Redwood City Planning Commission Meeting – June 4, 2024
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Redwood City Planning Commission Meeting – June 4, 2024
The Redwood City Planning Commission held a regular meeting on June 4, 2024, starting at 6:15 PM and adjourning at 7:25 PM. The meeting was held in person at City Hall Council Chambers and via Zoom. Commissioners Present: Alvarez, Chu, Koch, Lazarus, and Vice Chair Crnogorac. Commissioner Hunter was absent. Staff included Principal Planner Chan, Consultant Attorney Barnhill, Principal Planner Francis, and Administrative Secretary Mateo. The agenda included approval of minutes, appointments to advisory committees, and a public hearing on zoning code amendments.
Consent Calendar
- No items were on the consent calendar.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Dylan Finch (in-person) spoke in favor of the child care facility proposals, calling the shared open space concept a creative reuse. However, he expressed concern about locating child care facilities on El Camino Real due to traffic pollution, tire dust, and safety hazards for children. He suggested extending the by-right allowance further from the highway.
Appointments to Advisory Committees
- Historic Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC): Commissioners unanimously appointed Gary Webber and Jon Goldman to two full-term seats expiring May 31, 2027. (Motion passed 5-0)
- Architectural Advisory Committee (AAC): Commissioners unanimously appointed Edward Davidovits, Dawn Jedkins, Keith King, and John Stewart to four full-term seats expiring May 31, 2028. (Motion passed 5-0)
Public Hearing: Zoning Code Amendments
Staff (Principal Planner John Francis) presented a package of amendments with three goals: implementing Housing Element programs, advancing El Camino Real Corridor Plan strategies, and performing code maintenance.
Key proposals:
- Housing Element Program H3-3:
- Allow Single Room Occupancy (SRO) facilities (6+ units lacking kitchen or bathroom) and group homes (shared housing for persons with disabilities) as permitted uses in mixed-use and higher-density residential zones.
- Add low-barrier navigation centers as permitted in the General Commercial Residential district.
- Clarify that emergency shelter parking requirements must be equal to or less than those for residential/commercial uses in the same zone.
- El Camino Real Corridor Plan:
- Exempt child care from Floor Area Ratio (FAR) calculations in mixed-use projects over 50,000 sq ft if open to the public.
- Remove the use permit requirement for large child care facilities (60+ children) in districts where it currently applies.
- Allow shared open space between residential and child care uses, with design and operational requirements (e.g., time separation).
- Code Maintenance:
- Update density bonus regulations to comply with state law.
- Create a streamlined Temporary Use Permit (TUP) for uses like Christmas tree lots (valid up to 90 days).
- Remove FAR requirements for hotels citywide.
- Lower the threshold for Architectural Permit (AP) so that residential projects over one story (including multifamily) require AP; add exceptions for small additions (≤100 sq ft) and other minor modifications.
- Additional minor updates (e.g., reduce required building separation from 30 ft to 15 ft, allow flexibility in pedestrian entry frequency for single-tenant ground floors).
Commission Discussion:
- Commissioners expressed strong support for the amendments, emphasizing the need to modernize zoning, increase housing opportunities, and streamline processes.
- Concerns were raised about child care facilities on El Camino Real due to traffic pollution and safety (Commissioners Chu, Koch, and Alvarez echoed the public commenter’s worries).
- Commissioner Chu noted that many group home residents cannot drive and that parking requirements take space away from people; he proposed an amendment to eliminate minimum parking for group homes.
- Commissioner Lazarus inquired about SRO definitions and parking (SROs proposed with no parking requirement).
- Commissioner Alvarez asked about non-conforming parking and outdoor equipment noise limits. Staff responded that noise limits (55 dBA) remain unchanged and that the non-conforming parking change is intended to simplify use changes for similar intensities.
- Vice Chair Crnogorac expressed support for eliminating group home parking, noting that limited transit availability in chosen zones makes parking less necessary.
Amendments and Voting:
- Commissioner Chu moved to approve the resolution with an amendment to eliminate the proposed minimum parking requirement for group homes (0.5 spaces per room). Seconded by Commissioner Koch. The amendment passed 5-0.
- The main motion to approve the resolution (as amended) recommending the City Council adopt the zoning code amendments passed 5-0.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: May 21, 2024 (5-0) and May 7, 2024 (4-0, Commissioner Chu abstained).
- Appointments: Gary Webber and Jon Goldman to HRAC; Edward Davidovits, Dawn Jedkins, Keith King, and John Stewart to AAC.
- Zoning Code Amendments: Approved resolution (with amendment to remove group home parking minimums) by a 5-0 vote. The recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council.
- Next Meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting is July 16, 2024 (June 18 and August 13 meetings canceled; a special meeting may be held August 20).
Meeting Transcript
All right. Um, good evening, everyone again, and thank you for joining us on our um June fourth twenty twenty-four planning commission meeting. Um let's see. We go through a full roll call and everything else as if it's a full meeting. Okay. Um, as a reminder, items will be taking the orders that are listed on the agenda. Before we get started, I wanted to briefly go over the public comment procedures for the meeting for those who may be joining us for the first time. Public comments on the items not on the agenda, we'll be taking during the item number two tonight. Comments on the other items will be taken only when the item is called. We're continuing to offer in-person remote options for a parliament commission meetings, however, due to the continued recent disruptions during public comments at open meetings throughout the region and state. Comments that were emailed to the PC at ReboCity.org address by 5 p.m. today may be read into the record by the staff liaison and will be part of the final meeting record. Both in-person and email comments are subject to the three minute time limit. I will not turn it over to staff to call the roll call. Thank you. Commissioner Alvarez. Here. Commissioner Chu. Here. Commissioner Koch. Here. Commissioner Lazarus. Here. Vice Chair Cernagoretz. Here. And Chair Hunter is absent. So we have a quorum with six commissioners and one absence. And for the purposes of this meeting, I will also note that I am Lindy Chan, Principal Planner and Staff liaison to this commission. And other city staff that are attending this meeting are Alexander Barnhill, Consultant Attorney. Christina Mateo, admin secretary and meeting host, and John Francis, Principal Planner. Thank you, Ms. Chen. Agenda item number two is public comments on the approval of minutes, consent items, matters of commission interest and items not on the agenda. At this time, we will take public comments from those joining us in person only. If you have joined us in person, I see nobody into the room. We will move on to the next part. Thank you. Are there any comments that we've received by email? We have not received any public comments via email. Okay, thank you. If there are no objections, I will now close the public comment. We're moving on to item number three, approval of minutes. We have 3A, which is May 21st, 2024. Is there a motion to approve the meeting minutes of May 21st, 2024? So moved. All right. Second. Okay. Moved by Commissioner Chu and seconded by Commissioner Koch. Um thank you.
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