Friday, July 28, 2017

Zoning Amendment Sought for Massive Inner Harbor Office Project

Last week, Redwood City officials voted 4-2 to explore amending the city's General Plan to allow for the construction of nearly 1.2 million square feet of office space along the Redwood Creek.  The amendment is being sought by developer Jay Paul Co, who hopes to build four 7-story office buildings on the 27-acre site, which is currently zoned for light industrial and port use only, with a maximum building height of 3 stories.  The office space would be designed with tech and R&D firms in mind.
In addition to the 4 office buildings, the proposal calls for surface parking at each building, two parking structures, and landscape improvements, including a new park with sports fields.  Most Redwood City residents will remember the site of this proposed project as the former home to Malibu Golf & Grand Prix, but this massive development would also span the land that Lyngso used to occupy, as well as a lumber supply company and gas station.
In a July 10th letter sent by Jay Paul to the city, the developer outlined over $40 million in community benefits, and $32 million towards measures that would mitigate the project's environmental impact. The project's benefits would include $10 million toward the Woodside/Highway 101 interchange improvement project; $10.1 million for the Blomquist Bridge and street extension project, plus a commitment to pay the full $24 million needed “while additional funding sources are identified;” $5 million for the development of an inner harbor public park with new sports and recreational facilities; $2.1 million for bicycle paths; and $2.25 million for a new free public shuttle. Mitigation measures include $15.8 million in housing fees, $5.5 million in sewer and water fees, and $2.5 million in traffic impact fees.
Despite the bounty of public benefits packaged with Jay Paul's proposal, numerous residents spoke out against the development at last week's meeting, mostly for it's lack of housing, and for tech and R&D firms being perceived as a poor fit in the Inner Harbor community.  Both Vice Mayor Ian Bain, and Councilwoman Janet Borgens voted against the proposal.
This vote was only to approve looking into the zoning amendment further, and does not itself authorize a zoning amendment.  City staff will prepare a draft environmental impact report, which will be reviewed at a future Planning Commission meeting, before being brought back to city council for review.
Stay tuned.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

131 Townhouses Proposed Along RWC Waterfront

On Tuesday night Redwood City Council discussed a proposal to develop 131 three-story townhouses at 1548 Maple Street, a 7.9 acre stretch of land running along the city's waterfront.   The project would be adjacent to the Docktown Marina, which currently houses about 65 floating homes that the city is currently in the process of vacating/relocating.

The proposal also includes improvements to the section of the Bay Trail that run through the site.

Tuesday night's meeting featured the usual concerns that surround new residential development in Redwood City: affordable housing and traffic.  All 131 of the townhomes would be offered for sale at a market rate, so as it stands the project offers no consideration for affordable housing.  Commissioner Connie Guerrero asked that the developer come back with a proposal that included affordable housing, as well as an alternate proposal for a downsized project.

Another member of the Planning Commission, Shawn White, requested information on how school enrollment at Taft Elementary, and traffic along the 2.5 mile route to the school, would be affected by the development.  White suspected that since the project consists of single-family townhouses rather than apartments, it is more likely to attract young families with children.  Taft would be the elementary school that most families living at the complex would be assigned to.

The project's approval would also require the city to grant a zoning change from tidal plain to mixed-use.  The Planning Commission has already spent quite a bit of time studying zoning changes in that area during their drafting of the Inner Harbor Specific Plan, and while the IHSP was never completed, the hopes are that they can use those reports to guide them in studying a zoning change for this project.

Comments and concerns about the environmental impact of this project can be sent to lcostasanders@redwoodcity.org through Aug. 7, with future opportunities to weigh in once an environmental impact report is prepared and subsequent public hearings are held.


Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Redwood City Updates/Expands Neighborhood Associations Map

Redwood City recently announced an update to its neighborhood association map - expanding the number of neighborhoods from 11 to 17. This new map was designed to better align with the city's natural boundaries and neighborhood characteristics, as well as recognize and blend several pre-existing maps, including the General Plan Neighborhood Map, the previous Neighborhood Association Map, and the Nextdoor Neighborhood Map.

The new map include the addition of the Bair Island and Downtown neighborhoods, where the vast majority of new residential development has been concentrated over the past several years. Also, some of the larger neighborhoods have been broken up into smaller ones. For example, what was previously the High School Acres neighborhood is now recognized as a combination of Mt. Carmel, Eagle Hill, and Edgewood. Similarly, Central Park has been split into Woodside Plaza, and Palm. These new neighborhoods might actually be more familiar than the older ones colloquially, but they are just now being recognized by the city with their own designated neighborhood associations. 

Redwood City Residents: The city is currently in the process of appointing leaders to each association, and establishing regular meetings. They encourage all residents to take a look at the new map to determine which neighborhood association you belong to, as these associations are key in driving communication between city officials and the community. For information on how to register with your new neighborhood association, or how to get involved as a leader of your community, head to: http://www.redwoodcity.org/residents/neighborhoods/neighborhood-associations.