HomeMy WebLinkAbout0215.094April 7, 1994
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
palo Alto, California
"'.'\'.,
REVISED PRAl1I DOWNTQi'IN URBAN DESIGN PLI\N
Members of the Council~
l\EPORT ...IN llRnI[
This report presents to the Council a revised Draft Downtown
urban Design Plan (UDP)" and sl,l.mmarizes cbanges made to the plan
since it wa~ referred by Council to the Policy and Services
Committee in -Pebruary of 1993. A complete chronology of the
process which resulted in the preparation of the Downtown Urban
Design Plan is presented in Attachment A. The Policy and
Services Committee has returned a revjsed Draft UDP to Council
for consideration and action without a recoromendation of the
Committee. Staff reconwends that the Council adopt the revised
Draft UDP 1 incorporating the comments of the Planning Co~~i6sion,
Architectural Review Doard~ HistOl;ic Resources Board, Public Art
Commission and Utility Advisory Commission. The Council should
also consider the Urhan Design Committee's request for additional
funding to produce a final plan. as described in the attached
letter dated February 18. 1993 from the Urban Design Committee.
Staff finds that the Draft DoWntown Urban Design Plan has
accomplished all of the following:
1. Achieved the 1986 objectives of the Temporary Committee
on DQwutown Design and Amenities;
2. Remain~d consistent with and accomplished the purposes
and objectives of the 1987 Council adopted work
program. othel' than time and staff resource objectives;
3. Remained consistent with curl-ently adopted zoning and
land use regulations;
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4. Complement.s and is useful and consistent with tl).e
cUr;r:ent Council~d:i.rected Comprehensive Plan Update, now
in progress "
S. Received endorsement from all relevant Boards and r~'
COrrmissions;
6, Inspired, even in its draft form, many civic·oriented
private and public investments and/or public
improvements, such as the Civic Center Plaza
improvements. 250 University Plaza Ramona public space I
alley upgrades at 529 Bryant. additions to the webster
cowper garage and the associated public improvements
appt.'oved for 531 Cowper, new, lighting fixtures along
University Avenue, and the City/Stanford Dream Team
citizen initiative .
.Finally, staff recorrmends that this long effort be consldered
<:omplete, Staff lea't'llcd many valuable .... ·ork program management
lessons from this aasignment j but there is no need for further
staff resource c~.itm~nt to the plan in the 1994-95 budget
cycle, other than to finalize the document. It is recommended
that additional funding of $10,000 be made available to produce a
professiol1ally edited and reformatted final document with black
and whtte graphic •.
Staff recOtm'lends that the Urban Design Committee be thanked for
their years of service beyond the original work program. The
corrmitment of these volunteers to an effort which took far longer
than anyone anticipated is cO«IT\endable.
A complete chronology of the preparation of the Draft UDP.
outlining all Council -actions and Committee activities which
preceded the policy and Set'Vices Conunittee decision on December
" "993 to return the l.'evised Draft UDP to Council. is included
with this report as Attachment A,
DISC!!SSIOij
ObjectiYes of the Temporary Comm~
~~ pesign and Amenities,
In 1987, the council-appointed 'remporary Committee on Downtown
Design and Amenities asked Council to appoint a group of citizen
volunteers to develop a conceptual plan which included location
guidelines for amenities, such as ar~, deSign guidelines for
.('I,lley upgrades, and design and location criteria for future
parking-facilities. The purpose was to provide c:r.:iteria ftnd
incentives for future projects, public and private. in the
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Do~ltown. In ex~hange for provision or benefits, private
proj~ct2 would be pet:mitted to excEI,cd the zoning regulations,
~hi~h were newly adopted at the time of the C~~ittee's
discussions. TIle format 0( .~he plan was to he visual design
guidelines. Limited public funding Was to he expended. It was
acknot/ledged that limited administrative support was available
f.r~ staff.
All of these ideas ~ere·carried out in the attached plan.
