D-3-a Update Planned Development Process. Amend the zoning regulations for the Planned Development Combining District, Chapter 17.36, to align with requirements for objective standards and retain the ability to provide flexibility and incentives including but not limited to address special housing needs and a diversity of housing choices.

Target: 2026
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-D-4 Accessory Dwelling Units. The City will continue to encourage Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) (including J unior Accessory Dwelling Units [JADUs]), and multi -family ADUs , subject to specific development standards and requirements.

H-D-4-a ADUs. Continue implementation of Chapter 17.78, Accessory Dwelling Units.

Periodically update the City’s ADU ordinance to comply with State laws.

Target: Annual and ongoing 24 units by 2031
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-4-b ADU/JADU Financial Incentive Program. Provide or partner with another organization to provide a financial incentive program for homeowners to construct an ADU/JADU that is restricted for lower-income households for 10- 15 years.

Target: create program by 2023; provide 10 units by 2031 Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-4-c Preapproved ADU/JADU Designs and Expedited Review. Adopt preapproved ADU/JADU designs/plans to streamline the review process, facilitate reduced applicant cost and expedited review for ADUs/JADUs.

Ensure preapproved designs/plans provide choices and diversity in size to accommodate a variety of household sizes and types.

Target: 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-4-d Improved Public Information on ADUs. Promote information and tools available to facilitate ADU construction and encourage desirable features such as energy conservation and universal design for accessibility. Provide easily accessible information on the City’s website and at the public counter.

Target: 2023 for improved website and counter information; then ongoing Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-4-e Amnesty Program for Existing Unapproved ADUs. Develop a program to provide property owners with the opportunity to formally legalize existing unpermitted ADUs of any size.

Target: 2025
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-4-f Objective Design Standards for ADUs. Develop and adopt objective design standards for ADUs.

Target: 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
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H-D-4-g Multi-family ADUs. The City will work with property owners, the Building Division, and Fire Marshal to facilitate multi-family ADUs in accordance with Chapter 17.78 of the Municipal Code and applicable State laws.

Target: 2023 to provide information on website; then ongoing Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-4-h ADU Monitoring. The City shall track new ADUs and collect information on the use and affordability of these units. Halfway through the projection period (2026), if determined that at least 50% units are not meeting a lower-income housing need, the City shall explore additional incentives to facilitate ADUs.

Target: Annual monitoring by April 1 as part of Annual Progress Report; determination in 2026
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-5 Institution-Owned Sites. Facilitate the addition of residential uses on public and private institution-owned sites.

H-D-5-a School Sites. Pursue opportunities with the public school district and private schools to incorporate on-site residential uses for faculty and staff along with educational facilities in order to increase the supply of affordable or workforce housing.

Target: Meet with San Mateo-Foster City School District and at least one private school by 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-5-b Religious and Nonprofit-Owned Sites. Pursue opportunities for provision of housing on sites owned by religious or non-profit organizations, including the special parking provisions of California Government Code Section 65913.6.

Target: Meet with at least one owner by 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-D-6 Reduce Regulatory Constraints. Support the reduction of governmental and regulatory constraints to the production of housing, especially affordable housing.

H-D-6-a Governmental Constraints. The City will review the entire development process and remove any governmental and regulatory constraints to the production of affordable housing, including streamlining the preliminary review process and to allow more types of projects to be approved at the staff level.

Target: 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department and Public Works Department, Planning Commission, City Council (this would be zoning requirements, fees, and review procedures for example)
H-D-6-b Zoning Incentives. Evaluate zoning incentives that encourage the development of diverse housing types, including smaller, more affordable units and two- and three-bedroom units suitable for families and children.

Amend City codes, including Chapter 17.56 and others, if necessary.

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Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-D-6-c Reevaluate Parking Requirements. Conduct a study of whether, how, and where to modify parking requirements to allow higher densities and reduced housing costs in areas appropriate for reduced parking requirements. Amend City codes if necessary.

Target: 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-D-6-d Development Fee Waivers. Provide waivers of development impact fees for 100% below market rate developments with units restricted to very low- and low-income households.

Target: 2023 and ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, City Council H-D-6-e Multi-Family Objective Design Standards. Amend the Zoning regulations to include objective design standards in compliance with the Housing Accountability Act for new multi-family developments.

Target: 2023
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-D-6-f SB9 Objective Design Standards. Amend the Zoning and Subdivision regulations to include objective design standards in compliance with SB9 to allow additional housing units on single-family parcels.

Target: 2023
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-D-6-g Farmworker Housing and Employee Housing Act. Amend the Zoning regulations for consistency with the State Farmworker Housing requirements and Employee Housing Act.

Target: 2023
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-E Address Affordable Housing Needs
Meet the City's "fair share" of very low-, low-, and moderate-income housing need and the needs of special groups, including the elderly, disabled, small and large families, extremely low-income households and persons, single parents, and local workers.

H-E-1 Create More and Retain Existing Affordable Housing. Utilize a variety of methods to increase and retain the supply of affordable housing, including the following programs:

H-E-1-a Existing Unit Purchase Program. Adjust the preferences for the Existing Unit Purchase Program (City-owned units) so that when vacancies occur, housing providers have an opportunity to propose renting the unit to provide supportive housing for people with disabilities and if no acceptable proposals 84 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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are received, then continue to maintain the existing units owned by the City as rentals for large very low- and low-income families.

Target: 2023 to adjust preferences; then ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, City Council H-E-1-b If funds are available, purchase existing older single-family or duplex units to provide affordable rental housing for larger families dispersed throughout the community, targeting units that need rehabilitation and thereby improving the neighborhood(s) in which they are located.

Target: 2023 to adjust preferences
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-1-c First-Time Homebuyer Program. Continue to monitor the three remaining First Time Homebuyer loans for compliance with their requirements, including owner-occupancy. Deposit any payoffs into the City’s Affordable Housing Fund. Continue to promote the HEART First-Time Homebuyer Loan program.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-2 Private Development of Affordable Housing – Inclusionary Requirement. Require the provision of affordable housing by the private sector through an inclusionary requirement.

H-E-2-a Inclusionary 20% Requirement. Implement the City’s 20% inclusionary requirement as contained in Chapter 17.90.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-2-b Affordable Housing Overlay Inclusionary 15% Requirement Including Extremely Low-Income. Implement the City’s Affordable Housing Overlay 15% inclusionary requirement which includes a requirement for extremely low- income rental units, as contained in Chapter 17.92.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-3 Incentives for Affordable Housing. The City shall offer development incentives to developers of multifamily housing p rojects which meet the City’s housing needs, in exchange for an agreement that a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of the total number of units constructed (or another percent, depending upon the project) shall be affordable to very low as defined by State H ealth and Safety Code Section 50105, low - and moderate-income persons and families as defined by Section 50093 of the State of California Health and Safety Code for a minimum period of 99 years for rentals and 45 years for ownership (restarting with each s ale). Incentives to be considered include the following:
 Density bonuses, as allowed by State law and Chapter 17.86.  Reduced or waived fees for very low-income units if funding is available.  Assistance and support in securing public financing, such as bonds or tax credits. 85 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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H-E-3-a Density Bonuses for Affordable Housing Projects Consistent with State Density Bonus Law. The City will offer density bonuses consistent with the State Density Bonus Law and Chapter 17.86.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-3-b Financing and Subsidy Programs. Encourage project sponsors to apply for available federal, state and locally subsidized new affordable construction programs, including subsidies for extremely low-income, very low-income, and low-income housing. The City will also lobby Federal and State elected officials for housing legislation that includes appropriations for low- and moderate-income housing programs.

Target: Annual and ongoing and when a unique development opportunity arises
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-3-c Cooperative Ventures. Encourage cooperative and joint ventures between owners, developers, and non-profit groups in the provision of BMR housing.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-4 Resale Controls on Owner -Occupied BMR Units. Require resale controls on owner - occupied BMR units to ensure that affordable units provided through public assistance or public action are retained for a minimum of 45 years (with a new 45 -year time period starting with each resale) as affordable housing stock pursuant to Chapter 17.90 of the Municipal Code.

H-E-4-a Maintain Existing Owner-Occupied BMR Units. Monitor the agreements for the ownership BMR units to ensure the continued affordability of these units for the terms of their agreements.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-5 Rent and Income Restrictions on Rental BMR Units. Require rent and income restrictions on rental BMR units to ensure that affordable units provided through public assistance or public action are retained for 99 years or more as affordable housing stock pursuant to Chapter 17.90 of the Municipal Code.

H-E-5-a New Agreements for Affordability of Existing Rental Units. If a source of funding can be identified, work with owners of existing market rate rental units to include affordability agreements.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-E-6 House Sharing. Encourage and facilitate house sharing in appropriate locations where it would provide housing for low er- and moderate-income residents and not significantly impact the neighborhood (parking, access, etc.).

H-E-6-a Home Sharing Program. Continue to work with HIP Housing and similar non- profits to expand the existing outreach program for the Homeshare Program for both rental and ownership housing, including outreach to extremely low- 86 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
CITY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT 2023-2031 HE-61
and very low-income persons.

Target: Ongoing, at least 10 new matches per year
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, HIP Housing H-E-7 Workforce Housing. Given the amount of commercial and retail development expected through build-out of the City, encourage an adequate supply and variety of rental and ownership workforce housing as part of new commercial development.

H-E-7-a Housing Provisions in Development Agreements. Include provisions to add to the housing supply in new development agreements for commercial development.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Planning Commission, City Council
H-E-8 BMR Eligibility Priorities. In order t o meet a portion of the City ’s local housing need, consistent with Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Housing Need s Determination, and as means to reduce V ehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), the City will, to the extent consistent with applicable policy, establish eligibility priorities for the BMR units in a project for City employees and people working in the City of Foster City.

H-E-8-a BMR Eligibility Guidelines. Implement BMR selection guidelines based on the BMR Eligibility Priorities in Policy H-E-8, including City Resolution 2000-123 and as amended that give priority to people who live and work in the community, teachers and local government and public safety employees.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department and City Attorney H-F Address Housing for Special Needs Populations
H-F-1 Special Needs. Encourage a mix of housing units throughout the City including those for lower-income seniors, families with children, single parents, young families, victims of domestic violence, farmworkers, and the disabled.

