Ongoing Policies

DRAFT

Click on the plus (+) symbol to expand each policy and its completion status. Priority goals or policies are indicated by a diamond symbol (♦) .

Land Use

    • ♦ Policy 1D: Ensure that the design of the public and private realm land uses along residential and commercial streets promotes safe, convenient, and well-integrated walking, bicycling, and public transit use. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 1F: Identify key parcels with development potential, and potential barriers to such development. Address these barriers through creative solutions (rezoning, parcel consolidation, and others) to attract private developers and encourage higher intensity infill development. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 2E: Address incompatible industrial uses in residential and mixed-use areas, particularly along Middlefield Road, through County assistance to relocate uses to more appropriate industrial areas within North Fair Oaks, through fee waivers, incentives, identification of appropriate sites, and other measures. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 4D: Allow and encourage transit-oriented development and the integration of development with multiple transportation options along major corridors including El Camino Real, 5th Avenue, and Middlefield Road, if and as these transportation options emerge. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 6A: As part of the Implementation Program for the adopted Community Plan, create a development incentive and exception program, as described in more detail in Section 2.5, which specifies the amount and type of contribution to the creation of community benefits required in order to be eligible for specified exceptions to normal development standards and restrictions. Status: Ongoing

Economic Development

    • ♦ Policy 1A.1: Collaborate with employment assistance organizations, local employers, and educational institutions to create a coordinated workforce training program targeted to North Fair Oaks residents. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1A.3: Prioritize workforce training for local youth, including continuation and expansion of existing youth jobs-training programs. Identify opportunities to create and expand space to house youth job training and workforce development programs and other youth job assistance programs. Ensure that new development does not displace, or provides for replacement or relocation of, space for existing youth workforce training programs. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 1D.1: Expand County outreach efforts to educate local employers on the benefits of local hiring, publicize opportunities for local hiring, and encourage companies to hire local residents. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1E.1: Continue to provide space for day labor programs in County facilities, and support to organizations that serve day laborers. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1E.2: Work with day labor organizations to identify day laborer needs, and to ensure that infrastructure changes, physical development and redevelopment, and other changes contemplated by the Community Plan consider day laborer needs and potential impacts on day laborers. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4C.2: Promote multifamily residential development and the development of new housing product types on key sites and in mixed-use areas as described in Chapter 6, Housing, and Chapter 7, Design Standards and Guidelines. Status: Ongoing

Circulation and Parking

    • ♦Policy 2H: Support the planning efforts and policies of the Grand Boulevard Initiative to transform El Camino Real from an auto oriented commercial corridor into an attractive multi-modal boulevard with design elements that facilitate transit, pedestrian, and bicycle mobility. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 2I: Emphasize ongoing maintenance of facilities while upgrading facilities to urban standards (i.e., ADA-compliant sidewalks and curb ramps, curb and gutter, and other improvements) over time, where appropriate. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦Policy 2J: Use low-cost pedestrian and stormwater improvements such as swales and unpaved pedestrian paths for unimproved areas where sidewalks, curbs, and gutters are missing or inadequate. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4A: As described in Chapter 2, Land Use Designations, study the feasibility, potential improvements required, and necessary land use and zoning policies needed to support a future multi-modal transit hub in North Fair Oaks, potentially including bus, bus rapid transit (BRT), and train service (see Figure C) for proposed transit hub location). Depending on future rail development, the future transit hub could include potential Dumbarton rail service or Redwood City streetcar service, High Speed Rail, Caltrain, or other rail, in addition to various bus transit types. The hub would connect to pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile facilities and would serve as a multi-modal transit center and a catalyst for surrounding transit-oriented development. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4B: Explore the feasibility of various transit service types at the identified multi-modal hub location, including Dumbarton Rail, Redwood City streetcar, High Speed Rail, and Caltrain. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4C: Make required circulation, transportation, and access improvements to ensure that the community has as much multi-modal access to the identified transit hub location as possible. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4D: Prioritize the El Camino Real and Middlefield Road corridors for transit mobility, service and access improvements. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 4H: Support SamTans’ long-range planning goals for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service, including high-frequency rapid service along El Camino Real (SR-82). Also support potential BRT along Middlefield Road. Encourage provision of BRT as a means of providing additional mass transit service at relatively low costs, along existing routes. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4I: Support Redwood City’s vision for future streetcar service along Middlefield Road and explore opportunities to extend streetcar service within North Fair Oaks, potentially along 5th Avenue to connect to the proposed streetcar corridors on Middlefield Road and Broadway. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 5A: Support the use of transportation modes other than the automobile to reduce the need for additional parking. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 5G: Implement new parking management techniques such as encouraged shared parking in mixed-use developments, reduced employee parking in conjunction with ridesharing programs, stacked parking, and using on-street parking to meet on-site parking requirements of nearby projects. Status: Ongoing

