What is "Burlingame Talks Together About Housing"?
Burlingame Talks Together About Housing was a joint effort by the City of Burlingame and the
Home for All initiative of San Mateo County in 2018 designed to allow the community to learn more about the current supply of housing in Burlingame, and possibilities for programs and new housing on the horizon. The goal was to engage a broad cross section of people who live and work in Burlingame to talk about current challenges related to housing and to share ideas.
The first Burlingame Talks Together About Housing community conversation was held on February 10, 2018. The second community conversation built on the first one and was held April 28
th. Through both conversations, community members developed some shared values and guidelines for housing in Burlingame:
Housing Stability and Security – Increasing people’s ability to stay in the community, fostering family and community connections
Diversity – Supporting multiple aspects of diversity:
- Socioeconomic/occupational/generational/of all kinds
- Diversity of housing types
- Diversity of affordable housing opportunities, especially for those serving the community
Vitality of Community, Businesses and Services – Housing decisions that positively impact local businesses and services and also the charm of the community
Responsible Growth – Approaches that understand impacts on current and future infrastructure (including transportation and schools)
Inclusion – Housing decisions should include input from all levels, all sectors
The input from these meetings has been helping the City of Burlingame as it designs its housing programs. To be placed on the email notification list for updates about housing and future community conversations, please
email Community Development Director Kevin Gardiner.
Documents to Download
What is affordable housing?
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has defined "affordable housing" as being housing for which the cost to the household, based upon the number of persons in the household, does not exceed more than 30% of the gross monthly income of that household unit. Households paying more than 30% of their monthly income for housing-related expenses are considered to be "income burdened" and may ultimately have difficulty affording the other necessities of life: food, clothing, transportation and healthcare. HUD estimates that 12 million renter and homeowner households now pay more than 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing. A family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.
What is the Bay Area's affordable housing challenge?
To put the housing affordability issue in perspective for San Mateo County and the City of Burlingame, one need only consider the following facts:
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The 2017 Area Median Income (AMI) for a family of four in San Mateo County is $115,300. For the State of California this figure is $80,458. For the United States the figure is $68,000.
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Within San Mateo County (all areas, including Burlingame), the income cap for a "low-income" residence for a family of four is $105,350 (80% of AMI). The cap for "very low-income" units for the same family size is $65,800 (50% of AMI). For "extremely low-income" units the cap is $39,500 (30% of AMI). The "moderate-income" cap is $138,360 (120% of AMI).
Mortgage payments, assuming 20% down-payment with an interest rate of 4.25% results in monthly payments (principle and interest only, property tax, insurance and homeowners association fees excluded) of $8,855 for the average single-family home (with a $450,000 down-payment) and $4,132 for the average condominium unit (with a $210,000 down-payment) purchased in 2017. For a family of four incomes of $354,200+ per year and $165,280+ per year, respectively, would be required to ensure that HUD's 30% threshold for housing costs is not exceeded.
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For the year 2017, the average rental cost for dwelling units in Burlingame was $2,425 for one-bedroom units, $3,895 for two-bedroom units and $4,720 for three-bedroom units (source: RentCafe.com). Using these rent rates, a family of four would need an income of $97,000+ per year and $188,800+ per year to afford either a two- or three-bedroom rental unit without exceeding HUD's 30% threshold.
What is being done locally to encourage more affordable housing options?
Within HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development, the Office of Affordable Housing Programs (OAHP) administers a number of grant programs that are available to state and local governments to fund a wide range of activities that promote the production of affordable housing. In San Mateo County, funding from these sources is typically administered by the Department of Housing (web-link: County of San Mateo Department of Housing). Through these programs, direct assistance may be made available to qualifying families, or funding may be provided through a competitive process to affordable housing developers wishing to construct new housing within the region.
At the local level, the City of Burlingame's 2015-2023 Housing Element sets forth policies that are intended to promote the production of more affordable units in the community. Follow this link to review the Housing Element: 2015-2023 Housing Element.
What are some County resources for those seeking housing assistance?
What other resources (e.g. home-sharing, down-payment assistance, Legal Aid) are available?
What changes were made to California Housing Law in 2017 that affect affordable housing production?
Housing affordability is an urgent issue in California, where a majority of renters (over 3 million households) pay more than 30 percent of their income toward rent and nearly one-third (over 1.5 million households) spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent. In addition, California’s homeownership rates are at the lowest point since the 1940s. This has led many experts in the field to declare the current state of housing supply and affordability a crisis.
In his January 2017 budget proposal, Governor Brown set the tone and parameters for substantive action to address housing supply and affordability issues. He indicated that new and increased funding for housing must be instituted along with regulatory reform that streamlines local project approval processes and imposes more stringent measures of local accountability. These parameters guided legislative action throughout 2017, resulting in a package of bills signed into law. Gov. Brown and state legislators made significant changes to local land use processes and approved new sources of revenue for housing construction. The following reference guide prepared by the League of California Cities covers recent actions taken by the State Legislature to address the housing crisis and provides in-depth analysis and guidance on changes made to state and local land use law that will affect city processes and functions related to housing development: A 2018 Guide to New Housing Law in California.
Does the City of Burlingame have a rent control ordinance?
The City does not have a rent control ordinance. California AB 1482 limits annual rent increases statewide to 5% + local CPI, or 10%, whichever is lower, until January 1, 2030. This applies to all properties that have not been constructed in the past 15 years. For more information, please see the Assembly Bill text: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1482
You may also consult this flyer which contains a summary of AB 1482 prepared by the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County.
The most current CPI numbers may be periodically updated at the below links:
https://caanet.org/caa-updates-cpi-rates-for-ab-1482-compliance-2/
https://tenantprotections.org/calculator/ (has a calculator)
