Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
SB 79 prompts Palo Alto to weigh downtown housing plan, alternative transit‑oriented mapping
Summary
New state law SB 79 raises allowable heights, density and floor area near rail and rapid‑bus corridors; Palo Alto staff presented options to incorporate the law into a downtown housing plan, pause for an SB 79 'alternative plan,' or deprioritize the downtown plan.
City planning staff on Oct. 22 presented the City Council with choices for responding to SB 79, a new California law that increases by‑right heights, residential densities and floor‑area allowances near qualifying rail stations and rapid‑bus corridors. Staff proposed three paths: continue the planned downtown housing plan and apply SB 79 as written; pause the downtown plan to prepare a transit‑oriented alternative plan that redistributes development potential within station radii; or deprioritize the downtown plan because SB 79 largely establishes the new baseline.
Vishnu Krishnan, a planner on the downtown housing team, summarized the downtown housing plan’s goals: to increase housing feasibility downtown by adjusting development and design standards, addressing infrastructure and parking constraints, and identifying policy tools to encourage housing near transit. Krishnan said the team’s initial feasibility testing showed…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
