Vision
(continued from page 17)
The planning commission, which has just begun revising the Comprehensive Plan’s Housing chapter, is now considering radical changes to the section. The chapter’s current vision statement vaguely describes the city’s commitment to a “variety of housing opportunities” and the city’s “special emphasis” on “family housing and housing that addresses the health care, child care, transit, recreation and social service needs of all Palo Alto residents.” But given the recent glut of new housing and its lack of space for new developments, many believe that “family housing” is just about the last thing Palo Alto needs these days. Commissioner Arthur Keller has persistently argued the city has more than enough market-rate family housing and that the Comprehensive Plan should encourage affordable housing, small condos and residences for seniors and young professionals. Complicating matters, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), a regional agency charged with making sure Bay Area cities provide their “fair share” of housing for the region, has asked Palo Alto to build 2,860 new housing units by 2014 — a mandate that most city officials have all but dismissed as laughable, if not impossible. Councilman Larry Klein called the agency’s housing mandate “a 20th-century solution to a 21stcentury problem.” Burt said the numbers are based on the longgone boom days of the dot-com era. “There’s a recognition that the state housing authority mandates and ABAG mandates were pushed out in a period where there was rapid growth going on,” Burt said. “We’re in a period of contraction, but we’re still getting mandates for all types of housing.” But the city has reasons to pay attention to what regional planners are saying. Williams said cities that ignore ABAG requirements risk losing state funding for planning and transportation. The city’s nonprofit developers could have a harder time getting state grants. Rebellious cities also risk getting involved in legal battles with the state. In June, State Attorney General Jerry Brown sued Pleasanton because of the city’s housing cap. In October, California Supreme Court of Appeals ruled against Irvine after the city challenged a state mandate to zone for 35,000 units of housing by 2014 — a requirement that the city argued is impossible to meet. Irvine lost its case despite years of litigation and support from 20 other cities. Burt said the state has recently taken a more aggressive stance toward cities that shrug off the housing mandates. “Every year, the state is trying to create more and more hammers to make sure the cities toe the line on this,” Burt said. “Now, the trend is not just to sue the cities that ignored the state mandates, but to also go after cities that made the
effort but had the state disagree with their efforts.” Like a voice in the wilderness, Lippert has been the planning commission’s most vehement proponent of zoning for more housing. Last week, he split from the majority of the commission and argued that zoning for dense housing is a must, given state requirements. Building more housing, particularly near transportation hubs, would also help the city reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions, he argued. “If we don’t deal with the increase of housing in the community, if we don’t deal with the (state) demands that say we have to build more housing, then we’ll have to deal with more traffic because people will be commuting to this area,” Lippert said. “We’ll see diminished levels of service when it comes to roads and service.”
T
he debate over the Housing chapter, as well as the rest of the Comprehensive Plan, is expected to stretch over the next (continued on page 22)
Courtesy of the City of Palo Alto
Cover Story
The City of Palo Alto’s current planning efforts include transforming the area encompassing Charleston Road at Fabian Way.
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