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LAND USE
Lifetimes of Achievement
Developer fights for south Palo Alto housing
2011
SummerHill Homes alleges commission unlawfully rejected housing plan
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by Gennady Sheyner
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developer whose proposal to build a 23-home community in south Palo Alto was rejected by the city’s planning commission last month is now protesting the decision and claiming the school district’s interest in the property unduly influenced city staff. The city’s Planning and Transportation Commission voted March 23 to recommend that the City Council deny a proposal by SummerHill Homes, LLC, to build a residential community at 525 San Antonio Road, present site of Peninsula Day Care. The plan faced opposition from the nearby Greenmeadow and Greendell neighborhoods, with dozens of residents claiming at the commission meetings that the area cannot accommodate more housing. SummerHill argued the project would provide a perfect “transition� between the single-family houses in the nearby Eichler communities and the dense, multi-family housing developments on San Antonio. The company also cited the proximity to Charleston Shopping Center on Middlefield Road as a good reason for bringing more housing to the area. SummerHill sought to placate the community by reducing the number of houses from 26 to 23 and by positioning seven one-story houses between the existing residences and the 16 proposed two-story houses. But the planning commission voted 6-1, with Eduardo Martinez dissenting, against the development, with the majority agreeing the proposal is inconsistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan and that the area doesn’t have sufficient public transportation and amenities to justify the density of the housing.
The council is scheduled to review the project Monday (May 2). SummerHill is alleging that the commission’s rejection had “no reasonable basis.� The company’s attorney, Michael Patrick Durkee from the firm Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis, sent the city a letter challenging the commission’s denial and arguing that SummerHill’s proposal “will conform to the city’s planning and zoning regulations and promotes the city’s critical goal of providing adequate housing.� Durkee wrote that the commission’s finding that the project is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan — the city’s official land-use bible — is “not a basis for denial� because the application seeks to amend the Comprehensive Plan. He calls the commission’s denial of the application based on the Comprehensive Plan a “circular argument.� “By definition, an amendment proposal is inconsistent with what it seeks to amend,� Durkee wrote. The letter also alleges that the city’s opposition to SummerHill’s zone change was influenced by the Palo Alto Unified School District’s interest in the property. The Peninsula Day Care site abuts the rear of the Greendell School property, which in turn is next to the district’s Cubberley campus. With recent housing growth in south Palo Alto, district officials have been eyeing the 2.65-acre property as a possible site for a new school facility. The day care center is slated to close in May after 37 years in operation. In January, school district Superintendent Kevin Skelly wrote the city a letter expressing the district’s “potential interest� in acquiring the site.
Skelly specified, however, that the school district’s board has not made any formal decisions about buying the property. “We understand that SummerHill Homes, Inc., is currently under contract with property owner, A&D Protocol, Inc., to purchase the property,� Skelly wrote. “Should development on the property be proposed by any party, including the owner or SummerHill, we wanted to emphasize the fact that (the district) has not made a decision to acquire the site, and the City should feel free to process any applications for development as it otherwise would.� But Durkee claims in his letter that Palo Alto’s planning staff has “informed SummerHill that the District’s interest in the project site is the primary reason for the City’s abandonment of support for the project.� To investigate the matter further, Durkee’s firm has submitted a Public Records Act request to the city to get more information about the project. “Based on the events that have transpired, the concern is that the City intends to either delay the application or deny the project so that the District can obtain the Property at a reduced price,� Durkee wrote. Palo Alto’s planning director, Curtis Williams, disputed this assertion. “This was not based on the schooldistrict issue,� Williams said, referring to the staff’s recommendation to deny the application. “It was based on the Comprehensive Plan direction we got from the council.� In May 2010, council members agreed that new developments should be focused within half a mile of Cal-
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COMMUNITY
Holiday Fund recipients awarded $232K in grants Funding raised by the community supports local nonprofits
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Foundation, which received $17,500 as the second part of a threeyear grant to fund books and furniture for the new Mitchell Park Library. Other speakers included East Palo Alto Kids Foundation board member Lou Pelosi, Palo Alto Art Center Foundation Director Joe Tuohy and Palo Alto Family YMCA Senior Program Director Danny Koba, each of whose organizations received $5,000 grants. A complete list of recipients is available on www. PaloAltoOnline.com. N — Karla Kane
Veronica Weber
rants totaling $232,000 were awarded to 44 local nonprofits Monday (April 25) thanks to donations raised by the 17th annual Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund Drive. Donors numbering 430, plus support from the David and Lucile Packard, William and Flora Hewlett and Perry & Arrillaga Family foundations, raised funds for programs supporting local youths and families. Grantees include Environmental Volunteers, which received $3,000 to support volunteer staffing at Baylands Interpretive Center, and Youth Community Service, which received $7,500 to support camp scholarships and service clubs at eight local schools, among other programs. At the honorees reception Monday evening, speakers included Alison Cormack of the Palo Alto Library
Alison Cormack of the Palo Alto Library Foundation speaks about the progress of the new construction at the different library branches during the 2011 Holiday Fund Reception at the Palo Alto Weekly on April 25.
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