Foster City's Eichler homes went up in the 1960s on land that had been a Bay dairy farm and salt ponds a few years before. The history of the Foster City Eichler homes is tied to the making of the city itself: a developer built new land with dredged sand, cut a lagoon through it, and sold scattered lots to a small group of builders that included Eichler Homes.
This guide covers how the land and the city were made, how Eichler fit into the plan, what an architecture archive records, the design features to look for, and the city's rules for Eichler-style houses today. Our sources are the city's history pages, a 2016 historical evaluation posted by the city, a university archive and published accounts. Where they disagree, we say so.
From Brewer's Island to a planned city
The City of Foster City's history pages begin in 1958, when developer T. Jack Foster took an option to buy Brewer's Island and, with Bay Area businessman Richard Grant, planned a "new city" to be named Foster City. The city says the island had been San Francisco Bay salt marsh tideland, dry and protected from the Bay since 1897 or earlier. It later became Frank M. Brewer's dairy farm, which covered 2,200 acres, with another 550 acres of salt ponds next to it.
The city says that by 1960 Foster had bought out Grant's interest. A historical evaluation prepared in 2016 for the environmental impact report on the city's levee project says Foster bought the 2,600 acres in 1960 under the 1958 option. That same year, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 51, creating the Estero Municipal Improvement District. The city's history describes it as a public corporation and one of only two such districts created in California.
Because San Mateo County kept the power to approve development, the city's community profile says, Foster submitted a master plan to the county in 1961, calling for nine residential neighborhoods, a town center and an industrial area, and the Board of Supervisors approved it later that year. The 2016 evaluation says Wilsey, Ham & Blair developed the plan and that the neighborhoods were named One through Nine but weren't built in numerical order.
Making the land: sand, levees and a lagoon
The land had to be raised before anything could be built. The city's history page on creating the land says the engineering firm of Wilsey and Ham found the answer: raise the surface 4 to 5 feet and dig a central drainage basin, a lagoon in the middle of the city, that could be pumped back into the Bay. The sources differ on the fill:
The city's page says the pumping ran 24 hours a day for six years and deposited more than 14 million cubic yards of sand from San Bruno Shoal.
The 2016 evaluation says 18 million cubic yards of sand were dredged from the San Bruno Shoals and barged in over three years, raising the ground level six feet.
The city says the lagoon covers 218 surface acres, with 16.5 miles of drainage channels and four traffic bridges. Its community profile dates the groundbreaking for the first reclamation work to 1961 and says three years passed before the first homes were completed. The 2016 evaluation says infrastructure for Neighborhood One was built in 1962 and construction began on its first homes in November 1963.
Eichler Homes as one of the builders
The 2016 evaluation says Foster developed the land and infrastructure for one neighborhood and began building there while the next was being prepared. It says he worked primarily with three builders, Eichler Homes, Duc & Elliot and Kay Homes, and sold each a limited number of scattered lots in a neighborhood "so that no one area looked too homogeneous." It adds that the neighborhoods evolved with mixed architecture and varying lot sizes.
One published account says Eichler had to build its one-story houses in and around conventional-looking homes, unlike its usual tracts. Both published accounts we read say the Eichlers are spread in small clusters across several neighborhoods rather than gathered in one tract. One says a section of Mainsail Court is all Eichlers, linked by footpaths to Ketch Park; the other says no Eichler homes front on the lagoons. Our Foster City mid-century modern homes page and 94404 page cover the city's modern houses today.
What the architecture archive records
UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives holds the records of Claude Oakland's firm, the Oakland & Imada Collection. The archives say Oakland joined Anshen & Allen in 1950, soon became the principal designer for Eichler Homes, Inc., and in 1960 left to start Claude Oakland & Associates, taking the Eichler account with him. The collection's project index has two Foster City subdivision entries:
Tract No. 822 and 830, Neighborhoods 1–3, Units 1 and 2: dated 1963–1966, with Eichler Homes, Inc. as developer and models FC-5, FC-13, FC-15, FC-23, FC-33, FC-43, FC-53, FC-54, FC-54A, FC-54M, FC-64, FC-64M, FC-74, FC-84, FC-94 and FC-94A.
Tract No. 837, Neighborhood 4: dated 1967 and 1969, with J. L. Eichler Associates, Inc. as developer and models F-3, F-3M, F-4, F-5, F-34 and F-44, plus an SV-44 heating plan.
