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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-05-25 Planning & transportation commission Summary Minutes_______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Planning & Transportation Commission 1 Action Agenda: May 25, 2022 2 Virtual Meeting 3 6:00 PM 4 5 Call to Order / Roll Call 6 6:02 pm 7 Chair Lauing called the meeting to order. 8 Madina Klicheva, Administrative Assistant, conducted the roll and announced all 9 Commissioners were present. 10 Rachael Tanner, Assistant Director, read-aloud instructions on how the public can participate in 11 the meeting. 12 Oral Communications 13 The public may speak to any item not on the agenda. Three (3) minutes per speaker.1,2 14 Chair Lauing invited members of the public to provide comments on an item not on the agenda. 15 Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions 16 The Chair or Commission majority may modify the agenda order to improve meeting management. 17 Chair Lauing inquired if there were any agenda changes, additions or deletions. 18 Rachael Tanner, Assistant Director, noted there were no changes from Staff. 19 Commissioner Templeton shared she would have to leave the meeting at some point and would 20 return. 21 City Official Reports 22 1. Directors Report, Meeting Schedule and Assignments 23 Rachael Tanner, Assistant Director, reported the Castilleja School project was heard by the 24 Council at their May 23, 2022 meeting and they continued the item to their June 6th, 2022 25 meeting. The Council will be holding a special meeting on June 1, 2022, where they will 26 consider the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) Work Plan and then consider the 27 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Objective Standards at their June 6, 2022 meeting. The City will be taking up a Home Key 1 project to build a non-congregate shelter. Planning and Development Services hired new Staff 2 personnel and additional Staff positions may become available during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 3 Budget process. 4 Rafael Rius, Senior Transportation Engineer, remarked there was no update but invited 5 Commissioners to ask questions regarding work within the Office of Transportation. 6 Study Session 7 Public Comment is Permitted. Three (3) minutes per speaker.2,3 8 2. Receive and Provide Feedback on Parking Program Update 9 Nathan Baird, Parking Program Manage, reported the presentation was supplemental to the 10 Staff report and invited discussion or feedback on the items. In 2017 a Downtown Parking 11 Management Study was conducted which provided recommendations. The City signed a 12 contract with Duncan Solutions for permit and citation management. In 2020, the City began 13 transitioning the City’s programs to the Duncan Solutions web permit and digital permit portals. 14 Also, recently implemented was the automated license plate recognition (ALPR) and data 15 collection. Staff would return to the PTC with additional Municipal Code updates related to 16 commercial parking and residential improvements. Virtual permitting had caused difficulties 17 among users and did not provide the same ease of use as a physical guest/visitor hangtag. For 18 commercial, Staff was exploring a Municipal Code update to provide an option to pay hourly to 19 park Downtown. In the Parking Action Plan, Staff continued to advance key strategies to 20 improve the experiences for both visitors and residents and data management. Approximately 21 2,000 parking permits were sold for the Downtown. Both University Avenue and California 22 Avenue garages and lot permit sales were significantly down compared to previous years. 23 Major parking initiatives for 2022-2023 included launching the digital purchase options for the 24 parking permit programs, launching the California Avenue garage and lot permit portal, and 25 engaging in stakeholder discussions about prioritizing program improvements. Office of 26 Transportation will be providing frequent updates to the PTC regarding parking program policy 27 updates and initiatives. The next steps included an in-person parking facility walking tour and a 28 customer survey. 29 Commissioner Hechtman asked what the Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) sale cycles 30 were. 31 Mr. Baird explained that RPP sales are staggered throughout the year and permits were annual 32 permits. 33 Commissioner Chang inquired if all the initiates listed above future policy and action items were 34 only in the concept phase. 