Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

All right. Good evening, and thank you for joining our 12/16/2025 Special Planning Commission meeting. As a reminder, items will be taken in the order they are listed on the agenda. Before we get started, I want to briefly go over public comment procedures for the meeting for those of you who may be joining us for the first time. Public comments on the approval of minutes, consent items, matters of commission interest and items not on the agenda will be taken during item number three.

Comments on the other agenda items will be taken only when the item is called. In person speakers, please fill out speakers' card at the front of the council chamber and bring to staff. For those joining virtually, you may use the raise hand feature on Zoom to speak. If you're joining the teleconference by phone, you may raise your hand by dialing 9 or 6 to unmute your microphone when prompted. Please only raise your hand at a time when the item in which you are speaking is called.

Each speaker is allotted three minutes, but that may be adjusted if there are many speakers. Lastly, we want to know that we each bring different perspectives to the discussion, and we want to be sure that everyone has a chance to be heard without interruption. Planning Commission welcomes public comment on items within our purview. Any speaker whose comments are on topics not under the Commission's purview will be warned and then removed if necessary in order to allow the commission to conduct their business. Thank you for your attention and consideration during this process. I will now turn it over to staff for the roll call.

Commissioner Bahn? Here. Commissioner Cornejo? Here. Commissioner Finch? Here. Commissioner Hunter is absent. Commissioner Robinson?

Here.

Vice chair Coke is absent. And chair Sonogaratz?

Here.

I'm Sue Exline, the assistant community development director and staff liaison to the commission. Other staff in attendance this evening, James Dodson. He's our assistant planner. He's on here joining us virtually. Rick Jarvis is our consultant assistant city attorney. Christina Matteo is the administrative secretary and meeting host. And we also have Alin Lancaster from Housing online as well, if there's any questions on the item.

Thank you. Moving on item number two, AB2449, notifications and considerations, meaning participation by teleconference. Do we have any remote participation notification or requests from the commission to consider?

We do not.

Okay. Let's move on to the next agenda item, item number three, public comments. At this time, we will take public comments from those joining us in person. Do we have any cards on the dais? No? And if anyone is joining us remotely, please click raise hand button now. If you have dial in, please enter 9 now and 6 to unmute your microphone when prompted. Are there any speakers online?

I'm going to ask Cristina. Sorry about that. I actually didn't log in tonight, so apologies.

It's all good. All right. Thank you. If there's no objection, I will now close the public comment. Before we move to item number four, I'll ask is this our first meeting that we have reintroduced the public comment via Zoom?

Yes.

Okay. Wonderful. That's great. Item number four is approval of minutes. We have 11/18/2025 meeting. Is there a motion to approve the draft meeting minutes of 11/18/2025?

Motion to approve the minutes of the draft minutes of 11/18/2025.

Alright. Moved by commissioner Baht. Do we have a second? Second. Alright. Thank you. Move it. Seconded by commissioner Cornejo. Commissioner Baht?

Yes. Commissioner Cornejo? Yes. Commissioner Finch?

Yes.

Commissioner Robinson?

Yes.

And chair Sunegoretz?

Yes.

The motion passes with five and two are absent.

Wonderful. Moving on, consent calendar. There are no items on tonight's consent calendar. We will move straight to public hearing on item six a, and our 6A is 1320 Marshall Street, the request for approval of an architectural permit, tentative parcel map, condominium permit, affordable housing plan and state density bonus request with associated concessions and waivers for a 32 unit townhome development consisting of four buildings with a maximum proposed height of 50 feet or four storeys, including five affordable units at a moderate income level. I think the assistant planner, James Dodson, will give a presentation on the item. And he's joining us remotely.

Yep. Thank you, chair Senegal Ratt. Hello and good evening commissioners, members of the public. As mentioned, my name is James Dodson. I will be presenting to you the proposed project at 1320 Marshall Street.

Next slide, please. Here's an overview overview of what my, presentation will cover, basic site background, the project proposal itself, including our state density bonus law concessions and waivers being requested. And then I'll go on to the site design, site and building design, and then onto staff recommendation. Next slide, please. Right, the project is proposing or the project is proposed for a site just under one acre within the Broadway Street, Corazonia subdistrict of the mixed use corridor.

This corridor was created to provide opportunities for residential, commercial, and mixed use development at at intensities to support a potential streetcar line. The surrounding existing uses are as noted on the image on the screen. This image is also included in staff report for reference. The existing site consists of a warehouse or storage use, a church and a restaurant. As part of the project scope, all the existing structures will be demolished.

Next slide, please. So this project came to us 11/13/2024 as an SB three thirty pre application. This date is important as it kinda sets a vesting period for the applicable development standards and fees assessed on the project. The project proposed or the project proposal itself is for a 32 unit townhome residential development, which consists of five moderate income deed restricted affordable units and four accessible units per California building code requirements. The project comes to the planning commission today as it proposes a maximum building height, which exceeds 35 feet and three stories.

This threshold also triggered a design review before the architectural advisory committee. And on September 4, the project was reviewed and unanimously recommended for approval to the planning commission by the architectural advisory committee. We also have a few details about the project on the slide here in regards to total building square footage and total proposed parking, which includes bicycle parking. Next slide, please. As the project proposes 50% of the total units to be deed restricted affordable units, it is then eligible for the state density bonus law, which allows the project to exceed maximum density standards, which this project is not requesting to do and modification to development standards through concessions and waivers.

