1 San Antonio Road Area Plan Core Scenario
The following topics are addressed in this attachment:
Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Land Use ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Growth Projections ....................................................................................................................... 5 Outdoor Space ............................................................................................................................ 11 Mobility ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Core Scenario and Work Plan Summary ...................................................................................... 21 Overview
The proposed work plan for phase three of the project, described in this attachment, focuses on a single core scenario (a high-level set of standards and development concepts) based on feedback received from the City Council, advisory bodies, and the public. For portions of the Area Plan for which there was no consensus, or for which Council members requested additional information, staff will also analyze additional concepts that the project team will explore.
The Area Plan will create a 20-year vision for the San Antonio Road corridor, with a focus on four main goals:
• Create a more livable community: Encourage residential and mixed-use development, with housing at all income levels, and access to well-designed public spaces and neighborhood services and retail.
• Improve mobility and safety: Enhance streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit connections for easier and safer travel for all users.
• Support sustainability: Promote development with fewer, shorter commutes, integrate green infrastructure, increase tree canopy, and build resilience to climate change. • Enhance economic vitality: Attract new businesses, strengthen Palo Alto’s economy, and preserve valued local businesses.
To achieve these goals, staff recommends an approach which divides the plan area into sub areas and then separates these into areas of change and areas of stability. Land use priorities are proposed for the areas of change, while mobility priorities apply to the entire plan area.
Combined, staff refers to the policy recommendations for land use and mobility provided in this report as the core scenario. The core scenario includes how to develop new neighborhoods in the Commercial Street, Transport Street, and Industrial Avenue (CTI) area and along Fabian Way, as well as new development along San Antonio Road itself. There will be a focus on how 2 to create new outdoor and community spaces, integrate local-serving retail and employment, create connections to existing and new transit, and improve bike and pedestrian safety and connectivity.
Land Use
The core scenario divides the plan area into
Primary Sub-Areas, Secondary Sub-Areas, and
Areas of Stability (refer to Figure A).
The Primary Sub Areas include the CTI (Commercial
Street, Transport Street, Industrial Avenue) area,
North Fabian, South Fabian, and Central San
Antonio. These areas have the greatest potential
for redevelopment and can contribute to creating
new neighborhood-serving amenities like outdoor
space and retail.
The Secondary Sub-Areas include East and West
Bayshore, and Alma Street. These areas have
limited redevelopment potential in the near term.
Areas of Stability include Greenhouse, Green
Meadow, and South San Antonio; areas that are
100% built-out with low redevelopment potential.
While Green Meadow is not part of the plan area, parts of Green Meadow and South San Antonio are within the impact area of Senate Bill 79 (2025, SB 79), which allows higher density for projects meeting specific criteria. Utilization of SB 79 in these neighborhoods, however, is likely very low due to existing conditions in these areas.
The land use direction for the Plan Area is summarized below, addressing identified issues and opportunities in the Plan Area:
• Create new neighborhoods in the CTI and North Fabian sub-areas, focusing on appropriate land use mixes to encourage housing diversity, while encouraging infill residential development in the Central San Antonio and South Fabian sub-areas. • Focus outdoor space, neighborhood-serving retail, services, and amenities in new neighborhoods, to create spaces for community interaction and to promote walkability. • Create smaller, walkable blocks where possible.
• Infill San Antonio Road with residential uses, supported by pedestrian-focused public realm improvements such as separated bike lanes (also known as cycle tracks), shade trees and vegetation, etc.
Figure A. Sub-Areas for Alternatives
3 Housing
Reflecting feedback received from the Council study session and given high housing demand and developer interest in the plan area, the core scenario will examine increasing allowed maximum building heights to 90 feet in a way that allows for a height transition to low-density residential neighborhoods. Under the core scenario, new development south of San Antonio Road (including the CTI neighborhood) as well as areas between Fabian Way and San Antonio Road would allow buildings up to 90 feet in height, with remaining areas remaining at a maximum of 60 feet in height (refer to Figure B).
