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Ordinance No. _____
Temporary Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Adding Section
18.14.070 to the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Create the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Combining District and Excluding from the Effect of Government Code Section 65912.157 Those Properties that Permit Density and Floor Area Ratio at No Less Than 50% of the Standards in the Government Code and Amending the Zoning Map (Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 18.08.040) The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A. On October 10, 2025, the Governor of the State of California signed Senate Bill 79 (SB 79), which adopted California Government Code sections 65912.155 through 65912.162 and requires local agencies, effective July 1, 2026, to permit high density residential development in designated transit-oriented development (TOD) zones within one-half mile of certain TOD stops.
B. There are three TOD zones in Palo Alto, centered on the Palo Alto, California Avenue, and San Antonio Road Caltrain stations.
C. California Government Code section 65912.157 sets forth residential development standards that apply to housing development projects within TOD zones, such as a height of 75 feet, density of 120 dwelling units per acre, and floor area ratio of 3.5 for projects within one-quarter mile of a Caltrain station.
D. Government Code section 65912.161, subdivision (b), permits local agencies to exclude certain properties from compliance with Government Code section 65912.157 by adopting an ordinance implementing SB 79, including:
a. A site that permits density and residential floor area ratio at no less than 50 percent of the standards specified under Government Code section 65912.157. b. Sites with a historic resource designated as of January 1, 2025, on a local register.
E. The City Council desire to adopt an ordinance pursuant to Government Code section 65912.161, excluding sites designated as local historic resources on the Palo Alto Historic Resources Inventory pursuant to Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) Chapter 16.49.
F. SB 79 charges the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) with promulgating regulations relating to the bill by July 1, 2026. SB 79 further chargers metropolitan planning organizations with creating maps of TOD stops and zones in accordance with HCD guidance.
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G. HCD issued a set of “advisory clarifications on definitions for Metropolitan Planning Organizations” on March 23, 2026. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the metropolitan planning organization for the San Francisco Bay Area, released preliminary draft maps on April 8, 2026.
H. Due to the short time between the issuance of guidance from HCD and MTC and the July 1, 2026 effective date of Government Code section 65912.157, there is insufficient time for the amendments to the zoning map proposed in this ordinance to be presented for review by the Planning and Transportation Commission.
I. The City Council finds and declares that the implementation of Government Code section 65912.157 on July 1, 2026 will create significant incentive for redevelopment of properties in the TOD zones that the City has not already identified as being suitable locations for higher-density development, allow densities that would create unanticipated strain on public infrastructure and cause additional points of conflict between vehicles and bicycles or pedestrians in the affected areas. Existing infrastructure, including but not limited to water supply for fire suppression, stormwater management to reduce flooding, and wastewater mains will require significant increases in capacity to serve high density development in the TOD zones that may not be fully funded by proposed development under current standards. The rezoning and exclusion actions set forth in this ordinance would reduce these impacts for a temporary period, during which the City may plan for increased demands on infrastructure and transportation resources.
Accordingly, pursuant to PAMC section 18.80.090, the City Council adopts this ordinance as a temporary measure to preserve the public health, safety, or welfare.
SECTION 2. Section 18.14.070 (Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Combining District) of Chapter 18.14 (Housing Incentives) of Title 18 (Zoning) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby added to read:
18.14.070 Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Combining District (a) Purpose.
(b) Applicability. The TOD Combining District shall apply to all sites within a TOD zone, except: (1) sites owned by the City of Palo Alto and (2) sites excluded by ordinance from the effect of Government Code section 65912.157 because they were designated as local historic resources on the Palo Alto Historic Resources Inventory as of January 1, 2025. It is the intention of the City Council that the TOD Combining District permit development in accordance with the development standards set forth herein. Therefore, to the extent standards contained elsewhere in this Title 18 necessarily preclude development of the densities and residential floor areas required for a site within the TOD Combining District to qualify under Government Code section 65912.161, subd. (b)(1)(A), such standards shall be applied to allow for development on that site of the densities and residential floor areas set forth in subdivision (c). ***NOT YET APPROVED***
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(c) Development Standards. Transit-oriented housing development projects may elect to utilize the following development standards in-lieu of the standards set forth in the underlying district. Except as provided herein, the standards in the underlying district shall apply:
(1) For sites within ¼ mile of a TOD stop, unless the underlying district is more permissive:
Maximum Residential Floor
Area Ratio 1.75:1
Minimum setbacks (feet)
Front and rear 10
Side 4
Daylight Plane for lot lines
abutting a low density
residential district (RE, R1,
NV-R1, R2, NV-R2, RMD)
Initial height: 16 feet,
measured at the property line
Slope: 45 degrees
Maximum density None
Minimum density Greater of:
30 du/ac or 5 units
Maximum site coverage 70%
(2) For sites further than ¼ mile but within ½ mile of a TOD stop, unless the underlying district is more permissive:
Maximum Residential Floor
Area Ratio 1.5:1
Minimum setbacks (feet)
Front and rear 10
Side 4
Daylight Plane for lot lines
abutting a low density
residential district (RE, R1,
NV-R1, R2, NV-R2, RMD)
Initial height: 16 feet,
measured at the property line
Slope: 45 degrees
Maximum density None
Minimum density Greater of:
30 du/ac or 5 units
Maximum site coverage 70%
(3) For sites adjacent to a TOD stop, Maximum Residential Floor Area Ratio shall be the greater of 2.25 or the FAR provided in the underlying zone.
SECTION 3. Pursuant to Government Code section 65912.161, subdivision (b)(1), sites subject to the TOD Combining District are hereby temporarily excluded from the application of ***NOT YET APPROVED***
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Government Code section 65912.157. These sites shall be excluded until one year following the adoption of the City’s seventh cycle Housing Element.
SECTION 4. The Director of Planning and Development Services is hereby authorized and directed to update Section 18.08.040 (the Zoning Map) of Title 18 (Zoning) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to indicate which sites within the TOD zones are and are not covered by Government Code section 65912.157, including sites excluded pursuant to this Ordinance.
SECTION 5. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 6. The Council finds that the Ordinance is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Government Code section 65912.160, subdivision (c)(2), because it makes the City’s zoning code consistent with the provisions of SB 79 as set forth in Government Code section 65912.161, subdivision (b), and by amending the zoning map to indicate which sites are and are not subject to Government Code section 65912.157.
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SECTION 7. This Ordinance shall be effective on the 31st day following its adoption and shall expire on July 1, 2027 unless extended or superseded.
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
____________________________ ____________________________ City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
____________________________ ____________________________ Assistant City Attorney City Manager
____________________________
Director of Planning and
Development Services