Hillsborough City Council
August 8, 2022

by the January 2023 deadline.

Date Step / Action
August 2, 2022 HEAC Meeting #5: Draft Element Shared with HEAC August 4, 2022 Public Release of Draft Housing Element (45-day comment period begins)
August 8, 2022 Informational Update to Council on Draft Housing Element August 18, 2022 Public Open House on Draft Housing Element #1 September 6, 2022 Public Open House on Draft Housing Element #2 September 12, 2022 City Council Study Session on Draft Housing Element September 19, 2022 45-Day Comment Period Closes
October 4, 2022 Draft Housing Element sent to HCD for round 1 review (90-days) Fall 2022 CEQA Review
Mid-November 2022 Receive preliminary HCD feedback
December 8, 2022 HEAC Meeting #6
December 2022 Receive formal HCD comment letter
January 2023 Review and Incorporate HCD feedback into Housing Element Document
January 31, 2023 Housing Element Certification Deadline Spring 2023 City Council Adoption of Certified Housing Element FISCAL IMPACT: At the September 13, 2021 City Council meeting, the Council authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with Houseal Lavigne Associates for professional planning services to support the Housing Element Update. On February 14, 2022, the City Council approved an amendment to the contract to total $475,000. A total of $750,000 has been allocated for the General Plan Update project, which includes this work. The remaining funds should be sufficient to complete the balance of the General Plan update in FY 2023-24.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: Pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Town is in the process of preparing the necessary environmental review for the Town of Hillsborough RHNA 6 Housing Element Update. Prior to the time that the City Council is required to adopt the Town of Hillsborough RHNA 6 Housing Element Update, CEQA review will have been completed and will be available to the City Council for consideration prior to any discretionary action of the City Council to adopt the housing element.

ATTACHMENT: Draft Town of Hillsborough RHNA 6 Housing Element Update PREPARED BY:

Liz Ruess, Senior Planner, Long-Range Planning and Special Projects Sarah A, Fleming, AICP, Director, Department of Building & Planning RECOMMENDATION: Receive presentation and provide feedback. -320-
2023-2031

HOUSING ELEMENT
Town of Hillsborough
August 4, 2022
Draft for Public Review
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1: Purpose of the Housing Element and History of the Town 1 Section 2: Public Participation 4
Section 3: Review and Revision of Past Performance 17
Section 4: General Plan Consistency 29
Section 5: Housing Needs 31
Section 6: Housing Constraints 77
Section 7: Housing Resources 85
Section 8: Sites Inventory Analysis 87
Section 9: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 105
Section 10: Housing Plan 140
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1 PURPOSE

AND HISTORY
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Purpose of the Housing Element
The Housing Element of the Hillsborough General Plan is intended to plan for the housing needs of the Hillsborough community while meeting the State’s housing goals as set forth in Article 10.6 of the California Government Code. The Housing Element analyzes housing needs in Hillsborough, the resources available to meet those needs, and the governmental and non-governmental constraints that tend to work against increasing the supply of affordable housing. Goals, policies, and action programs have been crafted to facilitate the Town’s use of its limited financial resources and buildable land to maximum advantage.

The Hillsborough Housing Element represents a sincere and creative attempt to meet local and regional housing needs in a community that doesn’t meet the urban norms around which the State Housing Element law was created. The Town has developed innovative ways to provide housing for all segments of the population, within the constraints of very limited land availability, the extreme steepness of the terrain, and the extraordinarily high cost of land in Hillsborough.

Over the past 20 years, Hillsborough has experienced changing demographics. The population of Hillsborough has been diversifying while also seeing an increase in the median age. Home values have increased significantly since 2000, with a significant portion of the housing stock being owner-occupied single-family units and 100 percent of extremely low-income, and most low-income homeowners, in Hillsborough being cost burdened. Jobs in Hillsborough have decreased significantly from 2002-2018, as most workers commute to other cities to work. These changes in demographics will help the Town plan for housing that is accommodating for all demographics over the next 8-year cycle.

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History of the Town
In 1824, 16-year-old William Davis Merry Howard, son of a wealthy Hillsboro, New Hampshire shipping magnate, sailed on one of his father’s ships from Boston around Cape Horn to the West Coast. Upon returning home, he convinced his father of the fortunes to be made in the West and returned to California some 15 years later. Howard became a partner in a general merchandising firm in 1845.

The following year, he purchased Rancho San Mateo from the Mexican Governor, Pio Pico. The Rancho was a tract of land that became the City of San Mateo. He paid $25,000 for the tract, or approximately $3.88 an acre. For the next few years, Howard and his wife, Agnes, lived a comfortable life on the isolated Peninsula. They built a fine home which they called El Cerrito and made San Mateo a successful working ranch.

When the Gold Rush began a few years later, the thousands of prospectors flooding California needed provisions, and only a few outlets were present. In a short time, Howard and his partner became wealthier than even the most successful gold seekers.

Mexican rule ended legally in 1848, and California became a state in 1850. Although Howard died in 1856, his children and his wife’s family “set the pattern for genteel living down on the Peninsula,” according to historian Frank Stanger. The Howards, the Poetts, and several other families became the leading members of the community. By the late 1860s, parcels of the Howard estate had been sold in chunks large enough to provide ample estate property for the new generation of founding families.

The area also became attractive to many San Francisco businessmen who wanted to live in a relaxed, uncrowded country setting while working in the city.

As San Mateo and Burlingame continued to grow, the need for money to make improvements became acute, and the residents began to show interest in annexing the estate owners’ lands. The owners of the estates were not well disposed to contributing tax dollars toward the improvement of neighboring city life; nor were they interested in any of the benefits incorporation would bring, e.g., sidewalks and other amenities which would detract from the atmosphere of the area. Accordingly, in 1910, residents filed incorporation papers with the County Board of Supervisors, and on April 25th of the same year, by popular vote of 60-1, the Town of Hillsborough was born. The Town had 89 registered voters at the time out of an estimated population of 750. (Women did not have the franchise to vote.) Hillsborough was incorporated on May 5, 1910.

Between 1910 and 1938, Hillsborough’s population grew from an estimated 750 to over 2,500, but the era of unusually large estates was coming to a close. Uplands, Home Place, La Dolphine, and other classic estates were gradually subdivided into smaller lots, usually leaving the original house and several acres intact. Hillsborough’s zoning laws varied throughout the earlier years, but the policies behind the laws basically stayed the same: preserve the character of Hillsborough. More recently, the Town reduced its lot size minimum to one-half acre single-family lots, and its frontage minimum to 150 feet, which are the limits in force today.

One of the main attractions that Hillsborough has for homebuyers is its charm, which is not always captured in newer developments.

In that regard, Hillsborough resembles other similar communities in Northern California such as Atherton, Los Altos Hills, and Woodside, and still offers escape from the pressures of the city. In addition to its generally quiet atmosphere, Hillsborough has excellent, award winning public schools, public works, and stability. These are qualities that have formed the character of the town for over 100 years.

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2 PUBLIC

PARTICIPATION
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Introduction
The Town of Hillsborough conducted a robust public engagement campaign to build community consensus and ensure transparency throughout the Housing Element update process. The Town’s multifaceted approach involved the establishment of a Housing Element Advisory Committee, a series of public meetings and elected and appointed official updates, one-on-one meetings with potential opportunity site property owners, a project website, online questionnaires, e-newsletters, community-wide mailings, and more as detailed in the schedule of participation below. Additional detail on the purpose, process, and outcomes of the public workshops and online questionnaires is included in the following pages while full summaries are included in the Public Outreach Appendix.

Feedback received through these many avenues formed the foundation of the policies, programs, actions, and opportunity sites included in this Housing Element. This document reflects the community’s vision for expanding housing opportunity and affordability for all current and future residents while protecting community character and the Town’s beloved sense of place.

Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and guidelines regarding social distancing in place during the majority of the Housing Element update process, the majority of outreach activities were conducted virtually. • Electronic and Mailed Communications
• 76 e-announcements (electronic)
• 4 Town Newsletter articles (paper; sent to all Hillsborough residents) • 1 Hillsborough Living article (paper and electronic)
• 1 informational handout (paper; distributed at Light Up the Town, Celebrate May, and available at the public information counter at Town Hall and the Hillsborough Police Department) • 2 post cards (paper; sent to all Hillsborough residents) • 7 invitations to participate in the public review process sent Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) families (electronic; via the HCSD newsletter)
• Virtual Engagement
• 2 community-wide questionnaires (online)
• 7 Housing Element Advisory Committee meetings (one upcoming) • 15 City Council Subcommittee meetings
• 11 City Council Meetings
• 1 Architecture and Design Review Board (ADRB) Meeting • 3 Citizen Communications Advisory Committee (CCAC) Meetings • 1 community-wide virtual Visioning Workshop
• 1 community-wide virtual Open House (upcoming)
• In-Person Engagement
• 2 in-person Open Houses (upcoming: August 18th and September 6th) Hillsborough Housing Element | Public Participation
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City Council Subcommittee
Two representatives of the Hillsborough City Council were included in the Housing Element Subcommittee. The role of the City Council Subcommittee was to provide strategic direction to Hillsborough staff and the consultant team as well as act as a liaison to the wider City Council.

Housing Element Advisory Committee
A 167 person ad-hoc committee to the Director of Building and Planning was formed to advise Town of Hillsborough staff on the Housing Element update. The Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC) was comprised of Town residents with a broad range of perspectives, ages, abilities, and backgrounds. HEAC members were selected through an application process that was open to all residents of Hillsborough. In the application, prospective members were asked:

1. What experience do you bring? Please explain any skills, experience or other factors that you feel uniquely qualify you to serve on the Town of Hillsborough HEAC.

2. What civic affiliations and community activities have you been involved in?

3. Why are you interested in serving on the HEAC?
The Committee met 7 times throughout the course of the update process and provided invaluable feedback that was integral to the development of this document. Additional detail on the purpose, process, and outcomes of the HEAC meetings is included in the following pages and full summaries as well as links to meeting recordings, agendas, and other materials are included in the Public Outreach Appendix.

Public Workshops
Virtual Visioning Workshop
Purpose
The Virtual Visioning Workshop was held to provide the community with an overview of the RHNA and California Housing Element update process and discuss how this applies to the Town. The workshop also aimed to collect stakeholder and citizen feedback to generate ideas for potential Town-specific approaches to meet the Town’s RHNA and to gain insight on the greatest challenges and opportunities that face Hillsborough.

Process
Eleven Hillsborough residents participated in the Virtual Visioning Workshop as well as Town staff and members of the consultant team.

The workshop began with an introduction of the consulting team, a workshop agenda and a detailed project introduction that described the RHNA and Housing Element update process. The workshop then transitioned into a visioning exercise where participants were split into breakout rooms. Facilitated discussion questions were then asked to gather feedback on strategies Hillsborough should consider to meet the Town’s RHNA, and challenges and opportunities the community feels are most important. Participants then regrouped and presented the major themes from the breakout room discussions to the larger group. Question-and-answer segments were conducted throughout the workshop in which attendees could provide written input through the Zoom chat feature.

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Outcomes
Highlights from the facilitated discussion questions include:

What strategies could the Town consider using in order to successfully meet the state mandate? Participants discussed that increased density on Town owned sites near transit and amenities are appropriate strategies to be considered in Hillsborough. Participants also shared that amending the Town’s zoning and subdivision ordinance to allow for more density and affordable units and increasing housing diversity through alternative housing types that complement the existing character of Hillsborough would also be appropriate strategies.

What do you think is the best way to address the state’s affordability requirements? Participants discussed inclusionary zoning to allow for affordable housing through ADU’s and multi-family development as good ways to address the states affordability requirements. Additionally, participants would like to see new workforce and senior housing, and to explore subsidies to fund affordable housing and supporting infrastructure projects.

What about the RHNA 6 process are you most concerned about? Participants discussed that the process lacks a holistic approach to meet the Town’s housing needs, that they are concerned about the effectiveness of zoning to meet future housing demands, and the impacts of zoning changes in high fire hazard severity zones.

What opportunities do you see for the Town as a part of the RHNA 6 process? Participants discussed that there is opportunity for an inclusive, Town-wide discussion on housing challenges in Hillsborough and an opportunity to brainstorm creative solutions as a community.

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HEAC Meeting 1
Purpose
HEAC Meeting 1 was intended to be an introductory meeting to introduce the Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC), the RHNA and California Housing Element update process, and how it applies to the Town. The meeting also provided the HEAC with an overview of the Virtual Visioning Workshop and discussed major themes from the participant’s feedback.

Process
The meeting was joined by 32 participants which included HEAC members, Town staff, the consultant team, the Housing Element City Council Subcommittee, and members of the public.

HEAC Meeting 1 started off with introducing Town staff, the consultant teams, and the HEAC members, followed by an overview of HEAC member roles and responsibilities, an overview of the Housing Element update and RHNA process, and an opportunity for question-and-answer. The meeting then opened general poll questions for HEAC members to respond to, as summarized in the outcomes section below. After the poll questions were answered, the presenter provided an overview of the feedback received from the facilitated discussion questions during the Virtual Visioning Workshop. Then the presenter discussed how HEAC members can spread the word to community members to participate in the Housing Element update process. Then project next steps were reviewed, and a second question-and-answer opportunity was given. The meeting concluded with an opportunity for public input.

Outcomes
The HEAC members were asked to answer general poll questions regarding the Housing Element update. Below are the key themes from the poll questions. A full summary of the poll is available on the Housing Element webpage on the Town's website.

What do you like most about living in Hillsborough?
Quality schools and sense of safety and security received the most votes, with 23 percent of HEAC members choosing the topics.

Single-family residential character received the second most votes with 17 percent of members choosing for the topic.

As the Town seeks to meet the state mandate to plan for 554 new housing units at all levels of affordability, which housing types do you feel are most appropriate for Hillsborough? Accessory dwelling units/junior accessory dwelling units received the most votes, with 22 percent of HEAC members choosing this housing type. Mixed income senior housing received the second most votes with 20 percent of HEAC members choosing this housing type.

How can Hillsborough address housing affordability within Town limits? The allowance for an increase in density received the most votes, with 19 percent of HEAC members choosing this option. Encouraging preservation of existing smaller-scale housing received the second most votes with 16 percent of HEAC members choosing this option.

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HEAC Meeting 2
Purpose
HEAC Meeting 2 was held to introduce the HEAC members to the Public Safety Element, Land Use Element and recent State legislation that will influence the 6th cycle Housing Element update. The meeting also gave Town staff and the consultant team an opportunity to address questions that the HEAC members submitted via email prior to the meeting during the question-and-answer.

Process
The meeting was joined by 35 participants which included HEAC members, Town staff, the consultant team, the Housing Element City Council Subcommittee, and members of the public.

HEAC Meeting 2 started off by introducing the consultant teams and their roles in the process, followed by an overview of the Public Safety Element, and an opportunity for question-and-answer. The presenter then provided an overview of the Land Use Element followed by a second opportunity for question-and-answer. The next part of the meeting included an overview of Housing Element related legislation relevant to the 6th cycle Housing Element update and a third opportunity for question-and-answer. The presenter then went over the project next steps and how HEAC members can spread the word to community members to participate in the Housing Element update process. The meeting concluded with an overview of the ADU Survey, which was sent out after the meeting, a question-and-answer opportunity regarding the ADU survey, and an opportunity for public input.

Outcomes
HEAC meeting 2 was intended to provide the HEAC members with an overview of the Land Use Element, Public Safety Element, and Housing Element related legislation. Question-and-answer opportunities were provided for each topic where the HEAC members asked clarifying questions regarding each topic. The outcome of the meeting was a better understanding of the various elements and related legislation by HEAC members.

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HEAC Meeting 3
Purpose
HEAC Meeting 4 was held for HEAC members to discuss the how, what, and where in regard to housing to meet Hillsborough’s RHNA requirements, to provide direction for the development of the policies and programs to be included in the Town’s Housing Element, and to identify what additional data is needed to further inform the HEAC members to reach consensus.

Process
The meeting was joined by 38 participants which included HEAC members, Town staff, the consultant team, the Housing Element City Council Subcommittee, and members of the public.

HEAC Meeting 3 started off with a welcome from the Housing Element City Council Subcommittee. Then, HEAC members were given the opportunity to ask questions regarding the pre-meeting reading materials that were sent to the group and covered the Town’s housing needs, constraints and opportunities. The presenter then provided an overview of the meeting goals and discussion format, followed by the meeting discussion which was structured around three questions as summarized in the outcomes section below.

The meeting concluded with project next steps, and an opportunity for public input.

Outcomes
The HEAC members answered three questions from a survey that was sent prior to the meeting. Below is summary of the key takeaways from the responses of each question. A full summary of the results of the Hillsborough HEAC Meeting 3 Prep Questionnaire is on the Housing Element webpage on the Town's website.

What housing types and densities would you find acceptable in Hillsborough? HEAC members discussed that housing types such as ADUs, JADUs, smaller single-family detached homes, duplexes, and fourplexes may be appropriate in Hillsborough. They also expressed that increased density throughout the community should be accomplished through lot splits while greater density should be concentrated near El Camino Real due its proximity to transit stops.

Where in Hillsborough should these new housing types and densities be located? HEAC members discussed that multiple ADUs per lot and Missing Middle Housing types should be allowed throughout the Town, and that higher density housing should be located in areas near transportation like the Town owned property, the DeGuigne estate, as well as school and country club property. They also mentioned that higher density housing should be located in areas near transportation such as El Camino Real, Crystal Springs Road and I-280, and that developing new high-density housing should avoid open space and natural hazard areas.

How can the Town encourage/promote the development of these new housing types and densities? What barriers exist? How do we overcome them?
HEAC members discussed that the biggest barriers to developing new housing types in Hillsborough are public opposition, the Town’s current zoning ordinance standards, and the likeliness that developers will want to develop these housing types. The HEAC members discussed ways that Hillsborough can overcome these barriers and encourage the development of new housing types and densities through financial incentives that support higher density and affordable housing, amending the Town’s current zoning ordinance to enable new housing types and densities, and to provide transparency and education to residents.

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HEAC Meeting 4
Purpose
HEAC meeting 4 was intended to provide an overview of the findings on the different strategies to meet Hillsborough’s RHNA, and then receive direction for the development of the policies and programs to be included in the Town’s Housing Element. The meeting also helped to identify what additional data is needed to further inform the HEAC members to reach a consensus.

Process
The meeting was joined by 34 participants which included HEAC members, Town staff, the consultant team, the Housing Element City Council Subcommittee, and the public.

HEAC Meeting 4 started off by introducing the consultant teams and a Housing Element City Council Subcommittee welcome, followed by a question-and-answer opportunity for the Hillsborough Preliminary Policies and Programs HEAC Feedback Questionnaire Summary.. In April 2022, the Town of Hillsborough developed a preliminary list of policies and programs for inclusion in the 6th Cycle Housing Element. The questionnaire was intended to gain feedback from HEAC members to continue to facilitate the development of policies and programs during the Housing Element Process. Then, HEAC members were provided with an understanding of how ADUs, subdivisions under current standards, and the development of the Town Hall Campus impact the Town’s RHNA. HEAC members were then asked to discuss their preferences regarding amendments to the subdivision standards as a strategy for planning for the remaining RHNA. The meeting concluded with project next steps, an opportunity for public input, and an opportunity for HEAC members to provide closing comments.

Outcomes
A follow up questionnaire was sent out to HEAC members after the meeting to gauge whether or not the group had reached consensus on key topics discussed. Below are the highlights of the Key Consensus Points Questionnaire A full summary of the results of the HEAC Meeting 4 Follow Up Questionnaire is available on the Housing Element webpage on the Town's website.

ADU’s
• 87 percent of HEAC members agree that ADU’s should be utilized to fulfill the Town’s RHNA requirements. • 80 percent of the HEAC members agree that more than one ADU should be allowed on a lot greater than one acre in size.

Town Hall Campus Site
• 73 percent of HEAC members agree that a density greater than 20 dwelling units per acre should be explored for the Town Hall Campus site.
• 100 percent of the HEAC members agree that building heights greater than 22-32 feet should be considered for the Town Hall Campus Site and 50 percent of HEAC members would support a building height of 6+ stories.

Subdivision Standards
• 40 percent of HEAC members agree that new standards for minimum lot area and lot width should be explored to encourage the subdivision of existing lots.

Proximity to Transportation Corridors
• 80 percent of HEAC members agree that higher density housing should be allowed in key locations of the community. • 73 percent of HEAC members agree that the area within both a quarter mile and a half mile of El Camino Real is a key location for higher density housing.
• 60 percent of HEAC members agree that the area within a quarter mile of I-280/Black Mountain Road is a key location for higher density housing.

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Town Council Project Update
Purpose
The Town Council Project Update was held to provide the Town Council and community with an update of the Housing Element update status.

Process
The meeting began with an introduction of the consulting team, a meeting agenda and a detailed project introduction that described the RHNA and Housing Element update process. The meeting then transitioned into an overview of the project timeline, the status of the project, a summary of what has been completed, upcoming HEAC meetings and project next steps with an opportunity for question-and-answer. The meeting concluded with information on how to stay up to date with the Town’s Housing Element update and how to provide feedback.

Outcomes
The Town Council Project Update was an informational meeting only.

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HEAC Meeting 4.5
Purpose
HEAC Meeting 4.5 was held to have additional discussion, carried over from HEAC Meeting 4, on how the Town can meet its RHNA focusing on zoning standards.

Process
The meeting was joined by 32 participants which included HEAC members, Town staff, the consultant team, the Housing Element City Council Subcommittee, and members of the public.

HEAC Meeting 4.5 began with a Housing Element City Council Subcommittee welcome, followed by an overview of where the Town currently is in the Housing Element update process, and an overview of the responses to the Key Consensus points questionnaire that was sent out after HEAC meeting 4. The meeting then transitioned into the main discussion, which continued from HEAC meeting 4. Prior to the discussion, the presenter provided an overview of how new base and overlay zoning districts could be established to allow for more density. Then each HEAC member answered a series of questions regarding these strategies. The meeting concluded with an overview of the project next steps, and an opportunity for public input.

Outcomes
A follow up questionnaire was sent out to HEAC members after the meeting to gauge whether or not the group had reached consensus on key topics discussed. Below are the highlights of the Key Consensus Points Questionnaire A full summary of the results of the HEAC Meeting 4.5 Follow Up Questionnaire is included in the Public Outreach Appendix.

Affordable Housing Overlay
83 percent of HEAC members agree that an affordable housing overlay district should be established.

New Base Zoning District
67 percent of HEAC members agree that a new base zoning district that allows for higher density missing middle housing, should be established.

Senior Village
83 percent of HEAC members agree that a Senior Village that consists of multiple, small-scale single-family homes on a single lot, should be allowed on properties 10 acres and larger.

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Online Questionnaires
Housing Element Questionnaire
Purpose
The purpose of the Housing Element Questionnaire was to identify the community’s housing needs and priorities, as well as identify the community’s preferred choices to meeting the Town’s state housing requirements. The responses gathered from this initial questionnaire has served as an overall foundation for the Town’s strategy to meet its RHNA requirement. This questionnaire was shared through ArcGIS Survey123 after the initial Virtual Visioning Workshop and continued to be available throughout the Housing Element update process. A total of 72 surveys were collected.

Outcomes
Highlights from the Housing Element Questionnaire are included below. A full summary of the results of the Hillsborough Housing Element Survey is included in the Public Outreach Appendix.

What do you like most about living in Hillsborough?
Single-family residential character received the most votes with 76 percent of participants choosing this option. Sense of safety and security received the second most votes, with 67 percent of participants choosing this topic.

How important do you think these housing-related challenges are in Hillsborough? Concerns about environmental impacts on new housing received the most votes with 40 percent of participants voting that this challenge is very important. Concerns about increased traffic and parking for new housing received the second most votes, with 38 percent of participants voting that this challenge is very important.

As the Town seeks to meet the state mandate to plan for 554 new housing units at all levels of affordability, which housing types do you feel are most appropriate for Hillsborough? (Select your top three answers).

ADUs and JADUs received the most votes with 68 percent of participants choosing this option. Smaller single-family homes on smaller lots received the second most votes, with 46 percent of participants choosing this topic.

How can Hillsborough address housing affordability within Town limits? (Select your top three answers).

Encourage preservation of existing smaller-scale housing (preventing up-sizing) received the most votes with 44 percent of participants choosing this option. Streamline residential approval process (ADRB) received the second most votes, with 42 percent of participants choosing this topic.

What do you think are the most important ways to ensure housing opportunities are available to all members of Hillsborough, especially those who have not had fair access to housing in the past? (Select your top three answers).

Education and counseling on fair housing received the most votes with 33 percent of participants choosing this option. Landlord and tenant counseling services received the second most votes, with 24 percent of participants choosing this topic.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about housing needs in Hillsborough? In general, Participants shared that they would like to see ADU and infill development that supports aging in place and employee housing. Participants also expressed concerns about new development due to the desire to preserve the Town’s character, quality schools and open space, and concerns of development in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ).

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ADU Questionnaire
Purpose
The purpose of the ADU Questionnaire was to gain input on the community’s opinions towards ADU development. The questionnaire was broken into three parts. The first was aimed at current ADU owners, the second to homeowners who are interested in building an ADU on their property, and the third to homeowners who are not interested in building an ADU on their property. This questionnaire was shared through ArcGIS Survey123 after the second HEAC Meeting. A total of 160 responses were collected.

Outcomes
Highlights from the Current ADU Owner Questionnaire are listed below:
• 54 percent of respondents intend for their ADU to be occupied by a renter. A majority answered that they charge a monthly rent of $0-$2,175.
• Easing zoning standards, speeding up the ADRB process, and providing tax incentives were cited as ways that Town could encourage property owners to build a second ADU.

Highlights from the Prospective ADU Owner Questionnaire are listed below:
• 54 percent of respondents would intend for their ADU to be occupied by a renter and a majority answered that they charge a monthly rent of $2,176-$3,480.
• Minimizing the time and cost, providing development subsidies, assistance with finding a tenant and providing legal advice on laws and regulations were cited as ways that Town could incentivize perspective ADU owners to offer their ADU at a more affordable rental rate.
• Providing financial incentives and reducing the cost and the ADRB process were cited as ways that the Town could encourage perspective ADU owners to build an ADU. Additionally, some participants shared that there was nothing the Town could do to encourage ADU construction due to the lack of space or need for an ADU.

Highlights from the Homeowner Questionnaire are listed below:
• Simplifying and providing assistance with the permitting and review process, amending the Town’s zoning ordinance to be less restrictive, and providing financial incentives were cited as ways that the Town could encourage Homeowners not interested in an ADU to build an ADU or JADU.
• Providing advice and assistance on current ADU laws, regulations and the planning process, allowing for more flexibility with the Town’s zoning standards, and providing financial incentives were cited as additional ways the Town could encourage residents to build an ADU or JADU.

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Preliminary Policies and Programs Questionnaire
Purpose
The purpose of the Preliminary Policies and Programs Questionnaire was to gauge the HEAC members position on the appropriateness of the preliminary policies and programs that the Town had developed. The HEAC members were asked to rate each program with 1, 2, or 3 stars based on its appropriateness for Hillsborough. The results helped to refine the policies and programs included herein.

Outcomes
The top three programs that were most favorable to the HEAC members are listed below with the most common responses for each.

A full summary of the results of the Preliminary Policies and Programs Questionnaire is included in the Public Outreach Appendix.

Program 1 of Policy 2: Improve internal procedures to make it easier for property owners to develop ADUs and JADUs.
85 percent of HEAC members gave this program 3 stars and explained their rating by stating that this program would be very effective and favored by the public. The HEAC members would also like to see an analysis on the administrative cost of this program, the degree to which this program would help to accelerate the development process, and what the primary barriers to developing ADU’s currently are.

Program 2 of Policy 2: Improve public information on the ADU application and permit process so it is clear and comprehensive.
92 percent of HEAC members gave this program 3 stars and explained their rating by stating that this program would streamline the process, offer development incentives and would enable communication to residents on the process. Additionally, HEAC members would also like make sure this information is clearly explained so everyone can understand the process and would like to see the Town encourage residents to communicate with one another.

Program 4 of Policy 9: Develop a plan to better meet the needs of seniors. Provide education and outreach on all options for seniors, including “age in place”, assisted living, and independent living (Carried forward from the Town’s Cycle 5 Housing Element).
92 percent of HEAC members gave this program 3 stars and explained their rating by stating that this program would allow senior residents to remain in Hillsborough. The HEAC members would also like to provide outreach to senior residents to clarify what their housing needs are.

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PERFORMANCE
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Overview
As a part of the RHNA 6 Housing Element update, state housing element law requires communities to assess their progress in achieving the policies and programs that they committed to in their previously adopted Housing Element. This analysis should include the following components:
• Progress & Effectiveness: How much progress was made in implementing the plans that the jurisdiction outlined in the previous element? How successful was the jurisdiction during the last RHNA cycle in achieving the goals, objectives, policies, and programs of their previous housing element and, more specifically, what has been the cumulative impact on special needs populations?
• Appropriateness & Lessons Learned: What was learned in the last RHNA cycle, and how has that informed the current RHNA 6 housing element update?
The following narrative will outline the Town’s key accomplishments during the RHNA 5 period, assess the overall progress and effectiveness of the RHNA 5 policies and programs, and discuss RHNA 5 lessons learned and applied to the Town’s RHNA 6 update.

Discussion
RHNA 5: Progress and Effectiveness
The Town laid out the following four goals during the RHNA 5 cycle, and overall, the Town was exceptionally effective in achieving them. These goals and an overview of the Town’s key accomplishments related to each are outlined below. A full overview of the Town’s progress in accomplishing the goals outlined in the RHNA 5 policies and programs is provided in Table 3.3.

Goal 1: Increase Housing opportunities in Hillsborough and surrounding communities Key Action: The Town issued building permits for 192 of the 91-unit RHNA 5 allocation.

