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ATTACHMENT (�D time prior to that. It some cases it was quite a few years, and those may be some of the buildings Commissioner Radcliffe referred to. Staff also had several series of data that they had been using from economic analysis including the work done on the recentiy adopted General Plan, the Economic Background Reports, which were prepared by Strategic Economics. These reports took a very close look at the City's job sectors and the types of commercial retail and office space needs recognized for the community. This included the need for small office spaces, close, in and around the downtown area, and that the retail zoning was spread out and not quite effective. The Central Business Retail Zoning District Amendment, considered by the Commission last spring with Council Adoption, did exactly what is being proposed now in terms of ground floor retail requirements on predominantly Broadway and through the core of Sequoia Station, or the station as it is now to be maintained that way, but allowing other uses on Main Street, Brewster and EI Camino Real. Staff had acknowledged other studies as well, done in other cities, where retail has been forced, or a mixed use has been forced to be included in development and has not always been successful. She reiterated there were specific studies for the Redwood City and they also studied other community trends. Commissioner Bondonno wanted to be ciear that the Commission was comfortable. For his own part, he wanted to be comfortable in that there was enough of a sampling and trend analysis rather than reacting to the moment. He stressed the importance of having the numbers and the data reflective of not just a moment in time, but appropriate for future planning. In this way, Council would not have to adjust the MAD caps on a regular basis. PUBLIC HEARING Morton Frank, Redwood City resident, noted he has had 45 years exposure to as well as closely watching the development and the evolution of Redwood City's downtown area. He has watched this as an architect, as a developer and as a member of the Architectural Review Committee. He noted there have been good and bad strategies during devefopment of the downtown area. He noted the cineplex is in place, and now they need the people. He spoke to the idea that many believe that housing downtown is what keeps the downtown moving and developing. He stated the current development plans for the Cargill area were affecting downtown development. He encouraged the Commission to consider looking at the two documents they were acting on as devices to negotiate a deal for Redwood City to keep a lot of the new housing and development in the downtown area. Diana Reddy, Housing Leadership Council, indicated how proud she was of the current document. She regarded the Downtown Precise Plan as a brilliant piece of work and congratulated staff on the fine work that they did. She stressed she was an advocate for affordable housing. She stated the downtown area was a perfect area to develop affordable housing. She encouraged the Commission to adopt the resolutions and follow Staff's recommendation for Alternative 4. Claire Felong, Cool Cities Redwood City, thanked the Commission for their hard work I throughout the years. She agreed with Mr. Morton in that they were hopeful for some alternatives which would discourage the Cargill property from being developed into a mini city. She agreed further development downtown would make the outlying development less necessary. She asked that the Commission consider the adoption of both Alternatives 3 and 5. She noted the importance of having some flexibility between Page 6 of 13 i