Increasing allowed heights to 90 feet allows maximizing midrise buildings, the most typical feasible building type under current market conditions, and consistent with development applications received for the south side of San Antonio Road. This will encourage redevelopment and could deliver new housing and amenities sooner. However, the Area Plan will also include policies or regulations to minimize abrupt height transitions to adjacent, lower- density residential neighborhoods through a 60-foot maximum height in some areas, and possible setbacks and step-downs as additional tools. Based on comments heard at the April 6, 2026, study session with Council, the project team will evaluate this core scenario against an alternative where the zoning does not change and the entire area remains at a maximum of 60 feet in height in order to understand the transportation-related effects between the two scenarios (refer to the Mobility section for more information).
The work plan will also include an exploration of potential effects if limited commercial development is allowed to exceed 90 feet in the CTI neighborhood, which could increase project profitability and could provide for additional community benefits (such as public outdoor space and affordable housing), as well as the potential increasing minimum densities in North Fabian sub area (Maxar site) to incentivize greater housing variety and affordability.
Commercial Development – Office and Research & Development (R&D) The core scenario will include development of parameters for office/R&D space in the CTI neighborhood. The City has long been an employment center, which has benefited the City financially but has also resulted in a jobs/housing imbalance. In order to maintain the economic health of the plan area, the core scenario will support the conversion of existing commercial (office, R&D, light industrial, and manufacturing space) to class A office/R&D space. This will provide the benefit of refreshing the City’s commercial building stock, allowing it to remain competitive when attracting employers, while also leveraging developer benefits for the City.
The level of office space proposed in the core scenario, when combined with the housing units allowed, will reduce the City’s jobs/housing imbalance.
The project team will develop a methodology to calculate the amount of new office/R&D space that will maintain employment levels, explore mechanisms for regulating office/R&D space, develop a methodology to assess community benefits from commercial development, and determine if office/R&D space should be restricted to specific parcels of the CTI sub-area. 4 5
Commercial Development – Retail
The core scenario will include requirements related to local-serving retail within the plan area.
The City has, and is adjacent to, several regional retail draws such as the Stanford Shopping Center, El Camino Real corridor, and shopping centers in Mountain View and East Palo Alto. The Area Plan will therefore not propose another regional drawing retail center, but instead encourage local-serving retail to support the existing and future neighborhoods within and nearby the plan area. The core scenario will explore the creation of retail nodes that concentrate these uses where they are most needed, the CTI and North Fabian sub-areas and the intersection of San Antonio Road and Middlefield Road, while allowing (but not requiring) retail in other locations in the Area Plan. Neighborhood-serving retail will be needed to aid in reducing reliance on personal vehicles by providing daily necessities close to new housing. This retail design will work in conjunction with the outdoor space design to create walkable, mixed- use, community-oriented neighborhoods by encouraging “third places” for community gathering by clustering outdoor spaces, retail, and other amenities. Size standards will ensure that new outdoor spaces are well-designed, usable, and accessible for all (refer to the section on outdoor space).
The project team will also explore allowing expanded commercial uses for the ground floor in buildings where neighborhood-serving retail is not required. Retail is most successful in locations with specific characteristics, and requiring retail as ground floor use in all new projects could be a barrier for redevelopment or result in a retail vacancy problem. To promote active ground floors in areas where retail is not critically needed, the range of allowed uses can be expanded to provide developers with more flexibility.
Overall, the project team will analyze and confirm key locations for required retail, including the minimum amount of retail needed to support existing and future residents, and assess the location and amount of (new and existing) retail recommended for the Area Plan to support more ped/bike trips and reduce vehicle travel.
Growth Projections
Feedback provided in the Council study session on April 6, 2026, included concern from both residents and Councilmembers about the projected growth represented in the materials presented. This has led the project team to conduct additional analysis related to both current zoning and the proposed core scenario. This analysis included some additional assumptions, described below:
• To simplify the comparison of the no plan/current zoning and core scenarios, the analysis looks at a 100% build-out of the sites identified for potential redevelopment 6 in all the sub-areas except for CTI, which has smaller parcel sizes. The build-out for CTI is assumed to be 50% of the sub-area for residential uses.1
1 Note on Buildout Assumptions: Tables A and B reflect 100% buildout of all sub-areas. In practice, buildout rates vary by scenario and sub-area. Under current zoning (Table A), an estimated 60% buildout across much of the plan area can be expected, due to existing parcel configurations, market conditions and various redevelopment incentives. North Fabian is an exception – the planned loss of Maxar's office and R&D operations make full – or nearly full – conversion to housing likely under either scenario. CTI is expected to reach approximately 50% of capacity under current zoning, meaning fewer residential units and more retained commercial space than Table A reflects. Under the core scenario (Table B), overall buildout is expected to increase to approximately 75% across much of the plan area, with North Fabian performing similarly to Table A and CTI seeing meaningfully greater redevelopment activity due to anticipated lot consolidation and development incentive structures. This higher level of redevelopment is also expected to generate increased access to open space and community gathering places, additional affordable housing, greater capacity to help fund corridor mobility improvements, and increased likelihood of successful neighborhood-serving retail and amenities that will support creating a walkable district and reduce vehicle trips. Staff will be prepared to discuss these assumptions in greater detail at the June 8 hearing.
