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1 <br /> <br /> <br />Home. Heart. Hope. <br />Board of Directors <br />Joshua Amoroso <br />President <br /> <br />Lauren Boro <br />Vice President <br /> <br />Nancy Bush <br />Treasurer <br /> <br />Kalah Espinoza-Agger <br />Secretary <br /> <br />Alicia Aguirre <br />Aaron Aknin <br />Richa Awasthi <br />Ian Bain <br />Mary Bates <br />Lauren Berman <br />Igor Bershteyn <br />LaTisa Brooks <br />Napallo Gomez <br />Jesse Gutierrez <br />Peggy Jensen <br />Mary Leahy <br />Meris Ota <br />Brian Perkins <br />Corey Rostad <br /> <br /> <br />Honorary Board <br />Lois Almen Everett <br />Emeritus <br />Congresswoman <br />Anna Eshoo <br />Honorable Helen Fisicaro <br />T. Jack Foster, Jr. <br />Honorable Jerry Hill <br />Dennis Lanterman <br />Honorable Jack Matthews <br />Memo Morantes <br />Helen Hilton Raiser <br />David Schemel <br />Honorable Jackie Speier <br /> <br />Administration <br />Kate Comfort Harr <br />Executive Director <br /> <br />Ghion Dessie <br />Vice President of Finance <br /> <br />Laura Fanucchi <br />Director of Programs <br /> <br />Troy Wilson <br />Fund Development <br />Director <br /> <br />HIP Housing <br />111 E. 5th Avenue <br />San Mateo, CA 94401 <br />650-348-6660 <br />www.HIPhousing.org <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />June 29, 2026 <br /> <br /> <br />Dear Mayor Martinez Saballos and members of the Redwood City Council, <br /> <br />I am writing on behalf of HIP Housing. Although we do not typically get involved in <br />policy and advocacy issues, we are making an exception now because we have deep <br />concerns about the Fair and Affordable Housing measure being proposed for the <br />November 2026 ballot. <br /> <br />Who we are: <br /> <br />HIP Housing is a well-established, nonprofit affordable housing provider that has <br />worked long and hard to develop strategies to protect and preserve affordable housing <br />throughout San Mateo County. We provide innovative social service programs and <br />access to deed restricted affordable housing rental opportunities throughout San <br />Mateo County. In Redwood City, we own and operate 107 units which are home to 132 <br />people, and are working an additional 200 Redwood City residents through our social <br />service housing programs. We are an anchor institution in San Mateo County and are <br />included in all 21 Housing elements as a strategy for providing fair housing choice. <br /> <br />We understand the seriousness of the affordability issues Redwood City residents face <br />and are deeply passionate about finding solutions. This is why it’s hard to find ourselves <br />at odds with others who are equally passionate about the issue. But it is important to <br />recognized that should the measure be passed in November, it not only jeopardizes our <br />entire organization, but it also jeopardizes other owners of older buildings who already <br />keep rents at below market either by choice or by deed restriction. <br /> <br />Preservation Model: <br /> <br />As some context, Costa-Hawkins exempts residential buildings built after 1995 from the <br />majority of the provisions in the proposed measure. As a result, the Fair and Affordable <br />Housing measure would primarily target older, smaller building that typically have <br />longtime “mom and pop” owners or that are owned by nonprofit affordable housing <br />providers, like us, who focus on the preservation of existing housing as affordable. <br /> <br />HIP Housing specializes in the Preservation Model which preserves existing multifamily <br />units as affordable. We do this by purchasing, deed restricting and operating older <br />multifamily building with between 6-16 units. This allows us to work with cities to help <br />prevent the displacement of existing tenants and to preserve the integrity of both the <br />affordability of units and the tenants who occupy them. <br /> <br />