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Kumar, Kavitha
Interim Part-time Community Development Director
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Home for All - San Mateo County

Plan Pacifica - General Plan Update

Pacifica Connects - Let's Talk Housing!

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Housing Element 2023 - 2031

The time has come to update the City's Housing Element, also known as the City's housing plan. The Housing Element provides an analysis of the community's housing needs for all income levels, and strategies to provide for those housing needs. The housing element must be updated every eight years.

To learn more about the Housing Element Update 2023-2031 process, go to the Housing Element project page.

Sign up here to receive project updates.

ADU Planning Tool Available

Planning on building an ADU? Check out the Symbium tool to learn instantly if you can build an ADU on your property. The City has partnered with Symbium Build as part of the One Stop Shop ADU Pilot Program and will be offering this service for a limited time during this pilot program.

Community Conversations

lets talk housing logo In partnership with San Mateo County’s Home for All Engagement Program, the community has come together to talk about the future of housing in Pacifica.

Two online surveys were shared with the public to initiate the housing conversation, followed by two events held on April 13 and May 21 (more information below). The survey and events propelled a much-needed conversation on housing challenges. At the April 13 and May 21 events, important dialogue on housing was shared among neighbor-to-neighbor and the community explored how we can work together to address Pacifica’s housing needs.

These engagements were made possible by the Home for All Grant from San Mateo County. The purpose of Home for All is to advance new approaches for community engagement around the critical topic of housing. We are excited to report that both engagements from April 13 and May 21 were highly successful. Read and visit the links below to learn about how the process went.

May 21, Second Community Conversation

community housing conversation The second housing conversation took place on Tuesday, May 21 with an even greater turnout compared to the first housing conversation. Over 90 interested and engaged community members came out to Ingrid B. Lacy Middle School. Key themes that emerged from the April 13 conversation were reviewed. A presentation on creative housing options was heard and a handout was provided. The City also provided bilingual services and materials at the meeting.

April 13, First Community Conversation

community housing conversation The first housing conversation took place at the Pacifica Community Center on April 13. A turnout of 85 community participants came together in a facilitated round-table dialogue to discuss:

How does the issue of housing affect you and the people you know in Pacifica?
As we think about Pacifica’s future, what kind of community do you want to live in? Why is that important to you?
What housing options seem promising based on our community needs?
How else can our community work together to address housing needs?

The goal of the meeting was to develop a shared understanding about how the current housing situation affects the community and to identify priorities, values, and principles that can guide the City’s upcoming planning efforts in the process of updating its General Plan, Local Coastal Program, and developing a new Sharp Park Specific Plan.

Online Surveys

Two separate online surveys were posted to City Hall Listens as part of outreach to ask the community to reflect on their experiences with housing.

Survey 1 asked participants to “Share three words or thoughts about where you live in Pacifica. It could be about something specific, like your house or apartment, or something more general about your neighborhood. What, if anything, would you hope to change about where you live in Pacifica?

Results of Survey 1

Survey 2 asked participants to “Share three words or thoughts that somebody outside of your family would say about their housing situation in Pacifica. What, if anything, do you think this person would hope to change about where they live in Pacifica?”

Results of Survey 2

Where We Started & Outreach Process

In late 2018, the City of Pacifica applied for and was awarded a grant from the County of San Mateo to support City participation in the Home for All Community Engagement Program. The same grant funding was also awarded to the cities of Brisbane, San Mateo, Foster City, and Hillsborough for the 2019 cohort year. A grant agreement with the City of Pacifica went into effect March 2019, and soon after staff and elected officials hit the ground running with outreach efforts. During the grant, the City was required to attend Learning Network meetings and to report out to the Learning Network on the progress of the strategy, effective best practices engaged, and lessons learned throughout the process. City staff and elected officials periodically convened with the County and the cohort cities to learn about community engagement strategies and make the two community conversations successful.

The extensive Outreach Process included high-level marketing and engagement activity which included but, was not limited to:

Providing engagement and awareness of efforts by staffing booths at special events such as at the Pacifica Farmer’s Market
Public interfacing at pop-up opportunities at the library, churches, and community meet-ups
Partnering with the Pacifica Resource Center and local organizations
Attending a series of Learning Networks
Collaborating strategies with other San Mateo County cities
Branding the “Pacifica Connects” tagline
Creating the “Let’s Talk Housing” logo
Developing a series of video promotions and advertisements
Developing marketing fliers and materials
Social media engagement across all City subscribed platforms such as Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
Translating materials into Spanish
Producing a new webpage – Pacifica Connects - Let's Talk Housing!

Additional Resources & Documents

Plan Pacifica

In early 2019, the City began the simultaneous process of updating its General Plan and Local Coastal Plan, and developing a Specific Plan for the Sharp Park neighborhood. Help shape the future of Pacifica by participating in the Plan Pacifica process. Read more about the Plan Pacifica process.

Accessory Dwelling Units

Accessory Dwelling Units or “ADUs” can help mitigate the widespread and ongoing shortage of affordable housing within Pacifica. An ADU is a smaller, independent residential dwelling unit located on the same lot as a stand-alone single-family home. Read Article 4.5 on Accessory Dwelling Units.

Home Sharing

HIP Housing is a private nonprofit organization providing housing services to the community who are searching for affordable housing in San Mateo County. HIP’s Home Sharing Program matches two or more unrelated people in a mutual living arrangement. Read about HIP Housing.

Useful Documents