APPENDIX D | Attachment 5 – Quotes and Narrative from Outreach
Value of Diversity:
• “We love that we have many kinds of neighbors, socio-economically. We hope that can continue”
• “We should all have housing”
Race:
• “San Mateo… has a regrettable history wrt equity and racial discrimination… it needs to acknowledge that history and make amends.”
Children/families:
• “The cost of housing is a primary reason I haven't chosen to start a family here. Even buying a one-bedroom apartment is out of reach for dual-income couple with no kids.”
Intergenerational connections (there are lots of comments about people’s children or retired parents not being able to afford to stay in area):
• “My children want to be able to stay in San Mateo. They are college age but don't make lots of money. Housing in this area is too expensive for them to stay.” • “I am retired and I am going to have to move to Rosedale because I cannot afford to pay rent after 60 years of living in San Mateo.”
Accessibility:
• “City needs more single level 2-3 BR condos targeted to active senior downsize market” • “2 stories [second floor walkup apartments] are bad because my legs are hurt.”
Geographic Segregation:
• “We need to distribute additional housing throughout the city to avoid ghettoization.”
Anti-Renter Policy Environment:
• “I'm a renter and have come to peace knowing I can never afford to buy a house here in San Mateo. But I love the area so much. I cannot afford another rent hike. The next one will probably force me to move away. I want to stay but the high cost of living will eventually push me out. Please in your planning process, keep renters in mind.” • “Current home owners act as a rent seeking cartel, discouraging any change despite the negative externalities this imposes on everyone else. This is ethically dubious and should be discouraged or penalized.”
Disparate Impact (extreme cost of market rate, and relatively high cost of affordable housing itself has discriminatory results):
• “It is too expensive to live here”
• “All of the new building projects thus far are ridiculously expensive and [does] nothing to help anyone except tech employees. Who else can afford$3000+ for a studio or one bedroom? Because the new places are so expensive, even the "affordable housing" is simply out of reach for the average person.”
• “I have to move b/c its getting too expensive I will move away from county to an in law unit with relatives in Marin.”
Othering of housing/urban/density
• “Single family home type zoning laws are a huge issue, especially for large lot sizes. Everyone who already owns a home thinks that a new neighbors home is a "development" (negative connotation), but not his/her existing home. We need to educate existing home owners about how the homelessness crisis is related to decrease in affordable housing which is caused by scarcity of housing in the area.”
• “The jobs housing imbalance is due to bay area cities allowing lots of new office space to be built but rejecting new housing. High cost housing is fundamentally a supply problem. Nimby-ism has to stop. The Peninsula is now an urban area”
• “Some kind of legislation should be passed to limit landowners greed. These are people who inherited property - they are lucky”
Not exactly Fair Housing, but a handful of responses for allowing pets in housing:
• “[There is a] great need for 1–2-person small residences with allowed pets”
Other quotes not AFH:
• “I know there has been a log of pushback about duplexes/ADUs/multiple-unit housing in single- family zoned neighborhoods. I happen to think that this would be a helpful solution and would welcome it in my neighborhood.”
Additional Communications:
• From: chad
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2021 4:52 PM
o Linda; thank you for your reply. i appreciate the clarification. since the project meets ordinances, i think this is probably irrelevant, but just want to note that i'm not sure that this is enough off-site parking for projects in this neighborhood. i'm aware of several rental units on this block that have 4-6 adults in a 2 bedroom unit - each with their own vehicles. i dont blame them, i cant afford rent anymore than them. but every time there is another project in our neighborhood that converts a single house to a multi- dwelling unit, it only exacerbates the difficult parking situation here. thats not so much a concern related to this particular project vs. questioning whether the ordinances/zoning for north central overall need to be updated/rethought; but at least wanted to make sure it got communicated.
• 10/9/21, Dia de los Muertos – LL, can reach out for quotes o Met a San Mateo resident born and raised near the King Community Center. She is now a proud homeowner in North Central but shared that it was a challenging process. She would like to see improvements in her community (North Central) for pedestrian safety, traffic and more housing resources.
• 10/27/21, Storytime in Central Park – LL & NV
o A participant shared that her mother received a 60-day notice in south city. She is looking for more affordable housing options such as senior housing to move her mother into. She plans to attend the 11/2 workshop.
• 11/8/2021, Phone Call
o A landlord in San Mateo called into comment his frustration regarding the Housing Element process. He stated that he dislikes density and wants the City to push back on RHNA numbers as well as SB 9. He loves living single family neighborhood and wants there to be less ADUs. He believes that housing affordability is an impossible goal to ever fully attain and wants the city to consider lowering it as priority in order to preserve space for other uses such as the golf course.
