City Council - October 6, 2025

Council highlights housing and safer travel in San Antonio Road review

Council members reviewing the San Antonio Road Area Plan emphasized housing, continuous bicycle and pedestrian routes, transit access and more open space, while expressing caution about adding office capacity. Those were individual, preliminary views during a study session; the council reached no formal consensus and issued no direction.

The planning area covers 275 acres around approximately 1.8 miles of San Antonio Road and contains about 800 existing homes. Staff identified 53 Housing Element opportunity sites and more than 750 potential new homes in Palo Alto's development pipeline. The area-planning initiative has an approved budget not to exceed $1,979,902.

Staff said the north side of San Antonio Road appeared promising for a connected bicycle facility, although utilities and special setbacks require further analysis. Council members also raised park funding, street trees, crossings, grocery and school access, and coordination with Mountain View. Public commenters focused on flooding, sea-level rise, groundwater, liquefaction, tree canopy and safe intersection design.

Staff plans to continue public outreach and develop land-use and mobility alternatives during winter 2025-26. The schedule calls for seeking selection of a preferred alternative by June 2026, followed by environmental review and completion of the plan in 2028.

Council adopts eight building-code ordinances

The council voted 6-0 to adopt eight ordinances updating the municipal code for the 2025 California Building Standards Code and approved $96,000 from the Budget Stabilization Reserve for additional energy reach-code development.

Staff said the package included LEED certification pathways, embodied-carbon requirements for projects of at least 25,000 square feet and local electric-vehicle readiness requirements based on voluntary CalGreen Tier 2 standards.

The additional funding will support reach-code work after statewide cost-effectiveness studies become available. Staff warned that current local source-energy compliance-margin requirements will lapse on Jan. 1, 2026, leaving state code in effect until updated local provisions can take effect. Staff also will return on the consent calendar with Wildland-Urban Interface and Fire Code ordinances and local amendments, while the energy reach-code work is expected to return for consideration in spring 2026.

Major utility and drainage contracts clear the consent calendar

A recorded 6-0-1 consent-calendar vote approved fiscal 2025-to-2026 budget reappropriations and technical adjustments, including $3,804,415 in operating expenses, $188,528,711 in capital-project expenditures and $269,648,882 in capital-project revenues.

The council also authorized a three-year utility trench and substructure contract with MP Nexlevel of California for up to $13,600,187, plus as much as $1,060,018 for change orders. First-year funding included a $3 million reappropriation for the fiber-to-the-premises pilot and Foothills Rebuild. A commenter questioned the calculation and allocation of fiber and electric costs and whether some fiber-related expenses might require voter approval; no council discussion was recorded before approval.

For Hamilton Avenue, the council approved a construction contract with Precision Engineering for up to $6,842,121, as much as $684,212 for unforeseen work and a $625,000 Stormwater Management Fund budget amendment. The capacity project is intended to increase storm-drain capacity from the existing 15 to 20 cubic feet per second to 90 cubic feet per second.

Other consent approvals included a five-year, $1,513,890 landfill-gas services contract with SCS Field Services; a Utilities Control Center generator contract with SCC Electric for up to $997,500 plus $99,750 in change-order authority; and a $230,000 increase to a Regional Water Quality Control Plant motor and pump service contract, bringing its limit to $460,000.

Council endorses Measure A and Proposition 50

The council adopted positions supporting Santa Clara County Measure A and Proposition 50 on a recorded 6-0-1 vote. Measure A would impose a 0.625% general sales tax for five years and raise approximately $330 million annually, according to the agenda packet. Council members acknowledged the tax's regressive effects but said county health care, mental-health, housing and other services needed the funding amid anticipated federal cuts.

Proposition 50 would authorize new congressional district maps through 2030. Council members expressed reservations about temporarily departing from independent redistricting but supported the measure as a response to partisan redistricting in other states.

The council's action expresses a position of support; voters will decide both measures in the Nov. 4 special election. The registration deadline is Oct. 20.

Oversized-vehicle parking returns Oct. 20

The council announced that it will consider oversized-vehicle parking on Oct. 20, when staff expects to present options and potential solutions. No policy action or collective direction was recorded during the Oct. 6 meeting.

The announcement followed comments describing sanitation, visibility, parking-access and safety concerns involving RVs and trailers parked for extended periods near Corporation Way and Park Boulevard. Commenters sought stronger enforcement, while one also called for designated safe parking and pathways to permanent housing.

Airport report identifies 560 noise-abatement deviations

An informational report in the council materials counted 150,123 Palo Alto Airport operations in 2024 and 110 noise complaints from 51 households. It also identified 560 deviations from recommended noise-abatement procedures between April 3 and June 30, 2025. The item required no council action.

Teri Black & Company selected for City Attorney search

The council selected Teri Black & Company to conduct the City Attorney recruitment, approved the general timeline and process, and delegated approval of interview details to the Council Appointed Officers Committee chair. The one-time cost is capped at $37,000, comprising a $23,000 professional fee and up to $14,000 in reimbursable expenses.

A commenter urged the full council to approve the recruitment process and brochure contents rather than delegating details or relying on individual council outreach. The selection passed with the consent calendar on a recorded 6-0-1 vote.

Council sets two-vote floor for commission interviews

The council adopted a minimum of two council votes for commission applicants to be selected for interviews, resolving an ambiguity in its revised process. It retained eight Parks and Recreation Commission interviewees, limited Public Art Commission interviews to seven applicants who met the threshold and ordered another ballot for the eighth Human Relations Commission slot.

A later second-round ballot selected an additional Human Relations Commission candidate with four votes, compared with two votes to select no additional candidate. The supplied records do not identify the selected applicant. Each commission has three full-term vacancies, and the recruitment drew 32 applications overall. Interviews were scheduled to begin Oct. 15, with appointments tentatively planned for Oct. 22.

Primary sources

Watch the meeting on YouTube · Read the official meeting packet