Foster City has passed several affordable housing policy updates to meet state requirements for its Housing Element, despite the council’s frustration about the lack of city control.
The ordinances included adding an affordable housing overlay district, a below-market rate inclusionary housing program and zoning seven apartment complexes into the affordable housing overlay district. An overlay zone adds additional zoning ordinances on existing options for use by developers, usually to help with affordable housing. The application of the overlay district to seven properties provides opportunities for apartment redevelopment at deeper affordability levels. The seven apartment properties are Beach Cove, Franciscan, Sand Cove, Shadow Cove, The Lagoons, Lantern Cove and Schooner Bay. The council passed the first reading of the ordinance at its March 7 meeting.
The city passed the updates to meet its responsibilities for its 2015-2023 Housing Element, which lays out how Foster City will develop and grow and is required by the state. The Housing Element includes housing policies and goals for the city and zoning analysis for potential new housing accommodation at various income levels. A city that does not implement the policies to meet requirements faces consequences of state funding losses, financial penalties or other sanctions. Foster City also faces an affordable housing crisis. City staff said housing for about a third of existing Foster City households is not affordable, and 34% of all households pay 30% or more of their income on housing. Rents have increased around 33% in the past decade, and a household needs to earn about $300,000 to buy a home.
Several public speakers asked the council to avoid redevelopment to Lantern Cove Apartments on Rock Harbor Lane and not include the apartment in the overlay zone. Nearby residents were worried about the displacement of residents due to higher costs, increased traffic and more density. They wanted housing closer to highways and transit centers and for the city to prioritize current residents living there. The city emphasized no development project is being considered with the policy update. Foster City faces challenges to meet its new housing unit requirements and will likely create new units from the redevelopment of existing apartment developments due to the lack of vacant land. It recently saw a significant increase in its state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment from the Association of Bay Area Governments. RHNA determines how many housing units each city must provide adequate zoning options for in an eight-year-cycle. The current RHNA cycle of 2023-2031 calls for 1,896 units to Foster City, a 341% increase from the 2015 cycle for Foster City of 430.
The council expressed frustration about strict state housing laws that have taken away its control and authority, noting the city faces severe consequences if it fails to meet state requirements. Several said Foster City would lose local development control unless it followed state mandates.
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“We are here to ensure we deliver a proposal to [the California Department of Housing and Community Development] as we pursue a compliant housing element through 2022. Maintaining that compliant housing element enables us to keep control over where development occurs in our city, avoids fines from the state and avoid carry over units from one RHNA cycle to the next.” Councilmember Sanjay Gehani said.
“We want to comply with state laws. We want to maintain a compliant housing element, and we want to do that to protect the city. At the same time, we are also hearing your concerns, and we understand your concerns,” Mayor Richa Awasthi said.
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