August 14, 2025: Joint Special Study Session Between Planning Commission & Parks and Recreation Committee
Attendees:
Planning Commission- Chair Pedro, Vice Chair Stoveland, Commissioners Haddad, Jagtiani, and Kenkre.
Parks and Recreation Committee- Chair Tiwari, Vice Chair Bindal, Secretary Baer, Committee Members Corpuz and Ryzak.
Commissioner Jagtiani had the following questions of staff:
• Does the levee count towards the 3.2 LOS?
Consultant Planner Acosta stated that the levee and hiking trails are not being counted towards the 3.2 park acreage level of services (LOS) and that only developed park space has been considered.
• Have other cities not counted their levee system into their LOS? Consultant Planner Acosta stated that there is no dictation on what can be counted as park space, and it is based on how the City views its parks and open space access.
• In terms of climate issues and groundwater rise, how does Foster City compare to other cities?
Consultant Planner Acosta stated that they looked at the mapping for potential hazards and had done an analysis on groundwater rise that projects into the next 50 years. She stated that the levee is great for helping against flooding, as long as it is well maintained. She stated that the element does have some policies around climate change and referenced the Climate Action Plan.
• Are private parks, such as in HOAs, included in the calculation on acreage? Consultant Planner Acosta stated that only public parks were accounted for.
Commissioner Kenkre asked the following questions of staff:
• What is the participation rate of the surveys and focus groups? Consultant Planner Acosta shared that the Master Plan surveys received 647 responses and the Parks and Open Space Element and Conservation Element received 92 responses.
Staff noted that the first focus group had 8 participants who represented Foster City Little League, Bocce Ball Community, Cycle Community, Peninsula Youth Soccer, CSAC, Rotary Club, and the Boarding Community and the second focus group had participants from the Sierra Club and Sustainable San Mateo County.
• Based on the Consultant’s experience working with other jurisdictions across California, have they provided their input on the needs of Foster City? Consultant Planner Acosta stated that they have been working alongside WRT, the consultants for the Parks Master Plan who similarly has experience working with other cities and have incorporated a lot of their experience into drafting the elements.
• How will State Laws that are still being discussed be incorporated into the elements?
Consultant Planner Acosta noted that there are currently no State Laws that would have a significant effect on the Parks and Open Space Element and Conservation Element and that they are already addressing AB1889, which has already been passed but is not currently in effect.
Commissioner Stoveland had the following questions of staff:
• Referring to POS -F under the implementation program, the City will strive to maintain its LOS of 3.2 acres per thousand residents. Will the Parks and Open Space Element conflict with the Housing Element? Should the LOS be lowered to allow room for the Housing Element?
Consultant Planner Acosta stated that they had reviewed other elements of the General Plan to make sure the elements are consistent. She stated that the Housing Element has a binding requirement to implement a plan for the number of units, whereas the Park and Open Space Element is not as binding and more so a goal for the City to strive towards. They will look further into the goal in coordination with the Parks Department.
• Referring to page 34 of the Parks and Open Space Element, how did the City come to the realization that there is no formal maintenance plan for the parks? Parks and Recreation Director Schweigart stated that they are working alongside a subconsultant, Prose Consulting, that provided a full analysis of Park’s maintenance operations. He stated that there is currently no plan that is specifically written to provide structure for the maintenance of parks.
Parks Manager Fanara stated that they had conferred with Prose Consulting and discussed the daily maintenance tasks with different sectors of the City and the parks they oversee. He stated that there are national standards that they abide by and noted that they are faster than the national average on time standards. He added that they have begun exploring the concept of a formal maintenance plan and have taken initial steps toward developing one.
Chair Pedro had the following questions of staff:
• Would it be the City’s decision to include the active levee space in the LOS? Consultant Planner Acosta stated that it is possible to show the numbers for the spaces geared towards recreational programs and the more passive open space.
• Is saltwater intrusion the type of groundwater rise being referenced? Consultant Planner Acosta stated that since Foster City is at sea level and is a marshland, it’ll cause the water table to rise as sea levels rise. She stated that it can contribute to saltwater intrusion and is mentioned in the assessment.
• Will the Noise Element , which was last updated in 1993, be updated in the near future?
Community Development Director Mangalam stated that they will be looking into updating the Noise Element soon.
• Will the lagoon acres be included in the park space acreage? Parks and Recreation Director Schweigart referenced their comparative benchmarking against other municipalities and that they will be taking a closer look at whether to count the lagoon towards parks or open space.
• For the Sea Cloud 2 site, has there been community engagement done to garner ideas regarding a more active use of those 21 acres?
