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Redwood City E-News
Building a Great Community Together
Issue #13 ~ August, 2004
IN THIS ISSUE:
*August 13 Deadline for PACT Applications*
*Council Schedules Special Meeting on Marina Shores*
* Marina Shores Project Overview*
*Home Repair Assistance for Low Income Seniors*
*Get $150 - $250 Rebate for High-Efficiency Washing Machines*
*Community Improvement Grants Available*
*About Redwood City E-News*
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August 13 is Deadline for PACT Applications
Get your application in now for the Fall, 2004 session of PACT (Partnership Academy for Community Teamwork). The deadline to submit an application is 5:00 pm, August 13, 2004. Applications are available from the City Manager’s office, located in City Hall at 1017 Middlefield Road, or by calling 650-780-7300. The application can also be downloaded and emailed from www.redwoodcity.org/pact. Enrollment is limited to 40 participants, who must be 18 years of age or older (a limited number of youth will be accepted - please call for details).
Nearly 150 of your fellow community members have gone through this nine-week citizens’ academy and gained a hands-on overview of the management and governance of Redwood City. The program also helps to build relationships that continue to strengthen our entire community. The Fall, 2004 program takes place each Wednesday from September 8th through November 3rd and engages in dynamic and interesting activities illustrating how the City functions.
The sessions cover subjects from Public Works to the Police Department, from the City Council to Finance, from the Fire Department to the Library, and more. This is a great opportunity for interested community members to get an insider’s view of where the City is going, become experts on how the City operates, and help to build a great community, together.
Visit www.redwoodcity.org/pact for more information and to fill out an application.
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Council Schedules Special Meeting on Marina Shores
The City Council of Redwood City has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday, August 5, 2004 to consider action regarding a possible voter referendum on the Marina Shores Village project. The meeting will begin at 5:30 pm (note special time) in the Council Chambers located in City Hall at 1017 Middlefield Road, and the public is invited to attend.
In June, the Council unanimously adopted the ordinances required to allow the Marina Shores Village project to proceed. On July 27, a citizens group filed a referendum petition, seeking a public vote to repeal the rezoning ordinance and thus halt the project.
As of the date of this newsletter, the San Mateo County Elections Office is in the process of verifying the validity and quantity of the submitted signatures. If signatures equaling 10% of registered voters in Redwood City (3,209 signatures) are verified by the County and certified by the City Clerk, then the City Council may either repeal the ordinance or submit the ordinance to the voters. The Council could also choose to submit the ordinance to the voters, whether the petition is valid or not.
In the event the Council desires to place the ordinance on the general election ballot of November 2, 2004, it must take that action at the August 5 meeting in order to adhere to election calendar guidelines. More information on the Marina Shores Villages project is available on the City’s website at www.redwoodcity.org/cds/planning/ms/.
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Marina Shores Project Overview
The Marina Shores Village project was unanimously approved by the City Council on June 7. With its multi-story towers, new marinas, park lands, and other amenities it will transform the look of a portion of Redwood City’s bay shoreline into a modern, exciting, and attractive part of our community.
There is a lot of public debate concerning this project, and as of this publication date, it’s’ uncertain if the issue will come before the voters for approval (see article above). In any case, it 's important that the people of our community know all of the facts about the project. The Environmental Impact Report and other City documents related to the project are available online at www.redwoodcity.org/cds/planning/ms.
Here is an overview of the benefits the Marina Shores project will bring to the community of Redwood City, and the basic details about the project.
BENEFITS TO REDWOOD CITY AND THE PENINSULA:
- Provides much needed new housing stock
- By building dense and compact housing, it helps to prevent URBAN SPRAWL; environmentally, building “up” is preferable to building “out” which consumes open space and leads to urban sprawl
- Provides additional affordable housing
- Increases economic activity - $1 billion investment brings local employment and economic activity to Redwood City and downtown
- Provides for new open space, parks, waterfront access, recreational opportunities
- Offers new high-quality living environments, in a broad range of sizes to fit the community’s housing needs
- Infrastructure contributions – the developer is providing street improvements, bicycle route improvements, sewer/water improvements, etc.
