Editor,
San Mateo County’s housing crisis is reaching a breaking point. Essential workers, young families and even longtime residents are being priced out while high-paying tech jobs flood the region. Teachers, nurses and first responders commute hours daily because there simply aren’t enough homes nearby.
Much of the problem comes from high costs and slow approvals. Fees, long permitting timelines, and restrictive zoning make construction prohibitively expensive, ensuring that most new units remain out of reach for moderate-income families.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s approach offers a clear path forward: reduce taxes and development fees, streamline approvals, and allow office-to-housing conversions. These changes make housing financially viable for developers and accelerate construction, while still giving cities the tools to plan responsibly.
Combined with state mandates requiring nearly 47,000 new units in San Mateo County by 2031, these measures can finally start to close the gap between jobs and housing. We cannot wait any longer. Cutting costs and speeding construction isn’t just good policy — it’s essential for our community. The question is no longer whether we need more homes — it’s whether we are willing to build them.
Jim Lawrence
Foster City
The letter writer is the board chair, Fixin San Mateo County, and the former mayor of Foster City.
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