7 Figure C. Potential "change parcels" in Plan Area
8 • The analysis assumes maximum allowed densities for calculating potential yield. For the Maxar site, the minimum gross density is analyzed based on the existing market demand for lower-density for-sale residential development.
• The analysis assumes that some existing commercial/industrial uses may be lost as part of the redevelopment. While not shown in the build-out calculations, the plan will require a certain amount of neighborhood-serving retail and services (the amount is to be determined after further analysis).
• The analysis has refined the list of potential redevelopment sites and updated the yield of pipeline projects as per new application submittals received by May 1, 2026.
Combining both residential and commercial development in the core scenario, and other factors such as current use and ownership, the project team has created a map of which parcels are most likely to redevelop over the next 25 years (Figure C). This analysis, combined with proposed standards under the core scenario and existing pipeline development applications, results in some assumptions about the maximum potential build out under both current zoning (60 feet/five stories) and the core scenario (increase to 90 feet/eight stories in some areas). For purposes of this analysis, the current baseline reflects the development that could reasonably be anticipated under existing conditions, not simply existing conditions, but the redevelopment likely to occur given current zoning, market demand and demonstrated developer interest. As these parcels are under private ownership, there is no guarantee that these parcels will be fully built out during the Area Plan time frame.
Contributing factors to potential development include:
• Palo Alto’s Housing Element (2023-2031) has identified 53 opportunity sites and allocates 1,559 new housing units to the Plan Area, representing 26% of the citywide housing allocation.
• The GM and ROLM zoned parcels within the Area Plan are designated as Focus Area, allowing for more housing production within the Area Plan. Currently, GM and ROLM allow commercial development but very limited office development. • The City’s HIP also applies to a portion of the Area Plan, substantially increasing the development capacity along the San Antonio Road.
Maximum development under current zoning (60-foot building height, 90 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) density) yields a total of 5,700 residential units, and a loss of up to 1,484,000 sq ft of existing commercial and industrial uses. Table A below shows the development capacity possible under current zoning for each sub-area. For simplicity, the table does not include potential ground floor uses and potential minimum retail requirements in the CTI and Maxar redevelopment areas.
9 Table A. Current Zoning Potential Development
Sub-Areas
Existing
Commercial
Area
Existing
Residential
Units
Existing Zoning*
Commercial Net
Change
Residential Net
Change (units)
CTI Neighborhood 528,800 sf 0 -499,000 sf 1,200
North Fabian 683,000 sf 0 -599,000 sf 1,500
South Fabian 177,000 sf 384 -177,000 sf 800
Central San Antonio 449,000 sf 0 -209,000 sf 1,900
East Bayshore 414,000 sf 0 No change No change
West Bayshore 35,000 sf 0 No change 200
Greenhouse 0 sf 228 No change No change
South San Antonio 99,000 sf 125 No change No change
Alma Street 13,600 sf 65 No change 100
Total 2,399,400 sf 802 units -1,370,000 sf 5,700 units
The core scenario includes similar heights and residential densities as the current zoning in some areas, while increasing building heights to 90 feet and 135 du/ac in some areas, while also including 750,000 square feet of new office/R&D space in the CTI neighborhood (gross, not net new). This scenario could yield up to a maximum of 6,700 residential units, an increase of 1,000 units over what current zoning allows, and 750,000 square feet of new office/R&D space with a net loss of 734,000 square feet of existing commercial uses. Table B below shows the development capacity for this alternative for each sub-area. For simplicity, the table does not include potential ground floor uses and potential minimum retail requirements in the CTI and Maxar redevelopment areas.
