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6.1.A. - Page 34 <br /> Eric and Laurie Lochtefelt each spoke in turn to congratulate the City Council and spoke <br /> in favor of siding with fellow operators, making the Downtown Precise Plan work, and <br /> keeping retail in the downtown area. He appreciated the proper discourse. Laurie <br /> Lochtefelt said she is all for retail downtown and she is real estate broker and invited <br /> others to see her if they are having problems with renting, and she will make sure it gets <br /> rented. <br /> Nancy Radcliffe, a former retailer, opined that this has been a great meeting with two <br /> developers excited to come to Redwood City because of our Precise Plan. She <br /> expressed hope that the City will stay the course, and if there are any doubts, to bring in <br /> the consultants used in the past. <br /> Boris Zats, a developer with property on Broadway, said that he has spent all last year <br /> trying to lease his property, and initially when it was developed, he thought it could be <br /> used for restaurant and retail, but that has not happened, and now he can only see <br /> allowing at least half of it to be office space in order to lease it all. He opined there are <br /> a lot empty spaces and even office space is better than empty space. <br /> Amy French, a ten-year resident and a planning professional in Palo Alto, said she and <br /> her family love downtown, but she is concerned that just 16-months from the adoption of <br /> the Downtown Precise Plan, there are questions about vacancies and possibly allowing <br /> office space on Broadway. She spoke against this proposal and opined it would be <br /> hard to change the space after five years (from office space back to retail space). <br /> M/S Gee/Seybert to close the Public Hearing. Motion carries 6-0 with Council <br /> Member Ira recused. <br /> One Council Member asked if this item went through the Council Economic <br /> Development subcommittee and Mr. Ekern confirmed. A question was posed about <br /> Laundromats and massage and tanning parlors. Mr. Zack provided details confirming <br /> those uses are already permitted. Council inquired about enforcement issues and Mr. <br /> Ekern said that staff has been in touch with certain businesses that have darkened their <br /> windows. This Council Member also inquired about the five year timeline and how staff <br /> will deal with economic changes in downtown before then. Mr. Ekern said that the office <br /> uses could not be kicked out outside of their permits. <br /> One Council Member who serves on the Economic Development Subcommittee <br /> explained that there has been a lot of vacancies and that has been a concern. This <br /> Council Member read an excerpt from one of the emails received, and she said Council <br /> received many emails and letters on this topic. This Council Member clarified that her <br /> goal is to get more people, and stick with the vision for the Downtown, and there are <br /> different points of views. She also pointed out that the retail downtown needs to <br /> accommodate working people who are busy and can come in the p.m. or on the <br /> weekend. She added that the Council has tried to meet every need of every resident for <br /> the downtown and it is disappointing to get a lot of misinformation on this topic. She <br /> suggested a stakeholders group with different players who care and want to step up to <br /> SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL May 21, 2012 <br /> MEETING MINUTES PAGE 14 <br />