- Provides opportunity for the continuation of the San Francisco Bay Trail through Redwood City
- Project will generate approximately $10 million in annual property tax when complete, helping to fund state and county programs, and includes up to $3 million in property and other taxes annually to Redwood City
- Improves Redwood City’s housing-to-employed residents ratio, giving us the potential for more people to live AND work in Redwood City, and thereby a reduction in the number of people that must commute “in” to Redwood City
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS: 1,930 units built over 15 to 20 years
PROJECT PHASING: Application for the first phase is possible within one year; timing of other phases of 200 - 300 units each is dependent on the economy and market conditions; the developer’s intent is to continually have units available for sale as the project progresses; each phase must be approved by City Planning Commission individually for conformance to the overall Precise Plan
TOTAL NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE UNITS: 290 (15% of total units) - 97 units (5%) for “very-low income” (up to 50% of median income) households, and 193 units (10%) for “moderate income” (80%-120% of median income) households; the very low income units may be on or off site, while the moderate income household units will be on-site
ACREAGE AND LOCATION: Project’s total acreage is 46.5, located on two separate sites: Peninsula Marina Site (33.2 acres) and Pete’s Harbor site (13.3 acres)
SQUARE FOOTAGE OF NON-RESIDENTIAL PORTIONS: 25,000 square feet of local-serving retail space, 150,000 square feet of office space, and a 0.7 acre site reserved for a future hotel on the site
NUMBER OF MAIN BUILDINGS: 17 towers (residential); variety of other lower level buildings
MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT: 205 ft on the Peninsula Marina site and 240 ft. on Pete’s Harbor Site. These maximum heights have been approved by the FAA.
OTHER ELEMENTS AND AMENITIES: 6.8 acres of new public parks and open space including the North Point Park with open space and walkways on the shoreline with public access, and a 1.3 acre active park area – more traditional park in center of project possibly with play structure, turf, other typical urban park amenities; bike and pedestrian-friendly design, including pedestrian/bicycle access under Highway 101 to connect Redwood City neighborhoods with Marina Shores; two marinas totaling 7.2 acres; outer grassy promenade or esplanade along the edge of Redwood Creek and inner harbor esplanades.
WATER REQUIREMENTS: The City has not guaranteed the developer a water supply for this project. The City will retain full discretion in the City’s water allocation for this and other projects. Water supply verification for Marina Shores will be made at each phase of the project, thus ensuring the water supply issue is adequately addressed before moving forward. The City will not decrease water usage elsewhere to provide water at this project
TRAFFIC IMPACTS: The City is requiring that additional traffic must be no more than 85% of what a project of this size would normally generate (that is, a reduction in baseline traffic of at least 15% from what a project of this size would normally generate). To achieve this reduction, the developer will take steps including providing a shuttle bus between Marina Shores and the Downtown Caltrain Station; a Transportation Demand Management Program (which could include bus passes for residents, commute alternatives publicity to residents, bicycle parking, and other traffic mitigation measures.); other measures that the developer may wish to propose to meet this reduction requirement.
If this reduction is not achieved, the City can and will withhold building permits. The developer will pay for major roadway improvements such as the Blomquist Street Extension and the pedestrian and bicycle undercrossing at Highway 101. In addition to the above mitigations, the developer will pay a total of $10 million in traffic mitigations, including $2.7 million in traffic impact fees which go to citywide traffic mitigation/improvement projects
OVERALL IMPACTS: There are 29 unavoidable impacts outlined in the EIR, which the City Council has determined are overridden by the many benefits that the City and community will gain as a result of the project; in addition, while there are unavoidable impacts, there are also hundreds of mitigations and conditions involved.
The majority of the unavoidable impacts, 17 in all, are related to traffic. It’s important to note that building much-needed housing on the Peninsula will always impact certain intersections, but is still more environmentally sensitive than having people drive one-to-two hours in their cars to get to work each day.
Six of the impacts relate to building height/visual, two to population/employment growth, one each to noise, biology, auto emissions, and water.
There are a total of 468 conditions from the City’s Precise Plan and Conditions of Approval, and the Mitigation Monitoring Program from the EIR, which are required of the developer in order for the project to move forward; among the more significant are: 248 related to design standards and guidelines, 104 to traffic issues, 58 to engineering, 31 to planning, 10 to the environment, 9 to safety, and three to affordable housing.
