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Uploaded: Monday, September 21, 2009, 9:49 AM
Palo Alto may extend building permits
Proposed ordinance meant to help builders survive tough economy
Listen to the Palo Alto City Council meeting live when the council is in session (usually Monday nights at 7 p.m.) via the KZSU Webcast. |
Seeking to aid local developers during a merciless economy, Palo Alto officials are proposing adding one-year extensions to certain planning and building permits.
The proposal, which had already been approved by the city's Planning and Transportation Commission, intends to give builders more time to find tenants before their permits expire. The City Council is scheduled to consider extending the permits at its meeting tonight (Monday).
During its July 29 hearing on the proposed extension, the Planning and Transportation Commission heard from two downtown developers, Rick Barry and Roxy Rapp. Both talked about the difficulty of landing financing during the current economic climate and encouraged the commission to approve the extensions.
"Basically, there is no financing out there to build it," said Rapp, who received the city's approval for a four-story office building at 278 University Ave. "You are being penalized because you have retail on the ground floor and the lending community because of the recession that we are in."
Rapp told the commission that he had spoken to other developers, including John McNellis and Chop Keenan, and both support the proposal to extend building permits. McNellis recently received the city's proposal to build the Alma Plaza development, which includes a supermarket. He had told the council that it would likely take at least a year, possibly more, to find a supermarket tenant.
The Planning and Transportation Commission approved the staff proposal to grant developers the extensions, but voted to exclude Planned Community (PC) zoning projects (such as Alma Plaza) from the proposal. Staff recommended including Planned Community projects in the ordinance.
According to the staff report prepared by Planning Manager Amy French, the city has been receiving an "increasing number of requests for extensions of both building permit plan checks and planning entitlements associated with major construction projects."
"Along with these requests, there has been a decrease in both the issuance of new major building permits and the submittal of major planning applications, coinciding with substantial changes in the local, national and world economy," the report states.
"It is likely many planning entitlements and building permit plan checks will expire before retail, office and residential tenants can be found and financing can be obtained to pay for development impact fees and project construction."
Current regulations already allow developers to request one-year extensions to their permits. The new ordinance, if approved, would add another year.
The City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday or as soon as possible after a 6:30 p.m. closed session. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.— Gennady Sheyner
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Posted by rem, a resident of the Adobe-Meadows neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2009 at 10:39 am Oh, Gee, the developer and builder are having "problems".. Sorry but as a tax payers my answer is NO EXTENTIONS...
Why don’t we have a honest City Council that will honestly say “Developer (Contractors) Lobbyists , Developer (Contractors), donate to us and we will approve!!!!”
It would be great if the City Council and all the other “Councils” and “Work Shops” learned a new word – NO or new phase – DISAPPROVED….
There is no sane reason for these extentions except MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…..
Sound to me like DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT !!!! Gee, the CITY has messed up “University Avenue.", West Charleston Road & El Camino Real, butcher San Antonio Road, butcher California Street and let’s not forget San Antonio and East Charleston Road.
Like I said ABOVE - There is no sane reason for these PROBLEMS except MONEY, MONEY, MONEY and not caring about the people of Palo Alto or ANY of the other communities …..
How about turning these "projects" into parks i.e., GREEN AREAS ....
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Posted by rem, a resident of the Adobe-Meadows neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2009 at 10:39 am Oh, Gee, the developer and builder are having "problems".. Sorry but as a tax payers my answer is NO EXTENTIONS...
Why don’t we have a honest City Council that will honestly say “Developer (Contractors) Lobbyists , Developer (Contractors), donate to us and we will approve!!!!”
It would be great if the City Council and all the other “Councils” and “Work Shops” learned a new word – NO or new phase – DISAPPROVED….
There is no sane reason for these extentions except MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…..
Sound to me like DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT !!!! Gee, the CITY has messed up “University Avenue.", West Charleston Road & El Camino Real, butcher San Antonio Road, butcher California Street and let’s not forget San Antonio and East Charleston Road.
Like I said ABOVE - There is no sane reason for these PROBLEMS except MONEY, MONEY, MONEY and not caring about the people of Palo Alto or ANY of the other communities …..
How about turning these "projects" into parks i.e., GREEN AREAS ....
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Posted by Walter_E_Wallis, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Walter_E_Wallis is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online I heartily endorse this - The permitting process today incorporates far more than it used to, and yet the time frame has not been extended. So many strings have to come together, none of which can be nailed down until they all are - and then the money has to stay in place, something we can't be sure of.
rem, do you work for a paycheck or just out of the goodness of your hearts? Of course developers have hopes of making a profit, but believe me there is no guarantee. Very few of the contractors I knew when I entered the construction industry 50 years ago are around today. Most of them went away because of market changes or sometimes just fatigue. The rem demand, to raise the drawbridge, and to deny others the right to develop their property, is holding your breath until you turn blue.
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Posted by Henry, a resident of the Community Center neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2009 at 3:02 pm This town seems to be run by the developers who get exemptions which ordinary citizens do not have. I say do not give them the exemption and let them move out of town. We will all be better off.
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Posted by Walter_E_Wallis, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Walter_E_Wallis is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online Every exemption demands an offsetting boon, and exemptions have always been available to homeowners, except for the basic fire, safety and sanitation requirements. Henry, if you want control of a property, buy it.
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