City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: ACTION ITEMS
Lead Department: Community Services
Meeting Date: April 21, 2025
Report #:2503-4310
TITLE
Review and Authorize Initiation of Community Poll Number One Themes for the Cubberley Master Plan Project and Receive an Update on the Project Workplan; CEQA Status - the Master Plan will undergo CEQA review.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) review themes and authorize staff to initiate Community Poll Number One related to the Cubberley Master Plan Project, and (2) receive an update on the Cubberley Project Workplan.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Public opinion research and community and stakeholder engagement are integral components of the Cubberley Project workplan. These components are designed with a goal of establishing a time bound iterative approach with multiple community touchpoints to develop the Cubberley Master Plan and placement of a measure on the November 2026 ballot. Results from this poll will inform milestones throughout the Cubberley Project workplan and planned engagements on the future of the community center campus located at 4000 Middlefield Road.
The focus of the first poll is to survey voter input on the goals and future of the community center and possible support for a tax or bond measure. This Council item seeks to gain concurrence with the specific themes that will be tested and to receive Council direction to initiate polling. The draft outline of polling themes (Attachment A) was reviewed by the Cubberley Ad Hoc Committee twice and incorporates the Committee’s input. The planned launch of this poll is the last week of April, with results available mid-May.
The staff report also outlines additional work plan updates, including the outcome of the first of three Community Meetings (Attachment B) that will inform development of a revised Cubberley Master Plan by March 2026.
BACKGROUND
Extensive foundational work has been completed to support advancement of the Cubberley Project, including several actions by the City Council. This work sets the stage for the current phase of the project and provides important context for the recommendations in this report. A summary of these actions and the history of the Cubberley site can be found in Attachment C.
The first two key milestones that support the project’s progress are the first community meeting and development of the first community poll.
First Cubberley Master Plan Community Meeting
The first community meeting for the Cubberley Master Plan Project was held on March 19, 2025, and was attended by over 120 community members and stakeholders. Participants completed two activities in table groups of up to eight people with guided facilitation, focusing on the vision for the community center, programming, and place making. The first meeting goals included a review of the Vision from the City Council session and then using a list from the previous community engagement process, participants were asked to review and confirm desired programming and adjacencies for the future Community Center. Attachment B provides a summary of the results of community input from meeting number one.
The first activity focused on a review of the Council Vision statement and participants were asked to expand the Vision statement with additional values and ideas. These were organized by six Core Intentions developed by Concordia, which are Social, Organizational, Physical, Cultural, Educational, and Economic. Across all of the Intentions community members valued:
Multipurpose, adaptable spaces to accommodate diverse uses over time; Gathering hubs for interconnectivity and communication between diverse social, cultural and generational groups; Accessibility for all ages, cultures and abilities to access holistic wellness resources; Integration of green space and sustainability features in experiential and infrastructural planning; and Affordability for local Palo Altans and for tenants who have a community focus. Overall, participants focused on flexibility, inclusivity, sustainability, and long-term community engagement as high-level themes.
The second activity focused on programming and adjacencies of indoor and outdoor spaces.
Participants reviewed a list of programs from the 2019 Master Plan and discussed, in their table groups, the programs that should or should not be included, and were asked to identify programs missing from the list. From their list, table groups were asked which programs should be indoor or outdoor, which could share space, and where adjacencies should be considered.
For the second activity, the most selected indoor programs were Theater/Performance Space, Dance Classes, Art Studio, Art Classes, followed by Gym Facility, Flexible Rental Space, and a Café. For outdoor programs, Open Greenspace was the most selected program followed by Playground, Amphitheater, and Pool/Water Area. Comparing to 2019, the most mentioned programs then (indoor and outdoor) were Adult Education, Theater/Performance Space, Greenspace, Makerspace, and Senior/Multigenerational Programs.
ANALYSIS
Themes of Proposed Poll #1
Staff has engaged with Fairbank, Maslin, Metz & Associates (FM3) to design the draft outline for the first round of polling, expected to be conducted the last week of April. Results from this poll will inform milestones throughout the Cubberley workplan and planned engagements on the future of the community center. The draft outline of polling themes (Attachment A) was reviewed by the Cubberley Ad Hoc Committee on March 25, 2025, and April 4, 2025, and incorporates the Committee’s feedback.
The survey seeks voter input on the goals and future of the community center and voter willingness to support a tax or bond measure. The poll will test voter opinion and ranking of future uses of the community center, including providing space for the community to gather, experience joy, and support music, visual and performing arts; program and activity offerings; and supporting community wellness.