Infrastructure

    • Policy 2B: Revise existing County water demand and sewer generation standards to reflect the latest water efficient technologies. Incentives programs should also be created for new developments that implement more stringent water demand and sewer generation standards. This will promote water reduction measures and reduce the amount of sewage generated. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 2C: Perform regular inspections of sanitary sewer facilities to identify leaks within the system. Identify priority lines and structures within the sanitary sewer system, on an annual basis, that need repair and/or replacement. High priority should be given to existing facilities that receive high infiltration and inflow, to mitigate unnecessary flows downstream. In addition, continue existing routine and maintenance repairs of the collection system. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 2E: Reassess sanitary sewer maintenance costs annually and update connection and usage fees accordingly, to ensure that both new and existing users of the sanitary sewer system contribute their fair share of sanitary sewer costs. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 3A: Continue to implement all local and state mandated stormwater treatment controls(C.3 requirements), including requiring that all new developments adhere to the current thresholds for requiring stormwater treatment and that all new developments provide a Stormwater Maintenance Agreement that will be recorded with the property deed to ensure on-going maintenance of these private stormwater treatment areas is being performed. Continue to require all new developments to comply with the Countywide Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) and to provide erosion and sediment control plans and Best Management Practices (BMPs) for all construction activities. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4C: Discuss joint upgrades of regional storm drainage facilities with the City of Redwood City, the Town of Atherton, and other appropriate jurisdictions. These regional upgrades, such as improvements at the Bayfront Canal located downstream from North Fair Oaks, are a necessary component of any efforts to reduce local flooding in North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4D: Continue to implement all local and state mandated stormwater treatment controls (C.3 requirements), ensuring that new developments implement stormwater treatment measures to reduce peak flows in the storm drain system and maximize on-site retention and reuse of storm water for irrigation purposes. Status: Ongoing

    • ♦ Policy 5A: Work with adjacent jurisdictions to find workable solutions to mitigate regional flooding. Since several factors outside of North Fair Oaks contribute to local and regional flooding, working closely with these adjacent jurisdictions is critical to implementing a solution to the existing flooding issues. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 5C: Continue to require new developments that might result in an increase in stormwater runoff to provide onsite detention facilities to address increased flows. The on-site detention facilities (tank, oversized pipes, or other facilities) shall be sized so that the new development does not cause an increase of flow into the storm drain system. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 6D: Create new incentive programs to encourage new developments to use gray water or harvested rainwater for irrigation purposes. Status: Ongoing

