San Mateo Voters! Meet your City Council candidates and learn about their views on housing issues. Candidates were also asked about their policy and investment plans for your community.

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District 1

A 2 cont.: But it also is critical that this housing be developed with sufficient “wrap around services”, i.e water, sewer, public transit, open spaces, public safety and fire services, schools I would advocate for additional development benefits for construction of affordable workforce and low-income housing; partnering with the State and other public agencies and private organizations on innovative ways to reduce the cost of land to bring down the actual cost of affordable housing units; and expanded efforts to encourage residents to construct ADU’s in residential neighborhoods. We need a definition of “mixed use” development to include a higher percentage of residential units; and the development of more 2-and 3-bedroom housing units. We should work with small landlords to preserve existing San Mateo affordable rentals and oppose corporate ownership of existing housing stock for purely speculative reasons. We should support efforts to build housing on underutilized School District property or government property, as well as on underutilized commercial land. I support state legislation that would enable similar non-interest-paying “silent second mortgages” to be held by state agencies and partnering with organizations like HEART of San Mateo County to promote low-cost home loans for San Mateans, and HIP Housing to match rental rooms with those seeking affordable housing. We must enforce existing State rent stabilization laws and grievance procedures and protections, support AB1482 and ensure its tenant protections are robustly enforced. Finally, I am excited by great ideas from other cities, states, and countries on creative ways to incent the construction of affordable workforce and low-income housing.

Q 3: During your term of office, what strategies do you think could be implemented locally to address the rising rate of homelessness in our community?
A 3: The strategies that have proven most successful, either here or across the country, in addressing the rising rate of homelessness have focused on the root causes rather than the “appearance” of homelessness. The #1 solution to homelessness is housing. Please see my answers to other questions in this questionnaire on providing affordable housing. We also need to expand successful strategies employed by nonprofits such as Life Moves, Samaritan House and HIP Housing to provide a connected chain of solutions to individual problems that can lead to people experiencing homelessness. These organizations help provide short- and medium-term housing solutions while also identifying and providing referrals to organizations and agencies that can deal with the non-housing problems, e.g. mental health issues, drug abuse, that often prevent people from finding long-term housing stability. We should expand the successful San Mateo Police pilot that has an embedded mental health professional going out with officers and taking the lead on cases where a mental health crisis, and not criminal intent, is the reason for the call. This model could work for other health-related challenges, e.g. drug abuse, dementia, that lead to homelessness. Separately, we need to invest more, on the City and County basis, in organizations that can work with our at-risk communities. We also should support the expansion of apprenticeship and job training programs to enable formerly homeless individuals to gain sustainable employment. Finally, we should look to what has been successful in other cities, counties and states – or countries – to successfully address homelessness over the long term and see if we can implement those ideas in San Mateo.

Q 4: What policies would you prioritize to prevent evictions and forestall the displacement of lower income families from the City of San Mateo?
A 4: First, I would invest in broader community education about rental assistance resources (see https://www.211bayarea.org/sanmateo/housing/housing-expense-assistance/rent-payment-assistance/ ) and get suggestions from relevant community leaders as to how to best share these resources to they are used. I will work with smaller landlords to preserve existing San Mateo affordable rentals and oppose corporate ownership of existing housing stock for purely speculative reasons. I will support all existing State rent stabilization laws and grievance procedures and protections, including AB1482, and work to ensure its tenant protections are robustly enforced. I will work to counter gentrification trends by partnering with organizations like HIP Housing to match rental rooms with those seeking affordable housing, and HEART of San Mateo County to promote low-cost home loans for San Mateans I support recently signed into law SB 6 and AB2011 that make it possible for cities to increase their supply of affordable housing by zoning for affordable housing in areas previously only eligible for commercial development. I have consistently encouraged renters and lower-income families to get on more San Mateo Boards and Commissions so their voices can be part of our decision-making process. Finally, I will invite renter and low-income housing groups to meet with me to keep me up to date on issues facing their communities and ideas and policies they are advocating for. I also will seek proven ideas from other cities, states, and countries on other ways to prevent evictions and forestall the displacement of lower income families.

