HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 11-2021 (20-1019)City of South San Francisco P.O. Box 711 (City Hall,
400 Grand Avenue)
South San Francisco, CA
• City Council
Resolution: RES 11-2021
File Number: 20-1019 Enactment Number: RES 11-2021
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE DRAFT RESPONSE
TO THE SAN MATEO COUNTY GRAND JURY
REPORT TITLED, "SECOND UNITS: ADDING NEW
HOUSING IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS."
WHEREAS, on October 28, 2020, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury released a report
titled "Second Units: Adding New Housing In The Neighborhoods" (the "Report") with eight findings
regarding second unit construction and four recommendations intended to encourage second unit
construction; and
WHEREAS, the City of South San Francisco is required to respond to the Report within 90
days of its filing, or by January 26, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the City's response must include a statement as to whether or not the City agrees
or disagrees with each finding, as well as a response to each recommendation; and
WHEREAS, responses to recommendations must state whether the recommendation has been
implemented, will be implemented, requires further study, or will not be implemented These statements
must be accompanied by a detailed explanation; and
WHEREAS, staff has prepared a response to the Report, attached herein as Exhibit A.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of South San
Francisco does hereby approve the draft response, attached hereto as Exhibit A, to the San Mateo County
Grand Jury Report titled "Second Units: Adding New Housing In The Neighborhoods."
At a meeting of the City Council on 1/13/2021, a motion was made by Councilmember Nicolas,
seconded by Councilmember Coleman, that this Resolution be approved. The motion passed.
Yes: 4 Mayor Addiego, Vice Mayor Nagales, Councilmember Nicolas, and
Councilmember Coleman
Attest by " t� ��
R sa Govea Acosta, City Clerk
City of South San Francisco Page 1
400 GRAND AVENUE P.O. BOX 711 SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94083
CITY COUNCIL 2021
MARK ADDIEGO, MAYOR
MARK NAGALES, VICE MAYOR, DISTRICT 2
JAMES COLEMAN, COUNCILMEMBER, DISTRICT 4
BUENAFLOR NICOLAS, COUNCILMEMBER
MIKE FUTRELL, CITY MANAGER
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC
AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
(650) 829-6620
FAX (650) 829-6657
E-MAIL [email protected]
January , 2021
DELIVERED BY MAIL AND EMAIL
Hon. Danny Y. Chou
Judge of the Superior Court
c/o Jenarda Dubois
Hall of Justice
500 County Center, 8th Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063-1655
[email protected]
Re: Civil Grand Jury Report: “Second Units: Adding New Housing In The Neighborhoods”
Dear Honorable Judge Chou:
Thank you for the opportunity to review and respond to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury
report, “Second Units: Adding New Housing In The Neighborhoods” (the Report), filed on
October 28, 2020. The City of South San Francisco’s response to the Report’s findings and
recommendations were approved at a regular meeting of the City Council on January 13, 2021 and
can be found below.
Response to Grand Jury Findings:
Finding 1: The number of jobs in San Mateo County has grown beyond the number of new
housing units available. More housing is needed and Second Units are one solution.
Response: The City agrees with this finding.
Finding 2: From 2016 to 2020, the number of Second Units constructed annually within the
County dramatically increased by 450% (823) after related State laws were enacted in 2017.
Effective January 1, 2020, several additional new State laws were enacted in order to make the
construction of new Second Units easier for homeowners.
Response: The City agrees with this finding.
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Subject: Response to Grand Jury Report
400 GRAND AVENUE P.O. BOX 711 SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94083
Finding 3: There are about 155,000 single-family homes in San Mateo County with only 4,000
Second Units on those properties, so there is a potential for thousands of new Second Units.
Response: The City partially agrees with this finding. The City would like to clarify that
the 4,000 units cited in this statistic are permitted Second Units. An unknown number of
unpermitted Second Units also exist.
Finding 4: The County has an unknown but large number of non-permitted Second Units. The
new 2020 State laws are intended to make it easier for those units to be made safer, and potentially
to be brought up to permitting standards.
Response: The City agrees with this finding.
Finding 5: Barriers to building new Second Units and for upgrading non-permitted Second Units
include: a lack of knowledge by homeowners as to potential lenders in financing the construction
of a Second Unit and a lack of lenders in the region that have indicated their willingness to engage
in such financing, homeowners’ difficulty in finding contractors willing to work on “small”
projects such as Second Units, and the need to recruit and train more inspectors.
Response: The City agrees in part with this finding. A lack of homeowner awareness of
financing and construction options are obstacles to Second Unit construction. Building a
Second Unit is expensive, averaging around $200,000 for a new detached ADU, which
may present a barrier for many homeowners in South San Francisco. The City disagrees
with the Grand Jury’s finding that the need to recruit and train more inspectors poses a
barrier to new Second Unit construction. In South San Francisco, the Building Divisio n is
usually able to inspect a project within 48 hours of a request. Likewise, Code Enforcement
is also generally able to conduct most inspections within 48 hours. The City is not aware
of any instance of the timeline for a building inspection constituting a hardship.
Finding 6: DOH and the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County have co-
sponsored and coordinated the “21 Elements Project” which aids all jurisdictions in the County to
work together on addressing their housing needs, including the development of Second Units.
Response: The City agrees with this finding.
Finding 7: The San Mateo County Department of Housing is updating its website and marketing
plan that focuses on Second Units.