35 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Mr. Baird confirmed some were ideas, some were being implemented and some had already 1 begun. 2 Commissioner Chang understood at least one assisted global positing system (A-GPS) would be 3 installed in the year 2022. 4 Mr. Baird clarified Staff was working with the Public Works Department to issue a Request for 5 Proposals (RFP). 6 Commissioner Chang asked if the Office of Transportation was ahead of schedule, on schedule, 7 or behind schedule in terms of projects that were implemented versus planned projects. 8 Mr. Baird articulated a lot of progress had been made with respect to residents’ concerns 9 regarding RPPs and garage and lots prices. Staff was currently working on improving customers’ 10 experiences with the online portals. He acknowledged that Staff was behind on implementing 11 the automated occupancy count system. 12 Commissioner Chang wanted to understand what lessons had been learned with the 13 implementation of the initiatives. 14 Mr. Baird remarked there were eight programs and there were advantages and disadvantages 15 to having that many programs. Staff was making progress towards consolidating parking and 16 permit available options. 17 Commissioner Chang asked what challenges have there been with the online portal. 18 Mr. Baird explained folks were having trouble setting up their account as well as uploading the 19 documentation that is required. 20 Chair Lauing invited members of the public to provide their comments; seeing none he invited 21 Commissioners to continue with their comments. 22 Commissioner Reckdahl inquired if all eight parking programs have the same rules. 23 Mr. Baird explained there was one no overnight parking program, six had 2-hour restrictions for 24 neighborhoods where commercial impacts had been witnessed in the past, and two were 25 commercial and public lot programs. 26 Commissioner Reckdahl pressed how were the rules established. 27 Mr. Baird explained each program had a thorough public process. 28 Commissioner Reckdahl asked if surveys are conducted to understand residents' satisfaction. 29 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Mr. Baird concurred that was a recommendation made in the Work Plan and Staff will be 1 working on it shortly. 2 Commissioner Reckdahl remarked public outreach can be time-consuming. 3 Mr. Baird agreed and noted Staff had strategized how to focus the public outreach, but also be 4 flexible and adaptive. 5 Commissioner Reckdahl asked what data-driven policy meant. 6 Mr. Baird reiterated the permit programs were designed to mitigate commercial impacts as 7 well as manage different types of demand from different types of users. Staff was strategizing 8 how to have continued metrics that were monitored over time and have continued discussion 9 about the success of the programs. 10 Commissioner Reckdahl inquired if Staff knew how many residents live in a particular 11 neighborhood and how many cars were in it. 12 Mr. Baird answered Staff had estimates, but ALPR would provide more accurate counts of how 13 many vehicles are in a geographical area. 14 Commissioner Roohparvar wanted to understand Staff’s vision for the Shared Parking Program. 15 Mr. Baird articulated that the Shared Parking Program was the best practice for maximizing 16 efficiently the use of the spaces available. One way the City could encourage shared parking 17 was to have better and more frequently updated pricing. 18 Commissioner Roohparvar asked if the program would include a public/private partnership. 19 Mr. Baird restated Staff was still working through the details. 20 Chair Lauing wanted to know if other neighborhoods had requested an RPP. 21 Mr. Baird understood that the need was low and parking demand was way down compared to 22 previous years. 23 Chair Lauing predicted Staff worked with residents who were active with RPPs. 24 Mr. Baird confirmed the newly established Old Palo Alto RPP went through a public 25 engagement process. 26 Vice-Chair Summa requested more details about the Santa Clara County Valley Transportation 27 Authority (VTA) Micro-Transit Pilot Project. 28 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Mr. Baird shared the City received a grant from VTA to operate a micro-transit shuttle and Staff 1 would be issuing an RFP for a vendor to provide the service. 2 Vice-Chair Summa inquired if the shuttle system would have regular routes or a more optimized 3 dynamic. 4 Mr. Baird answered it would be a more optimized dynamic service. 