PALO ALTO — Officials are set to consider a proposal on Monday to turn three buildings on San Antonio Road near the Mountain View border into a five-story building with 75 condos, according to a staff report.
During a study session Monday, city council members will preliminarily evaluate the developer’s request to rezone the area, replace a day spa, learning center and youth club in order to construct the 75 market-rate units and a below-grade parking garage with 141 spaces. Residential amenities will include a co-working space, an 83-bicycle parking room, gym and open-air court-yard. The 75 units will be split up into even one-bedrooms, 53 two-bedrooms and 15 three bedrooms.
A staff report ahead of Monday’s meeting says “this prescreening applications responds to the city council’s expressed interest in learning from home builders what it takes to create more housing opportunities in Palo Alto” and is the latest example of the Planned Home Zone strategy the council has endorsed since 2020.
Planned Home Zoning is a tool the city council has been relying on for years to expedite housing projects, offering developers flexibility on development standards such as height, density and parking requirements in exchange for 20% affordable housing. The council also holds “prescreening” sessions to make the process quicker, but the strategy has had mixed effects over the years with some projects on shaky ground or withdrawn even after negotiations with the city on building standards.
For the development to move forward, the council must first approve several aspects of the construction which are currently not allowed under city code. For example, the project is near the Greenhouse multi-family residential development but not adjacent to any existing apartment buildings.
Compared to the existing zoning, the applicant is requesting that the council approve increases in floor area, density, lot coverage and height. Specifically, the applicant is requesting to exceed the 50-foot height limit by 10 feet, increased density of 75 units where 26 units would be allowed, 68% lot coverage where 50% is allowed, and two less parking spots than are required.
The staff report also notes that the developer does not expect to replace existing retail and retail-like uses.
“Pre-screenings are intended to solicit early feedback on proposed projects and, like all study sessions, cannot result in any formal action,” the staff report says. “Therefore, informal comments from council members would not impart policy. That said, there is interest among other home builders and property owners to learn of the council’s initial reaction to the subject request, which may influence the filing of future prescreening requests.”
Also, staff say the council’s feedback Monday on key requests such as the height limit and floor area will inform city staff if there in interest in changing the zoning in the area, which could have “policy implications.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com