Table B. Core Scenario Potential Development
Sub-Areas
Existing
Commercial
Area
Existing
Residential
Units
Core Scenario*
Commercial Net
Change
Residential Net
Change (units)
CTI Neighborhood 528,800 sf 0 251,000 sf 1,800
North Fabian 683,000 sf 0 -599,000 sf 1,500
South Fabian 177,000 sf 384 -177,000 sf 800
Central San Antonio 449,000 sf 0 -209,000 sf 2,300
East Bayshore 414,000 sf 0 No change No change
West Bayshore 35,000 sf 0 No change 200
Greenhouse 0 sf 228 No change No change
South San Antonio 99,000 sf 125 No change No change
Alma Street 13,600 sf 65 No change 100
Total 2,399,400 sf 802 units -734,000 sf 6,700 units
10 11
Outdoor Space
The core scenario seeks to ensure that all residents within the plan area are no more than a 10- minute walk from a City park, nature reserve, or privately owned/publicly accessible outdoor space. As the Area Plan sub-areas become more residential and their populations grow, the need for outdoor space (parks, plazas, playgrounds, parklets, etc.) becomes a critical design consideration.
Phase One analysis identified gaps in access to outdoor space (refer to Figure D), where much of the Plan Area lacks a park or public outdoor space within a ten-minute walk. These gaps overlap with the CTI and North Fabian sub-areas, where most future development is expected.
This will be achieved through improving bike and pedestrian connections to existing outdoor spaces, as well as creating policies that will lead to the creation of new outdoor spaces in the portions of the plan between E. Charleston Road and U.S. 101 (the CTI area and along Fabian Way). In addition, the core scenario will seek to collocate retail and services alongside outdoor space to increase their activation.
Based on the feedback received so far, the core scenario (refer to Figure E) will seek to create the largest parks possible supplemented by smaller outdoor spaces. This could include a 3- to
3.5-acre park in the Fabian Way area should the Maxar site redevelop, while an outdoor space larger than 1.5 acre is less likely in the CTI area, due to the small lots found there. These parks would be complemented by paseos and other bike/ped connection improvements (see Mobility section below), including increasing the tree canopy along areas people walk and bike. It is important to note that the City currently owns no parcels within these areas and will need to work with property owners and developers to create new outdoor spaces.
The core scenario will set minimum size and location criteria for new outdoor spaces and set minimum requirements for providing these on-site (compared to in-lieu fee). The standards created may differ from those currently applied to low- to mid-density residential developments. Additionally, the project team will coordinate with connectivity and mobility improvements to ensure low-stress and direct pedestrian and bike access to existing and new outdoor spaces. Key street improvements related to outdoor space include:
• San Antonio Road is envisioned as a key east-west ped/bike connection with continuous tree canopy to create a pleasant experience connecting new residential areas to amenities and transit.
• E. Charleston Road is envisioned as a key north-south ped/bike connection, linking schools and other destinations across San Antonio Road and to Mountain View. • Fabian Way becomes a key bike connection to the Baylands, utilizing the ped/bike bridge over U.S. 101.
12 Table C. Summary of Core Scenario by Sub-Area
Primary Sub-Areas
CTI Neighborhood Land use: Residential mixed-use, with neighborhood retail required in key location(s). Study the effects of office/research & development space which keep employment in the plan area stable.
Height: 90 feet maximum (8 stories).
Concepts to explore: Evaluate the comparative effects of 60-foot maximum and 90-foot maximum. Evaluate the effects of allowing Provide new outdoor space
in North Fabian sub-area,
co-located with
neighborhood-serving
retail, amenities
Provide new outdoor
space in interior of CTI
sub-area, co-located
with neighborhood-
serving retail, amenities
Proposed new
outdoor space
in Mountain
View project
Coordinate with
planned US-101
interchange ped-
bike improvements
Coordinate outdoor spaces
with bike-ped improvements
on major streets and
intersections for enhanced
connectivity
Figure E. Outdoor space and connectivity strategies for the CTI and North Fabian sub-areas 13 buildings to exceed 90 feet. Evaluate the effects of a reduced office/research & development allowance.
North Fabian Land use: Residential mixed-use, with neighborhood retail required in key location(s).
Height: 90 feet maximum (8 stories), height transitions required when adjacent to existing low-density residential neighborhoods (60 feet maximum).
Concepts to explore: Explore setting minimum density to encourage midrise residential and minimize townhomes. Evaluate the comparative effects of 60 feet maximum and 90 feet maximum.
