Hot job leads · Foster City

Foster City for pros: permits inside and out, HdL licenses, lagoon yards

Foster City asks for a building permit on nearly every change inside or outside a home, carpet and paint aside, and a like-for-like replacement counts. Water heaters, reroofs, same-size windows and subpanels can be issued at a Tuesday or Thursday morning counter appointment, and every permit starts with a pre-inspection. A business license through the city's HdL portal comes first, and roofs, sheds and anything that drains toward the lagoon follow rules of their own.

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Business license
Needed for any work in the city, even by out-of-town firms
Source: fostercity.org: Business License FAQ (opens in a new tab)
Median home built
1976 (ACS 2019-2023)
Source: data.census.gov
Heated by electricity
40.0% of occupied homes
Source: data.census.gov
Work hours near homes
Weekdays 7:30am-8pm; weekends and holidays 9am-8pm
Source: fostercity.org: faq (opens in a new tab)

Working legally here

Foster City's business license tax and its HdL portal

The city's FAQ says the Foster City Municipal Code requires a business license for any business activity inside the city, even when your shop is in another town or you already hold another city's license. HdL Companies has handled applications and renewals since December 11, 2023, through its Foster City portal. The tax rests on gross receipts, and general contractors start from a higher minimum than other businesses. Measure V, approved by voters in 2025, made the brackets climb as receipts grow. A first license is approved by the planning, building, fire and police departments, and a one-time business inspection fee applies. Once the invoice is paid, the certificate usually arrives by email within 24 hours. If most of your receipts come from other cities, say so on the application, since only part of your activity may count.

City of Foster City, Business License FAQ (opens in a new tab)

Permits

Foster City permits: counter mornings, roof colors, water-side yards

  • A permit for interior work too, issued at a morning counter

    The Building Division requires a permit for every interior and exterior change except cosmetic work such as carpeting or painting, and a replacement counts the same as new work. Over-the-counter permits are reviewed at City Hall by appointment, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11:30 a.m., in a session of about 45 minutes that ends with fees and a job card. The list includes water heaters, reroofs, same-size window swaps, garage doors, subpanels, furnaces, drywall, stucco and siding repairs, and kitchens or baths with no structural change. A home inside a homeowners association may need the association's approval letter, and eTRAKiT submittals are processed in 1 to 2 business days.

    City of Foster City, Building Division OTC guide (opens in a new tab)

  • A roof list set by the municipal code

    Under Section 17.15.040 of the Foster City Municipal Code, Community Development keeps a list of the roof materials and colors allowed on single-family and two-family homes, and it applies to changes on existing houses as well as new ones. Pitched roofs may be composition shingle, tile, metal, slate, fire-treated wood shake or integrated solar, in grey, brown or black, with tile in a dark red to orange-brown earth tone. Low-pitched and flat roofs have shorter lists. One structure carries the same roofing material on every side, so a partial reroof cannot switch materials. Reroofs are filed on a separate Reroof Permit Application.

    City of Foster City, Community Development (opens in a new tab)

  • Sheds, spas and storm drains on the water side

    The city's code enforcement answers set rules only a lagoon town needs. A shed or other accessory building that rises above the fence line or can be seen from the water needs a permit first, while one kept below the fence and out of sight of the water is exempt. Pools, hot tubs and spas, portable ones included, need a building permit and must sit at least 5 feet from rear and side lot lines, with heaters and filters the same distance from the property line. Nothing may be dumped in the street, because the storm drains are part of the lagoon waterways that empty into San Francisco Bay.

    City of Foster City, Code Enforcement FAQs (opens in a new tab)

The homes

13,408 homes, most from the 1970s, two in five heated by electricity

The ACS 2019-2023 estimates count 13,408 housing units in Foster City, with a median year built of 1976. The 1970s alone account for 41.4 percent of them and the 1960s for another 20.5 percent, so wherever the original windows, sliders, fences and fixtures survive, they are now around 50 years old. Detached houses make up 35.0 percent of units, attached houses 18.7 percent and buildings of 20 or more units 25.7 percent, so a good share of jobs are in townhomes and condos. Owners occupy 51.2 percent of occupied homes. Electricity heats 40.0 percent of them and utility gas 57.0 percent. For a house built before Foster City incorporated in 1972, City Hall is unlikely to hold the original plans; it has county microfilm of permit applications instead.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Foster City's lagoons from the air
Foster City's lagoons from the air. Photo: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part by part

Foster City's numbered neighborhoods and its office side

  • Neighborhoods 2 and 3

    The General Plan says the first segment of the lagoon was finished here in 1964, which makes these the oldest of the waterfront streets. The lagoon was laid out with islands to put as many lots as possible on the water, so many backyards here face it, and a shed or other structure that can be seen from the water needs a permit.