Under the state density bonus law, this project is eligible for one concession and an unlimited number of waivers. The applicant is requesting one cons is requesting the one concession that is allotted and then two waivers for the project. Next slide please. Concession. So for the state density bonus law, I do have a land and lay here with the housing division that will be able to assist me with the details of this law as it is within their purview.

So but for the next couple of slides, I'll make an attempt to explain what this project is proposing and what is allowed under the state density bonus law. So for the one concession that's is being requested, this is in regards to the projects, affordable units, square footage that is being proposed. The affordable housing ordinance does require that affordable units are developed with comparable unit sizes by square footage and bedrooms. The bedrooms are met. However, the project is proposing that these five affordable units have a square footage that is of the lesser met.

Square footage for all the plan types that are proposed for this site. As you can see in this chart that I've provided, what would be required is one of the plan one type, one of the ADA units, two of the plan two floor plans, which have a floor area of 1,850, and then one of the plan three floor types at 1,810 square feet. And this was, calculated by the housing division to provide a equivalency or a comparable units, by square footage. And as you can see in the far right column, the project is proposing all the five units to be of the smaller square footage at thirteen ninety two square feet. Through state density bonus log, a concession has been requested to allow for this modification to the development standards.

And the applicant would be available later to provide an explanation for why this concession is being requested and how it meets state density bonus law. Same for the waiver. So onto the next slide, we'll get into the waivers. So for the first waiver, they're requesting a DVR, a modification to development standards, which requires a 30% transparency or opening windows and openings requirement on the Ground Floor. This this project is proposing, the transparency at a 21.4% where 30% is required.

And, again, this includes the percentage of windows, doors, or openings on the Ground Floor. And again, the the applicant would be able to, provide a detailed explanation on why this is being requested. But as you can see where the brick detailing is on these plan, there's some space where windows could potentially go. However, due through the floor plan design, there are stairs located in those area, which makes it infeasible for windows or openings to go in that area to help contribute to the transparency requirements. And then next slide please.

The second waiver is for modifications to the entrance or pedestrian entrance frequency for the site. The code requires that there's at least one pedestrian entrance every 100 feet. This project is proposing the entrance at 160 feet and the pedestrian entrance are identified on this, image as the yellow rectangles outlined by the purple line. Those are the proposed pedestrian entrance pathways, and the applicant is indicating what the red rectangles where possible interest could go, but entrances could go. However, due to the project design wouldn't make sense in regards to the floor plan as those entrances would go directly into garages rather than the units themselves.

Next Next slide please. All right, then we get into the site design for the project. As you can see, this project does provide vehicular access on Marshall Street only through a driveway that splits the lot and, leads to kind of a hammerhead, driveway, in between the site in between the buildings. Again, this project consists of four buildings, which houses multiple units for the total of the 32 units proposed for the project. Pedestrian access is designated to the outer edges of the of the site, away from the vehicular traffic with the addition of a paseo in between the two buildings on the Broadway Street frontage, which allows for also allows for emergency access onto the site, also providing a break in the build building frontage at the buildings on the Broadway frontage are parallel to the street.

And per the the zoning co per the the zoning district, it is preferred that vehicular traffic is designated to Marshall Street and away from Broadway Street as Broadway is intended to be a more pedestrian orientated thoroughfare or street. So onto the next slide. For the next slide, we're looking at the open space provided for the spot and the landscaping landscape and identified with all the green tints on the screen. And then the open space is highlighted with our usable open space is highlighted with kind of a gold overlay and outline with the purple coloring. The project does satisfy open space requirements, as proposed and actually exceeds the open space requirements.

There's a number of, landscaping on the side as well that also satisfied stormwater treatment facilities. So, a number of the planters on the Broadway Street frontage are also bioretention areas, which helps to retain stormwater on the site. And then you'll also see some trees being planted with civil cells also associated with those to also retain storm water onto the site. This project or the existing site does have the four existing mature trees on the Marshall frontage. This project project will be retaining those trees as part of the project.

And then on the Broadway frontage, there are four street trees, and then the applicant will or existing street trees, which are proposed to be removed and replaced. And then in addition to that, two new street trees will be added. So, there will be an increase of street trees on the Broadway Street frontage. And then the site itself, provides, additional trees, about about 12 on-site trees for the site as well. So regards to vegetation and landscaping for the site, there is an increase to what is currently there.

Next slide please. All right, and then we get into the building design. This image that you see here would be the street frontage from the Broadway Street side. As you can see with the passe on the meadow and the trees, there's a break in the building. There's a lot of pedestrian orientated or there's doors and openings on this side as well. And recessed openings, balconies, different design elements that help contribute to, pedestrian orientated scale or human scale design.

And,

yeah, we do not have a Marshall Street frontage. However, the applicant will be providing images of that so that you can see that as well. But this would be the Broadway Street frontage. And later on, you'll be able to see a rendering of what this would look like on the street, as proposed. Again, maximum height is 40 feet.

This building does offer different orientations of the roof pitch to assist with massing or to assist with reducing the building's massing, different, kind of planes, levels of planes where there's recessed planes and push and pull in the building that also helps to add articulation to the building and reduce the building's massing. On to the next slide, please. All right, with this slide, I wanna make an attempt to kinda address the floor plan design for these buildings. This building that I've put here are the floor plans for Building C, which would be the on Marshall Street side, the right side building, or if you're looking at the plans on the top right building. This building does have, basically sections for the units or sections in the building where each section has floor plans for two units themselves.

