To Elected Representatives and Planning Commissioners throughout San Mateo County:

The undersigned nonprofits of San Mateo County write today to support your community’s efforts to create a legally compliant housing element that plans for the housing needs of all residents. We are a group of service providers and housing activists united in our desire for our jurisdictions to proactively address the housing crisis, which particularly harms the communities we serve.  

While San Mateo County communities have made great strides to promote housing in the last ten years, our county still has significantly fewer affordable homes per person than surrounding counties. This causes a great hardship on local businesses, schools, government agencies, and other institutions that desperately need workers. Extremely low-income households, people with disabilities, and many other groups are largely priced out of our area. Many individuals that grew up here can not afford to stay near their family and community. 

As every jurisdiction in the Bay Area updates their housing elements, we have an opportunity to implement ambitious new policies that will help meet the housing needs of our entire communities. Housing elements are not just an administrative process; every affordable housing development in the county has its roots in previous housing elements. Yet, despite efforts across our county, the housing crisis has continued to worsen, harming San Mateo County’s highest-need residents.  

In response to the ongoing housing crisis, the California legislature has passed new laws changing housing elements from local plans for new housing into “a contract with the state.”¹ Jurisdictions are required to acknowledge unmet housing needs within their community, identify the governmental constraints that are causing those needs to go unmet, and implement new policies that remove these constraints and spur affordable housing development.  

Regardless of how far along your jurisdiction is in the housing element process, there is still time to solicit feedback and implement recommendations from your housing element. We recommend jurisdictions:          

1. Proactively contact the undersigned organizations and include the issues they identify in your jurisdiction’s Housing Needs Analysis and Assessment of Fair Housing. 
2. Partner with us to identify the governmental constraints that prevent your jurisdiction from meeting the identified housing needs. 
3. Implement strong policies and programs that commit to removing constraints on a clear timeline, with specific goals for affordable housing production and preservation.  

Taking these steps will not only ensure that your jurisdiction’s housing element complies with state law, but also that all members of our community have access to quality affordable homes.  

Thank you for your consideration, 

Signed on behalf of,