Q 5: What policies and programs do you think must be added to San Mateo’s housing element to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing? 
A 5: San Mateo’s General Plan 2040 and its Housing Element enable us to practice Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH) by bringing opportunity to low-income individuals and families, both within and outside of their communities. The efforts to date have produced a robust set of AFFH recommendations that should be implemented and tracked over the course of this Housing Element to provide learnings to improve our next Housing Element. We must prioritize stabilizing the availability and quality of existing affordable housing, promote community development and revitalization, and prevent gentrification and speculation from eliminating the scarce affordable housing resources we already have. We also need to support the creation of open spaces, the upkeep of basic infrastructure (streets, sewers) and the provision of critical services such as public safety, 911 medical response, firefighting and traffic management that will provide a healthy, safe environment alongside the preservation and creation of AFFH housing. We need to bring AFFH programs and opportunity outside of historic low-income areas by creating new areas of affordable housing, leveraging new regulations to build on government and school land and on areas previously zoned for commercial development. We should support the implementation of state laws such as SB9 that enables development of multi-family dwellings in previous single-family zoning-only neighborhoods, while also encouraging new buildings to follow objective design standards that integrate them with existing neighborhoods. We also must aggressively pursue newly available tax credit opportunities and affordable housing funding at the State and Federal level made available as part of the latest CA budget or the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In all cases, we must ensure that there is safe, convenient, and affordable public transit and access to quality childcare so that individuals can pursue opportunities either within or outside of their communities. We also need to focus our General Plan efforts around climate change first on low-income areas that have historically suffered the greatest negative impact of environmental pollution and toxins.

Q 6: Based on San Mateo’s history of segregation as noted in the color of law, how can the city undo past harms?
A 6: We must address inequities that mostly affect communities of color in a systematic way, not just by addressing the symptoms of individual attitudes. City Council has the power of advocacy and regulation to influence the broader community, and the power of the purse to attack inequities within City operations. Data also can shine a spotlight on what needs to change and maintain that pressure for change. City Jobs and Appointments: Encourage increased applications for elected and appointed positions from communities of color. San Mateo General Plan 2040: Include specific strategies and goals in the San Mateo General Plan 2040 on how San Mateo will address systemic racism. Employment: Ensure that all City policies, programs and contracts, and all City partnerships with private businesses, include language to ensure living wage jobs and that every step is taken to recruit large numbers of qualified applicants of color. Childcare: Advocate for affordable, safe and readily available childcare options, especially for lower-income individuals and communities of color. Housing: • Support the expansion of transit-oriented, higher height and density development (TOD) in areas near public transit. • Advocate for expanded public transit that meets the everyday needs of residents. • Mount a Citywide education campaign on the opportunity for existing homeowners to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). • Support housing nonprofits like HIP Housing and HEART that employ innovative methods to secure stable rental housing for low-income individuals or give people access to attractive home financing; • Advocate for City programs that offer incentives to enable low and middle-income renters to stay in their homes and encourage smaller landlords not to sell. Criminal Justice System: • Support the ongoing review of all San Mateo Police procedures to ensure equitable application and prevent the use of excessive force; • Encourage the recruitment of police officers from underserved communities of color. • Advocate for increased investment in mental health and psychiatric care professionals to work with San Mateo police officers. • Support programs that provide real opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals to find meaningful, career-oriented jobs, specifically within City staff.

