2657 Spring Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 | thehayesgroup.com 650.365.0600 | 350 Sansome Street, Suite 750, San Francisco, CA 94104 Architecture & Interiors March 25, 2026 Planning Commission Chair Aikin and fellow Planning Commissioners SENT VIA EMAIL [email protected] [email protected] Re: Agenda Item 3 PTC Meeting March 25, 2026, Dear Chair Aikin and fellow commissioners, As you evaluate and discuss the staff recommendations regarding policies to increase retail vitality in the city, I would like to address policies related to historic properties which appear to have been overlooked. Historic properties are a treasure. We want to preserve them as part of the fabric and history of Palo Alto. These properties are often building types that are unusual or present with architectural nuances associated with their historic use. Examples include historic churches, civic buildings, and old theaters. To keep these buildings viable and part of the community after a change from their original use there needs to be flexibility in permitted uses. Having these buildings occupied with tenants is imperative to the financial health of the maintenance of the historic building and its ongoing disposition. And, having them occupied increases the vitality of the neighborhood. The Palo Alto Comprehensive plan has policies and programs that address this need for flexibility and historic preservation. Policy L-7.8 Promote Adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Program L7.8.1 Promote and expand available incentives for the retention and rehabilitation of buildings with historic merit in all zones and revise existing zoning and permit regulations to minimize constraints to adaptive reuse. Policy L-7.9 Allow compatible nonconforming uses for the life of historic buildings. These excerpted policies and programs around historic properties needs to be addressed in these revised ordinances under consideration.
2657 Spring Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 | thehayesgroup.com 650.365.0600 | 350 Sansome Street, Suite 750, San Francisco, CA 94104 Architecture & Interiors An example of one historic property, a Category I historic property, the highest historic integrity, is the Varsity Theater. Since Hana Haus moved out this building has about 2/3 of the ground floor vacant. Blu Bottle continues to operate. The theater is a perfect example of an historic building with an architectural nuance or impediment to the permitted uses under PAMC in the GF overlay (retail or retail like uses). Entering from University Avenue, there is a ninety-foot-long courtyard before there is any entry to the building. The frontage along University Avenue is only 35 feet but the property widens at the rear to three times this distance where there are no street facing walls or windows facing the sidewalk. Retailers are not interested in this building because of this lack of frontage, the size of the ground floor and the courtyard in front and I believe this is a perfect example of where there needs to be flexibility in the permitted uses as envisioned in Program L7.8.1. For the Varsity Theater, allowing office as a permitted use in the non-street facing rear portion of the building while requiring retail in the portion where Blu Bottle is located will open up the options for tenants. It is better for Palo Alto, and specifically the University Avenue corridor, to have all buildings occupied but especially these beautiful historic buildings in our downtown. Allowing flexibility in the permitted uses for these properties will allow them to be occupied by different uses that will all add to the vitality of the downtown with more people walking the streets and alleyways, supporting our retailers and restaurants. Please consider tonight a Retail Vitality Policy that encourages adaptive reuse and flexibility in permitted uses for historic properties. Yours truly, Ken Hayes, AIA Principal