Letter of Intent Between
Palo Alto Community Child Care and the City of Palo Alto March 20, 2026
City of Palo Alto
250 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Attention: Ed Shikada, City Manager
PACCC would like to advance this Letter of Intent with the City of Palo Alto’s in the acquisition of the 15-acre portion of the Cubberley site, currently owned by the Palo Alto Unified School District, for a State Preschool Center to include infant, toddler and preschool education and care. This Letter of Intent is dependent on the City’s acquisition of land from the Palo Alto Unified School District.
Since 1974, PACCC has pursued its non-profit mission of providing exceptional education and care for Palo Alto’s children, regardless of a family’s financial circumstances, with unwavering determination. PACCC, a product of the City of Palo Alto’s Child Care Task Force, which recommended that the City take an active and supportive role in early childhood education and care. City Council’s first directive was to establish a childcare-focused nonprofit. This original vision and advocacy later became the blueprint for PACCC.
What began as a few centers in the 1970s became the PACCC we know today, which serves the needs of more than 1,200 children annually; providing developmentally-appropriate education and care for children from as young as two months old through fifth grade at 18 centers throughout Palo Alto, 52 weeks of the year.
In alignment with our long-standing partners, the City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Unified School District, California Department of Social Services and California Department of Education, PACCC is committed to serving the current and future needs of Palo Alto’s families, and actively works to eliminate barriers. Over one-third of enrollment spots are designated for financial assistance through our long-standing partners and PACCC’s own fundraising efforts. To invest in exceptional education and care of our children is to help build a thriving community our children can always call ‘home’ – not just in Palo Alto, but in the world at large. This investment in our future is a challenge we have accepted with the utmost pride, determination, and care for more than 50 years!
In the past five decades since, PACCC has developed and maintained strong partnerships with the City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Unified School District, California Department of Social Services and California Department of Education, which has allowed PACCC to reserve one-third of enrollment spots for families who need financial assistance.
The zoning changes adopted as a part of the City of Palo Alto’s Housing Element substantially increase the capacity of development along San Antonio Road, near the Cubberley site. The City is planning cohesive mixed-use neighborhoods with safe access to transportation, employment, community services, and recreation. PACCC is committed to serving the future needs of Palo Alto’s families and aims to expand capacity and access to early education and care alongside this growth.
The City and PACCC now wish to collaborate and negotiate a long-term public-private partnership to establish a new PACCC center at the Cubberley site, with the following strategic objectives:
1. Create an infant-toddler, and preschool center through the construction of new buildings or a renovation of a current space at the Cubberley site. The center and space would serve 50-70 children and include indoor and outdoor space.
2. Explore a capital investment and California State Childcare Expansion grants wherein PACCC will work collaboratively with the City to cover a portion of the expected capital development costs. The minimum and total goals will be agreed upon between the City and PACCC following the development of the project budget. Funds contributed by PACCC will be utilized for the PACCC center development efforts and will supplement funds acquired by the City.
3. Establish a management model under which PACCC would operate and exclusively utilize the new center in accordance with State childcare licensing requirements. The center may be co-located in a building or complex with other childcare and/or non-profit uses.
4. Co-develop architectural plans and specifications to align with the State's child care licensing requirements for the center. PACCC may incorporate additional functions into the facility, potentially including professional development, training, office, or meeting space.
5. Evaluate and align upon access and contracting authority for the project, between the City and PACCC.
6. Mutually agree to staffing and programs to be conducted.
PACCC and the City are interested in undertaking and completing the new center at Cubberley in accordance with one or more future agreements subject to mutually acceptable terms and conditions. The City and PACCC will endeavor to negotiate a potential agreement over the next six (6) months, as practicable. Elements to be included in the agreement(s) include:
Term of the agreement(s):
1. Establish a time frame and details, including applying for State California State Childcare Expansion grants and goals for capital investment activities. Contracting requirements to allow PACCC or the City to efficiently manage design and construction. PACCC and the City will mutually develop a budget.
2. Acknowledgement and stewardship of coordination with those City departments involved in the project.
3. Development of a community outreach and engagement plan to build support for the project and receive and address community comments.
4. Options for either party to terminate the partnership (or “joint planning process”) agreement.
This letter is not a binding contract between the City and PACCC and does not establish a legal partnership or any other legal relationship. Nor shall this letter create any reliance on either party to act or not act in any specific way. It is intended to facilitate discussion of the key agreement terms and conditions of the future agreements relating to this joint project.
Lee Pfab
CEO
Palo Alto Community Child Care