Foster City \/ \/ \/ \/ \/
Current streetview of 551-565 Pilgrim Drive /\ /\ /\ /\ /\
Tonight was a hearing for the city council to receive public testimony on a rezoning before the developer began the project. This is a new procedure in Foster City. The area in question was zoned for mostly office and retail, but the land owner wanted to build housing instead of office. No decision was made at this hearing.
Themes of public testony in order of frequency:
Sares Regis Group of Northern California owns property at 551-565 Pilgrim Drive. Currently it is zoned for 172,943 sqft of commercial & 17 townhouses. They want to upzone to allow 65-70 for-sale townhouses.
Here is a picture to show the difference between the current plan and the proposed rezoning:
From:
Date: April 29, 2015 at 7:08:05 PM PDT
To:
Subject: Please No subsidized below market rate "affordable housing" in Foster City
Dear XXXX,
All my neighbors and friends in Foster City are deeply disturbed by your company's plan to build subsidized below market rate "affordable housing" in Foster City.
Can you please change your plan? Foster City residents would prefer job growing office space and market rate housing that is available for everyone to buy.
Please let your colleagues know that Foster City does not welcome subsidized below market rate "affordable housing". You can build subsidized below market rate "affordable housing" in San Francisco or Oakland, when subsidized "affordable housing" is welcomed. Foster City is a small suburban city for families and we are strongly against any subsidized below market rate "affordable housing".
Also city's requirement on mandatory subsidized below market rate "affordable housing" is unconstitutional. Your company can ignore any so-called requirement to build subsidized below market rate "affordable housing" since it is unconstitutional and is violating the private property rights.
Thank you very much for your kind consideration.
James