CITY COUNCIL
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: STUDY SESSION
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Meeting Date: April 20, 2026
Report #: 2603-6074
TITLE
910 Webster Street [26PLN-00026]. Request for Council Prescreening to Rezone the Subject Property from RM-20 to Planned Community/Planned Home Zoning and to Allow Construction of 70 Residential Units in a Seven-Story Structure. CEQA Status: Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council conduct a prescreening and provide informal comments regarding the applicant’s request to rezone 910 Webster Street from Low Density Multiple- Family Residence District (RM-20) to Planned Community/Planned Home Zoning (PHZ).
Comments provided during the prescreening process are not binding on the City nor the applicant.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This prescreening is a request by the applicant to rezone the subject property, which is currently zoned Low Density Multiple-Family Residence District (RM-20) to Planned Home Zoning (PHZ). 1 The project includes deconstruction of an existing 24-unit apartment complex and redevelopment of the 1.15 acre site with 70 residential condominium or apartment units, 20% of which would be provided at below market rate.
In accordance with Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) Section 18.79.030(A), a prescreening review is required for legislative changes, including rezoning, prior to submittal of a formal application. Prescreenings are intended to solicit early feedback on proposed projects and, like all study sessions, cannot result in any formal action. Since this proposal may return to the City Council as a formal application, Councilmembers should refrain from forming firm opinions supporting or opposing the project.
1 Referred to in this report as "Planned Home Zoning" to emphasize the focus on housing as the benefit to the community. PAMC Section 18.38, which outlines the requirement and process for Planned Community (PC) Zoning, remains the underlying code supporting application of this policy.
Following this prescreening, the applicant may choose to file a formal application to amend the zoning for the site. Planned Community Rezoning applications require an initial review by the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) followed by a formal recommendation from the Architectural Review Board, a formal recommendation from the PTC, and Council’s final decision as set forth in PAMC Chapter 18.38.
BACKGROUND
On February 3, 2020, Council unanimously endorsed using Planned Home Zoning (PHZ) for housing and mixed-use housing projects to help spur housing production. In exchange for deviation from the development standards, the project must include at least 20% of the housing units as deed restricted across a range of income levels, or an equivalent amount of affordability based on a menu of options.
Project Description
The preliminary schematic drawings, included in Attachment E, are conceptual, as is appropriate at this stage of project consideration. As shown in these schematic drawings, the applicant is proposing an approximately 135,073-square-foot multi-family residential condominium and apartment building with 70 units on a 1.15-acre parcel (50,000 square feet).
The units would be a mix of one-bedroom (6), two-bedroom (61), and three-bedroom (3) units.
The proposed project would have a lot coverage of approximately 24,018 square feet (48%).
The proposed seven story building includes two levels of underground parking, including 130 vehicular parking spaces and 119 bicycle parking spaces. A portion of the ground floor would contain indoor common areas, including a dining hall and a fitness center. A library and terrace lounge would be provided on the seventh floor for residents’ use. The proposed height is 81 feet and six inches to the top of the roof with a cupola that extends to 92 feet and nine inches.
Surrounding Uses
This property is located at the corner of Channing Avenue and Webster Street. The ten-story Channing House Senior Living Community (zoned PC-8659) is located across the street to the west. The property at 899 Webster Street contains a two-story apartment building (zoned RM- 20) located on the opposite corner to the north. Alta Housing’s two-story Webster Woods Apartments (zoned PC-2836) are located across the street to the east. The property at 532 Channing Avenue contains a three-story condominium building containing nine units (zoned RM-20) located to the southwest. There are eight smaller parcels (zoned R-1 & R-2) to the southeast of the subject site, which are being used for single-family, two-family, and multi- family residential uses within one- and two-story buildings.
ANALYSIS
Staff will prepare a thorough analysis of the Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan compliance upon submittal of a formal application, if filed. A review of the conceptual plans, below, summarizes staff’s preliminary review of the proposal and highlights key policy considerations associated with the applicant’s request.
Comprehensive Plan Compliance
The Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation of this site is Multiple-Family Residential. High- density housing is identified as an allowed use in some locations within this land use designation. Net densities will range from 8 to 40 units per acre. Density should be on the lower end of the scale next to single-family residential areas. Densities higher than what is permitted may be allowed where measurable community benefits will be derived, services and facilities are available, and the net effect will be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.
This property is not identified as a Housing Inventory site in the City’s Housing Element. If the proposed project were to move forward, the housing units it creates would effectively increase the City’s Regional Housing Allocation Needs (RHNA) buffer.
Zoning Compliance
For Planned Community/Planned Home Zone (PHZ) rezoning projects, Council has the authority to set the parameters for most development standards, which would be reflected in the tailored ordinance for the new PHZ District. However, for informational purposes, Attachment B compares the development standards under the current RM-20 zone district with the proposed project to assist Council in considerations of how these deviations relate to the proposed public benefits of the project.