5 Vice-Chair Summa asked what curb management meant. 6 Mr. Baird explained it was how the City allocated curb space in commercial areas. 7 Vice-Chair Summa recalled the zones closest to University Avenue were the most desirable 8 zones in the Downtown RPP. She inquired if there was a way to spread out the parking demand 9 more evenly among the various zones. 10 Mr. Baird mentioned the zoned system did help spread around the demand by providing limits 11 on the availability of the spots that are most desired. 12 Vice-Chair Summa wanted to understand if the Share Parking Program included using one site 13 with different transportation uses or more utilizing a site that did not see much parking at a 14 specific time of day. 15 Mr. Baird emphasized the City would not constrict itself just yet on what the shared parking 16 initiative might be. 17 Commissioner Reckdahl wondered if the data collected by the ALPR would be sufficient for the 18 City to make policy decisions. 19 Mr. Baird restated ALPR will provide enforcement as well as collect data that will help with 20 decision-making. 21 Commissioner Reckdahl mentioned if the City knew where the owner of a particular car lived. 22 Then the City could understand how far the owner has to walk to park their car and that may be 23 helpful information. 24 Mr. Baird reiterated the ALPR was set up to collect parking occupancy data and the City was not 25 interested in keeping the data. 26 Commissioner Reckdahl asked if Streetlight could be used for parking data. 27 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Mr. Baird answered Streetlight was an example of a company that provided cell data to address 1 parking demand. Staff predicted ALPR would evolve but was currently only being used for RPPs. 2 Commercial areas were enforced by Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD). 3 Commissioner Reckdahl wanted to know what utilized gap management meant. 4 Mr. Baird believed it was a technique to establish data collection but would have to confirm 5 with the consultant. 6 Commissioner Reckdahl asked what developing a parking ambassador approach to parking 7 meant. 8 Mr. Baird explained other cities had taken a customer service approach to their parking 9 programs and utilized parking officers as educators as well as enforcers. 10 Commissioner Reckdahl requested what adopting a park once moto for parking management 11 meant. 12 Mr. Baird explained park once was a strategy that considered economic development. It 13 encouraged visitors to park once and use public transit to travel around Palo Alto. 14 Chair Lauing requested Staff provide more detail regarding the next steps. 15 Mr. Baird explained part of the Work Plan was to continue to work with the City’s Planning and 16 Development Services Department on in-lieu parking options and Transportation Demand 17 Management/ Transportation Management Association (TDM/TMA) collaboration. 18 Chair Lauing wanted more details regarding the in-person parking facilities walking tour. 19 Mr. Baird invited PTC Members to participate in a tour to evaluate parking where commercial 20 pilot programs may be beneficial. 21 Vice-Chair Summa remarked she was interested in going on the walking tour. She shared a 22 customer survey was not needed at this time because of the change in parking patterns. She 23 recommended Staff engage with neighborhood associations to understand their needs. 24 Commissioner Hechtman appreciated staff’s forward-thinking initiatives and allowing the PTC 25 to provide feedback early in the process. He found the initiatives impressive and thorough. 26 Chair Lauing closed the item. 27 Action Items 28 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Public Comment is Permitted. Applicants/Appellant Teams: Fifteen (15) minutes, plus three (3) minutes rebuttal. 1 All others: Five (5) minutes per speaker.1,3 2 3. PUBLIC HEARING / QUASI-JUDICIAL. 2850 West Bayshore [21PLN-00178]: 3 Recommendation on Applicant's Request for Approval of a Vesting Tentative Map for 4 a single-lot subdivision for condominium purposes for 48 attached townhomes. 