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Residents urge pause on downtown park and performing‑arts center plans as council approves theater extension on consent
Summary
During public comment, multiple Los Altos residents urged the city to pause park construction that would remove surface parking plazas and to reconsider siting and public funding for a proposed performing‑arts center; council approved a consent calendar item extending the theater fundraising timeline after staff said a fundraiser has been hired and language was changed to provide flexibility on plaza locations.
Los Altos — Several residents used the public‑comment period on Nov. 12 to press the City Council to halt or slow plans that would remove surface parking plazas downtown to make way for a proposed park and performing‑arts center.
Speakers told the council they had learned only recently that proposed changes could eliminate plazas 1, 2, 7 and 8 and warned of downtown impacts including lost parking for the post office, banks and retail. Residents asked for updated parking studies, clearer budget estimates for park construction and the theater, and an Environmental Impact Report or feasibility studies before the city commits more funds.
“I think we need more affordable housing, but I think we also need to be able to have people come to our town and be able to go to the bank, to the post office,” said Robera Phillips during public comment, urging the council to consider postponing plaza removals.
Several commenters also pressed the council about the performing‑arts center fundraising. Nancy Martin asked where $300,000 the council approved in April 2025 to support professional fundraising for the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation had gone, and repeated concerns that residents do not want the city to underwrite ongoing theater operations.
Council members responded during the consent discussion that the ordinance language had been modified to give the city flexibility to change which plaza would host the theater if a more coherent plan and funding emerge. Council Member Weinberg also said the city had hired a professional fundraiser and staff had met with that person.
The consent calendar — which included the extension tied to the performing‑arts effort and other routine items — passed unanimously.