The Online Archive of California's guide to the collection dates Eichler Homes, Inc. to 1950–1968 and J. L. Eichler Associates, Inc., Joseph Eichler's later company, to 1966–1972. A published account says Eichler Homes went bankrupt while Foster City was being built and that Joe Eichler came back with a smaller operation to build in Neighborhood 4. For the company's rise and end, see our Eichler Homes company history.
The sources differ on the neighborhoods and years. The archive index lists Neighborhoods 1–3 and Neighborhood 4, with dates from 1963 to 1969. Published accounts say the Eichlers were built from 1963 to 1968 and place them in Neighborhoods One, Two and Four, with streets named for ships in One, for birds in Two and with nautical names in Four.
Models, galleries and design details
The archive guide says Eichler house models are named with a subdivision location code and a model number, and the index's table of codes gives both "F" and "FC" for Foster City. An FC or F number on original plans can be matched to the lists above.
Published accounts describe the houses themselves:
models by Claude Oakland, with some by Eichler's in-house architect, John Brooks Boyd;
a sales brochure that called the homes "specially designed for the area";
covered "galleries" in some models in place of an atrium;
one model with an open-roofed atrium surrounded on all sides by interior rooms rather than serving as an entry court;
outrigger roof beams, with some 1968 homes keeping their central beam-ends.
The accounts say many houses have been remodeled in ways that changed their look, while others remain essentially intact. Our guide to atrium, courtyard and gallery plans explains how those layouts differ.
Foster City's rules for Eichler-style houses
As of November 2026, Foster City reviews exterior changes to houses, with listed exemptions, through architectural review under Municipal Code Chapter 17.58. On December 15, 2025, the City Council adopted Ordinances 698 and 699. They added objective design and development standards for single-family and two-family homes in a new Chapter 17.15 and amended Chapter 17.58. The city's page on the new standards says planning project applications submitted on or after February 19, 2026 must comply with them. It also says the council's Resolution 2025-107 rescinded the city's Architectural and Solar Guidelines (adopted 1989) and related policies, including the reroofing and window replacement policies.
Ordinance 699 includes a rule that names Eichlers. The amended Section 17.58.020 lists improvements exempt from architectural review, including replacement of exterior siding in the R-1 district with stucco, wood, wood shingle or fiber cement, "except that changes of siding on Eichler style houses as determined by the community development director shall require an architectural review permit." Other exemptions include like-for-like replacement with materials of the same dimensions, type and color, replacement of doors, and window replacements that comply with Chapter 17.15 or 17.96. New buildings, additions and other exterior modifications still need architectural review.
The 2016 evaluation found that Foster City as a whole, with its levee system, meets California Register criteria 1 and 3 through its association with the postwar new town movement. That's a finding in an environmental study, not a designation of any house, and none of the records we read lists the Eichler tracts as a historic district. This is not legal advice. Ask Foster City's Planning Division which reviews apply before you change siding, windows or a roof.
What to check before you buy or remodel
Eichler or not. Foster sold scattered lots to several builders, so an Eichler may stand next to another builder's house. Check the permit history, assessor record and original plans.
The model number. An FC or F number on the plans ties a house to the archive's model lists.
Siding. Under Ordinance 699, siding changes on Eichler-style houses need an architectural review permit. Ask the city before you replace original siding.
Roof and windows. The old reroofing and window policies were rescinded. Ask how the new standards in Chapter 17.15 treat your project.
Flood zone. The 2016 evaluation says the city relies on its levees and lagoons for drainage and flood control. Check the current flood zone for the specific parcel.
Recorded documents. Ask for the title report and any recorded CC&Rs for the tract.
Frequently asked questions
When were the Foster City Eichlers built?
The archive of Claude Oakland's firm dates the Eichler Homes tracts in Neighborhoods 1–3 to 1963–1966 and the J. L. Eichler Associates tract in Neighborhood 4 to 1967 and 1969. Published accounts give 1963 to 1968.
Who designed the Foster City Eichlers?
Published accounts credit Claude Oakland, with some models by Eichler's in-house architect John Brooks Boyd. The archive of Oakland's firm lists the Foster City models under FC and F numbers.
Does Foster City have rules for Eichlers?
Yes, in one place we found. As of November 2026, Ordinance 699 requires an architectural review permit for siding changes on Eichler-style houses, as determined by the community development director. Other exterior changes go through the city's general architectural review and the new objective standards.
Related reading
Eichler Architects: Who Designed Which Homes, Tract by Tract
San Mateo Highlands Eichler History: The Hillside Tract and the X-100
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
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Want help confirming a Foster City Eichler's model, permit history or the city's review rules? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
