ATTACHMENT E – CONSISTENCY WITH NVCAP GOALS & OBJECTIVES Consistency documents can be found at: www.cityofpaloalto.org/nvcap Table 1: NVCAP Goals
Goals
Consistency
Housing and Land Use
Add to the City’s supply of multifamily
housing, including market rate, affordable,
“missing middle,” and senior housing in a
walkable, mixed use, transit-accessible
neighborhood, with retail and commercial
services, open space, and possibly arts and
entertainment uses.
Chapter 2 (Vision) illustrates the overall NVCAP
goals with different strategies. Section 2.2 (Land
Use) includes urban design and land use
frameworks that calibrate the optimal mix of
uses, and provides different types of multi-family
and mixed-use development. Section 2.2 also
specifies the land use program endorsed by the
City Council, which includes additional 530
dwelling units, a new park, and a net reduction of
nonresidential uses. The NVCAP envisions a
walkable neighborhood with better circulation
and community amenities along with mobility
framework (Section 2.4) and ecological
framework (Section 2.5).
Transit, Pedestrian and Bicycle Connections
Create and enhance well-defined
connections to transit, pedestrian, and
bicycle facilities, including connections to the
Caltrain station, Park Boulevard and El
Camino Real.
Section 2.4 (Mobility) of Chapter 2 (Vision)
emphasizes well-balanced and safe streets, with
pedestrian and bicycle facilities designed for all
ages and accessible paths to transit within the
plan area and beyond. Chapter 4 (Accessibility
and Mobility) includes gateway intersection
concept design and street design that would
support achieving these goals. Chapter 4 also
includes standards and guidelines for pedestrian
realm (Section 4.1), Bike Network (Section 4.2),
Transit Access (Section 4.5) and Vehicle
Circulation and Parking (Section 4.6), and TDM
Strategies (Section 4.7) to support the mobility
framework.
Connected Street Grid
Create a connected street grid, filling in
sidewalk gaps and street connections to
California Avenue, the Caltrain Station, and El
Camino Real where appropriate.
Community Facilities and Infrastructure
Carefully align and integrate development of
new community facilities and infrastructure
with private development, recognizing both
the community’s needs and that such
investments can increase the cost of housing.
To achieve the goal of carefully integrating new
community facilities and infrastructure with
private development, the plan incorporates
several key elements. Standards and guidelines
across Chapter 4 (Accessibility and Mobility) and
Chapter 5 (Parks and Open Space) ensure new
developments seamlessly connect with planned
infrastructure like pedestrian paths, bicycle
facilities, a public park, and naturalization of
Goals
Consistency
Matadero creek. The mobility framework (Section
2.4) and ecological framework (Section 2.5)
further integrate these elements by strategically
placing them alongside private development.
Chapter 3 (Public Realm) provides additional
standards and guidelines that support the
community needs.
Balance of Community Interests
Balance community-wide objectives with the
interests of neighborhood residents and
minimize displacement of existing residents.
Section 2.2 (Land Use) describes different types
of land uses, development types, as well as
ground floor uses that should include commercial
uses. These include community serving retail and
commercial that would support additional
housing envisioned in the plan area. In addition,
Chapter 5 (Parks and Open Space) includes
standards and guidelines that would guide
development of a new park and naturalization of
Matadero creek to provide outdoor and
recreational facilities.
Urban Design, Design Guidelines and
Neighborhood Fabric
Develop human-scale urban design
strategies, and design guidelines that
strengthen and support the neighborhood
fabric. Infill development will respect the
scale and character of the surrounding
residential neighborhood.
In addition to NVCAP zoning ordinance, the
NVCAP document also includes various sections
and chapters that would contribute to well-
balanced and human-scale development to
strengthen and support the neighborhood fabric:
• Chapter 2.6 (Urban Form)
• Chapter 3 (Public Realm),
• Chapter 4 (Accessibility and Mobility)
• Chapter 5 (Parks and Open Space)
• Chapter 6 (Site and Building Design)
• Chapter 7 (Implementation)
Table 2: NVCAP Objectives
Objectives
Consistency
Data Driven Approach:
Employ a data-driven approach that considers
community desires, market conditions and
forecasts, financial feasibility, existing uses
and development patterns, development
The NVCAP was developed with numerous
technical and background reports, including but
not limited to:
• Existing Conditions Report
• Matadero Creek Renaturalization Report
Objectives
Consistency
capacity, traffic and travel patterns,
historic/cultural and natural resources, need
for community facilities (e.g., schools), and
other relevant data to inform plan policies.
• Economic Feasibility Report by Strategic
Economics
• 340 Portage Ave Historic Resource
Evaluation
• NVCAP Windshield Survey and Preliminary
Historic Resource Eligibility Analysis
• Memoranda on VMT and Traffic Analysis
These technical and background reports are
available at the project website:
www.cityofpaloalto.org/nvcap.
Comprehensive User-Friendly Document and
Implementation:
Create a comprehensive but user -friendly
document that identifies the distribution,
location and extent of land uses, planning
policies, development regulations and design
guidelines to enable development and
needed infrastructure investments in the
project area.
The overall document includes graphics, color,
tables organized for optimal readability. The
document is color coded for better navigation
and also includes a table of contents in the
beginning of the document as well as each
chapter to make the document user-friendly.
Guide and Strategy for Staff and Decision
Makers:
Provide a guide and strategy for staff and
decision-makers to bridge the gap between
the goals and policies of the Comprehensive
Plan and individual development projects in
order to streamline future land use and
transportation decisions.
Chapter 2 (Vision) serves as the foundation,
outlining the NVCAP's overall framework,
including land use, mobility, and ecological
design. Chapter 7 (Implementation) then
provides a clear roadmap by detailing specific
actions and funding strategies that will translate
the vision into reality. In addition, individual
development projects may be able to utilize the
environmental analysis provided in the
Supplemental Environmental Impact Report to
streamline the entitlement process.
Meaningful Community Engagement:
Enable a process with meaningful
opportunities for community engagement,
within the defined timeline, and an outcome
(the CAP document) that reflects the
community’s priorities.
Section 1.7 (The Community Process) of the
NVCAP describes the extensive community
engagement process that contributed to
development of the NVCAP. Information related
public engagement throughout the entire plan
process can be found at the project website:
www.cityofpaloalto.org/nvcap.
Objectives
Consistency
Economic Feasibility:
A determination of the economic and fiscal
feasibility of the plan with specific analysis of
marketplace factors and incentives and
disincentives, as well as a cost-benefit analysis
of public infrastructure investments and
projected economic benefits to the City and
community.
An economic feasibility study was prepared in
November 2020 which assessed three land use
alternatives (Alternatives 1-3). In March 2021, a
supplemental economic feasibility study was
prepared to assess the shortfall or funding gap
for one of lower-density alternatives (Alternative
2) and the economic feasibility of increasing the
inclusionary requirement above 15% for
Alternative 3.
Environmental:
A plan that is protective of public health and a
process that complies with the requirements
of the California Environmental Quality Act.
A Supplemental Environmental Impact Report
was prepared for the NVCAP. Impacts to
historical resources and air quality were found
significant and unavoidable. The statement of
overriding considerations was prepared
containing a list of the benefits that the project
will bring to the City consistent with General Plan
and NVCAP policies, and included in the
Resolution. In addition, the following sections of
the NVCAP supports environmental and
sustainable design of the neighborhood:
• Section 2.5 (Ecology and Sustainability)
• Section 3.3 (Green Infrastructure)
• Chapter 5 (Parks and Open Space)
• Section 6.5 (Sustainable Design)