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Despite passionate pleas from the public to hit the brakes, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on Monday approved the $2 million purchase of a house in North Fair Oaks for foster youth transitioning into adulthood.
The house, located at 3335 Spring St., would tentatively host four to 12 people aged 18-24 who are moving out of foster care.
The purchase comes out after the shutdown of StarVista — the San Mateo nonprofit that’s offered wellness services to at-risk community members for over 55 years, including a live-in program for unhoused young people transitioning out of foster care. The organization ceased operations Aug. 1 due to “ongoing financial challenges,” according to a message on its website in mid-July.
“What’s important for us,” the President of the Board, David Canepa, said, “is people need a home. This gives foster youth the ability to move forward.”
Before public comments mounted, Supervisor Noelia Corzo shared at the Monday meeting that she began her career by working with foster youth in San Francisco and has “a lot of insight into the needs and struggles of this community.”
Supervisor Lisa Gauthier added that the purchase needed to happen soon.
“Real estate doesn’t wait,” she said. “We’re still working with the community, but I am going to make the recommendation that we move forward.”
But about a dozen neighbors of the property voiced concerns Monday about the board’s plan and or process for buying the 2,400-square-foot, six-bed, four-bath house.
“We felt a little bit of disrespect with how little communication we’ve had about this,” said Alfonso Avila, who organized a petition in opposition to the project, which has garnered over 150 signatures. “I’d like to propose that the vote is either a ‘no’ today, or pushed out, so we can actually have the time and space for that dialogue.”
The purchase of the property was initially on the board’s consent agenda for its Aug. 26 meeting until a tidal wave of opposition by community members prompted Gauthier to request the board save the item for discussion at its next board meeting.
The Office of Community Affairs first hosted a community meeting for the project Aug. 19, notifying neighbors of the event within 300 feet of 3335 Spring St. Following the board’s Aug. 26 meeting, the county created a frequently asked questions page and passed out flyers with information related to the project, according to Gauthier.
On Sept. 9 at the board’s regular meeting, the supervisors unanimously voted to buy it.
Disgruntled neighbors like Alisa Martinez criticized the “passive means” by which the board included the community in the decision, instead of holding another community meeting to utilize more “dialogue and discourse” to “listen to what your constituents, your voters, are asking of you.”
Many critics of the purchase said they support the program, just not 3335 Spring St. as the site for it.
They cite concerns with access to nearby apartments that could host nefarious activities, Spring Street’s limited parking, too little space for up to 12 occupants and the threats to neighborhood safety the tenants could pose.
The fiscal impact of the purchase, including the use of taxpayer dollars and loss of tax revenue, seeing as the government-owned home could be tax-exempt, also worried residents who spoke at the meetings.
One neighbor said it doesn’t make financial sense for the county to spend $2 million for one of the highest-priced homes in this area and suggested a location near El Camino Real.
The 3335 Spring St. house, according to Verducci, was chosen for its proximity to its former Douglas Avenue shelter, the Sequoia Union High School District, and access to public transit, as well as its layout that’s good for workshops and one-on-one sessions. The Douglas Avenue house was about half the size and price of this Spring Street one.
Despite voting in favor of purchasing the $2 million property, Canepa, the president of the board, said he wasn’t “100%” sure whether other properties were considered.
Gauthier said other properties were considered by the board “months ago,” but “at the top of [her] mind” she doesn’t know why they weren’t selected by county staff as the right property for the intention.
“Other properties were considered but they didn’t meet the county’s programmatic needs,” Michelle Durand, the chief communications officer for the county, clarified over email.
With the board’s unanimous approval on Monday, Canepa is now authorized to execute the real estate acquisition on behalf of the county.
When the county learned StarVista’s housing program for up to 10 youth would bolt up, “it moved quickly to secure a new property,” Verducci told the Pulse. The former property was at 639 Douglas Ave., which is a three-minute drive from 3335 Spring St.
The majority of residents at Douglas Avenue, according to Durand, have progressed to steady employment, permanent housing, and/or educational degrees — a model the county considers to be encouraging and replicable.
The intention is for residents to stay at 3335 Spring St. for about six months, though some will be able to move out more quickly, and others will be able to stay longer “to get everything in place for their next step,” the county’s interim director of strategic communications added. The service provider will be working to balance shorter stays with more successful outcomes.
The purchase of 3335 Spring St. is expected to close on or around Sept. 30, according to Durand. “Very soon,” the county will issue a Request for Proposals to select an operator, which she said usually takes several months to complete.
The county hopes to begin moving participants into the house as early as late winter, Durand added, and plans to host a convening for the neighbors to meet the program operator once a contract has been negotiated.
On Tuesday, Gauthier said she visited a similar home in the neighborhood, noting “you wouldn’t even know they’re there.”
“At the end of the day,” Gauthier stated, “this is really about foster youth who are aging out of the system who would otherwise become homeless.”
