Sara McDowell

As the current mayor of San Carlos, Sara McDowell believes the steps she’s taken are in the best interest of the city and the people. 

“As a city council, we are all dedicated to addressing the need for more housing at all income levels. I recognize that at this point in time, it will be extremely difficult for my children to afford to live in the Bay Area. It is getting harder and harder for young families, as well as seniors on a fixed income, to make ends meet in our region. And that is not acceptable,” McDowell said. 

As part of the process of planning for new housing by updating the Housing Element, the city council did work with the community to get their input and perspectives on the issues affecting them. The city council has also partaken in past community workshops that were advertised and open to the public. 

“Residents weighed in via all of these outreach measures to voice preferences for where new housing should be built and how dense that housing should be,” McDowell said. “It is hoped that once our Housing Element process wraps up, we will see new development projects launch in San Carlos, near our transit hubs, to increase our housing supply.”

In November 2020, a Community Newsletter was mailed to all the households in San Carlos with the main focus on housing. After the City Council received community feedback, they discussed options to increase the “density and height in key areas” along El Camino Real to meet the community’s housing needs. 

“Housing is important because we want our teachers, firefighters, health care professionals, restaurant workers, and public sector employees to have the opportunity to live near their work in order to have a diverse and thriving town. When people are able to live near their work, it also cuts down on traffic on our freeways and commute times.” McDowell said. “San Carlos prides itself on being a welcoming and inclusive community and we as a community recognize the importance of having housing for people of all income levels.”

On June 8, 2022, the city unveiled its first 100% affordable housing project on 817 Walnut Street in downtown San Carlos. The city had made a $7.3 million investment to make the project happen and due to its success, the San Carlos City Council is currently working on a second affordable housing project on Cherry Street. This will include 2 and 3-bedroom units in order to accommodate families.  

“As mayor, I was very proud to cut the ribbon on 817 Walnut, our 100% affordable housing project in the heart of our downtown,” McDowell said. 

In addition to these projects, McDowell serves on a county-wide governing board for the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART). Founded in 2003, HEART is a public/private partnership among the cities in San Mateo County, businesses, nonprofits, education, and labor communities. Their job is to help fund affordable housing projects throughout the county. 

“In my opinion, one of the biggest barriers to getting affordable housing built is access to funding,” McDowell said. With the average cost of building one unit of affordable housing averaging $700,000, what we really need to see is the state stepping up and making more funding for affordable housing easily available.” 

In regard to the housing in the Greater East San Carlos neighborhood (GESC), the City Council has listened to feedback from the community and made changes appropriately. According to the mayor, at the City Council meeting on Sept. 26, 2022, a significant amount of community feedback was received regarding two properties, 1031 East San Carlos Avenue and 575 Old County Road. The Council then gave direction to staff to remove the properties from the Draft Housing Element Appendix A, Sites Inventory.

According to McDowell, “there are very real, negative consequences for communities that do not submit a compliant Housing Element to the State.”  

“As a city councilmember and current mayor, I have been proud to work very closely with the Greater East San Carlos (GESC) neighborhood on many issues to make sure resident concerns are heard,” McDowell said. 

McDowell, in the past, has organized a meeting with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials to discuss the clean-up of contaminated properties and was also an advocate for creating the East Side Innovation District Vision Plan.

“I will continue to be a strong advocate for our entire community, including the Greater East San Carlos neighborhood,” McDowell said. “I believe the best policies are made after seeking out and listening to all community input, and I welcome continued discussions with our community members on many topics, including housing.”