So as you can see where I highlighted with the blue outline, that would be one of the ADA units within or two of the ADA units within the the Building C floor plans. On the floor on the 1st Floor, you have a garage with tandem parking for each unit. And then there's the 2nd Floor, which would be for, you know, one of the units. And then the 3rd Floor is shared by two of the units. So they're just split floor on the 3rd Floor for two units and then the 4th Floor would be designated to the second unit, which is different from the 2nd Floor.

So it's an interesting floor plan. I thought it was worth to, you know, try to explain how these units are situated within the buildings. This is pretty consistent on through the other buildings as well where the buildings are sectioned and allows for two floor plans per section. And and you can identify this through the drive the the garages with the tandem parking. Plan 5, which is the outer building or the building adjacent to Marshall Street.

And so Building C and Building D would have the Plan 5 design element. Those buildings are have a step down. So the maximum height of those units is 40 feet and it is only one floor plan. They have a one car garage or two car garage and it does not have parking, so it'll just be a standard two car garage with parking adjacent to each other. And then it's three levels for this floor plan.

Next slide, please. So here you see a rendering of the building as it would be developed in the future if as proposed. The building is situated adjacent to the what could be assumed for the future hotel that was proposed and approved, I believe last year, adjacent to the building on the the left side. This is the Broadway Street frontage. You have the two buildings and then the Paseo in the middle with the street retreats that are also being proposed.

This project, was found to be consistent with all the development standards, with exception to the, development standards associated with the two waivers and the concession. And as such, onto the next slide, staff is recommending that the Planning Commission adopt resolution 25 dash 12 approving architectural permit, tentative parcel map, condo permit, affordable housing plan, state density bonus with concession and waivers pursuant to the state density bonus law and the CEQA exemption subject to conditions of approval for project located at 1320 Marshall. That concludes my project. I'm available for any clarifying questions. As stated earlier, I also have a Lynn and Lay here with the housing division that could assist with any affordable housing or housing specific questions.

Questions. The applicant is also available once they get their presentation to answer any additional questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dodson for your very detailed presentation. Are there any clarifying questions that the Commission would like to ask staff at this time? I do have a couple of questions. I would like to follow-up on the questions raised by the architectural committee on the previous meeting regarding this project.

There was talk about public art, which this particular project does not require, But it was also talk about particular improvements along the public paseo entering from Broadway Street side. You showed a frontage cross section on the Broadway. There was a Tree Street tree in the way. I was just curious if there's any improvements. I think the packet materials did show some improvements or at least some implementation in that particular Brazil.

Yes, there will be some improvements in that area such as gates, seating and some additional vegetation. But I'll let the applicant speak to that in more detail when they get their presentation.

Great. I have a couple more questions, but I'll let Commissioner Robinson to ask his questions first.

Yes. My question is regarding the replacement trees on Broadway. Does the landscape plan call for a specific size, like 36 inch box, for example? I know that's highly specific. Curious to make sure that the, you know, the tree canopy, you know, remains consistent along there for what is already mature. And if if you don't have the answer right away, that's okay.

Give me one second to scroll and see if I can get if I can answer it, then the the applicant again is here, and they would be able to answer that question for you. But it looks like yeah. I'll allow the applicant to answer that question. I believe they're replacing the the existing trees with similar sized trees and then adding the two new trees with the same type of trees as well. But I'll applicant provide the details of that.

Thank you.

Great. Yes. I think the landscape palette calls for 36 inches boxes, but I'm not sure whether the resolution itself is detailed in terms of what is the requirement in the agreement. I do have speaking of landscaping, I do have a question about the concession sorry, the waiver regarding open spaces on the Ground Floor. So there are stairwells because of this very what I consider actually quite ingenious design of stacking units in a very compact square footage area.

There's that wall that's kind of brick layer that's facing the Broadway frontage. And I think we we have talked about trying to put some landscaping in that blank wall to be able to to cover that. And, you know, I was looking at what the choices are here. I think the landscape architects suggested California wild grape. I'm I'm not cur I'm curious whether that's slated for the the fenced walls around the two neighboring properties or on the front side facing Broadway because I know there's some plans also to cover the the the defenses facing the hotel and then on the other side, the commercial properties on the south side of the property. That was a lot of words, but I guess maybe I'll just wait for the applicant to come in and then they will answer that question.

Yes, the applicant could speak to that.

Yes. Any other questions for staff at this time? All right, seeing none. Thank you so much, Mr. Dodson. We will now oh, sorry. Commissioner Cornejo has a question.

Sorry. This question, I think will be for like the housing staff that was mentioned there. I'm just curious if there's a different process since development has only a couple of units available versus a housing development that has many more units. Is the process different for a resident to apply, or it's the same?

Hi. Lynn Lancaster, housing leadership manager. I'm happy to answer that question. So these would be ownership units. And so these would be sold to, you know, qualified moderate income households at a below market price.

And

so we would go through our standard, ownership process for affordable units.

Okay. Thank you.

Alright. Thank you, missus Allen. Alright. We are moving on to the applicant pre presentation. Is there a presentation you'll be giving tonight? Okay. Great. Wonderful.

Can everyone hear me okay?

Yes.

Good evening, Redwood City Planning Commission, staff, members of the public. My name is Darian Denler, and I'm here from City Ventures and very excited to be here to present the Redwood Square project located at 1320 Marshall Street and 1662 Broadway. I'm joined by Kian Malik from the Citi Ventures team and Dan Hale from Hunt Hale Jones Architects, the architect for the project. I'd like to start with a brief overview of City Ventures, who we are and what we do. We are a California based residential developer.

