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... _ ._.. ._._.__.�__.. .._. i . ..� ... Recommendation: Review the Redwood City General Plan 2013 Annual Report and direct staff to forward the document to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development and Governor's Office of Planning and Research. MINUTE ORDER 14-061 Mr. Bill Ekern, Community Development Director, reported this is an annual requirement to provide the State an update on the General Plan. He also covered highlights and accomplishments (presentation on file), such as implementation on the downtown zoning plans, Climate Action Plan, and Precise Plan. He talked about Zoning Districts that help deal with the Housing Element and large projects that have been started or will begin in Redwood City. Lastly, he pointed out that there have been and will be community outreach efforts from now to the late fall for the recommendations on the Housing Element updates and working through the 21 Housing Elements of San Mateo County. One Council Member asked the relation between housing and park programs and the funding available and how this all fits into Redwood City. Mr. Ekern elaborated that when housing is developed, a portion of the funds from that development goes into park fees that are collected. He said that park programs will be able to move forward and improving parks. The difficult thing is finding land to build new parks. The same Council Member had another question in that majority of Redwood City's housing is above moderate, so how does that compare to other San Mateo County cities? Mr. Ekern answered that like other Bay Area cities, they are struggling to meet below market rate housing. He said that Redwood City is building a lot more housing then neighboring cities, and he alluded to RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) numbers that come from ABAG's (Association of Bay Area Governments) report. Mr. Ekern said that the arithmetic is controversial, and that cities can aspire to reach those numbers but aren't always attainable. The Council Member added that the City has to work with developers to meet the needs of the middleclass. She believes Council needs to be strategic on what the community needs. She shared concerns with certain trends in the rental market. Another Council Member said that she too appreciated Mr. Ekern's report. She said that it would be helpful to see a presentation on how staff is meeting the 21 Elements and the RHNA numbers to share that knowledge. She would like to see a comparison befinreen the housing in Redwood City and other cities. This same Council Member City would like to go on a forward basis to look at the waterfront from a marina perspective and looking at the land versus just an Inner Harbor approach. She sees potential community benefits. One other Council Member said she enjoyed reading the report and the update to the General Plan, because the combination of elements seemed congruent and collaborative. Mr. Ekern gave credit to Ms. Michelle Littlefield for this approach. The same Council Member said that she liked under Land Use development and CITY COUNCIL April 7, 2014 MEETING MINUTES PAGE 5 MINUTE BOOK NO. 65 Page No. 120