5 Environmental Assessment: Exempt per CEQA Guidelines Section 15332. Zoning 6 District: ROLM (Research, Office, and Manufacturing). For More Information Contact 7 the Project Planner Garrett Sauls at Garrett.Sauls@cityofpaloalto.org. 8 Garrett Sauls, Planner, stated the item is a subdivision application that was associated with the 9 architectural review application that was reviewed by the Architectural Review Board (ARB) on 10 April 21, 2022, and is pending review by Council at their June 2022 meeting. The subdivision 11 application did not address site design, or building design, but identified site design 12 characteristics. The site area was 101,786-square feet and had a proposed Floor Area Ratio 13 (FAR) of 1.147. The existing development onsite was a commercial office building that was not 14 historic. A Vesting Tentative Map (VTM) subdivided an existing parcel into new parcels or 15 condominium parcels. VTMs are required to be reviewed by the Planning and Transportation 16 Commission (PTC) for a recommendation to City Council. Per the City’s Municipal Code, VTMS is 17 to be filed after all discretionary applications have been approved. However, to comply with 18 Senate Bill (SB) 330’s restrictions on local jurisdictions having a total of five hearings, Staff 19 elected to process the VTM and ARB review concurrently. The existing zone allowed residential 20 uses through a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and the applicant was not intending to modify the 21 parcel in any manner. The net density based on the total lot size of the parcel was 30 units per 22 acre with a maximum of 70 units on the site. The parcel dimensions would not be adjusted but 23 instead, condominium/air parcels would be created. Also, required on the site was up to 15 24 percent of affordable housing. The applicant provided seven affordable housing units and 25 would pay the remaining .2 affordable housing through In-Lieu Fees. Under the Subdivision 26 Map Act, the City must make reverse findings to justify approval. Staff recommended approval 27 of the proposed VTM based on the findings and subject to Conditions of Approval. 28 Chair Lauing invited the applicant to make their presentation. 29 John Hickey, Vice President of SummerHill Homes, appreciated Staff’s guidance and their work 30 on the project. SummerHill Homes was a partner of SummerHill Housing Group which had been 31 building homes within the Bay Area for 40-years. The proposed VTM and subdivision 32 improvements were consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and with the Municipal Code. The 33 project also complied with the City’s Affordable Housing Ordinance as well as the City’s Energy 34 Reach Code. There were several similar housing projects along West Bayshore Road and a 35 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) report concluded that the project would not cause 36 significant impacts on the environment and public safety. The project did not conflict with 37 existing public easements but would create additional easements. 38 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Chair Lauing called for public comment. 1 Rachael Tanner, Assistant Director, confirmed there were no public speakers for the item. 2 Commissioner Hechtman asked if the parcel was located on the Housing Element Inventory Site 3 List and were constraints in place that did not allow higher densification. 4 Mr. Sauls stated there was a complex mix of financial and site design constraints that did not 5 lower higher density. 6 Vice-Chair Summa stated the ARB did not look favorably on the proposed project. She inquired 7 if Council will consider the CUP at their meeting or was that outside SB 330’s restriction of five 8 hearings. 9 Mr. Sauls clarified this was hearing three for the project. Council’s review was going to be 10 hearing four and would contain the VTM, the architectural review, concessions, and the CUP at 11 the same time. 12 Vice-Chair Summa wanted to know what happens if the Council denied the application. She 13 noted the ARB had fundamental issues with the project. 14 Albert Yang, Assistant City Attorney, stated the project falls under the Housing Accountability 15 Act. This prevented the City from denying or reducing the density of the project unless specific 16 findings could be made that show there are adverse impacts that could not be mitigated. 17 Vice-Chair Summa inquired if the Council could impose conditions on the project that 18 addressed concerns through the CUP process. 19 Mr. Yang confirmed the City can approve the project with conditions. 20 Chair Lauing remarked the CUP does not have to come to PTC first but rather go directly to 21 Council. 22 Mr. Yang concurred. 23 Commissioner Reckdahl supported the conversion of existing offices to housing, that the 24 project was not displacing existing tenants, and there were no nearby neighbors. He 25 acknowledged a letter from the public that was submitted to the ARB that highlighted how the 26 Density Bonus Law was being misused. He requested Staff’s feedback regarding that letter. 