Redwood City: Petition Filed to Amend City Charter on Open Space Development

CBS5.com Local Wire
May 28, 2008

Redwood City: Petition Filed to Amend City Charter on Open Space Development

The Open Space Vote Coalition filed a petition today to qualify a measure amending the Redwood City Charter by requiring a public vote on future developments slated to take place on existing open space for the Nov. 4 election ballot.

The coalition received signatures from more than 15 percent of the city’s 37,000 registered voters, which was the requirement for putting the measure on the ballot. To pass the measure must be approved by a two-thirds majority of voters in the November election.

“The open spaces in Redwood City are precious and limited,” Save the Bay Executive Director David Lewis said. “Open Space Vote will ensure that this valuable land is protected for Redwood City residents and their quality of life.”

Lewis characterized the amendment as a way for citizens to halt the assault on open spaces by out-of-town developers. However, he said this is not in response to DMB Associates Inc. proposals regarding development of the Redwood City Saltworks industrial salt factory along the city’s bay coastline, an area that used to be open tidal planes.

Vice President and General Manager of the Saltworks John Bruno said DMB will take the measure seriously and deal with it appropriately.

DMB has been engaging with city residents for almost two years to find out what they think the future use of the 2-square-mile area Saltworks should be, Bruno said.

The company is hoping to submit what they call a “50/50” plan that will turn half of the land into a new habitat consistent with the natural habitat of the bay, and the other half will be developed to include athletic fields and housing.

The Open Space Vote Coalition is comprised of local and regional environmental and grassroots organizations including Save the Bay, Friends of Redwood City, Committee for Green Foothills and Sequoia Audubon Society.

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