At Redwood City's April 11th City Council meeting, they will be holding a study session to mull over the possibility of amending the Precise plan to reserve 15% of all new housing development for affordable units. There are 2,500 housing units left to be constructed under the Downtown Precise Plan. If a 15% affordable housing amendment were to be passed, that would mean at least 375 of those would be below market rate.
In addition to this proposed amendment, the council is expected to choose a developer to build a 100% below-market-rate housing complex on city owned land at 707 & 777 Bradford Street. The city will be handing over the land (which is worth an estimated 8 million dollars) to the chosen developer at no cost.
No vote will be cast at the meeting regarding the amendment, but a vote will be cast to choose between the 5 development proposals that were submitted for the Bradford Street affordable housing project, which will include anywhere between 56-137 units for low to very low income families.
City Council has turned their attention towards affordable housing in recent months. Back in October, they passed a $20 per square foot fee on all new office and residential developments, and a $5 per square foot fee on retail and housing. The estimated $5 million in annual revenue these fees will generate will go towards affordable housing.
The City also donated $1.5 million to Habitat for Humanity for the construction of 20 affordable units on Jefferson Avenue, which we discussed in a previous blog post.
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