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Uploaded: Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 5:28 PM
Parking concerns central in Lytton Gateway meeting
Residential parking program gets mixed reactions from Downtown North residents
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by Bryce Druzin
Palo Alto Weekly Staff
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 | Downtown North residents voiced concerns about potential parking problems related to the proposed development of the Lytton Gateway building during a meeting with developers Tuesday, May 1.
"The neighborhood is saturated with cars from downtown Palo Alto," Jim Mimmack, a resident of Palo Alto Avenue, said.
Developers Boyd Smith, Lund Smith and Scott Foster presented their plan to mitigate the impact on parking of the four-story mixed-use building planned for the corner Lytton Avenue and Alma Street.
The plan includes $250,000 to implement a Residential Permit Parking Program for the Downtown North neighborhood, $1.5 million for an in-lieu parking fee to improve downtown's parking capacity, and a program to reduce building employees' car use.
Boyd Smith said the Residential Permit Parking Program, which would limit the amount of time non-residents could park, is key to solving residents' concerns about spillover parking from downtown.
"That forces people to go find parking somewhere else," Boyd said. "As long as there is parking available on your streets and it's free, people will park there."
Elaine Haight, who lives near the intersection of Cowper Street and Hawthorne Avenue, said she supports the project because of its proximity to the Caltrain station. She said she thought permit parking would eliminate most of the opposition.
Many residents at the meeting were supportive of the permit-parking program, which would have to be approved by the City Council, but some expressed opposition.
"I don't think street parking is deeded to people who live in the neighborhood," Steve Langdon said. Langdon lives near the intersection at Everett Avenue and Ramona Street.
Langdon expressed concern about what downtown workers would do if they weren't allowed to park in the surrounding neighborhood.
Frustration with the council and staff was a common sentiment among the attendees, with many saying the city had failed to live up to its responsibilities to provide adequate parking for downtown businesses.
Residents also expressed concern that the $1.5 million provided for the in-lieu parking fee would not be spent by the city on improving downtown parking.
Boyd Smith said the developers would clearly state in any agreement with the city how the funds are meant to be used.
"It's an expensive thing for us to do this," he said. "I will not appreciate ... if the city takes these funds I've specifically identified to solve these problems and redirects them."
The developers said the project's proximity to the Caltrain station and bus hub means workers at the office building would be more likely to use mass transit. Their proposal included a "Transportation Demand Management" program to reduce the number of cars used by employees of the office building.
The program would include providing free transit passes to all employees, one zip car for hourly rental, showers to encourage people to bike to work and carpool spaces.
Related stories:
• Guest Opinion: Even without housing, Gateway offers many benefits
• Guest Opinion: 'Gateway' project breaks all of city's zoning rulesAre you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Project origins, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 12:42 pm The developers said earlier to the City Council, and again at this meeting, that they originally planned a smaller building that would "come in under the radar."
It was Steve Emslie and Curtis Williams who encouraged them to build big, they said. Emslie is the former Manager of Planning, now the Assistant City Manager.
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Posted by Janet, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 6:55 pm This massive new building will open the flood gates to more massive commercial buildings being built in downtown PA. University Ave will be a very different downtown when all we have is gigantic buildings looming down on the street. No sun will reach the street and it will be a very unfriendly walking area. Shame on the city for allowing this type of project to be built. I bet the developers can't believe they got this project approved by the city. They must be laughing their heads off.
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Posted by mmmMom, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 8:16 pm This is such a failure of urban planning. Alma is going to be a hideous, tunnel like street - resembling the disaster of "modern" architecture in post-war eastern Germany. Besides Gateway, the super-super-low-rent housing @ Alma & Homer will be another nail in the coffin of our town's charm. Shame.
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Posted by mom, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 8:21 pm Janet, I agree completely. The look of the area is becoming so sterile with the new, huge offices.
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Posted by Crooked Boyd Smith, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 8:37 pm The developoers, Boyd Smith and his son are ruthless. The only thing they care about is money. I wonder who they paid "under the table," at city hall, to get this project approved.
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Posted by Phil, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 10:25 pm I think it's going to be a great addition to the neighborhood. So much better than a run down gas station.
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Posted by All Along, a resident of the Charleston Meadows neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 10:36 pm Developers have been on the 'inside' with city staff and council members for a long time. Who knows what is discussed behind the closed door sessions with developers at city hall. Money talks regardless of what citizens want. That's just the way it is.
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Posted by Jeff, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 3, 2012 at 11:23 pm I'm not familiar with the cost of downtown commercial property ... wouldn't $1.5M buy maybe 3,000 sq ft of land with no money to develop it? Rather than money in lieu of parking, our city should simply require the developer to provide parking! Why should the city hire a developer to create parking for the first developer.
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Posted by Larry, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on May 6, 2012 at 10:32 pm I think anything would be better than the empty dirt lot that it is now. I welcome a new office building there; it'll bring more life to the city and more customers to the businesses in the downtown core. Of course they should add in sufficient parking spaces into the building plan - that's only common sense.
BUT - I really object to resident parking permits in my neighborhood. Where are all the people who work downtown meant to go park? They'll no longer be able to park in Professorville or here in downtown north - where are they going to go? They have to get to and from their jobs and the residents seemingly haven't even thought about these poor people. They're just trying to make a living. They keep our city alive. These are hardworking people - office workers, chefs, waiters, shopkeepers - why are we punishing them for the success of our downtown? We reap the benefits of having such great amenities right on our doorstep but don't want to deal with the consequences. Just a load of NIMBY whinging.
Honestly, the parking situation here isn't even that bad. I rarely if ever have a problem finding a parking space. Moreover, many houses and apartment buildings have off-street parking in our neighborhood. The streets are a shared space and the whiny residents who are complaining about parking should learn to share.
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