Publication Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2005
High-density housing zone debated
High-density housing zone debated
(December 21, 2005) Neighborhood leaders question if regulations are too loose, but League of Women Voters supports proposal
by Bill D'Agostino
Palo Alto city officials and neighborhood leaders took a page from Goldilocks last week and asked if proposed regulations allowing high-density housing near the California Avenue train station were too loose, too strict or just right.
City planners proposing the "Pedestrian Transit Oriented Development" district, which was reviewed last week by the Planning and Transportation Commission, hope the resulting projects would encourage residents to walk, bike or take transit.
The city's Comprehensive Plan, a 10-year guiding document for city leaders, calls for housing to be built near transit centers. City planners have been working for years to develop the new transit district, to bring zoning in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan.
The new district would allow owners of properties within a 2,000-foot radius of the California Avenue train station to apply for a special zoning overlay. Such a designation would allow an owner to build an all-housing or mixed-used project up to 40 feet high with up to 40 units per acre. (Mixed-use projects contain both housing and non-residential units.)
Those building limits could extend up to 50 units per acre and 50 feet high if developers added many more affordable housing units than the city already requires.
The new transit-oriented overlay would not extend to current single-family housing zones.
Those strict limits are supplemented by loose criteria for the projects' designs. Neighborhood leaders who attended the Wednesday planning meeting worried those guidelines would give developers too much flexibility and result in projects that are too large for the neighborhood.
"It looks to the public like we're giving these folks a blank slate," said Midtown Residents Association President Annette Ashton.
City planners say the proposed criteria would have teeth because the planning commission, City Council and Architectural Review Board would each review applications to ensure they're what the city wants for the sites.
Among the proposed criteria: Projects should be compatible with neighboring structures, especially single-family homes; encourage walking and biking; provide open space and use green building techniques.
Planning Commissioner Phyllis Cassell said she liked most of the proposed rules but agreed they require "a leap of faith."
The League of Women Voters of Palo Alto supports the proposed zoning district, saying it would support the businesses on California Avenue, generate below-market-rate housing and encourage use of alternative transportation.
The planning commission is scheduled to formalize its recommendation to the council on Jan. 11. The council would then review the proposal on Feb. 6.
Next year, city staff is planning to propose a similar zoning district for properties around the University Avenue train station as well.
Two property owners near California Avenue have already applied for the new overlay zone: the owners of 195 Page Mill Road and 2785 Park Boulevard. Zoning for those properties currently don't allow housing to be built on them. Earlier this year, the council voted to prohibit housing in certain manufacturing districts, which included properties in the new district.
The overlay zone would extend to Fry's Electronics, located on Portage Avenue, even though it is further than 2,000 feet from the train station. City officials have made retaining the store an important goal, since it brings in millions of dollars in sales tax each year.
The zoning for the Fry's property is scheduled to change to only allow housing in 2019. Architect Rick Williams, a consultant for the city, pointed out that the new zoning overlay would allow Fry's property owners to build a mixed-use project that would both allow housing and allow Fry's to construct a new store.
College Terrace resident Joy Ogawa said she worried the new district would encourage the owner to rezone it solely for housing, forcing the store out.
"It seems crazy and self-defeating to me," Ogawa said.
But Williams disagreed. "We're not threatening Fry's," he said. "We're giving it a path to allow it to stay there and remain there."
Similar to Ogawa, Commission Vice Chair Karen Holman expressed concern that the new proposal might encourage owners to rezone properties in the district containing an automobile dealership, another vital source of sales tax, or Mollie Stone's grocery store.
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.
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