H-F-1-a Facilities and Services for Special Needs. Support housing that incorporates facilities and services to meet the health care, transit or social service needs of households with special needs, including seniors, extremely low-income households and persons, farmworkers, and persons with disabilities.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-F-1-b Assistance to Victims of Domestic Violence. Assist victims of domestic violence by coordinating with and providing referrals to existing service agencies providing legal assistance, hotline, and emergency housing and prevention services to victims of domestic violence. Continue to coordinate with existing service providers, determine any other actions the City can take to assist persons in Foster City.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department and Police Department
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H-F-1-c Adaptable/Accessible Units for the Disabled. The City will ensure that new multi-family housing includes units that are accessible and adaptable for use by disabled persons in conformance with the California Building Code and that developers are required to implement an affirmative marketing plan for physically accessible units which provides disability-serving organizations adequate prior notice of the availability of the accessible units and a process for supporting people with qualifying disabilities to apply.

Target: 2024 to implement requirements for affirmative marketing Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-F-1-d Reasonable Accommodation. Utilize the adopted Chapter 17.84, containing a review process to provide individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, and procedures that may be necessary to ensure equal access to housing. The purpose of these procedures and an ordinance is to provide a process for individuals with disabilities to make requests for reasonable accommodation in regard to relief from the various land use, zoning, or building laws, rules, policies, practices and/or procedures of the City.

Target: Ongoing (implement when requests are made)
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-F-1-e Home Sharing for Special Needs Population. Support the HIP Housing Home Sharing Program as part of a collection of policies programs and practices for addressing special housing needs, including seniors, those living with disabilities, those at risk of homelessness and female head of households.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, City Council H-F-1-f Support Services for Special Needs Population. Work with service providers to facilitate the provision of support services to enable people to receive services in their homes, including persons at risk of homelessness, seniors, persons with mental or physical disabilities, substance abuse problems, HIV/AIDS, physical and developmental disabilities, multiple diagnoses, veterans and victims of domestic violence.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-F-1-g Age Friendly Initiative. Continue the work begun in 2020 with the Center for Age Friendly Excellence (CAFÉ) and the Foster City Age-Friendly Community (AFC) Task Force to develop an action plan including programs to address needs of seniors.

Target: 2024
Responsible Agency: City Manager Department
H-F-2 Housing for the Homeless. The City of Foster City recognizes the need for emergency shelter housing for the homeless and has adopted Chapter 17.82 to allow eme rgency shelters as a permitted use in areas zoned Neighborhood Business (C-1), Central Business (C-2), and at churches/synagogues in the Public Facilities (PF) Zoning District. 88 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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H-F-2-a Emergency Housing Assistance. To the extent funds are available, participate and allocate funds, as appropriate, for County and non-profit programs providing emergency shelter and related counseling services.

Target: Annual participation, if feasible
Responsible Agency: City Council
H-F-2-b Emergency Shelter Uses. To the extent funds are available, the City will contribute non-profit agencies involved in providing housing for the homeless in San Mateo County. The City will also review proposals for emergency shelter uses based on the policies in the General Plan and other City development standards and requirements.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-F-2-c Multi-Jurisdictional Emergency Shelter. Pursuant to State law requirements, and as the opportunity arises, the City will consider participation in a multi-jurisdictional emergency shelter, should one be proposed in the future.

Target: Based on the opportunity and feasibility of a multi-jurisdictional emergency shelter
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, City Council H-F-2-d Emergency Shelter Zoning. The City will allow emergency shelters as provided in Chapter 17.82 that allows a year-round emergency shelter as a permitted use in Neighborhood Business (C-1), General Business (C-2), and at churches/synagogues in the Public Facilities (PF) Zoning District.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-F-2-e Low Barrier Navigation Centers. Amend the Zoning regulations to allow low-barrier navigation centers (low-barrier, service-enriched shelters focused on moving people into permanent housing that provide temporary living facilities) by right in specific zoning district(s), consistent with AB 101 (2019).

Target: 2023
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-F-2-f Transitional and Supportive Housing. The City of Foster City recognizes the need for and desirability of transitional and supportive housing and will treat transitional and supportive housing as a residential use that will be subject only to the same restrictions that apply to other residential uses in of the same type in the same zone.

H-F-2-g Transitional and Supportive Housing Zoning. Enforce the existing zoning regulations that allow transitional and supportive Housing, as required by State law, so they are treated as a residential use that will be subject only to the same restrictions that apply to other residential uses of the same type in the same zone.

Target: Ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
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H-F-2-h Supportive Housing. Review the Zoning regulations for consistency with AB 2162, effective January 1, 2019, requiring supportive housing by-right in certain zoning districts.

Target: 2024
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-G Affirmatively Further Fair Housing
H-G-1 Equal Housing Opportunity. The City will ensure provision of housing opportunities for all people and will take appropriate actions when necessary to ensure that the sale, rental, or financing of housing is not denied to any individual on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, national origin, religion, age or other factors.

H-G-1-a Non-Discrimination. To ensure that the sale, rental, or financing of housing is not denied to any individual on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, age, marital status, disability, or other factors, Foster City will ensure that state and federal laws are adhered to regarding fair housing. The City, through its Community Development Department, will refer discrimination complaints to the appropriate legal service, county, or state agency. The City will assist local non-profit organizations, as appropriate, to provide public information and education services in a variety of locations, including but not limited to the City’s website, City Hall, public library, Recreation Center and Senior Center.

Target: 2023 to update website; then ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-G-2 Improved Access to Fair Housing Information.

H-G-2-a Anti-Discrimination Regulations. Provide information to tenants and landlords advising them of the State and City regulations that prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to someone, or otherwise discriminate against them, because they have a housing subsidy, such as a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, that helps them to afford their rent.

Target: 2023 and ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-G-2-b Fair Housing Training for Landlords and Tenants. Partner with an organization to perform fair housing training for landlords and tenants.

Target: 2024 and ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-G-2-c Information Specific to Fair Housing. Provide information on the City’s housing webpage to include resources for residents who believe they have been discriminated against, including how to file a fair housing complaint.

Target: 2023 and ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-G-2-d Multi-Lingual Tenant Resources. Collaborate and cooperate with local and regional agencies to provide multilingual fair housing education services. 90 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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Target: 2024 and ongoing
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department
H-G-2-e Rental Registry. Unless a requirement for a State rental registry is adopted, explore a rental registry that tracks information such as rents, utilities, accessibility for disabled persons, tenant occupancy dates, and landlord contact information in order to improve the information available to landlords, tenants, and decision makers.

Target: 2024 to research options and report to City Council Responsible Agency: Community Development Department

FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT QUANTIFIED OBJECTIVES
Below is a breakdown of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for Foster City for the current Housing Element planning period (2023-2031) (see Table 8-1). Approximately 43 percent of the housing need is required to be affordable to low-and very low-income households (“lower-income” households).

The quantified objectives in the Foster City Housing Element are intended, in part, to make sure the City addresses its RHNA for new units.

TABLE 8-1: C ITY OF FOSTER CITY REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ALLOCATION (RHNA) FOR 2023-2031 PLANNING PERIOD
Income Level Units Percentage
Very Low 520 27%
Low 299 16%
Moderate 300 16%
Above Moderate 777 41%
Total 1,896 100%
Source: ABAG, Final Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) Plan: San Francisco Bay Area, 2023-20331, December 2021.

Quantified objectives establish the targets for units to be constructed, rehabilitated, or conserved by income level during the planning period. These objectives are not minimum or maximum requirements, but rather targets based on needs, resources, and constraints. Foster City’s quantified objectives are shown in Table 8-2.
 The construction objective provides the target for the number of new units that potentially may be constructed over the course of the Housing Element planning period.  The rehabilitation objective refers to the number of units expected to be rehabilitated during the Housing Element planning period.
 The preservation objective refers to the number of existing deed restricted below market rate rental housing units to be preserved throughout the Housing Element planning period.

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TABLE 8-2: S UMMARY OF FOSTER CITY HOUSING ELEMENT QUANTIFIED OBJECTIVES BY INCOME CATEGORY (2023-2031)
Income Category New Construction Rehabilitation Preservationa Very Low (Extremely Lowb) 520
20 247
Low 299 103
Moderate 300 68
Above Moderate 777 8
Total 1,896 20 426
a Preservation includes preservation of existing affordable housing stock per Government Code Section 65583(c)(4). Units to be conserved include existing rental affordable housing stock (not including Foster’s Landing units due to expire on 12/31/2023). b Extremely Low-Income is a subset of the Very Low-Income. Housing opportunities such as emergency shelters, supportive housing, shared housing and Section 8 vouchers can provide opportunities to address Extremely Low-Income housing needs. In addition, the Affordable Housing Overlay Combining District requires a certain percentage of extremely low-income units.

Source: Foster City Community Development Department

NEW CONSTRUCTION OBJECTIVES/SITES INVENTORY
The New Construction Objectives are the RHNA targets, including the targets for each income category.

The Sites Inventory identifies sufficient sites to meet the new construction objectives/RHNA targets for the 2023 -2031 planning period. A buffer of excess capacity is required, especially at the lowe r and moderate-income levels, so that the Sites Inventory can demonstrate sufficient capacity throughout the entire planning period, even if individual housing projects are approved at lower densities than projected (see Table 8-3).

Table 8-4 summarizes the Identified Fair Housing Issues, contributing factors and actions included in the Housing Element.