However. tar" ~reater etaff 8.nct volunteer time has been expended
than anyone envisioned.
ll.UJ'lQl:.!C?.xQ9.nLqLflUl-~jL~Uncil Direction
TJle pl,upose of the plan, as specifically stated in the Hork
Program adopted by the City Council in Octoller 1987 (a copy of
the Work Pr~ram ls attached)* reads:
:I'he Ul"lNlIl De.s.iglJ Plan Coop, w.(11 be II co:nprehens.1Ye
document of poli<"ies, procedut·es and guidelines
descriJJing the dc;s:ired physical form of Downtown Palo
Alto. It will be used to Bid developers and designers
.In uuderstanding the expectat.i"J1S and objectives tor
Do"k.')lto:..n developi1~ent and provide B LrliIne~'ork for the
Architectural Review Board (ARD), .Plaml"ing commission
and City COLU1cil to e\ialuatc development proposals.
The UDP w.11l also seJ:"ve lIS a tT'.aster plan to guide
publ.1c impxovements and art in public places in tile
Downto"m c1reil, Tile UDP '"' . .01 be "iJlcorpo~-ated into the
Urban Design sect.·ion Of the Comprehensive Plan and may
resul t in amsIIMenrs to applicable distri.cts in the
Zon i.ng Ol"dinance.
"The wOl-k progl'am lllrther 6tatllB tllat the objective of the IJDP is
to II (providt:) R. vislial frameh'ork to guide public and private
development in the Do~~t~wn area W •
St~ff finds that the Draft UDP accomplishes these objectives
well. The plan provides a broad historic and conceptual
framework for. Downt~ft~ devoloprnent, a description which ig
lacldng in t.he City's ()thor regulatory tools. It divides the
Downtown into district'b" and locates significant activity nodes,
civic spacea, historic landtBarks, pedestrian alley linkages,
entrances and other elements of the urban fabric. It describes
visually and explicitly the patterns of development which are
human and pedestrian in 8c~le and ~hich add tu the community
experience in the public realm called "sense of place n , It
characterizes and respect~ the wonderfu~ variety of traditional
and innovative architecture which is now present and which should
be respected and built upon" Best of all, it identifies
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opportunities for improvements to enhance the civIc identity Of
Downtown Palo Alto.
CODsi8tency of the pratt Urban Design
Plan and CUrrent Regulations
The Draft UDP is consistent with most Of the CitY~8 regulations.
with the key exception being City r.odcs regarding vendors. push
carts, encroachments, newsr:acKs, and simill\t:' activities conducte-ct
in the pubJ.ic right-of-way. Projects in the Downtown for parking
enhancement, alley improvement. creation or improverrtent of cJ.vic
space, and CIP investments have Bll been accomplished w~thin
current regulations, utilizing the Planned Com~nity zone procesB
in many instances ,-Several of these projectB have ooan
public/private joint ventures.
The improvement a envisioned 0:1. sidewalks and in the three
Dmn.t:own civic plaza/pa:tks have been 01: will be ~hc most
diffi'cult to implement Wider CU1'rent City regulations. If the
poliCies in this document are acceptcd j the revision of those
regulations to allow for further-flexibility and incenti.ves is
probably needed, but is a complex matter. 'l'he bet>1; method fot:
modifying these rules is t.c invest in a specific desisn plan tor
the public spaces, including the plazas, om) amend tlte codes t standard speCifications, encroachment rules, and park.
improvement ordinances to accOi'l"ft'106ate the physical 'improvement
desired. Whil~ the Urban DeSign Plan .provides a policy and
conceptual design framework for this effort, it ~as not the
charge of this conrnittee to (\9velop thi.s sped,tic public realm
improvement. plan, nor could it have done flO without firf)t
developing the more conceptual and policy-lev~l Draft UDP, It is
further recorrtnended that professionnls be hired to perf OtTO this
complex tecrulical task, rather. than attempting to ·do it through a
volunteer committee.
Other r.ecoft'mendations for future regulatory t"evisions are
included in tne Draft UDP section titled, apood For Thought-,
These suggestions would alsD be 8¶te .,wrk tasks, as followup
to the Comprehensive Plan Update effort.