South Fabian Land use: Residential mixed-use, neighborhood retail allowed but not required. Study expanded list of allowed uses for active ground floors.
Height: 90 feet maximum (8 stories), height transitions required when adjacent to existing low-density residential neighborhoods (60 feet maximum).
Concepts to explore: Evaluate the comparative effects of 60 feet maximum and 90 feet maximum.
Central San Antonio Land use: Residential mixed-use, with neighborhood retail required in key location(s).
Height: 90 feet maximum (8 stories), height transitions required when adjacent to existing low-density residential neighborhoods (60 feet maximum).
Concepts to explore: Evaluate the comparative effects of 60 feet maximum and 90 feet maximum.
Other Sub-Areas (Maintain Existing Zoning and Development Standards) East Bayshore Land use: Low-density commercial (maintain existing development standards including heights).
West Bayshore Land use: Low-density commercial with residential uses allowed (maintain existing development standards including heights).
Greenhouse Land use: Low-density residential (maintain existing development standards including heights).
South San Antonio Land use: Low to medium-density residential (maintain existing development standards including heights).
Alma Street Land use: Low to medium-density residential with institutional/civic uses (maintain existing development standards). Note that SB 79 will allow higher-density residential for qualifying projects, and two sites are both Housing Opportunity Sites and subject to Senate Bill 4 (2023), the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, which allow for greater development if certain conditions are met. This will be studied by the City as part of separate initiatives.
14 Mobility
The Area Plan will reimagine the San Antonio Road corridor as a multimodal spine that balances mobility with placemaking. Any approach needs to incorporate existing users, including those who live in or adjacent to the plan area, those who travel to jobs, retail, and services in and around the plan area and in neighboring communities, and trucks which rely on this route to connect from U.S. 101 to Alma Street and beyond into Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills.
The project team’s approach to mobility recognizes that land use and transportation are interdependent and must be planned as a single, integrated system. Travel demand and mode choice are shaped by where homes, jobs, services, and public spaces are located; and mobility strategies are most effective when they reinforce compact, mixed-use, and pedestrian-oriented land use patterns. By aligning transportation investments with planned growth areas and community-serving destinations, the approach focuses on reducing the need for vehicle- dependent trips while expanding the ability of current and future residents, workers and visitors to walk, bike, and take transit to their destinations.
To that end, the project team will perform analysis to understand the transportation benefits and considerations of the proposed land use in the core scenario within and through the Area Plan. When staff returns to Council in Q4 2026, it will provide a qualitative and quantitative assessment for the core scenario and defined alternatives under consideration. This will include an understanding of how the proposed land use is expected to affect single-occupancy driving and vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and whether the core scenario gets the City closer to achieving its greenhouse gas (GHG)/air quality, congestion, mode shift, public health, and safety goals. VMT is a useful proxy for evaluating land use options because it shows how location and urban form affect how much people need to drive. VMT can be used as an indicator of land use efficiency, transportation emissions, and system performance and is also correlated with accessibility, safety, and traffic congestion. In practice, lower per-capita VMT generally points to less auto dependence, more efficient land use, and stronger support for walking, biking, and transit.
The project team will:
• Use transportation-related metrics (such as proximity to similar land use types and effects on VMT) for all of the land use-related options to help inform the decision- making process;
• Develop a methodology to evaluate the number and/or proportion of residents within a 10-minute walk or 10-minute low-stress bike ride of key destinations, such as retail, employment, transit stops, schools/child care, grocery stores, and medical/dental facilities, as well as the effects of the proposed mobility interventions (new/enhanced bike facilities, improved transit, etc.); and
15 • Develop a methodology that highlights the different transportation-related benefits and considerations of the current zoning compared to the Core Scenario using proximity to similar land use types and effects on VMT, for Council’s consideration in Q4 of 2026.
Mobility strategies emphasize place-based solutions that respond to existing and planned land uses. Street design, transit service, curb and parking policies, and other strategies are used proactively to support desired land use outcomes, such as vibrant commercial corridors, equitable access to jobs and services, and sustainable growth, rather than reacting to congestion after it occurs. By reinforcing the land use-mobility nexus, this approach advances multiple goals simultaneously: improving accessibility, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing safety, and supporting livable, economically resilient neighborhoods.
