Redwood City Council Meeting: October 9, 2023 – Stanford Extension, Fee Updates, 636 Toredo Appeal
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Redwood City Council Meeting – October 9, 2023
The Redwood City Council met on Monday, October 9, 2023, at 6:00 PM to address a consent calendar, three public hearings, and a study session on economic development. The meeting included a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples Day, a decision on the Stanford Development Agreement 10-year extension, a first reading of citywide fee updates, and a council call-up of a planning commission approval for a home at 636 Toredo Drive. The council also heard public testimony and debated issues of housing affordability, neighborhood character, and cost recovery.
Proclamation & Acknowledgments
- Indigenous Peoples Day: Mayor read a proclamation recognizing October 9 as Indigenous Peoples Day, honoring the Ohlone people and their unceded ancestral lands. Gloria Gutierrez, co-chair of the San Mateo County Native and Indigenous Peoples Initiative, accepted the proclamation and thanked the city for continued partnership.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (7-0) routine items including amendment to the Woodside sewer agreement, rejection of bids for the 2023 pavement overlay, final acceptance of an emergency sewer repair, response to a grand jury report on bike safety, a housing committee work plan, a settlement agreement in litigation, approval of prior meeting minutes, and claims/payments through October 23, 2023.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Stanford Development Agreement (Item 7a): Chris Johnson criticized the original negotiation, stating the city should have hired professional negotiators and noting that community benefits were inadequate compared to similar agreements (e.g., Palo Alto’s $165M for children’s hospital, San Carlos’ $90.8M from PAMF). John Donohoe (Stanford Real Estate) supported the extension, highlighting the project’s community partnerships during COVID and completion of Phase I. Jim Gernand (email) echoed concerns that the $15M in benefits over 30 years is far less than comparable deals.
- 636 Toredo Drive (Item 7c): 22 total public comments (2 in-person, 20 email). Most speakers opposed the project, arguing it exceeds the soft cap FAR (57% vs. 45% guidance), would set a precedent for McMansions, erodes affordable housing stock, and harms neighborhood character. Chris Johnson, Rona Gundrum, and several email authors urged denial. The applicant Alan Ting spoke in favor, noting support from adjacent neighbors and compliance with all zoning standards.
- Fee Updates (Item 7b): Nevada Merriman (Midpen Housing) requested deferral, asking the city to consider fee waivers for affordable housing and citing a study from San Jose.
- Economic Development Study Session: Larry Moody (Job Train) and Bart Pantoja (Building Trades) expressed support for workforce development. Chris Robell (email) cautioned against prioritizing office space without considering traffic, housing demand, and environmental costs.
Discussion Items
- Stanford Agreement (7a): Staff recommended approval. Councilmember Aiken noted Stanford’s $36B endowment, $2.2B net income in 2021, and that no grants from Stanford’s $27M in donations went to Redwood City. He urged future partnership. Councilmember Aguirre asked about Stanford’s first expansion to Redwood City and whether benefits could be enhanced without changing the agreement. Councilmember Stirkin inquired about bike infrastructure and potential overnight parking. Councilmember Howard asked for a broader partnership to support city priorities. A motion to approve passed 6-0 (Mayor recused).
- 636 Toredo Drive (7c): Staff presented that the project complies with all standards and uses design techniques to reduce perceived massing. Applicant Alan Ting described his multi-generational family’s need for space and noted approval by the Redwood Shores Community Association design board. Council discussion: Councilmember Stirkin supported, arguing the project is not a developer-driven McMansion and meets findings. Councilmember Howard opposed, recalling the 2019 FAR ordinance history, stating the house is too large for the lot and would undermine neighborhood compatibility. Councilmember Aiken opposed due to massing and precedent. Councilmember Martinez Saballos, Aguirre, Vice Mayor Espino-Sagarnica, and Mayor G supported. Motion to approve passed 5-2 (Howard and Aiken no).
- Fee Updates (7b): Staff presented a comprehensive study showing the city under-recovers about $1.3M annually (10% of costs). Proposed increases to move toward full cost recovery for building, planning, engineering, and fire services. New fees for housing loan processing, fire inspections, and room rentals. Reductions for library printing (free up to 25 pages/day) and nonprofit room rentals. Council discussed impacts on child care providers, parklets, and affordable housing. Councilmember Howard suggested an appeal process for hardship. Councilmember Stirkin supported subsidizing child care inspections and parklet fees. Councilmember Aguirre emphasized cost recovery but also equity. Motion to approve first reading passed 7-0.