Between January 1, 2014-December 31, 2021, the Town issued building permits for 192 new units, exceeding the 91 RHNA 5 allocation by 111%. Per the most recent SB 35 Determination Memo issued by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on June 30, 2022, the Town of Hillsborough is one of only 38 jurisdictions in the state to have achieved this goal.

The Town has satisfied the RHNA 5 income category distribution assignment as follows:
• Very Low-, Low- and Moderate-Income Units: In the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town was assigned 70 units in the very low, low- and moderate-income categories. The Town has exceeded this assignment through the development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), discussed in greater detail, below. In 2021 alone the Town received 89 applications for ADU development, issued planning entitlements for 82 ADUs, and issued building permits for 64 ADUs. • Above-moderate Income Units: To date the Town has issued permits for 30 of the 21 above-moderate units needed by the end of 2022, primarily through the development of net new single-family homes on vacant lots (note that this is not one-for one replacement on previously developed lots).

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Table 3.1, below, demonstrates the breakout all building permits by income category, following the HCD-approved methodology identified in the Town’s certified RHNA 5 Housing Element.

Key Action: Technological Upgrades Made to Streamline the Development Review Process During the RHNA Cycle 5 period the Town consistently worked to improve and streamline the development review process. Improvements since 2014 included:
• Making back-end changes to the Town’s aging permit tracking system to allow building permit applications to be submitted an online portal;
• Establishing a workflow to enable digital planning application submissions via the use of a cloud-based .ftp site; • Allowing payment by credit card and e-check at no fee to applicants • Securing funding for an upgrade to the Town’s aging permit tracking software, including an approved General Fund allocation request and SB2 grant award;
• Soliciting proposals from cloud-based permit tracking software vendors in preparation for an upgrade to the Town’s platform; • Executing a contract with the selected vendor and beginning upgrade rollout. Once training is completed (late 2022) the new application submittal program will be available for both planning and building division applications, and available to applicants 24-hours/day, 365 days/year. “
Table 3.1: Town of Hillsborough RHNA 5 Building Permits Issued by Income Category
RHNA Allocation
per
Income Level
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total Units
(all years)
32 Very Low 16 4 8 6 9 9 24 76
17 Low 8 2 3 4 2 7 18 44
21 Moderate 10 2 4 3 4 6 13 42
21 Above Moderate 5 2 3 3 5 3 9 30
Total RHNA 91
Total Units 39 10 18 16 20 25 64 192
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Goal 2: Housing consistent with the character of the community Key Action: Significant Increase in Accessory Dwelling Unit Production The Town of Hillsborough has only one zoning district, Residence District (RD), and the sole housing type allowed within that zone is single-family residential.1 As such, given their small scale and low-density (currently only one Accessory Dwelling Unit and one Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit are permitted per single-family home), ADUs are the housing development type most consistent with the character of the Hillsborough community.

As such, the Town of Hillsborough has a strong track record of supporting and encouraging accessory dwelling unit (ADU) development. In response, the Town has seen a significant uptick in ADU development applications during RHNA Cycle 5. The Town’s ADU Permits Issued by year for the years between 2014-2022 (June) are outlined in Table 3.2.

To support this trend and facilitate further ADU development, in 2020 the Town established an ADU Ombudsman program staffed by an ADU Specialist specifically trained to guide people through the Town’s ADU review and approval processes. Since the establishment of this program, ADU development has increased by 169% (January 2019- June 2022).

Goal 3: A continuum of housing opportunities for the members of the Hillsborough community in all stages of life with or without disabilities Key Action: The Town exceeded the annual RHNA 5 funding goal for County homeless and transitional programs by an average of 36% per year During the RHNA 5 Cycle, the Town contributed annual grant awards to County homeless and transitional programs such as the Human Investment Project (HIP housing), HEART of San Mateo County, Life Moves, and the County of San Mateo Department of Human Services. The Town’s objective was to contribute $7,000 per year to these efforts, but rather contributed an average of $9,500 per annum, an additional $2,500/year, or an increase of 36%.

Goal 4: Equal Housing Opportunities for All
Key Action: Approval of Request for Reasonable Accommodation During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town continued to implement Chapter 17.42 of the Zoning Ordinance, Requests for Reasonable Accommodation, to expedite retrofit efforts and to allow for exceptions to development standards to best accommodate disabled community members and to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Town received and timely granted one such request during the RHNA Cycle 5 period, the first such request to the Town during the RHNA 5 cycle and the only such request in recent memory. The Town also provided guidance to several other individuals considering submitting Reasonable Accommodation requests, an is committed to providing flexibility in the development of housing for persons with disabilities.

Table 3.2: ADU Building
Permits
Issued By Year
Year ADU Building
Permits
Issued
2014 16
2015 39
2016 10
2017 18
2018 16
2019 20
2020 25
2021 64
2022 (Jan-June) 28
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RHNA 5: Lessons Learned & Policy Appropriateness for RHNA 6 Much has changed since 2014 and much has been learned during the RHNA 5 Cycle that has informed the Town of Hillsborough RHNA 6 Housing Element Update. Key insights are outlined below:

ADUs for the Win in Single-Family Residential Communities With appropriate promotion and support, ADUs can be an extremely successful and housing solution in predominately built-out, single-family residential communities.
• This lesson learned is captured in the Housing Element Update in Policy 2: Promote the Construction and Affordability of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The goals under this policy will include:
• Continuing to support and fund a Town ADU Ombudsman to guide property owners through the Town’s ADU process. • Allowing one JADU and multiple ADUs on lots one acre and larger on qualifying parcels. • Creating programs to encourage and expedite the conversion of accessory structures to recorded ADUs/JADUs and retroactive permitting for existing, unpermitted ADUs.

Government Must Move at the Speed of Technology
The world is becoming ever more digital and ever less paper based. Applicants expect the ability to interface with their government in 24-hours/day, 7 days/week, and do not expect to pay extra to do so (e.g. convenience fees) • This lesson learned is captured in the Housing Element Update in Policy 1, through the Town’s plan to complete the update of our permit tracking software to offer a streamlined, user-friendly web-based platform accessible to applicants 24-hours/day, 365 days/year.

Every Little Bit Helps
Providing funding to housing related programs is critical, and more can always be done. • This lesson learned is captured in the Housing Element Update in Policy 3: Facilitate Housing Development on Public, Commercial, Nonprofit, and Institutionally Owned Sites, through the Town’s in-progress study of the Town Hall Campus site to determine how the site may be re-developed to include mixed-income, multi-family housing and existing Town administrative functions. • This lesson learned is additionally captured in Policy 7: Actively Participate in Addressing the Housing Needs of the Region, where the Town plans to continue to provide financial support to local housing, homelessness, and mental health support programs, such as the Human Investment Project (HIP housing), HEART of San Mateo County, Life Moves, and the County of San Mateo Human Services.
• The Town plans to develop and adopt a Town philanthropy policy which establishes consistency in giving to local housing, homelessness, and mental health support programs whose organizational missions align with the Town’s value statement.

Specificity = Achievability
Broad objective and goal statements may be intended to be all-encompassing; however, focused, quantifiable actions best allow for an objective analysis of progress—and positive recalibration, if needed.

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RHNA 5: Cumulative Impact of RHNA 5 Policies and Programs in Meeting Housing Needs of Special Needs Populations
The Town remains committed to eliminating discrimination in housing and meeting housing needs of Special Needs Populations.

The most notable implementation is through the Town’s implementation of Chapter 17.42 of the Zoning Ordinance (Requests for Reasonable Accommodation) to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Housing that is accessible to people with disabilities has been identified as a special housing need in the town’s housing element adopted in 2002.

Chapter 17.42 of the Town’s Municipal Code establishes a formal procedure for persons with disabilities seeking equal access to housing to request for reasonable accommodation may include a request for modification or exception to the Land Use Rules for the siting, development, and use of housing or housing-related facilities that would eliminate regulatory barriers and provide a person with a disability equal opportunity to housing of that person’s choice. To date the Town has granted all requests for reasonable accommodation.

Information related to fair housing laws is easily available on the Town’s website and at key Town facilities, including the Town Hall Campus and Police Station.

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Table 3.3: Town of Hillsborough Previous Housing Element Evaluation 2014‐2021 Housing Element Program - Progress: RHNA Cycle 5 Goal 1: Increase Housing opportunities in Hillsborough and surrounding communities Policy 1-A: Actively participate in meeting the housing needs of the community. 1-A1 Appoint a councilmember for regional housing
efforts.

YES
For the duration of RHNA Cycle 5 the City Council has annually appointed a councilmember to represent the Town and provide continuing participation with Association of Bay Area Governemnts (ABAG).
1-A2 Work with nearby communities to explore
subregional housing needs and solutions and
develop innovative ideas to increase the supply
of housing.

YES
During the RHNA Cycle 5 the Town has participated in the following local collaborative efforts:
• The 21 Elements project, a collaboroative, housing-related information and resource sharing group of all 21 jurisdictions in San Mateo County. • The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) "Shift the Bay" 8-series housing learning lab.
• Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) "Wildfires and Housing" 5-series learning lab.
• The "Little Four" meetings, a regular collaboration and brainstorming effort of the four small, high-resource, predominately single family communities in San Mateo County
• Annual "Housing Leadership Day" hosted by the Housing Leadership Council
1-A3 Work with local institutions under Chapter

17.16 of the Zoning Ordinance to consider
developing employee housing on existing
institutional lands in Hillsborough.

YES
• In June 2003 the Town updated Chapter 17.16.030 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code to allow housing on Private school properties via an amendement to their special use permit. This language remained in place for the durantion of RHNA Cycle 5.
• In June 2003 the Town updated Chapter 17.16.010 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code to allow housing by right on the Burlingame Country Club property. This language remained in place for the durantion of RHNA Cycle

5. • The Town annually undertakes an analysis of Town-owned properties to assess what sites may be identified as surplus and reports such properties on in its Annual Progress Report to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for addition to the list of sites to be made available to affordable housing developers.
• In May, 2022 the Town initiated a study of the Town-owned Town Hall Campus site to determine how the site may be re-developed to include mixed-income housing. This study will continue into the RHNA 6 Cycle. 1-A4 Promote development of affordable
multifamily housing on nearby institutional
lands, such as Burlingame Country Club.

YES
• In June 2003 the Town updated Chapter 17.16.030 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code to allow housing on Private school properties via an amendement to their special use permit. This language remained in place for the duration of RHNA Cycle 5.
• In June 2003 the Town updated Chapter 17.16.010 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code to allow housing by right on the Burlingame Country Club property. This language remained in place for the duration of RHNA Cycle

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Table 3.3: Town of Hillsborough Previous Housing Element Evaluation 2014‐2021 Housing Element Program - Progress: RHNA Cycle 5 1-A5 Evaluate and report annually to the City
Council on progress in developing cooperative
solutions to regional housing issues.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town has been actively involved in subregional housing planning efforts via participation with the following groups:
• The 21 Elements project, a collaboroative, housing-related information and resource sharing group of all 21 jurisdictions in San Mateo County. • The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) "Shift the Bay" 8-series housing learning lab.
• Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) "Wildfires and Housing" 5-series learning lab.
• The "Little Four" meetings, a regular collaboration and brainstorming effort of the four small, high-resource, predominately single family communities in San Mateo County
• Annual "Housing Leadership Day" hosted by the Housing Leadership Council
• The Town reports on its efforts annually to Council in March as a part of the Annual Progress Report (APR) submittal to HCD.
1-A6 Contribute to County homeless and transitional
programs and partner with existing programs.

Objective is $7,000 per annum funding.

YES
• -During the RHNA Cycle 5 period, the Town contributed annual grant awards to the Human Investment Project (HIP housing), HEART of San Mateo County, Life Moves, and the County of San Mateo Human Services. • From 2014-2022, the contributution goal of $7,000/year was exceeded by 36%. The Town contribted and an average of $9,500 per annum, an additional $2,500/year.

Policy 1-B: Facilitate the private development of housing in Hillsborough. 1-B1 Process design review applications and building
permits promptly. Continue to assist in the
housing development process. Objective is to
have 21 above-moderate income units built.

YES
• During the RHNA Cycle 5 period the Town consistently worked to improve and streamline the development review process. Improvements since 2014 included making technological upgrades to allow permit applications to be submitted online (2020), the acceptance of payment by credit card and echeck (2020), the hiring of an ADU ombudman to assist ADU applicants in navigating the application process applications (2020), the hiring of additional full-time Planning staff to assist with administrative application processing (2021), and timely updates to the Town's municipal code in response to state housing legislation (ongoing).
• As of June 30th, 2022 the Town has issued building permits for 192 net new units, exceeding the 91 total unit RHNA 5 allocation by 111%. • As of June 30th, 2022 the Town has exceeded the goals for every AMI income category assigned in RHNA Cycle 5.

Policy 1-C: Continue to improve the land use entitlement process. 1-C1 Maintain a list of certified mediators who
specialize in land issues. Cost of the mediator is
borne by landowners.

NONE
1-C2 Partner with Peninsula Conflict Resolution
Center (PCRC). Services range from one time
help resolving a conflict to ongoing assistance
and mediation.

YES
• Throughout the RHNA 5 cycle the Town continued to support the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC) via an annual contract for services.

Under this contract, the Town provides funding to PCRC and Town staff can then refer conflicted parties to PCRC’s mediation services where they will pay a reduced/no fee for services.

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Table 3.3: Town of Hillsborough Previous Housing Element Evaluation 2014‐2021 Housing Element Program - Progress: RHNA Cycle 5 1-C3 Identify opportunities to use technology to
improve public outreach and customer service.

YES
• The Town has made technological upgrades to it's ageing permit tracking software program to allow permit applications to be submitted online and the acceptance of payment by credit card and e-check (2020). • The Town has entered into contract for a new, cloud-based permit tracking software to facilitate an further streamlined and user-friendly application process (2022). Once training is completed (late 2022) the new application submittal program will be available to applicants 24-hours/day, 365 days/ year.

Policy 1-D: Use vacant land on the periphery of Hillsborough to increase housing opportunities. 1-D1 Consider annexations of adjacent land
to Hillsborough that permit housing
opportunities. Objectives: 20 units; 12 AboveModerate units, 1 moderate income second unit, 2 second units affordable to low-income
households, 1 affordable to very low-income
households, and 4 affordable to extremely lowincome households.

YES
• While no annexations occurred during the RHNA 5 Cycle, the Town has periodically appraoched property owners of land adjacent to Hillsborough, including the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), to discuss potential annexation and land swap opportunities which might support the development of additional housing. To date, none of these entities has reciprocated interest; however, the Town remains open to such conversations in the future.

Goal 2: Housing consistent with the character of the community.

Policy 2-A: Allow subdivision of existing vacant lots larger than one acre. 2-A1 Permit subdivision of vacant parcels for 2+ lots,
especially those that can accommodate two
or more half-acre lots, but cannot meet street
frontage or width requirements.

YES
• The Town has a codified process that allows exceptions from street frontage and lot width requirements when the City Engineer can make the findings that will such exceptions will not not be materially detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare or injurious to other property in the town, and that here are special circumstances or conditions affecting the property that make strict compliance with the subject requirement(s) unjustifiable, unnecessarry or unadvisable (Hillsborough Municipal Code Chapter 1.24).
• Using the above exception process, in 2020 the Town Council approved a new, 8-lot subdivision which could result in a total of up to 24 net-new units when considering the possibility of ADU and JADU development in addition to eight single family homes. This subdivision is the largest to occur in Town in recent history, and in the RHNA 5 cycle. • In 2021, the Town updated the Hillsborough Municipal Code to implement requirements of Senate Bill 9 (SB9), which allows all properties within a “single-family residential zone” to be subdivided into two parcels and to be developed with two primary dwelling units per lot, irrespective of local standards.

Policy 2-B Promote more housing options while preserving the character of Hillsborough. 2-B1 Continue to use the density bonus, as provided
by Chapter 17.60 of the Hillsborough Municipal
Code, to encourage affordable or senior
housing or both, as well as affordable housing
for families of five or more persons.

YES
• While no density bonus applications were received by the Town during the RHNA 5 cycle, the Town has adopted a density bonus ordinance pursuant to California Government Code Section 65915 and continues to allow density bonuses for projects meeting the requirements of California Government Code Section 65915.

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Table 3.3: Town of Hillsborough Previous Housing Element Evaluation 2014‐2021 Housing Element Program - Progress: RHNA Cycle 5 Goal 3: A continuum of housing opportunities for the members of the Hillsborough community in all stages of life with or without disabilities.

Policy 3-A Support seniors and other special needs populations 3-A1 As required by State law, continue to allow
board and care facilities for six or fewer
residents. Objectives: 1 or more houses serving
6 seniors, disabled, and other qualifying
residents, as follows: 4 above moderate, 1
moderate income, and 1 low income.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the hown has continued to allow for Residential Care Facilities for the elderly in a single-family dwelling, pursuant to the requirements found in California Health and Safety Code Section 1569.85.
3-A2 Continue to ensure that the transitional and
supportive housing is allowed as specified in
State law.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the hown has continued to allow for Transitional and Supportive Housing purusuant to the requirements of and as defined respectively in California Health and Safety Code Sections 50675.2(h) and 50675.14(b).
3-A3 Inform local developers of opportunities to
provide transitional and supportive housing.

Primary outreach through information on the
Town website and through interacting with
developers.

NONE
3-A4 Continue to allow an emergency shelter at
the Town’s Civic Center within the former
fire station as a permitted use, subject to
standards, as required by State law.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the hown has continued to allow as a permitted use an Emergency Shelter pursiant to the requirements of and as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 50801(e).
3-A5 Develop a plan to better meet the needs of
seniors. Consider the desire of most seniors to
“age in place,” and ensure that the senior plan
includes the input of all relevant stakeholders.

NONE
Policy 3-B: Continue to permit the renting of rooms in Hillsborough homes to provide additional housing opportunities for single people.
3-B1 Continue to allow the renting of individual
rooms in Hillsborough houses
YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the hown has continued to allow for long-term (30+ days) renting of individual rooms pursuant to Hillsborough Municipal Code 17.16.010 and as defined at 17.08.115.
3-B2 Continue to support and promote the shared
housing concept.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the hown has continued to allow for long-term (30+ days) renting of individual rooms pursuant to Hillsborough Municipal Code 17.16.010 and as defined at 17.08.115.
• During the RHNA Cycle 5 period, the Town contributed an annual grant award to the Human Investment Project (HIP housing) in the amount of $5,000/year.
• During the RHNA 5 cycle the Town maintained a partnership with HIP Housing to offer a home sharing program specifically for Hillsborough. This program connects Hillsborough homeowners with available rooms/ADUs/ JADUs to rent with housing seekers.

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Table 3.3: Town of Hillsborough Previous Housing Element Evaluation 2014‐2021 Housing Element Program - Progress: RHNA Cycle 5 Policy 3-C: Encourage both attached and detached second units where currently permitted. 3-C1 Continue to waive planning and building permit
fees for second units.

YES
• From Fiscal Year 2014/15 until Fiscal Year 2021/22 (Seven of eight RHNA Cycle 5 years) the Town waived all Planning and Building development application review fees for ADU and JADU applications.
• In Calendar Year 2020 interest in ADU development increased substantially. In response, the Town established an ADU Ombudsman program, hiring an ADU Specialist to guide people through the Town's ADU review and approval process. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2021/22 a modest application fee was re-added to the Town's Planning Division fee schedule so that the Town might recover a portion of the costs for this new program.

Building Division permit fees continue to be waived.
3-C2 Promote and Inform the public about
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Provide the
public with the specific information as to the
viability of ADUs, jADUs, and other secondary
dwelling units, as well as providing information
about potential funding sources to promote
secondary unit development.

YES
• In Calendar Year 2020 interest in ADU development increased substantially. In response, the Town established an ADU Ombudsman program, hiring an ADU Specialist to guide people through the Town's ADU review and approval process.
• The Town has readily available at Town Hall and online San Mateo County-produced ADU collateral providing information about potential funding sources to promote secondary unit development.
3-C3 Approve ADUs administratively; ascertain
planned use for ADU and affordability.

YES
• ADU review and approval is consistent with the state requirements for ADU permits and streamlining. During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Building & Planning Department has implemented permit streamlining processes for ministerial reviews of accessory dwelling units, which do not require discretionary planning review, in an effort to encourage the development of smaller, more affordable units.
3-C4 Permit property owners to legalize
unauthorized domestic housing when they are
upgraded to code.

YES
• In 2021, the Town updated Chapter 17 of the Municipal Code to provide additional options for property owners to legalize unpermitted housing units, while still ensuring compliance with applicable building standards, Health and Safety Codes, and fire department requirements. 3-C5 Implement additional measures to encourage
ADUs. Ensure that future ADU production
meets the needs of Hillsborough residents.

YES
• In Calendar Year 2020 the Town established an ADU Ombudsman program, hiring an ADU Specialist to guide people through the Town's ADU review and approval process.
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the town held an annual permitting and construction forum which includes a section specifically focused on ADU development.
• In 2021, the Town updated the zoning ordiance to implement all requirements of Senate Bill 9 (SB9), as appropriate. SB 9 allows all properties within a “single-family residential zone” to be subdivided into two parcels and developed with two primary dwelling units per lot, irrespective of local standards.
3-C6 Continue to allow rental (not short term rental)
of ADUs.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town has continued to allow for long-term (30+ days) renting of individual rooms and ADUs, pursuant to Hillsborough Municipal Code 17.16.010 and as defined at 17.08.115.

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Table 3.3: Town of Hillsborough Previous Housing Element Evaluation 2014‐2021 Housing Element Program - Progress: RHNA Cycle 5 Goal 4: Equal Housing Opportunities for All
Policy 4-A: Eliminate discrimination in housing based on age, race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or occupation.
4-A1 Continue to designate the City Attorney as the
appropriate City official to receive and forward
housing discrimination complaints. Support
fair access to housing for all persons without
regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital
status, national origin, or ancestry. Assemble
and promote the distribution of information to
landlords regarding fair housing. Involve Project
Sentinel to aid in housing problem resolution.

YES
• While the Town received no housing discrimination complaints during the RHNA 5 Cycle, the Town has continued to support fair access to housing for all regardless of race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, or ancestry, with the City Attorney designated as the appropriate City official to receive and forward housing discrimination complaints. • During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town regulaly updated the Housing Resources page of its website, which includes links to fair housing infomation. • During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town continued to maintain its connection with Project Sentinel, referring tenant/landlord related inquires to them. 4-A2 Continue to implement Chapter 17.42
of the Zoning Ordinance (Reasonable
Accommodation) to expedite retrofit efforts
to comply with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), require ADA compliance in all
new development that is subject to ADA,
and provide flexibility in the development of
housing for persons with disabilities.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town continued to implement Chapter

17.42 of the Zoning Ordinance (Reasonable Accommodation) to expedite retrofit efforts to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Chapter 17.42 complies with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Town received and granted one such request during the RHNA Cycle 5 period, providing flexibility in the development of housing for persons with disabilities. • Housing that is accessible to people with disabilities has been identified as a special housing need in the Town's housing element as of 2002. 4-A3 Reach out to local service providers of special
needs groups to assist in the identification
and analysis of constraints to the provision of
housing for persons with disabilities.

YES
• During the RHNA 5 Cycle the Town continued to support and partner with local service providers to assist in the identification and analysis of constraints to the provision of housing for persons with disabilities via the 21 Elements project..

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4 GENERAL PLAN

CONSISTENCY
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General Plan Consistency
State law requires all elements of the General Plan to be consistent with each other. The Town will amend the General Plan, originally adopted in 2005, after the adoption of the Housing Element to ensure the Goals, Policies, and Programs of the General Plan correlate with the new Housing Element.

Section 65580(e) of the Government Code reads: “The Legislature recognizes that in carrying out this responsibility … to facilitate the improvement and development of housing to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community [65580(e)] … each local government also has the responsibility to consider economic, environmental, and fiscal factors and community goals set forth in the general plan and to cooperate with other local governments and the state in addressing regional housing needs.”
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5 HOUSING
NEEDS
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Introduction
The Town of Hillsborough is located in San Mateo County, California with an area of 6.23 square miles and a current population of ~11,000. Incorporated in 1910, the Town is a general law city governed by a five-member City Council elected at-large, with a council-manager form of government. The Town employs approximately 90 staff who provide essential services including police protection, land use planning, building permitting and inspection, and maintenance of roads, public facilities, water, sewer, and storm drainage infrastructures. The Town also funds fire protection services provided by the Central County Fire Department. The Town is zoned exclusively single-family residential, with permitted non-residential uses including public and private schools, a country club, a racquet club, various public facilities, utility installations, and open space.

The Town of Hillsborough is a charming residential community located on the San Francisco Peninsula, bordering the Cities of Burlingame and San Mateo, in the northeastern part of San Mateo County. The town was founded in 1846 and was incorporated in 1910. Hillsborough sits about 20 miles south of San Francisco and about 38 miles north of San Jose, where its community character contrasts the densely urbanized cities surrounding it.

Directly west of Hillsborough, on the other side of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range is the City of Half Moon Bay and the Pacific Ocean. To the east is the City of Burlingame, the San Francisco International Airport and the San Francisco Bay. Hillsborough is in close proximity to both the City and the scenic natural features of northern California.

The Town is substantially built out under its current development standards, making site identification for the purposes of net new RHNA units a somewhat challenging exercise. Currently, the Town is mostly built out with its housing stock consisting of single-family housing, some with Accessory Dwelling Units on their lots. The land that is zoned for residential uses in the Town has a maximum density of one single-family unit per half acre. The Town of Hillsborough has recognized the need for additional workforce housing and has permitted multi-family development on school and institutional properties.

Key Takeaways
• Median Age Increase: The 55+ population has experienced the most growth since 2000 • Lack of affordability/housing stock diversity: The average home value in Hillsborough is $4,571,820 according to Zillow, a 256% increase since 2001, with the largest portion of homes costing $2M+. Consistently, the largest portion of rentals cost $3,000 or more per month with the average rent in Hillsborough costing $3,200 per month, according to Zillow. In 2020, about 99% of these units were single-family residential and about 1% were 2–4-unit multi-family residential. • ADU Program: Hillsborough has the opportunity to expand its ADU program. • Inadequate amount of larger rental units compared to large families: Roughly 18% of Hillsborough households are large households of five or more people. In 2017, about 43% of large households paid 30% or more of their income on housing and about 4% of large households were in the very low-income bracket, earning less than 50% of the area median income (AMI).

Larger households who are cost burdened could benefit from larger rental units with 3 or more bedrooms per unit. While 98% of the housing stock consists of housing units with 3 or more bedrooms, only 6% of these units were occupied by renters. • Large export of workers: Between 2002 and 2018 Hillsborough has seen about a 14% decrease in jobs with a .45 ratio of jobs to resident workers.
• Cost Burdened Households: 100% of extremely low-income homeowners and most low-income homeowners are cost burdened.

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Population Characteristics & Trends
The following describes and analyzes the various population characteristics and trends in Hillsborough that affect housing need.

Population Growth
Since 2000, Hillsborough’s population has increased by 5.5%; this rate is below that of the region as a whole, at 14.8%. In Hillsborough, roughly 7.1% of its population moved during the past year, a number 6.3 percentage points smaller than the regional rate of

13.4%.

In 2020, the population of Hillsborough was estimated to be 11,418 (Figure 5.1: Population Growth Trends). From 1990 to 2000, the population increased by 1.5%, while it remained stable in the first decade of the 2000s. In the most recent decade, the population increased by 5.5%. The population of Hillsborough makes up 1.5% of San Mateo County. 10,825 10,945 10,825 11,322 11,418
707,163 719,844 718,451 761,748 773,244
6,784,348
7,073,912
7,150,739
7,595,694
7,790,537
6,200,000
6,400,000
6,600,000
6,800,000
7,000,000
7,200,000
7,400,000
7,600,000
7,800,000
8,000,000
0 100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Millions
Thousands
Population Growth Trends
Population Hillsborough Population San Mateo County Population Bay Area Figure 5.1: Population Growth Trends
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Age Composition
The age structure of a population is also an important factor in evaluating housing and community development needs and determining the direction of future housing development. Typically, each age group has distinct lifestyles, family types and sizes, incomes, and housing preferences. As people move through each stage of life, housing needs and preferences change. For example, young households without children will have different housing preferences than middle-aged households with children or senior households living alone. Consequently, evaluating the age characteristics of a community is important in determining the housing needs of residents.

Age Distribution & Trends
The distribution of ages of Hillsborough’s population has shifted since 2000. The population under the age of 14 has remained relatively stable while the population between 15 and 24 years of age has increased by 51%. The population between 25 and 54 years of age has decreased by 19% while the population 55 years of age and over has increased by 25%.

Median Age
Hillsborough’s population, as measured by the median age of its residents, is older than in neighboring communities and the County as a whole. Hillsborough’s median age in 2000 was 45.4; by 2019, this figure had increased to 47.9. Meanwhile, the median age in San Mateo County in 2000 was 39.2 and in 2019 was 39.7.

Race and Ethnicity
Different racial and ethnic groups often have different household characteristics, income levels, and cultural backgrounds, which may affect their housing needs and preferences. Studies have also suggested that different racial and ethnic groups differ in their attitudes toward and/or tolerance for “housing problems” as defined by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including overcrowding and housing cost burden. According to these studies, perceptions regarding housing density and overcrowding tend to vary between racial and ethnic groups. Especially within cultures that prefer to live with extended family members, household size and overcrowding also tend to increase. In general, Hispanic and Asian households exhibit a greater propensity than White households for living with extended families. 551
1691
945
646
1487
1986
1505
1118
734
162
462
1864
1017
455
1145
1938
1729
1161
738
316
547
1735
1428
421
1044
1868
1899
1261
884
360
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
Age 0-4
Age 5-14
Age 15-24
Age 25-34
Age 35-44
Age 45-54
Age 55-64
Age 65-74
Age 75-84
Age 85+
Population
Population by Age
2019 2010 2000
Figure 5.2: Population by Age
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However, with the housing crisis in California and the recent economic challenges presented by COVID-19, extended family members sharing housing arrangements or adult children moving back with parents have become a trend in many California communities across all groups.

