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/89673215499 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/89673215499
• To dial-in via phone:
1-669-900-6833 or
1-408-638-0968
And enter Webinar ID: 896 7321 5499
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 perio d for the agenda item you wish to address. The Zoom Host will call on people to speak by name provided or 1 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. 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
Tuesday, May 17, 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 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
2 4.1. Public Review Draft of the Housing Element Update for the 2023-2031 Planning Period
a) Staff Report
b) No Action - Comments Only
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: May 17, 2022
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Edmund Suen, Interim City Manager
FROM: Marlene Subhashini, Community Development Director Leslie Carmichael, Consulting Planner
SUBJECT: 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 update regarding the Public Review Draft of the 2023-2031 Housing Element; and (2) receive any feedback on the Public Review Draft. The feedback received at the meeting will help staff finalize the Housing Element prior to its submittal to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At the April 21, 2022 Joint Planning Commission and City Council meeting, staff presented the Preliminary Public Review Draft of the 2023-2031 Housing Element and received feedback on Housing Sites, Policies and Programs.
This item is a continued discussion of the Housing Element Update process.
The “Preliminary Public Review Draft” did not include Chapter 4: Constraints and Appendix C: Constraints. The “Public Review Draft” incorporates the discussion on Constraints, feedback received at the April 21st meeting and some additional information/updates since the last meeting.
The Public Review Draft was posted on the City’s website on May 4, 2022 4 (see link to the Public Review Draft). The required 30-day public comment period ends on June 3, 2022. 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 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.
BACKGROUND/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
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.
At the previous April 21, 2022 Joint Study Session staff provided the City Council, Planning Commission and the public with an overview of the Preliminary Public Review Draft and received additional feedback on Housing Sites, Policies, and Programs. The Preliminary Public Review Draft was posted on the City’s website on April 15, 2022. Refer to Attachment 1, April 21, 2022 Staff Report for additional background information.
The “Preliminary Public Review Draft” did not include Chapter 4: Constraints and Appendix C: Constraints. The Public Review Draft including information on constraints was posted on May 4, 2022 with the public review period open from May 4, 2022 to June 3, 2022. The City’s Housing Element Update website provides instructions for submitting comments by mail or email to [email protected].
The focus of the May 17, 2022 Joint Study Session is to update the City Council, Planning Commission and the public on changes incorporated in the 5 Public Review Draft, request direction on a few items, and to receive any other final comments and direction to be incorporated into the Draft Housing Element before it is submitted to HCD for their 90-day review.
PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT
The changes reflected in the various sections of the Public Review Draft version of the Housing Element are described in Table 1, followed by a more detailed discussion regarding:
Constraints Analysis
Housing Resources and Sites
Meeting with Equity Advisory Group
Questions from April 21, 2022 Joint Study Session
6 7
Constraints Analysis
State law requires a discussion of the factors that present constraints to the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels and for persons with disabilities, including both governmental actions and market forces (non-governmental constraints). Appendix C also includes a section on “Provisions for a Variety of Housing Needs” including Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), housing for persons living with disabilities, community care facilities, transitional and supportive housing, emergency shelters and low barrier navigation centers, and manufactured housing.
Table 2 below indicates the programs that are included in the Draft Housing Element to address the various constraints. Some programs address more than one category.
8 9
Housing Resources and Sites
1601 Beach Park Boulevard. As directed at the April 21, 2022 Joint Study Session, 1601 Beach Park Boulevard has been removed from the Sites Inventory. This does not preclude the property owner from pursuing the site for housing development. The application would be subject to the typical development project review process, requiring planning entitlements, including but not limited to an environmental assessment, a General Plan Amendment from Public and Semi-Public to Residential land use designation, and a rezoning from Public Facilities to a residential zoning district.
Removal of the 1601 Beach Park Boulevard site reduced the buffer capacity for moderate-income units from 19% to 17%, for above-moderate income units from 126% to 123% and the overall total buffer from 68% to 67%.
