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On Sun, Aug 26, 2018 at 3:26 PM Kevin Burke <br />Mayor Bain, <br />I'm a renter myself and I've seen firsthand the consequences of high housing costs, which have forced my <br />brother, sister, several of my friends, and many coworkers to move far away from the Bay Area. <br />As the staff report notes the reason multiple families are squeezing into a single home is because housing is <br />really expensive here. I don't think anyone would prefer this arrangement. <br />Single family homes already get a ton of support from the government in the form of zoning restrictions and <br />other guidelines. I don't think we should be introducing additional support for single family homeowners, <br />when it will hurt groups (renters, families, teachers, other city staff) that need our help much more desperately <br />to achieve a decent quality of life. <br />I think instead you should consider legalizing multiple families living on a single lot, by permitting duplexes <br />and triplexes to be built in areas that are currently single family only. Right now even if a property owner <br />wants to build more densely and multiple families (or the owner's extended family) want to move in, you are <br />not legally allowed to build a duplex. Making it illegal to build more densely contributes to the housing crisis <br />by making it harder to add units. It also means new development is concentrated in a only a few parts of <br />Redwood City, which feels unfair. I think every neighborhood should contribute to adding more housing to <br />help resolve this crisis. <br />Single family neighborhoods are also the places in Redwood City that will lead to the least gentrification and <br />displacement. As such they're ideal places for new development and as the multifamily living situation makes <br />clear there is plenty of demand for it. We should let property owners who want to help relieve pressure on the <br />housing market be able to do so. <br />Thanks, Kevin <br />