September 28, 2005

Back to the table of Contents Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

The numbers game

by Sue Dremann

Worried over a population increase that could hit Palo Alto in the coming years, the city's neighborhood leaders will be hosting a forum Thursday night entitled, "What Will the Housing Boom Cost Us?"

At the meeting, city officials are expected to address the effects of additional housing on schools, sewers, parks, water, traffic and retail services, neighborhood leaders said.

A panel of residents from Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN), a committee of 13 neighborhood associations sponsoring the forum, plan to interview the managers from the major city departments: Planning and Community Environment Director Steve Emslie; Community Services Director Richard James; Public Works Director Glenn Roberts; Utilities Director John Ulrich; and Chief Financial Officer of the Palo Alto Unified School District, Gerry Matranga.

City Council member LaDoris Cordell will moderate.

The idea for the forum gained momentum this summer when Elaine Meyer, president of the University South Neighborhood Association, researched planning department records to compile a list of housing units that have either recently been built or are in the works in Palo Alto. Although not all of the projects have been approved by the city -- and some aren't planned to be built for more than a decade -- the list contains 3,688 potential housing units, she said. Her research raised many questions in residents' minds, neighborhood leaders said.

The forum is organized as an informational meeting, however, not an attack on the city, she said. "But we're asking, 'Do people really know what's happening?' "

Thursday's meeting is intended to begin discussions with the city on topics such as how to pay for new schools, parks and sewer improvements, said Duveneck/St. Francis Neighborhood Association President Karen White, a forum organizer. "All of this high-density housing presumes a steady and healthy flow of funds to keep and maintain infrastructure."

How neighborhood schools, some of which are already closed to additional enrollment, will accommodate an increase in students is also a question residents expect city managers to address at the meeting, White said.

Sheri Furman, Midtown Residents Association vice-chair and a forum organizer, plans to ask the city to change the municipal code to regulate developers' conversion of retail space into housing. She fears the weakening of the retail-sales tax base, when developers convert commercial properties, is decreasing the city's revenues, which pay for services and capital improvements, she said. Furman hopes Thursday's meeting will launch an initiative that could come before the city in the next few years, she said.

The forum will take place at Mitchell Park Community Center, 3800 Middlefield Road.

At 6:30 p.m. the public will have the opportunity to review maps of housing developments and where they are situated in relation to schools and parks, Furman said. At 7 p.m., information will be presented by city managers about some of the proposed developments, and impacts such as traffic, parks and schools.

The residents panel will then question the city panel, followed by a 45-minute session for audience questions. The city panel will then make closing statements, and will discuss possible future forums, Furman said.

Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be reached at sdremann@paweekly.com.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.