ULI panel urges housing, sidewalks and bike upgrades for East Campbell Avenue in Campbell

An Urban Land Institute (ULI) technical assistance panel on Sept. 16 presented a revised vision for East Campbell Avenue that urges the city to concentrate higher‑density housing at a handful of catalyst sites and to prioritize multimodal public‑realm upgrades to better link Downtown Campbell and the Pruneyard.

"Unlike the Pruneyard or Downtown, it really lacks the kind of identity, walkability, and investment that we would like to see in Campbell," Nathan Donato Weinstein, the city’s economic development manager, said as he introduced the panel. Nell Sealander, the panel chair and economic and community development director for South San Francisco, told council members the TAP interviewed nearly 30 stakeholders and identified recurring themes: housing as a primary land use, tree canopy and shade, pedestrian and bicyclist comfort, and parking and traffic concerns.

Panelists laid out a multi‑pronged approach. Katya Kermandar, a Bay Area residential developer, said state laws and streamlining tools the panel reviewed could enable taller, transit‑oriented projects and observed that, "with your new zoning in place, really what gets built…