- Economic & Workforce Development Plan (Study Session): Staff proposed five focus areas: small business support, office development, customer service enhancements, other revenue generation, and a new workforce development/economic mobility strategy (especially for youth 16-25). Council feedback: general support with additions including signage modernization, family entertainment, niche retail, workforce development for re-entry and at-risk youth, financial empowerment, and partnerships with nonprofits. Council urged focusing on achievable actions without overextending staff, using grants to expand capacity. No formal action taken.
Key Outcomes
- Stanford Agreement Extension: Approved (6-0). The first 10-year extension was granted after Stanford demonstrated compliance by paying required contributions (bicycle program, delta payment for 350,000 sq ft equivalent). The council directed staff to explore future partnerships beyond the agreement.
- 636 Toredo Drive: Approved (5-2). The council upheld the Planning Commission’s decision, finding the project meets all architectural permit findings and the additional findings in Article 48.4. The home’s size (3,811 sq ft, 57% FAR) exceeds the soft cap, but the council majority determined it is compatible with the neighborhood due to design, setbacks, and support from immediate neighbors.
- Fee Ordinance (First Reading): Approved (7-0). The ordinance updates fees across all departments to better reflect full cost recovery, effective January 1, 2024. Staff will consider an appeal process for child care inspections and further study on parklet and housing fee impacts before the second reading on October 23, 2023.
- Next Steps: The economic development work plan will be refined based on council feedback and returned early 2024 with a detailed implementation timeline. The city manager noted upcoming community meetings on park safety (October 19) and Caltrans closures of northbound 101 impacting local roads.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Are we ready to start our meeting tonight? All council members are in the chamber, Mayor. Good evening, everyone. I'd like to call our council meeting to order today of October 9th, six o'clock. However, due to continued recent disruptions during public comment at open meetings throughout our region and state. We want to ensure that the city can continue to conduct the city's business in a manner that allows all residents to participate. We will continue to evaluate our public comment procedures. We want to hear from our community. I want to highlight that the disruptions in other communities have resulted from racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist comments on topics not before the public agency. I, along with my council colleagues, condemn these comments. Our city's vision is to be a community where people of all backgrounds and income levels can thrive. Additionally, Redwood City is a supporter of United Against Hate Week, a call for local civic action to stop the hate and implicit biases that are a dangerous threat to the safety and civility of our neighborhoods, towns, and cities. I will hope you join me and our council in events being scheduled for the week of November 12th. We appreciate your patience as we continue to evaluate our procedures to best facilitate city business. Our public comment procedures are as follows. Public comment will be taken in person during the meeting or in advance via email to public comment at redwoodcity.org. Please be sure to indicate the agenda item number you wish to speak on. In-person speakers will be called in the order in which speaker cards were turned in. Comments that were emailed to public comment at redwood city.org by 5 o'clock p.m. today will be read into the record by our interim city clerk and also made part of the final meeting record. Both in-person and email comments are subject to the two-minute time limit. Before we call the role, I'd like to ask our interim city clerk how many speaker cards have been emailed or turned in that we've received so far for a public hearing tonight. So Jessica, could you let me know or let the council know how many have turned in? Sure. And for which items, please. Absolutely. For the public hearings item 7a, the Stanford Development Agreement, we have a total of three public comments. For item 7b, the first reading and introduction of an ordinance to update fees for various city departments. We have one public comment. And for item 7C, which is the public hearing on the planning, the council call-up of the planning commission approval of 636 Toredo has a total of 22 public comments. Seven C Toredo second, just because of the number of public comments, and then we'll take these third with one public comment so far as colleagues that will be appropriate. Is that okay? Yes. Sounds good with that. We'll take item 7A, 7C, and 7B in the order this evening. So Jessica, I'd like to turn it over to you now to call the roll. Thank you. Councilmember Aguirre. Here. Councilmember Aiken. Here. Councilmember Howard. Here. Councilmember Martina Sabayos. Here. Councilmember Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Espino Sagarnica here. And Mayor Chi.
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