Health and Wellness

    • Policy 1D: Develop additional parks, open space, or greenways along the Hetch-Hetchy right-of-way. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1G: Improve safety at existing parks and open spaces through collaborations between County departments, interjurisdictional collaboration, and collaboration with the community and other organizations. Work with community members to establish and expand neighborhood watch programs and ensure that neighborhood watch programs address safety in area parks and open spaces. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 2A: Improve, update and adequately maintain existing parks and recreation facilities. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 2B: Establish new and expand existing partnerships with local resident groups and organizations to help maintain smaller local parks and playgrounds in North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 3A: Expand recreation programs at parks and recreation facilities to increase the efficient use of existing facilities and the diversity of recreation and leisure options available for residents of all ages and abilities. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4E: Develop incentive programs for convenience stores to carry more healthy food options and to support existing healthy food outlets. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4G: Encourage all businesses selling food to place healthier products in prominent, visible, and accessible locations within the business through incentives and other programs. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4Q: Encourage local organizations and schools to provide education programs on nutrition and healthy eating habits. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4U: Work with local farmers in San Mateo County and adjacent agricultural areas to supply fresh fruits and vegetables to North Fair Oaks schools and organizations. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 5A: Collaborate with residents and community groups to build new community gardens and urban farms on vacant public parcels in neighborhoods, in schoolyards, in church yards, and potentially as part of private development projects. Explore these opportunities within the existing right-of-way of neighborhood streets as well as the Hetch-Hetchy right-of-way. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 5B: Consider community gardens as an interim and potentially permanent use of vacant/underutilized land. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 6A: Partner with SamTrans to improve bus frequency and routes to neighborhood clinics and regional health facilities. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 6B: Work with paratransit providers to ensure that seniors and residents with disabilities or impaired mobility have reliable access to neighborhood clinics, regional medical facilities, and adult day care. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 6D: Partner with Redwood City School District, the Fair Oaks Senior Center, the Fair Oaks Community Center, and other community organizations to provide health education and health service delivery at existing community facilities and campuses. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 6F: Use incentive programs, information and education, and other strategies to encourage employers in San Mateo County, including in North Fair Oaks, to provide a living wage and sick days to all employees. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 6H: Maintain existing health facilities, and ensure that new development does not displace existing health services. Consider location of health facilities and potential impacts on existing facilities in all decisions on new development. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 7A: Work to reduce the amount of advertisements and messaging in storefronts, promotional areas, and other locations that emphasize or promote unhealthy eating and tobacco and alcohol products. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 7B: Work with community organizations to promote health and nutrition education. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 8A: Implement measures to enhance local and regional connectivity for all travel modes, ages, and ability levels as outlined in Chapter 3, Circulation and Parking. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 8B: Partner with SamTrans and other transit and nonprofit service providers to expand service and promote public transit as a viable transportation mode in North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 8E: Create “complete streets” that balance all modes of travel and provide a safe and comfortable pedestrian environment along commercial corridors, major arterials, and appropriate residential streets. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 9A: Work with paratransit and nonprofit service providers to expand service for seniors and residents with disabilities or impaired mobility. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 10D: Ensure that there are safe pedestrian paths or sidewalks along all streets in North Fair Oaks, and improve crosswalks, signage, and signals at key intersections. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 10G: Create and facilitate new pedestrian connections across the Southern Pacific Railroad and Caltrain tracks to expand access to community amenities and facilities throughout the neighborhood. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 12A: Ensure that major corridors in North Fair Oaks such as Middlefield Road and 5th Avenue include sidewalks; bike lanes or wide paved shoulders; prominent signage; dedicated bus lanes if appropriate; accessible, sheltered bus stops; frequent and safe crossing opportunities; medians or islands to serve as resting points mid-crossing where needed; accessible pedestrian signals; and narrower auto travel lanes to create a balance between auto, transit, bicycle and pedestrian modes. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 13A: Allow and encourage small-scale neighborhood-serving retail and amenities such as child care centers in underserved areas. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 13B: Enhance local connectivity for residents by implementing the recommendations in the circulation, parking, pedestrian and bicycle strategies in Chapter 3, Circulation and Parking. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 13C: Improve bicycle and pedestrian access to all neighborhood services, including clinics, to ensure that residents have safe and convenient access to these facilities. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 13D: Partner with SamTrans and other transit and paratransit providers to improve access to neighborhood clinics and regional medical facilities for all residents including seniors, families, and people with disabilities. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 15A: Address physical barriers that prevent residents, visitors and workers from walking or bicycling safely and conveniently to public amenities and retail services in and around North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 16A: Increase monitoring and enforcement of illegal dumping. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 16B: Continue to work with residents, community organizations and youth organizations to address public vandalism. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 16C: Support programs that create new strategies for deterring and preventing crimes, including vandalism, illegal dumping, and graffiti, that are significant concerns affecting quality of life. Encourage community groups and other service providers to develop anti-crime strategies inclusive of residents who may not be comfortable participating in programs run by public agencies or reporting crimes to authorities. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 16E: Continue and expand coordination between residents, business owners, and public agencies to implement graffiti abatement strategies. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 16F: Work with community partners and public agencies in multiple jurisdictions to expand monitoring and enforcement of code compliance. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 16G: Encourage property owners to maintain and upgrade their properties. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 16I: Develop strategies to address distressed properties and structures to prevent vandalism. Status Ongoing