Parks and Recreation Director Schweigart noted that the slough for Sea Cloud 2 is a sensitive land, previously used for dredging of the lagoon, and is currently being evaluated for when the next dredging occurs with the City. He stated that as part of the Parks Master Plan, they are considering whether to use Sea Cloud 2 as an undeveloped recreational amenity. He stated that they currently put the conversation on hold as it would require additional studies.
• Does dredging refer to the dumping of what has been dredged? Parks Manager Fanara confirmed that the site was previously used for dredging spoils and that it is currently a site with environmental concerns for protected bird species. He stated that there would be several factors that need to be considered when it comes to activating that area as a developed parkland.
Community Development Director Mangalam stated that the purpose of the elements was to identify the two Sea Cloud sites and can undergo more detailed studies through the Parks Master Plan.
Committee Chair Tiwari had the following questions of staff:
• Are we looking to adopt a formal and measurable standard? How should they think about the goals?
Consultant Planner Acosta stated that the element does have specific standards in it and that it would be a good direction for the City to have a set standard of parkland to strive for.
• What is the process for defining the objective numbers for acreage? Community Development Director Mangalam noted that the Parks and Open Space and Conservation Elements and Parks Master Plan are being worked on conjointly. The Parks Master Plan has guided most of the numbers and are meant to set goals that will provide flexibility in striving to maintain those numbers.
• Is there a balance between supporting rewilding while addressing concerns about pests, usability, and upkeep?
Consultant Planner Acosta stated that the policies in the element are more favorable to Foster City, such as looking into pollinators. She furthered that the policies addressed the Geese Management Plan and acknowledges species that are not necessarily favorable in the City.
Committee Member Bindal had the following questions of staff:
• Regarding metrics and meeting the standards, how does Foster City compare to other cities in California?
Consultant Planner Acosta stated that she does not have a quantitative answer as they did not do that particular analysis. She noted that Foster City has phenomenal resources that are being used in a sustainable way.
Parks and Recreation Director Schweigart referenced the Parks Master Plan where Foster City will be benchmarked against 10 comparable cities in the County.
He shared an example of one’s ability to have a park within a 10-minute walk from their residence as a goal and that currently nearly every part of Foster City meets that goal.
Committee Member Corpuz had the following questions of staff:
• How will we support wildlife movements while not conflicting the geese mitigation efforts?
Consultant Planner Acosta noted that the goal of supporting wildlife movement is also a fulfillment of the state requirement and that they are looking at how to balance that with Foster City’s specific environment. She stated that Rincon Consultant has a Biologist on their team that is looking at the habitat, the different species, and what tactics would be best suited for Foster City.
The following Commissioners and Committee Member s had statements and recommendations to staff:
• Commissioner Jagtiani suggested including the amount of public park acreage into the Elements.
• Commissioner Stoveland suggested removing the mention of 3.2 acreage goal in the Element and recommended including language that will avoid conflict between RHNA and the Parks Master Plan. He stated that this will allow opportunities to improve, but not at the cost of falling below RHNA.
• Committee Member Baer raised concern about not integrating the Recreation Facilities Master Plan when discussing these elements.
• Committee Member Ryzak stated that the attractiveness of the parks should be discussed alongside the technical components of the element.
August 11, 2025, Focus Group #1
Attendees: Foster City Little League, Bocce Ball community , Cycling community , Peninsula Youth Soccer, CSAC, Rotary, Boating community
Summary of comments
• Need to consider boat access to land around Foster City - access to parks, shopping, restaurants. Foster City has a lot of boaters who like to park their boats to access community amenities.
• Parks are generally accessible to those who want to use them. • We need better lighting in most of the parks to make them safer at night. • Need better lighting at Catamaran so that youth can play soccer in the evening during the winter.
• Improved shade structures are needed at Booth Bay Park, Catamaran Park. • Gate at Catamaran Park can be problematic - needs replacing or a section that opens or both. It is good for helping to deter the geese but if a ball goes over the fence it's tough to retrieve it. Also, geese have gotten "stuck" on the park side of the fenc e ; having a section that opens would be helpful.
• Bocce Ball courts need more fencing and benches as well as shading. • Outdoor electricity can be a problem for outdoor events. Need outdoor service and ability to plug in multiple appliances (such as coffeemakers). • There is a lack of indoor recreation facilities in FC. The ones that exist require too much coordination. Would like space for indoor basketball, volleyball, events. • Goose poop is a problem getting to the track (Catamaran); a pathway could help to avoid stepping on goose poop.
• Groups will be happy to help with educational events (Peninsula Youth Soccer). • Peninsula Youth Soccer provides incentives to their coaches to get to the fields early to clean up goose poop.
• Could the City build indoor space (other than the Rec Center) at one of the parks? • If steps down to the water are still being considered for the amphitheater location, please be sure to consider safety, liability, especially during amphitheater events.