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TABLE 8-3: S ITES INVENTORY (2023-2031)

Extremely
Low
Very
Low Low Moderate
Above
Moderate Total
Pipeline Projects
Laguna Vista Condos 29 29
ADUs Under Construction 2 1 1 4
Proposed Projects
1601 Beach Park Boulevarda 6 26 32
Lantern Covea 14 14 25 303 356
Schooner Bay 26 26 45 549 646
Eaves Apartments MF ADUs 7 7 7 1 22
Triton Apartments MF ADUs 3 3 3 1 10
Accessory Dwelling Units
ADUs 7 7 7 3 24
RHNA5 Sites
Franciscan Apartments 28 17 17 42 104
Sand Cove Apartments 38 22 22 57 139
The Lagoons Apartments 43 26 26 66 161
Beach Cove Apartments 65 38 38 98 239
Shadow Cove Apartments 31 18 18 46 113
Harbor Cove Apartments 25 15 15 36 91
Other Residential Sites
Eaves Apartments 27 16 16 41 100
Foster’s Landing Apartments 243 144 144 369 900
Commercial Sites to be Rezoned
OSH 60 36 36 90 222
Total 659 420 356 1,757 3,192
RHNA 520 299 300 777 1,896
Remaining Need (Surplus) 139 121 56 980 1,295
Percent of Surplus 27% 40% 19% 126% 68%
a Numbers of units per project application including City’s inclusionary requirements per Chapter 17.90 and if in AHO, 17.92.

Source: Foster City Community Development Department

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TABLE 8-4: P OLICY/PROGRAM MATRIX
No. Title Upon Adoption 2023 2024 2025 2026 Other $ Needed H-A Reinforce the City’s Commitment to Meeting Housing Needs H-A-1 City Leadership
H-A-1-a Annual Tracking of Housing Activity Annual H-A-1-b Construction of New Units 2031
H-A-1-c No Net Loss Each project
approval

H-A-1-d Future Housing Element Update 2031
H-A-2 Public Participation
H-A-2-a Community Outreach 2023
H-A-2-b Outreach to Community Services Clubs and Organizations 2024 Ongoing H-A-3 Cooperation with Other Agencies
H-A-3-a Technical Assistance to Nonprofits Ongoing H-A-3-b Water and Sewer Agency Coordination Within one week of adoption
Review annually
H-A-3-c Water Conservation Requirements 2023
H-A-4 Secure Funding for Housing Programs
H-A-4-a Commercial Linkage Fee 2025 Ongoing
H-A-4-b Local, State and Federal Funding for Affordable Housing Annual and ongoing

H-A-4-c Expand Sources of Funds for City Affordable Housing Fund 2023 H-A-4-d Budgeting for Housing Programs Annual
H-B Protect Existing Housing, Community Character and Resources H-B-1 Encourage Maintenance of Existing Housing
H-B-1-a Continue Code Enforcement Ongoing
H-B-2 Encourage Rehabilitation of Existing Housing
H-B-2-a Lower and Moderate-Income Homeowner Rehabilitation Loans 2024 $ H-B-2-b Facilitate Non-Profit Rehabilitation and Maintenance Assistance 2024 $ 94 8. HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS
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No. Title Upon Adoption 2023 2024 2025 2026 Other $ Needed H-B-3 Encourage Energy Conservation in Housing
H-B-3-a Encourage Energy Conservation 20 EVC; 100 PV permits per year

H-B-3-b Expedited Energy Conservation Permits 80% of expedited permits in five
business days

H-B-3-c Increase Awareness Regarding Energy Conservation 2024 H-B-3-d Climate Action Plan 2024
H-B-4 Housing Design
H-B-4-a Update Architectural and Solar Guidelines for Single Family Homes 2024-25 H-B-5 Review Potential Environmental Impacts of New Housing (formerly H-A-4)

H-B-5-a Air Quality Impacts Ongoing
H-B-5-b Geotechnical Studies Ongoing
H-B-5-c Seismic Hazards Ongoing
H-B-5-d Environmental Site Assessment Ongoing
H-B-5-e NPDES Requirements Ongoing
H-B-5-f Noise Studies Ongoing
H-B-5-g Traffic Impacts Ongoing
H-B-5-h Water Supply Assessment Ongoing
H-C Protect the Supply and Affordability of Rental Housing H-C-1 Regulation of Conversions
H-C-1-a Condominium Conversion Regulation Ongoing
H-C-1-b Amend Percentage of BMR Units in Conversions 2024 H-C-2 Protection of the Rental Housing Stock
H-C-2-a Monitor Affordable Housing Regulatory Agreements 2024 H-C-2-b Continue to Monitor Expiration of Affordability Covenants 2023 Ongoing H-C-2-c Replacement Unit Requirements 2023
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No. Title Upon Adoption 2023 2024 2025 2026 Other $ Needed H-C-3 Tenant Protections
H-C-3-a Phased Redevelopment of Existing Apartments 2023 Ongoing H-C-3-b Anti-Displacement Strategy 2024
H-C-3-c Facilitate Resolution of Rental Disputes
H-C-3-d Facilitate Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) 2023 H-C-4 Rental Assistance Programs
H-C-4-a Rental Housing Assistance Information 2023
H-D Consider Public and Private Redevelopment Opportunities to Increase the Supply of Housing

H-D-1 Housing Opportunity Areas
H-D-1-a Selection of Housing Opportunity Areas Ongoing H-D-1-b Housing Opportunity Sites in the Sites Inventory Approvals within one year of
application

H-D-1-c General Plan and Zoning Amendments to Facilitate Housing on Housing Opportunity Sites in the Sites Inventory
Upon Adoption
H-D-2 Encourage Housing as Part of New Development Projects H-D-2-a Potential Re-use of Commercial Sites As appropriate H-D-3 Planned Development Process
H-D-3-a Update Planned Development Process 2026
H-D-4 Accessory Dwelling Units
H-D-4-a ADUs 24 units by 2031
H-D-4-b ADU Financial Incentive Program 2023 10 units by 2031 $ H-D-4-c Preapproved ADU Designs and Expedited Review 2024 H-D-4-d Improved Public Information on ADUs 2023
H-D-4-e Amnesty Program for Existing Unapproved ADUs 2025 H-D-4-f Objective Design Standards for ADUs 2024
H-D-4-g Multifamily ADUs 2023 Ongoing
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No. Title Upon Adoption 2023 2024 2025 2026 Other $ Needed H-D-4-h ADU Monitoring Progress
Report in
2026
Annual
H-D-5 Institution-Owned sites
H-D-5-a School Sites 2024 Ongoing
H-D-5-b Religious and Nonprofit-Owned Sites 2024 Ongoing H-D-6 Reduce Regulatory Constraints
H-D-6-a Government Constraints 2024 Ongoing
H-D-6-b Zoning incentives Rescind 17.65 upon
adoption
Evaluate
others by
2024

H-D-6-c Re-evaluate parking requirements 2024
H-D-6-d Development Fee Waivers 2023 $
H-D-6-e Multi-Family Objective Design Standards 2023
H-D-6-f SB9 Objective Design Standards 2023
H-D-6-g Farmworker Housing and Employee Housing Act 2023 H-E Address Affordable Housing Needs
H-E-1 Create More and Retain Existing Affordable Housing H-E-1-a Existing Unit Purchase Program 2023 Ongoing H-E-1-b First-time Homebuyer Program Ongoing
H-E-2 Private Development of Affordable Housing – Inclusionary Requirement

H-E-2-a Inclusionary 20% Requirement Ongoing
H-E-2-b Affordable Housing Overlay Inclusionary 15% Requirement Including Extremely Low-Income
Ongoing
H-E-3 Incentives for Affordable Housing
H-E-3-a Density Bonus for Affordable Housing Projects Consistent with State Density Bonus Law
Ongoing
H-E-3-b Financing and Subsidy Programs Ongoing
H-E-3-d Cooperative Ventures Ongoing
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No. Title Upon Adoption 2023 2024 2025 2026 Other $ Needed H-E-4 Resale Controls on Owner Occupied BMR units
H-E-4-a Maintain Existing Owner-Occupied BMR Units Ongoing H-E-5 Rent and Income Restrictions on Rental BMR Units
H-E-5-z New Agreements for Affordability of Existing Rental Units Ongoing H-E-6 House Sharing
H-E-6-a Home Sharing Program Ongoing at least
10 new matches
per year

H-E-7 Workforce Housing
H-E-7-a Housing in Commercial Development Agreements Ongoing H-E-8 BMR Eligibility Priorities
H-E-8-a BMR Eligibility Guidelines Ongoing
H-F Address Housing for Special Needs Populations
H-F-1 Special Needs
H-F-1-a Facilities and Services for Special Needs Ongoing H-F-1-b Assistance to Victims of Domestic Abuse Ongoing H-F-1-c Adaptable/Accessible Units for the Disabled Ongoing H-F-1-d Reasonable Accommodation Ongoing
H-F-1-e Home Sharing for Special Needs Population Ongoing H-F-1-f Support Services for Special Needs Population Ongoing H-F-1-g Age Friendly Initiative 2024
H-F-2 Housing for the Homeless
H-F-2-a Emergency Housing Assistance Annual $
H-F-2-b Emergency Shelter Uses Ongoing
H-F-2-c Multi-Jurisdictional Emergency Shelter Based on opportunity

H-F-2-d Emergency Shelter Zoning Ongoing
H-F-2-e Low Barrier Navigation Centers 2023
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No. Title Upon Adoption 2023 2024 2025 2026 Other $ Needed H-F-3 Transitional and Supportive Housing
H-F-3-a Transitional and Supportive Housing Zoning Ongoing H-F-3-b Supportive Housing 2024
H-G Affirmatively Further Fair Housing
H-G-1 Equal Housing Opportunity
H-G-1-a Non-Discrimination 2023 Ongoing
H-G-2 Improved Access to Fair Housing Information
H-G-2-a Anti-Discrimination Regulations 2023 Ongoing H-G-2-b Fair Housing Training for Landlords and Tenants 2024 $ H-G-2-c Information Specific to Fair Housing 2023
H-G-2-d Multi-Lingual Tenant Resources 2024
H-G-2-e Rental Registry 2024

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100

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA 29 Pipeline Units at Laguna Vista Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 1601 Beach Park Boulevard Yes Yes Yes; but not 100%
housing
Yes Yes Concerned Yes Yes No Yes
Lantern Cove Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes; Because there is a permit already
Yes Yes Yes; More analysis, deeply
concerned
Yes
3 ADUs Per Year; Total 24 ADUs Over 8-Year
Period
Yes; analysis for
more if possible
Yes Yes Yes Yes; 3 seems
reasonable; slight
more possibly
Yes Yes Yes; Consider preapproved
model to accelerate
permitting
Yes
Include any projected SB 9 units? Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No No

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA Should some or all of the previous Housing
Element sites be included in the draft Sites
Inventory for further analysis?
Yes; All Yes; All Yes; All Yes; All Yes; All Yes; All Yes; All Yes; All Some; Sand Cove and Harbor Cove only
Yes; All
Should an implementation program be included
in the draft Housing Element to amend the R-3
zoning to allow a minimum of 20 or 25 units per
acre?
Yes; 25 Yes; 20 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Should an implementation program be included
in the draft Housing Element to rezone the
three (3) previous Housing Element sites that
are zoned R-3 to R-4?
No Yes Yes Yes No Harbor Cove - R4; Sand
Cove - R4; Franciscan -
R3; Lagoons - R3
Yes Yes No Yes

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA Should some or all of the apartment sites listed
in Table 8 above be included in the Draft Site
Inventory for further analysis?
All; Except for
Tradewinds
All All; Except
Tradewinds and
Water's Edge
All All; Except
Schooner Bay
All; Except
Beachcomber, Eaves,
Schooner Bay, and
Tradewinds
All; Except
Beachcomber,
Tradewinds,
Water's Edge
All; Except
Tradewinds
No; Except Foster's Landing All; Except
Beachcomber,
Tradewinds, Water's
Edge

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA Based on the information available to date,
which of the following sites as shown in Table 9
below be included or excluded in the Draft Sites
Inventory for additional analysis? Please
indicate whether these should be analyzed as
mixed use sites or solely residential sites.

