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A proposal to add hundreds of new homes to an existing apartment complex in Mountain View received the backing of the City Council Tuesday evening, despite some community concerns that the project could cause adverse environmental and public health impacts.
In a unanimous vote, the City Council approved a developer’s plan to construct three new multifamily residential buildings at 555 W. Middlefield Road, nearly doubling the amount of housing on the site. The project would not displace the property’s current residents, something that council members viewed favorably.
“It’s not a perfect project for many in our community, but I do think it is a very good project,” Council member Lucas Ramirez said at the March 24 meeting.
AvalonBay Communities is planning to build 226 new apartments and 97 condominiums across three buildings that will be four- and five-stories tall. Currently, the 14.5-acre site has 404 apartments, mostly in two- and three-story buildings, as well as surface parking lots and recreational amenities, like tennis courts. The new construction would result in 727 homes on the property, in addition to more than an acre of land for a future city park.
Council members generally supported the project, pointing out the community benefits it would provide. They noted that it would add much needed housing, including 86 affordable units for lower-income residents. They also highlighted the park as a valuable amenity, especially in a part of the city that lacks open space.
At the same time, several council members expressed concern about the loss of a dense vegetation barrier along the property line by State Route 85. AvalonBay plans to remove the greenery, including large mature trees and replace it with new plantings. This has alarmed residents who say the trees are a protective buffer, filtering noise and pollutants from the freeway.
“We can do better and smarter housing, and we can integrate the natural environment through better designs,” Mountain View resident Daniel Shane said. “This is not a better design.”
Other public commentators however backed the project, drawing attention to the region’s housing crisis and noting the potential environmental benefits.
“This is infill housing, which is almost universally an environmentally favorable situation,” Mountain View resident Edie Keating said. “One of the long term outcomes of this project will be fewer cars on 85 commuting into the region. This benefits our whole community.”
For their part, Council members acknowledged the public discontent about the vegetation barrier but said that their hands were tied because the project had advanced too far to make last-minute changes. They also noted the city was working on some of these issues through its long-anticipated biodiversity plan.
“I also value urban forestry,” Council member Alison Hicks said. “I do think we should see whether there are ways that we can pay attention to those upfront, not at the last minute when we can’t do anything about it.”
Project history and updates
For years, AvalonBay has been looking to redevelop the Middlefield property, as the original buildings were constructed in the 1960s. Located between Moffett Boulevard and State Route 85, the project fits in with city plans to encourage more residential growth in the area, including at the nearby Moffett Plaza shopping center, which is slated to become a six-story apartment complex.
The City Council originally approved the Middlefield project four years ago but it never got off the ground, largely because of financial constraints, according to Charlie Koch, AvalonBay’s development director.
“That project was proposed at a time that had significantly different economic conditions to the ones that we have today,” Koch said. “We went back to the drawing board and thought about how we could keep a project as close to the previously approved project as possible while improving project financial feasibility.”
Koch described parking as the biggest change from the original proposal. Rather than constructing three underground parking garages, AvalonBay now plans to build two above-ground parking structures, as well as surface parking. Koch framed the change as a benefit to the community, because the shift away from underground parking will mean less disruption and emissions during construction. The garages will also be concealed from public view and configured to face State Route 85, Koch said.
In total, AvalonBay is proposing to include 851 parking spaces, fewer than the 926 spots originally approved, according to the staff report. Council members were in favor of the change.
“We’re not going to build huge holes for the garages. They’re going to be above-ground, which is going to mean that the construction is much cleaner,” Council member Pat Showalter said. “It means that the time that you’re exposed to the air pollution that comes with construction is going to be shorter, which is important.”
Heritage tree removals raise concerns
Other community concerns centered on the removal of dozens of heritage trees, which are bigger mature trees protected by a city ordinance. AvalonBay has modified the project to keep a grove of redwoods intact, but still plans to cut down 88 heritage trees, most of which are located along State Route 85. It plans to replace the heritage trees with 212 new plantings, according to the staff report.
The prospect of adding more vehicles on the road, with the addition of the new apartment and condo units, also dismayed a few commenters who questioned whether Cypress Point Drive, which is a cul-de-sac, could handle the increased traffic flow.
City staff sought to reassure the public that the increase in traffic would not be significant, given that there are several access points to the property and commute times are staggered now with more people working from home since the pandemic.
Ultimately, Council members supported all the updates, with a few noting that the project was designed even better than when it was first approved in 2022. They also remarked that AvalonBay was providing several community benefits, including a $2 million contribution to the city.
“This is the kind of project that we would want to encourage,” Council member Ramirez said. “Especially as we see state laws utilized in the future, I think many of us will miss working with an applicant who provides this type of project over the next several years.”
We’re not going to build huge holes for the garages. They’re going to be above-ground, which is going to mean that the construction is much cleaner,” Council member Pat Showalter said
I would expect a more thoughtful comment from a civil engineer.
Holes in the ground aren’t bad. We build them all the time.