In a 6-0-1 vote at Monday night's City Council meeting, city staff were directed to make an amendment to the Downtown Precise Plan to require Active Ground Floor Uses on Main Street between Broadway and Middlefield. This will eliminate office as an acceptable use, but allow for retail, restaurants, and possibly personal/business services such as hair salons and entertainment uses in certain areas.
The amendment will allow storefronts which currently house office space to continue operating as such until the building becomes vacant for at least six months, at which point the new zoning laws will take effect.
Prior to Redwood City passing the Downtown Precise Plan in 2011, zoning laws were in place that required retail in Main Street storefronts. However, vacancies weren't filling up, and in an effort to bring more money to the city, the zoning laws were changed to broaden the acceptable uses to include office. Most of the vacancies were filled accordingly, but as we all know, times have changed considerably in Redwood City since 2011 and storefronts that used to sit vacant now have droves of eager tenants hoping to set up shop in the Peninsula's most up and coming city.
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| To many, this intersection at Broadway and Main marks the end of what Downtown has to offer. The city seeks to change that perception. |
City Council had been facing pressure from the Downtown Business Group and some residents to take up the issue of Amending the Precise Plan, as they felt that the pedestrian appeal of that particular section of Main Street was suffering from the overabundance of offices. Main Street from Broadway to Middlefield is currently home to several well regarded restaurants/bars, such as Martin's West, Striped Pig, Angelica's and a few others. Still, for those of whom word of mouth does not reach, that area tends to be missed on a stroll through downtown. The hope is that bringing retail back will increase foot traffic to that corner of Downtown Redwood City.
Retail is a crucial component of any thriving downtown, and despite Redwood City's recent boom, the retail scene has yet to flourish as it has in other Peninsula hotspots like Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Broadway is populated almost entirely by restaurants and bars, with only a few exceptions. Perhaps this amendment will get the ball rolling in Redwood City's retail revival.
Details of the amendment have yet to be hammered out, but we will keep you updated as they are.
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