City Council - August 11, 2025

Council approves parcel map for 368-unit El Camino project

The City Council approved a vesting tentative map merging five parcels at 3150 El Camino Real into one 111,030-square-foot parcel to facilitate a 368-unit rental development. Plans identify 74 below-market-rate units for low-income households.

The consent-calendar action also covered the revised Record of Land Use Action and utility-easement components, subject to conditions. Estimated development impact fees total $20.67 million.

The item received no separate Council discussion. The record does not establish an item-specific vote tally because the consolidated roll call conflicts with recusal disclosures.

Council feedback favors Forest Commons while seeking design changes

Council members generally supported an 82-unit apartment concept at 332 Forest Avenue during a nonbinding prescreening, citing its downtown, transit-adjacent location. No formal application decision or vote occurred.

The Forest Commons concept calls for an eight-story building with a proposed height of 85 feet, or as much as 93 feet with the parapet. The applicant described 16 affordable units at 80% of area median income and 110 vehicle spaces, compared with 137 spaces typically required.

Members asked for a more sensitive transition to nearby lower-rise homes, along with additional work on loading, ride-share space, bicycle parking and the proposed sharing of open space with Casa Royale. Feedback also addressed tenant displacement from the existing 16-unit building and two historic evaluations that reached conflicting conclusions about that structure.

Nearby residents raised concerns about daylight, privacy, trees, traffic and bicycle safety, while other speakers supported dense housing near Caltrain and downtown services. A formal application would trigger environmental review, a peer review of the historic survey and further analysis of the shared-open-space arrangement.

El Camino apartment concept draws calls for major redesign

Council members supported housing in principle at 4256 El Camino Real but said the six-story apartment concept needed substantial revisions to reduce its effects on neighboring residents. The discussion was a nonbinding prescreening, and the Council took no formal action.

The version presented to the Council called for 120 rental units in a 79-foot-6-inch building with 100 on-site parking spaces. Base zoning would require 130 spaces, and no loading space was proposed even though one is required for projects with more than 50 units.

Council feedback focused on building massing, rear stepbacks, privacy, daylight, protection of adjacent redwood trees and long-term assurances for any off-site parking. Some members said they could consider waiving retail requirements if doing so enabled a design with fewer neighborhood impacts.

Affordable-housing compliance also remained unresolved. The applicant described 18 affordable units, while staff said the conceptual submittal did not meet the Planned Home Zoning requirement of 20% affordable housing at an average of 80% of area median income. The record does not reconcile the applicant's claim that a revised option would comply with the unit counts presented.

Most speakers from the neighboring Palo Alto Redwoods community opposed the design, although some supported housing at the location. The applicant said it would evaluate the feedback before deciding whether to submit a housing application, proceed with an existing entitlement for a 96-room hotel or pause development.

Council approves revised regional drought-sharing rules

The Council approved two resolutions amending the regional Water Supply Agreement and updating the Tier 2 Drought Response Implementation Plan. The result was recorded as 6-0-1.

The package changes minimum-purchase requirements, waives individual excess-use penalties when wholesale customers collectively remain within their allocation and replaces an expired formula for dividing drought cutbacks. Staff estimated that the minimum-purchase revisions would increase Palo Alto water rates by $0.007 to $0.04 per ccf, or 0.13% to 0.72%.

Under one example presented by staff, Palo Alto's reduction during a 20% wholesale-customer cutback would rise from 16% under the current plan to 18% under the updated formula. Staff said that change would not require additional customer restrictions under the city's existing water-shortage plan.

Opponents asked the Council to delay action until it received more drought forecasting, financial modeling and analysis of alternative water supplies. Members who supported approval described the agreement as a time-sensitive regional compromise and said broader water-supply questions should continue to be examined separately. The agreement applies to 26 wholesale customers.

Police labor agreements add an estimated $6.4 million in costs

The Council adopted labor agreements and corresponding salary schedules for the Palo Alto Police Officers’ Association and Police Managers Association through June 30, 2028. Staff estimated a $6.4 million General Fund cost increase over the three-year term.

The agreements include $150 per month in deferred compensation for PAPOA members covered by the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act. PMA deferred compensation is set at $250 per month in fiscal 2027 and $400 per month in fiscal 2028, with a $3,000 annual excess management benefit beginning in fiscal 2026.

The agreements passed with six recorded yes votes as part of the consent calendar. One commenter sought separate discussion and opposed the agreements because of their cost and the city's fiscal pressures.

MTC grant provides $4 million for Corey Road extension work

Council Member Patrick Burt reported that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission awarded a $4 million grant for design and environmental work on the Corey Road extension associated with the University Avenue train station. No Council action was recorded on the grant.

Public Safety Building move-in now expected September 2

Staff said phased move-in to the Public Safety Building is expected to begin September 2 after a delay related to basement waterproofing work. Waterproofing performed in July affected electrical cabling, and the contractor is correcting the issue.

The city plans to hold an open house after the phased move-in begins.

Council raises sewer project contingency by $1.8 million

The Council approved a $1.8 million increase in the construction contingency for the first phase of the Joint Intercepting Sewer Rehabilitation Project. The action raises the contingency ceiling to $2.53 million and the potential SAK Construction contract total to $9.88 million.

The Council also approved a $700,000 fiscal 2026 Wastewater Treatment Fund budget amendment. The action passed 6-0 as part of the consent calendar.

LifeMoves outreach contract extended through June 2027

The Council approved a $512,377 amendment extending the LifeMoves homeless-outreach contract through June 30, 2027. The amendment brings the total contract value to no more than $972,377.

Related fiscal 2026 amendments add $25,000 from the General Fund and $162,201 from the Permanent Local Housing Allocation Grant Fund. The action passed 6-0 on the consent calendar. A commenter questioned continuing outreach while a separate homeless-shelter project was reportedly delayed.

Council authorizes planning and cloud-support contract spending

The Council approved five on-call long-range planning consulting contracts with a combined ceiling of $2 million through June 2030, subject to available budget funding. One commenter objected to the potential expenditure and requested separate discussion because of the city's fiscal condition.

The Council also increased an EPI-USE Labs contract by $939,675 for AWS cloud and SAP Basis support. The amendment raises the contract ceiling to $3.15 million and extends the term through December 31, 2026.

Both actions were included in a consent-calendar motion that passed with six recorded yes votes.

Measure N library bond levy set for fiscal 2026

The Council set the fiscal 2026 Measure N Libraries property-tax levy at $7.45 per $100,000 of assessed value on secured and utility tax rolls and $7.61 per $100,000 on the unsecured roll.

The city reported $44.7 million in outstanding bond principal as of July 1, with approximately $4.05 million in 2026 debt service and an estimated $4.03 million in levy revenue. The resolution passed 6-0 on the consent calendar.

Evergreen Park employee parking permit cap rises to 65

The Council adopted revisions to the Evergreen Park-Mayfield residential parking program, increasing the employee permit allotment from 50 to 65 and creating new two-hour commercial parking areas adjacent to El Camino Real. The additional permits could generate $10,725 in annual revenue.

Commenters sought a delay until the city demonstrated demand or completed a parking study, citing potential effects on neighborhood parking and workers with utility vehicles. The action passed as part of the consent calendar, but an item-specific tally cannot be established because the record conflicts over a recusal and a later roll-call entry.

Primary sources

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