The applicant is requesting the following deviations from the existing RM-20 zone district development standards:
A 2.69:1 FAR where a maximum of 0.5 FAR is allowed for multi-family residential use; 48% lot coverage where a maximum of 35% is allowed (an additional 5% is allowed for covered patios and overhangs);
81 feet and six inches tall where a maximum of 35 feet in height is allowed (This does not include the height of the cupola, which extends to 92 feet and nine inches); An interior side yard and rear yard daylight plane with a 10-foot initial height and 65- degree angle where a 10-foot initial height and 50-degree angle is required; and 130 vehicle parking spaces where 140 parking spaces are required (~7% reduction).
The project has not yet been evaluated for consistency with the objective standards set forth in PAMC Chapter 18.24 as the conceptual plans do not provide sufficient information to prepare a complete analysis. As a PHZ application, the project may deviate from these standards in exchange for public benefits. A complete analysis of consistency with these standards would be prepared for informational purposes as part of any formal application. In particular, objective standards related to privacy and daylight plane when adjacent to low-density residential uses would be evaluated closely.
PC Special Requirements
The project would be subject to special standards for PC districts under PAMC Section
18.38.150(c), (d), and (e). Based on the information provided, the project is not consistent with (e), and consistency with (d) cannot be determined. Staff requests that Council provide feedback on each of these areas.
Setback Relative to Neighboring PC Districts (d)
The project proposes 10-foot setbacks on both sides, but the neighboring PC districts appear to maintain significantly greater setbacks. Channing House (850 Webster Street) appears to be set back approximately 30 feet from its property line. The closest buildings at 601 Addison Avenue average approximately 8.3 feet of setback facing Webster Street, though the applicant has not provided formal setback documentation for either neighboring PC. Staff cannot fully evaluate consistency with this standard without that information. Staff requests that Council provide feedback on whether the applicant should be required to provide formal setback documentation for neighboring PCs before a formal application moves forward, and on whether the proposed Channing Avenue setback appears appropriate given Channing House's apparent setback.
PAMC Section 18.38.150(d) requires that minimum yard requirements be at least as restrictive as those of the most restrictive residential district opposite each site line. Each PC district has its own unique setbacks established in its approved plans or authorizing ordinance.
Daylight Plane Along Side and Rear Property Lines (e)
The project proposes a 65-degree daylight plane angle where 50 degrees is required. This steeper angle allows the building mass to encroach further into the daylight envelope than the code standard permits and in close proximity to lower-density residential uses to the south and southeast. The project is not consistent with this standard. Staff requests that Council provide feedback on whether the proposed daylight plane deviation is acceptable as part of a PHZ, or whether the applicant should be expected to bring the angle into conformance.
PAMC Section 18.38.150(e) requires the daylight plane to begin at a 10-foot initial height and rise at a 50-degree angle until reaching the applicable height limit, or to match the daylight plane requirements of the most restrictive abutting residential district. If the residential daylight plane option is selected, the setback regulations of that adjoining district apply as well.
Housing Incentive Program or State Density Bonus Law Alternatives As an alternative to the PHZ process the applicant could consider two options. One option would be to utilize the Housing Incentive Program (HIP) process, which allows for some deviations to the base zoning standards. These include increases in FAR to 2:1, lot coverage to 70%, and height to 40 feet. It also allows for a reduction in parking to 102 spaces. This would require reducing the scope of the project (both the scale, quantity, and size of the building and proposed units).
Alternatively, the applicant could propose a State Density Bonus Law project and may request waivers and concessions from certain standards in accordance with State Density Bonus Law requirements. The RM-20 zone has a maximum density of 20 units per acre. The highest density achievable under State Density Bonus Law would be 40 units per acre (with a 100% bonus). This is well below the 61 du/ac proposed; additionally, the applicant would be required to provide a significantly higher percentage of the units at BMR in order to achieve this density increase in addition to providing those units to lower income levels.
Multi-Modal Access & Parking
Valley Transit Authority (VTA) bus line 21 is the nearest bus line to the project site (200-300 feet to closest stop). The VTA 21 line runs between the Stanford Shopping Center and the Santa Clara County Transit Center. Buses run with a 30-minute headway between the hours of 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. The Palo Alto Caltrain Station is located approximately one mile from the project site. This project has not yet been analyzed for consistency with the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan and other transportation policies such as Council’s Local Transportation Impact Analysis Policy adopted on June 15, 2020 (CMR 11256). This analysis would be conducted as a part of any formal application and reviewed by the Office of Transportation.
Pedestrian Access
The primary pedestrian entrance is at the corner of Webster Street and Channing Avenue with additional private street front entries for ground floor units.
Parking
All parking is proposed in two levels of below grade parking. The vehicle entrance ramp to access the underground parking levels would be provided from Webster Street near the interior side property line through a single entrance/exit. Of the 130 proposed parking spaces, 60 would be in tandem configuration. Tandem parking is allowed in multiple-family residence districts for any unit requiring two parking spaces, provided that both spaces in tandem are intended for use by the same residential unit. Staff notes as well that in accordance with Assembly Bill (AB) 1317, housing projects are required to unbundle parking from the units. Therefore, tandem configurations on large numbers of parking spaces is not desirable since some of these spaces may not be able to be leased if a single unit does not intend to pay for two parking stalls. The code requires that not more than 25% of the required parking spaces may be in a tandem configuration. Five stalls (3%) are proposed as EVSE ready. No car loading space is proposed, where one is required for residential buildings with more than 50 units.
