October 20, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Council gridlocks over potential traffic

by Jocelyn Dong

The fates of a 74,000-square-foot office building and traffic at Embarcadero and East Bayshore roads rest in the hands of Palo Alto City Councilwoman Judy Kleinberg.

That's what the council member gets for her absence from Monday night's meeting, at which her colleagues deadlocked 4-4 over whether to approve a proposed building project by developer Richard Peery.

Mayor Bern Beecham, finding himself with a hopelessly deadlocked group after two-and-a-half hours of public testimony and discussion, had to call for a continuation of the matter to another meeting -- presumably when an odd number of council members would be present.

The 4-4 split is so unusual that the city staff scrambled to find the protocol according to Palo Alto's codes.

The project, four years in the making, would place a new office building at the site of the old Scott's Seafood Restaurant and four old office facilities along East Bayshore and Embarcadero roads. The restaurant has been vacant since 2002, and the office buildings since 2000.

Monday night, the developer sought the city's approval of the site plan and a report determining the project would not significantly harm the environment. Coincidentally split along gender lines, Council members LaDoris Cordell, Hillary Freeman, Yoriko Kishimoto and Dena Mossar voted to deny the project, while Beecham, Vice Mayor Jim Burch and Council members Jack Morton and Victor Ojakian voted in favor.

"There is no way this project ... is going to work," Mossar said. "We know what congestion at that intersection is when those offices are occupied."

In the past, getting to East Palo Alto from her home off Embarcadero has taken 45 minutes during peak hours, she said.

Several members of the public objected to the potential traffic jam they said the project would create. One went so far as to hire an independent traffic engineer to produce a study. Council members who opposed the project seemed to agree the city's traffic report inadequately assessed potential problems.

Members of the public also argued that the location was the "gateway" to the Baylands and any buildings should be designed with respect for the environment.

Morton scoffed at that notion, however.

"We talk about this like it was sitting on the (former councilwoman) Emily Renzel Marshlands," he said. "Since this is allowed usage, I'm not sure why we're not allowing it."

Burch noted that office buildings and car dealerships already operate along Embarcadero Road, closer to the Baylands than the proposed site.

"I don't know what people expect of this space," Burch said. "I hear what people don't like, but I don't hear what people do like."

But Cordell agreed with the environmentalists.

"This project is in the Baylands, and because of that, special scrutiny has to apply," she said.

Environmentalist Angelica Volterra, who hired the independent traffic consultant, said the point was to protect nature by adhering to state environmental guidelines, not to prevent development.

"The Baylands are a resource for all of us," she said. "It's precious."

But Jason Peery of Peery/Arrillaga argued that the planned building would be far superior to the vacant facilities currently on the site.

"There are five old abandoned buildings out there. It'll be a huge upgrade," he said. "I'm confident Kleinberg will do the right thing."

Most recently, Kleinberg has been involved in brainstorming over how the entire developed area near the Baylands might be turned into housing, more athletic field space, a hotel and an improved golf course. In March 2003, Kleinberg voted against the current industrial district zoning at that site in favor of lower density housing.

The matter will return to the council on Nov. 8.
Senior staff writer Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.

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