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<br /> <br />July 13, 2026 <br /> <br />Redwood City Council <br />1017 Middlefield Road <br />Redwood City, CA 9 4063 <br /> <br />Re: Item 8.B Introduce two ordinances amending the Zoning Code and Municipal Code, <br />respectively, and adopt a resolution amending City Engineering Standards to implement <br />General Plan Housing Element programs, development streamlining and code maintenance <br /> <br />Honorable Mayor & Councilmembers, <br /> <br />I am writing on behalf of MidPen Housing to express our strong support for the City Council to <br />move forward with adopting a ministerial approval process for 100% affordable housing. We are <br />also in support of the move to extend entitlements from three to five years in order to allow <br />applicants additional time to obtain permits, secure financing and begin construction. <br /> <br />MidPen Housing is a developer, long-term owner, manager, and resident services provider of <br />affordable housing. Since MidPen was founded in 1970, we have developed 140 communities <br />and over 10,400 homes for low-income families, seniors and those with supportive housing <br />needs throughout Northern California. In Redwood City, our portfolio includes 375 homes <br />serving over 500 residents, with an additional 180 homes in our pipeline – located at 1580 Maple <br />Street and 609 Price Avenue. <br /> <br />Over the past few years, we have seen state housing legislation that has been enacted <br />significantly reduce entitlement risk by providing ministerial processing pathways, streamlining <br />reviews and by-right density bonuses. By easing barriers and lessening administrative burden to <br />City Staff, these bills have shaved years off project schedules, added certainty and unlocked <br />hundreds of additional homes that otherwise would not be built due to lacking the density, <br />certainty or timeliness needed to advance. Although this legislation is an option, it is meaningful <br />for Redwood City to adopt its own ministerial approval process as streamlining tools at the state <br />level tend to have specific or unclear eligibility criteria. Moreover, most State tools are also <br />subject to change given sunset provisions. <br /> <br />Instating ministerial entitlement approval is a high-impact policy change within the City’s <br />control. It cannot be overstated: ministerial approval processes accelerate affordable housing <br />production. In addition to reducing risk, projects will be able to move into the financing phase <br />more quickly and pursue securing the capital stack. Ultimately, rapid entitlements provide <br />developers with the agility needed to capture time-sensitive funding opportunities and better <br />align with the reality of the site acquisition market. These updates to streamline development <br />review in the City will have sizable impacts on our pipeline projects with time and money <br />savings that would otherwise not be possible. <br /> <br />