Redwood City councilmembers raise parking concerns on affordable housing development
Redwood City held a special City Council meeting Monday to provide information on plans to construct a 100% affordable housing project at 112 Vera Ave. just off El Camino Real.
The proposed project is a seven-story building with 178 multifamily units. The units would be 153 one-bedroom apartments and 25 studios.
They would be designated for low-income to extremely low-income households.
Households that make between 30% and 70% of the median income for San Mateo County will qualify. This equates to incomes of roughly $41,000 to $96,000 for single-person households, $47,000 to $110,000 for two-person households and $59,000 to $123,000 for three-person households.
The "transit-oriented" development would include only six parking spaces reserved for building managers and rideshare services. Since 112 Vera Ave. is located in the city's downtown area with close proximity to public transportation like bus stops and the Redwood City Caltrain station, planners are hoping residents will not use cars as their primary form of transit.
"We will educate residents on what it means to live in a transit-oriented development and that on-site parking will not be provided," said Jake Lingo, a consultant with Integrated Community Development, the project's developer. "We are aware that some residents may still desire to have a vehicle and so we must educate them on what their options are and that if the tradeoff between affordable housing rents and state of the art development are worth forgoing a car in their life."
Developers are also prioritizing transit-centered housing in order to mitigate traffic congestion and comply with state goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The neighborhood of 112 Vera Ave. is already compact with high competition for parking spaces. The site is surrounded by a mix of single-family homes and apartment complexes, said City Councilmember Alicia Aguirre.
The property itself has been vacant for more than three decades with dilapidated and abandoned apartments. The city declared the site to be a public nuisance in 2017 as deteriorating structures and squatters posed fire hazards.
One of the project's allures is that developers won't need to ask the city for funding.
The site's proximity to public transportation made it competitive to receive tax-exempt bond allocations, federal and state tax credits and a mixed income program credit loan.
"These factors result in a project with approximately $96 million of state, federal and developer resources. We are not asking for any local resources," Lingo said. "It is rare and it's special. We are able to bring an affordable housing development of this caliber to a city and not ask for a dime of local housing dollars."
However, some councilmembers raised concerns about parking and the lack of community involvement in the planning process.
Councilmember Elmer Martinez Saballos suggested working with nearby businesses and other apartment complexes on instituting a shared parking model. Many of his colleagues supported this solution.
"I am sensitive to the concerns that residents of that neighborhood have in terms of congestion just because of how difficult it is living in a neighborhood where you can't find parking," said Councilmember and Vice Mayor Lissette Espinoza-Garnica.
Lingo said that so far, Integrated Community Development has not done any community outreach for this project. They are only required to conduct one public informational session and Monday's meeting counts for this condition.
Alberto and Lourdes Romero, longtime Redwood City residents, own a home directly behind the project's proposed site. They commented during Monday's meeting in opposition to the development.
"We do not think it is fair to place the burden of high-density housing on our already very overdeveloped neighborhood," they said. "We want to protect the quality of life we have in our community."
After completion of the Native American tribe consultation process as required by state law, the developer can submit an application. If it gets approved by the City Council, developers are planning for a groundbreaking in February 2025 and a completion date in late 2026.