Q 7: What are your views, if any, on new development?
A 7: We need to grow to stay vibrant and take advantage of new opportunities, but we also need to make sure that this growth is accompanied by enough support services to make it successful long-term, e.g. infrastructure, parks, and, especially, expanded public transit. San Mateans spent many hours in conversation about where and how growth should occur as part of the Housing Element of our General Plan. I thought this was a relatively successful process, both to meet our state obligations as well as to educate our community and hear their ideas about what they wanted for the future of San Mateo. We have a clear plan, with enough flexibility to adjust to future population, economic, etc. trends. We could be growing more, especially with transit-oriented development downtown. That could give our downtown vitality, attract more small businesses and shoppers, and encourage people to leave their cars at home. But we need more investment in our basic infrastructure, in areas in our direct control (e.g. street repairs, open space, public safety, and fire services) as well as areas outside of our direct control. This is especially true regarding access to water and expanding public transit, so it is safe, convenient, and affordable and goes the “last mile” and not just to SF or San Jose. We need to greatly increase our affordable workforce housing so more people who work in San Mateo can live here. San Mateo has met its market-rate housing but has fallen short on all levels of its affordable housing goals. We have a jobs-housing imbalance. We need to encourage the growth of housing along with commercial space and ensure that “mixed-use” buildings meet a meaningful minimum in housing. Finally, we need to achieve this growth while creating an architectural vocabulary for new buildings that reflects San Mateo’s historical buildings, unifies us as a city, and gives San Mateo an appealing “feel”. Our General Plan 2040 should be the bridge to the possibilities of the future while bringing along what already has made San Mateo a successful community.

Learn more about Lisa at www.lisaforsanmateo.com

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District 3

Q 3: During your term of office, what strategies do you think could be implemented locally to address the rising rate of homelessness in our community?
A 3: My strategy is to do a better job of addressing the growing number of homeless by bolstering mental health programs, and drug recovery programs. I know that our homeless population extends beyond those 2 categories, but if we can prioritize them, we can make changes quickly. I am hopeful that the new Samaritan hotel project will help provide short-term housing, but I think we should also look at Transitional Tiny homes/cabins. We need more support programs to give the un-housed the ability to get gainful employment and to build a bridge for them to get some level of stability. We need to give the homeless a hand up!

Q 4: What policies would you prioritize to prevent evictions and forestall the displacement of lower-income families from the City of San Mateo?
A 4: I think we need to bolster programs that subsidize people struggling to make rent provided that they are working/have gainful employment or have a medical condition that precludes them from working. I also think we have to be careful with new development projects such as the Hillsdale Inn. The Hillsdale Inn currently houses several low-income people and families. I want to be sure that it isn’t replaced with more unaffordable “Tech” housing, but with units where the current residents that live there can afford to stay.

Q 5: What policies and programs do you think must be added to San Mateo’s housing element to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing? 
A 5: San Mateo should be sure that we promote fair housing ownership programs.

Q 6: Based on San Mateo’s history of segregation as noted in the color of law, how can the city undo past harms?
A 6: Any homes that have Historic Deeds which promoted Exclusionary Housing policies- should be rewritten and refiled with the City of San Mateo at no cost to the homeowners/buyers. We should do this not to forget the wrongs that have been done but to reject them. Additionally, in neighborhoods that were historically predominantly Black, Guatemalan, Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, etc. we should work to preserve these neighborhoods’ legacies and ensure that families aren’t forced out by gentrification, but can continue to afford to live in the communities. Lastly, we need to be sure that San Mateo is welcoming to everyone and promotes anti-discrimination laws & practices to protect people of every ethnicity, background, & orientation.

Q 7: What are your views, if any, on new development?
A 7: Less tech housing, MORE affordable housing. We need to be sure new developments provide housing for our working-class people- especially those that work in education, the trades, and retail workers- so that they can afford to live in the community where they work. We also need to expand our Mass Transit- so we have MORE transit corridors and then can replace old office space with more housing.

