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B. Ordinance Establishing Community Benefit Improvement Districts in the City of Redwood City (506) Recommendation: � Approve a new ordinance allowing for the creation of Community Benefit Improvement Districts. ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REDWOOD CITY ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 31 RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY BENEFIT IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS MINUTE ORDER 14-043 Council Member Howard recused herself and left the dais due to a potential conflict of interest as per the Fair Political Practices Commission. Sean Brooks, Economic Development Manager, presented the report explaining how the history of the downtown development, the various steps staff took to do community outreach, and the benefits of such approach (presentation on file). He also covered current construction sites and projects which will bring in additional residents to downtown and foot traffic. Mr. Brooks then covered next steps related to this Community Improvement Business District. He also said there was special committee that met four times on this topic and he introduced the consultant in the audience. Mr. Brooks added that a survey has been sent out and meetings with businesses like Kaiser have taken place. Mr. Brooks also stated that the Economic Development committee of the Council has provided direction on this as well. He provided details about the next steps related to the implementation of the Community Benefit Improvement Districts. Public comment Tanya Gulesserian, representing the owner of 702 Marshall Street, said the City could not take this action before Council and provided details as to why she is challenging this action. She opined that the proposed Community Business Improvement Districts is going above and beyond what the City is allowed to do. She said that Section 5 of the Ordinance, relating to CEQA, is misleading and she believes was a lapse since it does not address the CEQA compliance. Jeff Bastubner with Sequoia Realty said that he has received positive feedback on this matter and believes this is a continuation of prior investments made in the downtown area. Furthermore, he believes this is a proactive approach and additional services are required. Mr. Bastubner said that as a local business owner and a representative of businesses downtown, he supports this action. Eric Lochtefeld said that approximately 30 property owners have gotten together over the last six months and have worked together to see if this is something they could support. He added that with a booming city and all the development this is a good initiative and hopes that many property owners will be part of this. He supports a collaborative approach and he feels good about the prospects of this initiative. CITY COUNCIL March 10, 2014 MEETING MINUTES PAGE 8 MINUTE BOOK NO. 65 Page No. 99