Redwood City, CA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)
Key Facts
- Height trigger
- New buildings exceeding 3 stories or 45 feet in height
- Downtown trigger
- Requests for Downtown Precise Plan Guideline deviations
- Authority
- Recommendations only; cannot grant or deny any approval
- Advises
- Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission, and City Council
- Membership
- 6 members, 5 voting, plus a non-voting Youth Member
- Term
- 4 years, expiring May 31 in even-numbered years
- Appointed by
- Planning Commission, after oral interview
Summary
Redwood City's Architectural Advisory Committee reviews every new building that exceeds three stories or forty-five feet in height, and every request to deviate from the Downtown Precise Plan Guidelines. Under Redwood City Code § 2.110(D) it only recommends: it cannot grant or deny any entitlement or approval, and its advice goes to the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission, and City Council.
D. Powers and Duties. 1. The Architectural Advisory Committee shall advise the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission, and the City Council on certain architectural matters concerning building architecture and urban design. The Architectural Advisory Committee shall: a. Review new building construction exceeding three (3) stories or forty-five (45) feet in height. b. Review requests for Downtown Precise Plan Guideline deviations, in accordance with the Downtown Precise Plan. c. Review projects as otherwise required by the Municipal Code, Zoning Ordinance, or adopted precise plan. 2. The authority of the Architectural Advisory Committee shall be limited to making recommendations in accordance with the foregoing and the Committee shall not be vested with authority to grant or deny any entitlement or approval.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Zoning Code: Supplement 29 | City Code: Supplement 61 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Redwood City Code § 2.110 creates the Architectural Advisory Committee to provide architectural control for the natural beauty of the environment, to secure an orderly and harmonious appearance of structures and grounds in furtherance of the purpose of Article 45 of the Redwood City Zoning Ordinance, and to bring in the perspective of architects and related professionals.
Subsection (D)(1) names three review triggers. First, height: the Committee reviews new building construction exceeding three (3) stories or forty-five (45) feet in height. Second, downtown design: it reviews requests for Downtown Precise Plan Guideline deviations, in accordance with the Downtown Precise Plan, which makes it the body that looks at a downtown project asking to depart from the design guidelines. Third, any project the Municipal Code, Zoning Ordinance, or an adopted precise plan otherwise requires it to review. Its advice covers certain architectural matters concerning building architecture and urban design and is addressed to the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission, and City Council.
Subsection (D)(2) limits that role. The Committee makes recommendations only and is not vested with authority to grant or deny any entitlement or approval. A negative or positive Committee view is therefore input to the decision maker, not a permit decision.
The Committee has six (6) members. Five (5) are voting members who count toward the quorum, and a non-voting Youth Member aged sixteen (16) to twenty-five (25) may be appointed. Voting members must be at least eighteen (18) years old, and at least three (3) must reside or work in Redwood City or within twenty (20) miles of its boundary. Each voting member needs an architecture or landscape architecture license, five (5) years of verifiable design experience, or a design related background such as civil engineering or construction, and no more than one (1) voting member may hold only that last qualification. The Planning Commission appoints members after oral interview. Terms run four (4) years and expire on May 31 in even-numbered years. The section was amended by Ord. No. 2522 (2-27-23), Ord. No. 2536 (5-6-24) and Ord. No. 2562 (7-27-26).
Violations & Fines
Section 2.110 sets no fine, fee, or penalty schedule, because the Committee grants and denies nothing. The practical consequence of skipping it falls on the project: a new building exceeding three stories or forty-five feet, or a Downtown Precise Plan Guideline deviation request, is missing a review step the code assigns to the Committee under § 2.110(D)(1). The entitlement itself is still decided by the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission, or City Council, and any penalties come from the Zoning Ordinance provisions that require the review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Redwood City projects go to the Architectural Advisory Committee?
Can the Committee deny my building permit or design approval?
How does a downtown project ask to depart from the design guidelines?
Who sits on the Architectural Advisory Committee and how long do they serve?
What qualifies someone to be a voting member?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Redwood City
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