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78 ATTACHMENT 4 Page 42 residents that were previously commuting to work from San Francisco, Napa, Walnut Creek, Brentwood, Santa Clara and Berkeley now walk to work and save approximately 152,250 commute miles annually. 8. GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING COMPLIANCE FINDINGS: A. The proposed housing project would be consistent with the following Redwood City General Plan goals, objectives and policies: . Housing Element goal for Redwood City to meet its regional housing needs allocation assignment per State Housing Element law. . Housing Element goal, objectives and policies that promote the creation of housing and affordable housing opportunities for Redwood City residents and employees. . Housing and Circulation Element policies that encourage the creation of housing opportunities near employment and that encourage pedestrian activity over auto use (i.e. Canada College faculty/staff will be able to walk to work rather than drive), B. The proposed housing project would be consistent with the R-3 (Multi-Family Low Density) Zoning District found in the surrounding neighborhood along Farmhill Boulevard (i.e. Three-story Farmhill Vista and neighboring condominium complexes). C. Approval of the General Plan Amendment and Prezoning would be in the public interest since it is a necessary step towards developing housing consistent with community goals and objectives outlined in Redwood City's General Plan Housing and Circulation Elements. As previously described, the project is also consistent with existing R-3 zoning found in the surrounding neighborhood and would help to improve the City's housing/jobs balance, meet a community need for affordable housing and reduce faculty/staff commuter traffic with associated air quality benefits. D. The proposed housing project is also considered a supportive, accessory use of the primary college/educational land use. Employer-based housing is an emerging trend and some employers through voluntary efforts are seeking to help combat the negative consequences of rising Bay Area housing costs. Employer-developed housing allows employers to attract and retain quality employees who might otherwise choose or be forced to move out of the Bay Area to find less costly housing. In the case of Canada College, loss of high quality faculty/staff due to costly housing could have ramifications for the entire community: environmental health (i.e. global warming/ air quality impacts caused by the need to commute long distances to the job-rich Bay Area employment market from outlying areas that offer less costly housing); the quality of community education and ability of continuing adult education students to compete in the workforce; the break up/separation of family members that are forced to leave the Bay Area to find less costly housing; and the