Council Action Agenda Responses
Dear Mayor and Council Members,
On behalf of City Manager Ed Shikada, please see staff responses below for questions from Mayor Lauing on the Monday, April 14 Council Meeting.
Action Item 12: 70 Encina Avenue
1. Provide more detail on the shift in understanding in regards to housing being allowed at Town & Country.
Staff response: There seems to have been a previous understanding from Town & Country that housing would not be allowed at the shopping center. It is not clear whether this originated from prior statements by the City or was simply the property owner's interpretation of the Comprehensive Plan.
Specifically, Comprehensive Plan Policy L2.4.4 contains the statement "Conversion to residential capacity should not be considered in Town and Country Village." When staff reviewed this policy in context of the subject project, however, it was determined that the primary purpose of the policy was to preserve the commercial uses at Town & Country; the proposed residential development does not conflict with this goal because it does not convert a commercial use to residential use. This perspective has been consistently shared by staff with regard to the subject project. The 2022 Prescreening report for this project includes the same language included in subsequent reports on the topic:
“These [Comprehensive Plan] policy statements seek to preserve or retain existing amenities and commercial floor area but the concept to convert portion of the surface parking lot to housing does not appear inconsistent with these Comprehensive Plan polices. Specifically, the proposal does not reduce commercial floor area or otherwise impede the vitality of the Town & Country Village. Arguably the placement of a new residential structure at the subject location disrupts the availability of parking spaces and requires consideration of drive aisle re-alignment, but this also holds true if the independently owned parcel were
developed with commercial uses. Moreover, adding housing to this location may actually prove beneficial to the Town & Country Village as it introduces new residents that could shop at the market and enjoy many of the other restaurants and retail stores
Council Action Agenda Responses
within the immediate proximity.” (September 12, 2022 Council Report, Packet Page 22)
Notably, in the past, a broader redevelopment at Town & Country to create housing would have required substantial reconfiguration of their available parking. Now, due to AB 2097, which went into effect after the prescreening, there is somewhat more flexibility for the amount of parking Town & Country is required to provide.
2. Provide additional explanation of the 3-3 vote from PTC in February.
Staff response: Additional details are included in the report, though it is after the text of the motion – “Discussion also included support for more green space and a larger rear setback. During public comment, the Ellis Partners representative reiterated prior remarks about potential redevelopment of the north parking lot.
While such a project would undergo standard Planning review, its possibility gave some commissioners pause.” (Packet Page 219).
More specifically, some ARB boardmembers and PTC commissioners were swayed by Ellis Partner’s suggestion that a joint project might be proposed, to the extent that they did not support the subject project in isolation. Meanwhile, other ARB boardmembers and PTC commissioners expressed support for Ellis Partner’s proposal to build housing alongside the 70 Encina parcels, but did not believe such inchoate plans should preclude approval of this project, nor that approval of this project would preclude future collaboration on a joint proposal. It should be reiterated that Ellis Partners leases some of the parcels abutting Encina Avenue but does not own them. The property owner for multiple properties that are included in Ellis Partner’s conceptual plan has not provided any input on this proposal.
3. Clarify consistency of multifamily housing with Comprehensive Plan designation.
Staff response: The Community Commercial Land Use Designation definition states, “Consistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s encouragement of housing near transit centers, higher density multi-family housing may be allowed in specific locations.”
Council Action Agenda Responses
The staff report analyzes whether this particular parcel is an appropriate location for housing, based on its context within the CC Land Use Designation and the rest of the neighborhood. “This project is consistent with this designation, as it proposes housing within a half mile of the Palo Alto Caltrain Station and Transit Center.” Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan is further analyzed on packet page 234- 236 as a part of Architectural Review Finding #1.