Key strategies include:
• Pedestrian-first design which prioritizes comfortable, accessible, and inviting streets that encourages walking and biking (while recognizing San Antonio as a regional corridor and truck route).
• Low-stress bike routes which provide high quality bikeways that meet the needs of people of all ages and abilities.
• First/last mile connections which integrate walking, biking, shuttles, and shared mobility to create a seamless journey from doorstep to destination, as well as creating one or more mobility hubs.
• Parking and demand management which apply strategies to reduce travel demand and organize allocation of curb space to improve access and efficiency. • Smart corridor technology which uses real-time data, adaptive signals, and digital tools to optimize traffic flow and enhance multimodal safety.
The Area Plan will:
• Build on and coordinate with prior and current planning and design efforts, including the 2026 Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (currently scheduled for final adoption in June 2026), South Palo Alto Bike/Ped Connectivity Project, US-101 Interchange Project, and Fabian Way South Palo Alto Bikeways Demonstration Project. • Prioritize safer connections to schools, parks, retail, and transit, and improved crossings of San Antonio Road at Nita Avenue, Middlefield Road, and Charleston Road. • Enhance connections to San Antonio Caltrain Station and create additional transit options for the area.
• Create a comfortable walking and biking experience along and across San Antonio Road, providing separated bikeways or multi-use paths.
• Consider an increase in vehicle and truck traffic related to new development in Mountain View and Palo Alto.
16 Figure F. Overall Mobility Direction
17 In the core scenario, primary interventions will focus on the major street corridors: San Antonio Road, East Charleston Road, Middlefield Road, and Alma Street. Where possible, new connections will be made to increase walkability, bikability, and transit accessibility.
Connections to Caltrain will be improved, and policies to provide additional transit and create pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods in the CTI area and the Fabian neighborhoods will be included. Bike/ped routes through residential neighborhoods and anti-traffic intrusion measures into residential neighborhoods will also be examined (refer to Figure F).
Bike/Ped Infrastructure
The Area Plan aims to create a fully connected, accessible, and prioritized network of sidewalks and low-stress bikeways which promote walkability, bicycling, safety, and connection to destinations. Establishing publicly accessible private paths and paseos to bridge existing gaps and shorten walking/biking distances will further ensure a comfortable and convenient pedestrian and bicycle network within the Area Plan, and connect seamlessly into the City’s existing network. The proposed bike network incorporates separated bikeways for busier streets, well-designed intersections connecting to traffic-calmed bike boulevards, wayfinding signage, and ample bike parking to encourage travel by bike throughout the Area Plan. The Area Plan also seeks to improve connections into Mountain View.
Because San Antonio Road is the only east-west truck route in the City and services the cities of Mountain View and Los Altos and the Town of Los Altos Hills, extra care needs to be taken to ensure cyclist and pedestrian comfort and safety. The project team will incorporate standards from the City’s complete streets policy as well as the 2024 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidance on complete streets for truck routes and other design standards.
The core scenario will examine improvements that can be implemented with relatively low cost and high speed in the short term while leaving options open for more advanced improvements to follow. These short-term improvements would include projects such as removing parking on San Antonio Road to create street-level separated bike-lanes and other restriping projects.
More advanced options could include sidewalk-level separated bike lanes or multi-use paths (which would require the City to acquire land or easements to expand the existing right-of- way), or moving curbs inward to create room for side-walk level facilities (which would require reconstruction of parking lanes and potentially replanting of street trees and movement of utilities and stormwater infrastructure).
Transit
The mobility framework focuses on designing intuitive, accessible, and safe routes to local and regional transit through priority pedestrian and bike streets, wayfinding signage to navigate to Caltrain, enhanced bus stop amenities for passengers, and mobility hubs within the plan area.
This plan sets the stage for expanded transit services, coordinating with Valley Transportation 18 Authority (VTA) or other partners, to strengthen San Antonio Road as a multimodal corridor, supporting planned land uses and providing access to Caltrain and other destinations.
Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
TDM strategies will be applied to make sure that new development is designed to make it easier for tenants, residents, and employees to get around using sustainable modes. A focus will be put on managing demand through programs, incentives, and policies that make walking, biking, transit, and shared travel more convenient and cost-effective. Key TDM strategies include creating a supportive mix of land use; streetscape improvements that make it easy and comfortable to walk and bike; providing designated secure areas for bike parking and bike maintenance and repair; providing car-share parking and bike fleets on-site and offering subsidized memberships; and integrating real-time transit information and wayfinding.
