Upfront DEATHS
Former planning commission chair Eduardo Martinez dies Architect lauded for service to Palo Alto, as well as for his ethics and kind manner
E
duardo Martinez, a soft-spoken architect who chaired Palo Alto’s Planning and Transportation Commission before stepping down earlier this year, died last week after a battle with cancer. Martinez, known for his sense of humor and passion for social justice and land-use transparency, served on the commission from 2009 to 2014. He spent much of his tenure assisting the city with its update of the Comprehensive Plan and with reviewing some of the most contentious recent developments, including Lytton Gateway and the housing development proposed for Maybell Avenue. He co-authored a memo urging the city to reform its planned-community zoning process and was one of several commissioners who opposed changing a policy that discouraged commissioners from talking to developers (the policy was nevertheless changed). He died on July 2, according
to his niece Linda Martinez. He was 67. Though invariably calm, Martinez was occasionally outspoken, as when he called Stanford University arrogant for not taking seriously enough the College Terrace neighborhood’s concerns about added traffic from Stanford’s proposed housing complex on California Avenue. He frequently cited Comprehensive Plan policies in challenging development proposals. On April 21, in his final speech in the Council Chambers, Martinez told the City Council that it’s time to “reinvent� the way the city reviews new developments and the city should solicit feedback on new proposals earlier in the process. Martinez urged the council to listen to the public rather than “have the attitude that we know what we’re doing and if only the public understood this, they’d go along with us.� “I believe we do know what we’re doing. But I think our in-
ability to take a position where we suspend what we believe and look at a planning development in a different way without the preconception that we have, I think we would come a lot closer to reaching a consensus or coming up with better ideas for how we can come together as a community than we have shown in the past.â€? In honor of his service, the City Council passed a resolution of appreciation in April, lauding him for “raising awareness and understanding of ‘public benefit,’ social justice in land-use policies and supporting principles of good urban design and community planning.â€? “He was conscientious, diligent, thoughtful, patient, supportive and lighthearted,â€? the resolution states. “Eduardo’s sense of humor lightened up contentious and controversial issues of great potential importance to the city, and he welcomed contributions from the public, colleagues on the commisÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠÂŁ{)
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by Gennady Sheyner
Eduardo Martinez
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