ConsistencY with the QomprehenBi~~
£laD Adyjsory Cqromittee Process
To date, the revised Draft UD:? is entirely consistent ...,ith the
cun .. ent Comprehensive Plan and the ongoing CPAC update, Le., the
Visions and Goals document which Council has revised and endorsed
in Phase t.. The CPAC work to date has indicated strong support
for improving and reinforcing the public realm, Creating a ~gense
of place" both in public and private development, and developing
civic and community spaces which will physically reinforce a
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b~oader social definition of neighborhood and commullity, all
concepts put forward in the Draft UDP. The many visions and
goals of the Council endorsed Community Visions. Goals and Issues
document. with which the Draft UDP is specifically consistent.
are excerpted and listed in Attachment B.
Since the December 7, 1993 Policy and Services meeting, the CPAC
District 1 subcommittee lias fully reviewed and positively
received the document. Additionally, other CPAC members
participated 'in an open house presentation sponsored by thG Urban
Desi~\ Comnittee to become familiar with the revised Draft UDP.
The d_esign consultant, Peter Cal thorpe, has reviewed and
synthe~ized the work of the Urban Design Committee and Dream Te~m
int'o his preparation for the Comprehensive Plan's Community
Character and Dt'!si"gn Blement.
The Urban Design Committee and members of CPAC l\,'i11 he reporting
on the results of the CPAC's review at the Council meeting.
A similarity of the Draft UDP with the Comprehemd ve Plan effort,
which could be confusing, is the use of "districts l'. The
division of the do· .... ntown stud}' areas in the case of the UDP~ and
in the case of the Comprehensive Plan the entire City} into
districts serves as a tool to organize, research and analyze
conclusions on a geographic basis for a broader place. In te~s
of the CPAC effort, the downtown is one small, but significant,
part of the larger District I, which includes the area from
Middlef.ield Road to the Oak Creek Apartments, and from San
Francisquito Creek to Embarcader.o Road. Bach of the CPAC
districts is quite large, because the entire City was initiEllly
divided for study into on1y six districts. Subsequently, the
City has been divided into seven residential districts, four
employment districts and four urban centers. This will likely
create further public confusion, but is a necessat-y tool in
underst?nding City stT.ucture.
Three specific areas of the City have been chosen by the CPAC for
intensive design analysiS. The downtown was not one of those
areas. In.? ... ~~~e, the Urban Design Committee has already
performed a similar design analysis for the downtown, albeit in a
different manner from the one being used for the CPAC effort, and
, the results of that effort are represented in the draft UDP. It
is staff··s opinion that none of the work accomplished by the CPAC
to date related, to goals. visions and objectives is in conflict
with the Draft UDP, and vice versa. The t .... 'o efforts reinforce
each other.
Ultimately, ther.e are two, options as to how the UDP would relate
to the completed Comprehensive Plan: 1) The UDP can he formally
incorporat'ed, in whole or in part, into the Comprehensive Plan as
a part of the Community Character and Design Element; or 2) the
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UOP can be adopted by Council as a Bt.and-alon~ docurnent/ but
referenced in the Comprehensive Plan. Staff would recommend a
stand-alone document, wit.h significant elements of the UDP
.referenced in the COTmiUnity Character and Design Element..
Council Concerns Re9arding D~~~Urban Design Plan
At their December 7, 1993 meeting, the policy and Services
Committee heard public testimony regarding a revised Draft UDP
from members of the Urban Vesign Committee, members of the Public
Art Commission, and several downtown property owners. Generally,
all were supportive of the revised plan except the downtown
property O~'T\erB. Their concern.s specifically were similar to
those they have voiced in the past: 1) that the UDP involves
itself too much in specific design ~ssues related to private
propert:y development and not enough on public area improvements;
2) that it will be used as a binding document; and 3) it will
limit flexibility and creativity for owners wanting to improve or
develop their properties.
