Foster City

Foster City is a city of 34,000 built entirely on reclaimed baylands along San Mateo County's eastern shore — a master-planned community developed from scratch in the 1960s on a former island, governed by a five-member Council, known for its lagoon system and exceptional fiscal stability.

CivicCause organizes issues, meetings, elections, and public activity around Foster City so you can see what is happening locally and how it connects to broader county decisions.

Part of the San Mateo County network. View county hub.

Daily Summary

2026-10-22

Foster City City Council has an upcoming meeting on 2026-07-06

The Foster City City Council's October 8 treatment plant advisory committee centered on Treatment Plant Advisory Committee. These are agenda-based signals, not confirmed meeting outcomes, but they show where council attention is moving.

Residents can use the July 20 city council regular meeting page to follow the latest council business in this summary window.

Meeting: Foster City City Council • City Council Regular Meeting - Cancelled Meeting: Foster City City Council • City Council Regular Meeting

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Civic Signals

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Top Issues in Foster City

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Priority issue threads currently visible across meetings, agencies, organizations, and public records.

VLF Revenue Shortfall & Long-Term Fiscal Health

active

Created by CivicCause

Like every city in San Mateo County, Foster City is squeezed by the countywide vehicle license fee (VLF) replacement revenue shortfall that is draining millions from local general funds annually. Foster City's general fund is relatively le…

SB 79 & Transit-Oriented Development Pressure

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Created by CivicCause

Foster City faces a new pressure from SB 79 — the state's transit-oriented housing law taking effect July 1, 2026 — despite not having a Caltrain station of its own. The city is served by SamTrans bus routes connecting to the Hillsdale Cal…

District Elections — A New Democratic Era Begins

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Created by CivicCause

Foster City is making a historic governance transition in 2026 — its first-ever district-based elections after decades of at-large Council seats. At a public hearing on December 2, 2025, the City Council adopted a district map and finalize…

Sea Level Rise — The Levee Is Done, But the Work Is Not

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Created by CivicCause

Foster City completed the largest public works project in its history in February 2024 — a multi-year levee improvement program that is already earning national recognition. The Levee Improvements Project has been recognized by the Floodpl…

4% of the Way to a Mandatory Goal

active

Created by CivicCause

Foster City is in a housing production emergency. Two years into the 2023–2031 RHNA cycle, Foster City has completed just 73 of the 1,896 homes it is required to plan for and has approved only 38 new units — roughly 3 to 4 percent of its s…

Civic Activity

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Recent chronological updates from civic sources connected to Foster City.

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Elections

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11/3/2026 November 3, 2026 California General Election

Candidate races

Member, Board of Supervisors, District 5 (Short Term)Member, City Council, District 1

Measures

San Mateo County Charter Amendment Measure – Affirmation of Rights San Mateo County Charter Amendment Measure – Extension to Call a Special Election or Appoint San Mateo County Charter Amendment Measure – Extreme Weather Events San Mateo County Charter Amendment Measure – Reapportionment of Supervisorial Districts ACA 20: Save for California's Future Act

Upcoming meetings

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Recent meetings with summaries

Meeting archive

City Council Regular Meeting

6/15/2026 • 6:30 PM

Foster City City Council

RecentSummary availableAgenda available

What's Scheduled City Council Regular Meeting's 2026-06-15 agenda is scheduled to focus on City Council Regular Meeting. This is an agenda-derived preview, so it describes scheduled topics and proposed actions rather th…

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

9/29/2026 • 9:00 AM

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

RecentSummary availableAgenda + causes

What's Scheduled San Mateo County Board of Supervisors's 2026-09-29 agenda is scheduled to cover 26-802 Adopt a resolution authorizing Amendment No. 3 to the Agreement with Vista Environmental Consulting for on-call...,…

Recent news

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Budget preview

Foster City budget preview

FY 2025-26 final/adopted baseline with FY 2026-27 preliminary comparison

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Foster City's FY 2025-26 final budget covers the City of Foster City and the Estero Municipal Improvement District. The all-funds view includes enterprise activity such as water and wastewater, so it should not be read as simple city operating spending.

All-funds budget / requirements

FY 2025-26 final/adopted

$219.7M

FY 2026-27 preliminary/proposed

$168.4M

Lower all-funds requirements are mainly tied to enterprise/wastewater timing, not a simple service cut.

General Fund operating expenditures

FY 2025-26 final/adopted

$64.9M

FY 2026-27 preliminary/proposed

$69.7M

General Fund operating expenditures increase in the preliminary budget.

FY 2025-26 is the final/adopted baseline. FY 2026-27 is preliminary/proposed and should not be described as adopted until a later adopted source is reviewed.

Sources: FY 2025-2026 Final Budget · FY 2026-27 / FY 2027-28 Preliminary Budget