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Page 8 of 11 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org <br />Comparable unit size (lots A and D) – the AHO requires affordable units to be comparable in square <br />footage and number of bedrooms to the market-rate units (Zoning Code Section 29.6.3). While <br />the project would provide affordable units with a comparable number of bedrooms to the market- <br />rate units, the applicant requests to provide smaller-sized affordable units for each bedroom type. <br />The reduced square footage for the affordable units would result in identifiable construction cost <br />savings per square foot, thereby improving the project’s financial ability to provide the proposed <br />affordable housing. <br />Private open space (lot D) – the Mixed-Use Transitional district requires private open space on a <br />per unit basis (Zoning Code Section 55.3). While the project would maintain the private courtyard <br />open to all tenants and balconies on the exterior façade along the street frontages, the applicant <br />proposes removing balconies within the interior areas above the courtyard. Balconies in this area <br />tend to make the courtyard feel more cramped. Removing these internal balconies would <br />maintain the design of the building’s exterior frontages, improve the courtyard space, and reduce <br />the private open space ratio to 104 sq. ft. per unit (where 125 sq. ft. per unit is required). For <br />purposes of the requested concession, removal of the balconies would result in identifiable cost <br />savings related to their construction and ultimately affordable housing rents. <br />3. Revised Affordable Housing Plan. <br />The requested modifications described above would require the Affordable Housing Plan to be <br />updated accordingly (see Attachment D). In addition to accounting for the revised affordable unit <br />count and affordability levels for lots A and D (as described in the above sections of this report), <br />the revised plan includes the following: <br />a. Concurrent Construction Requirement - The AHO has a concurrent construction requirement <br />that no more than 50% of the market rate units can receive building permits and certificate <br />of occupancy prior to the affordable units being permitted and built. The project is proposing <br />to build lot A first, which has more than 50% of the market rate units. The applicant is <br />requesting an alternative to the current construction requirement as allowed under Section <br />29.8.D.2 of the AHO. Prior to requesting a temporary certificate of occupancy for lot A, the <br />applicant would obtain building permits for lot D and provide a deposit in compliance with <br />the City’s Affordable Housing Program Guidelines. Additionally, the City will release the <br />deposit upon the successful completion of specific construction milestones for the affordable <br />units in lot D, as outlined in the guidelines. <br />b. Local Preference – adding the City’s Local Preference Program, which will grant residents, <br />former residents, and workers preference for the new affordable units to prevent <br />displacement and allowed displaced residents to return to Redwood City. The local preference <br />requirement was not in the AHO in 2020 when the original project was entitled. The revised <br />affordable housing plan would include this provision bringing it into compliance with current <br />standards. <br />8.B. - Page 8 of 120 <br />171