|  | | Vote informed this Election! ✧HLC’s candidate survey is out!✧ |
|  | The 2022 Election is next week and we have asked the housing questions on your mind. The HLC team worked with communities to develop city specific relevant questions to ask candidates in these four San Mateo County cities: South San Francisco, Daly City, San Mateo, and Menlo Park. Check out our survey and candidate answers here! |
| | It is our goal to provide information to our community so they are able to make the most educated decisions. To find more about the candidate questionnaire results, check out our website! As a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, we cannot support or oppose any candidate for public office. This questionnaire was made to communicate candidates' views on how they as a council member will deal with policy and investments in our community. |
| | ✧ We're all in on Teacher Housing and we all say NO on Measure V✧ |
| No matter who you ask, everyone seems to agree: Measure V in Menlo Park is a very bad idea. Local leaders and trusted organizations know that now is the time to be finding more opportunities for teacher housing, not actively shutting them down! See who's No on Measure V for yourself: |
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| |  Housing Elements Review In a San Mateo Daily Journal op ed published last week, we gave cities a friendly reminder that housing elements are due by January 31, 2023. For local leaders to make informed choices about housing policy, they need to understand the legal requirements for a housing element and consequences for failing to meet them. The local news coverage continues as cities scramble to respond to their housing element review letters from HCD. A story about San Mateo’s housing element review letter partially inspired our op ed because we wanted to ensure the city’s leaders understood the relevant deadlines. In the Almanac, we noted that Woodside’s HCD review letter “says Woodside is almost starting from scratch in the housing element.” The town must choose locations to upzone for multi-family housing and address a host of other constraints, which its current draft housing element mostly ignores. For Menlo Park, we urged the city to take advantage of its “huge opportunity to build housing on public land.” Unfortunately, the current daft housing element “doesn't make a coherent plan to dedicate land" or provide almost any other substantial incentives for affordable homes. Of all the cities in San Mateo County, Menlo Park has the most resources at its disposal right now to promote new affordable homes, including over $10 million in its affordable housing fund, which the city has no concrete plans to spend. No news yet on how Colma is responding to their HCD review letter. Foster City will hold a joint city council and planning commission study session Tuesday, November 15 at 6:30 pm. Atherton received their letter on Halloween, and it is a spooky one! Not really, it’s actually pretty much what we expected–16 pages of comments. Of note, Atherton proposed to meet most of its housing needs with ADUs, predicting 35 ADUs would be built per year, 90% of which would be rented at below market rates. HCD ordered the town to “reduce the number of ADUs assumed per year and reconcile trends with HCD records,” i.e. 19 ADUs per year. HCD also says Atherton’s “element must also address affordability assumptions for ADU projections,” suggesting that the city is in a similar position to Woodside and must upzone to accommodate lower-income homes Mea culpa … Up until approximately two weeks ago, the Housing Leadership Council had successfully written a public comment letter to every jurisdiction in San Mateo County before they submitted a draft housing element to HCD. However, much to our policy manager Jeremy Levine’s chagrin, we completely missed the 30-day public comment period for East Palo Alto. Not only did we (really just Jeremy, actually) miss the public comment period, we missed all the time afterwards. EPA submitted their housing element to HCD on October 21, and we didn’t find out until early this week! You can still send public comments to housing@cityofepa.org. Upcoming opportunities to get involved: - Pacifica recently released a housing element update community survey to identify priorities for their first draft, which has not yet been released.
- The County of San Mateo has had a “planning commission” draft housing element available for review over the past few weeks. No word yet on when the official 30-day review will be available.
- The City of San Mateo will host a meeting on Monday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss their housing element review letter and identify next steps. As of this newsletter’s release, the agenda has not yet been released, but it will be available here.
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| | | | | HLC is launching our very first monthly giving program: Friends of HLC. With your continued financial and political support, we can build a more equitable San Mateo County and bring affordable homes to our community. ✧Donate every month and become a part of the Friends of HLC!✧ Our goal is to gain 10 new monthly supporters by the end of 2022! That’s 10 more people as part of our pro-housing movement. |
| | Friends of HLC Member: Nathan Chan |
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| I first joined the Housing Leadership Council in 2018, when they came to my community to support much-needed veterans-preferred housing next to transit. Today, that community is nearly complete and will soon open its doors. Over the years, HLC staff have taught me the basics of affordable housing and how to be a successful housing advocate. They also make supporting affordable housing fun! I am proud to be one of HLC’s first monthly donors, and I hope you will also consider joining Friends of HLC so that we can build a more inclusive San Mateo County for all of us. |
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| ✧RFP: Housing California 2023 Conference✧ |
|  | The deadline for responding to Housing California’s Conference Request for Proposals has been extended to November 10, 2022. Your ideas and passions can produce an outstanding series of conversations and learning opportunities from March 27 to 29, 2023. How will you advance our collective mission of homes, health, and wealth for all Californians? We don’t need to know every detail – just the basics. You can begin your submission below: |
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| ✧Housing Leaders Workshop by Civity✧ |
| Meta's Housing Initiative and the Partnership for the Bay's Future invite you to a virtual workshop with housing leaders led by the Civity team on Thursday, November 17, 3-5 pm PST. Join Civity co-founders Malka Ranjana Kopell and Palma Joy Strand for an interactive, virtual workshop to demonstrate how Civity works with leaders to cultivate relationships of respect, empathy and trust across differences. We'll learn about -- and practice -- how to deepen a conversation, establishing authenticity through storytelling and active listening, and “putting difference on the table.” |
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| | ✧Coc Strategic Plan on Homelessness✧ |
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| | | | ✧Redwood City Planning Commission Meeting - Transit District✧ |
| At their most recent meeting on October 25th, your leaders on the Redwood City Planning Commission chose to endorse the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) and changes to the Downtown Precise Plan. By saying “Yes,” the City is now one one step closer to making Sequoia Station a reality - bringing up to 1,100 (20% affordable) homes to Redwood City! This would not have been possible without YOUR support and letting your leaders know that you want more homes for your community members. The decision is now in the hands of your elected officials on the City Council. Stay tuned for details! |
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| | Affordable Housing Available! |
| Visitacion Gardens Apts, in Brisbane, is opening their waitlist for 14 senior units starting. See info flyer for more information on eligibility criteria and how to obtain applications. |
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| | Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County
2905 S El Camino Real | San Mateo, California 94403
650-242-1764 | info@hlcsmc.org |
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