AgdaPkt 2007-01-22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. The City's updated General Plan will incorporate transit-oriented development. . The proposed Downtown Precise Plan, which covers most of the area around the Caltrain station, incorporates the basic tenets of transit-oriented development, including more intensive development in the form of multi-story buildings, mixed-use, higher residential densities, and creating a more pedestrian-oriented street environment - all to encourage less use of personal vehicles. . Last year, 69 residential units were approved, and 59 of the units are considered "green" housing, which means they meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEE D) Green Building Rating System standards. They include the 58 units at the Villa Montgomery residential project and one single-family residence. . Although the idea is in the very early stages, and with some difficult financing issues to examine very closely, we are looking at the possibility of solar panels to generate our own energy. 7A Page 2 Recently, City staff has started to take a more deliberate approach to the issue of climate change, and so an ad hoc Staff Committee was established to initiate the conversation. We contacted the Sierra Club's local Loma Prieta Chapter to learn more about their Cool Cities Campaign, as it seemed to match our philosophy and our existing actions. In November of 2006, the Staff Committee met with Rafael Reyes of the Sierra Club as well as Rick Nordensten, PACT graduate and Sierra Club Cool Cities Team Leader for Redwood City. We had a very productive meeting and expect to bring a recommendation to Council for Redwood City to formally sign the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which focuses on conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, making Redwood City an official "Cool City." The Staff Committee has participated in several web cast discussions, trainings, and conferences in the last few months in order to better educate ourselves on the topic and perhaps find best practices that we can bring to Redwood City. The City can do a great deal in the area of climate change. However, we feel very strongly that we can only be truly successful if we partner with the community in this effort, and the community also does its part. As with other important projects, we will look to our community partners to help us with this effort, including, but not limited to the Sierra Club, Redwood City Cool Families, City Trees, the schools, the faith community, and our recently-established Neighborhood Liaisons. Given our reductions in staff over the last several years, and understanding of the additional resources this project will require, we are actively seeking grants to fund a three-year staff position to help Redwood City establish the systems necessary to make this project successful not only for today, but as a permanent change in the way we operate and do business in Redwood City. Fiscal Impact No funding is being requested at this time, thus there i~ no impact to the City's budget. " );1 / C /-Ifl, (" I' . '7 (' / / Jj---... -,- 1 /" ,~I/" \... { "'/7"/ l tu; i; ~ .' Ylll.(~ " :.;<j'1/!/r:lf)~l Ma@l:Ja GonzaleV " Ed Everett '\'/ ASSistant to the City Manager City Manager