27 Mr. Yang stated the analysis that Staff completed was typical for the request and it found that 28 the project was within the scope of the Density Bonus Law. 29 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Commissioner Reckdahl noted the letter highlighted that other jurisdictions were doing the 1 math differently than Palo Alto. 2 Mr. Yang stated there may be examples of how concessions have been used in different ways 3 but that was not exhaustive. 4 Commissioner Reckdahl asked if the PTC believed the Density Bonus Law was being misapplied, 5 would that be irrelevant to the PTC’s decision? 6 Mr. Yang answered yes. 7 Commissioner Reckdahl restated that PTC’s approval would set a precedent that PTC endorses 8 this type of application of the Density Bonus Law? 9 Mr. Yang confirmed PTC was approving a subdivision of the land that allowed the units to be 10 individually sold. 11 Commissioner Reckdahl believed the parcel was better suited for Planned Home Zoning (PHZ). 12 Ms. Tanner explained that PHZ is a local program and Density Bonus Law was a State initiative. 13 Chair Lauing suggested that questions be answered by the applicant during applicant questions. 14 Commissioner Reckdahl inquired if the applicant was paying for the proposed sound wall and 15 bike lane. 16 Mr. Sauls understood the applicant was paying for and constructing the sound wall and bike 17 lane. 18 Commissioner Reckdahl asked whose land was the sound wall located on. 19 Mr. Sauls answered it would be located on the City property. 20 Commissioner Reckdahl wanted to understand if it was typical for a private entity to build on 21 City land. 22 Mr. Yang answered yes. 23 Commissioner Chang echoed Commissioner Reckdahl’s support for converting office to housing. 24 She inquired if a moderate below-market-rate (BMR) meant 80 to 120 percent of average 25 median income (AMI). 26 Mr. Sauls confirmed that is correct. 27 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Commissioner Chang wanted to understand how the units become designated as BMR units. 1 Mr. Yang explained the City and the applicant will enter into a regulatory agreement that 2 specified which units will be the BMR units. Staff will evaluate the BMR unit size, location, and 3 make sure the units were representative of the development as a whole. 4 Commissioner Chang appreciated that the plan included parking for each unit but wanted to 5 understand how visitor parking is addressed. 6 Mr. Sauls confirmed there are four visitor parking spaces and the street parking spaces along 7 Bayshore Road would be eliminated to accommodate a new bicycle lane. The Municipal Code 8 does not require guest parking spaces. 9 Commissioner Chang was concerned about pedestrian safety and predicted guests would have 10 to walk far based on where parking was currently allowed. She asked if the housing would 11 count towards the current Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) or the next RHNA. 12 Ms. Tanner stated the housing units are not counted until Building Permits are issued and the 13 current RHNA cycle ended in the year 2023. 14 Commissioner Chang wanted to understand how the FAR was calculated in terms of 15 concessions. 16 Mr. Sauls explained FAR for multi-family and commercial properties is measured to the most 17 exterior point of the material on the building. The project requested additional FAR which was 18 an on menu concession that did not require additional documentation proving that the 19 concession would provide affordable housing. 20 Commissioner Chang asked if the provided affordable housing reached the threshold in the 21 State Density Bonus Law. 22 Mr. Sauls confirmed State Density Bonus Law provided a varying amount of affordability as well 23 as a varying amount of concessions based on the level of affordability. The minimum amount 24 was 10 percent affordable housing while the City’s Municipal Code required a minimum of 15 25 percent. He asked Commissioner Hechtman’s question that the site was not listed on the 26 Housing Element Housing Inventory Site List. 27 Vice-Chair Summa agreed the City needed to have more projects that converted commercial to 28 housing. She understood that the project received a Class 32 Exemption from CEQA and 29 requested Staff explain that further. 