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Applicant outlines 95‑unit townhome project at 4 Corners with 20% affordable units
Summary
The preliminary townhome application proposes 95 for‑sale townhomes at 1675 Bay Road with 20% of units designated affordable (10 low, 9 moderate), 201 parking spaces and three‑story buildings; staff and commission asked for AMI translation and community access features.
The applicant presented a separate preliminary application for a townhome development on the 4 Corners parcel that would deliver 95 for‑sale townhomes with a 20 percent baseline affordable commitment (76 market, 10 low‑income, 9 moderate‑income). Ariana O’Connell, the project presenter, said units would range from 1,200 to 1,900 square feet, include two garage parking spaces per unit, and cluster around landscaped courts with multiple entry points.
Staff noted the townhome application was filed under SB 330 and therefore reviewed under the 2013 RBD specific plan. The presenter said the project’s FAR is 1.13 and the design keeps buildings to three stories, roughly 38 feet 10.5 inches tall. The applicant said inclusionary and alternative compliance approaches will require an affordable‑housing compliance plan to be submitted to housing staff and might need City Council consideration.
Commissioners requested clearer income‑level translations for the affordable units. Commissioner Hernandez pressed for AMI numbers and what those percentages mean in dollar terms. Staff and the applicant provided example figures: for a household of three, 80% AMI ≈ $140,000 and 120% AMI ≈ $200,000, and the applicant noted a rough example sale price at 100% AMI of about $500,000 — figures commissioners said remain high relative to East Palo Alto’s local incomes.
Several commissioners raised design and public‑realm concerns: the plan’s internalized layout may feel gated to the community, and some urged more visible, publicly accessible open space and retail activation along University Avenue and Bay Road. The developer said they are exploring ways to increase publicly available courtyard space and noted the city owns an adjacent 10,000‑square‑foot lot that could be combined for public open space.
Next steps: staff will expect a formal application and tentative maps; the townhome proposal was informational and will proceed through formal review and additional community outreach.
