4-story project approved in unincorporated Redwood City

The project, proposed by Canyon Vista Partners, aims to build 23 for-sale condominiums at 206 Sequoia Ave. on the southwest end of Redwood City near Woodside Road. Of those units, three will be listed at very-low affordability.

Single-family homes are in much of the surrounding area. However, the Board of Supervisors approved a request to rezone the 206 Sequoia Ave. parcel in May of 2021, allowing up to 15 units on the site. Using the state density bonus, which allows developers to add additional units to their projects for designating some units as below market rate, Canyon Vista Partners was able to add another floor to its original three-story project, the equivalent of eight more homes.

Residents spoke out against the rezoning and, having failed to persuade supervisors, returned to Wednesday’s meeting to ask that commissioners deny the project. They argued the new development would be an “eyesore,” would disrupt neighborhood character and would greatly affect traffic, which, without improved street safety measures, could put the local community in danger.

Commissioners agreed the project wasn’t a fit for the area given its size while also complementing the project designs. They also noted more housing is needed in the state and region.

“Take it out of context, the building is nice. I have no problem with it. But then you put it in the neighborhood and you think ‘oh man, but that’s not my neighborhood, how unfortunate,’” Commissioner Lisa Ketchamsaid. “I also understand that the state is stepping in because of the extent of the problem and their proposals for how to fix it are pretty, I don’t know how to say, broad, or rough. Whatever. This is the effect.”

Ultimately, staff and commissioners acknowledged the body was limited in what it could ask of the developer. Despite Woodside Road mostly running through Redwood City and the county’s portion of the area, it falls under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Transportation as a designated highway meaning any changes to the road would have to go through it.

And state fair housing laws favor housing production over local control, they noted, limiting their ability to reduce the project’s size or to finding grounds for denial. With that in mind, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the project.

“I definitely think the project is way too big for the neighborhood. … Given that, though, what I think or what I want is not my job. My job is to see, does it meet all the criteria that the county has outlined, that the state has outlined,” Commissioner Fred Hansson said. “I cannot make any findings to deny it whether I want to or not.”