BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
A divided Palo Alto Architectural Review Board gave the green light today (Aug. 21) to a six-story, 70-unit apartment building at the corner of University Avenue and Middlefield Road, despite pushback from neighbors over added traffic, construction noise and the trimming of a large oak tree.
Christopher Ream, representing the Hamilton Homeowners Association at 555 Byron St., said he’s worried future residents will drop a wine glass or a beer bottle onto the University Avenue sidewalk below, and an elderly neighbor will get hurt.
“It’s going to be a danger. A real, real danger,” Ream said at the meeting.
Board member Kendra Rosenberg asked architect Ted Korth if he would add glass panels to the balcony railings so that doesn’t happen.
Korth said he would consider it and pointed out that the balconies stop at the property line.
“I know there are buildings all over the world with balconies that extend beyond sidewalks, and I haven’t heard of problems from that,” he said.
Developer Boyd Smith has been trying to get his project approved since October 2021 and is on the twelfth version of his plans.
The proposal has gone from four stories to six stories, the driveway moved from Middlefield Road to Byron Street and the office space was reduced in favor of more apartments.
Resident Carol Gilbert called the building “silly putty” because it’s changed shape so much.
“I imagine you might be getting tired of seeing us here,” Smith told the board. “This is going to be a wonderful addition to downtown Palo Alto.”
The board voted 3-2 to recommend Palo Alto City Council approve the project, with the condition that five balconies facing the oak tree are removed.
Smith said the balconies wouldn’t affect the tree, and they’re a nice amenity to provide to renters.
“Everybody loves a balcony,” he said.
Smith encouraged the board to trust his arborist and the city’s arborist who said the oak tree would survive, even with trimming and construction. He said he’s spent hours of public hearings with non-experts debating the oak tree at 660 University Ave.
“It really is a huge, silly waste of time,” he said.
Faith Brigel, who has lived across the street in a one-story house for 38 years, encouraged Smith to go back to four stories.
“There are so many things that are wrong with this project,” she said. “No offense, but it’s ugly. It’s really ugly.”
Board members Marton Jojarth and David Hirsch voted against the project. Rosenberg, Yingxi Chen, and Mousam Adcock were in support.
Jojarth said he wanted to see more than 78 parking spaces and an area for delivery drivers, even if that means losing a couple apartments or some common space.
“The building is so large, I expect there’s going to be so much traffic,” Jojarth said.
78 parking spaces for 70 apartments — so no tenant has a partner or child who needs to get to work, no visitors, no service people, no delivery people…?
Just the type of underparking we need at such a major intersection near downtown to encourage shoppers and others to frequent downtown.