Palo Alto begins community process to update Coverly master plan

City of Palo Alto staff and consultant Concordia opened the first public meeting to update the Coverly master plan, presenting a draft vision and asking residents to help refine programming and placemaking priorities.

Christine O'Kane, of the City of Palo Alto Community Services Department, said the process will “build upon the previous master plan that was completed in 2019.” Bobby Hill of the consultant team described a multi-step public process and a planning framework the team calls “Nexus.”

The meeting centered on a draft vision statement and six “core intentions” derived from a recent City Council vision session. George Silvertooth, who leads community engagement for Concordia, told attendees that the synthesized draft vision reads: “Coverly will be a vibrant and beloved destination with activities, amenities, and offering that promote learning, joy, and well-being where all cultures and generations belong.” He said the statement is intentionally high-level and the meeting’s table exercises were intended to produce edits or more-specific actions to achieve that vision.

Concordia presented the Nexus framework to ensure the plan addresses physical, social, educational, cultural, organizational and economic components of the site. The consultant team described a co-design process of outreach, analysis and iterative drafting. Concordia representatives identified themselves as the lead consultant team, introduced project staff and local community “fellows” who will help facilitate table activities.

Presenters outlined the project footprint and background: the city currently owns about 7.5 acres of additional property that, if acquired, would expand Coverly’s footprint; the overall parcel discussed is roughly 15 acres and the existing program amounts to about 78,000 square feet. Presenters emphasized that this iteration will not include housing on the 15-acre Coverly footprint and that housing for the area is being addressed in the separate San Antonio area plan.

Attendees were given table worksheets to review the draft vision and the six core intentions, which include offering wellness opportunities, encouraging exploration and connection, building a flexible resilience hub, supporting arts and culture, providing an “always learning” environment, and balancing realistic expectations with accessibility. Participants were asked to mark what is missing, suggest edits, and write ideas on the worksheets or Post-its; staff said every written comment will be read and incorporated into the process.

Schedule and next steps presented at the meeting called for three community meetings: the current vision/programming/placemaking meeting, a June meeting to present three concept options, and a September meeting to refine program organization, circulation and green space. The team said final City Council approval is targeted for May 2026 with a potential ballot measure in November 2026. Presenters also listed related ongoing city efforts — including the San Antonio Road area plan, a bike and pedestrian plan, a safety action plan, parks/trails/open-space planning, the North Ventura coordinated area plan and the city’s housing element — and said the Coverly process will be coordinated with those efforts.

No formal actions or votes were taken at the meeting. The session moved directly into facilitated table exercises; attendees were reminded of a brief after-action survey at the meeting’s close and that project materials will be posted on the project website.

Next publicly announced milestones are the June concept options meeting and the September refinement meeting; staff requested that residents write their ideas on the provided materials so the consultant team can incorporate community input into subsequent drafts.