2026 Zoning Code, Municipal Code, and City Engineering Standards Amendments
Summary
SCH Number
2026071251
Public Agency
City of Redwood City
Document Title
2026 Zoning Code, Municipal Code, and City Engineering Standards Amendments
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/30/2026
Document Description
The City of Redwood City conducts regular reviews and proposes Zoning Code and Municipal Code amendments in order to: 1) ensure the codes and their provisions remain clear and accessible to the public, staff, and decisionmakers; 2) ensure the code remains internally consistent with the General Plan, City policies, and State law, and; 3) as necessary to implement minor policy updates. Three key areas of focus in this set of amendments are code maintenance for clarity/accessibility and consistency, Housing Element
implementation, and development review streamlining. The implementing actions include:
1. Waived the second reading and adopted an ordinance amending the Zoning Code to implement the 2023-2031 Housing Element programs, development review streamlining, and Zoning Code maintenance and rescind Resolution No. 6882 and Resolution No. 7805 regarding CEQA Guidelines;
2. Waived the second reading and adopted an ordinance amending the Municipal Code to implement the 2023-2031 Housing Element programs, development review streamlining, and Municipal Code maintenance;
The City Council waived the first reading and introduced the ordinances, and adopted a resolution approving and adopting revisions to the City’s Engineering Standards at the July 13, 2026 City Council hearing.
Contact Information
Name
Melinda Hue
Agency Name
Redwood City
Job Title
Principal Planner - CEQA Coordinator
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Redwood City
Counties
San Mateo
Regions
Citywide, San Francisco Bay Area
Other Location Info
Redwood City
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Not a Project or 15061(b)(3) Common Sense Exemption
Reasons for Exemption
Finally, CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) provides an exemption from environmental review for projects where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. The proposed amendments do not authorize any physical construction and are therefore exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
PRC 21080.085, 21080.25(b)(11), and 21080.17
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed amendments are not a “project” as defined by California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15378 because they are administrative actions consistent with adopted plans and policies that do not authorize any new construction or other activities that could result in physical changes to the environment.
Further, Public Resources Code Section 21080.085 provides a statutory exemption from environmental review for rezoning that implements the schedule of actions contained in an approved Housing Element and Public Resources Code Section 21080.25(b)(11) provides a statutory exemption from environmental review for a planning decision carried out by a local agency to reduce or eliminate minimum parking requirements or institute parking maximums, remove or restrict parking, or implement transportation demand management requirements or programs. The Zoning Code amendments would implement Housing Element Programs H1-8 (Small Lots); H3-3 (Housing Options for Special Needs and Extremely Low Income Households); H4-6 (Permit Processing); H4-9 (Housing Accountability Act), and H4-7 (Revised parking standards), and as part of implementing H4-7 would eliminate parking requirements for certain developments. Therefore, the amendments would also be statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code Sections 21080.085 and 21080.25(b)(11).
Further, pursuant to CEQA section 21080.17, CEQA does not apply to the adoption of an ordinance by a city implementing the provisions of Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the California Government Code, which is State ADU law.
County Clerk
San Mateo
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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