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7.1.F. - Page 10 <br /> gifts or grants, and they take those single family homes and change the interior into duplex <br /> or four-plexes through low cost reconstruction and volunteer work. He shared his story <br /> about being a disabled veteran and spoke on the importance of housing for vets being <br /> close to health care services and how vets can be an asset when helped. <br /> Claire Felong opined that there should be a two-pronged approach to incentivize <br /> developers and landlords in multiple ways and that there should be a group committed to <br /> looking at alternatives and smaller approaches to things, such as tiny housing, making <br /> floating homes work here and areas to allow people to park RVs. She said she was a <br /> volunteer with AcTerra and noticed that people's utility bills are hard to control due to <br /> improper insulation and poor plumbing. She encouraged looking at alternative ways that <br /> can make things more affordable by lowering overall costs. <br /> Laura Osegura, a lifelong resident, questioned if Redwood City is losing its hometown feel <br /> in light of current large construction and how she cannot find affordable housing in <br /> Redwood City. She questioned a previous statement made by the Mayor in the Spring, <br /> that affordable housing was set aside but no one applied and opined that the minimum <br /> income rates to be considered for affordable housing does not make sense and needs to <br /> be looked into and that there is a need for affordable housing here. <br /> Mayor Gee clarified that at State of the City address, he said there were some affordable <br /> units at One Marina that no one applied for and opined that might have been the case <br /> because of the project's location not being on the transit corridor with public transit. <br /> Tracy Choi, with Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, spoke in favor of <br /> encouraging more affordable housing options in terms of both future production and <br /> preservation of existing housing stock and avoiding displacement of current residents. She <br /> said that renter households make up a significant portion of Redwood City and as rents <br /> continue to rise, it is likely that displaced families would not be able to find comparable <br /> housing. She opined that the city needs to adequately zone at a variety of income levels <br /> and preserve existing housing stock. <br /> Tim Linebarger is in favor of a $15 per hour minimum wage and he said there is a lack of <br /> rent control and it is not good to build more housing if they are increasingly expensive. He <br /> said he is a union member union noting that no prevailing wages were required on any <br /> these projects, with some workers sitting out while out of state workers came in; he opined <br /> that this does not support the community, but that community support and low income <br /> housing is needed. <br /> Joel Butler thanked the City Council and Planning Commission for their work and asked <br /> them to maintain their resolve in doing what they think is right while opining that what has <br /> been done is amazing. He spoke about providing flexibility and certainty in the process and <br /> he said one of the best ways to help incentivize and lead people along is new Zoning, like <br /> the Downtown Precise Plan, for areas outside of downtown, that can be moved around, <br /> applied to, and acted on, which will incentivize people to move forward for the housing <br /> wanted. <br /> Gita Dev had some suggestions: look at the Housing Element and the Zoning around the <br /> train stations, including at other cities; do not require any parking for secondary units based <br /> AMENDED JOINT CITY COUNCIL/ SUCCESSOR AGENCY BOARD August 25, 2014 <br /> PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES PAGE 10 <br />