  • Neighborhoods 6 and 7

    The final phases of the lagoon were completed in Neighborhoods 6 and 7, after the lake at Leo J. Ryan Park. Like the rest of the nine residential neighborhoods southeast of East Hillsdale Boulevard, they mix detached houses, townhouses, condominiums and rental apartments, so check whether a job sits inside an association before pricing exterior work.

  • Comet Drive, Neighborhood 1

    The General Plan applies its Two-Family Residential designation to one small area: the duplexes on Comet Drive, in the northeastern part of the city. Duplexes are less than one percent of Foster City's homes, and the plan wants them to keep the outward look of a single-family street at densities nearer to townhomes.

  • Metro Center, Vintage Park and Pilgrim-Triton

    Northeast of East Hillsdale Boulevard the city is mostly offices, labs, retail and light industry, with Gilead Sciences holding most of Vintage Park's 132 acres. The exception is the former Lincoln Executive Park on Pilgrim and Triton drives, where a 2008 master plan allowed up to 730 homes and the first phase, The Plaza, opened 300 rental apartments in 2013.

Getting around

A Foster City workday: two freeways, set hours, street permits

US 101 runs along the city's western edge, with interchanges at East Hillsdale Boulevard and East Third Avenue, and State Route 92 crosses it east to west with ramps at Edgewater Boulevard, Metro Center Boulevard and Chess Drive. In a residential district or within 100 yards of one, construction, repair and landscape tools may run from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and legal holidays, and major projects can carry tighter hours. A debris box or any other work in the public right-of-way needs an encroachment permit from Public Works. Inspections come in a morning or afternoon window, shown in eTRAKiT after 8:30 a.m.

How hot leads work

From the first text to the homeowner's door

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  2. A text for each new job

    It names the trade and the area, with a link to the job. Texts go out from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

  3. See it before you pay

    The link shows the job and the price. Skip any job you do not want.

  4. Pay, then call the homeowner

    After you pay you get the homeowner's name, number and address. Price and timing are between you.

Questions

Working in Foster City: what pros ask

Do I need a Foster City business license for one job if my shop is in San Mateo?

Yes. The city's FAQ says the Municipal Code requires a license for any business activity in Foster City, even when the business sits outside the city limits or holds a license from another city, and the Building Division gives the same answer for anyone performing work there. Apply through HdL's Foster City portal; once the invoice is paid, the certificate usually comes by email within 24 hours.

Does a water heater replacement in Foster City need a permit?

Yes. Foster City requires a building permit for every interior and exterior change other than cosmetic ones, and a water heater replacement is on the over-the-counter list, reviewed by appointment on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Bring the manufacturer's installation instructions and spec sheet; an electric or heat-pump unit also needs an electrical load calculation. You can apply in eTRAKiT instead, but pay no fees until the city contacts you.

What time can I start work on a Foster City job on a Saturday?

At 9 a.m. On weekends and legal holidays, tools used in construction, repair, alteration, demolition or landscape maintenance may run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in a residential district or within 100 yards of one; on weekdays the window opens at 7:30 a.m. A larger permitted project may have stricter hours written into its conditions of approval, so read the permit before you schedule.

Can I build a backyard shed at a lagoon-side Foster City home without a permit?

Only if it stays low. The code enforcement FAQ says accessory buildings above the fence line or visible from the water need a permit before they go up, and only those kept below the fence line and out of sight of the water are exempt. The same FAQ notes that most fences, decks and remodels, and some repairs, need zoning and building approval.

Will the hot list only send me Foster City jobs?

No. The texts cover every new job in the Bay Area as it goes on sale, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., each with the kind of work, the area and a link. That link shows the job and its price before you pay, you pay only for the ones you pick, and there is no subscription and no bidding. Reply STOP to end the texts.

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Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and fees change: confirm license and permit requirements with the city before work starts.

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