AgdaPkt 2004-08-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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(��2 Background The title report indicates that the City acquired a part of this property in 1927. Engineering records indicate that these reservoirs were in existence in the late 1920's. The reservoirs were used by the City until the mid-1990's, when they were abandoned because of age and increasing repair costs. As early as 1982 the City had commissioned a Seismic Protection Study that indicated that Reservoir Number 2-- the smaller rectangular one -- especially needed repair. In 1990, the City commissioned a study by Kennedy/Jenks/Chilton that evaluated the abandonment of both reservoirs. The report concluded that abandonment of the reservoirs would not adversely affect the hydraulic capacity of the water system, or decrease the total storage to less than that needed. In 2001, a Council ad-hoc Committee looking into the development of housing for teachers considered this property but decided to hold the site for future use. Current Proposal In late 2003, the Mayor and Vice-Mayor wanted some analysis of possible uses of this land and the need to identify sites for housing or affordable housing. Staff was directed to bring a recommendation to Council for possible disposition of the site. The staff's first step was to commission a survey of the land to define the property boundaries and to map the contours and the on-site features, such as the reservoir structures and trees. The survey was completed in early May 2004, and cost approximatety $50,000 to complete. (The money was fronted by the Redevelopment Agency and will have to be paid back to the Agency upon sale of the property). Staff also consulted with a real property appraiser, to get some idea of possible sale proceeds under different scenarios. Based on this background information, staff recommends sale of the land with the following stipulations: 1. Land Use. Staff believes that the most appropriate use of this land is for market rate, large-lot single family housing. The surrounding area is developed as single- family housing and development on the City owned land should be compatible with this context, even though most of the surrounding land is in the county. The City's General Plan designates the area for low density housing; and the City's Zoning Ordinance designates this site as "RH-10" (Residential-Hillside development with a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet). 2. Site Lavout. Staff's recommended site plan provides a total of eight (8) lots, with the smallest having 12,000 square feet and the largest 29,000 square feet (greater than the required minimum lot size of 10,000 sq. ft.). All the proposed lots meet or exceed the City's slope density requirements 3. House Size. Redwood City does not currently have a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) requirement to control size and bulk for residential development, but the surrounding County land does. Staff recommends that if the Council decides to sell this property for residential development, the City should prepare a Precise Plan for the site which will also impose a FAR. 4. Sale Strateqy. The following value ranges are based on very general conversations with a local appraiser and should only be used to give an idea of the order-of- 2 Slope density is a planning requirement which establishes the minimum lot size based on the average slope of the site. The greater the slope, the greater the minimum lot size. The intent of slope density is to assure that steep slopes have lower density development. 2