Our Northern California division has projects as far North as Sebastopol and as far South as San Luis Obispo County. We are a sustainable developer, so all of our projects are solar all electric. We utilize energy efficient materials as best we can. So that includes low water usage fixtures, nest thermostats, low impact or native landscaping and all the homes come pre wired for EV charging capabilities. As an infill developer, our focus is developing underutilized parcels within existing city limits to provide the attainable for sale housing that the communities that we work with in the Bay Area really need.

And we implement different styles, different architecture, different site planning, and frankly just different projects depending on the long term goals of the city and the particular site's dynamic. We started this project a while ago and I won't go into detail on on everything, but we had a few different iterations of the project to get to where we are today. And you know, I really appreciate staff support and direction during that process. They were tough but fair. And in September, we received a unanimous approval from the architectural advisory committee.

And I'm here to respectfully request your approval of our vesting tentative map and our architectural permit. Many of you are familiar with the site and James did a great job of kind of breaking down its current and former uses, but I want to reiterate that it's approximately a one acre site primarily building and a good portion of it is used for industrial storage and some outdoor storage on the northern portion as well. It's entirely pervious. The site is located less than a mile from you know schools like Hoover Elementary, Sequoia High School and even closer to Downtown Redwood City and everything good that that comes along with that. So this really is a great location and an opportunity site for some more infill housing in Redwood City.

So this is a 32 unit for sale development broken up over four buildings. We're utilizing a stacked townhome style condominium product. The buildings that are fronting onto Broadway, that's A and B, have the entries on a stooped porch that faces the public street, which in designing those we really wanted to create a strong pedestrian entrance and experience as you're walking along Broadway. Over on Marshall Side, as James was mentioning, we kind of feather down from the four story to a three story, which you know kind of lowers the level as you're entering from the vehicular access. And these homes are going to be marketed to first time home buyers, young families and anyone looking to either deepen or establish their roots here in Redwood City.

The project is also proposing deed restricted affordable housing that's dispersed throughout the site. So as you're coming down westbound on Broadway, you'll see the project and we're really excited to have gotten the direction from the Parks and Recreation Department to replace those frontage trees we were talking about. There are currently four ornamental pairs that aren't in the the best condition and they'll be replaced with six new Trident Maples. Over on the Marshall side, we kind of navigated it where the majority of our utilities tie in. We were able to navigate those utilities in a way that preserves the existing Cork Oaks over on that side.

And there are these power lines that are kind of hanging over and the trees are growing up into them. So part of the project will be to underground those lines and hopefully those trees will thrive once those have been removed. Kind of back on to the Broadway side, our landscape architect was super excited to see the Trident maples due to the fact that once they're in their fall state and have those colors, it'll match really well with the coloring of that Spanish style. And once these homes are occupied, you'll see, you know, plants coming over the balconies, you'll see the buyer retention planters on Broadway and the trees. So it'll be a nice lush frontage.

In terms of the sidewalk, consistent with the approved development next door, they'll be 12 and a half feet wide and as I understand it consistent with the request for new developments on Broadway. We proposed a traditional Spanish style architecture which which aimed for a three sixty degree view. So there's articulation on every side of the building whether you're inside the project looking at the buildings or more importantly of the public facing sides, we really focused on making sure that there was articulation and design elements there as well. The colors and materials that we proposed and were reviewed at the AAC were proposed with the goal of giving the project a natural and warm welcoming feel. I'd like to take a moment and express my appreciation to the projects planner, James.

We've worked closely for a while and the rest of the city staff. Everyone has been great to work with and you know readily available for any questions that have come along during the process. And and lastly, I'd like to thank the Planning Commission for taking their time today to listen to my presentation. And I hope we've put together a proposal that the city would like to see come to fruition. So with that, I'll conclude my presentation and I'll be right over here for any questions.

Great. Thank you so much for your presentation. At this time, are there any clarifying questions that the commission would like to ask the applicant? Commissioner Finch.

Yes. One question about the Paseo and the pedestrian walkways on the sides of the project. I'm guessing from the plans that Paseo is private access just to residents with the gate and then the side the walkways on the sides are public?

They will they will both be private.

Oh, okay. Are there gates on the on the side walkways as well?

You might not see them see them in the plans, but there will be gates there. Yes. Over on the Broadway side.

Okay. Okay. And then one other question was about the the number of parking spaces. Just I'm just curious, how did you come to the number of 64, two per unit?

Two per unit. Yes, sir.

Okay. What and what how did you come to two per unit?

It's each garage holds two spaces. There are tandem garages for the majority of the the homes outside of the two, three story over on Marshall Side,

which are side by side garages. Okay. And and do you foresee or, like, do you is that just kind of what you expect people will want to buy in this kind of development even though it is kind of in a more transit y ish area?

Totally. Yeah. And and for young families and kind of the target demographic for these homes is is young families. Typically, they'll have one, two cars at at most. So it's it's worked out pretty well with with the two car garage for each home.

Okay. And and I do appreciate. I think that tandem is a is a nice way to do it where it it minimizes kind of the amount of frontage that the garage takes up. And if people just want to use it for storage or something instead the extra space, I think it gives some nice versatility. So I think that's a it's a nice design for a two car garage. Yes. Thanks.

Thank you.

To follow-up, mean, garage still also contains a bike storage unit. Is that right?