Learn more about Robert Newsom Jr at www.robforsanmateo.com

Q 3: During your term of office, what strategies do you think could be implemented locally to address the rising rate of homelessness in our community?
A 3: I work in the homeless services and interim housing space, and this is a very real challenge for the city and county of San Mateo. Significant work has been done and is in the planning phase to eliminate visible homelessness across San Mateo County. Recently, in District 3, Samaritan House opened a new Project Homekey site at a former motel. Sites like this and the upcoming navigation center in Redwood City, along with homeless outreach teams, are essential in getting individuals and families off the streets. Wraparound services and case management in our shelters lead to a much higher success rate of graduation into stable housing and we must support these efforts. LifeMoves, through support from SMPD and the city operates the Vendome in Downtown San Mateo, which provides permanent affordable housing for individuals (mostly seniors) who previously experienced chronic homelessness. All of these examples show that policy solutions need to be both flexible and creative in meeting the needs of the diverse populations who experience homelessness. I would also champion efforts to prevent homelessness in the first place in partnership with the county and hopefully, the state.

Q 4: What policies would you prioritize to prevent evictions and forestall the displacement of lower-income families from the City of San Mateo?
A 4: Displacement and eviction are difficult regional issues that require county intervention to be more completely solved. As a council member, I will support a regional approach to stabilizing housing for low and moderate-income individuals and families. Much of District 3 is categorized as “becoming exclusive” by UC Berkeley’s Urban Displacement Project and I do recognize the immediacy of these challenges.

Q 5: What policies and programs do you think must be added to San Mateo’s housing element to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing? 
A 5: The city of San Mateo’s Housing Element was submitted incomplete, as evidenced by the 14 pages of feedback from HCD. As requested in such feedback, I am hopeful to see not only the inclusion of fair housing practices added in as required but a real examination of environmental justice. Historically, lower and middle-income individuals and families have had to bear the brunt of emissions by living close to freeways and industrial uses. Consideration of how to mitigate such impacts would be a good place to start in fixing this historic wrong.

Q 6: Based on San Mateo’s history of segregation as noted in the color of law, how can the city undo past harms?
A 6: As a woman and as a Jew, I would not have been able to purchase many of the homes built in the San Mateo of the past. This is obviously wrong. The Just Deeds project in Minnesota works to discharge discriminatory covenants from home deeds. While many see this as symbolic, I believe it to be a meaningful confrontation of history and a way to move forward as a full community. San Mateo is specifically written about in the Color of Law and so a course correction would be a powerful first step here.

Q 7: What are your views, if any, on new development?
A 7: Production of affordable and market-rate housing ensures that people who actively contribute to our communities can continue to live here and move here. People like teachers, firefighters, nurses, grocery store clerks, cooks, and many others. It is the role of the city council to thoughtfully zone for this new development and works closely with developers on strong development agreements that ensure important community benefits, like infrastructure and new parks are built along the way.

Learn more about Sarah Fields at www.sarahforsanmateo.com

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District 5

Q 3: During your term of office, what strategies do you think could be implemented locally to address the rising rate of homelessness in our community?
A 3: There are several strategies that could be undertaken.

Funding and programs for mental health services be increased.  Doing so could enable organizations and programs to more comprehensively provide critical services for the unsheltered community.  

The city could work with non-profit organizations such as Abode, the Center on Homelessness, LifeMoves, Samaritan House and others to find permanent housing for those in need. 

Our county has been extremely aggressive in securing grants from the state and being proactive in addressing homelessness.  In fact, the county is optimistic it can end homelessness in the not too distant future.

As with most situations, there are likely ways in which we can learn from what others are doing, and vice-versa.  As an example, Salt Lake City has developed a proven strategy to approach its unsheltered situation.  Salt Lake City’s four-step response/referral process has proven to be very successful. 

By stabilizing people through shelter, moving them into permanent housing, and implementing assistance and education programs to keep them in their housing, Salt Lake City aims to not only reduce but eliminate, homelessness.  Their goal is to engage homeless individuals, including youth and families with children, and stay with them for as long as it takes to return them to self-sufficiency, safety, and comfort.  