The Policy nnd Services Committee continued to be concerned
about: 1.) the p:t'ocess issues related to how the UDP would be used
and implemented; and 2) whether it is a conceptual and
inspirational l.~csource document, or whether it could too easily
become a regulatory document. Discussion also centered on the
rela~ion8hip of the-UP? with the Comprehensive Plan. The policy
and Services Co~ttec felt they did not have a clear
understanding of how the UDP fit in with the current work of th€
CPAC and, ultimately, how it would relatl2 to the final
Comprehensive Plan.
The adopted motion to forward the document to Council/ £or
consideration and action without a Committee recommendation, was
based on the belief that it was not constructive for the three
members present to go through the document section by section,
and' then have Council go through the do~ument in a similar
fashion. It was felt that outstanding issues required resolution
by the full Council.
In order, to facilitate this discussion at the Council level, t.he
Policy and Services Committee made the following recommendations:
• The revised Draft UDP and the ac¢ompanying staff report
should be delivered to Council Members, at least a week iTl
advance of the meeting, and scheduled tor a light. Council
agenda to allow ample time for review;
• The revised Draft provided to Council should indicate
changes n~d~ to the document since initial Council review in
February 1993 (j;~~~~!fg~ to indicate additions and ~eeaoo
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to indicate deletions). These visual 'aids will allow
Council to tra'C'k changes between the two documents;
• The staff report should provide Council with backgl."ound
infotmation about previous council direction which led to
the preparation of the UDP (provided in Attachment Al j
• The 6~aff reP9rt should provide greater clarity about the
relationship between the UDP and the Comprehensiv~ Plan;
o CPA:C members should be ~.nvited to attend the Council
meeting, and notice Of the meeting should be published in
the newspaper.
All of the above requests have been met to the extent possible.
OnE! of the conceptual struggles that the Council and vocal
property owners are having with the Draft UDP is that DOi<.'ntown
P.1lo AltQ alt<eady characterizes CPAC goals and is a model for
othel: parts of the cOMtunity and region. The Downtown contains
exalnples of the types of gathering spaces that many othel." parts
of the co;rmunity desire, but at. a much lower neighborhood or
vilJ,age developrr,ent density. Downtown Palo Alto is probably the
mofit successful eX:lmple 011 the peninsula of many of the planning
p:dnciples known' as "New Urballism". A common phrase from
objecting prope:rty owners is II tha do~mtown is doing fine without
adoption of an Urban Design Plan to help it".
Staff agrees that the Downtown, as a "main street It retail,
restaurant and office center, is doing ext.remely well; and, with
the addition of new public improvements like parking as adopted
by Council in the twelve point parking plan, will likely continue
to prospex ~egionally in this capacity into the future. Other
public improvements would also assure the desirability of the
lima hi 8treet", and these are identified in the UDP.
There are, however, aspects of the Downtown as a civi~ center for
Palo Alto that need improvement and may require public/private
cooperation. Some sllortcomings in these are~s have been well
documented by the Urban Design Corrmitt~e, and it. is likely that
CPAC will provide further solutions or proposals for Council as a
result of their Phase II effort. Some example shortcomings of
the Downtown are:
• 1~e Downtown does not have good access to the intermodal
t.ransit station. 'fhe lac"K of integration of transit into
the Downtown enco\1rages greater t"eliance on the automobile
for users, of the Downtown. The CPAC effort to date has
reinforced programs and poliCies in the current
Comprehensive Plan~ to promote CalTrain as a ~~jor
transportation alternative and extension of light rail to
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Palo Alto 1n thu distant future. This policy is furthered
by the UDplB attention to convenient pedestrian connections
to the station from all parts of the Downtown (refer to
pages a, 10-12. ~4-4S (or exampl~sJ and the l"ecent effot."t.s
of the Dream Team) .
.. Stan,ford Vniv$rsity operates the Marguerite local shuttle
from desi:il1ations on Stanford lands to the Downtown, but
this local transit system is confusing and unused by most of
the non-university associated public. Opportunities for a
partnersl1ip 'with Stanford to enlHince this system to a high
profile li;lcal 6hut~lc (one that is easy to use, unO-erstand,
conveniont, well signed and distinguishable) are being
diGcuss.ed by CPIIC .nd will be enhanced by proposals in the
Urban Design 'Plan to make the Downtown more pedestrian
friendly and tranaitoriented.
