Agda Pkt 2026.07.07 Special Council Meeting

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July 7, 2026 Dear Mayor Martinez Saballos and Members of the Redwood City City Council, I am writing on behalf of St. Francis Center regarding the proposed Fair and Affordable Housing Act currently under your consideration. For more than 40 years, St. Francis Center has been a trusted community anchor in North Fair Oaks, serving families through affordable housing, education, youth development, and essential services. While we fully recognize the urgency of addressing our region's housing affordability crisis, we are deeply concerned that the proposed measure would unintentionally undermine the very nonprofit organizations that have spent decades preserving affordable housing for local families. St. Francis Center owns and operates 267 units of permanently affordable housing, of which 90 units are in Redwood City limits. Unlike market-rate housing providers, our housing exists solely to fulfill our mission of ensuring that working families, seniors, and individuals with limited incomes can remain in the community they call home. We preserve naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), maintain long-term deed restrictions, and reinvest every dollar back into our properties and community programs. Our residents include childcare providers, home health aides, restaurant workers, construction workers, retail employees, and many others whose work is essential to the vitality of Redwood City. Preserving affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult. Over the past several years, we have experienced dramatic increases in property insurance, utilities, maintenance costs, construction materials, labor, and regulatory compliance. We have also made significant capital investments required under state laws such as SB 721 to ensure our buildings remain safe for decades to come. Because our rents are already restricted by affordability requirements, our ability to respond to rising operating costs is extremely limited. The proposed Fair and Affordable Housing Act would add another layer of financial and administrative burden without recognizing the unique realities faced by nonprofit affordable housing providers. As currently written, the measure applies many of its provisions to deed-restricted affordable housing, despite the fact that these properties are already subject to extensive oversight, affordability regulations, income certifications, and government compliance standards. Among our concerns are: ● The creation of additional administrative and compliance requirements that duplicate existing affordable housing regulations. ● New fees and oversight costs that divert limited resources away from property maintenance and social services.