On Monday, Oct. 26, the Redwood City Council unanimously adopted objective design standards for new residential and mixed-use buildings. The nearly 60-page ordinance is meant to simplify approvals, help the city follow state housing laws and carry out its Housing Element.
“An objective design standard is really a sort of black-and-white standard,” said Jeff Schwab, the city's community development director. “The average person should be able to understand it.”
What's in it
- Parking garages: Landscaping and screening requirements, plus sight-distance rules at garage exits for pedestrian safety. These matter in flood zones, where federal rules often push parking to the ground floor.
- Birds: Bird-friendly glass for projects on the bay side of Highway 101, such as visible patterns, louvers and no transparent glass corners.
- Lighting: Warmer, shielded outdoor lights.
- Trees: The minimum size for new trees increases from 15-gallon to 24-inch box.
Why advocates pushed
Speakers from the San Mateo County Bird Alliance, the Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter and Green Foothills noted that Redwood City sits on the Pacific Flyway. Green Foothills says North America has lost about 3 billion birds, roughly 30%, since the 1970s, and that hundreds of millions of birds are estimated to die from glass collisions each year across North America.
Council member Marcella Padilla backed the larger trees. She cited an Indicators report finding that about 320,000 residents live in census tracts with low tree canopy, and at least 70% of them are people of color. Council member Isabella Chu raised concerns about how the rules would affect “missing middle” housing. Staff noted that projects can still go through discretionary review.
The standards could take effect in late December and would apply to projects submitted after that date.