BY DAVE PRICE
Daily Post Editor
Palo Alto and other cities should get behind state Sen. Josh Becker’s bill to rein in the Builder’s Remedy, a state law that has led to proposals for buildings much taller than city zoning codes would normally allow.
The most outrageous Builder’s Remedy project is a group of towers proposed for the former Sunset magazine site at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park by Russian businessman Vitaly Yusufov. The tallest of the three buildings would be 461 feet or 38 stories — the tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Yusufov is able to propose such a Falstaffian monstrosity because the city of Menlo Park didn’t get its housing plan approved by the state on time. When that happens, developers can submit Builder’s Remedy projects that exceed local zoning limits when it comes to height and mass. Palo Alto’s largest Builder’s Remedy project is a 17-story building that would replace Mollie Stone’s grocery at 156 California Ave.
Developers also turned in proposals for apartment complexes on El Camino Real, San Antonio Road, the corner of University Avenue and Middlefield Road, and Palo Alto’s first housing east of Highway 101.
Done means done
Sen. Becker’s bill, SB457, would ensure that a city’s housing plan is considered compliant with state law the day it is approved by a city council, rather than when the state Housing and Community Development (HCD) gets around to approving it. Palo Alto found that once it sent its finished plan to the state, HCD sent it back for revisions, which kept the door open for Builder’s Remedy projects to roll in.
His bill would require developers to submit a complete plan that they seriously want to build. Right now, developers have been submitting speculative applications as placeholders.
The intention of the Builder’s Remedy law is to ensure that cities zone for an increase in housing, and Becker’s bill doesn’t change that. But it allows cities to stop rushed, haphazard development. Becker’s office says it believes the bill will be retroactive, meaning it would apply to Builder’s Remedy projects already proposed. I’m not sure the Legislature has the authority to do that, and the question of retroactivity might end up in court. But retroactivity is a goal worth pursuing given the potentially damaging effects of these projects on the surrounding area. Consider the traffic, water and sewer demand, air quality and shadows from a skyscraper.
A team effort
Palo Alto, Menlo Park and other city councils should jointly sponsor this bill to show the Legislature that this is a serious piece of legislation.
Palo Alto City Council was asked to sponsor Becker’s bill at a meeting on March 24, but council members said they wanted more time to study the legislation. It’s back on council’s agenda for tonight, and council should vote to sponsor this bill. Becker also should be praised for standing up to the big-money, pro-development interests that seem to have a hold on the Legislature.
Tariff dropped
A follow up to last week’s column about a proposed 25% tariff on Canada that would have raised the cost of the paper used to print the Post.
On Monday, I wrote that we’re perfectly willing to buy American paper, but there aren’t many mills producing paper used for printing newspapers. The increase would cause many community papers to either eliminate days of publication or layoff employees. In our case, the increase would equal the pay of one reporter.
On Tuesday, we learned from the White House that we were off the hook. The administration had decided it wouldn’t apply tariffs to products Canada exported that were in compliance with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), such as the paper used to print newspapers.
I was relieved we dodged this bullet. And I was heartened by the emails I got from worried readers. It’s great to know so many of you care about this newspaper. Thank you for your concern.
Editor Dave Price’s column appears on Mondays.