Yes or selecting
a site is difficult.

Staff make calls
and determine
conditions on
the sites.

Tenants and
landlords are on
the same page;
mixed used
property.

All and
mixed-
used.

All, except Kids
Connection (1289-
1291 Hilldale);
Everything Mixed-
Use.

Evaluate All,
except for Chess
Hatch.

No on Beach
Park,
Edgewater, and
Chess Hatch;
Mixed Used,
fine look at
them.

No on OSH; Mixed
Used on All the Office
Buildings; Fine with
Mixed Used on Chess
Hatch
No on Beach
Park and
Edgewater;
Mixed Used on
All
Analyze All for
Mixed Used
Analyze all with Mixed Use,
Reduce Density at
Edgewater Place to 75.

Analyze All; and Mixed
Used

SITES INVENTORY

NON-VACANT NON-RESIDENTIALLY ZONED SITES

NON-VACANT RESIDENTIALLY ZONED SITES
PIPELINE/PENDING/ADUs and JADUs/SB 9 UNITS
SITES FROM THE PREVIOUS (5TH) CYCLE HOUSING ELEMENT
101
Are there any other sites not identified in the
staff report that need to be included in the draft
sites inventory for further analysis?
State site on 3rd Ave.

Concerns about
eliminating vacant
lands.

Approach 2 Visa
buildings.

Engage with Biomed Realty.

Reimagine area north of 92.

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA Should any faith-based sites be included in the
Draft Sites Inventory or should they be
considered only if the faith-based organization
proposes redevelopment?
Only if they
propose
redevelopment
Only if
they
propose
redevelop
ment
Yes Only if they
propose
redevelopment
Only if Interest
from Island
United
Only if Interest from
Island United
Yes Only if they
propose
redevelopment
No Only if they propose
redevelopment
Which of the above identified sites (if any)
should be included in the Draft Site Inventory
for further analysis? (Marina Site, Edgewater
Boulevard, Fire Station #2)
No for All Yes to All No; No; Yes No for All No; No; Yes No; Yes; Yes No; No; Yes No; No; No.

Only if Interest
from Island
United
None No; No; No

RELIGIOUS FACILITIES
102

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) Yes for all
feasible; add
amnesty and
waiving fees to
feasible.

Consider
working with
prefab
manufacturers.

Yes for all
feasible;
no for all
not so
feasible
Yes for all feasible;
add amnesty as
feasible . Encourage
multi family, condos,
and apartments to
use provisions
Agree with
staff's analysis
Agree with
staff's analysis
Agree with amnesty
being feasible to
incentivize people to
participate as it
increases safety of
those units; second to
last one on feasible
(incentives for section
8 rentals) except for
additional ADU; no
encouraging
multifamily
apartments to use
provisions since
already have
opportunity to
diversify
Agreement with
all listed as
feasible;
recommend
amnesty as well
Support staff's
analysis; would
support seeing
amnesty moved
to feasible
Agree with staff's analysis;
Add to focus on ADU pre-
designed program
Agree with staff's
analysis; would prefer
low-interest loans
instead of grants
Better Management of Affordable Housing
Portfolio - Agree with staff's analysis?
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Streamline Residential Development Projects
Review Process - Agree with staff's analysis?
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Anti-Discrimination Policies - Agree with staff's
analysis?
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Development of Publicly Owned; Non-Profit;
and Religious Institution Sites - Agree with
staff's analysis?
yes yes yes; rental registry to
be discussed
yes yes yes; supports
responsive position
regarding religious
institutions
yes yes yes yes
Explore Additional Funding Sources for
Affordable Housing - Agree with staff's analysis?
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Staffing Resources for Affordable Housing -
Agree with staff's analysis?
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Prevent Foreclosures and Evictions - Agree with
staff's analysis?
yes yes yes yes yes yes; City put significant
money and effort in
trying to help renters;
would be interested in
seeing a program to
help property owners
to be fair
yes yes yes yes
Cost Reducing Measures for Affordable Housing
(waive impact fees) - Agree with staff's analysis?
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes; consider program to incentivize developers to
convert market rate to
below market rate
Agree with staff's
analysis
Policy/Program

POTENTIAL POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
103

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA Strengthened Tenant Protection Policies - Agree
with staff's analysis?
On rent
stabilization,
need more
detailed report
from staff
before
considering.

Agree with
everything else.
yes yes; however would
add that rental
registry should have
cost associated with
it. Regarding evictions
or credit history, alter
that to ask or
assessing some level
of payment for
applications. Further,
would like to consider
a model lease, would
take burden off of
small landlords.

Minimum term leases
are important. For

COPA/TOPA
programs, last right of
refusal. Believe Right-
to-counsel
ordinance/policy will
come back.

Not in favor of
rent
stabilization but
agree with
analysis
otherwise
Disagree with
the whole idea
of strengthened
tenant
protection
policies
Similar to Rick; does
not agree with rent
stabilization, but
substantial remodel
provision is intriguing.

Don't agree with
putting those burdens
on the owners. Why
wouldn't we put aside
funding for multi-
lingual outreach and
counseling?
Comments
parallel with
Rick; does not
agree with rent
stabilization,
with exception
of rental registry
of all rental
properties if
only it is
voluntary.
yes; and also in
favor of the
lease model
(model lease)
yes; but not in favor of
strengthening rent
stabilization or just cause
eviction ordinances. rental
registry would only make
sense on a county level.

Would like to require
developers to provide
relocation benefits beyond
those required by the state
(stricter if possible)
In support of rental
registry and requiring
developers to provide
relocation benefits
beyond those required
by the state
Target Areas for Upzoning - Agree with staff's
analysis?
yes; except for
second item,
office only
yes Change from office
building to office
space, with additional
protection for
existing retail space
No response;
lost connectivity
Too broad to
agree with it
Not in favor of
upzoning; agree with
Rick; agree with
colleagues that it
needs to be vacant.

Want more
analysis on
underutilized
parking spaces
(defer to staff
on decision
whether to
consider
developable
space per Jon's
suggestion); too
broad.

Interested in
mixed use with
development
yes Not interested in upzoning;
but agree with Evan about
commercial space in second
option
Does not support
these as feasible
Low-Income Owner Needs - Agree with staff's
analysis?
yes yes yes No response;
lost connectivity
Too broad to
agree with it
Move rehab loan
program to potentially
feasible
Think rehab loan
program is
feasible
yes Agree with staff's
analysis; Does not
support these as
feasible
104

RAVI NICOLAS EVAN CHARLIE RICK JON PATRICK SAM SANJAY RICHA Programs for Special Needs Population - Agree
with staff's analysis?
yes; but agree
with suggestion
from Patrick
about registry
re: residents
with disabilities
yes Disagree, think
programs should be
provided to assist
residents with
disabilities. Checkbox
added to registry.

No response;
lost connectivity
Think we need
programs, but
doesn't think
City should be
involved in
these
Remove word
"provide" and use
"assist" and
"encourage" instead.

Would suggest
different look at
registry; retrofitted for
disability so they know
where to look. Would
add idea to develop
programs to work with
developers for
amenities needed for
those with disability.

Agree on
feasible;
incorporate
local employers
to create
registry of
people who
need assistance.