• Civic spaces in the DO'Otlltown are le .... , and those that exIst
art!: 9cnet:ally unfriendly, "mconnect;:ed and under-utilized.
The design of those spaces ne.cdn improvement. Certain
modlficat\ons to the ~anner in which properties develop
around those spaces C(ln reinforce them as major assets to an
improved Downtown 'Civic Center. The C.l.v.\c Center Cross Axis
is the p:rirr.al.Y example of a design concept, Nhich, if
implemented with both public and private cooperation, will
enL"ich the cOImlunity focus on both the Civic Cellter plaza
an1 Cogswell Park .. As a more specific example~ an improved
relationship bettisen ci,tilens and their government can be
symbolized, through ift'p",:ovements in -the n'lanner in which
citizens use the Civic Cente-l" Pla'2l1 ami enter City Hall. 10
it welcoming, approachablo and easy to, utle? Or dces it.
present itself ~s aloof and loft.y? The Draft UDP n~COCM\ends
measures-to improve the physical irr.preflsion of City Hall and
the Plaza. The CPAC Governance subcommittee
recorrrne,ndat1ons. to date, reinforce these objectives. Alley
J.mprovemente are another exaMple.
• Downt.own Palo ~lto is, noticeably ""eak in the acquisition and
display of publiq art. Compared to communities ouch as
Burlingame~ Mountain V.tew and other main street civic
centers around the Bay Area, ours is not as rich in art as
may be expect~d for a community of palo Alto's tradition.
,'he Draft UDP idontifies opportunities for art placement in
locations where it would perform not only the function of
enriching the. human urban experience~ but would serve as
landmark features and for terminating view corridol."6~ making
the downtown more walkable and understandable for
pedestrians and other users.
The Planning Division, directed by the City Council, nnlst concern
itself with the multiplicity of needs of the varied segments of
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the community. In addition to the needs of private developers,
the needs of neighbors in and around the DO .... '7ltown, the need fot'
civic identity. community "sense of place", regional cooperation,
and the maintenance and improvement Of the publlc realm are 311
r.esponsibl.1ities of public planning, Joint invest.ment by pllblic
and private parties in making the Downtown better in all ~spects
will only 91J3l."antee ita enviable status for ,futl..lre generations.
Will the Urban Design Plan be used ~s a regulatolY tool which
limits and binds flexibility of the p~ivate developer? 1~e
answer is no. As stated in the "Statement of, Intent l' on ptlge
of the document, the concepts presented in the plan:
have the potential to enhance the qut'llity of downtown and
ensure that it retains its appeal and attraction. However.
it is important to emphasize that this plan is intended to
91t;iJ;!§ downtown, development and amenities, imd is ll2..t
intcnde.d to he' binding or regulatoty in natul'e.
Much language has been added to the revised document to assUJ:e
that it does not tie the hands of any developel: to be cre.:-.tive or
innovative in a manner different from what the plrUi envisioned,
The primary fear that the developers are voicing is a fear of the
current regulations and authority contained in the ARB ordinance.
This ordinance is not the subject of this report or this agenda
item.
