|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Seniors and members of the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center turned out in full force last week to protest a multifamily housing development in south Palo Alto that would run up against their properties.
With five stories of 273 apartments above two stories of parking, the project from Juno Realty Partners near the Mountain View border hopes to make a significant dent in the city’s housing goals, as set forth by the state. To make the development feasible, Juno would consolidate six existing parcels into one at 3997 Fabian Way, exceeding the city’s projected 147 units for the combined parcels at the expense of fewer affordable homes. Only 12 units, or 5% of the total development, would be reserved for very-low-income families under the proposal.
But among those who oppose the project, affordability is not the chief concern. 3997 Fabian Way is adjacent to the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center to the north and the Moldaw Residences senior living facility to the east, and members of each complex expressed their issues with the project at the city’s Architectural Review Board hearing on Aug. 20.
Zach Bodner, the CEO of the JCC, highlighted security concerns because some of the project’s units would have a direct line of sight to the community center’s outdoor pool where future residents could project antisemitic or “intensely anti-Israel” messaging.
“We recognize that residents have a right to express their own political view from their homes, including through signs, banners and flags, but because of the extraordinary proximity of this building, those displays could become an unavoidable and persistent part of the environment experienced by families, children and members at the JCC,” he told the architectural board.
Several speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting said they support the idea of new housing at the project site, but suggested that the current proposal would create health and safety risks for seniors at the Moldaw Residences. Dozens of seniors from Moldaw, many wearing leis to signify their joint position, attended the meeting in person.
While architectural board members encouraged the developers to take neighborhood concerns into account, they ultimately had little authority to alter the design or structure.
One of the few ways that the city could force the developers to redesign the project is if officials find the proposal would cause substantial health and safety impacts. Those opposed to the project attempted to prove these impacts by invoking the shadows that would be cast by the building and a potential increase in traffic, which could delay emergency response times.
“We’re not asking you to substitute subjective architectural preference for state housing law. We are asking you to look carefully at the consequences of the design before you,” said architect Randy Popp, who also previously served on the architectural board.
However, city staff cautioned that the developer submitted another proposal for the site under builder’s remedy, a provision of state law that kicks in when a city misses the deadline for a state-mandated, eight-year housing plan, also called the Housing Element. Builder’s remedy allows developers to submit projects that far exceed local height and density restrictions, while also limiting a city’s ability to deny such projects.
“As far as you can do something, I’m sure it would be appreciated, and we just appeal to your civility and collaboration,” said Board member Marton Jojarth.
It’s not uncommon for developers in Palo Alto and elsewhere to use a builder’s remedy application as a backstop in case the original project faces opposition from city leaders. The builder’s remedy version is taller and bigger, with 350 units at eight stories tall.
It is also part of a recent wave of housing projects planned for the industrial area around San Antonio Road, where the City Council hopes to create a new residential neighborhood. Other nearby projects include an eight-story complex with 228 units at 762 San Antonio Road; a 174-unit project at 800 San Antonio Road; and a 168-unit complex at 788 San Antonio Road.
The Fabian project will now go to Planning and Development Director Jonathan Lait for approval, but his decision could also be appealed by the city based on concerns such as the risks to health and safety of neighbors.
“While it’s not required that you design for your neighbors, it is something that we commonly practice, because architecture is integrative, it’s a piece of the fabric of the city,” said Board member Kendra Rosenberg. “We are between a rock and a hard place here, and our hands are somewhat tied because of the way the state has written rules … and I would hope that you guys as humans, as a company and as an architectural facility take that into account.”
