AgdaPkt 2020-11-16 Special - Laserfiche WebLink

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8) Retains an historic structure and some community space B. However, we are very concerned about the following issues: 1) Number of jobs to housing units is seriously worsening the housing crisis: The 530,000 SF of office development, which is over half of the current downtown precise plan, would add between 1,833 and 3,6671 jobs to Redwood City which at a 1.5 jobs per housing unit' would require 1,200 to 2,400 units of new housing to maintain a healthy jobs / housing balance. At 540 units, this leaves the development between 660 and 1,860 units short which will only exacerbate the current peninsula -wide jobs / housing crisis. We recommend that the commercial to housing ratio be reconsidered by reducing office space and increasing housing units closer to the 1.5 / 1.0 ratio. We know that this requires City Council intervention into the allowed zoning. However, the problem is real and getting worse with every council move to exacerbate the crisis - as is clear with several Gateway projects also under consideration. Phasing: Consider requiring phasing so that commensurate housing gets built along with the commercial office, as the City of Millbrae is doing at the BART development in the Station Area Plan and Mountain View's East Whisman Precise Plan requires to address this concern. 2) Traffic Concerns Too much parking: The number of parking stalls is still excessive for a transit -oriented development. The State bonus for housing allows a 0.5 parking spaces per unit which is half of what is proposed, and the office is over -parked for a TOD on EI Camino, near the Train Station and based on the experience of over parking at the "Box" office building. The project draft EIR demonstrate that, while the traffic count is under -counted, it will still cause the addition of thousands of new vehicles to EI Camino Real, Woodside Road/ECR interchange and the surrounding streets, which are already severely impacted by traffic. Jobs / Square Foot Rule of thumb for jobs per square foot is between 150 SF per job to 300 SF per job depending on the office use. High tech companies today tend closer to 150 SF per job or lower while R&D tends more toward 300 SF per job. https://mehiganco.com/?p=684 'Healthy Jobs/ Housing Balance -According to the Building Industry Association and the California Department of Finance, a healthy jobs/ housing balance is 1.5. (One full -time job and one part-time job per housing unit). Any ratio above 1.5 jobs per unit signifies there is an insufficient number of units to meet the needs of the local workforce. The EIR for the development should specify the anticipated number of jobs expected in the development and quantify the number of housing units expected to be needed to house those employees. Even if there is a numerical Jobs / Housing balance, there is often an imbalance in Jobs / Housing Fit (where employees have high enough income to afford the housing in their community). Jobs / Housing Fit should also be taken into consideration when reviewing new commercial developments. SEPI sierraclub.org/loma-prieta — 3921 East Bayshore Road, Suite 204, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Page 2 of 4