AgdaPkt 2021.02.08 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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We support affordable housing as our city and region has an affordable housing crisis, however, it is clear that this proposal, while providing a higher percentage of affordable housing, proposes so much office space that it will make our housing and affordable housing crises even worse. Where does the city expect these new employees to live? And how many associated workforce employees will be displaced because these additional jobs will increase local housing demand and raise rents on existing housing? This proposal is also in conflict with the Redwood City Climate Action Plan 2020 3 just adopted. The imbalance of housing and jobs will lead to more in and out commuting which will add to increased traffic congestion, more air and water pollution, and increased GHG emissions. The Downtown Precise Plan had a good jobs/housing balance in its first EIR for phase one which is now maxed out. We are concerned that projects are now being piecemealed together without the opportunity for the public to get a full picture of huge changes being considered by the council for their city. A phase two update the Downtown Precise Plan (or expanded Central Redwood City Precise Plan), for the next balanced expansion of downtown, with a new EIR, is highly desirable to allow the public a voice in this new phase considering huge changes to the Downtown area. At the very least, we recommend that an EIR be done that considers the cumulative impact of all the proposed projects together so that Council, Redwood City residents and the public have an opportunity to get an idea of the cumulative impacts in order to make an informed decision. It is important that the public be allowed a reasonable opportunity to have a voice in these decisions that will more than triple the expansion of Redwood City's downtown neighborhood. We recognize that within the past couple of years, Redwood City has revised the existing mixed-use/live- work district zoning, included a Transit District study within its Downtown Plan with a focused Community Visioning outreach process, and recently added a Gatekeeper process, hopefully to encourage more balanced overall development. However, without any overall guiding plan, if projects of the size and scope of the Sequoia Station proposal and the other new projects in the city continue to be allowed to proceed without adequate housing or any long-range planning, it will seriously alter and exacerbate the city's and the region's jobs/housing imbalance aswel as the cit infrastructure inadequacies. Sequoia Station and all the other office projects currently in the pipeline or under construction in Redwood City are woefully under - housed and will add to the regional jobs -housing imbalance without a more responsible plan. Redwood City, and all the cities in the region, should require the developer of any new office project that will support more than 50 jobs to lay out a feasible plan, in concert with the city planning department and city council, for the housing demand created. If the proposal does not include a workable solution for housing, the developer should be asked to resubmit a plan that will not add to the regional housing and affordable housing shortage. We believe, because of this serious shortcoming, approval of the Sequoia Station proposal should be delayed until the proposal can be redesigned with an improved balance of jobs to housing. Respectfully submitted: 3 Redwood City Climate Action Plan: "Redwood City General Plan Goal (BE -31): Encourage development and implementation of strategies that minimize vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled." 3921 East Bayshore Road, Suite 204, Palo Alto, CA 94303 650-390-8411 www.sierraclub.org/loma-prieta