30 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Mr. Sauls explained a Class 32 Exemption pertained to in-fill development and CEQA found that 1 the project met all the exemptions to the exception for a Class 32 in-fill development. 2 Vice-Chair Summa understood the exemption did not pertain to the health hazards from 3 freeway exhaust. 4 Mr. Yang clarified that CEQA did not address the impacts of the environment on future 5 residents. 6 Vice-Chair Summa believed there were State guidelines that addressed housing near freeways. 7 Mr. Yang expressed he did not know the answer. 8 Vice-Chair Summa found the site being constrained in terms of parking options for loading and 9 deliveries. The proposed private streets did not appear to be pedestrian and bicycle-friendly 10 which was not supported by the Comprehensive Plan. She encouraged the applicant to improve 11 the private streets to be more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly if possible. The ARB called out 12 that point as well. 13 Ms. Tanner suggested the applicant provide clarity on if any proposed improvements were 14 being considered for circulation. 15 Vice-Chair Summa asked how wide will the sidewalk be. 16 Chair Lauing suggested holding all applicant questions until the next round. He invited 17 Commissioners to share any disclosures they had. 18 Commissioner Roohparvar shared she currently resided in a SummerHill Home in the nearby 19 area. 20 Commissioner Hechtman asked why the applicant chose 48-units instead of the maximum of 21 70-units. 22 Mr. Hickey answered that a townhome product type with an attached garage only allowed 48-23 units and that was constrained by City's required street widths. It was not feasible to do a high-24 rise condominium building due to the flood plain and not being able to park the site 25 underground. 26 Commissioner Hechtman mentioned he saw a lease sign in front of the property recently. 27 Mr. Hickey explained SummerHill was in contract to buy the property. 28 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Vice-Chair Summa apricated that the project was proposing units that were large enough to 1 house families. She wanted to understand how bicycle and pedestrian-friendly the project was. 2 Mr. Hickey acknowledged that townhomes were not a typical product type used in Palo Alto. 3 The front doors of the structures face the street to hide the garages on the backside. The 4 project separated vehicles from pedestrians but used private streets for the vehicles and 5 walkways around the sites for pedestrians. 6 Commissioner Roohparvar was excited that the project provided housing and provided starter 7 homes for families. She encouraged the other Commissioners to visit her neighborhood that 8 had a similar design to the proposed project. 9 Elaine Breeze, with SummerHill, agreed the proposed project was similar to Commissioner 10 Roohparvar’s neighborhood. She noted that the front facades of the homes faced Greer Park 11 which provided safety to the folks enjoying the park but also to homeowners. 12 Commissioner Roohparvar added there was proximity to the Baylands as well. She asked if 13 additional parallel parking could be added along B Street. 14 Mr. Hickey highlighted there was a fifth parking space for Uber or Door Dash type services. The 15 City currently required the streets to be 32-feet wide and that was adequate space to quickly 16 drop off items without blocking the street. 17 Commissioner Roohparvar mentioned that Fabian Way and Bayshore Road currently felt cold 18 and industrial. She was excited to see the project bringing more of a community feel to the 19 area. 20 Chair Lauing echoed Commissioner Reckdahl’s comment that the existing office was being 21 removed for more housing and that was a benefit to the City. More importantly, the project 22 was proposing family units and those unit sizes were limited in Palo Alto. He found the project 23 addressed the concern about pedestrians and bicycles because improvements were being 24 made to Bayshore Road. 25 Mr. Hickey shared the 5-feet wide sidewalks are pulled into the site and allow for a landscape 26 buffer between cars and pedestrians. 27 Commissioner Chang appreciated the large units, the easements to save the street trees, the 28 wide sidewalks, and a small drop-off zone. She requested further explanation about the flood 29 plain. 30 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Mr. Hickey mentioned the site was currently 7.5-feet above sea level but the proposed flood 1 base elevation was 12-feet. Per the Building Code, the project had to be 1-foot above the flood 2 base elevation. He noted SummerHill will be paying for and constructing the sound wall. 3 Commissioner Reckdahl asked by the project did not go the PHZ route. 