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Mr. Passanisi, Principal Planner, reviewed the prior Council actions and what had been done since August (presentation on file). The developer Mr. McGowan addressed the Council and his architect, Doug McBeth explained the improvements to the project. Mr. McGowan then addressed the Council again and said the Architectural Review Board (ARC) will have to do a final review of the revised plans. Mr. McGowan shared that he is bringing market rate housing to Redwood City and there are many variables that need to be considered. Council posed questions of the applicant. Mayor Foust opened the public hearing for the revised plans. Since she had no cards she suggested a break. Council took a break at 8:30 p.m. and resumed at 8:40 p.m. Public Comment Don Hogue said he does not agree with the developers' diagram about the amount of greenery and that there is no place for kids to play, except in the street. He believes that buildings should be as far away from the creek as possible and he asked Council to stick with the 25 foot setback. Richard Izmiriam, representing the Friends of the Cordilleras Creek, said they remain opposed to this project and that the changes to the creek setback and found the hydro- modification of the revised plans trivial. He opined the revisions do not meet the direction of the Council given at an earlier meeting. He referred to a letter the Council received from a hydrologist who had thoroughly studied the creek and advised Redwood City on the creek and its management. Nita Spangler, who has lived near the creek for 50 years, spoke about her concerns during storms such as trees being taken out, deer living in the creek, and the need for cleaning out the creek periodically. She said she thought Mr. McGowan had some good ideas about creek management. She believes that the County, Redwood City, and San Carlos should get a citizens committee, that Council can support, and that they can work towards year around access and maintenance on a reasonable and acceptable schedule. Ms. Spangler explained the reason for the roundabouts in the Wesley Park. She said there should not be a lot of concrete and there is a need to pay attention to the history of Redwood City. Julie Abraham said that she and her husband live on Finger Avenue and she appreciates the opportunity to address Council. She expressed her concern about the limited and restricted amount of space. She said she cannot understand why there is a discussion about a roundabout and an ornamental gate in this space. She spoke about how she already finds it extremely difficult to maneuver out of her driveway without hitting things and finds the notion of an ornamental gate would reduce the traffic to single file and significantly reduce visibility. She questioned why none of these issues were raised during the last public meeting on August 3rd. She read from a letter and she urged Council to deny the appeal. Dan Ponty said he sent a letter to Council last night and he spoke about the poor stewardship of the creek and he mentioned various reasons why that may have been from those who may not have known any better and built too close, to those who were JOINT CITY COUNCIUREDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD OCTOBER 26, 2009 MEETING MINUTES PAGE 7 MINUTE BOOK NO. 62 Page No. 507