Move "not
sofeasible" to
"feasible"
Agree with Sam; and agree
with Jon about
enable/support, but not
providing housing; agrees
with Jon's registry idea
Move "not too
feasible" to "feasible";
agree with Jon to
explore potential
amenities and the
registry
New Sources of Housing Funding - Agree with
staff's analysis?
yes No response;
lost connectivity
Would be supportive
of finding reduction in
cost if it's related to
support those with
disabilities
Look for other
avenues in how
we get funding if
we are going to
establish a trust
fund
Business-Corporate Contributions - Agree with
staff's analysis?
yes yes yes No response;
lost connectivity
Doesn't seem to
make sense to
reduce impact
fee but add
commercial
linkage fee, but
agree
Baffled by commercial
linkage fee; would
much rather see
policies that if you add
employees, you need
housing on your
development;
Not in favor of
other linkage
fee; look at all
sites
Would like
companies to
put money out
for housing, but
there are
currently too
many strings
yes yes
Reduce Housing Constraints - Agree with staff's
analysis?
Believe parking
requirements
should be
looked into
Agree
with Ravi
on
parking
Agree with Ravi on
parking
No response;
lost connectivity
what is the real need
in terms of parking
Look at
underutilization
Recommend
moving "reduce
parking
requirements"
to "feasible"
yes yes
Are there any other programs and/or policies
not identified in the Staff Report that need to
be considered in the Housing Element Update?
- - - - - - - - - -
105
Neibhorhood Site Name Site Address
Est
Acreage
Exiting Units
or Use
Existing
Density
(du/ac)
Current Allowed
GP density (u/ac)
Est Addt'l
Site
Capacity Ravi Nicolas Evan Charlie Rick Jon Patrick Sam Sanjay Richa PT Laguna Vista Condos 4 NA 29 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
2 Sea Island Townhomes 1601 Beach Park Blvd 2.16 vacant NA NA 32 Y Y Y Y Y concerns Y Y N Y 8 Lantern Cove 244 Rock Harbor Lane 16.8 232 13.81 35.00 355 Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y w/
concerns Y
ADU's (3 per yr/24 for 8 yrs) Throughout City 24 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y SB-9 Throughout City Y Y N N Y N N N N N
1 Franciscan Apts. 888 Foster City Blvd 6.4 122 19.06 35.00 104 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 1 Sand Cove Apts 777 Shell Blvd 8.77 168 19.16 35.00 139 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 1 The Lagoons Apts 611 Bounty Drive 9.64 176 18.26 35.00 161 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 4 Beach Cove Apts 699-703 Catamaran St 18.7 416 22.25 35.00 239 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 3 Shadow Cove Apts 1055 Foster City Blvd 7.9 164 20.76 35.00 113 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 9 Harbor Cove Apts 900 East Hillsdale Blvd 15.1 400 26.49 35.00 129 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 3 Beachcomber Apts 1441-1551 Beach Park Blvd 3.6 88 24.44 35.00 38 Y Y Y Y Y N N Y N N 3 Eaves Apts 700 Marlin Ave 17.6 288 16.36 35.00 328 Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N Y 1 Foster's Landing Apts 700 Bounty 46.35 490 10.57 35.00 700 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7 Schooner Bay Apts Timberhead/Cutwater Lanes 24.8 312 12.58 35.00 553 Y Y Y Y N N Y Y N Y 1 Tradewinds Apts 801 FC Blvd/1110 Polynesia 3.8 130 34.21 35.00 3 N Y N Y Y N N N N N 2 Water's Edge Apts 1200 E Hillsdale Blvd 9.72 158 16.26 35.00 182 Y Y N Y Y Y N Y N N TC OSH 1010 Metro Center Blvd 10.11 vacant retail 175 Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y 2 5A Rent-a-Space 1221 E. Hillsdale Blvd 7.44 storage 260 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 8 Edgewater Place 901-999 Edgewater Blvd 9 commercial 180 Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y 3 Beach Park Plaza 1455-1499 Beach Park Blvd 3.7 commercial 56 Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y 2 Foster City Medical Pavilion 1241 E Hillsdale Blvd 3.54 offices 124 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 2 Medical/Dental Center 1261 E Hillsdale Blvd 1.6 offices 56 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 2 Office/Medical Center 1289 E Hillsdale Blvd 1.64 offices 57 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 2 Office/Medical/Dental Ctr 1291-1295 E Hillsdale Blvd 3.66 offices 128 Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y C Chess Hatch Offices 1155-1195 Chess Dr 18.93 lt industrial 663 Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y TC Offices 919 E Hillsdale Blvd 9.28 offices 325 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y TC Offices 989 E Hillsdale Blvd 9.34 offices 327 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 7 Edgewater Blvd ROW Extn. 1.3 vacant 46 N Y N N N Y N N N N Marina Site N Y N N N N N N N N
Fire Station #2 N Y Y N Y Y Y N N N
TOTAL ESTIMATE 5526
Non-Vacant Non-Residentially Zoned Sites
Vacant Sites
Pipeline Projects
ADUs & SB 9 Units
Pending Projects
Previous Housing Element (RHNA 5) Sites
Non-vacant Residentially Zoned Sites
106
DATE: March 2, 2022

TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
Chair and Members of the Foster City Planning Commission

VIA: Kevin Miller, Interim City Manager

FROM: Marlene Subhashini, Community Development Director Leslie Carmichael, Consulting Planner

SUBJECT: DISCUSSION ON THE PREPARATION OF THE HOUSING
ELEMENT UPDATE FOR THE 2023-2031 PLANNING PERIOD,
INCLUDING: POTENTIAL HOUSING SITES FOR UP TO 1,896
NEW HOUSING UNITS BETWEEN 2023-2031; AND

POTENTIAL POLICY AND PROGRAM OPTIONS FOR

FURTHER STUDY TO ADDRESS FUTURE HOUSING NEEDS

RECOMMENDATION

The purpose of this Joint Study Session is to provide the Planning Commission and City Council with a progress update on the work on the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update, to present a summary of state requirements for the Sites Inventory.

It is recommended that the City Council and Planning Commission, by Minute Order, provide policy direction regarding sites to analyze further and include in the Draft Sites Inventory in the Public Review Draft Housing Element, and provide direction regarding policies and programs to analyze further and include in the Public Review Draft Housing Element.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The City is in the process of updating its Housing Element for the 2023-2031 107
planning period. The Housing Element is required to include an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development to meet the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) by income level. Foster City’s RHNA is 1,896 units for 2023-2031. The updated Housing Element is required to be adopted by January 2023. Staff is requesting Planning Commission and City Council feedback and direction on two critical aspects of the Housing Element Update to be included in the Public Review Draft Housing Element:

1. Sites to analyze further for potential inclusion in a Draft Sites Inventory; and

2. Draft policies and programs to be analyzed further for potential inclusion in the Housing Element.

Staff will take this direction and proceed to prepare the Public Review Draft Housing Element. The Public Review Draft Housing Element is required to be circulated for a minimum of thirty (30) days plus an additional ten (10) days to respond to comments to facilitate review by the public, Planning Commission, and City Council to determine which sites, policies, and programs to include in the Draft Housing Element submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for their required 90-day review.

Following HCD’s review, the City will have an opportunity to make additional changes prior to adoption. (See additional discussion of the schedule below.)

BACKGROUND

California's Planning and Zoning Law (Govt Code §65000 et seq.) establishes a framework for local land use regulation. It requires that every city and county adopt a General Plan for its physical development. The plan must be comprehensive, long-term, and up-to-date. The General Plan is required to contain the following seven mandatory elements: Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, and Safety. California State Law recognizes that local government plays a vital role in developing affordable housing. In 1969, the state mandated that all California cities, towns, and counties must adequately plan for the housing needs of everyone in their communities. This state mandate is called the Housing Element (See Housing Element Fact Sheet).

Housing Elements are required to be updated every eight years. The due date for adoption of the Housing Element is January 31, 2023. 108
Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA)

The RHNA process is the part of Housing Element Law used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability of those homes, each local government must plan for in its Housing Element. HCD provides a Regional Housing Needs Determination (RHND) to each region and each region develops a methodology to distribute the needs to the jurisdictions in the region. This process is repeated every eight years, and for this cycle (6th cycle), the Bay Area is planning for the period from 2023 to 2031 (See City’s webpage on RHNA/Plan Bay Area).

On November 22, 2021, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) issued the proposed Final RHNA Plan, which includes adjustments to the final allocations for Contra Costa County and Pittsburg as a result of a partially granted appeal. Of the 28 appeals that ABAG received from Bay Area jurisdictions, the ABAG Administrative Committee partially granted the appeal for Contra Costa County because an area annexed to Pittsburg in 2018 was incorrectly included as part of unincorporated Contra Costa County in the Plan Bay Area 2050 Final Blueprint. As a result, 35 RHNA units were transferred to the City of Pittsburg and has been reflected in the Final RHNA Plan. This did not affect the allocations for any jurisdictions other than the County of Contra Costa and the City of Pittsburg.

The final RHNA for Bay Area jurisdictions was approved by the Association of Bay Area Governments in the Final RHNA Allocation Report on December 16, 2021 and approved by HCD, as stated in its approval letter dated January 12, 2022. Additional information on the process for developing the RHNA is available on the City’s webpage on RHNA/Plan Bay Area). Additional discussion of the RHNA is provided in the Analysis section below.

Housing Element Progress Update

The key components of the Housing Element and a progress update on them are provided in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Housing Element Components Progress Update
Component Requirement Progress Update
Housing
Needs
Assessment
Examine demographic,
employment, and housing
trends and conditions; identify
Draft Housing Needs
Data Report presented
to Planning Commission
109
existing and projected housing
needs of the community with
attention paid to special
housing needs (e.g., large
families, persons with
disabilities).
on 7/15/21 (link to
meeting). Several
listening sessions have
been held (see list of
previous meetings
below). Housing
Preferences and
Priorities Survey posted
on 2/16/22. Deadline to
submit feedback is
3/21/22.

Evaluation of
past Housing
Element
Review the prior Housing
Element to measure progress in
implementing policies and
programs.

Draft Review of
Previous Housing
Element presented to
Planning Commission
on 7/15/21 (link to
meeting)
Housing Sites
Inventory
Identify locations of available
sites for housing development
or redevelopment to ensure
there is enough land zoned for
housing to meet the RHNA at
all income levels and potentially
rezone areas, if necessary.

Map-based community
engagement platform
published on 2/16/22.

Deadline to submit
feedback is 3/21/22.

Subject of 3/2/22 Joint
Study Session.

Affirmatively
Furthering
Fair Housing
(AFFH)
Facilitate deliberate action to
explicitly address, combat, and
relieve disparities resulting from
past patterns of segregation to
foster more inclusive
communities, in compliance
with Assembly Bill 686 (2018).

Administrative draft
AFFH report prepared
by 21 Elements will be
presented at a future
Study Session.

Constraints
Analysis
Analyze and recommend
remedies for existing and
potential governmental and
nongovernmental barriers to
housing development.

In progress with
assistance from 21
Elements.

Policies and
Programs
Establish housing policies and
programs to be carried out
Initial program/policy
options presented to
110
during the 2023-2031 planning
period to fulfill the identified
housing needs.

Planning Commission
on 7/15/21. Additional
policies/programs will
respond to needs
assessment and AFFH
analysis.

Subject of 3/2/22 Joint
Study Session.

Community
Engagement
Implement a robust community
engagement program, reaching
out to all economic segments of
the community plus traditionally
underrepresented groups.

Ongoing community
engagement through
City website, through
engagefostercity.org,
noticing, community
workshops, study
sessions.

