From: Manuel Salazar
To: Council, City; Stone, Greer; Reckdahl, Keith; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Lu, George; Lauing, Ed; Burt, Patrick; Veenker, Vicki
Cc: Regina Celestin Williams; Alison Cingolani
Subject: Agenda Item 15 – San Antonio Road Area Plan Core Scenario and Transportation Analysis Work Plan Date: Monday, June 8, 2026 10:55:17 AM
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SVH Letter RE - Agenda Item 15 – San Antonio Road Area Plan Core Scenario and Transportation Analysis Work Plan.pdf
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Dear Mayor Veenker and Members of the Palo Alto City Council, On behalf of Silicon Valley at Home (SV@Home), thank you for the opportunity to comment on the San Antonio Road Area Plan Core Scenario and Transportation Analysis Work Plan. As a countywide housing advocacy organization, we appreciate the City's ongoing efforts to plan for future housing growth while advancing broader goals related to mobility, sustainability, and quality of life.
We appreciate the significant work City staff has invested in developing a coordinated framework for housing, transportation, economic vitality, and public space improvements along the San Antonio corridor. The proposed core scenario reflects a thoughtful approach to accommodating future growth while recognizing the importance of creating complete, connected neighborhoods.
In particular, we support the City's effort to evaluate additional housing capacity in one of Palo Alto's most transit accessible corridors. The San Antonio Road area represents a meaningful opportunity to add homes near jobs, transit, services, and regional transportation infrastructure while improving connections for people walking, biking, and using transit. The integrated land use and mobility framework proposed by staff recognizes that housing and transportation outcomes are inherently linked, and that planning for both together will produce stronger long-term results for the corridor and the broader community.
We would also like to commend staff for pairing housing growth with investments in neighborhood serving retail, public open space, and multimodal transportation improvements. The emphasis on creating walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods connected to the San Antonio Caltrain Station and surrounding destinations reflects the type of integrated planning needed to meet the region's housing and climate goals.
As this work moves into the next phase of analysis, we encourage the City to remain ambitious. The This message needs your attention
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San Antonio Road Area Plan represents one of Palo Alto's most significant opportunities to advance housing production in a transit accessible location while supporting broader community goals related to mobility, sustainability, and economic vitality. The corridor also plays an important role in the City's broader strategy for meeting its RHNA obligations across all income levels and directly advances Housing Element Program 6.6(C), which calls for the preparation of an area plan that integrates housing with safe multimodal transportation, access to amenities and open space, and placemaking improvements. As Palo Alto continues pursuing a Prohousing designation, we encourage Council to view this effort as an opportunity to demonstrate the type of proactive, housing forward planning that designation is intended to recognize.
Thank you for your leadership on this important effort. We look forward to continued engagement as the Area Plan advances.
Sincerely,
Regina Celestin Williams
Executive Director
Manuel Salazar (he/him)
Planning and Production Associate| SV@Home
(925) 584-9558 | [email protected]
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350 W. Julian Street, Building 5, San José, CA 95110
www.svathome.org • [email protected]
June 8th, 2026
Palo Alto City Council
250 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
RE: Agenda Item 15 – San Antonio Road Area Plan Core Scenario and Transportation Analysis Work Plan
Dear Mayor Veenker and Members of the Palo Alto City Council:
On behalf of Silicon Valley at Home (SV@Home), thank you for the opportunity to comment on the San Antonio Road Area Plan Core Scenario and Transportation Analysis Work Plan. As a countywide housing advocacy organization, we appreciate the City's ongoing efforts to plan for future housing growth while advancing broader goals related to mobility, sustainability, and quality of life.
We appreciate the significant work City staff has invested in developing a coordinated framework for housing, transportation, economic vitality, and public space improvements along the San Antonio corridor. The proposed core scenario reflects a thoughtful approach to accommodating future growth while recognizing the importance of creating complete, connected neighborhoods.
In particular, we support the City's effort to evaluate additional housing capacity in one of Palo Alto's most transit accessible corridors. The San Antonio Road area represents a meaningful opportunity to add homes near jobs, transit, services, and regional transportation infrastructure while improving connections for people walking, biking, and using transit. The integrated land use and mobility framework proposed by staff recognizes that housing and transportation outcomes are inherently linked, and that planning for both together will produce stronger long-term results for the corridor and the broader community.
We would also like to commend staff for pairing housing growth with investments in neighborhood serving retail, public open space, and multimodal transportation improvements. The emphasis on creating walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods connected to the San Antonio Caltrain Station and surrounding destinations reflects the type of integrated planning needed to meet the region's housing and climate goals.
As this work moves into the next phase of analysis, we encourage the City to remain ambitious. The San Antonio Road Area Plan represents one of Palo Alto's most significant opportunities to advance housing production in a transit accessible location while supporting broader community goals related to mobility, sustainability, and economic vitality. The corridor also plays an important role in the City's broader strategy for meeting its RHNA obligations across all income levels and directly advances Housing Element Program 6.6(C), which calls for the preparation of an area plan that integrates housing with safe multimodal transportation, access to amenities and open space, and placemaking improvements. As Palo Alto continues pursuing a Prohousing designation, we encourage Board of Directors
Nevada Merriman, Chair
MidPen Housing Corporation
Randy Tsuda, Treasurer
Alta Housing
Pilar Lorenzana, Secretary
Silicon Valley Community
Foundation
Steven Yang
Northern CA LIIF
Candice Gonzalez
Sand Hill Property Company
Chad Bojorquez
Destination: Home
Maria Noel Fernandez
Working Partnerships USA
Alison Brunner
Law Foundation of Silicon
Valley
Victor Vasquez
SOMOS Mayfair
Julie Mahowald
Housing Trust Silicon Valley
Wendi Baker
Harmonie Park Development
Staff Regina Celestin Williams
Executive Director
June 8th, 2026
Re: Agenda Item 15 – San Antonio Road Area Plan Core Scenario and Transportation Analysis Work Plan
350 W. Julian Street, Building 5, San José, CA 95110
408.780.8411 • www.svathome.org • [email protected] Council to view this effort as an opportunity to demonstrate the type of proactive, housing forward planning that designation is intended to recognize.
Thank you for your leadership on this important effort. We look forward to continued engagement as the Area Plan advances.
Sincerely,
Regina Celestin Williams
Executive Director
Silicon Valley @ Home is a nonprofit advocacy organization that supports housing and affordable housing development throughout Santa Clara County. SV@Home works with a broad coalition of strategic partners to address the urgent housing needs of the diverse residents across all our communities. We advocate for solutions including increasing production of homes at all income levels, especially affordable housing; preserving existing affordable housing; and protecting our community’s most vulnerable residents from displacement.