4 Mr. Hickey stated the State Density Bonus Law was a more efficient approach to the 5 entitlements for the project. 6 Commissioner Reckdahl wanted to understand if more bedrooms could be added to the design 7 if more FAR was allowed. 8 Mr. Hickey explained it was a balancing act between space in the interior of the units with a 9 design that was pleasent for the community and the public with respect to massing. 10 Commissioner Hechtman recommended changing Planning Division Condition #3 from “before 11 issuance of the Parcel Map” to “before issuance of the Map”. 12 Mr. Yang agreed. 13 Commissioner Hechtman suggested adding at the end of the paragraph in Condition 4 of the 14 Planning Divisions “, absent extension” because it was commonplace to seek an extension. 15 Mr. Yang confirmed and mentioned that Staff will double-check the 12-month language as well. 16 Commissioner Hechtman supported the project. He stated the PTC’s purview was to approve 17 the Subdivision Map but the findings had to do with the design of the subdivision. That meant 18 the roads and not the design of the structures. 19 MOTION 20 Commissioner Chang moved the Staff recommendation which was to recommend approval of 21 the proposed Vesting Tentative Map to the City Council based on findings and subject to 22 Conditions of Approval as well as the language changes to the draft record that were suggested 23 by Commissioner Hechtman. 24 SECOND 25 Chair Lauing seconded. 26 VOTE 27 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Madina Klicheva, Administrative Assistant, conducted a roll call vote and announced the motion 1 passed 6-0 with Commissioner Templeton absent. 2 Commission Action: Motion by Chang, seconded by Lauing. Motion passed 6-0 (Templeton 3 absent) 4 Approval of Minutes 5 Public Comment is Permitted. Five (5) minutes per speaker.1,3 6 4. March 30, 2022 Draft Summary Meeting Minutes 7 Madina Klicheva, Administrative Assistant, announced corrects were received from 8 Commissioner Chang and Commissioner Hechtman. 9 MOTION 10 Commissioner Hechtman moved. 11 SECOND 12 Commissioner Chang seconded. 13 VOTE 14 Ms. Klicheva conducted a roll call vote and announced the motion passed 5-0 with Vice-Chair 15 Summa abstaining and Commissioner Templeton absent. 16 Commission Action: Motion by Hechtman, seconded by Chang. Motion Passed 5-0 (Summa 17 abstain) (Templeton absent) 18 5. April 20, 2022 Draft Summary Meeting Minutes 19 MOTION 20 Commissioner Hechtman moved to approve the April 20, 2022 draft summary minutes with 21 revisions. 22 SECOND 23 Vice-Chair Summa seconded. 24 VOTE 25 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Madina Klicheva, Administrative Assistant, conducted a roll call vote and announced the motion 1 passed 5-0 with Commissioner Roohparvar abstaining and Commissioner Templeton absent. 2 Commission Action: Motion by Hechtman, seconded by Summa. Motion Passed 5-0 3 (Roohparvar abstain) (Templeton absent) 4 6. April 27, 2022 Draft Verbatim Meeting Minutes 5 MOTION 6 Commissioner Hechtman moved approval of the April 27, 2022 draft verbatim minutes as 7 revised. 8 SECOND 9 Chair Lauing seconded. 10 VOTE 11 Madina Klicheva, Administrative Assistant, conducted a roll call vote and announced the motion 12 passed 5-0 with Commissioner Roohparvar abstaining and Commissioner Templeton absent. 13 Commission Action: Motion by Hechtman, seconded by Lauing. Motion Passed 5-0 (Roohparvar 14 abstain) (Templeton absent) 15 Committee Items 16 Commissioner Reckdahl reported the PTC Ad Hoc Committee tasked with the Housing Element 17 discussed the process and the work moving forward. The committee will be meeting every 18 Friday for the next few weeks. 19 Commissioner Chang added Staff was refining some of the programs and then the Ad Hoc 20 Committee will discuss those. 21 Commissioner Questions, Comments or Announcements 22 Chair Lauing announced PTC will discuss the Housing Element in the next two meetings and the 23 Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance will come to PTC in July. 24 Rachael Tanner, Assistant Director, requested Commissioners provide any updates on dates 25 they may miss due to vacations. 26 Commissioner Templeton arrived back at the meeting at 8:12 pm. 27 _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Chair Lauing adjourned the meeting. 1 Adjournment 2 8:15 pm 3