Upfront
Car camping
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ance with city code and to be remodeled, provided the remodeling does not result in increased floor area and does not shift the building footprint. The ordinance also prohibits “any other increase in the size of the improvement,� Burt noted. Trading basement square footage for above-ground square footage, as proposed, is not an equal exchange and violates the city’s grandfathered uses ordinance, he said. Councilman Larry Klein agreed with Burt. “There is hardly ever just one way to read an ordinance or law. If that was the case, we’d never have any disputes in court,� Klein said. But, he added, “I believe staff misread the ordinance.� Rapp maintains the wing is not adding square footage to the building. The existing basement, currently used for storage and work space, would be converted to nine parking spaces and would no longer count as square footage. The rearrangement would result in a net-zero gain in floor area for the building itself, according to the developer’s plans. Council members did praise the work that Rapp has done with other buildings, which have been elegant and respectful of historical design, they repeatedly said. But the project vote was indicative of a growing intolerance of broad redevelopment interpretations that have eroded public trust on issues such as overly dense developments with inadequate parking. “Roxy — Mr. Rapp — puts together good projects, but your particular project is a tipping point,� Councilwoman Karen
William Abrams — managing partner of the Palo Alto law office of Steptoe & Johnson and a consulting professor at Stanford University who represents Palo Alto car campers — said he was heartened by the ruling. “I think (the ruling) will apply completely if we were to have to go to court,� he said. “We would invalidate the Palo Alto law by the reasoning of Judge Pregerson and his opinion.� He added that he hopes to avoid litigation and will be talking with Stump in the coming days about the ruling. The statute is objectionable because it doesn’t criminalize behavior, but rather status, Abrams said. The police power of the local government has laws in place to address disturbances, healthrelated issues or threats — one’s conduct — but that does not include one’s status, he said. Safford also said one aspect of the judges’ ruling jumped out to him: that the Los Angeles law promotes arbitrary enforcement that targets the homeless. In the Desertrain case, the judges wrote: “Arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement is exactly what has occurred here. The law is broad enough to cover any driver in Los Angeles who eats food or transports personal belongings in his or her vehicle. Yet it appears to be applied only to the homeless.� Safford agreed. “When grandma and grandpa are traveling to Seattle in their RV and they pass through Palo Alto, they will be violating the law,� he said. “When I stop to get a cheeseburger and eat in my car, I’m violating the law. But the reality is
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Hamilton Ave.
Developer Roxy Rapp’s application to renovate 261 Hamilton Ave. in Palo Alto, adding a three-story wing along Centennial Walk, was turned down by the City Council. Holman said. Rapp also asked to change the building’s historic classification from the current Category 3 historic resource to the higher Category 2 standard. Following reclassification, he could request 15,000 square feet of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) because the building will undergo historic rehabilitation. TDRs allow a property owner to sell that square footage to another developer to expand a project beyond what is allowed under zoning for the property. Klein and Holman also touched upon the public benefit of the applicant’s request to change the building’s historical status to the stronger Category 2. The developer would certainly receive a large benefit by receiving TDRs that he could sell, but the public benefit would be a historically renovated building that is upgraded to modern safety and disability standards, and money from TDRs helps offset the significant cost of
renovation, Holman said. Rapp said Monday that the building needs significant safety upgrades, including an elevator that would accommodate an ambulance gurney and more stairwells allowing occupants to escape in an emergency. The building would also have restrooms that are accessible to people with disabilities. Councilwoman Gail Price, who cast the dissenting vote, said she supported the project and the historic-category change. Rapp’s project was a creative proposal that would beautify the area, she said. The council vote allows Rapp to return with a revised proposal. The revisions could require him to return to the Historic Resources and Architectural Review boards, which both previously recommended approval of the project. In an effort to curb further broad interpretations for other projects, the council’s vote also incorporated the more restrictive interpretation of the ordinance. N
that grandma and grandpa are not going to be prosecuted.� Chuck Jagoda, a man who has lived in his car, said Palo Alto police have been kind and have avoided hassling homeless people, unlike police in some other local cities. But he opposes the ordinance. “A ban puts people who are already in financial peril only more so, as the court has pointed out. “Subtracting resources from the situation is evidence of a lack of understanding of the on-the-ground reality or such strong fear as to react madly — without forethought or consideration,� he said. The Palo Alto City Council “deserves credit for their restraint in staying the enforcement of the dreaded and draconian vehiclehabitation ban they passed 7-2 last Aug. 5,� he added. But Jagoda would have liked the council to not have enacted the ordinance in the first place, he said. “As the Desertrain decision makes clear, it would be discriminatory to enforce rules against homeless people that are not enforced against home dwellers,� Jagoda said. Owen Byrd, a former planning commissioner and board member of the nonprofit Downtown Streets Team, offered his reaction to the ruling. “Discrimination against any group — especially the poor — has no place in Palo Alto. I hope this legal decision has policy impacts and persuades the City Council to remove the vehiclehabitation ordinance from our municipal code,� he said. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said the city won’t continue litigation over its ordinance. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.
Richard Warrington Dorst October 25, 1925 - June 10, 2014
Tie-dye T-shirts for blood donors! Palo Alto Center only: Monday, June 30 – Saturday, July 5
Grateful Life Tour BBQ Palo Alto – Wednesday, July 2 Enjoy a burger or hot dog after you pick up a tie-dye T-shirt! For Mountain View dates visit our website. Menlo Park Center 445 Burgess Drive Palo Alto Center 3373 Hillview Avenue Mountain View Center 515 South Drive, Suite 20
bloodcenter.stanford.edu | 888-723-7831 Part of Stanford University School of Medicine.
Richard “Dickâ€? Dorst passed away peacefully after a brief illness. He was a fourthgeneration Californian born in San Francisco in 1925 to Catherine Woolsey and James Dorst. Dick graduated from UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School, serving in WWII in between. During his lifetime he was co-founder of the Dorsett Boat Company, trustee of the Sequoia Union High School District, church elder and bible study teacher, tennis player on the senior circuit, avid y ďŹ sherman, and President of Aquaculture Corporation. He was a member of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, the Menlo Circus Club, YPO, and E Clampus Vitus. Dick is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ann, his sons Jim (Amy) and Chris (Marybeth), daughter, Jane (Peter Clark), his daughter-in-law Suzanne Montgomery and was “Popeyeâ€? to 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. For a more complete obituary, please visit http:// spanglermortuary.com/obituaries.htm PA I D
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OBITUARY