Again, see more information at www.redwoodcity.org/cds/planning/ms.
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City Offers Home Repair Assistance to Low Income Seniors
Redwood City’s low income senior citizens can get financial help with their household repairs through the City’s Emergency and Minor Home Repair Program. This program is designed to provide a grant of up to $500 for minor repairs, and a low-interest loan of up to $5,000 for larger home repair projects. The program also provides for intervention where emergency repairs are needed but which must be completed within 72 hours.
To be eligible, applicants must be a homeowner with income at or below 50% of “Area Median Income,” one person residing at the property must be age 62 or older, the property must be located within the city limits of Redwood City, and the repairs must be driven by Health and Safety conditions.
This program currently has $10,000 in Federal funding available to help low income seniors with needed home repairs, including:
- Plumbing
- Electrical/mechanical (switches, outlets, lights, thermostats, fixtures)
- Stairs, handrails, porches
- Water heater replacement or repair
- Broken windows, doors, or other security improvements
- Weatherization of doors and windows
- Temporary measures to cover roof, windows, or doors while permanent repairs are initiated
- Cleaning gutters
- Installing smoke detectors
- Window screen replacement/repair
To apply for a grant or loan through Redwood City’s Emergency and Minor Home Repair Program, low income seniors should call
650-780-7290 or visit the City’s Housing website at www.redwoodcityhousing.org for information and an application.
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Get $150 - $250 Rebate for High-Efficiency Washing Machines
We all know that using a high efficiency clothes washing machine saves water and uses less detergent. It also helps to keep the Bay clean by decreasing the amount of detergent phosphates ultimately discharged into our sensitive Bay ecosystem that supports plants, wildlife, and fish.
Now, it pays even more with Redwood City’s new two-tiered rebate program. When you buy a high efficiency clothes washer, Redwood City will send you a check for $150. Or, when you buy an ultra-high efficiency washer, you’ll receive a whopping $250 rebate.
Just how efficient are these high efficiency and ultra-high efficiency machines? Washers are compared by their “water factor” - a number which rates the machine’s efficiency based on how many gallons of water are used per cubic foot of laundry. A typical clothes washer has a water factor of 12 to 13. A high efficiency machine has a water factor of 9.5 or less. An ultra-high efficiency machine clocks in with a water factor rating of below 6.0 – that’s about twice as efficient as a typical machine.
These rebates are part of Redwood City’s Water Resource Management program, to encourage the use of these water- and energy-saving washing machines. It’s a great incentive to buy either type of efficient washing machine, which can save an estimated $144 to $177 annually in water, power, and detergent costs.
These washing machines have a similar capacity as ‘traditional’ washers, but are front-loading and so use about half the water and require less detergent. A typical household can save up to 5,100 gallons of water per year with a high-efficiency machine, and up to 6,800 gallons when an ultra-high-efficiency machine is used.
And, because they’re more efficient cleaners they can save you 50% or more in energy costs. The ‘tumbling’ action is more gentle on clothing than traditional ‘agitator’ action, and reduces the amount of detergent needed per load.
When you add it all up, a high- or ultra-high efficiency washing machine is a great investment for a household, for the environment, and for our water supply. See your favorite appliance store or call Redwood City’s Water Resources Management office at 650-780-7436 for details.
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Community Improvement Grants Available
City grants of up to $300 are available for community engagement projects, beautification, neighborhood participation activities, or other projects that bring people together and build community. The purpose of this grant program is to help people to implement their own creative ideas for making their street, block, neighborhood, or community a better place to live and work.
Eligible projects will have a positive impact and will offer an opportunity for neighbors to get to know one another and work together toward a common goal of community improvement and engagement. This program is one way the City is helping people to strengthen the foundation of the entire community.
More information and applications are available at online, at the Office of the City Manager at 1017 Middlefield Road, or by emailing or calling the City Manager 's office at 650-780-7300. Applications will be reviewed once a month and applicants can expect to hear from the City within 45 days of receipt of the application.
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