~ of Changes Made to Revised
p'raft DQ~ Urban Design Plan
As detailed in the chronology presented in Attachment A, in
response to corrment'3 received from several dO .... "I1town property
owners, the Urban Design Committee made revisions to the Draft
UDP which was first presented to Council in Febt"uaty 1993. In
the revised draft, which is included with this staff ~eport,
additions to the text are indicated by F~d.li,nesl and dt!letions
are indicated by et:t:ileesute. "' .,.,-
The subc_:~ntive changes made to the document include:
• Referring to the document as a "resource reference" rather
than a plan. However, 'staff is recoTt'l't1ending that the
document be referred to as a "guide", b,ecduse Ibresource
reference" has no meaning within the architecturaL and
development community~ while Udssign guide" may be a more
understood tenA. This change would be mad~ in both the
title of the document {Downtown Urban PeBi~l Guide), as well
as tllroughout the text in the final edit.ing;
• Highlighting the IIStat:ement of Intent" by making it the
first section of the document with large type;
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• In each District description, the HArchitecture Guidelines l'
were· r.emoved and, when appr.opriate, were incoxporated under
flObservat ions ". I now titled !lurban DE:!!sign Observations R •
Guidelines which relate to public improvements were retained
under a new section called "'Public Area Guidelines";
• The general A~rchitectural Guiaelinea n , beginning on page
62, were substantially edited and reduced in number;
e Many of the specific language changes suggested by the
property owners were also incorporated;
• Additional language. suggested by two members of the Public
Art Commission, regarding public art and use of art concepts
in building and amenity design was also incorporaced.
The urban Design Committee feels they have made a concerted
effort to respond to the concerns of the property owners. While
it is apparent from COl"m\ents made at the December 7, 1993 Policy
and services Committee meeting that there is not entire
satisfaction with the plan, the Co~(\ittee believes the plan
cannot absorb addition~l significant changes without sacrificing
the overall visioll and intent. The dl"aft document has been a
successf.ul tool for several years, particularly for Planned
Communit,'y' applications and public/private partnel"ships 1 and it
will continue to serve project proponents and the general public.
if adopted,
~mmente received from. Boards and ecmmissions
As noted previously, several City Boards and Commissions
(Planning Commission, Architectural Review Board, Historic
Resources Board. Public Art Commdssion and Utility Advisory
Commission) have reviewed and commented on the draft plan.
SU,lnmaries ,of these comments can be found in the following
attached staff reports and ARB minutes (included aB part of
l~ttachment I):
• Planning commission and Utility Adyisory ernnmissiQn
COmments' City COuncil Staff Report dated February 18, 1993
(CMR,174,93). pages 1 anI! 2;
• Arghitectural Review Board. Hist,QJ:ic Resources Board. aM
£uhlig Art Commission: Planning Commdssion Statf Report
dated December 4, 1993. pages 2-5. Minutes of the ARB
meetings of November 5, 1992 and December 3, 1992.
Should Council approve the Staff recommendation to adopt the
Draft tIDP and produ'ce a final document, the cOTt'ltnente of these
various boards and cOtTTP.issions would be incorporated.
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Requeat From Urban Deliqu Corrmittee for Addit1..Ql1aLFunding
As detailed in the atta~hed l€tter from Shirley Wilson, Chair of
the Urban Design Commdttee, the Committee has requested
additional funding in the amount of $16,600 to produce the final
document. The ~dditional funding would be utilized for text
editing, fo~~tting, graphics work and the addition of color to
the graphics. If the additional funding were reduct:!d from
$16,600-to $lO~OOO, a final document could be produced including
editing and reformatting, but excluding color graphics. If
additionaJ. funding is not provided, the remaining $4,300 budget
would require to staff to finalize the document in the following
manner:
-Finalize graphics without making si9nificant, style or
content Chan9"es (all graphics black and white) ;
Pl.'oduce final cover art in tl\>,'O COlOl'S~
Incorpor~te changes based on comments received from the
boards, cOlITnissions and Council, Hith no substantial editing
of the document;
In-house printing of 1,000 copies,
If the final documeut \o,'el':'e produced based on the above, it would
look ve~~ similar to the draft in terms of quality and content.
Staff recorrmends that the Council approve the funding request,
but reduce the amount to $10 /000, to allow for professional
edi.ting and reformatting, with black and white graphics. Staff
has aSS1Jmed this approacn in est.imating the amount of staff
x'esources necessary to complete the final document. If no
additional funding is approved, additional staft resources would
be needed to complete the document, resulting in a substantial
delay.
