Important information you should know as residents of Foster City concerning the Pilgrim/Triton; Chess/Hatch; Mirabella; Charter Square; Gilead and The Vibe Projects
Foster City Friends have asked the following questions to members of the City Council and the Planning Commission and to date have received no concrete answers.
1. Why the urgency to triple the size of the City? Is it only financial? Are we heading toward another Vallejo in bankruptcy?
2. With an expected increase of about 14,000 employees and 1200 new rental residences to be built, wouldn’t this add to our already gridlocked traffic issues? What are the specific plans to address this problem and lower congestion?
3. Is it true that Foster City schools are already impacted and that there are no new schools being considered for the future? How does the City plan to accommodate the additional school-age children that will be residing in the new rental residences to be built, as well as those children who will be occupying the current vacant residential units in our City?
4. When is a city master going to be updated to reflect the multi-project traffic study going on? Will all these projects be near approval before the results are in? Won't compromise in the size of the proposals be required? With the initial poor results for the Pilgrim-Triton study, why not start scaling back now? Will a HWY 92 off ramp near the pier be built ( Teal Off Ramp)? Why did a city traffic engineer send a drawing of it to the traffic consultant? Why didn't the city initiate a traffic study between 2001 and 2006 when they knew traffic mitigation would be a major issue? Shouldn’t the residents know how the completion of all the proposed projects will affect their lives?
5. Given the enormity and serious impact to the community and residents of all the proposed projects which will bring about over 30 new mid- to high-rise buildings, why were the residents not adequately informed? Why was an "all out, extensive information campaign" undertaken? Why were there no serious efforts to extensively solicit inputs from residents and just the same old dated procedures used? Were contrary opinions to the City’s plan given due process, respect, and consideration?
6. Why did the City approve 32% of our cash reserves ($17 million) to build a $6.5 million teen center (The Vibe) on 5,000 square feet?
7. In the $6.5 million to be allocated to the Teen Center, why is the contingency allocation so low? What about possible cost overruns or over-budget later expenses? It may be recalled that the actual expenses for the existing teen center and City Hall exceeded its original budget by about 10 million dollars.
8. When we were trying to compile correct information from the City, several documents were missing. What happened to those documents? Was this a violation of the Brown Act?
10. Of the over 35 new buildings being proposed in Foster City, why was one developer, Sares Regis, awarded 32 of the 36 buildings? What was the selection process?
11. Have any of our City employees and staff officials been offered future benefits from Sares Regis? Why were conflicts not disclosed until citizens complained? Have all City officials now declared all conflicts of interest?
12. What age qualifies a person to put a deposit down on the proposed Mirabella retirement unit? Did it move from 55 to 65 after some sign ups?
13. A survey was conducted in 2006 of residents of Foster City concerning the 15- acres of undeveloped public land adjacent to City Hall. The majority of residents stated the land should remain public land and used for educational purposes. Why were the wishes of the residents not considered? Why did the City Officials decided to have a private retirement community instead?
14. The original zoning code disallowed residential units in the 15-acre public land which will ensure that the land will be used for public purposes only, so it would benefit the whole community, instead of a few individuals. Why did the City Council change the zoning code to allow residential units?
15. Why were San Mateo County and Cal Trans not informed and aware of any of the magnitude of these projects? Is it true that Cal Trans discontinued the bus route our kids in Foster City to Aragon High School? This will create even greater traffic problems as parents will be now responsible for driving students to and from school.
16. Is it true Cal Trans has no plan to bring transportation improvements to Foster City before the year 2035?
17. In the master plan, Foster City was slated to reach a maximum of 34,000 residents. According to the City government, the current Foster City population is at 30,000. Other estimates place the current population to be as high as 33,000. If all the current vacant residential units are filled, the maximum 34,000 can readily be reached. With the proposal to build an additional of at least 1200 units, the maximum 34,000 residents can be exceeded. Is this not a violation of the Master Plan?
18. Based on the 2000 Census, Foster City has one of the highest, if not the highest density in the Peninsula. Why further exacerbate the density with the proposal to build more buildings?
19. Is the City aware there are now 45,000 people entering Foster City daily?
20. Is it true that it took eight years to find tenants for Parkside Towers, the 1001/1051 Hillsdale Boulevard building? Might this be true of the 36 new mid- to high- rise buildings proposed for Foster City?
21. There are already many businesses in the community struggling to survive as well as numerous vacancies in existing commercial and residential buildings. Why add more to the excess supply?
22. Does the City have the proper equipment if it becomes necessary to evacuate senior citizens in the event of a major catastrophe (earthquake) from 14+ story high-rise buildings?
23. What benefit is it to the residents of Foster City who will be subjected to the major disruption in their lives from the massive building projects being proposed?
24. The City Government is pursuing the development of a number of towering buildings to generate more revenue. However, there are more efficient and better alternatives to attain this objective. Have the city officials seriously considered other alternatives? And are they open to pursuing them?
25. Foster City has a relatively high revenue per capita, compared to many towns in the Bay Area and in California. Yet is has serious revenue and budgetary concerns. Why? Is the "level of service" too high or are their inefficiencies at work?
If you are interested in the answers to these questions or have questions of your own – Get Involved (Please see this particularly section in our website.)
This is OUR City – insist on knowing how the City Council plans to impact our lives by allowing developers to overbuild.