In 2019, the predominant racial group in Hillsborough was White (not including those that identify as Hispanic/Latinx), at almost 57% while the second largest racial group was Asian/Asian Pacific American (not including those that identify as Hispanic/Latinx), at nearly 32%. The least represented racial group in Hillsborough is Black/African American identifying residents (not including those that identify as Hispanic/Latinx) who accounted for approximately 1% of the population in 2019.

Since 2000, the percentage of residents of all races and ethnicities aside from White has increased by 14.6 percentage points, with the 2019 population standing at 6,502 (see Figure #04). More specifically, the Asian/Asian Pacific American population increased the most while the White, Non-Hispanic population decreased the most. 25% 28% 32%
71% 64% 57%
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2000 2010 2019
Share of Population
Population by Race
American Indian or Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic Asian / API, Non-Hispanic Black or African American, Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Other Race or Multiple Races, Non-Hispanic Hispanic or Latinx Figure 5.3: Population by Race
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Employment Profile
An assessment of the community needs must take into consideration the type of employment offered within that community, as well as held by Hillsborough residents. Incomes associated with different jobs and the number of workers in a household determines the type and size of housing a household can afford.

Occupation and Labor Participation
The American Community Survey (ACS) provides information about employment, specifically the number of City residents by industry type, who are employed by businesses either outside or within their community. The two largest industries for Hillsborough residents are Financial & Professional Services, 44% of the jobs held by employed residents and Health and Educational Services, 25% of the jobs held by employed residents. The largest sector in which San Mateo County and Bay Area residents work is Health & Educational Services. (Figure 5.4: Employment Profile). These two industries account for 69% of the jobs held by employed residents in Hillsborough. Similarly, these categories accounted for about 57% of jobs held by San Mateo County residents and 56% of jobs held by resident in the Bay Area region. The proportion of City residents in all other occupations was similar to the occupation profile of County and regional residents, with the next highest proportion of Hillsborough residents being employed in Manufacturing, Wholesale and Transportation. Legal and Management occupations were the highest paid occupations in San Mateo County in the first quarter of 2021. Legal occupations had a 17% increase in average yearly salary while management increased by 24%.

Overall, average yearly salaries for all occupations increased by 19.7% over the same period. 5% 6%
44%
27% 26%
25%
30% 30%
3%
5% 4%
14%
16% 17%
8%
9% 9%
4% 8% 8%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%
100.0%
Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Share of Employed Residents
Employment Profile
Agriculture & Natural Resources Construction
Financial & Professional Services Health & Educational Services Information Manufacturing, Wholesale & Transportation
Retail Other
Figure 5.4: Employment Profile
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Worker Import & Export
Employed residents either work in the community where they live or commute to work elsewhere in the region, which has become the more popular trend in most communities as city jobs employ more residents who live outside of city limits. This occurs through worker import or export. For example, in smaller cities, there are typically more employed residents than jobs, so it exports workers to other cities, while larger cities typically have a surplus of jobs and import workers. The efforts of the regional transportation system are to connect a region’s main economic hub to outside communities in order to facilitate the flow of worker imports and exports. Despite these efforts, the cost of living near popular districts or downtown areas is high due to increased housing demand and poses challenges on community members living in surrounding communities due to a lack of transit options and long commutes which may arise from local jobs and worker populations being imbalanced.

Hillsborough is a net exporter of workers, with 4,736 employed residents and 2,135 jobs. Between 2002 and 2018, the number of jobs in Hillsborough has decreased by 13.7% and the ratio of jobs to resident workers is .45.

Worker Place of Residency by Wage
Understanding the availability of jobs for low-income workers in a community compared to the availability of housing options for low-income workers in the community, or the inverse can help illustrate the need for more affordable housing options.

In Hillsborough, there are more low-wage residents than there are low-wage jobs (jobs paying an annual salary of less than $25,000 a year). Additionally, Hillsborough also has more highwage residents than high wage jobs (jobs paying an annual salary of more than $75,000 a year). This could be an indicator that Hillsborough exports more workers to other cities in the region.
350
376
466
501
3043
194
417
426
230
868
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
Less than $9,999
$10,000 to $24,999
$25,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$75,000 or more
Worker Population
Earnings Group
Resident and Worker Earnings
People who work in Hillsborough
People who live in Hillsborough
Figure 5.5: Resident and Worker Earnings
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Jobs to Households
The presence of jobs in a community will potentially attract new residents, creating a high demand for housing relative to local supply, resulting in exclusion of workers to live where they work and sometimes resulting in displacement. This most commonly affects lower-wage workers, however, also has effects on freeway congestion due to a high volume of commuters traveling long distances to work, affecting all freeway users and accelerating the impacts of climate change.

In Hillsborough, the jobs to household ratio have decreased from 0.62 in 2002 to 0.54 in 2018.

0.62 0.62 0.60 0.57

0.53 0.52 0.54 0.53

0.32 0.35

0.50 0.49 0.51

0.57 0.51 0.52 0.54

1.33 1.27 1.24 1.25 1.24 1.27 1.27

1.21 1.23

1.27 1.32

1.37 1.42

1.49 1.51 1.52

1.59 1.28

1.22 1.20 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23

1.17 1.21 1.24 1.26

1.31 1.35

1.40 1.43 1.44 1.47

0.20 0.40

0.60 0.80

1.00 1.20

1.40 1.60

1.80 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Ratio
Jobs to Household Ratio
Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Figure 5.6: Jobs to Household Ratio
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Unemployment
Unemployment trends can provide a need for more affordable housing units in a community. Impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a dramatic increase in the unemployment rate in 2020. Hillsborough’s unemployment rate trended downward from January of 2010 to January 2019 from 7.9% to 2%. Unemployment jumped to 9.6% in April 2020 due to a loss of jobs as the COVID-19 pandemic magnified. The Town, however, began to recover from the pandemic and unemployment fell to 5.9% in January 2021. Overall, Hillsborough has seen a 2% decrease in its unemployment rate from January 2010 to January 2021.

7.9%

7.0%

6.2%

5.2%

4.1%

3.4%

3.1% 3.3%

2.7%

2.0% 1.8%

5.9%

9.3%

8.3%

7.3%

6.3%

4.8%

4.0%

3.2% 3.2%

2.6% 2.5%

2.2%

5.9%

11.1%

10.3%

9.0%

7.8%

6.1%

5.1%

4.1% 4.0%

3.2% 3.2%

2.8%

6.6%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Percent of Labor Force that is Unemployed
Unemployment Rate
Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Figure 5.7: Unemployment Rate
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Household Characteristics
The U.S. Census defines a household as all the people who occupy a housing unit. This includes related family members and unrelated people such as lodgers, foster children, wards or employers who share a housing unit. A household is broken up into two categories: “family households,” which are the family householder and all the people who occupy the housing unit who are related to the householder by birth, marriage or adoption. The other category is “nonfamily households,” which are the householder living alone or where the householder shares a home with people they are unrelated to. Data regarding household characteristics are important to understanding housing needs within a community based on household type and size relative to the existing housing stock.

Household Type
Different household types have different housing needs. Seniors or young adults typically comprise most single-person households and tend to reside in apartment units, condominiums, or smaller single-family homes. Families often prefer single-family homes.

According to the ACS, in 2019, there were 3,633 housing units in the Town of Hillsborough. Of these households, 8%, or 299 units, of the total housing stock were single-person households which has decreased by 55 units since the 2010 Census (354 single-person households), while households with seniors (65+) comprised about 35%. Single-person households in Hillsborough contrasted those of San Mateo County, consisting of 22%, and 25% in the Bay Area Region. 43% of households housed children under the age of 18, a higher proportion compared to San Mateo County with 33% and The Bay Area, with 32% of Households which housed children under the age of 18. The majority of Hillsborough’s households are comprised of Married-couple Family Households at 83%. When compared to the 2010 ACS, Hillsborough’s Married-couple Family Households composition is slowly trending upward, from 79% in 2010 to 83% in 2019.
4%
10% 10%
5% 5%
83%
55% 51%
8%
9%
8%
22% 25%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%
100.0%
Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Percent of Households
Household Type
Female-Headed Family Households Male-headed Family Households Married-couple Family Households Other Non-Family Households Single-person Households
Figure 5.8: Household Type
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Household Size
Household size identifies sources of population growth and overcrowding of housing units. In communities where the population is aging, the average household size frequently declines simultaneously because elderly residents often live without children. While Married-couple Family Households in Hillsborough have increased since 2010, 2 person households remained the largest household size in Hillsborough from 2010 to 2019, despite decreasing from 1,523 to 1,407 while 5 or more person households increased from 488 units in 2010 to 644 units in 2019.

While the ACS describes overcrowded households as households with five or more individuals, the level of affluence and household income in Hillsborough paired with an increase in Married-couple Family Households and percentage of households with children may explain the increase in households with 5 or more individuals while having a 0% overcrowding rate. 259
1,369
573
621
567
40 38 36 53 77
0 200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1 Person Household 2 Person Household 3 Person Household 4 Person Household 5 Or More Person Household
Households
Household Size by Tenure
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 5.9: Household Size by Tenure
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Household Income
Household income is an important consideration when evaluating housing and community development needs because lower income typically constrains a household’s ability to secure adequate housing or services. While housing choices such as tenure (owning versus renting) and location are very much income-dependent, household size and type often affect the proportion of income that can be spent on housing.

According to ACS estimates, 2% of Hillsborough households in 2019 had incomes lower than $15,000, while 5% of households earned incomes between $15,000 and $34,999 (Figure 5.10: Household Income Distribution). Households with incomes that earned less than $15,000 have increased slightly since 2010, while households with incomes that earned between $15,000 and $34,999 have decreased slightly since 2010, however they have stayed relatively the same. In 2019, approximately 6% of households earned incomes between $35,000 and $74,999, while roughly 14% had incomes between $75,000 and $149,999. 73% of Hillsborough households earned $150,000 or more. In contrast, less households in Hillsborough earn incomes between $50,000-149,999 when compared to households in San Mateo County overall (17.9% in Hillsborough compared to 36% in San Mateo County). The ACS estimates that the median household income in Hillsborough was $250,000+ as of January 2019, while the median income for the County was estimated to be $138,500.
5%
2% 3% 4% 2%
85%
8%
4% 6%
10% 9%
63%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
<$25,000 $25,000 -$34,999 $35,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999 $75,000 - $99,999 ≥$100,000 Household Income 2019
Hillsborough San Mateo County
Figure 5.10: Household Income Distribution
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Overcrowding
An overcrowded housing unit is defined by the U.S. Census as a unit occupied by more than one person per room (including living and dining rooms but excluding kitchen and bathrooms). Units with more than 1.5 occupants per room are considered severely overcrowded. Overcrowding can result when there are not enough adequately sized units within a community, when high housing costs relative to income force too many individuals to share a housing unit than it can adequately accommodate, and/or when families reside in smaller units than they need to devote income to other necessities, such as food and health care.

In Hillsborough, no owner-occupied or renter-occupied households had more than 1.0 occupants per room, which meets the ACS definition for overcrowding. Additionally, no owner-occupied households and no renter-occupied households had more than 1.5 occupants per room, which meets the ACS definition for severe overcrowding.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 2013-2017 release, 0% of Hillsborough households experienced overcrowded living conditions in 2018 (Table 5.1:

Overcrowding). Of these, 0% were in owner-occupied households, and 0% were renters.

While 98% of occupied housing units in the Town had three or more bedrooms (the minimum size considered large enough to avoid most overcrowding issues for large households), only 6% of these units were occupied by renters. This pattern suggests an inadequate supply of larger rental units.

Additionally, low-income households and communities of color are more likely to experience the impacts of overcrowding. In Hillsborough, 0.0% of very low-income households (below 50% AMI) experience severe overcrowding, while 0.0% of households above 100% experience severe overcrowding. Consistently, no communities of Color in Hillsborough experience overcrowding.

Table 5.1: Overcrowding
Geography

1.00 occupant
per room or
less

1.01 to 1.50
occupants
per room

1.50 occupants
per room
or more
Hillsborough 3,633 0 0
San Mateo County 242,599 12,333 8,611
Bay Area 2,543,056 115,696 72,682
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Cost Burden
State and federal standards for housing cost burden are based on an income-to-housing cost ratio of 30% and above. Households paying more than 30% of their income on housing have limited remaining income for other necessities. Upper income households generally can pay a larger proportion of income for housing; therefore, estimates of housing cost burden generally focus on lowerand moderate-income households.

According to the 2015-2019 ACS, 33% of Hillsborough households overpaid for housing in 2019 (30% or more of their income) and housing cost burden affected a larger proportion of owners (33%) than renters (16%) (Table 5.2: Cost Burden by Tenure and Income Level). Cost burden affected a smaller proportion of households in 2017 than 2010 with 33% of households overpaying for housing in 2017, whereas 43% did so in 2010. Since 2010, the proportion of cost burdened renter-households has increased from 0% to 11%.

By contrast, the proportion of cost burdened owner-households decreased from 44% to 34% in seven years. 20% of households paid over 50% of their income on housing while 13% spent 30-50% of their income on housing.

Table 5.2: Cost Burden by Tenure and Income Level
Tenure
0%-30% of Income Used for
Housing
30%-50% of
Income Used for
Housing
50%+ of Income Used for
Housing
Not
Computed
Owner Occupied 2,241 503 624 21
Renter Occupied 131 0 40 73
Total 2,372 503 664 94
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Cost burden affected a majority of lower and moderate-income households in 2017 regardless of tenure; however, the incidence of cost burden was greatest among extremely low-income homeowners (100%) and very low-income renters (88%). With a high prevalence of cost burden amongst lower income households, households may attempt to mitigate cost burden by taking in additional roommates or occupying smaller and presumably cheaper units, leading to overcrowding.

The cost of housing in a community is determined by a range of supply and demand factors. These include the composition of demographics within the community, labor market and economic base, current wages and job outlook. These are combined with land and construction costs, and in the Bay Area, these factors have resulted in the highest housing costs nationwide. With housing costs being high and rising at a steep rate, it is important to look at the home values in a community to determine housing needs that are affordable to other income brackets. Hillsborough’s home values are significantly higher than those in the region with the average home estimated at $4,571,820 by December 2020 according to Zillow, contrasting with average home values in San Mateo County ($1,418,330) and the Bay Area ($1,077,230).
66%
54%
15%
18%
16%
30%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Percent of Households
Cost Burdened Households
0%-30% of Income Used for Housing 30%-50% of Income Used for Housing 50%+ of Income Used for Housing Not Computed
Figure 5.11: Cost Burdened Households
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Special Needs Groups
Certain segments of the population may have more difficulty in finding decent, affordable housing due to their special needs, including employment and income, household size, disability status, or number of dependents. These groups, which are termed “special needs groups” herein, often expend a greater proportion of their income on housing costs, live in overcrowded units, or in substandard conditions. Special needs groups include Senior-headed households;Female-headed households;Large households; Persons with disabilities;Agricultural workers;Students; andHomeless individuals.

Senior Headed Households
Senior-headed households are considered special needs groups due to their relatively low incomes, disabilities or limitations, and dependency needs. The senior age range includes individuals over 65 years of age. This group has four main concerns:
limited and often fixed income; poor health and associated high healthcare costs; mobility limitation and transit dependency; and high costs of housing.

According to ACS data collected between 2015-2019, households headed by seniors (age 65+) represented approximately 35% of all Hillsborough households. Of these households, the majority (97%) owned their homes, while the remainder (3%) rented. The largest population of seniors by income group who rent and own a home make greater than 100% of AMI. Table

5.3: Senior-Headed Households by Income and Tenure shows the number of senior households that rent and own by income category. The share of senior-headed households that rent their housing is substantially lower in Hillsborough than San Mateo County (14%).

Table 5.3: Senior-Headed Households
by Income and Tenure
Income Group Owner
Occupied
Renter
Occupied
0%-30% of AMI 110 0
31%-50% of AMI 90 20
51%-80% of AMI 135 0
81%-100% of AMI 35 0
Greater than 100% of AMI 980 35
Totals 1,350 55
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Many seniors have a disability. Roughly 47% of Hillsborough’s senior population had one or more disabilities according to ACS data collected between 2015 and 2019. The need for housing for senior individuals will likely increase as the Town’s number of seniorheaded households continues to grow. It will therefore be particularly important for the Town to promote housing types that accommodate senior lifestyles and incomes. 100%
82%
100% 100% 97%
18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0%-30% of AMI 31%-50% of AMI 51%-80% of AMI 81%-100% of AMI Greater than 100% of AMI
Percent of Households
Senior Households by Income and Tenure
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied

11.66%

9.18% 8.94%

6.79%

5.87%

4.59%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%
With a hearing
difficulty
With an
independent living
difficulty
With an
ambulatory
difficulty
With a cognitive
difficulty
With a self-care
difficulty
With a vision
difficulty
Population with Disabilities
Disability by Type - Seniors
Figure 5.12: Senior Households by Income and Tenure
Figure 5.13: Disability by Type
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Female-Headed Households
Single-parent households require special consideration and assistance because of their greater need for day care, health care, and other facilities. Female-headed households with children tend to have lower incomes, thus limiting housing availability for this group. According to the 2015-2019 ACS, approximately 4% of Hillsborough households were female headed households, while the largest proportion of households is Married-couple Family Households, 83% of the total amount of households. Figure 5.14: FemaleHeaded Households shows the number and percentage of female-headed households in the city in 2019 in relation to the total number of households. According to the 2015-2019 ACS, 43% of female headed households with children had incomes below the Federal Poverty Line, while 0% of female headed households without children fell below the Federal Poverty Line. Town efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities will help meet the needs of single female headed households. 55 42 41
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 with Children with No Children
Households
Female-Headed Households by Poverty Status
Above Poverty Level Below Poverty Level
Figure 5.14: Female-Headed Households by Poverty Status Hillsborough Housing Element | Housing Needs Assessment Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Large Family Households
Large households, defined as those with five or more members, are identified as a group with special housing needs based on the limited availability of adequately sized, affordable housing units. Large households are often of lower income, frequently resulting in the overcrowding of smaller dwelling units and, in turn, accelerating unit deterioration.

As Figure 5.15: Small and Large Households shows, about 18% of Hillsborough households were classified as “large households” by the 2015-2019 ACS. Figure 5.16: Household Size by Number of Persons shows that about 88% of large households owned the housing units they occupied and 12% of large households rented their housing unit. In 2017, about 4% of large households were very low-income, earning less than 50% of the area median income (AMI). 8%
22% 25%
39%
32% 32%
35%
35% 33%
18%
11% 11%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%
100.0%
Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Percent of Households
Household by Household Size
1-Person Household 2-Person Household 3-4-Person Household 5-Person or More Household Figure 5.15: Small and Large Household
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Additionally, large households have specific housing needs which require more space. Large households often feel the cost burden of paying a higher price for additional bedrooms. In Hillsborough, 15% of large households experience a cost burden of 30-50% and 15% of large households pay more than 50% of their income on housing. 259
1,369
573
621
567
40 38 36 53 77
0 200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1 Person Household 2 Person Household 3 Person Household 4 Person Household 5 Or More Person Household
Households
Household Size by Tenure
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 5.16: Household Size by Number of Persons
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Extremely Low-Income Housing Needs
Housing costs in the Bay Area continue to be the some of the highest in the nation. High housing costs in the area result from supply and demand factors like the composition of demographics, Labor market and economic base, current wages, job outlook which and land and construction costs. Due to an expensive housing market, households with extremely low-income housing needs often experience exclusivity from certain communities, displacement, long commutes to school, work or other community amenities. The California department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) defines Extremely low-income households as earning 15-30% of the area’s median income (AMI). In Hillsborough, 78% percent of households earn more than 100% of AMI and 89% of largefamily households with 5+ residents earn more than 100% AMI. In contrast, 6% of households in Hillsborough make less than 30% AMI, which is considered extremely low income.
7%
5%
5%
78%
89%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All other household types Large Families of 5+ Persons
Percent of Households
Household Size by Household Income Level
0%-30% of AMI 31%-50% of AMI 51%-80% of AMI 81%-100% of AMI Greater than 100% of AMI Figure 5.17: Household Size by Household Income Level
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Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities have one or more physical, mental, or developmental conditions that substantially limit one or more day-to-day activities. These individuals often have difficulty holding employment opportunities, have limited incomes, and have difficulty occupying conventionally designed housing. According to 2015-2019 ACS data, 7% of Hillsborough’s population had a disability. Figure 5.18: Peoples with Disability by Type shows that 309 individuals (3%) of the disabled population, had difficulty hearing, 168 individuals (2%) of the disabled population had vision difficulty, 267 individuals (2%) of the population had cognitive difficulty, 258 individuals (2%) of the disabled population had ambulatory difficulties, 334 individuals (3%) of the disabled population had a disability that made independent living difficult, while 184 individuals (2%) of the disabled population, had self-care difficulty.

It is important to note that persons with a disability can have more than one type of disability and can, therefore, be classified within more than one of the categories listed.

Figure 5.18: Disability by Type

2.92%

2.70%

2.33% 2.25%

1.61% 1.47%

0.00%

0.50%

1.00%

1.50%

2.00%

2.50%

3.00%

3.50%
With an
independent living
difficulty
With a hearing
difficulty
With a cognitive
difficulty
With an
ambulatory
difficulty
With a self-care
difficulty
With a vision
difficulty
Proportion of Adult Population Reporting Disability Type Disability by Type
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Four factors: affordability, design, location, and discrimination significantly limit the supply of housing available to persons with disabilities. The most pressing need for persons with disabilities is housing that accommodates the nature of their disability. Most single-family homes are inaccessible to people with mobility and sensory limitations. Conventional housing often does not feature widened doorways and hallways, access ramps, larger bathrooms, lowered countertops, and other features necessary for accessibility.

The cost of retrofitting a housing unit often prohibits disabled individuals from buying a home, even among those who could otherwise afford one. Furthermore, some providers of basic homebuying services do not have offices or materials that are accessible to people with mobility, visual, or hearing impairments.The location of housing is also a factor for individuals with mobility-related disabilities, as they often rely upon public transportation. Transportation services for persons with disabilities are typically provided by public and private agencies. State and federal legislation sets accessibility and adaptability standards for new or rehabilitated multifamily apartment complexes to ensure that the housing accommodates individuals with physical mobility constraints.

Disability data also provides valuable context to assess the current and future need for accessible housing units. It is important to note that since some disability types are not recorded for children below a certain age, the disability rate within the population may be an underestimate. Understanding the employment status of people with disabilities may also be an important component in evaluating specialized housing needs. In Hillsborough, 86% of the population with a disability is employed, lower than 97% of the non-disabled population. This data indicates housing units that are universally accessible will also need to be affordable given disabled individuals’ lower employment status and incomes. 97%
86%
14%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
No Disability With A Disability
Percent of Labor Force
Labor Force Disability Status
Employed Unemployed
Figure 5.19: Labor Force Disability Status
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Persons with Development Disabilities
A recent change in State law requires that the Housing Element discuss the housing needs of persons with developmental disabilities. As defined by State law, “developmental disability” means a disability that originates before an individual attains 18 years of age; continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely; and constitutes a substantial disability for that individual. Intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism are considered developmental disabilities. The term also includes conditions closely related to intellectual disability and that require similar treatment, but the term does not include other handicapping conditions that are solely physical in nature.

Many persons with developmental disabilities can live and work independently within a conventional housing unit. More severely disabled individuals often require a group living environment, however, where supervision is provided. The most severely affected individuals may require an institutional environment where medical attention and physical therapy are provided. Because developmental disabilities exist before adulthood, the first issue in supportive housing for the developmentally disabled is the transition from the person’s living situation as a child to an appropriate level of independence as an adult.

The California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) provides data on developmental disabilities by age and type of residence at the ZIP-code level and the data is show in Figure 5.20: Persons with Development Disabilities. According to the DDS data, there were approximately 43 Hillsborough residents with developmental disabilities being served by CA-DDS in 2020. Of these 43 individuals, 16, or 37% are under the age of 18 while 62%, or 27, of these individuals are over the age of 18. Most of these individuals (78%) resided in a private home with their parent or guardian. 27 16
0 5
10 15
20 25
30 Age 18+ Age Under 18
Population
Population with Developmental Disabilities by Age
Figure 5.20: Persons with Development Disabilities
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Agricultural Workers
Housing for agricultural workers is a unique concern throughout California. While only a small share of jurisdictions in the ABAG region have agricultural workers living in them, these workers are essential because they support the region’s economy and food supply.

Agricultural workers are defined as persons whose primary incomes are earned through permanent or seasonal agricultural labor.

Permanent farm laborers work in the fields, processing plants, or support activities, generally on a year-round basis. When the workload increases during harvest periods, the labor force is supplemented by seasonal labor, often supplied by a labor contractor. For some crops, farms may employ migrant workers, defined as those whose travel distance to work prevents them from returning to their primary residence every evening. Determining the true size of the agricultural labor force is difficult. For instance, the government agencies that track farm labor do not consistently define agricultural workers (e.g. field laborers versus workers in processing plants), length of employment (e.g. permanent or seasonal), or place of work (e.g. the location of the business or field).

According to the 2015-2019 ACS data, no Hillsborough residents were employed in Agricultural and natural resources occupations, as Figure 5.21: Agricultural Workers shows, however Countywide, there were 978 permanent farmworkers and 343 seasonal farmworkers in 2017, both showing a decrease since 2002. Hillsborough is a primarily residential community with no land designated as or zoned for agricultural uses. According to the Town’s Open Space and Conservation Element, Hillsborough has no agricultural or lumber production or important farmlands in need of conservation.

According to the Department of Conservation’s California Important Farmland Finder, the Town of Hillsborough is designated mostly “Urban and Built-Up Land” with some areas designated as “Other Land”. Because the Town is primarily a residential community with no agricultural lands or farmlands, there is a limited need for agricultural worker housing in the Town. Promoting affordable housing for extremely low and very low-income households would address the housing needs of agricultural workers in Hillsborough, if any. 2,226
852
1,697
911
1,320
402
978
343
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
Permanent Seasonal
Farm Workers
Agricultural Workers
2002 2007 2012 2017
Figure 5.21: Agricultural Workers
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Students
There are no Universities in Hillsborough, however 9 colleges within San Mateo County (Skyline College, San Mateo Adult School, College of San Mateo, Draper University, Samuel Merritt University, Pacific Technical College, Gurnick Academy Notre Dame de Namur University and Canada College).

Approximately 48,940 students were enrolled in the County’s colleges in 2019, which represented about 6% of the County’s population. This number is consistent with the national average number of students in each community (about 6%). Typically, students have lower incomes and, therefore, can be impacted by a lack of affordable housing. Overcrowded housing within special needs groups is also a common concern.

Homeless Population
According to United State Department of Housing and Community Development (HUD), the homeless population includes:
• Individuals and families who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including individuals who are exiting an institution where they resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter, or a place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution; • Individuals and families who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence; • Unaccompanied youth and families with children and youth who are defined as homeless under other federal statutes who do not otherwise qualify as homeless under this definition; or • Individuals and families who are fleeing, or are attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or a family member.

Homelessness in Hillsborough and Town Efforts
While there are no reported people experiencing homelessness in the Town of Hillsborough, the Town has contributed multiple efforts towards fighting homelessness in San Mateo County. The Adopted 2021-22 Budget states that 3.6% of the Towns net tax base goes toward homeowners’ property tax relief, veterans, governments, and non-profits. According to the 2014 Draft Housing Element, Hillsborough was one of the first cities in the County to contribute to a trust fund that funds homeless shelters and transitional housing Countywide. Additionally, Hillsborough provided financial support and leadership to Shelter Network, HIP Housing, Jobs for Youth, sustainable San Mateo County and HEART during the fiscal year 2012-13. Hillsborough also includes Program 1-A7 in the 2014 Draft Housing Element to: “Continue Town contributions to San Mateo County homeless and transitional housing programs. Enhance regional and sub-regional housing efforts by exploring partnerships through existing programs.” In response to Goal 1 to: “Increase Housing Opportunities in Hillsborough and Surrounding Communities.” Hillsborough provides a number of housing resources on their website and supports shared housing, a program through the Human Investment Project which matches people in need of housing with residents who have extra space. Hillsborough is also part of the County Consortium jurisdiction, which is covered by the San Mateo County 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan which provides priorities and goals in order to allocate funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Development formula block grant programs. These assist with a range of housing and community development interventions. Although the Town has shown efforts in assisting the homelessness crisis, Housing Element law requires local jurisdictions to provide estimates or a Point in Time count on the daily average number of people experiencing homelessness.

According to the County of San Mateo’s 2019 One Day Homeless Count and Survey, along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Populations and Subpopulations 2019 Report, the total homeless count was 1,512 individuals, as counted on the night of January 30, 2019. While some of the homeless population in San Mateo County are living in emergency shelters or transitional housing, the majority are unsheltered, about 60% of the homeless population, while about 73% of the total homeless population are “persons in households without children”. Of the households without children, about 75% of them are unsheltered. People of color are generally more likely to experience homelessness or poverty due to historic racial discrimination which includes past housing policy, such as redlining, that resulted in exclusion.

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In the Bay area region, Black residents are most vulnerable to experiencing homelessness, however, in San Mateo County, White residents account for 66% of the homelessness population, representing the largest portion, although white residents make up about 51% of the overall population in San Mateo County. Additionally, the Latinx population makes up about 25% of the general population and about 38% of the homeless population in San Mateo County. As mentioned previously, homelessness can stem from a range of factors, and many suffer from mental illness, substance abuse and domestic violence that require aid. In San Mateo County, 305 individuals were reported with a severe mental illness with about 62% of unsheltered.

