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REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />September 12, 2016 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Downtown Precise Plan Amendment to preserve and expand Active Ground Floor Uses <br />in the Downtown <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />Adopt a Resolution amending the Downtown Precise Plan to promote active uses in <br />Downtown, inlcuding requiring active ground floor uses on Main Street between <br />Broadway and Middlefield. Confirm the CEQA determination <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />The Redwood City Zoning Ordinance and Downtown Precise Plan (DTPP) implement <br />the City’s General Plan and set the specific standards for development, including <br />permitted and conditional uses within each DTPP district. Within the Entertainment and <br />Downtown Core DTPP districts, a number of streets are required to provide Active <br />Ground Floor Uses, which include retail uses, personal and business services, and <br />entertainment uses. Active uses are generally open to the public, generate a high <br />volume of customer traffic, provide ground floor display windows to promote views into <br />the business, and sell goods that are typically carried away by customers or services of <br />a personal or business nature. Inactive uses are typically not open to the general <br />public, generate a lower volume of customer traffic, and tend to have screened windows <br />to maintain privacy (such as offices and residential uses). People who patronize <br />inactive uses are typically those who live or work there and their clients. When inactive <br />uses are clustered together, it creates quiet areas that can discourage pedestrian <br />activity and street life. <br />The Downtown Business Group and residents have raised concerns about the growing <br />number of ground floor office spaces occurring within Downtown, often through the <br />conversion and removal of an active retail space. Downtown’s proximity to the Transit <br />Center (Caltrain) and City’s location within Silicon Valley has generated interest from <br />businesses that want to be located in Redwood City and the Downtown area. As a <br />result, new ground floor office uses have become more prevalent. This is due in part to <br />the general lack of downtown space, the high regional demand for office space near <br />transit, and the resulting in higher rent for office uses (approximately 50% more per <br />square foot than retail uses, according to CoStar). <br />7.A. - Page 1