Council backs off of rule to block tall buildings near Caltrain

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

Palo Alto City Council tonight (June 15) backed off an emergency rule to block tall apartment buildings near Caltrain stations.

Housing advocates warned council that the rule would put the city at legal risk because council would need to declare an immediate threat to public safety.

“I have found no evidence presented that will allow me to make such a finding,” Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims said.

Developers will have a window from July 1 to 15 to propose buildings up to 95 feet within 200 feet of a Caltrain station, up to 75 feet within a quarter-mile and up to 65 feet within a half-mile. 

That affects areas around downtown, San Antonio Road and California Avenue, including a proposal for 37 apartments and two restaurants where Bank of the West used to be at 414 California Ave.

The city would have no choice but to approve projects under Senate Bill 79, a new state law by state Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco.

SB79 gives cities some flexibility to protect historic resources and to limit height and density to half of the law’s standards until January 2032. But Palo Alto’s limits won’t take effect for 30 days without the emergency declaration. 

Councilman Pat Burt wanted to pass the emergency rule so the city didn’t allow a window for larger developments.

“The representations by members of the community that somehow us looking at this in a deliberate manner means we’re against transit-oriented development is false. And it’s demonstrably false. And we will continue to show that it’s false,” Burt said.

Mayor Vicki Veenker and Vice Mayor Greer Stone agreed with Lythcott-Haims, worried that an application to be designated as a pro-housing city would fail. Councilman Ed Lauing ended up on their side. 

Councilmen Keith Reckdahl and George Lu were recused from the discussion.

SB79 affects 325 acres around downtown, including the Stanford Shopping Center and neighborhoods south of Forest Avenue.

Realistically, SB79 could add around 1,600 apartments downtown because many lots are too small to be developed, Planning Director Jonathan Lait said in a report for council.

California Avenue could get about 900 apartments from SB79, and the area by Mountain View’s San Antonio Caltrain station could get 200 apartments, Lait said.