Palo Alto ARB recommends approval for Cedar & Sage storefront, outdoor dining and canopy revisions at Stanford Shopping Center

Palo Alto Architectural Review Board members voted 3-0 on July 17 to recommend that the director of planning and development services approve a major architectural review application for Cedar & Sage at 180 El Camino Real at the Stanford Shopping Center.

The vote followed a staff presentation and applicant return visit addressing prior ARB direction on four items: an eight-foot clear exterior walkway, alternatives to gas heating, improved canopy integration with the building, and additional plaster material details. Tamara Harrison, Michael Baker International, told the board that "the Simon team has agreed to relocate the existing bollards" so the project will provide an eight-foot clear path and that switching to electric heaters would require installing new electric service "at the cost of, like, approximately $90,000." Staff recommended the board confirm that the revised project meets ARB direction and "recommend the director approve the project," Harrison said.

Why it matters: the item is a quasi-judicial review that controls the look and access at a high-traffic retail and dining node in the Stanford Shopping Center. The board's recommendation, if confirmed by the director of planning…