Reso PC22-06 0079 PC Reso Recommending Certification of the SEIR

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Findings and Statements Required by the California Environmental Quality Act Redwood City Transit District DTPP Amendments 39 ESA / 202100421.00 Subsequent Environmental Impact Report October 2022 conservatively determined to be significant and unavoidable. The City Council hereby finds, however, that there are specific economic, environmental, social, legal, technological and other considerations that make infeasible the potential mitigation measures described in the SEIR to mitigate the effect of Impact CC-1, and that development of the Project will provide specific economic, environmental, social, legal, technological and other benefits that will outweigh the significant adverse effects of Impact C-CC-1, as set forth in the Statement of Overriding Considerations below. This finding is based on the entire record of proceedings for the Project, including but not limited to the discussion and analysis set forth on pages 17-26 through 17-27 of the DSEIR, which includes a full statement of the impact and is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. VI. Findings Regarding Project Alternatives The CEQA Guidelines require that an EIR describe a reasonable range of alternatives that would feasibly attain most of the basic project objectives but would avoid or substantially lessen any of the significant environmental effects of the project, and then evaluate the comparative merits of such alternatives. (Guidelines §15126(a)). A. City’s Objectives for the Project The proposed Transit District DTPP Amendments would consist of amendments to the Redwood City General Plan and DTPP to achieve the following City objectives: To establish a new sub-area within the DTPP—the Transit District—focused on transit oriented development with a new hub of office, residential and retail uses adjacent to the Redwood City Transit Center, including the Caltrain Station and the SamTrans bus depot, thereby potentially minimizing automobile travel and vehicle miles traveled, consistent with the City’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. To allow for redevelopment of the existing Transit Center and Sequoia Station properties with a mix of retail, office, and residential uses that is responsive to market demands and can be constructed within existing height limitations (i.e., no changes to the maximum height allowed) and that maximizes development potential of the area in terms of both job and housing opportunities; To anticipate a potential future four-track Caltrain station, north of the existing station, that would allow for expanded service with completion of Caltrain’s electrification program (currently under construction) and for long-term implementation of the Caltrain Business Plan, which calls for substantially increased frequency of service and the use of the Redwood City Transit Center as a transfer point between local and express trains; To designate land uses appropriate to the Transit District area and the total amount of development to be permitted in the Transit District area. To that end, establish a separate development cap for office use that is distinct from, and not subject to, the office cap applicable to the remainder of the DTPP, and to allow residential uses that contribute to a thriving hub of office, residential and retail uses; To make circulation improvements to promote quality vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian connections;