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Recommendation: Hold a Public Hearing and adopt a Resolution to amend Book II - Development Regulations of the Downtown Precise Plan (DTPP). RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF REDWOOD CITY AMENDING BOOK II OF THE DOWNTOWN PRECISE PLAN Mayor Aguirre asked for respect and noted that there will be no ceding of time and due to the number of speakers people will have 2 minutes to address the Council. Dr. Bell presented the report and he noted that Council is not looking to abandon the vision of the Downtown Precise Plan. This is an attempt to make it a more vital downtown. He said this is just a pause where staff is asking Council to consider other options. Dr. Bell provided the historical background which included a variety of "reach out" meetings to Downtown merchants who suggested this change or something to take a look at. He said that this shows how much people care about downtown and how engaged people are and he values that and he is hoping for thoughtful and respectful discourse. Bill Ekern, Director of Community Development, noted that the goal from staff's perspective is to continue revitalizing the downtown and how to activate it. The goal is not to make it a battle befinreen uses but to try and catapult our downtown and add opportunities. He said this has been through the Planning Commission and went through an extensive analysis but tonight the goal is a little narrower. Mr. Dan Zack presented the report giving some background that the Downtown Precise Plan was adopted in January of 2011 and it is working very well. He noted that the first privately funded housing project has been approved for downtown and there are other remodels and businesses coming downtown. What led to the current option were the blatant ground floor vacancies and nobody likes to see them. He shared a map of current vacancies in the downtown detail corridor (presentation on file). Mr. Zack said this is not a new problem but the vacancy rate has been high since 2008 and some vacancies are very "stubborn" and over 100 months. He added this is a nationwide epidemic. He reiterated that the long term vision and strategy will not change. He noted that the downtown retail area is a bit large and he provided historical details. Mr. Zack provided details on the proposed change and its requirements as well as the anticipated benefits. He also provided details on the appeals process and how staff tried to clarify certain terminology. Ms. Barnes, Economic Development Manager, walked through some of the things the City has been engaged in to revitalize the downtown area (presentation on file). She gave interesting statistics about office workers spending trends. Mayor Aguirre opened the Public Hearing. Ralph Garcia, said he was on the Planning Commission when zoning was put in place against allowing businesses on the first floor downtown. He expressed concerns about SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL May 21, 2012 MEETING MINUTES PAGE 11 MINUTE BOOK NO. 64 Page No. 130