In 2016, the County published its Strategic Plan to Ending Homelessness in San Mateo County called “Ending Homelessness in San Mateo County”, a plan that was developed based on five goals to: “create a system to end homelessness in San Mateo County by 2020, end Veteran homelessness, end family homelessness, end youth homelessness, and ensure that individuals exiting institutions will not discharge into homelessness.” The plan includes 12 strategies to address each of the five goals, which include actions and desired outcomes for each.

Alternative Housing for Homeless People
The County of San Mateo HOPE Interagency Council is predicated on the understanding that homelessness is caused by a complex range of underlying physical, economic, and social needs. Nonetheless, there is still the need for immediate housing. To that end, the County produced a report titled “Ending Homelessness in San Mateo County” which provides a list of the available interventions for people experiencing homelessness:
• Outreach and Engagement. This includes the County, Cities and nonprofits efforts to provide multi-disciplinary outreach Homeless Outreach Teams (HOT). This includes outreach specialist from LifeMoves who provide outreach efforts with unsheltered homeless people across the county, identify individual needs, and develop person centered housing plans. • Emergency Shelters. This includes short-term facilities that provide basic services and, in some cases, assistance in developing a plan for permanent housing
• Transitional Housing. This is a residence that provides a stay of up to two years during which residents are provided case management services that prepare them to obtain and maintain housing and be self-sufficient. However, many of the programs in San Mateo County are designed to be much shorter.
• Rapid Re-Housing. This is a program that provides people experiencing homelessness and families with short term rental subsidies which typically last up to 6 months after which they take over responsibility for paying their own rent. Rapid re-housing provides services to help locate housing opportunities and case management on maintaining housing stability. • Permanent Supportive Housing. This is a residence that provides permanent affordable housing linked with ongoing support services that allow residents to live at the place of residence on an indefinite basis. This housing intervention is specific to people experiencing chronic homelessness or have significant behavioral disabilities. • Homelessness Prevention Programs. This includes a range of homelessness prevention programs which provide financial assistance to households at risk of losing their home.

Table 5.4: Homelessness by Household Type and Shelter Status Variable
People in Households
Composed Solely of
Children Under 18
People in Households
with Adults and Children
People in Households
without Children Under
18 Sheltered - Emergency Shelter 0 68 198
Sheltered - Transitional Housing 0 271 74
Unsheltered 1 62 838
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Housing Stock Characteristics
The term “housing stock” refers to all the housing units located within a community’s boundary. The characteristics of the housing stock, including its growth rate, housing types, age, condition, tenure, vacancy rates, costs, and affordability compared with incomes are important considerations in determining the community’s housing needs. The following details the Town of Hillsborough’s housing stock and identifies how well the current housing stock meets the needs of current and future residents.

Hillsborough’s housing stock has grown since 2010, at which time the Town had 3,650 housing units. Just since 2015, the housing stock decreased from 3,688 units to 3,633 units, a decrease of approximately 1%. Between 2000 and 2020, more single-family housing than multi-family housing was constructed in the Town. In that timeframe, 218 single-family residential units were built, both owner and renter occupied, compared with 0 multifamily units.

Historically, housing trends in the Bay area region and across the state of California have responded to land use and zoning regulations and the construction of single-family households has been the primary housing type. Multifamily residential is usually designated in its own zone that permits higher density resulting in multi-family buildings or townhome developments. More recently, many neighborhoods are beginning to accept “missing middle housing” housing typologies within single-family neighborhoods in response to SB 9 and as a way to add density to a community without sacrificing the integrity or charm of a neighborhood. These housing typologies include duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, cottage courts, townhouses and live-work units. Additionally, with new ADU enabling laws in California, Accessory Dwelling Units are becoming increasingly more popular. These new housing options provide opportunities for a wider demographic range, income levels and tenure to afford housing. 75 3,825
12 127
3,936
28 0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
Single-Family Home:

Attached
Single-Family Home:

Detached
Multifamily Housing:

Two to Four Units
Multifamily Housing:

Five-plus Units
Mobile Homes
Units
Housing Stock Trends
2010 2020
Figure 5.22: Housing Stock Trends
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Hillsborough is a residential community made up of primarily single-family residential housing units. As depicted in Figure 5.22:

Housing Stock Trends, in 2010, 3,825 housing units (98%) of the total housing stock was detached, single-family residential making up the majority of the housing stock in Hillsborough. Consistently, in 2020, 3,936 housing units (96%) of the total housing stock were detached, single-family residential. The rest of the housing stock in 2020 was made up of 3% attached single-family housing,

0.7% multi-family residential with 2–4-units and 0% multi-family residential with 5 or more units. Detached, single-family residential housing experienced the most growth between the years of 2010 to 2020 in Hillsborough. When combined, detached and attached single family residential make up 4,063 single-family units, 99% of Hillsborough’s housing stock, a much larger share than San Mateo County with 172,988 single-family residential units 24% of the total housing stock. Meanwhile, the average household size is 3.43 persons per household.

Housing Age and Condition
Examining the age of the current housing stock is one way to understand how historical development patterns have contributed to the Town’s built form. The slow pace of housing production in the Bay Area has not satisfied housing demand in the last several decades due to strict and outdated land use and zoning regulations. Additionally, jobs in the Bay Area have recently spiked significantly as the region has become a hub for the tech industry, creating a surge in population. Population growth paired with a lack of housing development has created a housing market that cannot equally meet the needs of the population.

The time during which the largest share of Hillsborough’s housing units was built is 1960-1979, where1,455 units built (36%) and approximately 80% of the Town’s housing stock was constructed prior to 1980. This is consistent with trends seen in the County, where more units were built during 1960-1979 than any other period. Since 2010, only 53 units, or 1.3% of the current housing stock, has.

Housing that is 30 years old or older, like most of the housing in Hillsborough, is assumed to require some rehabilitation.

Features such as electrical capacity, kitchen features, and roofs usually need updating if no prior replacement work has occurred.

The Bay Area Region has some of the highest housing costs nationwide, which is responsible for some individuals in the area living in substandard housing conditions and lacking basic amenities so they can afford the cost of Bay Area living. The ACS estimates that about 0% percent of renters and homeowners live in substandard housing conditions or reported lacking a kitchen and plumbing. By the end of this Housing Element planning period in 2029, 93% of the Town’s housing stock, a total of 3,759 units, will exceed 30 years of age and may, therefore, need some degree of rehabilitation at that time; however, the need for rehabilitation does not necessarily make a housing unit substandard.
540
1243
1455
521
219
53 0 500 1,000 1,500
Built 1939 Or Earlier
Built 1940 To 1959
Built 1960 To 1979
Built 1980 To 1999
Built 2000 To 2009
Built 2010 Or Later
Number of Units
Housing Units by Year Built
Figure 5.23: Housing Units by Year Unit
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Housing Tenure in Hillsborough
The tenure distribution of a community’s housing stock (owner occupied versus renter occupied) influences several aspects of the local housing market. Homeownership can stabilize the housing market by allowing households to reside in the community in the long-term, however, a substantial share of housing available for rent is also advantageous in that it allows new residents to move into the community and enables more households to access housing who might not be able to otherwise. Tenure preferences are primarily related to household income, composition, and age of the householder. As a result, housing cost burden, is far more prevalent among renters. Between 2015 and 2019, 3,389 (93%) of Hillsborough’s housing stock was owner-occupied, while 244 units (7%) were renter-occupied and has increased from 3,530 Owner Occupied households and 159 Renter Occupied households in 2000 (Figure 5.24: Housing Tenure). This rate of homeownership is substantially higher than the countywide rate (60% owner-occupied). 3,530
159
3,490
203
3,389
244
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Households
Housing Tenure 2000-2019
2000 2010 2019
Figure 5.24: Housing Tenure (2000-2019)
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Renter-ocupied households were slightly larger than owner-occupied households in Hillsborough (Figure 5.25: Tenure by Household Size). Among those who rented their homes between 2015 and 2019, 68% lived in homes with 3 or more persons per household, compared to 51% for the owner-households.
259
1,369
573
621
567
40 38 36 53 77
0 200
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1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1 Person Household 2 Person Household 3 Person Household 4 Person Household 5 Or More Person Household
Households
Household Tenure by Household Size
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 5.25: Household Tenure by Household Size
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Housing Tenure by Race
Race and ethnicities show large differences in homeownership rates in the Bay Area, and nationwide due to differences in income and wealth and historic federal state and local land use and zoning policies. These policies have traditionally limited access to homeownership for communities of color, while enabling homeownership for white residents. They have also limited access to reside in certain communities. These disparities are still prevalent today as the resulting impacts from these policies are evident in our communities, despite many racially driven land use and zoning policies seizing, such as redlining.

In Hillsborough, 59% of Black households, 95% of Asian households, 79% of Latinx households and 93% of White households own their homes. Additionally, recent changes to state law require local jurisdictions to examine these dynamics and other fair housing issues when updating their Housing Elements
11 1122
24 51
126
2106
2080
0 65
17 14
11 151
137
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000
American Indian or Alaska Native (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic) Asian / API (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic)
Black or African American (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic)
Hispanic or Latinx
Other Race or Multiple Races (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic) White (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic)
White, Non-Hispanic
Households
Household Tenure by Race
Renter Occupied Owner Occupied
Figure 5.26: Household Tenure by Race
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Housing Tenure by Age
Narrowing down the type of home ownership by age groups that occupy them can expose the housing needs of specific age cohorts.

For example, due to the high cost of housing in the Bay Area, younger age groups may struggle with purchasing a home and are more likely to rent. Senior homeowners who are interested in downsizing may also struggle with the competitive and expensive housing market.

In Hillsborough, 72 renter occupied occupants are between the ages of 25 and 44 which makes up 13.4% of the total renter occupied households for that cohort. At the same time, 40 renter occupied occupants are in the 65+ cohort which makes up 3.2 % of the total households in this cohort.
82%
87% 90%
96% 97% 100% 97%
89%
18%
13% 10% 11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Age 15-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-59 Age 60-64 Age 65-74 Age 75-84 Age 85+ Percent of Households
Housing Tenure by Age
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 5.27: Household Tenure by Age
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Housing Tenure by Year Moved to Current Residence
As inflation affects the housing market, analyzing the type of home ownership by the year occupants moved to their current residences can help understand housing needs for the next planning cycle.

The number of owner-occupied households has decreased from 925 households for residents who moved into their households before the year of 1989 which is 96% of total households for these years, to 107 owner occupied households for residents who moved into their households during the year of 2017 or later, which is 67% of total households during these years (Figure 5.28: Year Moved to Current Residence).
96% 100% 98%
86% 81%
67%
14% 19%
33%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Moved In 1989 Or
Earlier
Moved In 1990 To
1999
Moved In 2000 To
2009
Moved In 2010 To
2014
Moved In 2015 To
2016
Moved In 2017 Or
Later
Percent of Households
Housing Tenure by Year Moved to Current Residence
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 5.28: Household Tenure by Year Moved to Current Residence Hillsborough Housing Element | Housing Needs Assessment Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Household income level by Tenure
There are large income gaps between homeowners and renters in the Bay Area region. The need for affordable housing exceeds the amount of housing available for low-income renters. In Hillsborough, the largest proportion of renters falls within the Greater than 100% of AMI income group with 195 renters. This number of renters reflects 74% of the total number of renters in Hillsborough.

Consistently, the largest proportion of homeowners also falls in the Greater than 100% of AMI group with 2,679 homeowners. This number reflects 78% of the total number of homeowners in Hillsborough (Figure 5.29: Household Income Level by Tenure). 220
135
250
129
2,679
30 40
195
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000
0%-30% of AMI
31%-50% of AMI
51%-80% of AMI
81%-100% of AMI
Greater than 100% of AMI
Households
Household Income Level by Tenure
Renter Occupied Owner Occupied
Figure 5.29: Household Income Level by Tenure
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Housing Tenure by Housing Type
Single family residential households make up the majority of residential zoning in the Bay Area Region. In general, the cost of living in a detached single-family house is higher than multi-family residential units, and the capacity to house more community members decreases with the lack of density. In Hillsborough, 97% or 3,537 of the total 3,633 total households are detached single family homes. 93% of single-family residential units are owner-occupied while 54% of non-single-family housing units are owner occupied. 94%
54%
100%
6%
100%
46%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Detached Single-Family
Homes
Attached Single-Family
Homes
Multi-Family Housing Mobile Homes Boat, RV, Van, or Other Percent of Households
Housing Tenure by Housing Type
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 5.30: Household Tenure by Housing Type
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Households by Displacement Risk and Tenure
As housing prices continue to rise paired with the slow pace of home building in the Bay Area, many low- and middle-income residents experience displacement. Displacement occurs when a community becomes too expensive for current residents to afford due to gentrification and they are forced out of their home neighborhood.

The University of California, Berkeley has mapped Bay Area neighborhoods by their vulnerability to gentrification. According to UC Berkeley, 0% of households in Hillsborough are in neighborhoods that are at risk of experiencing displacement or are currently experiencing displacement.

The Urban Displacement Project has mapped gentrification and displacement in the Bay Area and shows that Hillsborough shows no risk of gentrification or displacement and is mapped as stable/advanced exclusive housing.

Some neighborhoods in the Bay Area do not have housing affordability that caters to a diverse workforce. According to UC Berkeley, 100% of households live neighborhoods that are exclusive to low-income households due to exclusive household costs.

In Hillsborough, 0% of owner occupied and renter occupied households are susceptible to or at risk of experiencing displacement, at risk of experiencing gentrification or are stable moderate/mixed income. At the same time, 100% of owner occupied and renter occupied households are at risk of experiencing exclusion (Figure 5.31: Households by Displacement Risk and Tenure). 3,388
244
0 500
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4,000
Susceptible to or
Experiencing
Displacement
At risk of or
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Gentrification
Stable
Moderate/Mixed
Income
At risk of or
Experiencing Exclusion
Other
Households
Households by Displacement Risk and Tenure
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 5.31: Households by Displacement Risk and Tenure Hillsborough Housing Element | Housing Needs Assessment Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Housing Vacancy
A certain number of vacant units are needed to moderate the cost of housing, allow sufficient choice for residents, and provide an incentive for unit upkeep and repair. Specifically, according to HCD, a vacancy rate of 1.5% for owner-occupied housing and 5% percent for rental housing are considered optimal to balance demand and supply for housing.

Vacancy rates in Hillsborough are higher than what is considered optimal for a healthy housing market. According to the 2015-2019 ACS, the overall vacancy rate in Hillsborough was 10%, which equates to 398 total vacant units. Specifically, the vacancy rate for owner-occupied housing was 6%, and for renter-occupied housing, 0%. Most of the vacant units in Hillsborough are homes for sale which makes up 50% of all vacant units. 27% are used as seasonal, recreational or occasional use homes while the remaining 23% are in the other category. The category “other” vacancy refers to vacant housing units that do not fall into one of the other categories, including housing held by a janitor or caretaker, or units held vacant for an owner’s personal reasons. In contrast, the current vacancy rate in the Bay Area region is estimated to be 6%.

When vacancy rates are too low, prices are often forced to go up, making it more difficult for low- and moderate-income households to find housing, increasing the incidence of overcrowding. 31%
24%
50%
7%
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27%
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Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Percent of Vacant Housing Units
Housing Vacancy
For Rent For Sale
For Seasonal, Recreational, Or Occasional Use Other Vacant Rented, Not Occupied Sold, Not Occupied
Figure 5.32: Housing Vacancy
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Housing Costs and Affordability
The cost of housing is directly related to the extent of housing problems in a community. If housing costs are relatively high in comparison to household income, there will be a correspondingly higher prevalence of housing cost burden and overcrowding.

The following summarizes the cost and affordability of the housing stock for Hillsborough residents (Figure 5.33: Home Values of Owner-Occupied Units).
1% 3% 6%
1%
4%
16%
2%
14%
23%
1%
23% 20%
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95%
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9%

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Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Percent of Owner Occupied Units
Home Values of Owner-Occupied Units
Units Valued Less than $250k Units Valued $250k-$500k Units Valued $500k-$750k Units Valued $750k-$1M Units Valued $1M-$1.5M Units Valued $1M-$2M Units Valued $2M+
Figure 5.33: Home Values of Owner-Occupied Units
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Homeownership Market
Hillsborough’s home values are significantly higher than those in the region, with the average home estimated to cost $4,571,825 by December 2020 according to Zillow and 95% of the housing stock valued at 2M+. In Contrast, the average home value in San Mateo County is estimated to be $1,418,334 with the largest share of units valued $1m-$1.5m and the average home value in the Bay Area is estimated to be $1,077,233 with the largest share of units valued $500k-$750k.

Between 2001 and 2020, average home value in Hillsborough increased 265%, a much higher percent increase compared to prices in San Mateo County and the Bay Area region.

The home sale market (Figure 5.34: Home Asking Prices) continues to rise in Hillsborough, as the as home values in the region have steadily increased since 2000, despite a dip during the great recession. The average home value in December of 2020 ($4,571,825) is significantly higher than the average home value in December of 2012 ($1,961,633) according to the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).
$100,000
$600,000
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20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020 Home Asking Prices
Bay Area San Mateo County Hillsborough
Figure 5.34: Home Asking Prices
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Rental Market
While renter-occupied units comprise only comprise about 6% of the housing stock in Hillsborough, it is still important to understand the rental market. Rental price information was collected for the 4 apartment complexes within the Town with units for rent, as detailed in Zillow data pulled in April 2022. At the time of this research, the median rent was $3,200.

Consistent with recent increasing home values in the Bay Area Region, rent has also shown upward trends in the last couple of decades. This has resulted in displacement, evictions and renters being priced out before they can even move to an area, particularly communities of color. Many community members are subjected to living far from work, schools and community amenities and take long commutes to get there. Some move out of the region or even out of the State. Understanding rent trends in a community is important to determining a need for more affordable rental units to promote inclusivity. Including more housing where more community members can afford to live where they work will also create a more sustainable future as commute times and traffic will decrease significantly.

In Hillsborough, the largest portion of rental units cost $3,000 or more per month, making up 42% of rental units. This is followed by rental units ranging from $2,500-3,000 per month, making up 23% of rental units. San Mateo County also consists of mostly rental units at $3,000 or more per month with 22% of rental units in this category, contrasting with the Bay Area as a whole, consisting of 23% of rental units in the $1,500-2,000 category.
3%
6% 6% 4%
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19% 17%
22% 23%
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42%
22%
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Hillsborough San Mateo County Bay Area
Percent of Rental Units
Rental Market
Rent less than $500 Rent $500-$1000 Rent $1000-$1500 Rent $1500-$2000 Rent $2000-$2500 Rent $2500-$3000 Rent $3000 or more
Figure 5.35: Rental Market
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Rental Market
While renter-occupied units comprise only comprise about 6% of the housing stock in Hillsborough, it is still important to understand the rental market. Rental price information was collected for the 4 apartment complexes within the Town with units for rent, as detailed in Zillow data pulled in April 2022. At the time of this research, the median rent was $3,200.

Consistent with recent increasing home values in the Bay Area Region, rent has also shown upward trends in the last couple of decades. This has resulted in displacement, evictions and renters being priced out before they can even move to an area, particularly communities of color. Many community members are subjected to living far from work, schools and community amenities and take long commutes to get there. Some move out of the region or even out of the State. Understanding rent trends in a community is important to determining a need for more affordable rental units to promote inclusivity. Including more housing where more community members can afford to live where they work will also create a more sustainable future as commute times and traffic will decrease significantly.

In Hillsborough, the largest portion of rental units cost $3,000 or more per month, making up 42% of rental units. This is followed by rental units ranging from $2,500-3,000 per month, making up 23% of rental units. San Mateo County also consists of mostly rental units at $3,000 or more per month with 22% of rental units in this category, contrasting with the Bay Area as a whole, consisting of 23% of rental units in the $1,500-2,000 category.

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Housing Affordability By Household Income
While Figure 5.35: Rental Rates breaks down average rental price and the price range for rental units by size, the ACS also allows for the analysis of Hillsborough’s 244 renter households (for which income data are available) by spending on rent by income bracket (dollar amounts). As one might expect, the general trend is that low-income households spend a higher share of income on housing (e.g. over 50%) while high-income households are more likely to spend under 20% of income on housing.

Housing affordability is dependent upon income and housing costs. Using set income guidelines, current housing affordability can be estimated. According to the HCD income guidelines for 2021, the Area Median Income (AMI) in San Mateo County was $149,600 for a household of four. If the potential homebuyer has sufficient credit and down payment (10%) and spends no greater than 30% of their income on housing expenses (i.e. mortgage, taxes and insurance, the maximum affordable home price can be determined).

Similar assumptions allow us to determine the maximum affordable rental rate for a given income level. Households in the lower end of each category can afford less by comparison than those at the upper end. The market-affordability of San Mateo County’s housing stock for each income group is discussed below.

Extremely Low-Income Households
Extremely low-income households earn 30% or less of the AMI. The estimated maximum affordable rental payment ranges from $959 per month for a one-person household to $1,590 per month for a 6-person household apartment. The maximum affordable home purchase price for very low-income households ranges from $130,009 for a one-person household to $175,652 for a fiveperson household. Extremely low-income households generally cannot afford housing at market rate.

Very Low-Income Households
Very low-income households are classified as those earning 50% or less of the AMI. The estimated maximum affordable rental payment ranges from $1,598 per month for a one-person household to $2,650 per month for a family of five. The maximum affordable home purchase price for very low-income households ranges from $63,950 for a one-person household to $91,350 for a five-person household. Based on the rental data presented in Table CP-25: Apartment Rental Rates and Table CP-26: Housing Affordability matrix San Mateo County (2020), very low-income households of all sizes would be unlikely to secure adequately sized and affordable rental housing in San Mateo County.

Low-Income Households
Low-income households earn 51% to 80% of the County AMI. The estimated maximum home price a low-income household can afford ranges from $233,862 for a one-person household to $335,821 for a five-person household. Affordable rental rates for low-income households would range from $2,558 for a one-person household to $4,240 for a five-person household.

Low-income households could not afford adequately sized homes listed for-sale in August 2020. Despite a higher income, low-income households do not have a better chance in securing an adequately sized and affordable rental housing unit as rental units range from $1,495-1,755 for one-bedroom units to $2,750 for three-bedroom units and are out of the affordable rent price (Figure

5.35: Rental Rates).

Moderate-Income Households
Moderate income households earn up to 120% of the County AMI. The estimated maximum affordable home price for moderate income households ranges from $290,392 for a one-person household to $422,971 for a family of five. A moderate-income household can afford rental rates of $3,141 to $5,205 per month depending on household size.

Based on the rental and for-sale housing market data presented in Figure 5.34: Home Asking Prices and Figure 5.35: Rental Rates, moderate income households can afford to rent some of the apartments advertised in September 2020 but not purchase adequately sized homes. For example, asking prices for a four-bedroom home (an adequately sized home to avoid overcrowding) range from $525,000 to $1.3 million (Figure 5.34: Home Asking Prices (August 2020)). This far exceeds the affordable purchase price for large households. This table does include some single- family home and condo/townhome listings that meet the affordable price for large families, but do not have adequate rooms to avoid overcrowding.

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Project-Based Rental Housing Assistance
Project-based rental housing assistance includes affordable housing that receives public subsidies in return for long-term affordability controls.

Housing Assisted Housing Inventory
The Town of Hillsborough has no project-based rental housing. However, according to a Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC) meeting on January 25, 2022, Town Staff responded to questions regarding meeting RHNA numbers and existing affordable units in Hillsborough and stated the Town has met all its Cycle 5 very low and low-income units through ADU’s.

Evaluation of Preservation Options
State law requires that the Town identify, analyze, and propose programs to preserve existing affordable multifamily rental units that are eligible to convert to market rate rents due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiring deed restrictions during the 10-year period starting June 15, 2022. Consistent with State law, the following identifies publicly assisted housing units in Hillsborough and analyzes their potential to convert to market rate housing uses.

While there are 0 Publicly Assisted Affordable Housing units are at risk of conversion within 10 years of the start of the 6th Cycle planning period, from 2021 to 2029, the following analyzes two options to preserve affordable units at risk of conversion to market rents including:
• Monitoring Program to maintain the Town’s affordable housing stock; and • Provide an overview of the State’s no net loss buffer of 20% At-Risk Affordable Units
Existing housing that receives governmental assistance is often a significant source of affordable housing in many communities.

Hillsborough has 0 publicly assisted housing developments.

Affordable Housing Monitoring Program
The first option for preserving affordable units is to replace the HUD rental vouchers given to each tenant or the payment subsidies given to each property owner. The cost of replacing subsidies depends on the fair market rent for the unit and the household income level of the tenant. Typically, the subsidy is the difference between what a household can afford to pay and fair market rent for the unit. Replacing the rental subsidies for senior housing - assuming all the units are occupied by very low-income households - would cost approximately $62.5 million over 25 years. For family housing, the subsidy (assuming all units are occupied by low-income households) would be approximately $24.6 million. Significant variation in these amounts is possible depending on the actual income level of the residents.

This option assumes the property owner accepts a subsidy that guarantees fair market rent. In some cases, property owners may decline. Although this subsidy would guarantee the long-term affordability of the unit, the cost could increase over time as market pressures push rents higher and require the Town to increase the rental subsidies. Generally, this option is a short-term fix to a longterm problem and is not considered a sustainable solution.

No Net Loss Buffer
The second option for preserving affordable units is to replace the affordable units by constructing new affordable units. This option would entail finding suitable sites, purchasing land, negotiating with a developer, and obtaining financing.The final cost depends on whether the builder must purchase land (or whether the Town can transfer the land at a subsidized price), and whether the Town or private developer’s initial financial contribution can be leveraged with other funding sources.

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Program Efforts to Preserve At-Risk Units
While there are currently no at-risk units in Hillsborough, the San Mateo County Housing Authority developed the following programs to address the preservation of assisted units. In 2016, the County created the Affordable Rental Acquisition and Preservation Program (ARAPP), a sub-fund within the Counties Affordable Housing Fund to authorize $10 million from Measure K funding to acquire and preserve the affordability of existing affordable units in the County. However, as of March 30, 2019, there is zero funding available for ARAPP.

Estimates of Housing Needs
The Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) developed by the Census for HUD provides detailed information on housing needs by income level for different types of households in Hillsborough. Based on CHAS, housing problems in Hillsborough include:
• Housing units built in 1979 or earlier;
• Rent and home values exceeding the Bay Area and San Mateo County housing averages; • Housing cost burden, including utilities, exceeding 30% of gross income; or • Senior households experiencing housing cost burden, exceeding 30% of gross income.

Disproportionate Needs
The types of problems vary according to household income, type, and tenure. Some highlights include:
• While older homes do not determine poor housing standards, the majority (80%) of housing units are built in 1979 of earlier. • Nearly all (95%) of owner-occupied homes in Hillsborough are valued at $2 million or more, which is 76% more than homes in San Mateo County (19%) worth $2 million or more, and 86% more than homes in the Bay Area (9%) worth $2 million or more. • Almost half (42%) of renter-occupied units in Hillsborough have rents costing $3,000 or more. This is 20% more than the renter-occupied units in San Mateo County with rents costing $3,000 or more (22%), and 29% more than the renter-occupied units in the Bay Area with rents costing $3,000 or more (13%). • Out of the 1,405 seniors in Hillsborough, 295 seniors, or 20%, experience housing cost burden, where residents they have 80% or less AMI and 30% or more of income is used for housing.

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Opportunities for Energy Conservation
Hillsborough encourages its residents to become energy efficient, starting with their own homes.

The Town continues in its efforts to be a more sustainable community and has been a member of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), Cities for Climate Protection for ## years. ICLEI works collaboratively with municipalities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Through this collaboration, the Town completed a greenhouse gas inventory of Hillsborough’s residential, municipal, and solid waste sectors and their GHG emissions. The Council also established a Sustainable Hillsborough Task Force (SHTF, 2007). The SHTF comprises members of the public, building professionals, ADRB and Council Representatives, and staff.

Armed with information from the GHG inventory, the SHTF identified and prioritized programs and policies to reduce GHG emissions, and prepared a comprehensive Sustainable Hillsborough Plan as a roadmap to sustainable programs and policies. The Plan has policies and programs that reduce energy consumption and costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), expand renewable energy, and reduce water consumption and other natural resources.

The Town of Hillsborough enforces current State standards for energy efficiency in new construction. All new construction must conform with the State of California’s residential building standards for energy efficiency (Title 24 of the California Administrative Code). Title 24 Standards were established in 1978 to insure that all new construction meets a minimum level of energy efficiency standards. Title 24 is updated regularly.

Proposals for new houses and major additions in Hillsborough are required to be accompanied by a landscape plan, including a 2:1 replacement schedule for any trees requiring a permit to be removed (with some exceptions, as recommended by a certified arborist). In addition, a tree removal permit is required when trees greater than 36” in diameter are removed. The Town recognizes that homeowners can save up to 25 percent of a household’s energy consumption for heating and cooling with the proper siting of trees to allow sun exposure in the winter and shade in the summer.

