AgdaPkt 2020-10-12 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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From: Kate Comfort To: Council -Diane Howard; Council -Shelly Masur; Council -Ian Bain; Council -Janet Borgens; Council -Alicia Aguirre; Council-Giselle Hale; Council -Diana Reddy Cc: MGR -Melissa Stevenson Diaz; CLK-Yessika Dominguez; CLK-Pamela Aguilar Subject: 10-12-20—Agenda Item 8-A Gatekeeper: 901 EI Camino Date: Saturday, October 10, 2020 5:11:36 PM Dear Mayor Howard and Redwood City Council, I am writing on behalf of the Gatekeeper project proposed for 901 EI Camino, a mixed-use project located at the Auto Zone site near Sequoia Station and across from Sequoia High School. As both a local affordable houser and a Redwood City resident, I would like to request that this project move forward as part of the Gatekeeper process and not be delayed or denied. John Fong, representing Kenson Ventures, first approached HIP Housing to talk about the possibilities of this project over a year ago. He proved to be fabulous listener who took tons of other local feedback to develop a project that includes a beautiful teen center and a Japanese heritage themed plaza along with 20 units of affordable housing that HIP Housing agreed to property manage. Just before the September Gatekeeper hearing, the affordable housing component of the project grew overnight from 20 to 60 units when the owners of Al Party Rental on Broadway agreed to fold in. Since then, John has been working diligently with Abode Service on doing the stand-alone 60 -unit development, keeping HIP Housing as its local property management company. Continuing the commitment to meeting the needs of the community and the Council, the average affordability for the 60 units is 49% AMI and the majority of the units are designed to be 2 and 3 bedrooms. Of the developers I and HIP Housing have worked with, John has been one of the most sincere in his commitment to doing what is in the best interest of the community, not because he has to but because he wants to. He and his company are local and as a local Redwood City resident myself, I am quite passionate about this project. It is truly beautifully designed offering the City cultural relevance, youth activities and far more affordable units than required, the majority of which are larger family size units at the lowest affordability levels. As I understand it, because of the late addition of the A-1 Party Rentals Broadway parcel (60 -units), staff is recommending that 901 not move forward in the Gatekeeper process but instead be tied to the transit corridor Sequoia Station project. Very sadly, the delay this would cause kills this project.