Yes, A bike storage unit as well as the three bins for compost recycling and trash.

Got it. Okay. I mean, just to follow-up on Commissioner Finch's question, like if you were to propose a project with one parking per garage versus two? I mean, I see from around the Bay Area, you have many projects in different both infill and outfill developments. Would that be not as attractive of a unit than having two even tandem garages?

Yes. It would likely be difficult from a marketing perspective, but also potential strain on the surrounding neighborhood if people do maybe initially purchase with one car and then end up getting one or even two more cars and then they're parking on street parking and so typically two is kind of the the sweet spot.

Got it. Thank you. I have more questions, but I will let Commissioner Cornejo ask. No, please. I have a long list.

Okay. Thank you. Do you have any, like, imagery on, like, what the parking would look like, the garage and the maybe the open space that these this development would offer people?

Yeah. I I don't think I have any imagery of the garage themselves, but I do have a photo of the floor plan that might be helpful for that purpose. It it kind of extends into the unit. Is this is that your question?

Yeah. Well, I well, I know I have two questions. One is on the parking and then the other one's on the open space. Oh, okay. So, just focus on the parking. I was just curious just to envision like if people have really big cars or is it gonna be made more for like a smaller car? That's why I was asking the question.

Got it. Absolutely. And and the garages are designed with with the width. We went deeply on this on on a a different project, but they're wide enough to hold trucks and larger cars. Sprinter van, maybe not, but trucks, yes.

Okay. Great. And then on to my other The other part of my question is like, I'm interested in seeing since I'm envisioning perhaps families or families that have pets, like what is the outdoor space this development?

Yeah. Absolutely. And and I'll It's it's more of a leisure area where there's trees, planting, benches.

Mhmm.

So, it's more of a less of a, you know, there's no dog run or anything like that, but it's a place for people to sit outside maybe read, enjoy the sun and enjoy the trees. But it's a it's a substantial little area on the and I'll go back to the site plan. So it's that area that you're seeing to the left of Building C and to the right of Building D which is a nice pervious pathway. There's benches, the trees and the the planter boxes for homeowners to sit and and enjoy the outside.

And then I know you someone asked about if it's gated, so this space would be is it gated?

From the Marshall side, it will likely not well, it will not be gated. From the Broadway side, we'll have gates in between Buildings A in the property line and Buildings B in the property line. But over on the Marshall side, it will be open.

Got it. Got it. Okay. I'm just thinking about kids riding their bikes or enough space for people to get some fresh air. I think it's going to be a beautiful building. I like the color palette.

Thank you.

That's my personal preference. Thanks for answering those questions.

Of course. Yeah. Thank you, commissioner Cornejo. Yeah. I think these private roads, I guess, was called Paseo Lane and Topillo Street, given the low traffic volume, do seem to lend themselves to, well, less risk of of collisions, especially children's at plague or or someone's walking their dog. I do have a list of questions. One is on the plans, there were some solar panels indicated on the roof. They were dashed in the plans. I'm curious. You mentioned at the beginning that this is a, you know, sustainable development. So is the is the installation included? Or is it planned to be included in this particular build?

Yes, it's included. It's not an option. It comes standard with every building, every home.

Got it. Next question I have is about, do you know by chance what are the material of the balcony fence? I really like the look from the the Broadway side where the public will be seeing. I'm just curious what the choices were made on the there's multiple verandas, I guess, you were saying. Right. And then I'm just curious what is the material of the of the the guardrail or the

I may defer to Dan on here. I'm going to assume it's an ornamental iron, so some sort of metal. I'm getting a nod, so

Got it. So you will match up presumably the gate in the Paseo on the, I guess, street level as Yes. Okay. I appreciate the sketch up of the gate and the progola that's proposed in that area. I think it will add something nice visually to add that in that place. Next question I have is regarding the ADA units. You know, I looked at the plans very carefully, and I'm curious about how does one, let's say, if they have particular mobility issues, let's say, person in a wheelchair will be able to access. I know they're vertically stacked units, which I think is a really great plan in terms of being able to use the space, but how would I go from Main Floor in a garage all the way to the 4th Floor if I have mobility challenges?

Absolutely. So so the four units that you're seeing as accessible are required by the the California Building Code for any multifamily building above one story. Mhmm.

And

as the code reads, it it requires accessibility and adaptability for the 1st Floor, but it's quiet on the Upper Floor. So we have proposed the accessibility and adaptability for the 1st Floor.

Got it. 1st Floor being the garage.

Yes. And there there's a powder room that you'll see, which is the adaptable portion to allow restroom access for a visitor.

I mean the floor plans propagate through all four, floors, then I presume these spaces are wider in these particular units in case you have a wheelchair to be maneuvering in this particular area. Is there a way to retroactively fit this particular unit with a device that would be able to lift the person in a wheelchair to a second, third or fourth level?

Yes. There is optionality for a lift on the stairs, but that would be at the option of the potential buyer.

Got it. Okay. So the ADA units included, which I really appreciate that there's a dearth of them all throughout California, and it's really a challenge for someone with this ability to find appropriate housing choices, especially in a market like this. So it sounds like the state has kind of brought this upon this particular project. So if I were I guess my question is then for the proposed units that are deemed restricted to be affordable to the medium income level, those are regular units, not the ADA version?