The Town has been a leader in sustainability in the Bay Area with its green policies and programs. In 1998, Hillsborough was the first San Mateo County jurisdiction to approve a “C&D policy” and an ordinance requiring the recycling and salvaging of construction and demolition materials. The ordinance, which requires approved Waste Reduction Plans for building and demolition projects prior to permit issuance, reduces the number of materials going to landfills and conserves energy through the reuse and recycling of materials. Town staff monitors and enforces the C&D Recycling Program14 which, since 2002, has annually diverted an estimated 73 percent of C&D materials from construction projects. The program emphasizes “deconstruction” and salvage to find the highestand-best uses for materials removed from Hillsborough building sites.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which supplies all of the electric and gas service to the Town, offers an assortment of programs that provide residents with the opportunity for energy conservation. The State Energy Commission also offers rebate programs and other programs for low income residents. As part of its recent broader sustainability initiatives, the Town of Hillsborough eliminated its $500 solar fee and partnered with SolarCity to offer residents a Community Solar Program. The program—which operated from January 10 to April 10, 2009—was designed to educate the consumer and facilitate the transformation of Hillsborough to clean energy. To do so, the program coupled an outreach campaign with discounts and other techniques to incentivize solar adoption. In addition to exclusive discounts on purchased systems, homeowners had the option of leasing their solar systems for no upfront cost and a monthly lease fee. The results were an immediate reduction in residential energy utility bills and a shift toward a more sustainable community powered by clean energy.

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6 HOUSING

CONSTRAINTS
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Introduction
Statue requires that an update to a jurisdiction’s Housing Element includes an assessment of housing constraints—specifically constraints to the production of housing for persons of all income levels and disabilities—as such an assessment might provide a basis for actions that local governments can take to offset such effects. The Town of Hillsborough is committed to supporting the development of adequate housing at all income levels, and in tandem with this commitment is the reality that various factors exist which constrain the development of such housing in the Bay Area. These factors can include governmental constraints (e.g., zoning and other similar development standards), and non-governmental constraints (e.g., the cost of development and the availability of readily developable land.)
Governmental Constraints
Land Use Constraints
Local ordinances and policies are intended to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of residents; however, it is necessary to periodically evaluate these ordinances and policies to ensure that they are accomplishing their intended purpose while not imposing a barrier to inclusive housing development.

Density
Established in 1910 around the Burlingame Country Club (BCC) the Town of Hillsborough is unique compared to other cities in California with single-family residential as the only zoning district and one predominant land use, with the exception of schools, public facilities, deed-restricted open space and the BCC. In recent years the Town has seen an increase in the development of accessory dwelling and junior accessory dwelling units (ADUs/JADUs).

Is this a constraint?
YES. Limiting allowable residential uses to solely single-family homes and related accessory dwellings limits the ability to develop multi-family housing. Zoning ordinance updates designed to mitigate these constraints are included in the Housing Plan section of the Housing Element.

Parking Requirements
Per Chapter 17 (Zoning) of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (HMC), the Town’s current parking regulations are as follows:
• Houses with three or fewer bedrooms must have two-car covered parking; • Houses with four or five bedrooms must have two-car covered parking and one additional parking space, which may be covered or uncovered, for a total of three spaces;
• Houses with six bedrooms must have two-car covered parking and two additional parking spaces, which may be covered or uncovered, for a total of four spaces.

Is this a constraint?
NO. Given the average cost of new homes compared with the relatively minor cost of an additional parking space, the effect of these parking requirements on the affordability of single-family homes is negligible.

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Lot Coverage & Open Space Requirements
The HMC requires the combined total of structural plus hardscape coverage shall not exceed 50% of the net lot area, meaning that at least 50% of the lot is softscape. Softscape coverage consists of all lot coverage that is not structuralor hardscape coverage, such as trees, shrubs, lawns, and other live plant material, or other “decorative landscaping.” Is this a constraint?
YES. Limiting structural development on half of a lots net lot area limits constitutes a constraint on development as it renders 50% of a lot as undevelopable for housing. Zoning ordinance updates designed to mitigate these constraints are included in the Housing Plan section of the Draft Housing Element.

Height Limits
The HMC allows for building heights up to 32-feet, however, as per HMC Section 17.28.010:
“A building envelope shall be established at every setback line, out of which no structure except chimneys shall penetrate.

The envelope shall commence at existing grade at all setback lines, rising to a height of twenty-two feet directly above grade, then extending at a slope of forty-five degrees inward (away from the property line) to a maximum height of thirty-two feet measured from a warped plane parallel to existing grade.” Is this a constraint?
YES. Limiting height to between 22-32 feet does not allow for structures larger than three stories. Combined with the density and lot coverage requirements discussed above, this further limits the type of development which may occur on a lot. Zoning ordinance updates designed to mitigate
Lot Size & Street-Frontage Requirements
The HMC requires a minimum net lot area of ½ acre (21,780 square feet) and a minimum continuous street frontage for each lot of 150 feet.

Is this a constraint?
YES. This regulation minimizes the number of conforming lots that can be produced when a one-acre + lot is subdivided, thereby limiting the number of houses that may be developed on one-acre lots once subdivision has been completed. Zoning ordinance updates designed to mitigate these constraints are included in the Housing Plan section of the Draft Housing Element.

Unit Size Requirements & Floor Area Ratios (FAR)
The HMC requires newly constructed single-family homes to provide a minimum of 2,500 square feet of living space, and limits allowable FAR to 25%.

Is this a constraint?
YES. The unit size and FAR requirements act as constraints on development. Zoning ordinance updates designed to mitigate these constraints are included in the Housing Plan section of the Draft Housing Element.

Hillside Development Standards
The potential for new units is also limited by the Town’s “Hillside Development Standard.” In order to retain the scenic quality of hillsides and reduce the hazards to persons and property from erosion and landslides, allowable density is reduced on a sliding-scale basis for sites with slopes greater than 10 percent according to the degree of slope. This scale ranges from 2 units per acre on slopes of less than 10 percent to 0.5 units per acre on slopes greater than 40 percent.

Is this a constraint?
YES, AND. While technically this is a constraint, given the erosion and landslide hazard on steeply sloped sites no changes to the Zoning ordinance at this time.

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On- and Off-site Improvements
Hillsborough does not require sidewalks; however, for new construction and substantial remodeling (50% of the existing structure or more), the Town requires the installation of a parking strip along the street frontage. All streets within the subdivision and one-half of the width of streets adjacent to the subdivision are the responsibility of the developer. Developers are also required to provide water and sewer connections and storm drainage facilities. Slope stabilization measures are required for new construction on all sites with slope gradients above 10 percent.

Is this a constraint?
YES, AND. While technically these requirements may be considered constraints as there are development costs associated with the provision of these required improvements, the improvements are necessary to ensure safe and sanitary housing and are generally required in all other cities in San Mateo County. They are noted here as affecting development, but are not viewed as a local governmental constraint for the purposes of this analysis.

Permit Processing Times
Housing is developed in Hillsborough through the through the subdivision of larger parcels, construction of individual houses on existing lots (both replacement of older homes, additions to existing homes, and net-new homes), and construction of accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units. Planning review for land use entitlement and Building review to ensure that all pertinent life/health/safety codes are met for the structure(s) can be obtained on average in approximately six to nine months. If an applicant proposes to create new lots via the subdivision process this timeline is extended depending on the scope and complexity of the subdivision. Obtaining approval of a subdivision map requires on average four to six months, and, if required, an Environmental Impact Report often takes up to a year. The Town processes subdivisions and building permits as efficiently as possible and continually reviews processes and procedures to enhance permit streamlining wherever feasible.

Is this a constraint?
YES, AND. The Building & Planning Department of the Town of Hillsborough has implemented permit streamlining processes for ministerial reviews of accessory dwelling units, which do not require discretionary planning review, and SB 9 applications, in an effort to encourage the development of smaller, more affordable units. The Town is in the process of updating its permit applications to ensure consistency with The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330), and has entered into contract with a permit tracking software vendor to update its permit application tracking software. This cloud-based update will be complete in early 2023, allowing for 24/7 permit applications and payment of fees for both Planning and Building permit applications. Like all jurisdictions in California, the Town is subject to the Subdivision Map Act and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and as such, must adhere to the statutory timelines outlined in the Act, regardless of impacts to the timeline for review of housing development projects, or additional costs. As such, these impacts are out of the control of the Town. They are noted here as affecting development, but are not viewed as a local governmental constraint for the purposes of this analysis. Requirements under SB 35 are not currently applicable in Hillsborough, as the Town has issued building permits exceeding its RHNA 5 allocation.

Pollutant Discharge
The federal government, under the 1974 Clean Water Act, implemented the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), a permit system regulating water discharge. Local jurisdictions are responsible for obtaining a permit and for enacting implementation measures to maintain compliance with the permit.

Is this a constraint?
YES, AND. Like all jurisdictions in California, the Town is subject to the Clean Water Act and the related NPDES permit, regardless of impacts to the timeline for review of housing development projects, or additional costs. As such, these impacts are out of the control of the Town. They are noted here as affecting development, but are not viewed as a local governmental constraint for the purposes of this analysis. In an effort to expedite the process as much as possible, the County of San Mateo and all 20 county jurisdictions have joined together to have NPDES permits issued to the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG). Permit regulations can significantly limit the developable area of any given parcel and may also increase the costs of residential development.

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Codes and Enforcement
Hillsborough regularly adopts the latest edition of the California Building Code (CBC) to ensure the health and safety of residents of newly constructed housing, most recently in December 2022, and the Town enforces the building code through its Building Division.

Inspections and approvals are completed promptly and do not add unnecessary delays in the construction of new housing.

Is this a constraint?
YES, AND. Like all jurisdictions in California, the Town is subject to the CBC, regardless of impacts to the timeline for review of housing development projects, or additional costs. As such, these impacts are out of the control of the Town. They are noted here as affecting development, but are not viewed as a local governmental constraint for the purposes of this analysis.

Fees
Local governments typically assess a variety of different types of residential development fees. These include planning application fees, building permit and related fees, and capital facilities fees. Fees are intended only to recover costs to the Town for the review of development applications, and are not a profit-generating venture.

Table6.1: Housing Construction Fees in Surrounding Cities (below) compares fees for construction of new single-family homes with fees in other San Mateo County cities for which data was available in 2021. Hillsborough’s fees are in the middle of the range.

Is this a constraint?
YES, AND. Residential planning and building fees are broadly required by all jurisdictions in San Mateo County, and most jurisdictions throughout the state. In general, the data suggests that jurisdiction-imposed fees represent a small percentage of the overall cost to develop new housing. The availability and cost of housing is strongly influenced by market factors over which local government has little or no control. They are noted here as affecting development, but are not viewed as a significant governmental constraint.

Table 6.1: Housing Construction Fees in Surrounding Cities Impact Fees
Charged Jurisdictions Number of Jxs
Traffic/Transportation East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Mateo City, South San Francisco, Unincorporated San Mateo, Woodside 8 Schools Brisbane, Daly City, Foster City, Hillsborough, Millbrae, South San Francisco, Woodside 7
Water/Sewer/Stormwater Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Mateo City, South San Francisco 7
Parks Brisbane, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Mateo City, South San Francisco 7
Public Facilities/Capital
Improvements Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica 4 In-Lieu/Affordable Housing Burlingame, Redwood City, Unincorporated San Mateo 3 Development Colma, Millbrae, San Bruno 3
Childcare San Mateo City, South San Francisco 2
Public Art San Mateo City 1
Public Safety South San Francisco 1
Library South San Francisco 1
AB Daly City 1
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Reasonable Accommodation
Housing that is accessible to people with disabilities has been identified as a special housing need in the town’s housing element since 2002. Chapter 17.42 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code provides reasonable accommodation to people with disabilities, and complies with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act in the application of the Town’s zoning, land use laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, procedures, and practices.

A request for reasonable accommodation may include a request for modification or exception to the application of the town’s zoning, regulations, rules, standards, policies, procedures, practices, and other land use rules such as; for the siting, development, and use of housing or housing-related facilities that would eliminate regulatory barriers and provide a person with a disability equal opportunity to housing of that person’s choice.

Requests for reasonable accommodation are submitted to the city planner and no fee is required for submitting a letter of request or for filing an appeal. The city planner will review the request and make a written determination within 45 days after receipt.

Is this a constraint?
NO. The Town has a clearly defined process outlined in the Hillsborough Municipal Code with an expedited timeline and no fees assessed.

Residential Uses
The Municipal Code defines “residential purposes” as those including the use of the home for food and shelter and as a social institution for the private, religious, educational, cultural, and recreational advantages of the family.

The Town does not limit the number of unrelated individuals who reside in a residence. The Town defines “family” as a single housekeeping unit, which is the use of a dwelling unit by its residents where the use has the following characteristics:

1. The residents have established ties and familiarity and interact with each other.

2. Membership in the single housekeeping unit is fairly stable as opposed to transient or temporary.

3. Residents share meals, household activities, expenses, and responsibilities.

4. All adult residents have chosen to jointly occupy the entire premises of the dwelling unit, and they each have access to all common areas.

5. If the dwelling unit is rented, all adult residents are named on and party to a single written lease that gives them each joint use and responsibility for the premises.

6. Membership of the household is determined by the residents, not by a landlord, property manager, or other third party.

7. The residential activities of the household are conducted on a nonprofit basis.

8. Residents do not have separate entrances nor do they have separate food-storage facilities, such as separate refrigerators or food-prep areas.

Residential Care Facilities
The Town allows for Residential Care Facilities for the elderly in a single-family dwelling, to the extent mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 1569.85, as well as Transitional and Supportive Housing as defined respectively in California Health and Safety Code Sections 50675.2(h) and 50675.14(b). Such facilities shall meet all requirements of the Hillsborough Municipal Code, including but not limited to parking, relating to single-family residences.

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Short Term Rentals
The Town prohibits short term rentals. “Short-term rental” means the use of any residential building, or of any portion of a residential building, to provide lodging for fewer than thirty days in exchange for compensation. Short term rentals are most commonly offered and rented through online hosting platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway. The Town found short term rentals to reduce availability of rental units for local residents and not in keeping with the character of the town, as a short-term rental is a type of transitory lodging.

Accessory Dwelling Units
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can be an important source of affordable housing since they are smaller and do not have direct land acquisition costs. ADU development expands housing opportunities for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households by increasing the number of rental units available within existing neighborhoods. The Town last updated its ADU ordinance in December 2021; and now has an up-to-date ordinance considered compliant with Government Code Section 65852.2. Zoning ordinance updates designed to further encourage development of ADUs are included in the Housing Plan section of the Draft Housing Element.

Non-governmental Constraints
Land Availability and Land Cost
For over 100 years, San Mateo County in general and Hillsborough in particular have been a highly desirable place to live. People from all over the world are drawn to the character of Hillsborough, including its tranquil, rural atmosphere, its award-winning public schools, and its financial stability. The result is a high demand for Hillsborough residences, with land and housing prices pushed beyond what would be generated from local pressures alone. When adding the combination of these factors to the already cost-burdened San Francisco Bay Area, it becomes exceedingly challenging for very-low, low- and moderate-income households to afford housing in Hillsborough, and challenging for the town to provide housing at a variety of income levels.

Land costs include acquisition and the cost of holding land throughout the development process. These costs can account for as much as half of the final sales prices of new homes in small developments or in areas where land is scarce. The median sale price of single family dwellings in Hillsborough is on average approximately $6.42 million or $1,632 per square foot. The cost for a vacant lot in Hillsborough averages approximately $4,330,000, the equivalent of approximately $3,700,000 per acre. These estimated land costs are based upon a review of non-vacant residential and vacant land sales on Zillow.com from 2019-2022. The information obtained shows five vacant lots sold in the past three years, and only two vacant lots currently for sale.

Environmental Constraints
Land use in town is further restricted by the steep terrain. Construction on steep hillsides requires careful siting to ensure safety and prevent soil erosion, limiting the number of dwellings that can be built and increasing their cost. In parts of Hillsborough, storm drainage problems can be a constraint to housing development, as development increases the impervious surface and limits absorption of storm waters, increasing runoff. Some areas of Hillsborough drain into areas served by City of San Mateo, Burlingame, and San Mateo County drainage facilities or unregulated private systems. Development in these areas requires the cooperation of the Town, San Mateo County, adjacent jurisdictions and individual homeowners.

Because of the combination of steep slopes and abundant vegetation in Hillsborough, wildfires may threaten residences. The Central County Fire Department reviews plans for all new buildings and major additions to ensure the construction complies with fire access requirements and make recommendations for modifications to reduce fire hazards. All new homes are required to have Class-A fire resistant roofs and fire sprinklers.

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Construction Costs
Construction costs are one of the major cost factors with residential development. Construction cost is determined primarily by the cost of labor and materials, which are relative to complexity and desired quality of the project. The price paid for material and labor at any one time will reflect short-term considerations of supply and demand and unilaterally impact construction in a region and therefore do not deter housing construction in any specific community. According to data from the California Construction Cost Index, hard construction costs in California grew by 44 percent between 2014 and 2018, or an additional $80 per square foot. The quality of materials, type of amenities, labor costs and the quality of building materials will affect the construction costs for a new home.

The steep terrain in Hillsborough increases the costs of construction, as engineering for hillside development & foundations, construction of retaining walls, and the grading necessary for access roads, all drive up the cost of building in Hillsborough. The increased challenges of building in Hillsborough ensure that, housing in Hillsborough will be very expensive, regardless of any potential governmental constraints.

Financing
Financing is needed at three stages of the housing construction process:

1. Predevelopment. The developer must have financing to purchase the land and pay for planning, architecture, engineering, and holding the land (carrying costs) during the approval process.

2. Construction. The builder needs financing to pay for the costs of labor and materials.

3. Purchase. The homebuyer usually needs mortgage financing to purchase the completed dwelling.

Currently, interest rates for homebuyers are high. Interest rates substantially impact home construction, purchase, and improvement costs. The availability of financing and the rate of interest can greatly affect the ability of developers and builders to produce housing and of consumers to purchase it. The economic fluctuations of recent years have caused caution among lenders and may have lasting effects through this Housing Element planning period. The cost of construction is exacerbated in areas like Hillsborough with difficult building conditions because developers incur substantially higher predevelopment costs.

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7 HOUSING

RESOURCES
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Housing Resources
The Housing Resources section of the Housing Element is still in progress. This section will provide detail on potential financial and administrative to support the implementation of the Housing Element during the 8-year cycle.

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8 SITES INVENTORY

ANALYSIS
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Overview
The Town of Hillsborough’s Cycle 6 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is 554 net new units distributed over four income categories, as assigned by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The unit count and income assignments are based on the regional assignment methodology developed by ABAG for the 6th RHNA Cycle. The Town’s total allocation and unit count breakout by income level is detailed in Table 8.1.

As recommended by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), a “no net loss buffer” has also been added to the Town’s RHNA Cycle 6 allocation. This buffer provides coverage for the Town in the instance that one or more sites do not develop as forecasted. HCD recommends that this buffer equal 20% of the Town’s total RHNA 6 allocation and that it be distributed between income levels in the same percentages as the primary RHNA allocation. The 20% buffer totals an additional 111 units, the income level breakout of which is detailed in Table 8.2, below.

The Town of Hillsborough is committed to both meeting its RHNA 6 obligation and planning for the 20% no net loss buffer.

The Town will utilize a multi-pronged approach to achieve this goal, including supporting and further promoting the development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), planning for and facilitating the redevelopment of the 2.1 acre Town Hall campus property to incorporate mixed-income residential uses, and making amendments to the Town’s zoning and subdivision standards to provide increased residential development opportunities within the Hillsborough community.

Details regarding these approaches and their impact on the Town’s identified Housing Opportunity Sites is summarized in the sections below.

Table 8.2: Town of Hillsborough No Net Loss
Buffer Income Distribution
Income Level RHNA 6 Allocation & 20%
No Net Loss
Buffer
Very Low Income (0-50% AMI) 188
Low Income (51-79% AMI) 106
Moderate Income (80-119% AMI) 104
Above Moderate Income (120% AMI+) 267
Total 665
Table 8.1: Town of Hillsborough
RHNA 6 Allocation
Income Level RHNA 6
Allocation
Very Low Income (0-50% AMI) 155
Low Income (51-79% AMI) 89
Moderate Income (80-119% AMI) 87
Above Moderate Income (120% AMI+) 223
Total 554
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Approaches

1. Promotion of Accessory Dwelling Units
Background
The Town of Hillsborough has a strong track record of
supporting and encouraging accessory dwelling unit (ADU) development. In response, the Town has seen a significant uptick in ADU development applications during RHNA Cycle 5.

The Town’s ADU Permits Issued by year for the years between 2014-2022 (June) are outlined in Table 8.3.

In an effort to support this trend and facilitate further ADU development, in 2020 the Town established an ADU
Ombudsman program staffed by an ADU Specialist specifically trained to guide people through the Town’s ADU review and approval processes. Since the establishment of this program, ADU development has more than doubled (January 2019-June 2022).

In early 2022 the Town issued an ADU questionnaire to residents in an effort to better understand what improvements to processes and what additional amendments to development standards could be made to further encourage ADU development. A summary of the results of this questionnaire may be found in the Public Participation section of this document . Full results are on the Housing Element webpage on the Town's website. Based on these results, the Town has included several ADU related goals and actions in the Action Plan section of this document.

Table 8.3: ADU Building Permits
Issued by Year (RHNA Cycle 5)
Year # of ADU Building
Permits Issued
2014 16
2015 39
2016 10
2017 18
2018 16
2019 20
2020 25
2021 64
2022 (Jan-June) 28
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Action: RHNA Cycle 6 “Safe Harbor” Methodology
HCD and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) have provided general direction regarding a “safe harbor” methodology that jurisdictions may consider using to estimate how many ADUs are likely to be developed in the RHNA 6 cycle, and how to distribute those units among the various RHNA income categories. This “safe harbor” methodology is outlined in Table 8.4.

RHNA 6 Unit Allocation: ADUs
The Town is utilizing the “Safe Harbor” methodology outlined above, resulting in an estimate of 280 net new ADUs to be developed during RHNA 6.

The Town has significant confidence in the feasibility of achieving this number for the following reasons:
• Historic trends in ADU development in the RHNA 5 Cycle • Recent ADU trends the last 3.5 years2
• Positive responses to the 2022 ADU Survey
• Proposed modifications to ADU standards early in the RHNA Cycle 6 term3 Table 8.5, below, summarizes the Town’s ADU income level breakdown, including the 20 percent no net loss buffer. The table also demonstrates the remaining delta of the RHNA 6 and no net loss allocations, after accounting for the “safe harbor” ADU projections.

Table 8.5: ADU Delta
Income Level
RHNA 6 Allocation
& 20% No Net Loss
Buffer
ADUs
RHNA 6 Allocation
& 20% No Net Loss
Buffer Less ADUs
Very Low Income (0-50% AMI) 188 84 104
Low Income (51-79% AMI) 106 84 22
Moderate Income (80-119% AMI) 104 84 20
Above Moderate Income (120% AMI+) 267 28 239
TOTAL: 665 280 385
Table 8.4: ADU Safe Harbor Methodology--RHNA 6
Topic “Safe Harbor” Assumptions
Number of ADUs Determine the average number of ADUs permitted in the last three years Multiply that average by the eight years in the RHNA cycle for estimated 8-year total Income Category Distribution1
Very Low Income: 30%
Low Income: 30%
Moderate Income: 30%
Above Moderate Income: 10%
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2. Amendments to the Town’s Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances to Provide Increased Residential Development Opportunities Background
The Town of Hillsborough currently has one zoning district, Residential District (RD). This zone permits solely single-family residential development and related accessory structures, with permitted, non-residential uses including public and private schools, a country club, a racquet club, various public facilities, utility installations, and open space. The RD standards are detailed in Table 8.6.

The Town’s subdivision ordinance further defines allowable lot sizes and street frontage requirements upon subdivision, as detailed in Table 8.7, below:

Under these existing standards, there are 61 opportunities for subdivision. 4 4 Opportunities for subdivision are parcels that are at least two-times larger than the minimum lot area and minimum lot width standards of the district.

Table 8.6: RD Residential District Zoning
Standards
Yard Setbacks (Minimum)
Front (ft) 25
Street Side (ft) 25
Interior Side (ft) 20
Rear (ft) 20
Building Standards (Maximum)
Building Height (ft) 22-32
Floor Area Ratio 0.25
Building and Impervious Surface Coverage 50%
Building Standards (Minimum)
Landscape Coverage 50%
Dwelling Unit Size (sqft) 2,500
Table 8.7: RD Residential District
Subdivision Standards
Lot Standards (Minimum)
Lot Area (acre) 0.5
Lot Width, typical (ft) 150
Lot Width, cul-de-sac (ft) 75
Lot Width, flag lot prohibited
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To accommodate the remaining RHNA 6 allocation and related no net loss buffer, the Town will modify and rename its existing zoning district, establish two new zoning districts, establish an affordable housing overlay district and update its subdivision ordinance as described below:

Action: New Zoning Districts & Subdivision Standards
Residential District 1 (RD-1)
The Town will rename its existing Residence District (RD) to Residential District 1 (RD-1). The new RD-1 Zoning District is proposed to be applied to all parcels in Hillsborough that are less than 10 acres in area, excluding the Town Hall Campus. The housing types that are proposed to be allowed in the RD-1 district include single-unit detached dwellings and ADUs/JADUs. The proposed standards of the RD-1 are detailed in Table 8.8 below.

Key proposed changes include:
• Lowering the lot area minimum from ½ acre to 1/3
acre
• Lowering the lot width minimum from 150 feet to 100
feet
• Increasing the maximum building and impervious
surface coverage from 50 percent to 70 percent
• Lowering the minimum landscape coverage from 50
percent to 30 percent
• Lowering the minimum dwelling unit size from 2,500
square feet to 800 square feet
The proposed standards of the new RD-1 zone will allow
for more efficient use of land, be more aligned with fire safety best practices, and accommodate additional housing through increased opportunities for subdivision.

Under the proposed standards, there are 293 opportunities for subdivision—232 more opportunities than are currently available under the existing RD Residential District standards.

Table 8.8: RD-1 Residential District Bulk and
Dimensional Standards
Lot Standards (Minimum)
Lot Area (acre) 0.33
Lot Width (ft) 100
Yard Setbacks (Minimum)
Front (ft) 25
Street Side (ft) 25
Interior Side (ft) 20
Rear (ft) 20
Building Standards (Maximum)
Building Height (ft) 22-32
Floor Area Ratio 0.25
Building and Impervious Surface
Coverage
70%
Building Standards (Minimum)
Landscape Coverage 30%
Dwelling Unit Size (sqft) 800
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Residential District 2 (RD-2)
The Town will establish a new Residential District 2 (RD-2), proposed to be applied to all parcels in Hillsborough which are 10+ acres in area. Housing types proposed to be allowed in the RD-2 zone include single-unit detached dwellings, ADUs/JADUs, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and multiple unit housing (aka “cottage clusters”) restricted to residents 55 years of age or older. The proposed standards of the RD-2 zone are detailed in Table 8.9.

Key proposed changes include:
• Lowering the lot area minimum from ½ to ¼ acre
• Establishing minimum lot area per dwelling unit standards as follows:
• 1/8 acre for multi-unit, non-age restricted housing
• 1/16 acre for multi-unit, age restricted housing (55 years +)
• Lowering the lot width minimum from 150 feet to 75 feet • Lowering the minimum interior side yard setback from 20 feet to 10 feet
• Increasing the maximum building height from 22-32 feet to a maximum of 45 feet
• Eliminating the floor area ratio maximum (currently 25%) • Increasing the maximum building and impervious surface coverage from 50% to 80%
• Lowering the minimum landscape coverage from 50% to
20%
• Lowering the minimum dwelling unit size from 2,500
square feet to 800 square feet
The proposed standards of the new RD-2 Residential District will allow for more efficient use of land, be more aligned with fire safety best practices, and accommodate additional housing by allowing for higher density housing types and by making the subdivision of large parcels in the community more market feasible. Conceptual subdivision plans for parcels in the RD-2 that have been identified as Housing Opportunity Sites are included later in this chapter.

Table 8.9: RD-2 Residential District Bulk and
Dimensional Standards
Lot Standards (Minimum)
Lot Area (acre) 0.25
Lot Area per Dwelling Unit (acre) 0.125 (1)
Lot Width (ft) 75
Yard Setbacks (Minimum)
Front (ft) 25
Street Side (ft) 25
Interior Side (ft) 10
Rear (ft) 20
Building Standards (Maximum)
Building Height (ft) 45
Floor Area Ratio n/a
Building and Impervious Surface
Coverage
80%
Building Standards (Minimum)
Landscape Coverage 20%
Dwelling Unit Size (sqft) 800
Notes
(1) Multiple unit housing restricted to residents 55 years of age and older shall have a minimum lot area per dwelling unit of 0.062 acres.

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Residential District 3 (RD-3)
The Town will establish a new Residential District 3 (RD-3), which is proposed to be applied to the Town Hall Campus site. The allowed uses and standards of the RD-3 zone will be informed by the findings of the Town Hall Master Plan.

Affordable Housing Overlay District (O-AH)
The Town of Hillsborough will establish a new Affordable Housing Overlay District (O-AH) which will be applied to all parcels in the new RD-2 Residential District detailed above. Housing types proposed to be allowed in the O-AH district include multi-unit housing which meet established affordability criteria. The proposed standards of the O-AH district are detailed in the Table 8.10 below.

The major proposed changes include:
• Establishing a maximum lot area of 10 acres
• For multi-family housing that meets established
affordability criteria, establishing a minimum lot
area per dwelling unit requirement of 1/20th acre
for non-age restricted units and 1/24th acre for
age-restricted (55+) units
• Lowering the lot width minimum from 150 feet to
75 feet
• Lowering the minimum front and street side yard
setback from 25 feet to 20 feet
• Lowering the minimum interior side yard setback
from 20 feet to 10 feet
• Lowering the minimum rear yard setback from 20
feet to 15 feet
• Increasing the maximum building height from
22-32 feet to a maximum of 60 feet
• Eliminating the floor area ratio maximum
(currently 25%)
• Increasing the maximum building and impervious
surface coverage from 50% to 85%
• Lowering the minimum landscape coverage from
50% to 15%
• Eliminating the minimum dwelling unit size
(currently 2,500 square feet)
The proposed standards of the new O-AH District will allow for more efficient use of land, be more aligned with fire safety best practices, and accommodate affordable housing by allowing for higher density housing types and by making the subdivision of large parcels in the community more market feasible. Conceptual subdivision plans for parcels with the O-AH overlay that have been identified as Housing Opportunity Sites are included later in this chapter.

