Redwood City population planning for the near future

"Welcome people, come live in our city, and spend money here."

Palo Alto Daily News/Bonnie Eslinger, staff writer, 1/3/13.  "Redwood City encourages housing boom that neighboring cities fret over." 

Redwood City's planned train/retail "Depot Circle" transit hub

While other Peninsula cites are grumbling about state mandates designed to encourage local housing development, Redwood City is working to get more homes built within its boundaries. 

More than 1,700 residential units are either under construction or in the planning phase, half of them in the downtown area, according to city officials. And the vast majority are within multi-unit buildings, said Planning Manager Blake Lyon.

Much of the construction surge is a result of the city's Downtown Precise Plan, whose passage in early 2011 spawned zoning that allows for up to 2,500 new and high-density housing units in the downtown area, along with new office space, shops and other retail businesses. 

The building activity also complies with the city's Housing Element, a document the state requires all municipalities to produce every five to eight years with the aim of ensuring that the residential stock in California keeps pace with population growth and is priced for all income levels. Redwood City's 2009-2014 Housing Element sets a goal of 1,856 new residential units.  Although cities are not required to build the homes, they have to identify sites for housing and develop programs to encourage construction, according to the state law."   Read more. 

Reference -  Redwood City Downtown Precise Plan, and  Redwood City revitalization strategy, "The Redwood City Downtown Revitalization Strategy & Precise Plan is guiding growth and change in this rapidly growing 190-acre city center at the heart of Silicon Valley. New retail and entertainment destinations, art and cultural opportunities and new housing will combine with improved transit infrastructure, enhanced streets and public spaces to create an exciting centerpiece for the city and region."

Related articles - Marina 1 (Pete's Harbor) - Business Journal/Bay Area Structures/J.K. Dineen, Reporter, 9/20, 12. "A Pauls Corp. proposal to build condominiums on the site of a houseboat community in Redwood City came into focus Thursday as developer Paul Powers met with tenants of the marina to discuss the proposal.  The Colorado-based Pauls Corp. is proposing to build 411 housing units on a 13-acre waterfront property called Pete’s Harbor, a 211-slip marina with dry storage and recreational vehicle parking."  The mixed-use development project was approved by Redwood City Planning Commission, 10/31/12.  Fix Pacifica reprints - Redwood City housing development, and Pete's Harbor.

Posted by Kathy Meeh