City Council - May 18, 2026

Council adopted the Cubberley plan and advanced a half-cent tax proposal

The City Council voted 7-0 to adopt the Cubberley Community Center conceptual master plan and direct staff to pursue a 0.5% sales-tax measure for the November 2026 election. The action also adopted the project’s Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and mitigation program.

Staff is scheduled to return June 8 with a ballot-measure resolution and required documents for council consideration. The May action therefore advanced the proposal but did not itself place the measure on the ballot.

The conceptual plan provides a phased framework combining renovated and new recreation, performing-arts, education, visual-arts, childcare and nonprofit spaces. Phase I indoor space was described as growing from 184,000 square feet to 232,000 square feet. The city owns eight acres at Cubberley, and an additional seven acres owned by PAUSD were discussed as a potential purchase.

A half-cent measure was estimated to generate $15.6 million annually. In a poll of 411 respondents with an overall margin of error of about 5%, initial support stood at 55% yes and 37% no, with about 7% undecided. After respondents received additional information and negative messaging, support was 46% yes and 42% no. Most public commenters supported advancing the project, though some called for preserving gym and ballroom-dance space, protecting existing tenants and addressing the tax burden.

A split vote opened a path for the revised 156 California Avenue project

Council voted 4-2 to direct staff to add Lot A at 156 California Avenue to the Housing Element sites inventory, allowing the applicant to pursue a revised Builder’s Remedy 2.0 application. Staff corrected the meeting packet, which had mistakenly identified Lot B instead of the larger Lot A parcel. The action did not approve the development itself, which must return to the council.

The existing Builder’s Remedy 1.0 application proposes 382 homes, including 77 affordable units, and a tallest building of approximately 177 feet. The revised concept would provide 390 homes, including 50 affordable units, and lower the tallest building to 144 feet while retaining a ground-floor grocery store. The revised version would have a 13% affordability requirement rather than 20%, with estimated development impact fees of $14.1 million instead of $15.8 million.

Julie Lythcott-Haims supported the revised concept’s lower maximum height, site design and public amenities. Keith Reckdahl and Pat Burt cast the two no votes, citing the reduction in affordable units and development impact fees without what they considered sufficient compensating benefits. Public comment was mixed, with supporters emphasizing housing and the transit-oriented location while others raised parking, traffic, bicycle safety, shadows and neighborhood-scale concerns.

The applicant must submit the revised application within 120 days to use this path. Staff anticipated an expedited decision timeline of roughly 120 days after receiving it, with an Architecture Review Board courtesy review before the project returns to the council later in 2026.

Council approved the Old Trace subdivision after a safety debate

Council voted 6-0, with Mayor Vicki Veenker absent, to find the 4103 Old Trace Road project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under AB 130 and approve its Tentative Map and updated Record of Land Use Action, subject to conditions.

The map divides a vacant 1.02-acre site into nine residential lots served by a private street. The related housing proposal totals 16 dwellings, consisting of nine single-family residences and seven attached junior accessory dwelling units; one unit would be below market rate.

Residents argued that added density, parked cars and the road geometry could impede emergency response and wildfire evacuation. Staff said the Fire and Transportation departments had reviewed the access plan and that the private street’s 20-foot vehicular width met fire standards. Its total width, including pedestrian facilities, would be 30 feet, 6 inches. Staff also clarified that Old Trace Road is 30 feet curb to curb within a 40-foot public easement and that the site is adjacent to, but outside, the mapped wildland-urban interface and high-severity zone.

Pat Burt said state housing laws left the council with limited discretion, while calling for broader fire-safety policies and objective standards for similar areas. Julie Lythcott-Haims concluded that the legal standard for overturning the project had not been met. Staff said it would work with transportation and fire officials to assess possible parking regulations on Old Trace Road. The applicant must still pursue a separate housing-development entitlement and streamlined review.

Water-plant financing was pulled as other public works advanced

A proposed $31 million revolving line of credit for Regional Water Quality Control Plant improvements was removed from the agenda, leaving the council to take no action on the financing. Agenda materials described a five-year initial term and an estimated total payment of $33,943,027 through maturity. No new hearing date or next step was identified.

In a separate 7-0 consent vote, the council approved a $544,556 contract with Casey Construction, Inc. for storm-drain replacement and rehabilitation, along with up to $54,456 in change-order authority. It also approved a $261,600 contract with Selway Construction, Inc. for Mitchell Park modular-restroom site work and authorized up to $26,160 in changes.

The same consent action adopted the fiscal 2027 SB 1 project-list resolution for the city’s Street Maintenance Project. The records list an estimated $1,930,258 in fiscal 2027 road-repair funding and $1,848,523 in budgeted SB 1 funding.

Retail-theft grant and Stanford dispatch agreements were extended

Council voted 7-0 on the consent calendar to extend the city’s Organized Retail Theft grant term through June 1, 2028. The maximum grant remains $5,176,812, with approximately $2.57 million reimbursed through calendar year 2025 and about $2.6 million remaining. The amendment also adds generative-AI disclosure obligations.

Council also approved an amendment extending Palo Alto’s public-safety dispatch agreement with Stanford University through Sept. 30, 2027. Stanford pays approximately $1.2 million annually for the services. Veenker recused because she provides legal services to Stanford, and another councilmember also recused; the records do not provide an item-specific vote tally.

The Downtown BID levy was suspended and retail rules were referred

Council voted 7-0 on the consent calendar to suspend Downtown Palo Alto Business Improvement District assessments for fiscal 2027. The decision means approximately $80,000 in annual assessment revenue will not be collected.

The Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce supported the suspension as an opportunity for stakeholder engagement about the district’s future and downtown economic-development needs. Pat Burt said council appointment of an advisory committee would be a necessary step before a future BID funding plan could proceed. That was a process concern rather than adopted council direction, and the council set no schedule for a future district proposal.

Separately, the proposed retail-vitality ordinance was removed from the agenda and announced for referral to the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee for a first hearing. The proposal would amend municipal code Titles 16 and 18 and the zoning map, including provisions involving medical-office and hybrid medical-retail uses on California and University avenues. No substantive council vote occurred, and the ordinance is expected to return after committee review.

Primary sources

Watch the meeting on YouTube · Read the official meeting packet