Yes. And then how would the what are the possibilities of potentially dedicating at least one, if not two, of the ADA units to be the deed restricted to be affordable for the medium, what is it, income level household? The reason I ask this because, you know, I you know, I've been to institutions like in my college, for example, there's an ADA particular dorm room or something like that. And usually, because of the set of circumstances, it does not get get used by the person who will really need this. So I almost feel like it may be a missed opportunity to have this, you know, built.

You go through all this effort to really change your floor panels to make it ADA accessible. And many times, people who have disabilities have, you know, also financial challenges to to meet, homeownership standards of this area. So, I think it will be, you know, very much beneficial for the community to have a a unit as nice as this and that is also ADA accessible, to be also affordable. So I'm just throwing that out there in terms of what are the possibilities of having that happen.

Absolutely. I think the I guess the I'm not going to call it a concern, but the full adaptability option of a potential buyer. And all of our BMR units are of the standard. So if an affordable a potential BMR applicant were to it becomes little bit convoluted when sorry, I'm just trying to best phrase it. The yes, I may defer to Kian on this one. I

can jump in for this one. My name is Kian Malik. I'm also with Citi Ventures. Thank you for the question. I think your question is a great question. I think you're saying, you know, is there an opportunity for an ADA unit to also be a BMR unit? And the reality is that there is the opportunity. However, we tend to stray away from doing that because of the complexity of optioning or not optioning certain BMR units. They are deed restricted. There's a lot of regulation on that.

And so even when it comes to optioning certain appliances or certain counter types, it's it's hard to option optionality on BMR units versus the the market rate units. So we we tend to stray away from that because it it's hard for the HOA to manage those. But I we understand where you're coming from, but it just adds a layer of complexity that can be end up becoming a mess for the HOA to handle.

I see. So the I mean, the would it be requirement, for example, for a person who would want to buy particular unit to have a reason why to use the ADA unit? Is that what you're saying? It would be restricted to also have a customer or a person who would live here also need to have this ADA universe as a general population? Is that the complexity where it comes from?

The complexity is, you know, these the BMR units, they need to be standardized units across the board. And it's just hard to have some that are and some that are options. They need to be standardized. That's the really the bottom line we're coming to that we're up against.

Got it. Thank you. But so to come back to my original point that these ADA accessible units are able to be upgraded at the person who moves in them to have ability to access all four floors or I mean the three floors of that particular unit, even if they're mobility impaired.

Right. With a lift, that's an option, yes.

Okay. Great. Thank you. So speaking of which, I mean, this may be a question for staff. We have very few projects come in front of us that are, you know, homeownership opportunities. I think this is wonderful. But I'm curious how does the deed restriction work for thirty years in this case. So that means that if someone buys it and then they sell before thirty years, the next owner will still be covered by that deed restriction. Is that how that works? Maybe, Alvin, miss Lancaster can, clarify.

Yeah. I'm happy to answer that. So when these units, the affordable units are sold, we will sign a resale restriction with that particular homebuyer restricting the unit for thirty years. If they choose to sell before that thirty year window is up, they will be required to sell it to another moderate income homebuyer, at a below market pay price, and we would then sign a new re resell restriction agreement for another a new thirty year period with that new homeowner.

Oh, I see. So it can potentially stack into much larger number of years? Yes. Okay. Thank you.

Potentially. It just depends on, you know, how long that homeowner ends up living in the unit.

Got it. Thank you so much clarification. That's very helpful. All right. I think I have oh, Commissioner Carnayho, please.

Yeah. And I'm not sure if the question is for staff or the developer developers. I'm looking at the layout, and I'm just wondering where is the nearest crosswalk? Is there because I'm just thinking about walkability and it being, you know, really close to schools and just picturing people moving around. I don't know if you have the answer to that question if there's a crosswalk on the side that is not gated.

For over on the the Broadway or Marshall side?

What side isn't gated?

The Marshall side.

The Mar so yeah. So I'm like, if I'm walking around, where would I cross? Do I have to go to the corner and then cross the street? Is there a crosswalk there? Or

I believe there's a crosswalk at beach, but I would I would have to confirm that.

Okay. Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure who has control of all of this, but I'm just putting it for the record. I think it's important that we have walkability and pedestrian safety, and just especially if we're thinking about kids going to school and people walking their dogs. I walk a lot, so I'm always, you know, looking at it from that angle.

Yeah. I mean, I I not to put mister Dodson on on the spot, but I I think as far as I know that the the city itself is planning to implement a complete streets framework on Broadway between Maple And Chestnut Street. I don't know if that includes in introducing crosswalks because I do I I walked this site actually recently just to see this particular project. There's a very large gap of no crosswalks, at least no marked crosswalks all the way from Maple to Chestnut, which is almost, I don't know, point eight of a mile. It is it is an impediment for for pedestrian intersection. So I don't know if mister Dodson has any more details into into how this will be improved or whether new sidewalks will be added. Sorry. Not sidewalks. Crosswalks. I don't know that detail. Okay.

Alright. K.

I don't have, information I don't have information on, the new crosswalks that will be are being added. There is a cross crosswalk on Broadway and Beach Street Mhmm. Which allows for crossing, across Broadway, and then you can also go across Beach there as well. As far as Marshall, I think the nearest cross crosswalk would be Maple Street in Marshall, which is where the the Kaiser hospital is located.

Great. Yeah. I mean, I think it's obviously bigger conversation and looking into other things that are going on for the city. But just as a reminder, it's fine. It's good for all of us to be safe when we're walking. And as the city progresses and there's new developments, just kind of making sure that that angle doesn't fall through the cracks.

