Cover Story
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Students bike to school on Maybell Avenue in early October, passing a line of slow-moving cars. fordable housing for seniors, even though, technically, he “can.”
‘I’d argue there are lots of opportunities for seniors without cars to travel — to get on the bus, get off the bus, transfer from this area to a wide range of services.’ – Jean McCown, Sept. 28 debate
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roponents of Measure D claim the area around Maybell and Clemo has plenty of services and amenities for seniors. Opponents disagree. At the June 10 council meeting, area resident John Elman provided an oral catalog of oil-change services and motels in the area. The El Camino Real corridor has more than a dozen motels, some of which “entertain people for the whole night” and others are for people who have “an hour to kill or so.” Real amenities for seniors, he said, are sorely lacking. “I suggest you rezone parts of El Camino Real so you have a supermarket or a hardware store, if you’re in the rezoning business,” Elman said. McCown made an argument to
the contrary at the Sept. 28 debate on Measure D. She pointed to the Walgreens and Starbucks nearby and lauded Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus service, specifically Line 22, which runs up and down El Camino Real. “El Camino is really a transportation corridor that works very, very well,” she said. But though Walgreens offers groceries, it is “not like a supermarket,” McCown admitted. As for medical facilities? At a recent tour of the orchard, Gonzalez pointed to Planned Parenthood on San Antonio Road, which she stressed provides more than just birth-control and family-planning services. Gonzalez also noted that there would be synergies between the new development and the adjacent Arastradero Parks Apartments, a project for low-income families that is run by the Housing Corporation. There would be shared vans for runs to the grocery store. A residential-services coordinator would also be able to offer rides to seniors heading to medical appointments. Still, it’s a tall order to claim that the area is rich in accessible amenities for seniors. The site may be a short walk from El Camino, but it’s well south of both downtown and Town and Country Village. Planning and Transportation Commissioner Alex Panelli, who lives in south Palo Alto, was the
sole member of the commission to vote against the project largely on the basis of inadequate services. He said he doesn’t consider the amenities near the Maybell site to be “significant enough” to satisfy seniors’ needs.
‘This project, as a PC zone, will create as much or more traffic than existing zoning.’ – Bob Moss, Sept. 30 meeting of the City Council
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esidents have every right to be concerned about adding traffic to Maybell Avenue, a popular school route to Gunn High, Terman Middle and other schools. During the morning commute, a trail of slow-moving cars competes with groups of bicycling children for space on the narrow road. Things also get hairy in the afternoon when Gunn gets out, and its growing legion of bicyclists hits the streets. Otherwise, the road is quiet. On a recent weekday afternoon, the orchard site was perfectly serene, with silence occasionally punctuated by a cruising vehicle. At recent council meetings, proponents and opponents agreed that the traffic situation around Maybell and Clemo is far from
ideal. Barron Park resident Maurice Green, who opposes Measure D, and Councilman Marc Berman, who supports it, each showed videos to illustrate that same point. Green suggested the Maybell development would make the situation even worse. “Seniors may not drive very much, even during morning hours, but what about their caretakers, the staff that comes to the senior housing project to take care of them?” Another area resident, Kevin Hauck, lamented at a recent meeting that residents around Maybell are “forced to play defense about concerns that our kids are going to be in a very dangerous situation every morning and afternoon.” Unfortunately, unless the site remains an orchard (which neither side expects will happen), development is coming and with it more traffic. The big question is whether the Housing Corporation project would worsen commutehour traffic more than would a development built under existing zoning. City staff’s position on this matter has been unequivocal: Traffic caused by the Maybell project will be less. At the Arastadero Park Apartments, a low-income housing complex next to the orchard site, 55 percent of its senior tenants don’t drive, according to the Housing Corporation. Those who do drive, typically do it during non-rush hours.
At the Sheridan Senior Apartments, the only Housing Corporation development devoted exclusively to seniors, only one out of 66 seniors works, and the job is part-time, Gonzalez said. The Maybell development would generate 16 additional car trips during the morning peak hour and 21 during the evening commute, according to a city traffic study. By contrast, a 34-unit subdivision that could be built under existing zoning would generate 22 and 32 peak-hour trips in the morning and afternoon, respectively. If the subdivision were to get a “density bonus” to build 35 percent more housing units, the numbers would go up to 32 and 43, respectively, city Planner Tim Wong told the planning commission in May. Former planning director Curtis Williams said at the meeting that even if the Housing Corporation development produced twice as many cars as estimated, it’s “one car every five minutes at that location at most.” The city’s environmental analysis concludes that, with mitigation, “There would be no significant adverse impacts to traffic and circulation from the proposed project.” Hogwash, say opponents. Bob Moss pointed to a paper prepared by traffic engineer Stephen Corcoran and presented to the (continued on next page)
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