AgdaPkt 2010-03-22 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

7C REP�RT To th� Bvard of Directors—Redwood City Redevelopment Agency From th� Re.develo ment A; enc ExeEUt�ve Director/Ci Mana er March 22, 2010 Sue�eCT San Mateo County SherifPs proposed replacement jai(in Downtown Redwood City RECOMMENDATION By motion, approve the professional services agreement with Davies Pcablic Affairs for fhe not-to-exceed amount of$310,0�0.00, utilizing Redevelopment Agency funds, and direct the Redevelopment Agency executive direc#or (city manager) to execute the agreement. A CAt�L 70 ACTION "We musf profecf fhe vision and the investmenf in our powntown!" Redwood Ci#y has inves#ed over a decade and millions of dotlars in creating a�ision for a vibrant new Downtown. The creation and adoption of the award-w�nning Downtown Precise Plan (DTPP) in 2007 was heralded as a cutting-edge approach to smart growth and a bold enabling mechanism to s#imula#e investment in the city's heart. The subsequent legal challenge and court decision — along with the economic downturn — have cast a temporary pall o#uncertainty over the plan, as the initial keen interest from the private sector has cooled, to a "wait-and-see� approach. Uncertainty is the single most detrimenta{ factor in in�estor attitudes about a community's economic development, and the City Council has wisely confronted this uncertainty by directing that a revised Downtown Precise Plan be completed, which will coincide with the � preparation of a New General Plan. Both are top priorities for the Councif and staff. By fall of 2010, it is expeeted that both the New General Plan and the revised DTPP will be in the final approval s#ages,along with com�rehensive en�ironmental impact reports. The Council has aiso appro�ed a first-ever Strategic Plan for the city, which aligns resources with key s#rategies for long-term fiscal and environmenfal susfainability. Following the SherifPs flawed jail site selection process, the Board of Supervisars' imminent decision to locate a large replacement jail on the Motor Pool site within the Coun#y Center campus has now emerged as a key DTPP issue. lt represents a significant threat to the long-term viability of the Dowr�town. This"decisioR looking for a reason°approach to land use planning for an extremely valuable piece of under utilized urban real estate is short sighted and may cause irreparable harm to Redwood City. A new jail at the proposed location wi�l severely limit the community's ability to attract the critical Downtown business and housing development that witl benefit not only the City, but the entire County.The land use is also completely inconsistent with the vision and intent of Redwood City's New General Plan, as well as that of the pending DTPP. A new jail at this site is actualiy a bad idea for San Mateo County—it wi�l squander the County's enormous opportunity for more appropriate, productive, attractive, and beneficial development tha�might otherwise take place afi that sifie.