August 13, 2025, Focus Group #2
Attendees: Susan Lessin, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter and Mollie Carter, Sustainable San Mateo County.
Summary of comments
The reports were well done. Maps were helpful. The following issues and areas of interest were raised by attendees:
• Tree canopy - Foster City has one of the lowest tree canopy percentages in the region; adding details on natural plants and drought resistant plants would be helpful for this section. San Mateo has a Green Streets program that might be worth reviewing. • Coastal Flooding - Foster City has the highest risk of coastal flooding in San Mateo County.
• Air Quality - FC is on the high end of the spectrum with a score of 2.5 for particulate matter.
• EV Charging - need more focus on multi-family and public charging access; the County as a whole is lacking in access. Sustainable SMC wants to support FC's efforts to add more charging opportunities. Could the City offer incentives for installation of mult i- family charging stations?
• Didn't see electrification of municipal buildings in the draft element. Della explained that much of this is covered in the CAP .
• OneShoreline is the most important entity with respect to addressing sea level rise; there may be concepts in their Ideas Bank that.t could be applied. Also, OneShoreline could be helpful with a range of other issues associated with sea level rise in addition to levees.
• Geese management - didn't see the plan referenced.
• Last mile, electrification, EVs, EV chargers were all mentioned in the CAP. It might be helpful to include a bit more on these issues in the Element. • Vertical levees vs. horizontal levees: vertical levees lead to rising groundwater, subsidence.
• Bird boxes - has FC considered them?
• Water Qualify - The Sierra Club is hoping that data on water quality will be included in quarterly reports on geese management. E -coli is an issue that needs to be addressed because it limits access to the water.
• Goose feces - The Sierra Club would like to see a more aggressive plan for picking up goose feces and is concerned that spraying feces with water will have a negative effect on water quality.
• Sea level rise - The Sierra Club is supportive of a regional approach (mentioned by Councilmembers Kiesel and Sullivan).
• Regional approach to issues - there is a need for coordinating with other jurisdictions, such as Belmont, Redwood City, and San Mateo regarding geese; there might be additional opportunities for cross-collaboration through county committees and groups such as CCAG and for transportation. Attendees acknowledged that FC has limitations due to not being on a Caltrain line. Is there additional funding through CCAG for shuttles? Is there any additional talk of a ferry line from Foster City? Last mile issue comes into play. The Sierra Club is against hovercrafts due to the pollution they cause. • Rewilding - balancing act for built out environments. Coyotes create problems for walkers as well as the geese. The coyotes are very used to people and don't run off.
There is good signage about coyotes in Foster City; used to have signs regarding feral cats.
• Bicycle paths - Most paths are on streets; designated pathways for bicycles would be helpful - see San Mateo's Green Streets program and Menlo Park.
Other questions
• Recreation Center - is it going to be solar-powered? The Sierra Club recommends no gas and solar powering of the building. They asked if weou could explore getting a grant from Peninsula Clean Energy to get on a micro-grid so Foster City's Rec Center is not dependent on PG&E in the event of an outage since the facility will likely be used for an emergency center/shelter in an emergency. Noted t hat Burlingame's new community center used the same architect as the Rec Center. The Burlingame center is a very good model.
• How often is water quality tested?
Other issues raised
• The pictures included for the new community center include people engaging with and accessing the water. Ties into water quality testing and plans. • The Sierra Club's CAP committee sent a letter to FC regarding the CAP.
1 Sofia Mangalam
From: Nilofer Motiwala <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2025 8:05 PM
To: Nori Jabba; Becki Hanan; Foster City Planning Department Subject: Parks master plan comments
Thank you Nori for presenting the Parks Master Plan and Open Space and Conservation Plan.
Below are some comments :
1) bathrooms - would be great for all park and city bathrooms be stocked with products for menstruation (sanitary pads and tampons)
2) make cleanup kits accessible - right now clean up kits (both trash and goose poop) have to be checked out. If these (especially the goose poop cleanup kit) are made available at the park, it will increase participation and be a great activity for sports team to incorporate into their practices and involve the students
3) water refill stations - we need more water refill stations and need the new style water fountains to refill water bottles
Thank you,
Nilofer Motiwala
1 Sofia Mangalam
From: Evan Adams <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2025 2:53 PM
To: Foster City Planning Department
Subject: Re: Public Comments on Draft Parks and Open Space Element Also "Canadian Geese population" is incorrect. It is Canada Geese not Canadian.