• Todd
o Hello Housing Division, I am a seven-year resident of San Mateo, and my wife was born and raised here. We have three kids in the public schools. We live in a single family home at XXX Drive. Your recent housing flyer says that the city "must ... prepare for future growth," but Bay Area growth has been happening for several years already and San Mateo is behind on the production of housing. We need new housing to support prior growth, not just future growth. I strongly support any and all forms of new housing, including apartment buildings. To preserve what little open spaces remain, it seems to me that building up and building densely is the way to go. The Bay Meadows development is a good start, and I appreciate its "smart growth" walkable layout and proximity to public transport (though I wish some of the new office buildings over there had been housing instead). San Mateo's approach to housing is a lot better than that of the smaller cities and towns on the Peninsula. Nevertheless, many people who work here cannot afford to live here, such as the vast majority of our children's teachers. Keep building! • Laureen
o Dear Committee, I am a property owner and have lived in the San Mateo area for over 45 years and have run a business for over 35 years. I have fond memories of my life here and I love this area. It has timely beauty, thus I too, am concerned about affordable housing. I am all for helping people find a place to live affordably and I am concerned with the well-being of all San Mateo residents. My question is this: along with other neighbors in close proximity to us from So. San Francisco to Redwood City who face the same dilemma, what do you do about the traffic, the noise, the parking and the pollution that severely impact an overcrowded small town? I am a native of San Francisco and have watched such a beautiful city become overbuilt and esthetically destroyed. No one wants to go there on a vacation or for example, downtown Market Street, because of the crime. You simply can’t blame it all on COVID! Now the peninsula is being destroyed as well. Who is really benefiting from this but big league Contractors who bid on these projects. San Francisco esthetically looks atrocious. What a shame! Now they want to ruin San Mateo to line their pockets. How does that better serve the needs of our community and improve housing by destroying our lifestyle? It’s a proven fact that overcrowded towns and cities experience more crime, unemployment, poor sanitation and the spread of disease. May I ask how these issues and concerns are being addressed?
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APPENDIX D | Attachment 6 – State Fair Housing Laws
This appendix summarizes key State laws and regulations related to mitigating housing discrimination and expanding housing choice.
California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) is the State fair housing law that prohibits those engaged in the housing business — landlords, real estate agents, home sellers, builders, mortgage lenders, and others —from discriminating against tenants or homeowners.
California law protects individuals from illegal discrimination by housing providers based on:
Race, color
Ancestry, national origin
Citizenship, immigration status
Primary language
Age
Religion
Disability, mental or physical
Sex, gender
Gender identity, gender expression
Marital status
Familial status
Source of income
Military or veteran status
Government Code section 65008 . Covers actions of a city, county, city and county, or other local government agency, and makes those actions null and void if the action denies an individual or group of individuals the enjoyment of residence, landownership, tenancy, or other land use in the State because of membership in a protected class, the method of financing, and/or the intended occupancy. For example, a violation under Government Code section 65008 may occur if a jurisdiction applied more scrutiny to reviewing and approving an affordable development as compared to market -rate developments, or multifamily housing as compared to single family homes. Government Code section 65008, subdivision (e), authorizes preferential treatment of affordable housing
Government Code section 8899.50 requires all public agencies to administer programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing and avoid any action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing.
Government Code section 11135 et seq. requires full and equal access to all programs and ac tivities operated, administered, or funded with financial assistance from the State, regardless of one’s membership or perceived membership in a protected class.
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Density Bonus Law (Gov. Code, section 65915) requires California jurisdictions to adopt ordinances that specify how density bonuses will be offered to incentivize affordable housing. The State law contains the minimum specifications for density bonuses.
Housing Accountability Act (Gov. Code, section 65589.5) prohibits local agencies from disapproving housing developments, including farmworker housing and emergency shelters, or requiring conditions that make such housing infeasible except under certain conditions specified in the law.
No-Net-Loss Law (Gov. Code, section 65863) is meant to ensure that development opportunities remain available throughout a jurisdiction’s regional housing need allocation (RHNA) period, especially for low - and moderate-income households. It prohibits jurisdictions from lowering residential densities without substantial evidence.
Least Cost Zoning Law (Gov. Code, section 65913.1) requires jurisdictions to designate and zone sufficient vacant land for residential use with sufficient standards in relation to growth projections.
Excessive subdivision standards (Gov. Code, section 65913.2) prohibits jurisdictions from imposing design criteria that make residential development infeasible.
Limits on growth controls (Gov. Code, section 65302.8 ) describes how flood plains are used in comprehensive planning and zoning.
Housing Element Law (Gov. Code, section 65583, esp. subds. (c) (5), (c) (10) governs State -required Housing Elements.