Right. I agree. While I have mister Dodson online, I do have a question about the step down requirement towards Marshall Street. I know the architect has done a great job of making this project look good from all angles, having articulation and and and reduced massing with tile roof. I think it's wonderful job. Like, my question is, you know, across Marshall Street, there is a multifamily, high density, multistory building. I'm curious what the requirement for the step down towards Marshall is versus having it same as on Street, strictly 50 feet? Oh, you're muted.

Yeah. Sorry about that. The, the step down on Marshall Street was optional. That was a design element that was proposed by the applicant. It is not a requirement, by the code.

Alright. Thank you. There

are sorry. Just to clear up. There are, like, some design, criteria that speaks to massing and articulation in a design. But as far as an objective design standard, there is none for a step down being on the Marshall Street side.

Okay. All right.

Thank you for clarifying. Any other questions from the commission that we'd ask like to ask the applicant? Seeing Dan, thank you so much for your presentation. Really appreciate all the information. If there's no questions, I will now open the public meeting. In order to see how many speakers I have, I ask everyone who wishes to speak on this item to please raise your hand now in Zoom. And if you're in person, please fill out the speakers' card to give it to the staff. When we're ready, we will call your name and you will make your way to the podium to speak. Are there any in person, not in person speakers? Are there any speakers joining us remotely?

No. There are no speakers. Okay. If there's no objection, I will now close the public hearing, and I will open a meeting for a committee discussion. Commissioner Finch.

Yes. I I think overall, it's a it's a great project. I really like the level of pedestrian access. I feel like it's very pedestrian first with multiple access points on Marshall and on Broadway. I love that you've minimized the curb cuts. Only one curb cut on Marshall Street. That's that's really great. And the yeah. The floor plans are really interesting, really creative use of the of the available space there. I love the the stoops on Broadway.

Love stoops. Those are those are great for the the kind of street liveliness. And then I think just two kind of suggestions are I saw there was some red curb on Marshall Street. It might be nice to just make those bulb outs instead of red curb, just because, I I don't know if that red curb is required by code. I don't, but I people might park in the in the red curb.

I I see a lot of people park in red curb around town. So if you really don't want people to park there, it might be better to do concrete. And and then my other comment was just around the the gates. I it would be nice if the the side paths were accessible to the public. I don't it doesn't have to be advertised as a public, like, walkway, but the the block of Marshall, Broadway, Beach, and Chestnut is just a very long block.

And I feel like this property, it would be a great place for a cut through between Broadway and Marshall. So it would be really nice if those side of the the paths on the sides of the project were accessible to the public. And yeah. And then yeah. I think even with the concessions and the waivers, I believe that this conforms to the spirit of the mixed use corridor zoning district, and so I would be in favor of of approving it.

Thank you, commissioner Finch. Commissioner Bart. Bart?

Yeah. Thank you for your presentation. Thank you to city staff for putting together this very thorough report. And I also wanna say I appreciate your usage of the land here. It's the the floor plan, I saw this in my packet earlier. I was very excited by how you how many units you managed to put in that space, and how it still seems to be something that would be very attractive to anybody who wants to live in the area. We spoke earlier about the one or two garage and the fact that you were able to have two parking spaces per unit and still this much floor space within four stories is amazing. It's in a very nice neighborhood, and a lot of people are gonna have access to our great downtown. So I'm fully in favor of this project.

Thank you, commissioner Pat. Any other comments? I I wanted to just reflect something about I mean, it's interesting what commissioner Finch brought about public access. I do agree it's a super long block to go from Maple to all the way to Chestnut. I have actually just crossed a couple of weeks ago.

I think there's a couple of hotels that do allow driveway that you can walk all the way through, but technically private property, but it does cut through. I think there's a balance here to be made between public access to go through all the way versus security or the people who live there, especially if it's a narrow side path of only four feet wide next to a fence. So I I think maybe the HOA or the residents can decide what the what the best solution for that particular question is. Commissioner Robinson, I I saw your hand briefly go up.

You don't Sorry. I don't know. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Good. Yeah. Thank you very much for the presentation and the very good city staff report. I am familiar with this housing product. It is very innovative to fit this many units on a site like this.

I've driven by this. I I like what the rendition shows for the architectural style, and I think it's a very well done project, and I'm very supportive of it. I I do understand the concerns about access and our pedestrian access, but I I do think the HOA and the residents will have significant concerns about security as this is still a not a not a not a necessarily an established residential area, even though there are some, you know, many tall buildings nearby, housing housing residential units. If we're gonna see, you know, more attainable housing in Redwood City, this is probably what it's going to look like, for people that can afford it, so that we don't just go all ultra luxury. So for those reasons, thank the city staff.

Thanks City Ventures for a really good presentation, and I I definitely support it. Thank you.

Thank you, commissioner Robinson. Commissioner Cornejo, floor is yours. Thank

you for the presentation. And I just wanted to echo with our chair and the comments that were made on public access. I'm just thinking about if I was an owner myself, I would want a lot of privacy and not really have random people coming in and out of the property. So I think that's something to keep in mind. I'm not really sure how you move forward on that, but I do feel like, especially with downtown and just I've there's been a lot of unsafety issues or things that happen that are unfortunate.

So just making sure that those that are going to be moving into that space feel as safe as you can possibly make them feel.

Thank you, Commissioner Cornejo. Yeah. I mean, always speaking last, I just want to underline everything that everyone has already said. I think this is a very attractive project. I really want to commend the design team and the architects on a cohesive and really attractive design in Spanish revival style. And it's missing middle housing. We are something that we've tried to get as much as possible in Redwood City. It's something that we strive for. It's also a path of homeownership. We don't have many projects that come in here that are that provide this particular path.

