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8.C. - Page 16 <br /> community benefit. She stated that 50% of residents are renters and need <br /> to be protected from further displacement. <br /> Andy Dral, Redwood City resident, stated that 15% is too low for affordable <br /> housing. He stated that UCSF found that median rental costs for all housing <br /> units in San Francisco rose 47% in 5 years. He stated his own rent in <br /> Redwood City has gone up 62% in 5 years. He spoke about affordable <br /> housing efforts in San Francisco that included 30% and 40% affordable <br /> housing. He asked the Commission to require 40% affordable units. <br /> Isabella Chu spoke in support of the 15% number. She stated there is still <br /> an incentive to develop and build, and 15% will produce a lot of affordable <br /> housing. <br /> M/S (Radcliffe/Guerrero) to close the public hearing <br /> COMMISSIONER COMMENTS <br /> Commissioner Radcliffe asked if there are any other proposals for <br /> affordable housing for the rest of the City, or just downtown. Mr. Aknin <br /> stated that this is creating two caps in the downtown, one for market-rate <br /> and one for below market-rate. He stated that there is not the same ability <br /> for the rest of the City because there are not caps. He stated that on a <br /> plan-by-plan basis Staff can look at incentive-based zoning for size or <br /> height, for example, which could require affordable housing to build to a <br /> certain size. <br /> Commissioner Schmidt stated that he would like to know what it would look <br /> like to increase that percentage. He asked if there have been discussions <br /> with Staff about a higher percentage. Mr. Aknin stated that there are 2,000 <br /> units right now so roughly 300 units would have been created if this was in <br /> place. He stated that this was more of a protection for Habitat for Humanity <br /> and Bradford sites. <br /> Commissioner Schmidt asked if future developments should make up for <br /> the lost opportunity since redevelopment was lost. Mr. Aknin stated that <br /> people are leveraging some local funds and taxpayer funds to have 100% <br /> affordable units on some sites. He stated that managing affordable units is <br /> difficult and certain groups know how to handle it better than others. <br /> Commissioner Hale stated that the 15% number seems to be based on a <br /> benchmark number from before. She asked if the economics support a <br /> larger percentage. Mr. Aknin stated that there would be less market-rate <br /> units which would cause more competition and rent hikes for market-rate <br /> units. However, more market-rate units will also increase demand for <br /> below market-rate units. <br /> Commissioner Hale asked at what point the incentive for the developer <br /> decreases too much if the required percentage of affordable housing <br /> increases. Mr. Aknin stated that there won't be an economic incentive to <br /> build because the market-rate cap will be reduced too much to allow for <br /> development. <br /> Page 3of9 <br />