Table 8.10: O-AH Affordable Housing Overlay District
Bulk and Dimensional Standards
Lot Standards (Minimum unless otherwise stated)
Lot Area (acre) 0.5
Lot Area, maximum (acre) 10
Lot Area per Dwelling Unit (acre) 0.05
Lot Area per Dwelling Unit, maximum (acre) 0.04
Lot Width (ft) 75
Yard Setbacks (Minimum)
Front (ft) 20
Street Side (ft) 20
Interior Side (ft) 10
Rear (ft) 15
Building Standards (Maximum)
Building Height (ft) 60
Floor Area Ratio n/a
Building and Impervious Surface Coverage 85%
Building Standards (Minimum)
Landscape Coverage 15%
Dwelling Unit Size (sqft) n/a
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RHNA 6 Unit Allocation: Zoning & Subdivision Amendments The Town is assigning a total of 386 units of its RHNA 6 Allocation throughout the Town as follows, based on the impacts of modifying Town Zoning and Subdivision Standards and the identification of Key Opportunity Sites within Those Zones5 :
• New RD-1 District: 15 units
• New RD-2 District: 171 units
• New RD-3 District: 100 units6
• New O-AH Overlay: 100 units
The Town has significant confidence in the feasibility of achieving this number for the following reasons:
• Updating of the existing RD Zone, the establishment of two additional zones (RD-2 and RD-3) and the establishment of an Affordable Housing Overlay will open up opportunities for development of a variety of housing options not currently available in the Hillsborough community.
• Even with the Town’s current standards, subdivision approvals have been trending upward. Since 2020 the Town has approved applications resulting in 12 new lots, where in years prior to 2020 the Town averaged 1-2 successful applications annually. • The Town often must deny requests for subdivisions (approximately 2-4 times per year), as many proposals are unable to achieve the Town’s current minimum lot size and street frontage requirements. • Amendments to the Town’s zoning and subdivision standards outlined above will further increase opportunities for the subdivision of parcels and allow for more lots to be established when a subdivision occurs, thereby facilitating the development of additional housing.
• While not the primarily preferred option, updates to the Town’s zoning and subdivision ordinances scored well with the Town’s Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC).

Other Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance Amendments
The Town of Hillsborough is committed to meeting the needs of all current and future residents while complying with all state legislation. To ensure that the Town’s zoning and subdivision standards comply with all recent changes to state statute7 , a thorough audit
of the Town’s ordinances was conducted and necessary amendments have been identified. These amendments are included in the Action Table.
5 Details on key opportunity sites are discussed later in this chapter. 6 The RD-3 district units have been captured in the Town Hall Campus Section. 7 Including but not limited to: AB 139/GC 65583(a)(4)(A), AB 101, and AB 2162.

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Sites Inventory Analysis
Suitability and Availability
Background
The Town of Hillsborough is a largely built out, entirely single-family residential community with little vacant land and very few underutilized sites. Opportunities for parcel consolidation and/or redevelopment are few and far between for several reasons, outlined below:
• While in the San Francisco Bay Metro Area, the Town is predominately rural in nature, having no stop lights, streetlights, sidewalks, or businesses within Town limits. • The Town is considered a “mountain route” by the United States Postal Service (USPS) due to the Town’s steep slopes and often narrow, one-lane curvilinear streets
• Approximately 70% of the Town is considered a high fire severity zone (HFSZ) within the wildland urban interface (WUI).

The cost of land in the Bay Area is exceedingly high, and the existing large, single family homes found on large parcels in Hillsborough is in many cases the “highest and best use” of such property, particularly with the Town’s existing subdivision standards and single zoning district. Under current Town standards, securing sites and assembling land for affordable housing is often financially impractical.

Action: Site Identification & Analysis
Given these factors, in addition to the approaches outlined earlier in this chapter the Town has identified four key opportunity sites for future housing development. One is owned by the Town, one is vacant, and two are non-vacant but significantly underutilized sites that are primary candidates for future housing development. The Town has identified these sites as suitable to accommodate the RHNA 6 allocation and 20 percent no net loss units remaining, after accounting for ADUs and development anticipated in response to amendments to the Town’s zoning and subdivision ordinances.

The Town recognizes that once these sites are certified and the related changes to the Town’s municipal code are completed, any residential development proposed on them which includes units that are to be are applied to the Town’s very low, low, and moderate-income RHNA 6 allocation must be approved if they meet the Town’s objective standards. In no case will a project be denied for residential use based on the use itself.

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Methodology
The Town completed a thorough analysis of all parcels in the community to identify housing opportunity sites throughout Hillsborough. The Housing Opportunity Sites were identified utilizing an ArcGIS Urban and ArcGIS Pro process that involved the below steps:
1) Identifying Site Suitability Factors
A series of site suitability factors were identified that either support housing development or minimize opportunities for housing development. The following site suitability factors were identified:
• Proposed Zoning. The proposed base and overlay zoning district designation of parcels was considered in order to inform the development potential of a site.
• Existing Land Use. The existing land use of parcels was considered in order to understand the likelihood of the use of parcels for housing.
• Year Built. The year that residences were built was considered in order to identify sites that would likely redevelop during the 8-year RHNA 6 Cycle.
• Lot Acreage. The total area of a parcel was considered to identify parcels between 0.5 acres and 10 acres in area, the lot area deemed most suitable for the development of affordable housing according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
• Improvement Ratio. The improvement ratio was calculated by comparing the value of the built features of the site versus the value of the land. This was considered to identify sites more likely to redevelop. • Vacancy. Whether a site is currently vacant or nonvacant was considered to identify sites available for new development. • Residual Lot Coverage. Residual lot coverage was calculated by comparing the total lot area with the footprint of buildings. This was considered to identify sites with land area available for subdivision or the development of ADUs. • Residual Height. Residual height was calculated by comparing the height of existing buildings with the maximum building height allowed by the new zoning districts.
• Proximity to Amenities. Distance from amenities such as schools, retail areas, job opportunities, and transit was considered to identify highly resourced sites.
• Fire Hazard. Much of Hillsborough is located in a high fire hazard severity zone. This was considered to identify sites with minimal fire hazard.
• Slope. Hillsborough has a hilly topography and much of the community has a slope of 30 percent or more. This was considered to identify sites where slope would not be barrier to the development of affordable housing due to the costs of grading. • Landslide / Liquefaction. Hillsborough is impacted by landslide and liquefaction hazard. This was considered to identify sites where landslide / liquefaction would not be barrier to the development of affordable housing due to the costs of mitigation.

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2) Site Suitability Factor Scoring
After the site suitability factors were identified, they were scored on a scale of 1-10, 1 being least suitable for housing and 10 being most suitable for housing. These scores informed the weighted suitability model that was used to evaluate multiple criteria influencing the likelihood of development on a parcel-by-parcel basis. Each property was assigned a total weighted score, where the higher the score the greater the likelihood of development. Table 8.11 details the scores given to each site suitability factor.

Table 8.11: Suitability Factor Continued
Proposed Zoning Score
RD-1 3
RD 2 7
RD 3 9
Existing Land Use
Residential 9
Open Space 0
Public Facilities 2
Private Recreation 3
Private Schools 3
Year Built
Older than 1900 2
1900 - 1970 7
1970 - 1990 9
1990 - 2000 5
2000 - 2020 2
Lot Acreage
Less than 0.5 acres 2

0.5 - 10 acres 9
Greater than 10 acres 3
Improvement Ratio
0 - .5 9

0.5 - 0.9 8

0.9 - 1.1 6

1.1 - 1.5 3

1.5 - 2 2
Greater than 2 1
Vacancy
Vacant Lot 9
Nonvacant Lot 4
Table 8.11: Suitability Factor
Residual Lot Coverage (Potential for Subdivision and ADUs) Less than 15,000 2
15,000-30,000 4
30,001-43,560 6
43,561-87,120 8
More than 87,120 10
Residual Height
Less than 15 feet 2
15-29 feet 6
30-44 feet 8
45-60 feet 10
Proximity to Amenities
Less than 4 1
5-9 5
10-14 7
15 - 20 9
Fire Hazard
Within Fire Hazard 0
Slope
Less than 30% 9
30% - 50% 5
Greater than 50% 2
Landslide / Liquefaction
Within landslide/liquefaction
zone
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Housing Opportunity Sites
As mentioned earlier in this section, a total of four housing opportunity sites were identified through the site suitability analysis, as follows:
• One non-vacant Town-owned site
• Two non-vacant, privately-owned sites, and
• One vacant, privately-owned site
Details on these sites are outlined below:

Housing Opportunity Site 1: Town Hall Campus (Non-Vacant Town Owned Site) The Town of Hillsborough owns an approximately 2.5 acre site near the intersection of Floribunda Avenue and El Camino Real, a primary north/south transportation corridor spanning the San Francisco Peninsula. The site is currently developed with several freestanding buildings housing Town offices and the Hillsborough Police Department (HPD), a small parklet, several parking lots, Town-owned right of way encumbered with underground infrastructure, and a single-family home. Additionally, the main Town Hall building serves as a community center and meeting space, hosting various activities and civic events along with Council, committee, and board meetings. The site’s proximity to transit, daily shopping needs, job opportunities, and educational opportunities makes it an ideal location for mixed income housing—including affordable units—in Hillsborough.

In June 2022 the Town solicited professional planning and design services to assist in the development of a master plan, CEQA analysis, conceptual design documents (including preliminary cost estimate/budget, scope and schedule documents) and related community outreach plan to support future redevelopment of the Campus site. The Town anticipates completion of this study in the Fall of 2022. Taking into account the needs of the Town Hall and Police Station and other site encumbrances, preliminary study results demonstrate that a minimum of 100 housing units can be accommodated on the site. This analysis also demonstrates that the following affordability breakdown would be feasible when Low Income Housing Tax Credits are considered in the development pro forma:
• Very Low Income: 40%
• Low Income: 20%
• Moderate Income: 20%
• Above Moderate Income: 20%
Additional detail is included in the Sites Inventory Analysis Appendix.

Due to the size of the privately owned sites, conceptual land use plans were developed for the following three sites to illustrate the development potential of these properties. Each conceptual land use plan and unit yields are detailed in the respective sections, below.

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RIDGEWAY RD

VIA DELIZIA

OAK VALLEY RD

BOWHILL RD

BUCKEYE CT

LA SENDA RD

MERNER RD

CRYSTAL SPRINGS RD

CONCEPTUAL LAND USE PLAN

DEGUIGNE ESTATE
Legend
Hillsborough’s Municipal Boundary
Poten�al Opportunity Site
Exis�ng Driveway
Exis�ng Residence
Poten�al Access Point
Poten�al Access Street
Market Rate Housing Area
Affordable Housing Area
Environmentally Constrained Area
0 100 200 400 feet
NORTH
Housing Opportunity Site 2: De Guigne Estate (Non-Vacant, Privately Owned) The De Guigne Estate is a privately owned, nearly 50-acre parcel located between Crystal Springs Road and Parrot Drive along the southeastern border of the Town. The site is planned to be rezoned to the new RD-2 Residential District and have the O-AH Affordable Housing Overlay District applied to it. The conceptual land use plan for the site is presented and described below.

As shown by the orange area on the conceptual land use plan, much of the site is impacted by steep slopes. These slopes limit access to the majority of the property to one point of entry and exit. Based on SB 99 and AB 2911 a maximum of 24 units may be developed in this area due to public safety issues. The area in which the 24 units would likely be accommodated are shown in blue on the conceptual land use plan. Due to the limited density of this portion of the site all 24 units are counted as above moderate income. The area shown in purple on the conceptual land use plan can be accessed from Crystal Springs Road and thus is not limited in density by SB 99 and AB 2911. This area is anticipated to be developed according to the standards of the O-AH Affordable Housing Overlay District. Based on the acreage of the preferred built form of multiunit housing of the community a total of 48 units could be built. The 48 units are anticipated to be developed across eight six-unit buildings.

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FOREST VIEW AVE

ANNESCOURT PL

HOLLY CT

EUGENIA WAY

FERN CT

BUTTERNUT
DR

KNIGHTWOOD LN

MACADAMIA DR

CONCEPTUAL LAND USE PLAN

STRAWBERRY HILL
Legend
Poten�al Opportunity Site
Exis�ng Driveway
Exis�ng Residence
Poten�al Access Point
Poten�al Access Street
Market Rate Housing Area
Affordable Housing Area
Environmentally Constrained Area
0 100 200 400 feet
NORTH
Housing Opportunity Site 3: Strawberry Hill (Non-Vacant, Privately Owned) Strawberry Hills is a privately owned, 50 acre parcel bounded by Skyfarm Drive, Macadamia Drive, and Forest View Avenue in the north of the Town. The site is planned to be rezoned to the new RD-2 Residential District and have the O-AH Affordable Housing Overlay District applied to it. The conceptual land use plan for the site is presented and described below.

Two points of access are currently provided to the site along Redington Road and Macadamia Drive and therefore density is not limited by SB 99 and AB 2911. As shown by the orange area on the conceptual land use plan, much of the northern portion of the site is impacted by steep slopes. The area shown in blue on the conceptual land use plan is anticipated to be developed with single-family detached homes built to the standards of the RD-2 Residential District in order to provide a transition between the single-family detached homes to the southwest of Macadamia Drive and the higher density housing planned for the remaining developable area. Based on the standards of the RD-2 and the acreage of the area shown in blue on the conceptual land use plan, 15 single-family detached homes could be accommodated and are counted as above moderate income. The area shown in purple on the conceptual land use plan is anticipated to be developed with multi-unit housing built to the standards of the O-AH Affordable Housing Overlay District. Based on the standards of the O-AH and the acreage of the area shown in purple on the conceptual land use plan, 172 units could be accommodated. Based on the required affordability levels of the new O-AH Affordable Housing Overlay District, 30 percent of the units (52 units) would be reserved for very low income households while the remaining (120) are counted as above moderate income.

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TOURNAMENT
DR

PERIMETER RD

BROOKE CT

CONCEPTUAL LAND USE PLAN
50 BROOKE COURT
Legend
Hillsborough’s Municipal Boundary
Poten�al Opportunity Site
Poten�al Access Point
Poten�al Access Street
Market Rate Housing Area
Environmentally Constrained Area
0 50 100 200 feet
NORTH
Housing Opportunity Site 4: 50 Brooke Court (Vacant, Privately Owned) 50 Brook Court is a privately owned, 10-acre parcel at the end of Brooke Court and adjacent to the College of San Mateo in the south of the Town. The site is planned to be rezoned to the new RD-2 Residential District and have the O-AH Affordable Housing Overlay District applied to it. The conceptual land use plan for the site is presented and described below.

As shown by the orange area on the conceptual land use plan, much of the site is impacted by steep slopes. These slopes limit the developability of the site to an approximately 1.5 acre area in the northeastern portion of the site. Due to the cost associated with grading the site to provide access, the site is anticipated to be developed with townhomes built to the standards of the RD-2 Residential District. Based on the standards of the RD-2 and the acreage of the area shown in blue on the conceptual land use plan, 12 townhome units could be accommodated and are counted as above moderate income.

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Nonvacant Site Analysis
Background
As discussed in Section 1 of the Sites Inventory Analysis, the Town of Hillsborough is a largely built out, entirely single-family residential community with little vacant land and very few underutilized sites. Given these constraints, and with the exception of 12 units identified at Housing Opportunity Site 4: 50 Brook Court, the balance of the remaining RHNA 6 allocation will be accommodated through the redevelopment of nonvacant sites or the development of underutilized portions of nonvacant sites.8 The section below details the Town’s realistic capacity methodology and provides substantial evidence as to why existing development on these sites does not impede the development of the identified housing units.

Realistic Capacity & Existing Use
In accordance with GC 65583.2(g)(1) the Town of Hillsborough employed a realistic capacity methodology to analyze the extent to which the existing use of the nonvacant Housing Opportunity Sites 1, 2 and 3 may impede additional residential development.

Development trends, market conditions, and incentives or standards that encourage development were also analyzed. The following subsections detail the realistic capacity analysis and how the existing use of the nonvacant Housing Opportunity Sites 1, 2 and 3 will not impede additional residential development.

Nonvacant Housing Opportunity Site 1: Town Hall Campus
As detailed in the Redevelopment of Town Hall Campus section above, the Town of Hillsborough plans to enter into a public private partnership to redevelop the campus and accommodate the police station, Town Hall, and residential units on the site. Since the Town is the owner of the site and is leading the redevelopment effort, the existing use is not deemed an impediment to additional residential development. There are no existing leases or other contracts that would prevent additional residential development.

The Town has significant confidence in the feasibility of development of this site during the RHNA 6 Cycle for the following reasons:
• The Town solely owns the Town Hall Campus site, resulting in ability to control future uses and development. • The site scored highly with the Town’s Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC) as a key opportunity site. • The Town has received direction from City Council to proceed with the Town Hall Campus Study to analyze the site’s feasibility for use as a mixed-use, mixed-income property.
• General Fund monies have been assigned by Council in the 2022/23 Town budget to fund the analysis. • The Town has issued an RFP and is currently under contract with a professional planning and design firm to assist in the development of a master plan, CEQA analysis, conceptual design documents and preliminary cost estimate/budget, scope and schedule documents for a mixed-use, mixed-income redevelopment of the site. • The Town is receiving advice on best practices related to soliciting for and entering into public-private partnerships (P3s). 8 Per the requirements of the State, the Town confirms that one of the nonvacant sites include residential units either existing or demolished, are/ were occupied by, or subject to affordability agreements for lower income households within five years preceding the beginning of the planning period and are therefore not subject to a housing replacement program consistent with the requirements listed in GC 65915(c)(3) (GC 65583.2(g)(3)).

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Nonvacant Housing Opportunity Site 2: De Guigne Estate
As detailed in the conceptual land use plan above, only vacant portions of the De Guigne Estate are identified to accommodate additional housing. The existing residence and accessory buildings and structures are proposed to remain. Therefore, the existing use is not deemed an impediment to additional residential development. There are no existing leases or other contracts that would prevent additional residential development.

While this site was identified as an opportunity site in RHNA Cycle 5, The Town has significant confidence in the feasibility of development of this site during RHNA Cycle 6 for the following reasons:
• The Town of Hillsborough currently only allows single-family detached housing development at a minimum density of 2 dwelling units per acre. The proposed zoning and subdivision ordinance amendments which are proposed for this site are expected to lead to additional housing units, as:
• Allowing for smaller lots upon subdivision will generate more lots per site. This can result in significant revenue generation for owners of larger sites such as the De Guigne Estate and potentially encourage the division of such larger Hillsborough parcels; • Allowing for higher residential density on these newly-created, smaller lots will encourage additional housing development; • Higher density opportunities can create more opportunities for affordable projects to “pencil” for developers.

Nonvacant Housing Opportunity Site 3: Strawberry Hill
As detailed in the conceptual land use plan above, only vacant portions of Strawberry Hill are identified to accommodate additional housing. The existing residence and accessory buildings and structures are proposed to remain. Therefore, the existing use is not deemed an impediment to additional residential development. There are no existing leases or other contracts that would prevent additional residential development.

The Town has significant confidence in the feasibility of development of this site during the RHNA 6 Cycle for the following reasons:
• The proposed zoning and subdivision ordinance amendments which are proposed for this site are expected to lead to additional housing units, as:
• Allowing for smaller lots upon subdivision will generate more lots per site. This can result in significant revenue generation for owners of larger sites such as 50 Brook Court, and potentially encourage the division of such larger Hillsborough parcels; • Allowing for higher residential density on these newly-created, smaller lots will encourage additional housing development; • Higher density opportunities can create more opportunities for affordable projects to “pencil” for developers.

Development Trends and Market Conditions
Housing in the Town of Hillsborough is currently only provided through single-family detached units and accessory dwelling units.

The introduction of missing middle and multiunit housing can therefore not be compared to development trends within the Town.

Instead, an analysis of recent development within the region was conducted to better understand trends and market conditions.

Overall, the analysis revealed that the housing development proposed for the Housing Opportunity Sites is occurring throughout the region and is supported by development trends and market conditions. The detailed results of the analysis are included in the Regional Development Trends Appendix.

Incentives or Standards that Encourage Development
The Town of Hillsborough currently only allows single-family detached housing development at a minimum density of 2 dwelling units per acre. The planned zoning and subdivision standard amendments detailed earlier in this chapter will encourage additional housing development by allowing higher density housing and a greater variety of housing types than allowed in the Town in the past. Increased opportunity for subdivision as well as greater return on investment from the allowance of additional density will encourage housing development.

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9 AFFIRMATIVELY

FURTHERING FAIR

HOUSING
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Fair Housing Enforcement and Outreach Capacity
This section discusses fair housing legal cases and inquiries, fair housing protections and enforcement, and outreach capacity.

Fair Housing and Civil Rights Findings, Lawsuits,
Enforcement, Settlements or Judgments
Fair housing legal cases and inquiries. California fair housing law extends beyond the protections in the Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). In addition to the FHA protected classes—race, color, ancestry/national origin, religion, disability, sex, and familial status— California law offers protections for age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, and source of income (including federal housing assistance vouchers).

The California Department of Fair Employment in Housing (DFEH) was established in 1980 and is now the largest civil rights agency in the United States. According to their website, the DFEH’s mission is, “to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations (businesses) and from hate violence and human trafficking in accordance with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Unruh Civil Rights Act, Disabled Persons Act, and Ralph Civil Rights Act”.

DFEH receives, evaluates, and investigates fair housing complaints. DFEH plays a particularly significant role in investigating fair housing complaints against protected classes that are not included in federal legislation and therefore not investigated by HUD.

DFEH’s website provides detailed instructions for filing a complaint, the complaint process, appealing a decision, and other frequently asked questions. Fair housing complaints can also be submitted to HUD for investigation.

Additionally, San Mateo County has a number of local enforcement organizations including Project Sentinel, the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, and Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto. These organizations receive funding from the County and participating jurisdictions to support fair housing enforcement and outreach and education in the County.

As shown in Table 9.1, from 2017 to 2021, 57 fair housing complaints in San Mateo County were filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)— Table 9.2 shows that none of the complaints filed with HUD were from the Town of Hillsborough.

Table 9.1: Fair Housing Complaints Filed with HUD by Basis, San Mateo County, 2017-2021
2017-2021 Total
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Cases % Total
Disability 8 9 3 9 3 32 56%
Race 3 5 2 1 11 19%
Familial Status 4 3 1 8 14%
National Origin 2 1 3 5%
Religion 1 1 2 4%
Sex 1 1 2%
Total Cases 17 18 5 11 6 57 100%
Source: HUD
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Countywide, most complaints cited disability status as the bias (56%) followed by race (19%), and familial status (14%). Countywide, no cause determination was found in 27 complaints followed by successful conciliation or settlement with 22 complaints. Fair housing inquiries in 2020 were primarily submitted from the City of San Mateo, Redwood City, Daly City, and Menlo Park. No inquiries were reported in the Town of Hillsborough.

Countywide, most complaints cited disability status as the bias (56%) followed by race (19%), and familial status (14%). Countywide, no cause determination was found in 27 complaints followed by successful conciliation or settlement with 22 complaints. Fair housing inquiries in 2020 were primarily submitted from the City of San Mateo, Redwood City, Daly City, and Menlo Park. No inquiries were reported in the Town of Hillsborough.

Table 9.1 shows that fair housing complaints filed with HUD by San Mateo County residents have been on a declining trend since 2018, when 18 complaints were filed. In 2019, complaints dropped to 5, increased to 11 in 2020, and had reached 6 by mid-2021.

Table 9.2: Fair Housing Inquiries by Bias, January 2013-March 2021 Jurisdiction DisabilityRace Familial
Status
National
Origin
Religion Sex Color Total
Atherton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Belmont 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
Brisbace 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Burlingame 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 5
Colma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daly City 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 7
East Palo Alto 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
Foster City 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Half Moon Bay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hillsborough 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Menlo Park 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
Millbrae 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pacifica 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 5
Portola Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Redwood City 5 1 1 1 0 1 0 9
San Bruno 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
San Carlos 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
San Mateo 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 10
South San Francisco 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Woodside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Figure 9.1 summarizes San Mateo County HUD Housing Complaints, by Basis, from 2017 to 2021 and Fair Housing Inquiries and complaints from 2017 to 2021 and Figure 9.2 illustrates all Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) within the region.

Nationally, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) reported a “negligible” decrease in the number of complaints filed between 2019 and 2020. The primary bases for complaints nationally were nearly identical to San Mateo County’s: disability (55%) and race (17%). Familial status represented 8% of complaints nationally, whereas this basis comprised 14% of cases in the county.

NFHA identifies three significant trends in 2020 that are relevant for San Mateo County:
• First, fair lending cases referred to the Department of Justice from federal banking regulators have been declining, indicating that state and local government entities may want to play a larger role in examining fair lending barriers to homeownership. • Second, NFHA identified a significant increase in the number of complaints of harassment—1,071 complaints in 2020 compared to 761 in 2019.
• Finally, NFHA found that 73% of all fair housing complaints in 2020 were processed by private fair housing organizations, rather than state, local, and federal government agencies—reinforcing the need for local, active fair housing organizations and increased funding for such organizations.

Figure 9.1: Fair Housing Complaints and Inquires
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Figure 9.2: FHEO Inquiries by City to HUD, San Mateo County (2013-2021) Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development AFFH Data Viewer Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Fair Housing Capacity
Outreach and capacity. The Town of Hillsborough has no fair housing information on their website or resources for residents experiencing housing discrimination. The town does host a Housing Resources webpage with information about emergency shelters, housing advocacy, housing for persons with disabilities, the Home for All San Mateo County Initiative, the Making Home Affordable program, residential care for the elderly, the San Mateo County Department of Housing, and the Shared Housing program. This could be improved by providing contact information for local fair housing organizations, legal assistance, and general information about the Fair Housing Act and discrimination.

Despite the Town of Hillsborough’s lack of fair housing information on their website, Hillsborough residents can find County-wide resources. Table 9.3 lists Fair Housing Assistance Organizations in San Mateo County that offer fair housing information and resources and each organizations’ contact information. The following fair housing organizations offer services to Hillsborough residents:
• Project Sentinel: Project Sentinel is a non-profit organization that serves Northern Californian cities and has been an HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency since 1998. Project Sentinel offers support to cities and counties in developing their “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing” and a wide array of technical assistance to property management professionals/owners.

The organization also publishes a semi-weekly newspaper column, Rent Watch, and operates a Housing Hotline. • Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County: The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County is a non-profit public interest law firm that provides free civil legal advice, counsel, and representation to low-income people living in San Mateo County. The organization has helped people secure safe and affordable housing, access healthcare, obtain economic security, establish immigration status, receive education, and realize freedom from violence and abuse since 1959. • Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto: Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto is a non-profit organization that provides legal services to low-income families within the region. The organization specializes in services that address economic advancement, housing, and immigration. Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto ultimately aims to “provide transformative legal services that enable diverse communities in East Palo Alto and beyond to achieve a secure and thriving future.” Table 9.3: Fair Housing Assistance Organizations, San Mateo County Name Service Area Address Phone Website
Project Sentinel Northern California 1490 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95050
(800) 339-6043 https://www.housing.org/
Legal Aid Society of San
Mateo County
San Mateo County 330 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite
123, Redwood City, CA 94065
(650) 558-0915 https://www.legalaidsmc.
org/housing-resources
Community Legal
Services of East Palo
Alto
East Palo Alto, Menlo
Park, Burlingame,
Mountain View,
Redwood City, and
San Francisco
1861 Bar Road, East Palo Alto,
CA 94303
(650) 326-6440 https://clespa.org/
services/#housing
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Analysis of Federal, State, and
Local Data and Knowledge
Housing specific policies enacted locally. The Town of Hillsborough identified the following local policies that contribute to the regulatory environment for affordable housing development in the town.

According to Figure 9.3 and Figure 9.4, the Town of Hillsborough does not have any public housing buildings or any census tracts with residents using housing vouchers. The absence of both physical public housing units and renters using housing vouchers to pay for rent indicates an inadequate supply of rental housing or potential exclusionary behavior from landlords in the town.

Nearby communities of Millbrae, Burlingame, and San Mateo all have multiple (at least three) census tracts containing residents using housing vouchers. The presence of voucher users in surrounding communities indicates that there is demand for rental units that accept vouchers in the area.

Local policies in place to encourage
housing development.
• Graduated Density Bonus (parcel assembly)
• Form‐based codes
• Mixed Use Zoning
• Housing Overlay Zone
• Inclusionary/Below Market Rate Housing Policy
• Condominium Conversion Ordinance
• Just Cause Evictions
• Rent Stabilization
• Acquisition/Rehabilitation/ Conversion Program
• Preservation of Mobile Homes (Rent Stabilization ordinances) • SRO Preservation Ordinances
• Homeowner Rehabilitation program
• Other Anti‐Displacement Strategies
• General Fund Allocation Incl. former RDA “Boomerang”
Funds
• In‐Lieu Fees (Inclusionary Zoning)
• Housing Development Impact Fee
• Commercial Development Impact Fee
• Other taxes or fees dedicated to housing
• Locally Funded Homebuyer Assistance Programs
• Tenant‐Based Assistance
• Public Housing
• Affordable Housing Complexes
Local barriers to affordable
housing development.
• Lack of zoning for a variety of housing types beyond single family detached homes
• Lack of land zoned for multifamily development
• Minimum lot sizes
Local policies in place to mitigate or prevent
displacement of low income households.
• Promoting streamlined processing of ADUs
Local policies that are NOT in place
but would provide the best outcomes
in addressing housing shortages.
• Accommodation for multi-family housing
• Once established, development of a housing trust fund that levies fees on development to support affordable
housing.