Bicycle parking is not shown on the plans but appears to be in the below grade parking garage.
Access to bike parking will need to be shown in the plans and should be located near street access points to promote bike usage. One hundred and nineteen (119) bike parking spaces are proposed, which exceeds zoning code requirements (70). A bike room could be designed to meet the requirements of a Restricted-Access Bicycle Enclosure as defined in PAMC
18.54.060(a)(2)(B). The plans don’t differentiate between proposed short-term and long-term bicycle stalls.
Compliance with PAMC Title 9.68 (Rental Protection Requirements) The proposal would require the demolition of 24 existing apartment units to be replaced by a potential mix of 70 condominium and apartment units. When existing residential rental units are being demolished, the landlord must comply with the City’s Rental Protection Requirements under PAMC Chapter 9.68 including proper noticing and relocation assistance. In particular, for a just-cause no-fault eviction, the landlord must offer the existing tenants relocation assistance in one of two ways:
1. Assist the renter to relocate by providing a direct payment to the tenant as described in PAMC Section 9.68.050(b)(3); or
2. Waive in writing the payment of rent for the final month of the tenancy, prior to the rent becoming due.
Should the landlord offer to provide a direct payment to the tenant, the amount shall be equal to one month of the renter’s rent that was in effect when the landlord issued the notice to terminate the tenancy and must be provided within 15 calendar days of service of the notice.
This amount shall be credited against any other relocation assistance required by any other law.
Should the landlord fail to strictly comply with these requirements, it will render the notice of termination void.
Inclusionary Requirement and Jobs Housing Imbalance
The intent of limiting PHZ projects to residential and residential mixed-use is to address the job/housing imbalance and to support increased housing production within the City, consistent with the City’s RHNA allocation. PHZ projects are required to provide more housing than jobs on site. As this is a 100% residential project, no new jobs would be created.
The project is required to provide 20% of the units at Below Market Rate at a range of income levels in accordance with Council’s requirements for projects seeking to rezone using the PHZ process. Option 2 presented in the June 23, 2020, Council staff report3 provides greater weight and flexibility towards providing very-low income units. At this time, the applicant is proposing the equivalent of 20.1% BMR units (12 units) distributed throughout the project, but noted to staff that they may utilize a different option if/when they submit a formal application. The plans don’t identify specific locations for the BMR units, but a breakdown of how many units are proposed at the various income levels has been provided in the table below. Per the Affordable Housing Plan Specifications Form (Item 3), the applicant shall provide a detailed description and chart of each BMR unit's: size, and type relative to the total number of units to verify the project meets the 20% threshold.
3 June 23, 2020 Council staff report. https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/agendas-minutes- reports/reports/city-manager-reports-cmrs/year-archive/2020/id-10715.pdf Source: Attachment C
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
There is no fiscal or resource impact associated with the recommendation in this report. A future project, if filed, approved and constructed, would generate higher property tax revenue and add residents that would like support in some measure the local economy. A future project would also be subject to development impact fees to address its effects on public services and infrastructure. The precise magnitude of these impact fees will be refined as the application and proposed project advances.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The Palo Alto Municipal Code requires notice of this public meeting be published in a local paper and mailed to owners and occupants of property within 600 feet of the subject property at least ten days in advance. Notice of a public hearing and postcard mailing for this project was published in the Daily Post on April 10, 2026, which is 10 days in advance of the meeting.
As of the writing of this report, staff received 11 written comments in Attachment D. The comments received by staff generally resolve around the following concerns:
1. Concerns with the height and scale of the proposed building in the context of the surrounding area and impacts on adjacent shorter structures.
2. Concerns on impacts to the quality of life, sunlight, and privacy impacts for existing residents and tenants of the surrounding properties.
3. Concerns around increases to traffic and congestion by increasing the density to the property; especially as it relates to senior citizens and children from nearby schools
4. Concerns around the availability of parking stalls for the site for future tenants
5. The first noted impacts on themselves and their tenants during and after construction while the second noted concerns around growing congestion and potential safety impacts that can create for seniors living at Channing House (850 Webster Street) which is across the street from this project.
6. Concerns surrounding daily operational impacts (noise, odor, etc.) from dining hall on adjacent uses.
Another member of the public called staff and expressed concerns about scale and transition to low density residential uses next to the site as well as availability of daylight.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The prescreening is a preliminary review process in which Councilmembers may provide comment, but no formal action will be taken. Therefore, no review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is required at this time. A full review in accordance with CEQA would be initiated with the formal filing of a development application.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Location Map
Attachment B: Zoning Comparison Table
Attachment C: Applicant’s Project Description Letter
Attachment D: Neighbor Comments
Attachment E: Project Plans
APPROVED BY:
Jonathan Lait, Planning and Development Services Director