Early implementation with new development will ensure programs are in place at occupancy and adjusted over time as travel patterns evolve. The standards, guidelines, programs, and policies in this Area Plan will be informed and in conformance with foundational City plans and policies including the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, 2026 Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (scheduled to be finalized in June 2026), Parks, Trails, Natural Open Space, and Recreational Master Plan, Green Stormwater Infrastructure Plan, and Public Art Master Plan.
This plan would implement design guidance and projects identified by the City and implement policies, programs, and practices to support and achieve these mobility goals.
Mobility hubs are a key component to developing TDM. They are places where multiple transportation modes are cohesively and conveniently located to provide an integrated suite of mobility services and amenities. They may feature a transit stop, enhanced crossings, bike racks and secure bike parking, shared micromobility services, real-time transit information, car share parking, passenger loading zones, electric vehicle parking, and vehicle parking. Potential locations within the plan area include at San Antonio Road/Charleston Road, San Antonio Road/Middlefield Road, and near the San Antonio Caltrain Station.
Vehicle Circulation
Vehicle circulation strategies are aimed to prioritize local circulation and access, prevent auto intrusion into neighborhoods, encourage low speeds, and reduce potential for conflicts with other modes. This is especially critical as San Antonio Road, E. Charleston Road, Middlefield Road, and Alma Street all play critical roles in connecting Palo Alto to neighboring communities, and San Antonio Road is the City’s only east-west truck route. These strategies are not focused solely on maximizing vehicle throughput and reducing vehicle delay. The strategies prioritize the following:
• Maintaining reliable access to residences and businesses; • Reducing cut-through traffic and managing traffic through operations and designs:
o Intersection reconfigurations
19 o Signal timing modifications, and
o Modal filters to restrict or discourage through movements; and • Maintaining local vehicle access for residents, deliveries, and emergency services.
Parking and Curb Management
The parking and curb management strategy establishes a coordinated approach to using limited street- and curb-space more efficiently. Rather than prioritizing long-term vehicle storage, the strategy treats parking and curb areas as flexible assets that must balance loading and deliveries, short-term parking, transit operations, active transportation, and public realm needs.
This approach aligns curb and parking policies with surrounding land uses, travel demand, and peak activity periods to reduce conflicts, improve turnover, and support local businesses and residents. Overall, the strategy emphasizes managing demand over increasing supply by right- sizing parking, improving pricing and time limits where appropriate, and reallocating curb space to higher-value uses as needs evolve.
Street, Sidewalk, and Bikeway Improvements
The core scenario will provide a framework for the creation of a safe and low-stress bike facility on San Antonio Road connecting from the proposed US-101 interchange to Caltrain, as well as improving facilities on San Antonio Avenue, Fabian Way, E. Charleston Road, Middlefield Road, and Alma Street (including intersection improvement options described below). An alternative will also seek to acquire access across private property through acquisition of easements or purchasing land to connect Sutherland Drive and Wyandotte Street to San Antonio Road.
San Antonio Road and San Antonio Avenue are divided into three sections: (1) east of E.
Charleston Road, (2) west of E. Charleston Road and east of Middlefield Road, and (3) west of Middlefield Road. The core scenario will create the framework for the creation of:
• A two-way, separated bikeway on the north side of San Antonio Road connecting E.
Charleston Road to the planned U.S.-101/San Antonio Road interchange improvements; • A near-term, street-level separated bikeway on both sides of San Antonio Road which leaves open the possibility of future development; and
• A two-way, separated bikeway on the north side of San Antonio Road to San Antonio Avenue and across Alma Street to the Caltrain station.
As part of this workplan, the project team will examine the comparative costs associated with two potential future facilities along the central portion of San Antiono Road. One is a sidewalk- level, two-way either cycle track or mixed used path only on the north side of San Antonio Road, which would require the acquisition of land or easements to build. The second is a sidewalk-level facility on one or both sides of San Antonio Road which would require the existing curbs to be moved, as well as street trees and utilities. The project team will explore the feasibility and potential costs of these options. Key improvements are detailed in Figure G. 20 Figure G. Key San Antonio Road Improvements
21 Additional improvements to bike/ped facilities on E. Charleston Road, Fabian Way, and Alma Street, including new separated bikeways, will be explored in this work plan. The focus will be on improving connections, safety, and comfort into adjacent neighborhoods in Palo Alto and the City of Mountain View. The project team will explore improving a bike route parallel to Alma Street instead of, or in addition to, creating a new bikeway along it.
