Downtown Precise Plan Steers Clear of Environmental Lawsuits

History won’t repeat itself this time. The 30-day window has passed in which Redwood City residents could have sued the city for an inadequate environmental impact report for their new Downtown blueprint. The California Environmental Quality Act mandates that all development projects complete this analysis report.

In 2007, downtown property owner Joe Carcione sued the city and won, claiming that the plan did not adequately analyze the shadows that would be cast on his law offices. Numbers are being finalized on how much the lawsuit has cost the city—and taxpayers—and will be reported on Patch.

The Downtown Precise Plan and the 30-day period closed on Thurs. Feb. 24. The new plan—which cost $250,000 in consulting costs—encompasses 183 acres loosely bounded by Brewster Avenue, Veterans Boulevard, Maple Street and El Camino Real.

“The new Downtown Precise Plan is now the law of the land,” said Downtown Development Coordinator Dan Zack. “Redwood City is ready for business and development.”

A noticeable addition to the Downtown area will be , which will occupy 10,000 of the 16,000 square feet along Jefferson Ave., said Pat Webb, Housing and Economic Development Coordinator. Webb added that the restaurant chain is aiming to open in September, but this is an optimistic opening date.

“We will do whatever we can to expedite the permit process,” Webb said.

Webb added that she had been facilitating negotiations between the owners of the property and the restaurant chain, but the city will provide no financial subsidy. 

Multiple housing developers and an office developer have shown interest in properties in the Downtown area, according to Zack. He said didn’t want to disclose the names of the developers until contracts were secured.

He said that some lingering paperwork from the 2007 lawsuit still needs to be filed, but the city is safe from any new lawsuits. Residents can sue for other aspects, like land ordinances, but environmental lawsuits are the most commonly filed, if at all, Zack said. This period is 90 days, so Zack said the city must wait approximately two more months to be fully clear.

“We’re about 95 percent there, and we’ll be at 100 percent in two months,” he said.

Changes from the original plan include a decreased retail goal to allow for more office space. He added that there will be more structural changes to the building guidelines. The center of downtown will allow for 12-story buildings, then scaling down in a pyramid style to 10-stories, eight, five and three feet at the perimeter of the city.  

“There’s a lot of flexibility in the plan,” Zack said.

The number of housing units in the plan is 2500 units, according to the environmental impact report.

The ground floor along Middlefield across from the Century Theatres, however, has “remained stubbornly vacant,” Zack said. “This will take a bit longer to occupy because two-story leases tend to be a bit more awkward.”