Response: The City agrees in part with this finding. While it is true that the County is
updating its website and marketing plans focused on Second Units, it is Home for All that
is responsible for both of these tasks. Home for All is a County initiative co-chaired by
Supervisors Don Horsley and Carole Groom and administratively supported by staff from
multiple County departments.
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Subject: Response to Grand Jury Report
400 GRAND AVENUE P.O. BOX 711 SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94083
Finding 8: The City of San Jose has developed a Second Unit initiative that is worth examining
closely and possibly emulating. (See Appendix D).
Response: The City partially agrees with this finding. City Planning staff have reviewed
the City of San Jose’s Second Unit initiative, and while it is certainly worth examining and
emulating, it is likely infeasible for a city the size of South San Francisco. Sa n Jose’s
initiative includes a dedicated, full-time staff member who shepherds homeowners through
the ADU permitting process. Although having a dedicated staff member solely focused on
ADUs may not be possible for South San Francisco, the City will begin a new ADU pilot
program in 2021 with Hello Housing. The pilot is funded through a Development
Agreement with Genentech. This pilot program will provide many of those services San
Jose’s dedicated staff provides to a fixed number of homeowners.
Response to Grand Jury Recommendations:
Recommendation 1: The County and its cities should continue to develop or enhance existing
outreach to homeowners about the new laws that simplify and streamline the construction and
permitting of Second Units including but not limited to the following:
posting relevant information on their websites regarding the process for the construction
and permitting of Second Units including materials such as checklists and flowcharts;
increasing social media and other outreach regarding the above-referenced resources;
offering workshops (live or online) regarding the process for the construction and
permitting of Second Units at least quarterly.
Response: This recommendation has been partially implemented. The City currently has
resources online for those seeking to build ADUs and JADUs, which can be found at
www.ssf.net/ADUs. These resources include a simplified handout with all of the critical
information someone seeking to build an ADU would need. This handout is included as
Attachment 3. The City also has hard-copy brochures prepared by 21 Elements and Home
for All that discuss the benefits of Second Unit construction, which are given to members
of the public interested in building ADUs.
In addition to these resources, the City is reviewing the ADU design and construction plans
developed by the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County (HEART)
that will be free to the public. South San Francisco is amongst those initial cities reviewing,
and therefore offering the pre-approved plans to their property owners. This review is
expected to be completed by February 2021. HEART and City staff believe the availability
of these off-the-shelf plans will encourage and facilitate the construction of ADUs.
Additionally, as mentioned in the response to Finding 8, the City will begin a pilot program
with Hello Housing in 2021 to provide project management and technical assistance to
homeowners wishing to build an ADU. This pilot effort will involve substantial outreach
to the community and is likely to raise awareness citywide of that legislation that
streamlines ADU and JADU construction. Finally, staff plan to push out ADU resources
as available through the City’s social media channels.
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Subject: Response to Grand Jury Report
400 GRAND AVENUE P.O. BOX 711 SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94083
Recommendation 2: By December 31, 2020, the County and its cities should commit to meeting
for the purpose of finding collaborative solutions for:
developing and publicizing additional financial partners to help homeowners finance the
construction of new Second Units as well as the upgrading of non-permitted existing
Second Units;
developing solutions to address the shortage of licensed contractors willing to work on
small projects including, but not limited to, the feasibility of licensed contractors engaging
and supervising non-licensed “handymen;”
identifying and collaborating with training institutions to recruit and train more general
contractors and inspectors.
Such meetings may occur in connection with 21 Elements Project meetings regarding Second
Units, or through a separate platform.
Response: This recommendation is in the process of being implemented. On December 3,
2020, a 21 Elements meeting was held to explore aspects of Second Unit construction,
including financing resources and availability of construction workforce. City staff will
continue to collaborate with 21 Elements on these topics in 2021.
As previously noted, the City is not aware of a shortage of qualified building inspectors.
Currently, inspection wait times in South San Francisco are generally less than 48 hours.
Recommendation 3: The County and each city should develop a marketing plan to focus on the
needs and concerns of homeowners who have non-permitted units. This should be done by the end
of the calendar year 2020.
Response: This recommendation is in the process of being implemented. During the first
half of 2021, City staff will develop materials for the public regarding bringing non-
permitted units into compliance or, at a minimum, resolving health and safety issues
sufficient to utilize amnesty protections afforded by new State law. During the second half
of 2021, the City will deploy this information widely by posting it on www.ssf.net/ADUs,
including it in a citywide newsletter, posts via City social media channels, and with flyers
distributed by Code Enforcement. The City will also consider a stand-alone citywide
mailer, perhaps included in a utility bill or similar.
Recommendation 4: The County and its cities should determine whether it is feasible to retain an
outside resource that can be shared among cities and the County to leverage Second Unit expertise.
This determination should be made by December 31, 2021.
Response: This recommendation is being explored. In 2019, the County of San Mateo
retained the nonprofit Hello Housing, a licensed general contractor, to partner with the
County of San Mateo and the Cities of Pacifica, East Palo Alto, and Redwood City on a
pilot “One Stop Shop” program of free technical assistance and project management for
homeowners seeking to build a second unit. As discussed above, the City will begin a pilot
with Hello Housing this year. Through this program, the City will learn more about the
particular needs of South San Francisco homeowners and how the City can best support
their needs in the future. The City will continue to work with jurisdictions throughout the
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Subject: Response to Grand Jury Report
400 GRAND AVENUE P.O. BOX 711 SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94083
County through 21 Elements to determine whether or not it is feasible to retain a resource
as described in Recommendation 4.
Respectfully,
Mark Addiego
Mayor, City of South San Francisco