City Council - January 13, 2025

Council requires tenant consent for parklets extending past neighboring storefronts

The Palo Alto City Council voted 7-0 to require an adjacent business tenant’s consent before an applicant can obtain a low-rise parklet extending beyond its own frontage. Existing permitted parklets and those already approved were preserved under the amended policy and may continue to renew until downtown streetscape reconstruction.

The amendment substituting tenant consent for the proposed property-owner consent requirement passed 6-1. If the neighboring property is vacant, an applicant may proceed without consent for the duration of the permit.

The decision followed debate over whether beyond-frontage parklets reduce parking and storefront visibility or support outdoor dining and commercial-district vitality. Several council members said the information presented did not establish a link between parklets and retail vacancies, while others emphasized parking, loading and impacts on neighboring businesses. Staff reported seven beyond-frontage parklets across downtown and California Avenue, including five on University Avenue.

Council accepts forecast showing a $12 million fiscal 2026 shortfall

Council unanimously approved the staff recommendation associated with the fiscal 2026-2035 Long-Range Financial Forecast. The base scenario projects a $12 million shortfall in fiscal 2026 and continued gaps through fiscal 2029, with revenues expected to support expenses beginning in fiscal 2030.

The forecast and accompanying budget-development guidelines will serve as the starting point for the fiscal 2026 budget process. Staff described the forecast as a current-service-level planning tool, meaning the action did not constitute adoption of a final budget or specific service reductions.

Staff also outlined a proposed allocation of the city’s $8.9 million fiscal 2024 General Fund surplus: $3 million for the infrastructure reserve and $5.9 million for the uncertainty reserve. That proposal is expected to return as part of the fiscal 2025 midyear review.

Council expands advocacy guidelines on housing, insurance and immigration

Council approved its 2025 legislative guidelines after adding support for property-insurance availability and affordability, reforms to Regional Housing Needs Allocation methods, aviation noise and emissions measures, active-transportation safety and greater coordination among regional transportation agencies.

The adopted guidelines also support increased resources for crime victims and protections for immigrants from unlawful or inhumane deportation efforts. Council removed a wood-smoke-specific provision in favor of broader wildfire and air-quality guidance, added climate action and equitable-transition language, and retained prior support for lowering or maintaining voter thresholds for local revenue measures.

Staff was authorized to consolidate overlapping aviation language and circulate the adopted guidelines for corrections. Staff said any substantive future city position on state housing-allocation proposals would return to the council. During the accompanying advocacy update, staff reported that Palo Alto secured more than $44.5 million in state, local and federal grants in 2024, with three additional applications totaling $3.5 million pending.

Primary sources

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