City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: ACTION ITEMS
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Meeting Date: February 3, 2025
Report #:2501-4018
TITLE
REINTRODUCED FIRST READING: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Palo Alto Municipal Code Title 18 (Zoning) and Title 21 (Subdivisions and Other Divisions of Land) to Clarify Existing Regulations and to Implement State Housing Laws Adopted in 2023 and Earlier, Including Parking Requirements Near Transit Stations in Accordance with AB 2097. CEQA Status ‐ Exempt Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). (PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED: November 12, 2024 PASSED 6-1, Kou no; and Pulled from Consent Calendar on December 16, 2024)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Adopt or modify the attached ordinance that clarifies existing land use regulations and implements State housings laws adopted in 2023 and earlier.
BACKGROUND
This report transmits an ordinance implementing six state laws from the 2023 State legislative cycle or earlier. Some minor clean up amendments are also included unrelated to State law that do not have any meaningful policy implications but clarify existing municipal code provisions.
This ordinance was introduced on November 12, 2024, following prior discussion by the Planning and Transportation Commission and tangential Council discussion during deliberation of the North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan earlier in the year – at least with respect to AB 2097. AB 2907 is a state law that precludes local vehicle parking requirements for development within one-half of a mile from transit stations. On November 12, 2024, the City Council directed staff to require accessible and electric vehicle parking based on the amount of parking that would have been required had AB 2097 not been enacted. Prior to this direction, staff only applied accessible and electric vehicle parking based on the amount of parking actually provided on-site as part of a development.
Other state laws addressed in the ordinance were discussed by Council but did not solicit the same engagement as AB 2097 and required no ordinance changes. On December 16, 2024, staff placed the subject ordinance, requiring accessible and electric vehicle parking based on
the amount of parking that would have been required had AB 2097 not been enacted, on the consent calendar as a re-introduction and first reading as opposed to a second reading due to unanswered policy questions that arose from the Council’s motion following the hearing. Staff addressed those issues as described in the attached December 16th report. Also available online for additional context is the November 12, 2024 staff report.1 The City Council received one comment letter related to the re-introduced ordinance on the December 16th consent calendar encouraging the City Council to reconsider its policy direction on AB 2097. The item was pulled from the agenda by then Vice Mayor Lauing and Councilmembers Lythcott-Haims and Tanaka for future discussion.
Note – the attached ordinance differs slightly from the version presented on December 16, 2024; one of the code amendments previously included in this ordinance was consolidated into another ordinance amending the same code section, which was adopted by the Council in January 2025.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Ordinance Amending Palo Alto Municipal Code Title 18 (Zoning) and Title 21 (Subdivisions and Other Divisions of Land) to Clarify Existing Regulations and to Implement Recent State Housing Laws
Attachment B: December 16, 2024 Staff Report (w/o ordinance attachment) Attachment C: Comment Letter (AB 2097)
APPROVED BY:
Jonathan Lait, Planning and Development Services Director 1 November 12, 2024 Staff Report: https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=104911&repo=r- 704298fc&searchid=928bcf39-a111-4afe-a184-01d9e16eb6b5