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Council hears Westside Area Plan update, members press for stronger tenant relocation protections and independent studies
Summary
Planning staff reviewed the Westside Area Plan and refinements to the Neighborhood Center Overlay. Council members urged third‑party community impact and value‑capture analyses, earlier approval of relocation plans and clearer tenant notification and inclusionary requirements after problems during the Woodland Park project.
Alaina Lee, planning manager, presented an update on the Westside Area Plan adopted as part of the VISTA 2035 general plan, describing 11 goals and 83 policies aimed at preventing displacement, preserving affordable housing and improving transit and infrastructure in the 107‑acre West Side area.
Lee told the council the West Side contains about 77% of the city’s multifamily units and is separated from other parts of East Palo Alto by Highway 101. She summarized refinements to the Neighborhood Center Overlay (NCO) and said the NCO designation would be limited to parcels south of Woodland Park and would continue to require city council legislative approval before it applies to any property.
Council member Romero said the council had learned “a lot of heartache and headache” from the Woodland Park approvals and urged staff to return with changes to Chapter 11 that require independent, third‑party community impact and value‑capture studies rather than studies performed by developers. Romero also asked that relocation plans be approved before entitlements and that an independent tenant census be required so tenants know their rights and relocation options.
Several council members echoed those concerns and pressed for specific standards in the West Side plan: earlier approval timing for relocation plans, codified comparable relocation unit standards (to address lost amenities such as garages or parking stalls), and clearer inclusionary requirements. Romero suggested the city require a third‑party value‑capture analysis to verify developer cost claims and to ensure community benefits are not undercut by developer‑produced studies.
Other council members said they favored keeping the Westside plan largely as written to avoid delaying projects, but supported using rent board monitoring and RSO staff reports as data sources for any future amendments. The council did not take additional action beyond receiving the informational report and directed staff to consider the points raised when returning with potential amendments.