Environmental
Impact Report
Analyze the potential
environmental impacts
associated with adoption and
implementation of proposed
Housing Element Update and
Safety Element Update
Notice of Preparation
(NOP) issued 1/26/22.

UPP selected as
environmental
consultant firm on
2/7/22.

Planning Commission
Scoping Meeting held
on 2/17/22. Draft EIR
due in late summer.

Environmental Impact Report (EIR)

As noted above, an EIR will be prepared for the Housing Element Update and Safety Element Update in conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The purpose of CEQA is to inform decision-makers and the public about the impacts of a proposed project prior to taking action on the project. To that end, a lead agency (in this case, the City of Foster City) is required to disclose a project’s potentially significant environmental effects to the community, decision makers and responsible agencies, identify and implement measures that will limit such detrimental impacts, and consider project alternatives.

The EIR will be a “program level” EIR rather than a “project level” EIR. A 111
program level EIR analyzes the potential environmental impacts of programs based on the level of specificity included. For program plans such as a Housing Element or Safety Element, the analysis will be at a more general level that does not analyze site-specific impacts. Site specific environmental impacts will be evaluated as part of the “project level” environmental assessment as part of the development review of each individual project. The EIR will analyze a wide range of issues, including transportation/traffic, public services and utilities, air quality, etc.

A Notice of Preparation was issued on January 26, 2022. The Planning Commission held a noticed Scoping Meeting on February 17, 2022. The Draft EIR will be circulated for public review and comment, tentatively scheduled for late July-August 2022.

Housing Element Update Schedule

In September 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 215. This law makes a number of changes including stronger provisions regarding enforcement of California housing regulations and changes regarding Housing Element certification timing. AB 215 lengthens the time for HCD to complete the review of a Draft Housing Element but does not change the January 2023 submission deadline for jurisdictions. Specifically, before submitting a Housing Element to HCD, cities must post the document for at least 30 days and then must consider those comments for 10 days. Additionally, HCD now has 90 days to review and provide comments on the first Draft Housing Element submittal, compared to 60 days in previous cycles.

Cities can post the Housing Element for public review concurrent with Planning Commission and City Council review, ensuring that the full 40 days (30 days for public review; 10 days for responding to comments) are provided for during the Commission and Council review period. Still, at least 30 additional days will be needed for HCD’s review compared to what was previously planned. Staff is targeting to submit the draft Housing Element for HCD review by May 31, 2022. This would result in an HCD review period ending August 29, 2022.

State laws have also changed regarding consequences of not adopting the Housing Element and receiving HCD certification within 120 days of the January 31, 2023 deadline. AB 1398 provides two formal consequences for failing to adopt and receive HCD certification of a housing element within 120 days of the deadline (May 31, 2023):
112
All rezonings required to provide adequate sites must be accomplished within one year of the due date (January 31, 2024) rather than within three years plus 120 days of the due date.
If a housing element is adopted more than one year from the due date, HCD will not find it in compliance with state law until all necessary rezoning is adopted.

Several other regions of the State have had earlier submittal deadlines for their 6th Cycle Housing Elements. The HCD certification process is taking much longer than in previous cycles. For example, in the SCAG region (Southern California), their deadline for adoption was October 15, 2021 with the 120 day grace period ending February 12, 2022. As of February 16, 2022, only 6 of the 197 jurisdictions have received HCD certification of their housing elements letters (Housing Element Compliance Report, available on this page, HCD). Some jurisdictions are receiving multiple HCD review letters (Housing element review letters sent to jurisdictions, available on this page, HCD).

HCD has also adopted a policy that if a rezoning required to provide adequate sites for lower income housing (Lower income is used to refer to the combination of very low-income and low-income) is adopted after the housing element due date of January 31, 2023, it must provide for “by right” approval of housing development (By right means the jurisdiction shall not require: a conditional use permit, a planned unit development permit, or any other discretionary, local-government review or approval that would constitute a “project” as defined in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This does not preclude a jurisdiction from imposing objective design review standards. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 12). For this reason, staff is proposing to accomplish any required rezoning concurrently with or prior to the adoption of the Housing Element in order to preserve as much local control as possible over the design of any proposed development.

For more information, see Attachment 1, “Consequences of Late Adoption of the Housing Element - Technical Memo”.

An updated timeline for preparation of the Housing Element Update is included in Table 2.
113
Incentives and Consequences
Previous staff reports dated September 21, 2020, May 3, 2021, and July 15, 2021 have provided information on the incentives and consequences related to having a certified Housing Element. A list of ten funding programs that either require Housing Element compliance or that incentivize greater coordination with housing planning are listed in Attachment 1, “Consequences of Late Adoption of the Housing Element - Technical Memo.” Attachment 2, “New State Housing Unit Set to Enforce Local Housing Mandates” summarizes the potential consequences of a noncompliant housing element, including: legal suits and attorney fees, loss of permitting authority, financial penalties, court receivership, and streamlined ministerial approval process for housing projects.
114
Community Engagement/Previous Meetings
City staff has recently launched an updated community engagement website for the Housing Element Update, including a combination of tools from Bang The Table and MapSocial, to provide opportunities for community engagement and feedback on the Housing Element Update. The new website is available here: https://engagefostercity.org/housing-element and automatically redirects from the main City website’s page for the Housing Element Update.

The new website includes links to:
Housing Preferences and Priorities Survey (closes March 21, 2022) Interactive Map with opportunities to provide feedback on sites (closes March 21, 2022)
Share your Foster City Housing Story
Link to subscribe to project updates
Background information on the Housing Element
Links to related documents and related websites
Links to agenda packets for previous meetings
During the Joint Study Session on March 2, 2022, staff will demonstrate how to take part in the survey and use the interactive map.

The City has held a number of public meetings to discuss various aspects of the Housing Element Update. These meetings have been advertised in a variety of ways, including the Housing Element email ListServ, posted notices, newspaper notices, FCTV, Leo Ryan Park marquee, social media, City website, and City e-news. The list of public meetings is on the Housing Element Update website and listed at the end of this report with links to the meeting materials.

Staff provided an informational report to the City Council on November 1, 2021 regarding the in-person and virtual Community Workshops held on September 28 and 30, 2021. The compiled notes from the Community Workshops are included as Attachment 3 and also available here.

Staff has attached a letter from the Loma Prieta Sierra Club dated November 19, 2021 with their comments on the Housing Element Update (Attachment 4) and other public comments received as of February 24, 2022 (Attachment 5). 115

ANALYSIS

State law requires Housing Elements to include an inventory of land/sites suitable and available for residential development to meet the RHNA by income level. In the years since the previous Housing Element for the 2015- 2023 planning period was adopted, State laws have added requirements for information to be included in the Sites Inventory and for the analysis of each site. Included below is a summary of these requirements and how they apply to Foster City. This information is provided to assist the public, Planning Commission, and City Council in determining the sites to include in the Draft Sites Inventory for further analysis. The summary draws heavily from the “Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook” provided by HCD. References to the “HCD Site Guidebook” are provided at various points in this staff report.

Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)

A description of the process for determining the RHNA is included in the Background section of this report. The RHNA for Foster City is provided in Table 3, below.

In order to better understand the income levels in the RHNA, Table 4 provides the 2021 income limits for the various income categories (2022 limits have not been released).
116
The State’s “No Net Loss” requirements (Government Code Section 65853) stipulate that a jurisdiction must provide sufficient sites at all times throughout the RHNA planning period. A jurisdiction can fall out of compliance if they take actions such as:
Reduce a site’s residential density
Approve development applications with fewer units on the site than identified in the Housing Element
Approve development applications with higher income units than stated in the Housing Element
HCD recommends providing a “buffer” of 15%-30% additional units, especially in the very low-, low-, and moderate-income categories, in order to avoid having to rezone additional sites to eliminate any shortfall resulting from development actions. For additional information on buffers, see Attachment 6, “Housing Element Site Inventories: Why Buffers and Excess Capacity Matter,” prepared by ABAG. More detailed information is provided in HCD’s Guidance Memo, “No Net Loss Law-Government Code Section 65863.”
Building the Sites Inventory

The Sites Inventory is a major component of the Housing Element and for a built-out city like Foster City, may be the most challenging part. The scope of new state law requirements for the analysis of sites makes it a complex undertaking. It is important to remember that the City’s responsibility is to identify sufficient sites that are appropriately zoned (or will be rezoned) to accommodate the RHNA – not to build the units or guarantee that the units will be built. Including sites in the Sites Inventory does not guarantee that the City will approve applications for a certain number of units on those sites.

117
As discussed below, providing a buffer is important in order to preserve the City’s ability to provide sufficient sites throughout the planning period (2023- 2031) even if a development application is approved at a lower density or not approved. Staff notes, however, that regardless of whether a site is in the Sites Inventory, the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) establishes limitations to a local government’s ability to deny, reduce the density of, or make infeasible housing development projects. (See the HAA Technical Assistance Advisory prepared by HCD.)

Staff suggests that the Planning Commission and City Council provide direction on potential sites to include in the Draft Sites Inventory for additional analysis. The additional analysis will include review of the capacity and the ability to address the lower income RHNA using the criteria in the HCD Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook (HCD Site Guidebook) . The sites will be included in the Public Review Draft Housing Element that will be circulated for public review in April 2022. The Planning Commission and City Council will have the ability to make additions and deletions from the Draft Sites Inventory before the Draft Housing Element is submitted to HCD for their review at the end of May 2022. Having more sites than needed in the Draft Sites Inventory will give the Planning Commission and City Council the ability to delete some sites and still have sufficient sites to meet the RHNA.

