Six vying for two Foster City seats

For Williams, the city’s traffic woes are a result of the booming economy and lack of housing supply.

“Clearly our problem for Foster City is a regional problem that Foster City is facing within our city,” he said in reference to traffic congestion. “We have a tremendous business that has developed between San Jose and San Francisco where large-scale companies, not that they’re bad, it’s just their model is to come into the Peninsula, rent buildings, fill them up with quality employees and then forget about the housing. We need to do a better job partnering with these businesses to help reduce the jobs versus housing ratio.”

Williams said housing proposals should be evaluated and approved on a case-by-case basis.

“We have a housing crisis and the young professionals know that it’s tough to find homes and we do need more homes in Foster City,” he said. “But anyone going for a City Council position at this point — it’s too early to say yes or no to any particular housing program or growth program until you get the facts.”

Awasthi also acknowledged a housing crisis and suggested growth needs to be carefully evaluated.

“I’m hearing all perspectives from residents while also looking at data and facts and looking at the impact of any decision,” she said. “I think balancing smart growth with quality of life and development should be critical based on what I’m hearing from residents.”

For Martinez, housing development is to blame for much of the traffic congestion and she said enough homes have already been built.

“Foster City is well above its [Regional Housing Needs Assessment] limits. ... We’ve more than given the state places for people to live responsibly, economically and to the poor,” she said. “I believe right now we are full of development and I’d recommend stepping back and looking at the consequences of additional building. ... Foster City is crying for help on traffic.”

Sullivan said businesses can help alleviate congestion by offering commuter shuttle services and investing in mass transit projects.

“Facebook is already part of the process,” he said. “And we need companies to put up money like Facebook is with the old [Dumbarton] bridge.”

He credited Visa for running five to six shuttle buses a day transporting 120 workers, and Awasthi called for an expansion of those programs. She also said restructuring workers’ schedules and having more of them work from home, as she frequently does, would free up the highways.

Awasthi mentioned a stalled project to revamp the State Route 92/Highway 101 interchange and widen the lanes, and suggested Foster City could work better with Caltrans and neighboring cities to ensure something is done there.

Farren and Gehani expressed interest in ferry service out of Foster City and just about every candidate suggested expanded mass transit is the long-term answer to congestion, while smaller steps, including a proposed prohibition on left turns in town, would help in the short term. That proposal will be the subject of a community meeting Oct. 20 and the goal is to discourage commuters from driving through Foster City on their way to the East Bay via State Route 92.

Beyond traffic congestion, Gehani emphasized the impact that increased housing development can have on schools.

“Our schools are full and right now if you have a house in Foster City you have to sign a waiver saying your child may not go to a Foster City school,” he said. “There are still homes for sale in Foster City, people can still get in, but the question is where do you build — we’re built out. ... If the community really wants to see high-rise towers in Foster City then as councilmembers that’s what we do, but if the community doesn’t want to see that kind of development then that’s what we do — that’s not a decision for us to make.”

Reserves, finances

Farren said improving schools and generally looking out for the well-being of the city’s youth is his top priority. He’d even transfer as much of the city’s reserve money as possible to schools.

“We’re so far behind on the schools. We need to be beating Saratoga, Palo Alto and Cupertino and we need to bring in the best talent and pay more per student than other places because this is the time to do it while we have the money,” he said. “The only agenda I have is whatever benefits the kids. The rest is a case-by-case decision.”

Awasthi and Williams both embraced Foster City’s unusually large reserves to help out in the event of an emergency and to prepare for a recession.

Martinez said homeowners should benefit from the city’s reserves.

“When we have excess reserves, they should benefit the homeowners, the ones who’ve paid for them,” she said.

As for potential budget constraints, particularly the city’s unfunded pension obligations, Williams suggested city employees pay more into their retirement plans, and Awasthi said the city could be more creative with the ways in which employees are compensated, for example time off.

Sullivan suggested the city should back off large capital projects, like a proposed recreation center, to save money.

“We don’t want to go down a rabbit hole and do something with the rec center that’ll cost $60 million to $80 million,” he said, adding that he likes some, but not all aspects of the proposal.

Martinez said she’d look into potentially cutting down on the number of city employees.

“I hate to say this but I’d probably look at the necessity of all employees within Foster City and consider cutting back if possible on the number of employees that are to be paid from the pension benefits because our pension benefits is what will drown us,” she said.

Civility

For Gehani, a lack of civility and communication between residents and officials is a big problem in Foster City.

“We need to change how we engage with each other. We need to make it something that people feel ‘this is my city, it’s our community and I want to contribute the skills I have to benefit us and not think about just me.’ How do we make that environment come to life?” He asked. “It’s a challenging time and it’s not just one way at City Council meetings. At times, the council and residents are disrespectful to each other. What are we really doing here in regards to setting the tone for ourselves and our children? If we’re able to change that, the rest will fall into place.”

On Nov. 6, Foster City voters will also vote on a proposed increase in transient occupancy tax from 9.5 percent to 12 percent in phases.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102