Foster City tackles energy codes, rental registries and redistricting

Over the last several years, most jurisdictions in San Mateo County baked all-electric standards into their energy codes for new buildings, sometimes referred to as reach codes, which go beyond state-level mandates. While Foster City considered implementing such codes, it tabled the discussion earlier this year, in part due to a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision — which put many jurisdictions’ reach codes in jeopardy — and also due to what some of its leaders say are infrastructure and cost barriers that make sweeping mandates practically untenable.

The council discussed the possibility of implementing reach codes during the Oct. 7 council meeting, but decided to wait until the statewide energy codes go into effect in January 2026. The new code sets more stringent standards than the 2022 version, requiring electric heat pump water heaters for new single-family homes and individual units in multifamily residential buildings.

Rental registry

The council is also moving ahead on a rental registry program, which would collect more real-time data on the city’s affordable housing rental units. The effort is part of the city’s goals outlined in its housing element, which is a state-mandated blueprint outlining how each city will meet its assigned housing goals.

Foster City has 426 regulated below-market-rate rental properties, and while it currently collects property data annually, expanding the program to include more robust and mandated data would help inform policies related to rent stabilization and relocation assistance, as well as providing insight related to code enforcement and permitting, according to a staff report. Current or prospective tenants could also use it to search for housing.

“It can help identify neighborhoods at risk which could be helpful in applying for grants because some of the grants are neighborhood-specific for at-risk communities,” Housing Coordinator Nori Jabba said. Councilmember Jon Froomin said he was in support of a small-scale program that helps tenants and staff adjudicate issues but wouldn’t want it to expand to all rental properties, as some cities like Half Moon Bay and Concord have done.

“I’m fine with the recommendation of keeping it small, keeping it with the BMRs and only the information necessary to accomplish our task and getting that info in a more timely manner,” he said.

Redistricting

The council also held the first of five public hearings on its redistricting process that was triggered after a resident threatened legal action, citing the city’s violation of the California Voting Rights Act.

District elections are meant to provide representation in communities that are often less resourced and, by extension, often find it hard to compete with deeper-pocketed candidates and groups in more affluent parts of a municipality. Many jurisdictions throughout the county have switched to district elections almost immediately upon receiving CVRA legal threats, as no city in California has successfully fought and won such a lawsuit.

The effort has not been well received by several of the councilmembers, who have said that district elections make sense in some places like San Francisco or Menlo Park, but are unnecessary in small jurisdictions like Foster City, where different ethnic and racial groups are dispersed across all neighborhoods.

District map drawing has not yet begun, but preliminary data shows that, while one-third of the city’s population is of Asian descent, Asians make up about 40% of eligible voters. Paul Mitchell, owner of Redistricting Partners, said that the city simply has to make a good faith effort to draw districts in a manner compliant with the CVRA, regardless of the outcome.

“We need to be as effective as we can be at drawing districts but if, like we’ve seen in other agencies, you do your best to draw districts and none of the districts achieve a majority-minority district … then it’s not held against you,” Mitchell said.

The second public hearing will occur Oct. 21.