After numerous rejections and drastic revisions, Palo Alto’s plan to build more than 6,000 apartments has received state approval, according to an August 20 letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The HCD’s determination that the city’s housing is now “substantially in compliance with state housing law” represents a major victory for the city after nearly two years of setbacks. Cities were required to have their housing components certified by the HCD by January 31, 2023. Those that failed to do so became vulnerable to “builder assistance” applications, which allow developers to effectively ignore local zoning codes and design standards.
Melinda Coy, HCD’s director of proactive housing stewardship, wrote in her letter that as part of the approval, the city would have to monitor and report on the results of various programs in the document, which aims to add 6,086 housing units by 2031. Among the programs that would have to be monitored are the city’s plan to build housing on downtown parking lots, its efforts to expedite the review of housing projects and a “housing incentive program” that gives height and density bonuses to housing projects in commercial areas.
She noted that state law gives the HCD the authority to determine whether the city’s actions or omissions violate housing law.
“This includes failure to implement program actions included in the housing element,” Coy wrote. “HCD may revoke compliance with the housing element if the local government’s actions are not consistent with state law.”
Implementing a Housing Element was once a perfunctory exercise, but this time it became a high-stakes battle due to new state laws and far more ambitious housing goals set by the Association of Bay Area Governments through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process.
The consequences of failing to obtain certification are also more severe than in the past. Palo Alto and other cities are seeing a flood of construction projects that far exceed building codes.
Locally, these include a 350-unit project at 3997 Fabian Way, a 382-unit complex in two residential towers on the Mollie Stone site at 156 California Ave., a 380-unit project on the former Fish Market site at 3150 El Camino Real and a 231-unit proposal on the Creekside Inn site at 3400 El Camino Real.
Councillor Pat Burt, who rejoined the council shortly before the first draft was submitted to HCD in 2022, said the 6,000 units in the Housing Element were “three times as many units as in any previous element”.
“It was a really challenging process – we had to respond to constantly new and often undefined requirements that were quite unprecedented in the history of living space elements,” Burt said in an interview.
In addition to the high number of housing units the city must plan for – more than three times as many as in the previous eight-year period – the process has been unpredictable, Burt said. HCD required the city not only to add new housing zones and tighten policies, but also to make other changes such as expanding the history chapter to focus on historic discrimination, which extended the approval timeline.
The adoption of the Housing Element also followed years of opposition from Palo Alto Forward and other housing advocates who questioned the city’s plans and methods for determining future housing sites. HCD had repeatedly noted in its letters that its decision took into account the testimony of Palo Alto Forward and others as part of the review. The nonprofit organization, which advocates for more housing, withdrew its opposition last month and endorsed the latest version of the Housing Element submitted by the city.
The document introduces a number of measures to encourage housing, including significantly relaxing height and density requirements for residential development in commercial areas such as San Antonio Road and El Camino Real south of Page Mill Road. The commercial and industrial areas around San Antonio and Fabian Way would accommodate about 2,000 residential units. The city is now moving forward with a land use plan to adopt a new vision for San Antonio in which new housing is complemented by amenities such as parks, retail and bike facilities.
Other programs in the new housing program include building affordable housing on downtown parking lots, upgrading residential areas in transit-friendly areas so that, for example, sites that previously had a maximum of 40 homes per acre can now accommodate 50 homes per acre, and building housing on three “opportunity sites” owned by Stanford University.
Burt said that with the approval of the document, city staff can now “turn away from processing permit paperwork and do things that make housing construction more likely.”
“We will attempt to achieve the largest housing development in Palo Alto in over 60 years, when South Palo Alto was originally created from undeveloped land,” Burt said. “But these units must be integrated into a largely built environment, and we must do so in a way that provides a strong community concept with parks, pedestrian-friendly and bike-safe streets, and nearby retail and services.”
In a statement, city officials called HCD’s approval of the Housing Element “an important milestone after several years of leadership from the Council, City Commissions and staff, and community engagement.”
“The Housing Element will serve as a guide for future housing construction as well as housing-related programs and policies,” the city said.
The city’s statement also highlighted recent actions to encourage housing, including efforts to preserve the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, the contribution of $52 million from the Affordable Housing Fund or land value to various housing projects, the upcoming construction of the 108-unit transitional housing project in the Baylands, the 50-unit development at 525 Charleston Road that is being built by Eden Housing under the name Mitchell Park Place and is aimed at people with disabilities, and a 129-unit project for low-income residents that Charities Housing is building at 3001 El Camino Real, the former site of Mike’s Bikes.
The city’s new Housing Element recognizes that despite recent efforts, “more is needed at the local, regional and state levels to address California’s housing shortage.”
“This housing element includes meaningful programs to further promote and facilitate housing construction at the local level and to seek partnerships to
“Affordable housing options in the city,” the document states.