1010 Metro Center Boulevard. At the Joint Study Session on April 21, 2021, the direction was to allow mixed use on the 1010 Metro Center Boulevard site, but not solely residential. Staff would like to confirm that the intent is to allow the property owner to choose between commercial or mixed use rather than require that only mixed use be included with any redevelopment proposal. The letter from property owner Vincent Curci (see Appendix F, page F-50) requests residential zoning as an option and also requests retaining the existing allowed commercial uses. The Sites Inventory (page HE-39) includes this site with a potential capacity of 222 units based on 35 units per acre applied to the entire site, but density would be shifted to the portion of the site not encumbered with PG&E or other easements. The capacity in the Sites 10 Inventory does not preclude the City from allowing higher density on the site.
When estimating site capacity for the Sites Inventory, the capacity of sites that allow either mixed use or commercial use is often “discounted” and shown with a reduced capacity if residential development is not a certainty.
Staff has drafted the wording change below to H-D-1-b (4) to reflect allowing commercial or mixed use and requests direction on whether to use this wording or other wording:
(4) Rezone Commercial Housing Opportunity Site to Allow Residential Commercial or Mixed-Use. Concurrent with or prior to adoption of this Housing Element, rezone the Housing Opportunity Site at 1010 Metro Center Boulevard currently developed with commercial uses to allow commercial residential or mixed-use. This includes the 1010 Metro Center Boulevard site.
1291-1295 East Hillsdale Boulevard and 1970-1998 Beach Park Boulevard.
The owner of 1291-1295 East Hillsdale Boulevard, Chester Congdon, has expressed interest in having this property included in the Sites Inventory as a potential mixed use site. This 2.3-acre site is zoned Commercial Office (CO), part of the section of East Hillsdale Boulevard/Beach Park Boulevard from 1261 East Hillsdale Boulevard to 1940 Beach Park Boulevard that is the only area in the City zoned CO. The 1291-1295 parcel is “panhandle” shaped including the parking aisle closest to SR 92 that lies behind Kids Connection School properties at 1970-1998 Beach Park Boulevard. Mr. Congdon has stated that he believes a mixed use development in coordination with the Kids Connection School would be a logical development option for both sites.
The City previously received a letter from Mary DeLong, Executive Director of Kids Connection (see Appendix F, page F-37) indicating her opposition to including 1291 East Hillsdale Boulevard in the Sites Inventory. However, it was brought to staff’s attention that Kids Connection was offered the opportunity to purchase the adjacent site to expand their use and that currently, they only lease one space at 1291 E. Hillsdale Blvd. for a limited term for their office use.
Staff suggests the following options for consideration:
Leave the sites out of the Sites Inventory but amend the CO zoning to allow mixed use with residential as an option.
11 Add 1291-1295 East Hillsdale Boulevard to the Sites Inventory and amend the CO zoning to allow mixed use with residential as an option.
Add 1291-1295 East Hillsdale Boulevard and 1970-1998 Beach Park Boulevard to the Sites Inventory and amend the CO zoning to allow mixed use with residential as an option.
Meeting with Equity Advisory Group
City staff met with the Equity Advisory Group (EAG) facilitated by 21 Elements on May 2, 2022. The EAG expressed concerns including but not limited to:
The impacts of tenant displacement due to redevelopment of existing apartment sites;
How identified constraints are addressed in the housing element programs and policies;
How the City could take additional steps to promote one hundred percent affordable developments in order to meet the RHNA in the affordable income categories; and
Whether City-owned sites are prioritized for housing.
Questions From April 21, 2022 Study Session
Conversions from Apartments to Condominiums. At the Joint Study Session on April 21, 2022, questions were raised about how conversions of apartments to condominiums are regulated. Chapter 17.76 of the Foster City Municipal Code was adopted in 1981 to regulate conversions. The primary features of this Chapter include:
Conversions are tied to new rental construction. At least an equal number of new rental units must be constructed the year prior to the conversion application.
Applications are permitted twice each year.
Tenants are required to be notified of public hearings on the proposal.
Tenants shall be provided a right to purchase a unit or right of exclusive occupancy at a price no greater than the price offered to the general public.
The buildings must comply with all Fire and Building Codes and include:
12 oSeparate gas and electric meters
oSound insulation
oPrivate outdoor storage
oPrivate and common area open space
oNoise mitigation
oMinimum amount of parking
Reports, including property and structural report, pest report, building history report, and project organization shall be provided. A relocation displacement or mitigation plan is required. Tenant protection provisions include:
oLifetime leases to seniors and handicapped.
oFamilies with school age children shall be granted lease extensions until thirty days after expiration of the current school session.
oRelocation assistance equal to a minimum of two months rent to non-purchasing tenants.
