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7A Page 72 from being reoccupied by retail or a restaurant dependent upon what the market will bear and what will go on in the economy. She noted they saw this as an organic transition over time on these streets, different than was seen in other areas of the City. PUBLIC HEARING Ralph Garcia noted he was soon to be owner of a vacuum and sewing machine center in the downtown area. He was one of the newest retailers to come to the area in the last two years. Prior to that he was not thrilled about the downtown area. He sees its growth potential now, however, but is worried about that growth potential if too many offices are allowed on the ground floor downtown. Offices bring traffic and use up parking while people are at work, but these same people do not always shop in the area, and also block parking and cause traffic problems for those who would like to make use of downtown retail. He felt the explosive use of offices on the ground floor would eat up everything else in the area and kill retail. He noted the City had spent millions in ramping up retail, and he wanted to see it continue. Retail breeds more retail. He stressed that a ground floor office scenario would eat up the parking in the area as well. John Anagnostou, a property and business owner, approved of allowing office on the ground floor as the Ordinance proposed. As a member of the Downtown Business he shared their belief that the office scenario would actually aid in the economical growth of downtown Redwood City. Restaurant tours have also provided the feedback that they are noticing positive business results due to the downtown office and business population. He noted an additional one or two thousand people working downtown would greatly enhance the future of the downtown area. He noted retail remained under attack, no one is developing and development at best in the downtown area will not be on the rise for several more years. Financing for this just does not exist in the current economical climate. He encouraged the Commission to vote for this equitable change for the downtown area. Chris Shipley, a business analyst working primarily with early stage technology companies in Silicon Valley, was also a resident and working in Redwood City. Her company works with young companies. They believe there is an opportunity to create and entrepreneurial center in Redwood City, aHowing small companies to start and grow there. She believed this had everything to do with the revitalization of the downtown area and restaurant business. New and young employees will work and shop in the area as well. She discouraged making this a temporary ordinance. She noted her company was interested in making a long-term investment in the downtown ground floor business scenario. M/S(HoltlSchmidt) To CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Holt was in full support of the Ordinance. She noted, in a more perfect world, they would of course like more retail, but the current economical climate dictated otherwise. She noted some startups make a go of it and/or bust, but during their stay, extended or not, they bring business into the downtown area. Her reaction to medical office in the downtown area was that this kind of business may help close the gap between what is happening now downtown and what may happen later. Clarification was needed on the types of medical offices they were thinking of, however. Page 21 of 24