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'C' is for conflict

by Don Kazak

Larry Hassett and Doug Ross work a stone's throw from one another, yet remain worlds apart.

Hassett owns Palo Alto Hardware, a prototypical mom-and-pop shop with a unique touch that reflects the community's environmental tradition -- rows of solar panels adorn the store's roof, providing power and a lucrative side business.

Across the street, Ross works in a sleek office building boasting prominent windows, graceful curves and a jazzy, golden sculpture on its outside wall. It is a striking base of operations for a man whose construction company specializes in modern, multi-family housing. The building, which houses four residential units, also towers over Hassett's store -- a fact that created friction between the two.

Similar tensions pervade Ross' latest venture, a condominium project slated for 800 High St., located across an alley from Hassett's store. The plan was approved in a 6-3 vote by City Council in February, sparking a residential protest that resulted in a Nov. 4 ballot measure to determine the project's fate.

A "yes" vote means you support the project, "no" means you oppose it.

Hassett is a key figure in the opposition, spearheading the referendum-petition drive that brought Measure C to the ballot. The issue has stirred emotions to the point where Hassett recently refused to order a barbecue part for one of Ross' campaign consultants.

"I have to take it personally, it is my livelihood," Hassett, who contends the project would hurt his business, recently told the Weekly.

For his part, Ross offered to buy the hardware store because Hassett said threatened to close it if 800 High St. is built. Of course, Ross gave his letter to Hassett to the newspapers, as well.

Ross' project consists of 61 condominium units, 10 of which will be below-market-rate. During 29 years in the business, he has built apartment complexes in San Jose, San Mateo and Foster City. The 37-unit Webster House and the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto are among his projects.

The market-rate condos will sell in the $700,000 range, so they won't be affordable to most teachers and firefighters. But a widely accepted political value in Palo Alto is that the city needs more housing -- balanced against a concern about impacts on parks and infrastructure.

Locating housing near transit -- the project is just blocks from the downtown Palo Alto train and bus station -- is a Comprehensive Plan priority.

While Hassett and Ross were leading figures in the pre-election debate, the battle has been joined by neighborhood activists on one side and most of the city's political establishment on the other.

Critics say the project will set a precedent for projects throughout the city. They note Ross' Planned Community-zoned project exceeds what the underlying commercial zoning allows. (see sidebar) Supporters say the project is appropriate for its location and will not set any precedent for future development decisions elsewhere.

"A lot of people think it will set a precedent the next time something like this comes up," said Annette Ashton, a leader in the Midtown Residents' Association. "People are worried."

Three other large projects are either planned or in the pipeline: the proposed redevelopment of Hyatt Rickey's Hotel with 300 units of housing, construction of the Campus for Jewish Life at the former Sun Microsystems site, and redevelopment of the Elk's Club property just south of the Rickey's site.

All those projects "are aimed at south Palo Alto," Ashton said.

The Planned Community (PC) zone allows projects greater square footage than underlying zoning allows if "public benefits" are provided. For 800 High, the benefit is the 63 public parking spaces in the underground parking garage.

While not listed as an official benefit, the project would also provide access to a possible below-grade garage if below-market-rate housing is built on the city's existing electrical substation lot.

"It's a perfect place for a development of this sort," said former mayor Larry Klein. "It's three blocks from the train station, there's no impact on a residential neighborhood because there is no residential neighborhood, and there's the public benefit of the parking spaces."

"The project makes sense in that place," echoed Tony Carrasco, chair of the Chamber of Commerce board. The chamber is counted among the measure's supporters. Others include the League of Women Voters and the Greenbelt Alliance.

Despite strong endorsements from the Palo Alto political establishment -- including the six council members who voted for the project -- 800 High St. has become a cause celebre among many neighborhood activists.

"Building fancy housing is not the trade-off we want in an area where we can have affordable housing," said longtime former City Councilwoman Emily Renzel. "In fact, it sets a tone, if people believe the council will roll over for added density. It lowers the bar (for developers)."

Many agree with Renzel's argument that 800 High St. sets a dangerous precedent for PC zones.

"It does have an important role as a precedent, even though it is a PC," said Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto, an active opponent of Measure C.

Others attack some of the project's argued strengths, such as its proximity to transportation.

"It's the first project to be built with the transit-oriented development tag," said Mike Alexander of Midpeninsula Action for Tomorrow (MPACT), which is opposing Measure C. "But it doesn't conform to the definition of transit-oriented in the (city's) Comprehensive Plan."

Those projects are supposed to encourage people to use transit and alternative forms of transportation, but by providing two parking spaces per condominium there is no such encouragement, Alexander argued.

Ross said the decision not to charge condo owners for a second parking space -- one way to encourage transit use -- was a marketing decision boosting the ability to sell units.

Mayor Dena Mossar doesn't think 800 High St. will set a precedent.

"This is precisely the kind of location where we can do this kind of housing," she said. "It wouldn't work in other areas."

Ross said the defeat of Measure C would set a truly dangerous precedent. "It sends a message that Palo Alto is not friendly to building housing in appropriate places," he said. "If you can't put housing here (at 800 High St.), then where?"

While some activists are fighting Measure C, only one neighborhood organization -- the University South neighborhood Group -- has signed up in opposition.

In fact, some question whether there is much interest in Measure C outside of the neighborhoods directly impacted by the proposal.

"I'm not hearing much or getting many questions," said Doug Moran, president of the Barron Park Association, a point echoed by leaders of two other neighborhood associations.

"I've been amazed at how little I'm hearing about it," Mossar said.

The saga of 800 High St., didn't begin when the City Council approved Ross' project. Another developer, Roxy Rapp, bought the property several years earlier and attempted to win city approval for a large office project. The block-long property includes what was once the Peninsula Creamery ice cream plant -- a historic building -- the old French Laundry building and a parking lot for the Peninsula Creamery trucks.

Rapp didn't get anywhere with his project. City officials weren't keen on an office building.

Ross, whose own office is a half-block away, watched and listened to the opposition churned up by Rapp's project. Convinced a housing project would have a better chance -- especially if it was smaller than what Rapp proposed -- Ross convinced the developer to sell him the property.

Before the purchase, Ross held private meetings with several City Council members. Not all of them wanted to meet outside of a public forum, he said. But he heard enough to move ahead with his plan.

"I asked, 'Is this what you want to do?'" Ross said. "We talked about the project conceptually."

From his perspective, Ross followed signals from the city every step of the way: he talked to City Council members, he increased the size to accommodate public parking, and designed the 10 below-market-rate units to be smaller than the market-rate offerings at the suggestion of city staff and the Palo Alto Housing Corporation, which will market their sale and future resale.

To Larry Hassett, the Ross project is a betrayal of an earlier planning process for the area (see sidebar).

Meanwhile, the two men continue to work across the street from each other. Ross is forced to look at a "No on Measure C" sign above the door to the hardware store while Hassett must live with a "No on Measure C" banner emblazoned on a nearby campaign trailer -- signs the divisions separating the two, and the community, are as wide as ever.

Don Kazak can be e-mailed at dkazak@paweekly.com