Low and Moderate-income Housing: Ten percent of the units shall be set aside for qualified low and moderate income rental or purchase or one percent of the gross sales must be contributed to the City.
In addition to the City’s regulations, the California Subdivision Map Act includes provisions requirement notices to tenants, including notice of an exclusive right to contract for purchase of his or her respective unit (Government Code Section 66427.1)
A new Housing Program is included, H-C-1-b Amend Percentage of BMR Units in Conversions, to review the existing conversion regulations in Chapter
17.76 to ensure conformance with applicable state laws pertaining to the percentage of converted units required to be set aside for qualified lower- and moderate-income owners.
Additional Comments Received
As of May 9, 2022, two additional comments have been received following publication of the Public Review Draft Housing Element (which includes comments received up to May 3, 2022). These are included as Attachment 2 and Attachment 3.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
13 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 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 – April 21, 2022 Staff Report (without attachments) Attachment 2 – Email from Bill Fried, dated May 5, 2022 Attachment 3 – Email from Alec Budman, dated May 6, 2022 Link to Housing Element Update Webpage:
https://engagefostercity.org/housing-element
Links to Public Review Draft of the Housing Element:
Executive Summary and Chapters 1 through 8 of the Public Review Draft Housing Element
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
Appendix F: Public Participation
Appendix G: Definition of Housing Terms
14 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.
15 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 16 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.
17 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
18 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 19 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
20 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
21 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
22 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:
23 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 24 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
25 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 26 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
27 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
28 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
29 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
30 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)
31 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)
32 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
33 From: William Fried
To: Foster City Planning Department
Subject: RHNA Numbers
Date: Thursday, May 5, 2022 3:19:29 PM
This city was designed for a maximum of 35,000 people, and the RHNA mandates would take us north of 40,000 if we comply. The plan for Foster City did not include 5,500 new neighbors. The state is bleeding population (and has already lost one seat in the House because of reduced population), and we are asked to over-crowd our city with a 15% increase in population? Foster City is built out. There is no more room for development in our city, unless we tear down present structures and start building skyscrapers. And that is not the dream that Jack Foster had for this city.
And before we start gutting our city to fill it with affordable housing, let's take a look at the vacancy rates in our apartment housing. Of course, RHNA doesn't care about vacancy rates, and it also does not give a tinker's damn about Foster City.
The solution is simple. Rather than laying down and spreading our city's legs so that wackos in Sacramento can feel good about their stupid super-majority decisions, we need to push back. I recommended to all the council members that we conduct an outreach program and contact all the city councils in California for feedback on RHNA. If enough of us are unhappy with the mandates, we can band together, declare our cities to be sanctuary cities, and refuse (1) to comply with the mandates, and (2) pay any fines levied. Unfortunately, no one on the council had the courage to act.
What the hell do we need a city council for, if their only task is to comply with state legal requirements? Hell, we can hire trained monkeys to do that. If council members merely rubber-stamp whatever staff suggests, who needs a council at all? Our council lacks the courage to act for the benefit of the citizenry. Instead, it works diligently to accede to the dictates of the county, state, and federal government.
And, may I ask, why are we getting ready to spend $50 million on a new recreation center? The country is headed for a hyper-inflationary depression, and we can't wait to waste our savings on an unnecessary re-build. When the depression hits us, wouldn't it be nice to have some emergency funds in our piggy bank, rather than having to scrape for cash?
The actions of our council and our city toward RHNA mandates shows why trust in government is at an all time low. You are not serving us. I'm sending you my tax dollars, and, like the federal government, you are frittering them away. I am unrepresented by my government.
Bill Fried
1031 Monterey Avenue
34 From: Alec
To: Foster City Planning Department
Subject: More housing units
Date: Friday, May 6, 2022 1:33:43 PM
Hello Marlene,
We have lived in Foster City for over 20 years.
Lately, the traffic has become unbearable and the air quality has worsened substantially.
We all understand that there is a need for new housing.
Still, it should be done in the way that makes sense.
Is there a plan to update the infrastructure, like building another entry to Foster City, or widen the roads to accommodate another 1,896 new housing units? If not, why are we even talking about building more?
Warm regards,
Alec Budman
35