City Council - January 21, 2025

Alta Housing selected for an up to seven-story Lot T plan

The City Council voted 7-0 to select Alta Housing as the nonprofit development partner for a 100% affordable housing project on the city-owned Lot T. The council directed staff to pursue an exclusive negotiating agreement and asked Alta Housing to return with an up to seven-story plan that maximizes the number of homes while retaining an emphasis on family-sized units.

The preliminary direction reserves on-site parking for residents rather than retaining public parking on the property. Lot T, at Kipling Street and Lytton Avenue, covers about 20,000 square feet and currently provides 52 public spaces. Alta Housing’s initial concept under that parking scenario included 54 homes and 27 parking stalls; the developer said adding two stories could provide approximately 25 to 28 additional homes.

Staff recommended Alta Housing over MidPen Housing based in part on feasibility and a lower estimated request for city funding. Alta’s conceptual funding gap was estimated at $4.1 million to $4.2 million, compared with $9.4 million to $10.2 million for MidPen. Staff cautioned that the estimates were preliminary and that traditional outside funding sources remained uncertain.

Housing advocates urged the city to move quickly, while business and property representatives warned that eliminating public parking at Lot T could affect downtown retailers. Staff reported peak occupancy of about 40% at Lot T and 45% across downtown garages and lots in 2023. Further planning will examine transportation-demand measures and potential replacement public parking elsewhere downtown; Lot D was discussed as one possibility.

Housing code changes clear their first reading

The council approved a broad package of Housing Element implementation amendments on first reading. The Stanford Research Park provisions passed 6-0-1, with one recusal, while the rest of the ordinance passed 7-0.

The Stanford Research Park changes make multifamily housing a permitted use, while retaining conditional-use requirements for sites affected by hazardous-material provisions. Other amendments address supportive housing, navigation centers, emergency shelters, farmworker housing, group homes, affordable housing on higher-education and religious properties, and state-directed urban lot-split rules. The package also limits Architectural Review Board consideration to two meetings and includes state-required replacement rules for demolished housing.

One commenter argued that a 1.25 floor-area-ratio limit for qualifying affordable housing on higher-education or religious land in R-1 zones could constrain housing production. Council members also raised concerns about tenants displaced by redevelopment and asked staff to examine possible return rights and rent protections. Staff said it would follow up on those questions and provide more information about group-home standards; the first-reading action did not resolve those issues.

City commits $5 million to El Camino affordable housing

The council unanimously approved a conditional $5 million funding commitment to Charities Housing for a 130-unit, entirely affordable rental development at 3001 El Camino Real. The action was part of the consent calendar, which passed 7-0 after a separate item was removed.

Of the planned homes, 58, or 45%, would carry a preference for households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The project’s total development cost is estimated at $126.6 million. The approval authorizes execution of the conditional commitment and related agreements with Charities Housing.

Council weighs broader suicide policy but takes no action

The council took no formal action after a study session on an updated suicide-prevention framework. Staff described the update as an administrative document covering residents of all ages, city employees and safety practices at city facilities, while council members sought a future Council-led update with an explicit youth focus, current local data and broader community-partner participation. The policy’s governance status was not resolved.

Council members also sought more information about local suicide trends, upstream mental-health programs, rail-track safety, means restriction and potential additional resources. Staff reported that 50 city employees and almost 140 community members had received Mental Health First Aid training. The city’s psychiatric emergency response team lacked a licensed mental-health clinician at the time of the presentation.

Public commenters generally supported stronger suicide-prevention work but criticized what they saw as insufficient community engagement and urged renewed coalition-building, youth-centered programs and funding. Members suggested a possible future discussion or referral to the Policy and Services Committee, but the council issued no formal direction.

Software purchase and street-plan contract amendment win approval

As part of its 7-0 consent-calendar vote, the council authorized a three-year purchase order with Carahsoft for SAP Signavio/LeanIX, governance, risk and compliance, integration, and identity-access governance systems. The purchase has a total not-to-exceed amount of $1,032,431.

The same vote approved a $15,000 amendment to the Urban Field Studio contract for project management on the Car-Free Streets Implementation Plan. The amendment raises the contract’s not-to-exceed total to $264,708 and extends the agreement through June 30, 2025.

Proposed $232,985 turf study is deferred

The council did not act on a proposed six-month, $232,985 contract with Lloyd Consulting Group for a comprehensive comparison of synthetic and natural turf. At Pat Burt’s request, the item was removed from the consent calendar and will return at a future meeting.

A public commenter opposed the contract, arguing that other jurisdictions had already studied the issue and questioning additional city spending on consultants. The council did not deliberate on the proposed study’s merits before the deferral.

Thirteen commission applicants advance to interviews

The council reached an informal consensus to interview all 13 Planning and Transportation Commission applicants who received at least one preliminary council vote. No formal motion or recorded vote was taken on the selection.

The city received 19 applications for three vacancies: one partial term ending March 31, 2026, and two full terms ending March 31, 2029. Rather than limit interviews under the prior two-vote practice, members favored a broader pool because of the number of applicants and discussed preserving flexibility between the partial and full terms. Six applicants received no preliminary votes.

Staff will consider action-item format for Cal Avenue parklets

At Burt’s request, the City Manager accepted a referral to consider converting the February 3 Cal Avenue improvements study session into an action item, or pairing it with one, so the council could consider permanent parklets. No decision on the parklets was made.

Primary sources

Watch the meeting on YouTube · Read the official meeting packet