Santa Clara County warns of H.R.1 cuts

County projects more than $1 billion in annual health-system losses from H.R.1

Santa Clara County representatives told the Palo Alto City Council that H.R.1 is expected to substantially reduce federal support for Medicaid, known in California as Medi-Cal, and SNAP, known as CalFresh. They projected that Santa Clara Valley Healthcare will lose more than $1 billion in annual revenue as the reductions are implemented. The Council took no position or formal action.

County representatives said 6,485 Palo Alto residents rely on Medi-Cal and 1,755 rely on CalFresh. They also pointed to the North County clinic in Palo Alto, which has capacity for 14,000 visits annually. More than half of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s revenue comes from Medicaid, according to the presentation.

The County outlined a response combining service and operational restructuring, advocacy for state support and Measure A, a proposed five-year, five-eighths-cent sales tax expected to generate about $330 million annually. The County Executive said all three approaches would be needed, service impacts were unavoidable and detailed decisions about affected programs had not been made.

All six speakers on the item supported Measure A and emphasized potential effects on health care, behavioral health, homelessness services and other safety-net programs. The City Attorney cautioned that the study session could not be used for ballot advocacy, and the Council did not endorse the measure. County administrators expect to present a high-level strategy to the Board of Supervisors in October.

Council authorizes filing to join King County v. Turner

Side-by-side Street View and map showing the captioned location labeled A — Ventura Community Center, Palo Alto, CA

After a closed session, the Council reported a 7-0 vote authorizing the City Attorney to file papers to join King County v. Turner, Case No. 225CV00814, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The report did not describe the dispute or the City’s intended filing in further detail. No action was reported on the separate potential-litigation and local-tax closed-session items.

70 Encina condominium map removed over noticing error

Side-by-side Street View and map showing the captioned location labeled B — 70 Encina Avenue, Palo Alto, CA

The Council did not consider a tentative map for a proposed condominium subdivision at 70 Encina Avenue after the City Manager reported a noticing error. The item was removed from the agenda, and staff will renotice and reagendize it. No vote was taken on the underlying application.

The proposal would merge two lots and create 10 condominium units on a 12,119-square-foot parcel. Two units would be below market rate and affordable to households earning no more than 80% of area median income. Staff had recommended finding the project exempt from further California Environmental Quality Act review under state guidelines and approving the map, but the Council did not act on that recommendation.

Palo Alto announces transit center planning partnership

Side-by-side Street View and map showing the captioned location labeled C — Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA

The City announced a partnership with VTA, Stanford and the Urban Land Institute to obtain advice and recommendations on long-term development and planning for the Palo Alto Transit Center. The Council designated three representatives for the effort, and findings are scheduled to be presented Oct. 24, 2025, at City Hall.

Primary sources

Watch the meeting on YouTube · Read the official meeting packet