Measure J charter amendment loses

Palo Alto will keep the status quo as far as planning decisions are concerned, after voters rejected a measure that would have given the city's Planning Commission power over certain decisions.

Measure J lost by a margin of 54.5 to 44.5 percent of the vote, or 11,137 to 9,292 votes. The measure would have delegated some decisionmaking powers to the Planning Commission, which currently exists only as an advisory body. The measure didn't spell out what those powers would be, leaving that for the City Council to determine in the future.

Proponents had championed the measure as a way of streamlining Palo Alto's planning process. Critics, however, had blasted the measure as being too vague and giving too much power to the appointed, not elected, Planning Commission.

--Jennifer Kavanaugh