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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 2511-5429CITY OF PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL Monday, December 01, 2025 Council Chambers & Hybrid 5:30 PM Agenda Item 16.SECOND READING: Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Sections of Chapter 10.56 (“Special Speed Zones”) of Title 10 (Vehicles and Traffic) to Reflect the 2025 Traffic Survey (FIRST READING: November 10, 2025, PASSED 5-0-2, Stone, Veenker absent) City Council Staff Report Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR Lead Department: City Clerk Meeting Date: December 1, 2025 Report #:2511-5429 TITLE SECOND READING: Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Sections of Chapter 10.56 (“Special Speed Zones”) of Title 10 (Vehicles and Traffic) to Reflect the 2025 Traffic Survey (FIRST READING: November 10, 2025, PASSED 5-0-2, Stone, Veenker absent) BACKGROUND The City Council heard this item on November 10, 2025 for a first reading and approved it on a 5-0-2, Stone, Veenker absent vote. No changes were made to the ordinance, and it is now before the City Council for a second reading. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Sections of Chapter 10.56 (“Special Speed Zones”) of Title 10 (Vehicles and Traffic) to Reflect the 2025 Traffic Survey APPROVED BY: Mahealani Ah Yun, City Clerk NOT YET APPROVED 1 Ordinance No. _____ Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Sections of Chapter 10.56 (“Special Speed Zones”) of Title 10 (Vehicles and Traffic) to Reflect the 2025 Traffic Survey The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows: SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows: A.In conjunction with this ordinance, the City Council approved the “Engineering & Traffic Survey”, dated September 2025, (Traffic Survey) for the City of Palo Alto. The Traffic Survey was conducted by TJKM under contract by the City. B.Based on the findings of the Traffic Survey, the City now desires to amend the Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) through this ordinance to indicate the latest survey completion date for nine road segments. SECTION 2. Chapter 10.56.010 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows (new text is underlined, deleted text is in strikethrough): 10.56.010 Twenty-five miles per hour prima facie speed limit justified. It is determined that the state twenty-five miles per hour prima facie speed limit for business or residence districts is justified, as required by state law, with respect to the following streets or portions of streets by engineering and traffic surveys conducted by the city and completed on the dates shown below: Road Segment Name Survey Completion Date Alma St from El Camino Real to University Ave September 2023 Amaranta Ave from Los Robles Ave to Maybell Ave November 2017 Arboretum Rd from Sand Hill Rd to Quarry Rd November 2017 Birch St from California Ave to Page Mill Exp April 2025November 2017 California Ave from El Camino Real to Hanover St November 2017 Charleston Rd from Fabian Way to South City Limit September 2023 Charleston Rd from Middlefield Rd to Fabian Way September 2023 Charleston Rd from El Camino Real to Alma St September 2023 Channing Ave from W Bayshore Rd to Newell Rd November 2017 Channing Ave from Newell Rd to Guinda Ave November 2017 Channing Ave from Guinda Ave to Alma St November 2017 Churchill Ave from Embarcadero Rd to Alma St November 2017 NOT YET APPROVED 2 Churchill Ave from Alma St to El Camino Real November 2017 Colorado Ave from W Bayshore Rd to Middlefield Rd November 2017 E Meadow Dr from Louis Rd to Alma St November 2017 El Camino Way from Los Robles Ave to Maybell Ave September 2023 Embarcadero Rd from Embarcadero Rd to Highway 101 April 2025 Embarcadero Rd from Middlefield Rd to Alma St April 2025 Embarcadero Rd from El Camino Real to Alma St October 2023 Guinda Ave from Lytton Ave to Channing Ave November 2017 Hamilton Ave from Middlefield Rd to Alma St November 2017 High St from Lytton Ave to Channing Ave November 2017 Homer Ave from Guinda Ave to Alma St November 2017 Laguna Ave from Matadero Ave to Los Robles Ave November 2017 Loma Verde Ave from W Bayshore Rd to Middlefield Rd November 2017 Loma Verde Ave from Middlefield Rd to Alma St November 2017 Los Robles Ave from Laguna Ave to El Camino Real November 2017 Louis Rd from Oregon Exp to Loma Verde Rd September 2023 Louis Rd from Loma Verde Rd to Charleston Rd September 2023 Lytton Ave from Alma St to Middlefield Rd November 2017 Matadero Ave from El Camino Real to Laguna Ave November 2017 Middlefield Rd from University Ave to Embarcadero Rd September 2023 Middlefield Rd from University Av to Northern City Limits September 2023 Middlefield Rd from Embarcadero Rd to Oregon Exp November 2017 Middlefield Rd from E Charleston Rd to South City Limits April 2025 Newell Rd from East City Limit to Channing Ave November 2017 Newell Rd from Channing Ave to Embarcadero Rd November 2017 N California Ave from Middlefield Rd to Alma St November 2017 Park Blvd from California Ave to Lambert Ave September 2023 Peter Coutts Rd from Stanford Ave to Page Mill Rd November 2017 Porter Dr from Hillview Ave to Page Mill Rd September 2023 Quarry Rd from El Camino Real to Campus Dr October 2023 NOT YET APPROVED 3 Stanford Ave from El Camino Real to Peter Coutts Rd November 2017 Stanford Ave from Peter Coutts Rd to Junipero Serra Blvd November 2017 University Ave from Middlefield Rd to Alma St November 2017 Waverley St from Lytton Ave to Channing Ave November 2017 Waverley St from Channing Ave to Embarcadero Rd November 2017 SECTION 3. Chapter 10.56.015 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 10.56.015 Thirty miles per hour prima facie speed limit. It is determined and justified upon the basis of engineering and traffic surveys that a speed greater than the twenty-five miles per hour prima facie speed limit set forth in Section 22352 of the Vehicle Code of the state, would facilitate the orderly movement of vehicular traffic and would be reasonable and safe under the conditions found to exist upon the streets, or portions thereof, set forth in this section, and it is hereby declared that thirty miles per hour shall be the prima facie speed limit upon these streets, or portions thereof, except for school zones, as shown below: Road Segment Name Survey Completion Date Coyote Hill Rd from Page Mill Rd to Hillview Ave April 2025 Fabian Way from Charleston Rd to W Bayshore Rd September 2023 Hansen Way from El Camino Real to Page Mill Exp September 2023 Hanover St from Page Mill Rd to Hillview Ave September 2023 Hillview Ave from Hanover St to Foothill Exp September 2023 W Bayshore Rd from Oregon Exp to Colorado Ave November 2017 SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion or sections of the Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it should have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid. SECTION 5. The Council finds that this ordinance is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), pursuant to Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines as a minor alteration to the existing street system. NOT YET APPROVED 4 SECTION 6. This ordinance shall be effective 31 days after adoption. INTRODUCED: PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTENTIONS: ATTEST: ____________________________ ____________________________ City Clerk Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED: ____________________________ ____________________________ Assistant City Attorney City Manager ____________________________ Chief Transportation Official