The Sites Inventory can include several categories of sites. The types of sites are listed below, followed by a summary of the requirements for all sites and the specific requirements for the various types of sites. References are made to the HCD Site Guidebook. Staff has summarized information for the following types of sites, following a summary of requirements for all sites:
Pipeline projects (units permitted or under construction but not completed as of June 30, 2022)
Pending Projects (projects that have submitted an application but are not yet approved)
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
SB 9 units
Sites from the previous (5 th) cycle Housing Element
Non-vacant residentially zoned sites capable of additional development Non-vacant non-residentially zoned sites capable of residential or mixed-use development
Religious Facilities
Vacant sites
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Requirements for All Sites

Infrastructure Availability. Parcels included in the sites inventory must have sufficient water, sewer, and dry utilities available and accessible to support housing development. The Housing Element must describe existing or planned, water, sewer, and other dry utilities supply, including the availability and access to parcels on the sites inventory, distribution facilities, general plan programs or other mandatory program or plan to support housing development on the site. The Housing Element must include sufficient detail to determine whether the service levels of water delivery/treatment systems and sewer treatment facilities are sufficient and have the capacity to accommodate development on all identified sites. If infrastructure is not available, the Housing Element must include a program that ensures access and availability to infrastructure to accommodate development within the planning period. If this is not possible, the site is not suitable for inclusion in the sites inventory or in a program of action identifying a site for rezoning. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 7-8)

One of the critical infrastructure components in Foster City is the water supply. A Water Supply Assessment will be included in the EIR being prepared for the Housing Element Update and Safety Element Update.

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). This means “taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and fosters inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics.” The HCD Site Guidebook further states that for purposes of the sites inventory, this means that sites identified to accommodate the lower-income need are not concentrated in low-resourced areas (lack of access to high performing schools, proximity to jobs, location disproportionately exposed to pollution or other health impacts) or areas of segregation and concentrations of poverty.

Instead, sites identified to accommodate the lower income RHNA must be distributed throughout the community in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 8-9)
Default Density. The statute allows jurisdictions to use higher density as a proxy for lower income affordability, in other words – be able to skip detailed analysis of the economic feasibility of providing lower income units on a site if the site is zoned to accommodate a default density. Parcels must be zoned to allow sufficient density to accommodate the economies of scale needed to produce affordable housing. Because San Mateo County is considered a 119
“metropolitan county”, the default density is at least 30 units per acre. “At least” means the density range allowed on the parcel must include the default density. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 13-14)

Size of Sites. Parcel sizes between 0.5 acres and 10 acres in size are considered to be able to accommodate development for lower incomes.

Parcels smaller than 0.5 acres or larger than 10 acres in size require additional analysis to demonstrate that they can accommodate the lower income RHNA. Otherwise, they can be used in the sites inventory to count toward the moderate or above-moderate RHNA. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 15- 17)
Realistic Capacity Analysis. The statute requires an analysis of the realistic capacity of each site. This can include:

1. use of minimum densities provided by the zoning of the parcel, or

2. utilize various factors to calculate realistic capacity and describe the methodology used including:
oTypical densities of existing or approved residential development at a similar affordability level
oCurrent or planned availability and accessibility of infrastructure oApplicable land use controls and site improvement requirements oAdjust for any areas that cannot be developed
The capacity calculation must be adjusted to reflect the realistic potential for residential development, including factors such as local or regional development trends, track records/past production trends for similar sites, and current or planned availability of infrastructure. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 19- 22)

Non-Vacant Sites. There are special considerations and analysis required to include non-vacant sites in the Sites Inventory. A non-vacant site is a site with any sort of existing use, including sites with structures, improvements, or income production. If the inventory identifies non-vacant sites to address a portion of the RHNA, the Housing Element must describe the realistic development potential of each site within the planning period (2023- 2031). The analysis must consider the extent that the non-vacant site’s existing use impedes additional residential development, the jurisdiction’s past experience converting existing uses to higher density residential development, market trends and conditions, and regulatory or other incentives or standards that encourage additional housing development on 120
the non-vacant sites. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 24)

If a jurisdiction relies on non-vacant sites for more than 50 percent of the lower income RHNA, the non-vacant site’s use is presumed to impede additional residential development, unless the housing element describes findings based on substantial evidence that the use will likely be discontinued during the planning period. Due to the extreme scarcity of vacant land in Foster City, this provision will apply.

Examples of substantial evidence that an existing use will likely be discontinued in the current planning period include, but are not limited to:
The lease for the existing use expires early within the planning period; The building is dilapidated, and the structure is likely to be removed, or a demolition permit has been issued for the existing uses; There is a development agreement that exists to develop the site within the planning period;
The entity operating the existing use has agreed to move to another location early enough within the planning period to allow residential development within the planning period; or
The property owner provides a letter stating its intention to develop the property with residences during the planning period. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 27)
Pipeline Projects

Units permitted or under construction but not yet completed as of June 30, 2022 will count toward the 2023-2031 RHNA. (See Attachment 7, “Pending, Approved and Under Construction Housing Projects”) The only residential units permitted or under construction at this time are in the Pilgrim Triton Phase C (Laguna Vista) development. The developer’s current construction timeline projects that all of the 22 Workforce Apartments and 41 of the 70 townhouses will be completed by June 30, 2022, leaving 29 townhouse units to count toward the 2023-2031 RHNA, all of which are above-moderate income. The final number will be confirmed as of June 30, 2022.

Question for Council and Commission: Should the 29 townhouse units in Laguna Vista be included as a Pipeline Project?

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Pending Projects

Pending projects are generally those that have submitted an application but have not yet been approved. Jurisdictions may choose to credit sites with “pending projects” based on affordability and unit count as proposed but must demonstrate the units can be built within the remaining planning period.

Affordability must be based on the projected sales prices, rent levels, or other mechanisms establishing affordability. (See Attachment 7, “Pending, Approved and Under Construction Housing Projects”)

There are two pending project applications that the City could choose to include in this category:
1601 Beach Park Blvd. Townhomes: preliminary application submitted in 2019 for 32 townhouses at 1601 Beach Park Blvd. This development project would require a General Plan Amendment from Public/Semi- Public to Residential and a rezoning from PF, Public Facilities, to a residential zoning district.
Lantern Cove Redevelopment: preliminary application submitted in 2020 for 356 additional units.

Alternatively, the above two projects could be included instead as non-vacant residentially zoned sites as further discussed below.

Question for Council and Commission: Should the two projects - Sea Island Townhomes and Lantern Cove be included in the Draft Sites Inventory as Pending Projects for further analysis?
ADUs and Junior ADUs (JADUs)
ADUs and JADUs can be projected based on the recent trends of ADU development. Affordability can be determined based on surveys of existing ADUs or an analysis of market trends. The HCD Site Guidebook recommends using trends since January 2018 as well as trends and programs that promote ADU and JADU construction. Affordability can be estimated based on trends and/or surveys. (HCD Site Guidebook, p. 30-31).The number of ADUs permitted in recent years is shown in Table 5.
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With a strong incentive program for ADUs, the City could support a projection for more than three ADUs per year. ABAG has done surveys of existing ADUs and prepared an analysis of the rent levels that can be applied to projections of ADUs. This information is presented in Attachment 8, “Draft Affordability of Accessory Dwelling Units.” The report is currently under review by HCD. The report recommends affordability assumptions as shown in Table 6.

Questions for Council and Commission: Q.1. Based on these trends and new regulations that facilitate ADUs, should the City consider additional programs in the Housing Element to promote/incentivize ADUs?
Q.2. Does the Council and Commission agree with the projection of three (3) ADUs per year for a total of 24 ADUs over the eight-year period as shown in Table 6?
The HCD Sites Guidebook also recommends that the Housing Element should include a monitoring program that: a) tracks ADU and JADU creation and affordability levels, and b) commits to a review at the planning cycle mid- point to evaluate if production estimates are being achieved. Depending on the finding of that review, amendments to the Housing Element may be necessary.

SB 9 Units
There is no guidance in the HCD Site Guidebook for estimating production of units pursuant to SB 9. Given the average lot sizes in Foster City, it is unlikely SB 9 projects would yield significant numbers of new units.

Question for Council and Commission: Should SB 9 projected units be included in the Draft Sites Inventory?
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Sites From the Previous (5th) Cycle Housing Element
Sites that were used in the previous Housing Element can be reused if certain requirements are met:
A program is included requiring rezoning to allow residential use “by right” at specified densities for projects that include at least 20% of units affordable to lower income households – OR –
If a site is rezoned to a higher density, it can be considered a “new” site (only if it was not utilized to accommodate a shortfall of sites to accommodate the previous RHNA).

Sites that were used in the previous Housing Element cycle but not yet redeveloped are shown in Table 7. The location of these sites is shown on the City’s Housing and Public Safety Update Map.

Per the requirements for reusing sites, these sites would need to be either: 1) rezoned to allow residential use “by right” at specified densities that include at least 20% of units affordable to lower income, or 2) to rezone them to a higher density.

As identified in Table 7, three (3) of the sites are zoned R-3, Medium Density Multiple-Family Residence or R-3/PD, Medium Density Multiple-Family Residence/Planned Development and two (2) of the sites are zoned R-4/PD, 124
High Density Multiple-Family Residence. The R-3 zoning allows a maximum density of 19.89 units per acre. Following the addition of minimum densities into the General Plan providing a range of 20-35 units per acre for the Apartment Residential designation, the R-3 zoning became technically inconsistent with the General Plan because it allows only 19.89 units per acre instead of 20 units per acre. Staff had previously sought HCD guidance on whether 19.89 units per acre could be rounded to be considered 20 units per acre and HCD’s response was it could not.

The Housing Accountability Act (HAA) provides that when zoning is not consistent with the General Plan, the developer is entitled to comply with the General Plan and the jurisdiction may not require a rezoning.

The HAA Technical Assistance Advisory prepared by HCD states on pages 10-11:

“For various reasons, there is at times inconsistency between standards in a general plan and zoning standards. For example, a local government may have amended the general plan, but has not yet amended all of its municipal ordinances to assure vertical consistency. Recognizing this, the HAA clarifies that if the zoning standards and criteria are inconsistent with applicable, objective general plan standards, but the development project is consistent with the applicable objective general plan standards for the site, then the housing development project cannot be found inconsistent with the standards and criteria of the zoning. Further, if such an inconsistency exists, the local agency may not require rezoning prior to housing development project approval.”

Pursuant to the HAA, sites zoned R-3 are entitled to use the General Plan density of 35 units/acre because the R-3 allowed density of 19.89 is less than the minimum density of 20 units per acre included in the General Plan for Apartment Residential.