Intersection Improvements
The core scenario will seek to create a grade-separated connection between the CTI and North Fabian sub areas, as well as improve existing intersections. Improvements could include creating protected intersections,2 creating pedestrian zones, providing median refuges at longer crossings, consolidating existing driveway access, extending existing bike lanes through the intersections, and enhancing connections to bike boulevards.
Core Scenario and Work Plan Summary
The below table provides a summary of the work described above, broken down by topic area, for ease of understanding what Staff is proposing as part of the core scenario and the limited alternatives. More detailed description of this can be found in Attachment A.
Table D. Summary of Work Plan
Topic Area Core Scenario Concepts to Explore
Building
Heights
Increase to 90 feet in CTI, between
Fabian Way and San Antonio Road,
and south of San Antonio Road;
remain at 60 feet elsewhere
Limited development taller than 90
feet in CTI sub-area
Minimum
Residential
Density
Determine the appropriate
minimum density
Office and
R&D Space
Allow sufficient office/R&D space
within the CTI sub-area to keep
employment steady, and reduce
jobs/housing imbalance through
the creation of new residential
units
2 A protected intersection (or “Dutch-style intersection”) is an at-grade road design that uses physical separation, such as raised curbs, bollards, or corner islands, to separate cyclists and pedestrians from motor vehicles. 22 Topic Area Core Scenario Concepts to Explore
Retail Require neighborhood-serving
retail at specific nodes (within CTI
and North Fabian, at intersection
of San Antonio Road and
Middlefield Road); Expand allowed
uses for ground floor commercial
spaces where neighborhood-
serving retail is not required
Outdoor Space Require new outdoor spaces as
part of future development in the
CTI and North Fabian sub-areas
Require outdoor spaces to be co-
located/clustered with neighborhood-
serving retail and amenities
Transportation
Network
Priorities
Prioritize improving the pedestrian
realm, bike network, transit,
vehicle circulation, freight
circulation, and parking and curb
management
Transit Develop a microtransit strategy to
enhance existing and future
resident and employee access to
the Caltrain station and other key
destinations, while continuing to
work with VTA to expand bus
service on San Antonio Road in
Palo Alto
San Antonio
Road
Create framework for a Class IV
separated bikeway along San
Antonio Road and Avenue, from
the Baylands to the Caltrain
station, with a near-term, cost-
efficient design that leaves open
the ability to improve to a side-
walk-level bike facility in the future
Explore sidewalk-level bike facility on
both sides of San Antonio Road from
Nita Avenue to E. Charleston Street
Explore sidewalk level two-way multi-
use path or separated bikeway (cycle
track) on north side of San Antonio
Road
Cross Streets Create framework for improved
ped/bike facilities on roads
running perpendicular to San
Antonio Road
Explore acquisition of easements or
purchasing land to connect Sutherland
Drive and Wyandotte Street to San
Antonio Road for bike/pedestrian use
23 Topic Area Core Scenario Concepts to Explore
Improve
Intersections
Identify best-practice design
strategies for key intersections
along San Antonio Road (E.
Charleston Road, Middlefield
Road, Nita Avenue/McKay Drive,
Alma Street), San Antonio Avenue
and Briarwood Way, and at Fabian
Way and E. Charleston Road to
enhance safety, reduce cut-
through traffic, and manage
vehicle flow
Enhance
Access to
Caltrain
Create framework for improving
ped/bike access to the San
Antonio Caltrain Station in
Mountain View via enhanced
crossing of Alma Street at San
Antonio Avenue
Explore possibility of acquiring legal
access through Google X campus from
San Antonio Avenue and Nita Avenue
parallel to San Antonio Road on-ramp
to existing signalized crossing at
Mayfield Avenue and Central
Expressway in coordination with
Mountain View
Alma Street Create framework for improved
ped/bike facilities on the east side
of Alma Street from San Antonio
Avenue to E. Meadow Drive and
create high visibility ped/bike
crossing markings at intersections
Improve interior neighborhood routes
including better wayfinding on
ped/bike routes parallel to Alma Street