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Figure 9.3: Housing Choice Vouchers by Census Tract
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Figure 9.4: Public Housing Buildings, San Mateo County
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Integration and Segregation Patterns and Trends
This section was prepared by Root Policy for all communities participating in the 21 Elements program. It discusses integration and segregation of the population by protected classes including race and ethnicity, disability status, familial status, and income status.

The section concludes with an analysis of racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence.

Integration and Segregation
“Integration generally means a condition in which there is not a high concentration of persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or having a disability or a particular type of disability when compared to a broader geographic area.

Segregation generally means a condition in which there is a high concentration of persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or having a disability or a type of disability in a particular geographic area when compared to a broader geographic area.”
History of segregation in the region
The United States’ oldest cities have a history of mandating segregated living patterns—and Northern California cities are no exception. ABAG, in its recent Fair Housing Equity Assessment, attributes segregation in the Bay Area to historically discriminatory practices—highlighting redlining and discriminatory mortgage approvals—as well as “structural inequities” in society, and “self segregation” (i.e., preferences to live near similar people).

Researcher Richard Rothstein’s 2017 book The Color of Law:

A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America chronicles how the public sector contributed to the segregation that exists today. Rothstein highlights several significant developments in the Bay Area region that played a large role in where the region’s non-White residents settled.

Pre-civil rights San Mateo County faced resistance to racial integration, yet it was reportedly less direct than in some Northern California communities, taking the form of “blockbusting” and “steering” or intervention by public officials. These local discriminatory practices were exacerbated by actions of the Federal Housing Administration which excluded low-income neighborhoods, where the majority of people of color lived, from its mortgage loan program.

According to the San Mateo County Historical Association. San Mateo County’s early African Americans worked in a variety of industries, from logging, to agriculture, to restaurants and entertainment. Expansion of jobs, particularly related to shipbuilding during and after World War II attracted many new residents into the Peninsula, including the first sizable migration of African Americans.

Enforcement of racial covenants after the war forced the migration of the county’s African Americans into neighborhoods where they were allowed to occupy housing—housing segregated into less desirable areas, next to highways, and concentrated in public housing and urban renewal developments.

In the early 1900s, many wealthy families in San Francisco had summer homes in the mid-peninsula area, now known as Hillsborough and Burlingame. When an earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, refugees flooded the area, primarily taking up residences in two largely small-lot subdivisions east of the El Camino Real. Burlingame incorporated in 1908 and in 1910, Hillsborough residents voted to incorporate, forming the Town of Hillsborough.

This history of segregation in the region is important not only to understand how residential settlement patterns
came about—but, more importantly, to explain differences in housing opportunity among residents today. In sum,
not all residents had the ability to build housing wealth or achieve economic opportunity. This historically unequal playing field in part determines why residents have
different housing needs today.

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Throughout the county, neighborhood associations and city leaders attempted to thwart integration of communities. Although some neighborhood residents supported integration, most did not, and it was not unusual for neighborhood associations to require acceptance of all new buyers. Builders with intentions to develop for all types of buyers (regardless of race) found that their development sites were rezoned by planning councils, required very large minimum lot sizes, and\or were denied public infrastructure to support their developments or charged prohibitively high amounts for infrastructure.

The timeline of major federal Acts and court decisions related to fair housing choice and zoning and land use appears below in Figure 9.5. As shown in the timeline, exclusive zoning practices were common in the early 1900s. Courts struck down only the most discriminatory, and allowed those that would be considered today to have a “disparate impact” on classes protected by the Fair Housing Act. For example, the 1926 case Village of Euclid v. Amber Realty Co. (272 U.S. 365) supported the segregation of residential, business, and industrial uses, justifying separation by characterizing apartment buildings as “mere parasite(s)” with the potential to “utterly destroy” the character and desirability of neighborhoods. At that time, multifamily apartments were the only housing options for people of color, including immigrants.

The Federal Fair Housing Act was not enacted until nearly 60 years after the first racial zoning ordinances appeared in U.S. cities.

This coincided with a shift away from federal control over low-income housing toward locally-tailored approaches (block grants) and market-oriented choice (Section 8 subsidies)—the latter of which is only effective when adequate affordable rental units are available.

Overall integration and segregation patterns within Hillsborough are summarized below by highlighting population by protected class. Each protected class will be explained in further detail in later sections.

Figure 9.5: Major Public and Legal Actions that Influence Fair Access to Housing Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Figure 9.6. Segregation and Integration, Population by Protected Class, Hillsborough v. San Mateo County Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Race and Ethnicity
The population distribution in the Town of Hillsborough by race and ethnicity is less diverse than San Mateo County. Population by race and ethnicity is broken down in Figure 9.7 for the Bay Area, San Mateo County, and Hillsborough. In Hillsborough, 57% of the population is non-Hispanic White followed by 32% Asian, 6% other or multiple races, 4% Hispanic, and 1% Black. In comparison, the San Mateo County population is 39% non-Hispanic White, 30% Asian, 24% Hispanic, 4% other or multiple races, and 2% Black.

Racial and ethnic minorities are growing as share of the population in the Town of Hillsborough. In 2000, 71% of the population was non-Hispanic White compared to 57% in 2019. Figure 9.8 illustrates the population breakdown by race and ethnicity from 2000 to 2019. As seen in 2000, 2010, and 2019, Hillsborough lacks diversity when compared to the broader San Mateo County area. 0%
0%
0%
27%
30%
32%
6%
2%
1%
39%
39%
57%
5%
4%
6%
24%
24%
4%
Bay Area
San Mateo County
Hillsborough
Population by Race/Ethnicity - Town of Hillsborough, San Mateo County and Bay Area Region
American Indian or Alaska Native Asian/API, NH Black or African American, NH White, Non-Hispanic (NH) Other Race or Multiple Races, NH Hispanic or Latinx 0%
0%
0%
25%
28%
32%
1%
0%
1%
71%
64%
57%
0%
4%
6%
3%
3%
4%
2000
2010
2019
Population by Race/Ethnicity, Town of Hillsborough
American Indian or Alaska Native Asian/API, NH Black or African American, NH White, Non-Hispanic (NH) Other Race or Multiple Races, NH Hispanic or Latinx Figure 9.7. Population by Race and Ethnicity, 2019
Source: ABAG Housing Needs Data Workbook
Figure 9.8. Population by Race and Ethnicity, Town of Hillsborough, 2000-2019 Source: ABAG Housing Needs Data Workbook
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Racial and ethnic minority populations generally have higher rates of poverty and lower household incomes compared to the non-Hispanic White population in the Town of Hillsborough.

Hillsborough’s two census tracts population are a slim majority White—which means the gap between White and the next most populous racial and ethnic group is less than 10%.1
Dissimilarity and Isolation Indices
The Dissimilarity Index, or DI, is a common tool that measures segregation in a community. The DI is an index that measures the degree to which two distinct groups are evenly distributed across a geographic area. The DI represents the percentage of a group’s population that would have to move for each area in the county to have the same percentage of that group as the county overall.

DI values range from 0 to 100—where 0 is perfect integration and 100 is complete segregation. Dissimilarity index values between 0 and 39 generally indicate low segregation, values between 40 and 54 generally indicate moderate segregation, and values between 55 and 100 generally indicate a high level of segregation.

The isolation index is interpreted as the probability that a randomly drawn minority resident shares an area with a member of the same minority, it ranges from 0 to 100 and higher values of isolation tend to indicate higher levels of segregation.

Table 9.5 above shows the dissimilarity index for racial and ethnic groups in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hawyard Region, which includes the town of Hillsborough. The table shows segregation for the region’s Black population, which has a dissimilarity index of

63.49. The dissimilarity value for the region’s Hispanic population is 51.24. Finally, the Region’s Non-White population (45.89) and Asian population (48.21) were closer to perfect integration by scoring below 50 on the dissimilarity index. 1 Redlining maps, otherwise known as Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps, are not available for San Mateo County.

Table 9.5: Racial Ethnic Dissimilarity Trends
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Region
Racial/Ethnicity Dissimilarity Index 1990 Trend 2000 Trend 2010 Trend Current Non-White/White 44.67 44.68 43.10 45.89
Black/White 66.72 63.71 59.29 63.49
Hispanic/White 43.56 49.67 49.59 51.24
Asian or Pacific Islander/White 45.55 44.94 44.33 48.21 Source: HUD AFFH, https://egis.hud.gov/affht/
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Disability Status
Figure 9.9 shows that the share of the population living with at least one disability is 6% in the Town of Hillsborough compared to 8% in San Mateo County. There are no census tracts with a concentration greater than 10% of the population with a disability in the town. Lower proportions of residents living with a disability may indicate a lack of services, suitable housing options, or transportation for this population. Figure 9.10 provides a map which illustrates the percentage of population with a disability by census tract. •
90%
92%
94%
10%
8%
6%
84% 86% 88% 90% 92% 94% 96% 98% 100% 102%
Bay Area
San Mateo County
Hillsborough
Share of Population with a Disability
No Disability With a Disability
Figure 9.9. Share of Population by Disability Status, 2019 Source: ABAG Housing Needs Data Workbook
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Figure 9.10: Percent of Population with Disability by Census Tract Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development AFFH Data Viewer Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Familial Status
The Town of Hillsborough has a small share of single person households (8% of households) compared to the county (22%) and a larger share of two person and large family households—five or more is considered a large family. Nearly one in five (18%) of all households are five or more person households in Hillsborough compared to 11% in San Mateo County. Hillsborough also has a higher share of married-couple households which make up 83% of households in the town compared to 55% in the county.

Familial status can indicate specific housing needs and preferences. A larger number of married families and larger households indicates a need for three to four bedroom units, both for the rental and for sale market. There are very few renter occupied units in the town (7% of housing units), and most owner occupied units are three to four bedrooms.

Compared to the county, the Town of Hillsborough has a greater proportion of family households and smaller proportion of single person households—which is reflected in the number of bedrooms and tenure of the housing stock in the town.

Household income
The household income distribution by percent of area median income (AMI) in the Town of Hillsborough shows a significant majority of households have high incomes. More than 3 in 4 households in the town fall into the highest income category (greater than 100% AMI) compared to 1 in 2 in San Mateo County.

Half of the census block groups in Hillsborough have no household income data, and the remaining block groups show median household incomes greater than $125,000—well above the statewide median of $87,100. Similarly, low and moderate income households make up less than 25% of all households in all census block groups in Hillsborough. Surrounding jurisdictions Millbrae, Burlingame, and San Mateo all have census block groups with more than 50% low and moderate income population. Hillsborough is also largely free of poverty with census tract poverty rates less than 5% town wide.

Geographically, the Town of Hillsborough is an economically exclusive community—largely due to a very low supply of rental housing and affordable ownership opportunities.

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Hate Crimes
According to the Office of the Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, a hate crime is a “crime against a person, group, or property motivated by the victim's real or perceived protected social group.” A victim of a hate crime is targeted by one or more of the following: disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Hate crimes are “serious crimes that may result in imprisonment or jail time.”
The Hate Crime statistics Act of 1990 requires that the Attorney General collect data involving all hate crimes committed within the state. Figure 9.11 shows hate crime trends within San Mateo county from 2016 to 2020. In 2020, 19 hate crimes were committed compared to 17 hate crimes from 2019.

Figure 9.12 displays hate crimes that occurred in San Mateo County in 2020 based on type of bias. 79% of the hate crimes that took place in San Mateo County were based on Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry, while Sexual Orientation-related hate crimes made up 16%. 16 14
13 17
19 0
5 10
15 20
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Offenses
Hate Crime Offenses in Mateo County,
2016-2020
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Race/Ethnicity/Ancenstry
Sexual Orientation
Religion
Hate Crimes Offenses by Type of Bias (2020), San Mateo County Race/Ethnicity/Ancenstry
Sexual Orientation
Religion
Figure 9.11: hate Crime Offenses in San Mateo County
Figure 9.13: Hate Crime Offenses by Type in San Mateo County Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Racially or Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/ECAP) Racially Concentrated Areas of Poverty or an Ethnically Concentrated Area of Poverty (R/ECAP) and Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence (RCAAs) represent opposing ends of the segregation spectrum from racially or ethnically segregated areas with high poverty rates to affluent predominantly White neighborhoods. Historically, HUD has paid particular attention to R/ECAPs as a focus of policy and obligations to AFFH. Recent research out of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs argues for the inclusion of RCAAs to acknowledge current and past policies that created and perpetuate these areas of high opportunity and exclusion.

It is important to note that R/ECAPs and RCAAs are not areas of focus because of racial and ethnic concentrations alone. This study recognizes that racial and ethnic clusters can be a part of fair housing choice if they occur in a non-discriminatory market.

Rather, R/ECAPs are meant to identify areas where residents may have historically faced discrimination and continue to be challenged by limited economic opportunity, and conversely, RCAAs are meant to identify areas of particular advantage and exclusion.

For this study, the poverty threshold used to qualify a tract as a R/ECAP was three times the average census tract poverty rate countywide—or 19.1%. In addition to R/ECAPs that meet the HUD threshold, this study includes edge or emerging R/ECAPs which hit two thirds of the HUD defined threshold for poverty— emerging R/ECAPs in San Mateo County have two times the average tract poverty rate for the county (12.8%).

In 2010 there were three census tracts that qualify as R/ECAPs (19.4% poverty rate) in the county and 11 that qualify as edge R/ECAPs (13% poverty rate). None of the R/ECAPs were located in the Town of Hillsborough in 2010.

In 2019 there were two census tracts that qualify as R/ECAPs (19.1% poverty rate) in the county and 14 that qualify as edge R/ECAPs (12.8% poverty rate). None of the R/ECAPs were
located in the Town of Hillsborough in 2019.

Racially or Ethnically Concentrated
Areas of Affluence (RCAA)
In 2019, Hillsborough qualified as an RCAA and is shown in Figure 9.14. The percent population of White residents and median income is shown in Table 9.6.

R/ECAP
HCD and HUD’s definition of a Racially/Ethnically Concentrated Area of Poverty is:
• A census tract that has a non-White population of 50
percent or more (majority-minority) or, for non-urban
areas, 20 percent, AND a poverty rate of 40 percent or
more; OR
• A census tract that has a non-white population of 50
percent or more (majority-minority) AND the poverty
rate is three times the average tract poverty rate for
the County, whichever is lower.

Source: California Department of Housing and Community Develop- ment Guidance, 2021 R/ECAA
HCD’s definition of a Racially/Ethnically Concentrated Area of Affluence is:
• A census tract that has a percentage of total white
population that is 1.25 times higher than the average
percentage of total white population in the given COG
region, and a median income that was 2 times higher
than the COG AMI.

Table 9.6: Median Household Income by Race,
Hillsborough
Census Tract Percent
Population
Median
Income
Census Tract 6056.00 55.3% $250,001
Census Tract 6057.00 58.6% $250,001
Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development – AFFH Data Viewer
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Figure 9.14: Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence "RCAA", 2015-2019 Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development – AFFH Data Viewer Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Disparities in Access to Opportunities
This section discusses disparities in access to opportunity among protected classes including access to quality education, employment, transportation, and environment.

The Town of Hillsborough is entirely designated as high or highest resource areas. It is important to note that the Town of Hillsborough does not include any census tracts that are designated as moderate or low resource areas. While the town is high opportunity, it is also exclusive. The proportion of the population with limited English proficiency (LEP) is half that of the county as a whole (3% in the town compared to 7% in the county).

The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC)—ranks census tracts based on their ability to respond to a disaster—includes four themes of socioeconomic status, household composition, race or ethnicity, and housing and transportation. Again, the entire Town of Hillsborough shows low vulnerability.

The Town of Hillsborough does not have any disadvantaged communities as defined under SB 535 as, “the top 25% scoring areas from CalEnviroScreen along with other areas with high amounts of pollution and low populations.” 2
2 https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/sb535
Access to Opportunity
“Access to opportunity is a concept to approximate placebased characteristics linked to critical life outcomes. Access to opportunity oftentimes means both improving the
quality of life for residents of low-income communities, as well as supporting mobility and access to ‘high resource’ neighborhoods. This encompasses education, employment,
economic development, safe and decent housing, low rates of violent crime, transportation, and other opportunities, including recreation, food and healthy environment (air, water, safe neighborhood, safety from environmental
hazards, social services, and cultural institutions).”
Source: California Department of Housing and Community Develop- ment Guidance, 2021, page 34.

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Disparities specific to the population living with a disability Six percent of the population in the Town of Hillsborough are living with at least one disability, compared to 8% in the county. The most common disabilities in the town are independent living (2.9%), hearing difficulty (2.7%), and cognitive (2.3%).

For the population 65 and over, the share of the population with an ambulatory or independent living difficulty increases. As mentioned above under access to transportation, San Mateo County is rapidly aging; therefore, this population with a disability is likely to increase.

Unemployment is disproportionately high among residents living with a disability with an unemployment rate of 14%, compared with 3% for residents without a disability in the Town of Hillsborough—particularly when compared to the county where the disparity is not as high. Countywide, the unemployment rate for residents with a disability is 4%, compared to 3% for residents without a disability. High unemployment rates among this population points to a need for increased services and resources to connect this population with employment opportunities.

Access to opportunity in the Town of Hillsborough is summarized in Figure 9.15.

Disability
“Disability types include hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty.”
Source: California Department of Housing and Community Develop- ment Guidance, 2021, page 36.

Figure 9-15. Access to Opportunity
Source: ABAG Housing Needs Data Workbook
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Regional Opportunity Index (ROI)
This section discusses the Regional Opportunity Index and its relation to the Town of Hillsborough. Figures 9.16 shows that the Town of Hillsborough was in a high opportunity area for both “place” and “people” in 2014.

California Tax Credit Allocation
Committee (TCAC/HCD)
The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) in collaboration with HCD developed a series of opportunity maps that help to identify areas of the community with good or poor access to opportunity for residents. These maps were developed to align funding allocations with the goal of improving outcomes for low-income residents—particularly children.

Opportunity Area Data
The opportunity maps highlight areas of highest resource, high resource, moderate resource, moderate resource (rapidly changing), low resource and high segregation and poverty—this is illustrated in Figure 9.18. TCAC provides opportunity maps for access to opportunity in quality education, employment, transportation, and environment. Opportunity scores are presented on a scale from zero to one and the higher the number, the more positive the outcomes.

Regional Opportunity Index (ROI)
The Regional Opportunity Index (ROI) is “an index of
community and regional opportunity for understanding
social and economic opportunity in California’s communities. The goal of the ROI is to help target resources and policies toward people and places with the greatest need, to foster thriving communities of opportunity for all Californians. It does this by incorporating both a ‘people’ component and a ‘place’ component, integrating economic, infrastructure, environmental, and social indicators in to a comprehensive assessment of the factors driving opportunity.” Source: UC Davis Center for Regional Change, Regional Opportunity Index
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https://interact.regionalchange.ucdavis.edu/roi/
The Regional Opportunity Index (ROI): People is a
relative measure of people's assets in education,
the economy, housing, mobility/transportation,
health/environment, and civic life.

Regional Opportunity Index: People, 2014
¯
Legend
Regional Opportunity Index: People
Some data not available
Lowest Opportunity
Highest Opportunity
Date: 7/20/2022
Description
0 3 6 12
mi
https://interact.regionalchange.ucdavis.edu/roi/
The Regional Opportunity Index (ROI): Place is a
relative measure of an area's assets in education,
the economy, housing, mobility/transportation,
health/environment, and civic life.

Regional Opportunity Index: Place, 2014
¯
Legend
Regional Opportunity Index: Place
Some data not available
Lowest Opportunity
Highest Opportunity
Date: 7/20/2022
Description
0 3 6 12
mi
Figure 9.17: Regional Opportunity Index: People, 2014
Figure 9.16: Regional Opportunity Index: Place, 2014
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(R) TCAC Opportunity Areas (2021) - Composite Score - Tract County of San Mateo, California, Bureau of Land Management, Esri, HERE, Garmin, GeoTechnologies, Inc., USGS, EPA
Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community
City/Town Boundaries
(R) TCAC Opportunity Areas (2021) - Composite Score - Tract Highest Resource
High Resource
Moderate Resource (Rapidly Changing)
Moderate Resource
Low Resource
Missing/Insufficient Data
7/27/2022, 2:22:46 PM
0 0.5 1 2 mi
0 1 2 4 km
1:72,224
CA HCD
Figure 9.18: TCAC Opportunity Areas Composite Score by Census Tract, 2021 Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development AFFH Data Viewer Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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TCAC/HCD Data – Educational Opportunities
TCAC’s education score is based on math proficiency, reading proficiency, high school graduation rates, and the student poverty rate.

According to TCAC’s educational opportunity map, all of the census tracts in Hillsborough score above 0.75—opportunity scores are presented on a scale from zero to one and the higher the number, the more positive the outcomes. Indicating the town has positive educational outcomes.

The Town of Hillsborough is served by the San Mateo Union High School District and the Hillsborough City Elementary School District. San Mateo Union increased enrollment by 16% from 2010 to 2020 and the elementary district enrollment increased by 22% over the same time. However, both districts lost students during the COVID pandemic.

San Mateo Union enrollment by race and ethnicity is similar to the countywide distribution. However, there is a higher proportion of Asian students in San Mateo Union (23% compared to 17% countywide), a smaller proportion of Filipino students (5% compared to 8% countywide) and Hispanic students (32% compared to 38% countywide).

The Hillsborough City Elementary District has a large proportion of both White (48%) and Asian (32%) students. The elementary district has a very low proportion of students with extenuating circumstances compared to the county overall. In the Hillsborough City district 1% of students are English learners compared to 20% countywide. Overall, the elementary district is less diverse than the countywide average.

Many high schoolers in the county met admission standards for a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) school. Of the high school districts in San Mateo County, Sequoia Union had the highest rate of graduates who met such admission standards at 69% followed by San Mateo Union High with 68%. Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Black students in the San Mateo Union district were less likely to meet the admission standards, with rates of 29%, 46%, and 46% respectively.

Although San Mateo Union High School has relatively low drop out rates—4% of students—compared to other districts in the county, drop out rates among Hispanic (7%), Black (6%), and Pacific Islander students are higher.

TCAC/HCD Data – Economic Opportunities
Employment. The top three industries by number of jobs in the Town of Hillsborough include health and educational services, arts and recreation services, and professional and managerial services The town is a bedroom community with a low job to household ratio of 0.5 compared to 1.5 in the county—which means there are fewer employment opportunities per household in the Town of Hillsborough. The town has the same unemployment rate as the broader county (5.9%).

TCAC’s economic opportunity score is comprised of poverty, adult educational attainment, employment, job proximity, and median home value. The Town of Hillsborough scores more than 0.75 for economic opportunity town wide. Neighboring Burlingame also scores high on the economic opportunity index, but other communities in the area—Millbrae and San Mateo—have some census tracts that score lower for economic opportunity.

HUD’s job proximity index shows the Town of Hillsborough is in relatively close proximity to jobs. On a scale from zero to 100 where 100 is the closest proximity to jobs the majority of the town scores above between 60 and 80.

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HUD Opportunity Indicators
Table 9.8 displays the data for Opportunity Indicators in the Town of Hillsborough compared to the state of California. These
Opportunity Indicators include statistics that relate to education, economic, housing, mobility, healthcare/environmental, and civic life. The data shown below reveals the following findings:
• The Town of Hillsborough has higher
rates of college educated adults,
math and English proficiency, High
School graduating, and UC/CSU
eligibility. The Town of Hillsborough
also has lower rates of elementary
truancy.
• From an economic standpoint,
employment rates, minimum basic
income rates, job quality, and job
growth rates are all higher than the
state of California.
• Home ownership and housing
adequacy states are higher than
the state of California. However, the
Town of Hillsborough has a higher
housing cost burden rate than the
California.
• Although car ownership is higher
in Hillsborough, commute times
are moderate in Hillsborough and
California.
• Aside from prenatal care and years
of life lost, health and environmental
indicators in California and Hillsborough are comparable. • The Town of Hillsborough has
noticeably higher voting rates and
US citizenship rates than California.

Neighborhood stability and English
speakers are similar in both areas.

Table 9.8: Opportunity Indicators
Education
People
College Educated Adults 80.95%

38.01%
Math Proficiency 90.95% 70.05%
English Proficiency 92.82% 64.69%
Elementary Truancy 2.98% 24.28%
Place
High School Graduation Rate 93.14% 83.08%
UC/CSU Eligibility 58.86% 41.04%
Teacher Experience 36.84% 36.28%
High School Discipline Rate 6.71% 6.4%
Economic
People
Employment Rate 94.86% 89.43%
Minimum Basic Income 95.31% 32.52%
Place
Job Availability 1029.83 701.75
Job Quality 56.68% 40.39%
Job Growth 5.66% 2.86%
Bank Accessibility 0.42 0.24
Housing
People
Home Ownership 93.88% 54.71%
Housing Cost Burden 64.76% 51.61%
Place
Housing Adequacy 99.58% 90.64%
Housing Affordability 0.25 0.19
Mobility
People
Vehicle Availability 98.64% 86.35%
Commute Time 56.34 59.91
Internet Access 5 4
Healthcare/
Environmental
Place
Infant Health 96.31% 94.92%
Birth of Teens 0% 6.6%
Years of Life Lost 9.22 29.84
Place
Air Quality 7.77 10.01
Prenatal Care 91.24% 83.12%
Access to Supermarket 4.4% 53.28%
Health Care Availability 2.29 1.76
Neighborhood StabilityPeople
People Voting Rates 47.79% 30.60%
English Speakers 97.96% 88.11%
Place
US Citizenship 95.37% 82.55%
Neighborhood Stability 88.48% 84.94%
Source: UC Davis Regional Opportunity Index Source: UC Davis Regional Opportunity Index Hillsborough Housing Element | Affiramtively Furthering Fair Housing Prepared by Houseal Lavigne
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Access to Transit
Transportation. This section provides a summary of the transportation system that serves the Town of Hillsborough and the broader region including emerging trends and data relevant to transportation access in the town. The San Mateo County Transit District acts as the administrative body for transit and transportation programs in the county including SamTrans and the Caltrain commuter rail.

SamTrans provides bus services in San Mateo County, including Redi-Wheels paratransit service.

In 2018, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which covers the entire Bay Area, adopted a coordinated public transit and human services transportation plan. While developing the coordinated plan, the MTC conducted extensive community outreach about transportation within the area. That plan—which was developed by assessing the effectiveness of how well seniors, persons with disabilities, veterans, and people with low incomes are served—was reviewed to determine gaps in services in Hillsborough and the county overall. Below is a summary of comments relevant to San Mateo County. No comments were received from the Town of Hillsborough.
“San Mateo’s [Paratransit Coordinating Council] PCC and County Health System, as well as the Peninsula Family Service Agency provided feedback. The most common themes expressed had to do with pedestrian and bicycle needs at specific locations throughout the county, though some covered more general comments such as parked cars blocking sidewalk right-of-way and a desire for bike lanes to accommodate motorized scooters and wheelchairs. Transportation information, emerging mobility providers, and transit fares were other common themes.

While some comments related to the use of car share, transportation network companies (TNCs), or autonomous vehicles as potential solutions, other comments called for the increased accessibility and affordability of these services in the meantime.”3 A partnership between the World Institute on Disability and the MTC created the research and community engagement project TRACS (Transportation Resilience, Accessibility & Climate Sustainability). The project’s overall goal is to, “stimulate connection and communication between the community of seniors and people with disabilities together with the transportation system– the agencies in the region local to the San Francisco bay, served by MTC.”4 As part of the TRACS outreach process, respondents were asked to share their compliments or good experiences with MTC transit.

One respondent who had used multiple services said, “it is my sense that SamTrans is the best Bay Area transit provider in terms of overall disability accommodation.” The San Mateo County Transit District updated their Mobility Plan for Older Adults and People with Disabilities in 2018. According to the district, the county’s senior population is expected to grow more than 70% over the next 20 years and the district is experiencing unprecedented increases in paratransit ridership. The plan is targeted at developing effective mobility programs for residents with disabilities and older adults including viable alternatives to paratransit, partnerships, and leveraging funding sources.5 MTC also launched Clipper START—an 18 month pilot project— in 2020 which provides fare discounts on single transit rides for riders whose household income is no more than double the federal poverty level.6 Alltransit has collects data from transit stops, routes, and agencies across the country to reveal the impact of transit on jobs, the economy, equity, transit quality, and mobility networks. According to Figure 9.19, the Town of Hillsborough scored 2.1 out of a possible 10 points. This score is a result of “very low combination of trips per week and number of jobs accessible enabling negligible number of people who take transit to work.” Table 9.9 shows that San Mateo County has a higher Alltransit Performance Score (6.1) than Hillsborough.
3 https://mtc.ca.gov/sites/default/files/MTC_Coordinated_Plan.pdf 4 https://wid.org/transportation-accessibility/
5 https://www.samtrans.com/Planning/Planning_and_Research/Mobility_Plan_for_Older_Adults_and_People_with_Disabilities.html 6 https://mtc.ca.gov/planning/transportation/access-equity-mobility/clipperr-startsm Table 9.9: AllTransit Performance Score, Hillsborough v. San Mateo County, 2022 Jurisdiction AllTransit
Performance
Score
Transit Trips Per
Week within ½
Mile
Jobs Accessible
in 30-min trip
Commuters
Who Use Transit
Transit Routes
within ½ Mile
Hillsborough 2.1 362 68,400 6.21% 4
San Mateo County 6.1 1,411 183,088 10.97% 8
Source: AllTransit Scores, Accessed July 18, 2022
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AllTransit
TM Performance Score: < 1 1-2 2-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-9 9 +
Ve
we
ena
On Averag
362 Tra
4 Transi
68,400

6.21% C
AllTransitTM Fact Sheet
Town: Hillsborough, CA
Map data ©2022 Google Report a map error
JOBS
Jobs Near Transit: Percent of jobs that are located
within ½ mile of transit.