The City could consider zoning amendments to address this to by:
amending the R-3 zoning designation to increase the allowed density to at least 20 units per acre, and/or
rezone the sites to be reused to R-4
Amending the R-3 zoning to be consistent with the General Plan minimum density is needed so that the City has the ability to designate some properties 125
for lower allowed density than the R-4 District. Rezoning the R-3 sites in the Sites Inventory to R-4 would have the added advantage of meeting the default density requirements and eliminate the need for a detailed analysis of the ability of the sites to provide lower income units. These sites have been previously analyzed in the 2015-2021 Housing Element and deemed to be suitable for additional units due to their size, location, and surroundings.

Questions for Council and Commission:
Q.1. Should some or all of the previous Housing Element sites be included in the draft Sites Inventory for further analysis? Q.2. Should an implementation program be included in the draft Housing Element to amend the R-3 zoning to allow a minimum of 20 or 25 units per acre?
Q.3. Should an implementation program be included in the draft Housing Element to rezone the three (3) previous Housing Element sites that are zoned R-3 to R-4?
Non-vacant residentially zoned sites

In addition to the previous Housing Element sites, the City can also choose to include other non-vacant residentially zoned sites. Given the difficulties of aggregating and redeveloping ownership units, this leaves other apartment developments as the most likely candidates in this category. The list of apartment developments in Table 8 includes all apartment developments in the City except:
Sites discussed above as “previously used sites” from the previous Housing Element: Harbor Cove, Beach Cove, Franciscan, Sand Cove, The Lagoons, Shadow Cove
Sites discussed above as Pending Projects: 1601 Beach Park Blvd.

Townhomes and Lantern Cove
Site already developed with 100% affordable housing: Alma Point and Metro Senior Apartments
Sites developed after 2000 are likely too new to be making significant investments in redevelopment: 100 Grand, Marlin Cove, Miramar, Triton, Plaza.
Apartment sites less than two acres in size are less likely to be able to redevelop without adverse impacts to the adjacent neighbors: Beach Park, Beachwalk, Kula Kai, Sandcastle, Sandpiper
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The location of these sites is shown on the City’s Housing and Public Safety Update Map.

Equity Residential, the property owner of Schooner Bay and Lantern Cove Apartments, has discussed potential redevelopment of both of their properties and has submitted a preliminary application for redevelopment of a portion of the Lantern Cove site. This is an indication that redevelopment of existing apartment properties is potentially economically feasible.

Question for Council and Commission: Should some or all of the apartment sites listed in Table 8 above be included in the Draft Site Inventory for further analysis?

Non-vacant non-residentially zoned sites

Based on the requirements for inclusion of non-vacant sites in the Sites Inventory, the following are examples of potential types of non-vacant sites that could be included (religious facilities are discussed separately below):
Shopping centers
Commercial buildings
Office buildings
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Research and Industrial/Light Industrial buildings (most of which are north of SR 92)
Staff has participated in several meetings with HCD regarding their criteria for review of site inventories. Developer interest in redeveloping a site is a good indicator of potential, especially if economic feasibility information can be disclosed. With respect to retail sites, HCD cautions that long term leases and/or major tenants that are national chains can preclude redevelopment of retail sites. Conversion of office development to housing is happening in some parts of the Bay Area.

The owner of 5A Rent-a-Space has contacted staff to discuss potential redevelopment of the property at 1221 E. Hillsdale Blvd. This site was included in the 2001 Housing Element as a potential housing site for 138-179 units at 27-35 units per acre). In the past, staff has also received inquiries from prospective developers regarding potential residential use at the OSH site.

Questions for Council and Commission: Based on the information available to date, which of the following sites as shown in Table 9 below be included or excluded in the Draft Sites Inventory for additional analysis? Please indicate whether these should be analyzed as mixed use sites or solely residential sites.
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The location of these sites is shown on the City’s Housing and Public Safety Update Map.

Religious Facilities

In 2020, the State adopted AB 1851 that makes it easier for faith-based organizations to build housing on their properties with reduced parking. There are some faith-based organizations in Foster City with parking lots that could potentially provide housing sites, but the sites are relatively small. Analysis to determine feasibility is likely to require a substantial amount of time for a small number of units.

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Question for Council and Commission: Should any faith-based sites be included in the Draft Sites Inventory or should they be considered only if the faith-based organization proposes redevelopment?

Vacant sites

As discussed above, HCD’s definition of a vacant site is one with no improvements or economic use. The list of vacant sites in Foster City is very short, including:
Marina site: not zoned for housing, in a Special Flood Hazard Area outside the levee, with significant environmental/sensitive habitat issues.
Edgewater Blvd. right-of-way extension through Schooner Bay: this right-of-way was originally intended to connect Edgewater Blvd. to Island Drive in Redwood Shores. That potential connection has since been removed from the General Plan. It is currently landscaped with turf and a pedestrian path. The site is approximately 1.3 acres in size.

Estimated capacity is 46 units.
Fire Station #2 site on Hawksbury Lane between Edgewater Blvd. and Thatcher Ln.: currently landscaped with turf, trees and shrubs. The site is 7,546 square feet. This site has been designated for potential use as a future fire station.

Question for Council and Commission: Which of the above identified sites (if any) should be included in the Draft Site Inventory for further analysis?

Draft Sites Inventory List

As discussed above, the Draft Sites Inventory list would provide direction to staff to do additional analysis of the sites, consistent with the HCD guidance, for further review by the public, Planning Commission and City Council before the Draft Housing Element is submitted to HCD for review. Staff will consider all the community feedback that has been received from the Community Workshops, online survey, online mapping feedback, and other public comments to be posted on the Housing Element Update webpage and provided at the April Joint Study Session (to be scheduled).

Based on the discussion above, the sites discussed for inclusion in the Draft Sites Inventory List are contained in Table 10. A more detailed spreadsheet of the sites is available on the City’s new website: engagefostercity.org/housing- 130
element . The location of these sites is shown on the City’s Housing and Public Safety Update Map.

Question for Council and Commission: Which of the sites identified in Table 10 should be included in the Draft Sites Inventory for further analysis? Should any other sites be included or excluded from this list?

Note that the “Estimated Additional Site Capacity” is a very rough estimate based on acreage and rough density assumptions and is subject to change resulting from the more detailed analysis required by the HCD Sites Guidebook.

Table 10:Potential Sites for Inclusion in the Draft Sites Inventory Draft Policies and Programs Staff has been working with 21 Elements to 131
develop a list of potential new policies/programs for consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council. Most of the existing policies and programs in the current Housing Element would be continued, except for programs that have been completed. Staff is seeking Council/Commission feedback on the policies/programs identified below, specifically whether to provide additional analysis of them in the Public Review Draft. Additional policies and programs may also develop from the other work still in progress on constraints and AFFH. Staff notes that HCD’s guidance requires specific targets and metrics for each program. Suggested Policy/Program options for consideration are contained in Table 11.
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FISCAL IMPACT

There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.

CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA

The Housing Element Update supports the City Council’s Value/Priority Area under “Smart Planning, Development, and the Local Economy” which is to protect, maintain, and enhance our community character through thoughtful planning as well as “City Council Operations and Improved Community Engagement” where the City Council operates at the highest level of civil 135
discourse, encouraging resident encouragement and full transparency. The Community Engagement portion of the Housing Element Update is part of the City’s ongoing commitment to its Vision to “Create a sustainable Foster City through smart, inclusive, and efficient actions to enhance our quality of place for current and future generations” and to its Mission to use “community engagement and data to make decisions and measure progress based on economic, social and environmental factors.

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 - Consequences of Late Adoption of the Housing Element -Technical Memo, prepared by Goldfarb and Lipman, LLC, 2/14/2022
Attachment 2 - New State Housing Unit Set to Enforce Local Housing Mandates, ABAG, October 2021
Attachment 3 - Compiled Notes from Two Community Workshops Attachment 4 - Letter from Loma Prieta Sierra Club, dated November 19, 2021
Attachment 5 - Public Comments received as of February 24, 2022 Attachment 6 - Housing Site Inventories: Why Buffers and Excess Capacity Matter, ABAG, October 2021
Attachment 7 - Pending, Approved and Under Construction Housing Projects, 21 Elements, 2/14/22
Attachment 8 - DRAFT Affordability of Accessory Dwelling Units, ABAG, 9/8/2021
Linked documents:
 Housing Element Fact Sheet
 RHNA/Plan Bay Area Webpage
 Final RHNA Allocation Report on December 16, 2021
 HCD approval letter to ABAG dated 1/12/22
 AB 215
 AB 1398
 Housing Element Compliance Report
 Housing Element Review Letters
 Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook-Government Code Section 65583.2, HCD, June 20, 2020
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 Housing Element Update website
 Housing Element Update and Public Safety Element Update map  No Net Loss Law – Government Code Section 65863, HCD, October 2, 2019
 Housing Accountability Act Technical Assistance Advisory, HCD, September 15, 2020

Past Meeting Materials:
 October 7, 2019 City Council Meeting (RHNA and subregion)  September 21, 2020 City Council and Planning Commission Joint Special Meeting
 March 24, 2021 City Council and Planning Commission Special Meeting
 April 13, 2021 Countywide Community Meeting Summary
 April 14, 2021 City Council and Planning Commission Joint Special Meeting
 April 22, 2021 Countywide Community Meeting
 June 7, 2021 City Council Meeting (RHNA appeal)
 July 15, 2021 Planning Commission Study Session (Needs and policies)
 September 27, 2021 21 Elements Countywide Listening Session #1 (Fair Housing)
 Compiled Feedback for September 28 and 30, 2021 Community Workshops (virtual and in person)
 October-December 2021 21 Elements 4-part Let’s Talk Housing Webinar Summary
 October 18, 2021 21 Elements Countywide Listening Session #2 (Housing Advocates) Summary
 November 1, 2021 21 Elements Countywide Listening Session #3 (Builders/Developers) Summary
 November 1, 2021 City Council Meeting – Report on Community Workshops
 December 13, 2021 City Council (RFP for EIR)
 February 7, 2022 City Council Meeting (Award EIR contract)  February 17, 2022 Planning Commission Meeting (EIR Scoping) 137