Mistake by city imperils plans for new home

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

A mistake made by city planners long ago came back to haunt Palo Alto City Council tonight (March 13) as they grappled with whether to allow a new house near the Winter Lodge that the buyer was told he could build, but neighbors have organized against.

The property in question at 702 Ellsworth Place was approved in 1967 as a parking lot for an apartment complex next door at 2901 Middlefield Road, which stands today.

But planners never recorded the new zoning for 702 Ellsworth Place, and Richard Dewey sold it to Nitin Handa in 2017 for just $950,000.

Before the deal closed, city planners told Handa that he could build a house on the property. But when Handa turned in his application for a one-story house, planners said the zoning map was never updated and he had to go to council to get the 1967 rules changed.

The discrepancy between the zoning map and the zoning approved in 1967 was called out by neighbors on Ellsworth Place, who said that replacing the parking lot with a house would impact deliveries, parking and safety on their street, which is only 20 feet wide. They sent the city 57 pages of letters detailing their concerns and were organized during public comment tonight.

The meeting was a “pre-screening” for council members to give feedback before deciding whether to change the zoning, so they didn’t take a vote. But their comments showed where they stood.

Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims said that the city’s zoning rules are “arbitrary choices of humans — designed to control how we live, and who could live where.”

Lythcott-Haims: Land was stolen

“I want to remind us that land ownership in this country was a concept created by humans who stole land from other humans, and then those humans sold that land to others who sold it to others. And then at some point, those others created arbitrary rules about what could and could not be done,” she said.

Lythcott-Haims said she is just as interested in asking the Muwekma Ohlone what they thought of the problem as she is in asking the Palo Alto City Council Council of 1967,  the same year she was born.
Another house could actually make the road safer by signaling to drivers that there are homes and driveways here, Lythcott-Haims said.

Mayor Lydia Kou, who is a realtor, said Handa should’ve done more investigating before he bought the property.

“I heavily advise my clients to perform due diligence when they’re purchasing a property,” she said. “In this instance, I am surprised by the lack of due diligence.”

But Handa would’ve had to look through old council minutes to know the proper zoning, Planning Director Jonathan Lait said.

Even city planners may mistakenly have allowed some heritage oak trees to be cut down in 2018 because they didn’t know the zoning, Chief Planning Official Amy French said.

Kou then questioned how one parcel, the parking lot, could be sold off since it was part of a larger council-approved apartment complex. 

Allowing a zoning change here would have implications for many council-approved projects, Kou said.

Safety concerns

Vice Mayor Greer Stone said he drives by Ellsworth Place almost every day and sees how dangerous the area is. If council is weighing property rights of one homeowner versus the safety of neighbors and drivers, then safety wins, Stone said.

Councilman Ed Lauing said the city has a bigger problem on Middlefield Road with access and safety.

“That, one way or another, has to get addressed,” he said.

Councilman Pat Burt suggested a two-story house with a smaller footprint to ease concerns from neighbors about crowding their road.

Councilman Greg Tanaka and Councilwoman Vicki Veenker said they agreed with Burt’s idea, and they wanted the neighbors and the property owner to come back with a solution that was agreeable for everyone.