Results from this poll are a critical planning tool that will directly inform upcoming community meetings, will serve as the foundation for development of the master plan, and will provide insight into the potential success of a ballot measure. Results from this poll will be available mid-May and will be reviewed by the Ad Hoc Committee before City Council review on June 9th.
Cubberley Workplan Progress
As the various project elements advance it is important to recognize the interdependencies that exist and are necessary to meet the timeline. Each workplan step is intentionally designed to inform the next – input and data received during the previous and current master planning efforts inform the polling themes and questions, while poll results will inform the concept plans for a new community center at the Cubberley site. Given the constrained timeline and resources needed to complete multiple and complex bodies of work, it is important to maintain focus on the critical path to ensure milestones are met.
The milestones listed below are necessary to complete the master plan and draft a potential ordinance by Spring 2026 to reach the November 2026 ballot:
Completed Project Milestones
•Feb 18, 2025 – City Council Visioning Session
•March 19, 2025 – First Cubberley Master Planning Community Meeting Upcoming Project Milestones
•April 21, 2025 – City Council direction on Poll #1 themes •April 28, 2025 – Poll #1 released to Palo Alto community •June 9, 2025 – City Council review of Poll #1 results (tentative) •June 12, 2025 – Second Cubberley Master Planning Community Meeting •Sept 17, 2025 – Third Cubberley Master Planning Community Meeting •November 2025 – Release Poll #2
•December 2025 – Final Master Plan Presentation
•March 2026 – Adopt Master Plan and CEQA
•April 2026 – Release Poll #3
•August 2026 – Submit Final Ballot Language for November Election •November 2026 – Bond Measure
In addition to these milestones, community outreach and stakeholder engagement continues as outlined in greater detail in the stakeholder section of this report.
Other work currently underway includes beginning California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis of the master plan, developing future financial and operating models to ensure long- term fiscal sustainability, initiating development of a purchase and sale agreement with PAUSD, and coordinating with the Friends of the Palo Alto Recreation Wellness Center.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
FY2025 Operating Budget includes a $1.0 million reserve to support real property acquisition activities and, in alignment with the original intention of the reserve, has been transferred for the Cubberley Master Plan, CEQA environmental review, public opinion research services, and ballot strategy consulting services to CB-26000. To date, the following uses have been identified for FY 2025:
Master Plan Update (Concordia) $631,966
CEQA environmental review $202,322
First round polling (FM3)* $43,988
Strategy consultant (Lew Edwards Group)* $27,000
Municipal financial advisor $20,000
Utilities study $30,000
Outside counsel $25,000
Total Use $980,276
*The remainder of this contract will be supported by the FY 2026 allocation of the real property reserve, subject to the Council annual appropriation of funds through the annual budget process.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Community outreach and stakeholder engagement efforts for the project have been extensive and remain a central component of the overall process. At this stage, staff are conducting public polling in parallel with the master planning process to gather valuable input and inform decision-making. The current focus is to encourage robust community participation through master planning meetings and associated polling activities.
Following the adoption of a new master plan, staff will initiate broader community outreach and engagement strategies aimed at generating excitement and awareness about the transformative potential of the future facility and campus. In the interim, staff are actively developing strategies and solutions to keep the community well-informed, engaged, and enthusiastic about the project's progress and long-term vision that will ultimately lead to a ballot measure in November 2026.
In addition to community meetings and updates to the City Council, Project updates and ways to stay involved and informed are shared through:
•Community meetings and in person engagement and Cubberley fellows assisting as ambassadors for this effort and supporting the in-person engagement, •Project website ( www.paloalto.gov/cubberleyproject),
•Online comment card asking for priorities and open field to share vision and service needs,
•City updates via medium.com blog space (February 20 1 and March 272), •Project updates sent via email newsletter to the project distribution list and project updates shared through City channels including Nextdoor and other digital newsletters, •Utility bill inserts, and
•Tabling at key City events.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review is underway for the Cubberley Master Plan Project and will be brought to the City Council at a future date.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Cubberley Center Voter Survey Framework
Attachment B: Cubberley Project Community Meeting One Summary Attachment C: Cubberley Project Background
1 PaloAltoConnect, February 20, 2025 – 5 Ways to Join the Cubberley Conversation:
https://medium.com/paloaltoconnect/5-ways-to-join-the-cubberley-conversation-398a667a5d15 2 PaloAltoConnect, March 27, 2025 – Themes Heard During the First Cubberley Community Conversation:
https://medium.com/paloaltoconnect/themes-heard-during-the-first-cubberley-community-conversation- 52996c534c65
APPROVED BY:
Kristen O'Kane, Community Services Director