On a related note, I believe the term “unsheltered” is beneficial.  Though some may consider this an intangible, using this term could help destigmatize homelessness and buoy the mindset of those in need.

Q 4: What policies would you prioritize to prevent evictions and forestall the displacement of lower income families from the City of San Mateo?
A 4: It is fair, humane, and in a community’s best interest that all parties are protected.  It is common sense, the right thing to do, and helps ensure accountability, integrity, and a belief in the just nature of our community.

I would prioritize the rental assistance programs provided by several San Mateo nonprofits.  These could include such organizations as Samaritan House, Adobe, HIP Housing, etc.  

The city could also help nonprofit organizations and mental health groups work with individuals who have been evicted and/or those who it appears will soon be evicted.  Non-profits and government agencies that are part of the continuum of care can be effective in both stopping evictions from occurring and placing people into permanent housing. 

That said, in some instances evictions cannot be prevented.  The city could possibly work at more efficiently helping tenants who violate their leases in some manner or cannot pay their rent find housing. 

Using all potential support and resources of agencies that are part of the continuum of care, any available grants, and subsequently combining all resources in an effort to support vulnerable families is necessary.  

Q 5: What policies and programs do you think must be added to San Mateo’s housing element to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing? 
A 5: The city’s analysis of the housing element, with specific regard to the AFFR, has been extremely comprehensive. 

The study has been thorough, the outreach has been extensive, and the issues’ causes have been delineated extensively.  As presented, the contributing factors, objectives, and timeline of recommended actions to be taken are clear.

Correspondingly, I am currently not aware of policies and programs that could be added.  I believe that, pending additional information to be gathered as the process eventuates, follow-through and implementation of the recommended action steps should be the strategy at this time.  Ongoing evaluation and reassessment will, of course, be critical.

Q 6: Based on San Mateo history of segregation as noted in the color of law, how can the city undo past harms?
A 6: Residential segregation and exclusion, whether by race, ethnicity, or income, is a derivative of housing policies, practices, and procedures that have had negative impacts.  Housing discrimination through land use policy, shifting markets, and other variables have impacted fair housing choice and equitable access to opportunity.

The price of housing in San Mateo continues to be one of the primary reasons the city is unable to further diversify. Adding more affordable housing units will help bring more diversification to the city.  The city needs to continue to work closely with groups like Faith in Action, HLC, One San Mateo, the County, and public officials. Programs must address such items as identification of adequate sites, zoning for a variety of types, assisting development for lower and moderate-income households, preserving at-risk units, and enhancing housing opportunities for all.  Promoting inclusion and mobility strategies is paramount.  It is critical to include preservation of existing affordable housing as well as development of new affordable housing.

Q 7: What are your views, if any, on new development?
A 7: Increasing our housing supply is imperative to meet RHNA requirements.  I support building multi-family housing near transit, where quality of life impacts are lessened.  In addition, I would advocate for inclusionary zoning and policies and for projects that include BMR housing. 

By focusing housing near transit, we will be able to preserve single family homes, maintain the lifestyle desired by residents, and preserve more open space.

While new development is necessary, continuing our current pace of growth may not be sustainable for a variety of factors, including infrastructure, lifestyle, etc.  It is critical to ensure the other impacts of growth can be mitigated. 

Managing the jobs/housing imbalance is another factor in determining the optimal level of growth.  Related items include how much office space should be created, how many jobs should we prepare for, etc. 

It is also vital to consider the regional and Bay Area-wide implications and impacts of growth.  San Mateo is not capable of successfully addressing this issue by itself, nor would any city be able to do so.  It demands a unified approach by all our region’s cities.

Finally, economic conditions must be taken into account.  Inflation and significantly increased construction costs are impacting the development industry locally and nationwide.  Current developments must be completed, and any future developments being presented for review must be carefully considered.

Learn more about Rod Linhares at www.rodforsanmateo.com