33.8%
699 jobs are near transit

ECONOMY
Transit Access to Customers: Customer
households accessible to a business within a 30
minute transit commute.
30,754
Households within a 30 minute transit commute.

Healthy
walking
1 AllTransit Fact Sheet
< 1 1-2 2-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-9 9 +
AllTransit TM Performance Score

2.1 Very low combination of trips per
week and number of jobs accessible
enabling negligible number of people
to take transit to work
On Average Households have:
362 Transit Trips per Week within ½ Mile
4 Transit Routes within ½ Mile
68,400 Jobs Accessible in 30-minute trip

6.21% Commuters Who Use Transit
t Sheet
Town: Hillsborough, CA
Map data ©2022 Google Report a map error
BS
t of jobs that are located
8%
near transit

ECONOMY
Transit Access to Customers: Customer
households accessible to a business within a 30
minute transit commute.
30,754
Households within a 30 minute transit commute.

HEALTH
Healthy Commuters: Workers who commute by
walking or biking and live within ½ mile of transit.

1.85%
Walk

0.01%
Bike
ITY
Near Transit: Percent of
$50,000 within a ½ mile
transit.

TRANSIT QUALITY
High Frequency Transit: Households within ½
mile of high frequency transit.

MOBILITY
Transit Routes: Transit routes available within ½
mile of a block group on average.

Figure 9-19. AllTransit Performance Score, Hillsborough Source: AllTransit Score, Hillsborough
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Calenviroscreen – Environmental Justice
TCAC’s opportunity areas environmental scores are based on the CalEnviroScreen 3.0 indicators, which identify areas disproportionately vulnerable to pollution sources such as ozone, PM2.5, diesel PM, , pesticides, toxic release, traffic, cleanup sites, groundwater threats, hazardous waste, impaired water bodies, and solid waste sites.

Generally, census tracts within Hillsborough score moderately on environmental outcomes with scores between 0.25 and 0.75.

However, the town scores high compared to other areas of San Mateo County on the California Healthy Places Index (HPI) developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California (PHASC). The HPI includes 25 community characteristics in eight categories including economic, social, education, transportation, neighborhood, housing, clean environment, and healthcare.7 Disproportionate Housing Needs and Displacement
This section discusses disparate housing needs for protected classes including cost burden and severe cost burden, overcrowding, substandard housing conditions, homelessness, displacement, and other considerations.

Population growth in the Town of Hillsborough has not kept up with the pace of growth countywide. Hillsborough experienced a great loss of population from 1999 to 2000, and the population has not recovered to pre-2000 levels despite high growth in the region and neighboring communities.

Since 2015, 40% of housing permitted has been for very
low income households. However, overall unit counts in the town during this time are low with a total of 83 housing units permitted over the four year period. The Housing Needs Data Report for the Town of Hillsborough indicates new construction has not kept pace with demand throughout the Bay Area, “resulting in longer commutes, increasing prices, and exacerbating issues of displacement and homelessness.”8 The variety of housing types available in the town in 2020 are predominately single family (96%). From 2010 to 2020, the single family inventory increased more than multifamily, and the town has a greater share of single family housing compared to other communities in the region. 9
7 https://healthyplacesindex.org/about/ 8 Housing Needs Data Report: Hillsborough, ABAG/MTC Staff and Baird + Driskell Community Planning, 2021. 9 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 population 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.”
Source: California Department of Housing and Community Develop- ment Guidance, 2021, page 39.

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The majority of the housing inventory in the Town of Hillsborough was constructed from 1940 to 1980. As such, the town’s units are older, lack energy efficiency, could be costly to adapt for disability accessibility, and may have deferred maintenance if households cannot afford to make improvements.

Almost all of the owner occupied housing units in the Town of Hillsborough are valued at more than $2 million. In San Mateo County 19% of units are valued at more than $2 million, and in Hillsborough 95% of units are valued at more than $2 million. According to the Zillow home value index, home prices have experienced remarkable growth in the town compared to the county and larger region. Prior to the Great Recession, homes in Hillsborough were valued moderately higher than the region, but in 2020 Hillsborough’s home value index is more than triple the region and county.

Rents have increased at a slower pace compared to the for sale market—however, median rents dampened from 2018 to 2019 in the town. Compared to the county, the Town of Hillsborough has more luxury rental units—42% of units rent for more than $3,000 in the town compared to 22% in the county.

Figure 9.20. Disproportionate Housing Needs, 2019-2020
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Cost Burden
A smaller proportion of households in the Town of Hillsborough (33%) compared to the county (37%) experience cost burden— spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing costs. Cost burdened households have less money to spend on other essentials like groceries, transportation, education, healthcare, and childcare. Extremely cost burdened households are considered at risk for homelessness.

Lower income households are more likely to experience housing cost burden. All households earning less than 30% AMI—considered extremely low income households—cost burdened or severely cost burdened, compared to only 22% of households earning more than 100% of AMI.

There are disparities in housing cost burden in the Town of Hillsborough by race and ethnicity and family size. Black or African American (71%) and households that identify as some other or more than one race (66%) experience the highest rates of cost burden in the town. Asian households (39%), and non-Hispanic White households (29%) experience the lowest cost burden.

Large family households—considered households with five or more persons—experience cost burden less than all other households in the town. Cost burden is geographically concentrated in the northwest census tract in Hillsborough (20% to 40% of households are cost burdened in this tract).

Overcrowding
Overcrowding. No households in Hillsborough are experiencing overcrowding—indicated by more than one occupant per room.

Substandard Housing
Substandard housing. Data on housing condition are very limited, with the most consistent data available across jurisdictions found in the American Community Survey (ACS)—which captures units in substandard condition as self-reported in Census surveys. No housing units in the Town of Hillsborough have substandard conditions.

Tenure
Typically, renters are more likely to be cost burdened than homeowners. As shown in figure 9.21 below, only seven percent of homes in Hillsborough are renter occupied. Single parent households may also experience disproportional housing needs, and female headed households typically have lower incomes, creating a greater housing need for this group. In Hillsborough, seven percent of households are comprised of single parent households, and 20 percent of these households are renter occupied, while four percent of households are female headed households, comprised of 18 percent renter occupied units.

Large households, or households with five or more members, are subjected to special housing needs because of limited availability of housing with an adequate number of bedrooms. Large households are typically lower income and are more likely to experience overcrowding within smaller units to avoid being cost burdened. 18 percent of households in Hillsborough are large-family households, and in 2017, 43 percent of these households were cost burdened, while simultaneously, about 4 percent of these households were in the very low-income bracket, earning less than 50% of the area median income (AMI). Lower income and cost burdened large households could benefit from larger rental units with three or more bedrooms per unit. Additionally, 98 percent of occupied households in Hillsborough had three or more bedrooms, however only six percent were occupied by renters, suggesting an inadequate size supply of larger rental units.

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10 43
2,378
958
0 17
188
39 0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
1 Bedrooms 2 Bedrooms 3-4 Bedrooms 5 Or More Bedrooms
Households
Housing Units by Number of Bedrooms and Tenure, Town of Hillsborough, 2019 Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
2845
259
113 76 96 156
40 25 23 0
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
Married-Couple Family
Households
Householders Living
Alone
Female-Headed Family
Households
Male-Headed Family
Households
Other Non-Family
Households
Households
Housing Type by Tenure, Town of Hillsborough, 2019
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied
Figure 9.21: Housing Units by Number of Bedrooms and Tenure, 2019 Figure 9.22: Housing Type by Tenure, 2019
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Displacement
There are no assisted units in the Town of Hillsborough to displace. According to the Urban Displacement Project, no census tract in the town are vulnerable to displacement.

Displacement Sensitive Communities
“According to the Urban Displacement Project, communities were designated sensitive if they met the following criteria:
• They currently have populations vulnerable to displacement in the event of increased redevelopment and drastic shifts in housing cost. Vulnerability is defined as:
• Share of very low income residents is above 20%, 2017 and the tract meets two of the following criteria:
• Share of renters is above 40%, 2017
• Share of people of color is above 50%, 2017
• Share of very low-income households (50% AMI or below) that are severely rent burdened households is above the county median, 2017
• They or areas in close proximity have been experiencing displacement pressures. Displacement pressure is defined as the percent change in rent above county median for rent increases, 2012-2017 OR
• Difference between tract median rent and median rent for surrounding tracts above median for all tracts in county (rent gap), 2017”
Source: https://www.sensitivecommunities.org/
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Analysis of Sites Pursuant to AB 686
AB 686 requires an analysis of sites identified to meet RHNA obligations for their ability to affirmatively further fair housing.

Once sites are identified, the analysis will be placed here and will consist of:
• Map of identified sites by lower income, moderate income, and above moderate income units; • Identification of sites within or proximity to R/ECAPs and edge R/ECAPs and/or low income/poverty concentrations; • Proportion of low and very low income units located in that area, as well as concentrations of Housing Choice Vouchers, • How the distribution of lower, moderate, and above moderate income units—and the share located in low, moderate, and high resourced areas—will change with proposed site inventory development; • Proximity to:
• High proficiency K-12 education institutions;
• High-resourced areas/positive economic outcome areas; • Low social vulnerability;
• Good jobs proximity;
• Access to transportation;
• Healthy places; and
• Flood hazards.

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PLAN
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Policies, Goals, & Actions
Purpose and Content
The policies, goals, and actions provide the Town of Hillsborough with a coordinated and comprehensive strategy for promoting the production of safe, decent, and affordable housing throughout the community.

The Town of Hillsborough’s Housing Element includes policies to promote the maintenance of existing housing and increase capacity for additional housing options. The Housing Element ensures that current and future housing needs of people living and working in the Town of Hillsborough are met.

The Town’s Housing Element includes policies and related goals and actions that will assist in meeting the housing needs of residents. A separate action plan includes the specific actions the Town will take to implement each policy and achieve each goal.

Policy 1: Reduce Barriers to Housing Development
Goal 1.1: Allow for increased subdivision opportunities throughout the community. • Action 1.1 (a): Implement Senate Bill 9 (SB9), as appropriate. SB 9 allows all properties within a “single-family residential zone” to be subdivided into two parcels and developed with two primary dwelling units per lot, irrespective of local standards. • Action 1.1 (b): Update chapter 16 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (Subdivisions) to modify existing subdivision standards, as detailed in the Sites Inventory Analysis Chapter.
• Update intended to reduce minimum lot size and street frontage requirements to permit creation of additional subdivision opportunities through the community.

Goal 1.2: Streamline the project review process for housing-related applications. • Action 1.2 (a): Update Town’s ageing permit tracking software to a streamlined, user-friendly web-based platform accessible to applicants 24-hours/day, 365 days/year.
• Action 1.2 (b): Update all housing development-related application forms to ensure accuracy, clarity, and compliance with all state statutes, including the California Housing Accountability Act and Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330). • Action 1.2 (c): Continue to evaluate and improve the streamlined processing system to facilitate residential development. • Action 1.2 (d): Utilize CEQA exemptions for infill development sites to shorten entitlement review time.

Goal 1.3: Assist Town residents in the resolution of land use conflicts to promote successful housing development projects. • Action 1.3 (a): Maintain the Town’s contract supporting Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC) and refer conflicted parties to PCRC’s no-fee mediation services.

Goal 1.4: Amend the Town’s zoning regulations to comply with all recently adopted state legislation. • Action 1.4 (a): Assess the Town’s definition of group home in the zoning ordinance to ensure compliance with the Lanterman Disabilities Services Act.
• Action 1.4 (b): Amend the Density Bonus section of the zoning ordinance to comply with AB 1763, SB 1227, and AB 2345. • Action 1.4 (c): Amend the zoning ordinance to comply with the Employee Housing Act. • Action 1.4 (d): Assess the Town’s definition of transitional and supportive housing in the zoning ordinance to ensure compliance with State law and allow them in accordance with AB 2162. • Action 1.4 (e): Assess the Town’s regulations pertaining to Emergency Shelters to ensure compliance with SB 2 and AB 139.

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Policy 2: Promote the Construction and Affordability of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).

Goal 2.1: Continue to support and fund a Town ADU Ombudsman to guide property owners through the Town’s ADU process.
• Action 2.1 (a): Annually review ADU application and approval processes, making improvements where needed to make it easier for property owners to develop ADUs and JADUs.
• Action 2.1 (b): Conduct an analysis of the general fund impacts of continuing the ADU Ombudsman program while reducing/ waiving ADU development review fees.

Goal 2.2: Allow one JADU and multiple ADUs on lots one acre and larger within the RD-1 zone. • Action 2.2 (a): Review best practices and sample ordinance language for similar multiple attached or detached ADU programs in jurisdictions of similar size and make up in the ABAG region and throughout the state. • Action 2.2 (b): Based on the findings of Action 2.3(a), draft potential ordinance language facilitating allowing a maximum of two ADUs (attached or detached) and one JADU on lots one acre and larger within the RD-1 zone and conduct community outreach for feedback.
• Action 2.4 (c): Present to City Council for consideration and adoption, language allowing a maximum of two ADUs (attached or detached) and one JADU on lots one acre and larger within the RD-1 zone.

Goal 2.3: Create a program to encourage and expedite the conversion of pool houses, guest houses, and other accessory structures to recorded ADUs/JADUs.
• Action 2.3 (a): Review best practices and sample ordinance language for similar accessory structure conversion programs in jurisdictions of similar size and make up in the ABAG region and throughout the state. • Action 2.3 (b): Based on the findings of Action 2.3(a), draft potential ordinance language facilitating and providing development standard flexibility for such conversions and conduct community outreach for feedback. • Action 2.3 (c): Present to City Council for consideration and adoption, language amending chapter 17.52 (Accessory Dwelling Units) of the Hillsborough Municipal Code expediting the conversion of pool house, guest house, and similar accessory structures into recorded ADUs. • Action 2.3 (d): Conduct a study of the general fund impacts of potentially reducing/waiving Planning and Building fees for such conversions and present findings to City Council for consideration. • Action 2.3 (e): Based on the findings of Action 2.3(a) and Action 2.3 (c), develop an expedited conversion program and related educational and outreach campaign to make residents aware of the benefits of conversion and present to Council for consideration and ordinance adoption.

Goal 2.4: Require all future pool house, guest house, and similar development to be constructed to the standards of an ADU to accommodate future conversion. • Action 2.4 (a): Review best practices and sample ordinance language for similar accessory structure requirements in jurisdictions of similar size and make up in the ABAG region throughout the state. • Action 2.4 (b): Based on the findings of Action 2.4(a), draft potential ordinance language requiring pool house, guest house, and similar accessory structures to be constructed for use as and recorded as an ADU and conduct community outreach for feedback.
• Action 2.4 (c): Present to City Council for consideration and adoption, language amending chapter 17.52 (Accessory Dwelling Units) of the Hillsborough Municipal Code to requiring pool house, guest house, and similar accessory structures to be constructed for use as and recorded as an ADU.

Goal 2.5: Create a retroactive permitting program for existing, unpermitted ADUs. • Action 2.5 (a): Establish an ADU Amnesty Program to allow eligible properties to legalize existing ADUs that were constructed without a permit.

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Goal 2.6: Analyze the feasibility of requiring secondary ADUs (with the exception of JADUs) to be deed restricted at affordable rental rates. • Action 2.6 (a): Conduct a study of neighboring jurisdictions to evaluate the feasibility of deed restrictions for ADUs . Based on this study, consider modifying requirements to implement these changes as appropriate.

Goal 2.7: Via 21 Elements, coordinate with San Mateo County jurisdictions on facilitating ADU Development • Action 2.7 (a): Assess opportunities for property tax relief when ADU/JADUs are constructed and offered at rates affordable to lower- and moderate-income households.
• Action 2.7 (b): Support the creation of a county wide nonprofit to increase ADU production.

Policy 3: Facilitate Housing Development on Public, Commercial, Nonprofit, and Institutionally Owned Sites
Goal 3.1: Redevelop the 2+ acre Town Hall Campus to incorporate mixed-income, multi-family residential development into the civic site. • Action 3.1 (a): Complete the in-progress study of the Town Hall Campus site to determine how the site may be re-developed to include mixed-income, multi-family housing and existing Town administrative functions. Study will include the initial program, schematic design and cost estimate.
• Action 3.1 (b): Using the findings of the study referenced in Action 3.2 (a) and develop a comprehensive Town Hall Campus Redevelopment Program to ensure redevelopment of the site via a public-private partnership (P3) during the RHNA 6 Cycle. The comprehensive program will include an overview of team structure, available revenues and gaps, approvals required, phasing strategy, and partnership plan.
• Action 3.1 (c): Once developed, implement the Town Hall Campus Redevelopment Program referenced in Action 3.1 (b), including soliciting and securing a development partner, development of design and construction documents, finalizing financing, project groundbreaking, construction, and operations & maintenance.

Goal 3.2: Monitor the disposition of all publicly owned land for potential future use for housing development. • Action 3.2 (a): Once rezoning and changes to subdivision standards are complete, fund and conduct a Town-owned property study to identify those properties which may be suitable for future redevelopment for housing utilizing the revised standards. • Action 3.2 (b): Using the findings of the study referenced in Action 3.2 (a), develop a comprehensive program to support reuse of identified sites for housing purposes.

Goal 3.3: Encourage and support use of commercial, non-profit, and institutionally owned land for housing development.
• Action 3.3 (a): Once rezoning and changes to subdivision standards are complete, contribute funding for and project management services in support of a study analyzing the feasibility of incorporating increased housing units at the two private school sites and country club property utilizing the new standards. • Action 3.3 (b): Review best practices and sample ordinance language for similar programs in jurisdictions of similar size and make up in the ABAG region and throughout the state.
• Action 3.3 (c): In partnership with the private schools and country club, draft potential revised ordinance language and conduct community outreach for feedback.
• Action 3.3 (d): Based on the outcomes of Actions 3.3 (a) through 3.3 (c), present to City Council for consideration and adoption, language amending the new RD-2 zone in identified Chapter 17 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (Zoning) to support use of commercial, non-profit, and institutionally owned land for housing development.

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Policy 4: Plan for and Support the Development of “Missing Middle,” Multi-Family and Affordable Housing
Goal 4.1: Update the Town’s Zoning Ordinance to allow a variety of missing middle and multifamily housing types in the community.
• Action 4.1 (a): Update chapter 17 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (Zoning) to modify existing “Residence District” (RD) standards, as detailed in the Sites Inventory Analysis chapter. • Action 4.1 (b): Update chapter 17 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (Zoning) to create a new residential district named “Residence District 2” (RD-2) on parcels greater than ten (10) acres, as detailed in the Sites Inventory Analysis chapter. • Action 4.1(c): Update chapter 17 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (Zoning) to create a new residential district named “Residence District 3” (RD-3) to accommodate the development of the Town Hall Campus, as detailed in the Sites Inventory Analysis chapter.
• Action 4.1 (d): Update chapter 17 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (Zoning) to create a new “Affordable Housing Overlay” option (O-AH) on parcels in the new RD-2 district, as detailed in the Sites Inventory Analysis chapter. • Action 4.1 (e): Establish objective development and design standards for “missing middle” and multifamily housing. • Objective standards are intended to simultaneously address three key objectives: 1) adherence to the California Housing Accountability Act and Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330); 2) certainty for applicants and residents; and 3) to ensure that new product types are consistent with the character of the community. • Action 4.1 (f): Update Chapter 17 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code (Zoning) to incorporate an exception process to allow for the review and approval of housing development projects that do not meet the Town’s objective zoning and design standards, but that otherwise comply with the Town’s general plan and do not pose a risk to the life, health, or safety of the community.

Goal 4.2: Modify fees and reduce costs for affordable housing projects. • Action 4.2 (a): Adopt a policy allowing for payment of fees upon certificate of occupancy (rather than prior to building permit issuance) to reduce construction financing costs for affordable housing development projects. • Action 4.2 (b): Waive a percentage of project review, permit, and impact fees based on level of affordability, up to a maximum of 50% for 100% affordable housing development projects. • Action 4.2 (c): Evaluate requirements for on or offsite improvements to determine which are feasible to minimize or eliminate in order to reduce construction financing costs for affordable housing development projects.

Goal 4.3: Establish an Affordable Housing Impact Fee Program. • Action 4.3 (a): Undertake a nexus study to support the establishment of and structure of an Affordable Housing Impact Fee to be assessed against new, above-moderate income housing development. • Action 4.3 (b): Review best practices and sample ordinance language for similar Affordable Housing Impact Fee programs in jurisdictions of similar size and make up in the ABAG region and throughout the state. • Action 4.3 (c): Draft potential revised ordinance language and conduct community outreach for feedback. • Action 4.3 (d): Based on the outcomes of Actions 4.3 (a) through 4.3 (c), present to City Council for consideration and adoption, language establishing an Affordable Housing Impact Fee Ordinance. • Action 4.3 (e): Upon City Council approval, establish a general ledger (GL) account for the collection and deposit of Affordable Housing Impact Fee funds.

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Goal 4.4: Ensure appropriate resource levels for timely review of housing development applications. • Action 4.4 (a): During the annual Town budget development process conduct an analysis of housing application numbers, turnaround timelines, and other housing development review process metrics to ensure that resource levels in both the Building and Planning and Engineering Departments are sufficient to timely process housing development applications in accordance with the Permit Streamlining Act (PSA), Housing Accountability Act (HAA), Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (HCA/SB330) the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and any other housing-related statutory shot-clocks. • Action 4.4 (b): Based on the findings of the Analysis outlined in Action 4.4 (a), recommend resource solutions in line with demand.

Goal 4.5: Discourage redevelopment of sites with existing, smaller, single-family homes. • Action 4.5 (a): Fund and conduct a Town-wide housing protection study to identify areas with smaller single-family homes and assess regulatory updates that would preserve them.
• Action 4.5 (b): Based on the findings of the study outlined in 4.5 (a), draft potential revised ordinance language and conduct community outreach for feedback.
• Action 4.5 (c): Based on the outcomes of Action 4.5 (b), present to City Council for consideration and adoption, ordinance language to protect existing smaller single-family homes.

Policy 5: Ensure Responsible Development in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Areas Goal 5.1: Continue to support the Central County Fire District (CCFD) WUI Home Inspection Program. • Action 5.1 (a): Enhance communications to residents regarding their required participation in the WUI Inspection Program. • Action 5.1 (b): Require all new proposed landscape plans on properties in designated WUI area to submit a vegetation management plan and receive approval by CCFD.

Goal 5.2: Continue to support community participation in the National Firewise USA® Recognition Program of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
• Action 5.2 (a): Maintain the Town’s “Firewise Hillsborough” webpage to provide residents with valuable information about how to stay wildfire ready.
• Action 5.2 (b): Provide a link on the Town’s Firewise Hillsborough webpage to access information on which residential property insurance companies may be currently offering discounts for fire hardened homes. • Action 5.2 (c): Maintain the Town’s status as a Firewise USA Community, as recognized by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Goal 5.3: Establish and enforce safety standards for structures and landscaping in WUI areas. • Action 5.3 (a): The Central County Fire Department will review proposed plans for all new buildings and major additions to ensure the construction complies with fire access requirements and make recommendations for modifications to reduce fire hazards.

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Policy 6: Establish and Strengthen Opportunities for Rental Tenancies Goal 6.1: Add a tenant/landlord information page to the Town website. • Action 6.1 (a): Provide a link on the Town’s Tenant/Landlord webpage to HIP Housing’s monthly, multi-lingual, home sharing fliers.
• Action 6.1 (b): Encourage landlords to accept Section 8 and Housing Choice Vouchers by providing information on the Town’s Tenant/Landlord website regarding the programs and how to participate. • Action 6.1 (c): Establish a relationship with the California Apartment Association (CAA) and work with their education team to participate in and promote fair housing training for Landlords via the Town’s Tenant/Landlord website.

Goal 6.2: Support the Human Investment Project (HIP Housing) Home Sharing, Self-Sufficiency, and Property programs.
• Action 6.2 (a): Continue annual grant award to the Human Investment Project (HIP housing), HEART of San Mateo County, Life Moves, and the County of San Mateo Human Services (see action 7.2(a)) • Action 6.2 (b): Distribute HIP Housing’s monthly, multi-lingual home sharing fliers directly to City Council, Board, and Commission members, and public and private schools. • Action 6.2 (c): Post HIP Housing’s monthly, multi-lingual home sharing fliers at Town Hall. • Action 6.2 (d): Provide a link on the Town’s Housing Resources webpage to HIP Housing’s monthly, multi-lingual home sharing fliers.

Goal 6.3: Establish and continue partnerships with local nonprofits for tenant outreach and counseling. • Action 6.3 (a): Maintain the Town’s relationship with Project Sentinel and refer tenants to their no-fee services. • Action 6.3 (b): Ensure access to the Town’s housing-related communication materials through translation of materials into multiple languages including Spanish and Chinese, making materials accessible to those with disabilities, and sharing information with community organizations, such as legal service or public health providers. All communication plans would include strategies to reach groups with disproportionate housing needs.

Goal 6.4: Adopt an anti-harassment ordinance and a right-to-counsel policy. • Action 6.4 (a): Review best practices and sample ordinance language for anti-harassment ordinances and right-to-counsel policies in jurisdictions of similar size and make up in the ABAG region and throughout the state. • Action 6.4 (b): Draft potential ordinance language and conduct outreach to tenants, landlords, community members and tenant/landlord organizations for feedback.
• Action 6.4 (c): Based on the outcomes of Actions 6.4 (a) through 6.4 (c), present to City Council for consideration and adoption, language establishing an anti-harassment ordinance and right-to-counsel policy.

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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
Policy 7: Actively Participate in Meeting the Housing Needs of the Community Goal 7.1: Continue participation in and support for the 21 Elements project. • Action 7.1 (a): Via 21 Elements, participate in a multi-city nexus and feasibility study to adopt housing impact fees and inclusionary requirements. • Action 7.1 (b): Partner with the 21 Elements Jurisdictions to assess the viability of sharing housing staff to support inclusionary zoning, affordable housing, and other related projects.

Goal 7.2: Provide financial support to local housing, homelessness, and mental health support programs. • Action 7.2 (a): Continue annual grant award to the Human Investment Project (HIP housing). • Action 7.2 (b): Continue financial support for the 21 Elements project. • Action 7.2 (c): Develop and adopt a Town philanthropy policy which establishes consistency in giving to local housing, homelessness, and mental health support programs whose organizational missions align with the Town’s value statement. • Action 7.2 (d): During the annual Town budget development process, assess the availability of funds for contribution to local housing, homelessness, and mental health support programs whose organizational missions align with the Town’s value statement.

Goal 7.3: Report annually to City Council on the Town’s progress in meeting the RHNA Cycle 6 housing allocation. • Action 7.3 (a): Planning staff generate the Town’s Annual Progress Report (APR) to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) outlining details of housing development occurring in Town during the previous calendar year and progress towards achieving housing goals.
• Action 7.3 (b): Present the Annual APR to the City Council.

Goal 7.4: Monitor the residential sites inventory and the Town’s progress in meeting RHNA. • Action 7.4 (a): Monitor unit count and income/affordability assumed on parcels included in the sites inventory. • Action 7.4 (b): Monitor actual units constructed and income/affordability when parcels are developed. • Action 7.4 (c): Monitor net change in capacity and summary of remaining capacity in meeting remaining RHNA. • Action 7.4 (d): Establish an ADU monitoring program to assess which tools are effective and which should be reconsidered.

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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
Policy 8: Affirmatively Further Fair Housing Opportunities Goal 8.1: Eliminate discrimination in housing based on age, race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or occupation.
• Action 8.1 (a): Support fair access to housing for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, or ancestry. Assemble and promote the distribution of information to landlords regarding fair housing. • Action 8.1 (b): Assemble and promote the distribution of information to landlords regarding fair housing. • Action 8.1 (c): Involve Project Sentinel to aid in housing-related problem resolution. • Action 8.1 (d): Designate the City Attorney as the appropriate City official to receive and administer complaints related to housing discrimination.
• Action 8.1 (e): Implement Chapter 17.42 of the Zoning Ordinance (Requests for Reasonable Accommodation) to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• Action 8.1 (f): Require ADA compliance in all new multi-family residential development subject to ADA. • Action 8.1 (g): Provide maximum flexibility in the development of housing for persons with disabilities. • Action 8.1 (h): Ensure that information related to fair housing laws is easily available on the Town’s website and at key Town facilities, including the Town Hall Campus and Police Station .

Goal 8.2: Proactively increase access to affordable housing options for historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. • Action 8.2 (a): Require that any development within the Affordable Housing Overlay be marketed to the disability community and non-English speakers, including new-immigrant and refugee communities. • Action 8.2 (b): Require that any development within the Affordable Housing Overlay make available paper and digital versions of multi-lingual applications available, and that all websites containing application information be accessible.

Goal 8.3: Encourage the inclusion of universal design standards in all multi-family development. • Action 8.3 (a): Waive an additional percentage of project review, permit, and impact fees, beyond what would be waived per Action 4.2 (b) for affordable housing development built to universal design standards.

Action Matrix
After the policies, goals, and actions are refined with input received from the Hillsborough community during the 45-day public comment period, an Action Matrix will be developed that identifies the lead Town department that will implement that action along with the time frame for completion and key milestones and metrics.

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TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH
San Mateo County
1600 Floribunda Avenue
Hillsborough, CA 94010
10 INFORMATIONAL

CITY COUNCIL MEETING
AUGUST 08, 2022

AGENDA STAFF REPORT
ITEM SUBJECT: CITY MANAGER'S UPDATE
SUMMARY: The City Manager will provide an informational update related to Town projects, events and activities of interest to the community.

FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this agenda item.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: This informational item is exempt from environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines sections 15378(b)(2) and 15378(b)(5) as ongoing administrative or organizational activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.

ATTACHMENTS: None
PREPARED BY: Ann Ritzma, City Manager
RECOMMENDATION: For information only; no action required. -471-