Redwood City Puts Up Extra Hurdles For Development of Large New Homes

Redwood City’s leaders are imposing new rules that add an additional hurdle in the city’s permit approval process for the development of large new single-family homes, the Mercury News reports, though the new rules stop short of going as far as the Planning Commission’s recommendation to place an absolute ban on single-family homes above a certain size.

The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the new ordinance, which requires new homes 3,000 square feet or above or those that cover 45 percent or more of a lot to be reviewed by the planning commission, in additional to the regular approval process for single-family development.

“My hope is that, by doing this, the developer will actually adjust the projects. That they will downsize them to a reasonable size that the neighborhood can live with and that will still meet the needs of a large growing family,” Redwood City Mayor Ian Bain said at last night’s meeting, per the Mercury News.

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