    • Policy 19B: Continue to invest in and maintain joint use agreements for public facilities such as neighborhood parks, playgrounds, and the Fair Oaks Community and Senior Centers to ensure that North Fair Oaks residents have access to social, economic, and community programs to support their well-being. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19C: Collaborate with the Redwood City School District and community organizations to provide after-school and out-of-school activities and programs for neighborhood children and youth to ensure that they have safe places to gather and socialize. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19D: Work with community partners and agencies and departments in relevant jurisdictions to develop new and expand existing programs for children, youth, and young adults in North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19G: Encourage and expand neighborhood block watch programs. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19H: Increase police foot patrols along major retail corridors. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19L: Continue and expand employment programs to support the re-entry, transition and integration of prison inmates into the community, with special attention to youth offenders. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19M: Expand youth engagement programs. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19N: Collaborate with the Sheriff’s Office, Redwood City and Menlo Park fire departments, and community and faith-based organizations and leaders to promote crime prevention and public safety. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19O: Increase the economic security of residents by increasing local employment opportunities and wages for local residents.
      Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 19P: Promote workforce development opportunities throughout North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 20A: Coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions, local employers and industries, and residents to ensure that emergency preparedness and disaster response programs are in place, and that evacuation routes are clearly designated and do not conflict with the evacuation plans of nearby cities and counties who may be relying on the same freeways or bridges. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 21B: Ensure that sensitive uses such as schools, childcare centers, parks and playgrounds, housing and community gathering places are protected from adverse impacts of emissions wherever and to the greatest extent possible. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 21C: Protect residents and employees in the neighborhood from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke in indoor and outdoor areas. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 21D: Reduce storm water runoff and seasonal flooding in North Fair Oaks to protect water quality in nearby bodies of water through the use of sustainable and green infrastructure design, construction and maintenance techniques. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 21E: Improve the tree canopy coverage through street tree programs. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 21F: Support regional, state and national initiatives and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air quality impacts locally. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 21G: Collaborate with Redwood City School District, the Fair Oaks Senior Center, the Fair Oaks Community Center, and other community organizations to promote recycling and composting. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 21H: Ensure that any new developments or redevelopments include “green” features such as rainwater collection, green roofs, bicycle storage, alternative energy systems, and others. Specifically encourage features that reduce reliance on non-renewable sources of energy. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 22D: Require strict assessment and adequate mitigation that meet state and national standards for site cleanup when redeveloping existing industrial and contaminated sites. Status: Ongoing

Housing

    • Policy 1B: Provide technical and financial support to affordable housing developers, including funding, information on available housing sites, information on regulatory requirements, information on other resources available, and other support needed to facilitate successful development of affordable housing. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1C: Require and promote affordable housing as a community benefit provided in exchange for development bonuses and exemptions, such as building height in excess of normally permitted maximum height, development density in excess of maximum density, lot coverage in excess of allowed coverage, or other exceptions or bonuses. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1D.2: Implement parking reductions appropriate for the actual parking needs of new projects and encourage “unbundling” of parking spaces in new rental developments, allowing tenants to pay for parking only if they need it. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 1E.2: Continue to work with appropriate agencies to provide low-cost loans, grants and other resources to low- and moderate-income homebuyers in North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 2A.4: Implement parking reductions appropriate for the actual parking needs of new projects and encourage “unbundling” of parking spaces in new rental developments, allowing tenants to pay for parking only if they need it. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 3A.1: Provide owners of rental property that serves low-income residents with assistance in code compliance, to help preserve the area’s stock of existing unregulated affordable housing. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 3B.2: Provide the North Fair Oaks community with readily available information on ways to pursue code compliance, code enforcement, and health and safety complaints, and ensure that complaints are investigated and resolved expeditiously. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 3C.1: Expand and target County efforts to encourage North Fair Oaks residential property owners to use various residential energy efficiency retrofitting and weatherization programs provided by the County and other sources. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4A.1: Work with government and nonprofit agencies to promote foreclosure prevention measures such as expanded homeowner education and consumer credit counseling for individuals and families. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4A.2: Expand outreach and information to local residents and community groups about available local, state or federal homeownership assistance programs. These resources should be provided in English, Spanish, and other languages as needed to meet the needs of local residents. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4A.3: Provide residents with information and resources on ways to obtain assistance in preventing evictions, including information on fair housing organizations, tenant assistance organizations, and other resources. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4A.4: Provide information to residents who have been displaced from housing or are at immediate risk of displacement on available services and resources to assist with provision of temporary housing, alternative permanent housing, affordable housing resources, financial resources, relocation assistance, and other options for displaced residents. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4B.3: Monitor the risk of conversion of long-term restricted affordable housing to market-rate housing, and if units are at risk of conversion, help preserve the units by providing resources and assistance, including partnership with nonprofit organizations, assistance to existing tenants, financial assistance, and other appropriate strategies. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 4C.1: Work with nonprofit partners to implement a shared housing program in North Fair Oaks targeted to senior homeowners and other homeowners at-risk of losing their homes to help match at-risk homeowners with appropriate lower-income renters in need of affordable housing options. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 6A.1: In provision of funding and other assistance, continue to give high priority to affordable and supportive housing that serves special needs populations. Status: Ongoing

    • Policy 8A.3: Continue to provide financial and other assistance to homeless service providers in North Fair Oaks. Status: Ongoing