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Evan Adams
Foster City CA
cell: 415-269-5850
email: [email protected]
On Mon, Aug 18, 2025, 2:24 PM Evan Adams <[email protected]> wrote:
Please find herewith my Comments on the Draft Parks and Open Space Element:
Page 6: At the end of the Open space paragraph “the lagoon … has some ecological value” in the first sentence of the next section Water Bodies “The Foster City Lagoon is a major recreational and ecological feature” These two statements would appear to be in conflict. Perhaps break the sentence up to make cleat that “The Foster City Lagoon is a major recreational feature. The lagoon is also an ecological feature.” This would make it in sync with the prior statement of “some”. Page 6: “The lagoon covers approximately 218 acres” It would perhaps also be helpful in planning o also state the acre feet of water in the lagoon. Or, perhaps specify it is surface area acres not a reference to volume.
“Poor water quality and an abundant Canadian Geese population” … the water quality in the lagoon has been tied to the avian DNA not goose DNA specifically. The prior consultants did state in the city council meeting that the water circulation study was not done and that the geographic source of DNA (not species/animal) can’t be tied to any location: https://fostercity.new.swagit.com/videos/207521?ts=5393 Further staff stated that water quality in OTHER parts of the lagoon, outside of beach areas, “resembles normal bay water”. This is an important distinction.
Page 8: As a new dad it would be helpful to specify playgrounds by age. Foster City has some playgrounds that are for ages 5+ (e.g. sea cloud and catamaran) and some that are for ages 3+ (e.g. Port Royal, Farragut) this could easily be added to the inventory and to the city list online with a simple addition of “Playground (5+)” for playgrounds. This would be helpful because what Foster City lacks is ANY playgrounds for 2+ such as San Mateo has at Laurie Meadows. The physical needs of a 2+ vs 3+ vs 5+ structure are significant. Showing this would be helpful for future playground planning. o Further, if you look at the standard cited later in the report, the 2025 National Recreation and Parks Association Agency Performance Review https://www.nrpa.org/publications-research/research- papers/agency-performance-review/ breaks down playgrounds by “Tot Lots (2-5), Playgrounds (for ages 5-12), Playgrounds w/inclusive structures”.
Page 9: Foster City has removed any lot APN’s East of the Bay Trail from the Foster City Land Use and Zoning Map:
https://fostercity.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=e34316ba2a5743d58e16a773be 73b07c
o The land use for the privately owned APN’s of 096-170-180 — BEACH PARK BLVD & 094-111-040 — FOSTER CITY should NOT be designated Open Space or Wet Lands without the appropriate land 2 use change of those properties and consent of the owner(s) of those privately owned properties.
Foster City needs to put those APN’s back on the zoning and land use maps. o This land use was NOT open / park / wetlands in prior city maps and no official Public action has been taken to change the land use of those APN’s.
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4 Page 12: There is an existing sand volleyball court at Boothbay. If one additional court is needed it should be noted as additional, because there is at least one already and it is noted as existing later in the draft.
Note: the original community center / parks master plan for Leo Ryan Park (ref: Historical Society Copy) did have a plan for two volleyball courts at the rec center that was never achieved along with pool/aquatic amenities also never achieved. To that end please see the 2025 National Recreation and Parks Association Agency Performance Review https://www.nrpa.org/publications-research/research-papers/agency- performance-review/ which lists such outdoor amenities like Swimming Pools higher than Pickleball or Volleyball or Fitness Zones. In fact, on that list (image below) Foster City has everyone of the top amenities except for Swimming Pools. Further on page 18 a swimming pool ranked 4th in community outreach. o
Page 13-14: Further adding further shade trees and “tightening up” park design to constrain the space will also help with the geese and therefore water quality. Note the low prevalence of geese at space constrained parks that still have shade such as Ketch Park which does not have almost any geese issues.
Page 17: The golf course could be legally downzoned to Park Space to preserve the Golf/Park/Recreation space indefinitely.
Page 22: Staffing Levels could be quantified / footnoted / referenced as the best practice benchmark.
Standards referenced should be stated. It does no good to say something is low without knowing where that statement comes from. What is the barrier to “fall short” as is stated. Elsewhere in the report the NRPA standards are referenced. Here again from the NRPA this might be a good standard to define “falling short”:
5 o
o Page 26-27. CoSMoS 2025 maps are based on NOAA maps which are based on FEMA data from BEFORE completion of the levee. I believe 2022 was the last data. Please use current data. While CoSMoS maps might be easy to import, their source data is likely pre-FC levee completion.
o Page 29, again this is CoSMoS. Please reference the data set used to ensure it is current and state the range. For Example +/- 5’ will make a tremendous difference. I do not believe the map is correct for the San Mateo areas and therefore do not believe the Foster City Data is correct. Ask Council Members if their districts are already subject to Marine Inundation. ----------------------------
Evan Adams
Foster City CA