And on top of that, with five affordable units, so four of them are potentially ADA accessible. I think having that ability at least option is good and nice to have. And I think in terms of concessions and waivers required, the waivers are really due the to orientation of the building and how it's oriented where the entrances are. So I think those are very minor. And then the concession in reduction of square footage for these units is reasonable considering the amount of housing that's being provided. So I think thank you for making all the numbers work. And yes, will also, we very much like to move this project forward. Are there any other questions or comments by the commission?

Otherwise, will entertain a motion. Commissioner Bob? Motion to adopt Resolution 20 five-twelve, approving the architectural permit, tentative price map, condominium permit, affordable housing plan, state density bonus law with concession waivers pursuant to the state density bonus law with sequel submission subject to the conditions of approval for the project located at 1320 Marshall Street.

All right. We have a motion. Do we have a second?

Second.

Second by Commissioner Cornejo. Before we move, I would like to open the floor for any further discussion on the motion on the floor. Any other comments from the commissioners? Seeing none, I will ask the staff to do the vote.

Commissioner Baden?

Yes.

Commissioner Cornejo? Yes. Commissioner Finch?

Yes.

Commissioner Robinson?

Yes.

And chair Sunegoretz?

Yes.

The motion passes by five with two absent.

Great. Congratulations. Wonderful project. Wish you all the best. Alright. We have the next item is matter of of commission interest. We have a planning commission liaison updates. Next line.

Yeah. Thanks. I just wanted to provide a few updates on some of the city council meetings that have happened since since we met last. Several items that had either been before you or kind of are in your sort of area of interest went before city council. Thank you.

The on the twenty fourth, the request for modifications to the Alpine Yards affordable housing plan, state density bonus, concessions and waivers, and on lots a and d for Elk Oil Yards, that was on the twenty fourth, and that was approved. On December 8, there were several Mills Act items. One was a Mills Act update as well as historic resources advisory committee work plan. The city council had a study session. Several several items were discussed in that study session, but I one thing to kind of I will just pull out sort of one item that was that had a lot of discussion on it was about whether or not to have an automatic renewal at ten years or to, you know, kind of rethink that renewal.

I think, as you know, city staff is working on the historic preservation ordinance update. The feedback from that session will be incorporated into, as well as feedback that you all had and the HREC had at the previous work session as well will be incorporated into the historic preservation ordinance update as we're doing that.

Yeah. Just to clarify, mean, what is the current protocol once it gets ten years? What happens?

So it's automatically renewed. That's perfect.

With a new improvement plan?

No. No. It just stays as long as both the city, if they are maintaining the project, the property, and if the applicant does not want to not get out of the contract for some reason.

Got it. Commissioner Robinson.

What will the process be for renewing the plan? Will that go through Historic Resources Advisory Committee and then to counsel? Or what will the steps in that process look like?

Oh, I'm just reporting kind of on some of the feedback that we had, that the city council had in their study session. There's not a new plan for sort of what that looks like. So right now, it is the same as it is and has been. But that was one of the suggestions and one of the kind of, I would say, more more substantive discussions was concept. And so that's that plus several other items around the Mills Act. So we'll be coming kind of, you know, we'll take all of that feedback and bring it back for, you know, more of a conversation.

So Where will that conversation start? Will it be historic resources?

For the for the yeah. They'll be part of the historic preservation ordinance updates. So I don't know that we've fully laid out that process, but the the HREC, the planning commission, and the city council will all be part of that conversation.

Thank you. Yep. I plan to follow that one closely.

Yeah. Yeah. If you're interested, it's, you know, it's the sessions are recorded, and it was a pretty substantive and and lengthy discussion about that. So lots of good lots of good information there.

If I have follow-up questions regarding, in particular, data that I believe was shared, involving the number of Mills Act residences and the tax revenue loss to schools. Who would I reach out to on staff?

You're you're welcome to reach out to me.

Okay. Didn't Thank you.

We did not we that information was generated, but through different sources. But, yes, please go ahead and reach out to me.

Thank you. Yeah.

There were also four MELZAC contracts that were approved. Three historic designations as well as the three MELZAC plus the fourth one that was the MELZAC. The fourth one was the 10181020 Main Street. That was the one that was just a MELZAC because it was already historic property. The other three, 730 Edgewood, 839 Blanford, and 979 Arlington, those were all approved with both the historic designation and the Mills Act.

Contracts were approved as well on December 8. The other item on December 8 was the extension of the 1540 Maple development agreement extension, the Fourth Amendment to that. So busy few council sessions to kinda look ahead. We are canceling the January let me get them make sure I got the date right. January planning commission meeting. There are no items on that agenda, and that is all I have.

I know that particular city council meeting, there was also discussion about the downtown parking garages and city owned parking lots and EV charging. Curious if there's an update on that or I should just go and watch the

That item, we didn't that item was actually not happening on it didn't happen on the Okay. Last first meeting or

following meeting?

It is not. It is being I think it's tentatively scheduled for February right now. Okay. Right. We'll do

more of it

later.

Okay, great. Are there any other commission updates from the commissioners? All right. If not, I wish everyone very, very happy holidays ahead. Hopefully, some relaxed time. And that concludes our tonight's agenda. Next planning commission meeting is scheduled for not January 20, but February 3. Alright.