Architectural Review Board - December 5, 2024

Board recommends six-story project despite staff call for delay

The Architectural Review Board voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the revised 660 University Ave. mixed-use project, subject to conditions and review by a two-member ad hoc committee. The board moved the proposal forward rather than following staff’s recommendation to continue the hearing to an uncertain date while environmental work proceeds. The recommendation is not final approval; Planning Commission and City Council consideration is expected.

The proposal would replace medical office buildings on three parcels with 66 rental homes, office space and two levels of underground parking. Fourteen homes would be below market rate, representing 20% of the project. The revision increased the building from four to six stories, added three homes and retained a 24-foot above-grade setback along Middlefield Road. The office space was moved to the sixth floor to help meet flood-related requirements for below-grade parking. The applicant is also seeking a 30% parking reduction.

Conditions attached to the recommendation focus heavily on the adjacent protected coast live oak and bicycle access. They include maintaining a bond equal to 200% of the tree’s value, preventing balconies from projecting into its canopy, avoiding new trees beneath the canopy without City Arborist approval and placing 25% of the required long-term bicycle parking at ground level. The ad hoc committee will also review the upper floor’s height and glazing, facade-material relationships, nighttime office lighting controls and clearance above the garage for planting and possible utilities. Board members David Hirsch and Yingxi Chen were appointed to the committee.

Board members supported the additional housing and larger Middlefield Road setback while raising concerns about daylight-plane encroachment, balconies near the oak, loading and trash operations, bicycle access, upper-floor glazing and facade materials. They concluded those issues could be addressed through conditions and ad hoc review instead of another indefinite delay.

Public comment was mixed. Opponents said construction and the building’s proximity could threaten the oak, while the parking reduction and loading activity could affect Byron Street and nearby neighborhoods. Supporters cited the project’s housing, below-market-rate homes, walkability and access to Caltrain and urged the city to avoid further delay. A labor representative requested use of a responsible contractor paying area-standard wages and benefits.

Staff will continue its environmental analysis of the revised proposal and prepare responses to comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report. The ad hoc committee will review the specified design refinements before the project’s anticipated consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council.

El Camino zoning study is continued to Dec. 19

The board continued its study session on possible zoning changes for the El Camino Real Focus Area to Dec. 19, concluding that the policy discussion needed more time and should not be rushed. The continued hearing is expected to include a full staff presentation, public comment and board discussion. The motion carried; the available record identifies four affirmative votes but does not establish the fifth member’s response.

The study concerns amendments to Title 18 intended to implement Program 3.4E of Palo Alto’s 2023-2031 Housing Element. Commenters generally supported expanding and refining the focus area and urged flexibility on height transitions, stepbacks and other standards to improve the feasibility and design of housing projects. The board made no policy recommendation at the Dec. 5 meeting.

Primary sources

Watch the meeting on YouTube · Read the official meeting packet