How tall is too tall? That question is very much on the minds of folks in Redwood City these days. And rightly so.
A plan to construct a 21-story residential tower in that community has raised questions and objections. If given the go-ahead by city officials, the structure would be more than twice the height of the tallest buildings there now.
For some perspective, Redwood City is one of the Peninsula’s leaders in making a concerted push to go up. Its downtown has been urbanized to a considerable degree over the last quarter-century. Longtime residents barely recognize it. So the architectural horse, as it were, is out of the barn.
But 21 floors is a leap too far, according to some critics. It’s a matter of opinion, though. In fact, one could argue that 21 could, at least in theory, be increased to 25 or even more. Why not? Can a height cap even be enforced now in the state’s relentless drive to impose increased density on the suburbs?
Over the last several years, the California development ballgame has changed rather dramatically, courtesy of intrusive politicians in Sacramento who want to bring a San Francisco-like ambience here.
Local control of height limits, if any, are in serious question today. The debate is heating up. It almost certainly won’t be the last in these parts.
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THEY’RE QUIET BUT EFFECTIVE: They don’t protest in the streets. They don’t crave media attention. They lack a TikTok presence. They quietly remain off the radar as a general rule. They are the members of the low-key Burlingame-Hillsborough Neighborhood Club. The group, founded in 1950 by the late Martha Chick, will observe its 75th anniversary in November. Its aims are simple: To serve as a women’s social club to foster goodwill, a sense of community and well-being and an opportunity to form friendships for new residents and long-standing ones alike. Members do so via small-group activities, dinners and other get-togethers. Membership is $60 annually. More membership information is available via mybhnc@gmail.com.
JOAN BAEZ IS DUE TO VISIT: It isn’t often that Joan Baez makes a well-publicized appearance these days. Her yen for privacy is well documented. But the venerated anti-war, antiestablishment folk singer, whose stunning voice and plaintive lyrics captivated a generation, is scheduled to visit Kepler’s Books & Magazines Oct. 29 as part of a fundraiser. The bookstore on El Camino Real in Menlo Park, which has a strong counter-culture history, is observing its 70th birthday this year. Baez, 84, a longtime resident of the Peninsula, reportedly has been a big fan and supporter of the local literary enterprise for decades. Kepler’s has been a destination for customers of a liberal bent — and lots of other folks — since it opened back in 1955.
THE FERRY DATA DON’T LIE: The documented financial travails of Bay ferry service to and from the Oyster Point terminal in South San Francisco due to markedly low ridership should give pause to backers of a similar proposed ferry link to the south at the Port of Redwood City. Overall, Peninsula ridership numbers for ferry transit in a challenging post-COVID world simply don’t pass muster. In a very real way, the ridership problems experienced in the Industrial City are a wakeup call for those Redwood City proponents. The damning data don’t lie.
DON’T CELEBRATE TOO SOON: Never count your prep football chickens before they, well, play their next ballgame. Consider Bellarmine Prep of San Jose as Exhibit A. The Bells crushed outmanned Los Altos, 61-6, Sept. 12. Two weeks later, after a bye, they got steamrolled by Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco, 71-14. The point differential in just 14 days: 112 digits. The karma-linked lesson: It’s always prudent to temper the urge for celebratory chest-bumps and Instagram posts.
SOMEONE, PLEASE CALL THE FBI: Redwood City police recently reported that a seemingly befuddled man wandering along Broadway and sporting a ski mask being used as a kind of an odd hat was claiming to be a federal agent. The published item did not indicate if the FBI or ICE had been alerted to an AWOL employee with a strange sense of style.
BRISBANE RACES SET ON WEEKEND: A bit of small-town Americana is back. The village of Brisbane will host its annual derby race for kids at 8 a.m. Saturday. That event will be followed by an adult Big Wheels race. A valid driver’s license is not required.
(2) comments
"For some perspective, Redwood City is one of the Peninsula’s leaders in making a concerted push to go up. Its downtown has been urbanized to a considerable degree over the last quarter-century. Longtime residents barely recognize it. So the architectural horse, as it were, is out of the barn."
Starting around 2016 the YIMBY movement and its YIMBY endorsed politicians overran Redwood City and embedded themselves into every major organization and advocacy group. Incl. city council, school boards, SamTrans, Caltrain, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Redwood City Education Foundation, Samaritan House, etc. They even created their own news paper with paid Astroturfers celebrating the achievements only they care about ("Climate Online").
That is a lot of effort and cost and wouldn't be such a problem if YIMBY was a great people-centric, pro-housing, pro-transit organization. But they are NOT - they are a bunch of companies out to increase their bottom line by outsourcing their cost to the public.
Thanks for mentioning the RWC Ferry Service - that service was privately tried by Facebook and Google and failed both times. So these companies asked RWC to run a twice-doomed transit project for them instead and let the public pay for something only they want.
Here is the absolutely-for-sure litmus test and the question residents need to keep asking. If YIMBY believes that high-density housing is the savior - why do YIMBY-endorsed politicians like Rico E. Medina, Jeff Gee, David Canepa, Giselle Hale, constantly punish high-density transportation options and our schools? So the questions are:
- Samtrans is 95% funded through tax measures, why is ridership NOT free?
- Bike Lanes are THE BEST solution for high-density, urban transportation. Why do YIMBYs keep sabotaging public transit AND active transportation?
And my personal favorite:
Why do YIMBY companies (Stanford, Jay Paul, Singer) actively support school segregation and antisemitism in Redwood City? Would a good organization do that?
https://www.smdailyjournal.com/opinion/columnists/the-time-is-now-to-stop-glorifying-henry-ford/article_a76973f6-f210-11ee-b265-03eec697a034.html
Thanks for your column today, Mr. Horgan. We know there’s an issue with housing, especially affordable housing (whatever that means) so if we can’t spread out, we can only go up. As long as these buildings aren’t going to topple over due to unstable foundations in our earthquake prone areas, go for it. Be sure to allocate parking for residents, else folks are going to start placing garbage cans and cones to “reserve” parking spots, a la San Bruno. Perhaps three or four high rises can be developed in close proximity which shares a high rise parking garage? Regardless, kudos to Redwood City for making the effort. Maybe they can paint redwood trees on high rise buildings so it reflects their name. Does Redwood City have any more redwood trees?
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