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Adopt the attached Negative Declaration of environmental
~mpact;
2) Adopt the revised Draft Downtown Urban Design Guide~
incorporating the comments of the Planning Commission,
Architectur~l ,Review Board l Historic Resources Board, Public
Art Commiss~on and Utility Advisory Commission;
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)) Provide additional funding in the amount of $10,000 to
produce a professionally edited and refonr.atted final
document, with black and white graphics;
4) Dh-act eta!f to produce the final OOwntown Urban Design
Guide, incorporating comments received from the board~~
coo:rnissions sod the Council; and
~H Thank the members of the Urban Design Corranittee for their
years of service and commitmont well beyond the original
work program.
Respectfully .ubmltted,
!1~\y III ~ /~I
H. B
Plar nil Official
KENNBTH R. SCHRBIBER
Director of Planning and
COt1'lll"i\mity Bnvironment
Related ('MRS, CMR,114:93
CMR:257,93
C/o!R,603,93
}\.T]'}\.CIIMRHTS,
. A: Chronology of Actions Related to Pl"eparation of UDP
B: Excarpt from CPAC Community Visions, Goals and Issues
. document
C, Letter from Shirley Hilson dated 2/18/93
D~ B'nvironmentltl Impact Assessment
B~ -Report on Committee Recommendations n from Temporary
Corrrnitte:e on Oo'..mtown Design and Amenities j dated
January 30, 1987
FI Bxcerpt City Council Minutes of June 8, 198", regarding
adoption of Temporary Corrrnittee recmrmendations
G: Council Adopted Downtown Urban Design Plan Work Program,
deted October 5, 1987
If: Excerpt City.Council Minutes of October 5, 1987,
regarding Adoption of UDP Work Program
I; CM'R:257193, dated April 22, 1993, with attachments as
follows:
CMR:215,94
• CMR:174:93 r dated Pebruary 18/ 1993, without
attachments
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• Planning commission Staff Report dated Dece~b.r 4,
1993 1 without attachments
• Excerpt minutes of Februl'u:,"y 22f 1993 City Council
KeeUng
• Excerpt minutoes of November S, 1992 and December 3~
1992 ARB roeeting.
J: CMR:603:93, dated Decml\ber 2, 1993, "ithol1t attachment.s
K: Bxcerpt minutes of policy and Services Cotrtnitt~.e meeting
of 5/18/93
I,: Revised Draft Downtown .Urban Design Plan dated 10/93
cc: Urban Design Committee
Architectural RcviE~ Bo~rd
Planning C(){1'f(\ission
Public Art Corrrnission
CPAC
Chop Keenan
Jim Baer
Warren 'I'hoits
Henry Gaw
CMR:21S:94 4/7/94
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. A'l'TACIlMBNT A
CHRONOLOGY OF ACTIONS RELATED TO PRBPARATION OF THE
DOWNTOWlI URBAN DB SIGN PLAN
A complete chronology of the preparation of the Draft UDP,
outlining all Council actions and Commdttee activities Which
preceded the December. 7, 1993 policy and Services Committee
meeting l 10 presented belcw:
•
•
~~ ~ The rec~nmendations of the Downtown Study, which
reduced the amount of develo~nt allowed in downtown, are
implemented. During its final actions on the Study. the
Council established the Temporary Co~ttee on Downtown
Design and Amenities. The purpose of the Committ~a 'au
stated in' the attached hReport on Corrmittee
Racorrrnendations tl , dated January 30, 1987 and reviBed
February 20, 1987) was to develop amenities and benefit
criteria and appropriate incentives for future projects in
the Downtown area. In exchange for the provision of these
special benefits, projects might be permitted to exceed the
new zoning regulations (primarily floor area and pt"oject
size limitations).
~-Lia1 -The final recommendations from the Tempora)~
Committee on Downtown Design and Amenities are adopted by
Council (r.efer to "Report on Co~ttee Recornnendations" and
the attached tninutcs of June 8, 1987 Council meeting). The
Committee had concluded that provision of amenities and
benefit.s could not be ,realized effectively without the
guidance of a conceptual urba,n design plan for the downtown
area. They' recommended that staff be dirf:!cted to develop a
work program for pl:eparat.ion of a plan~ along the follo'n'ing
lines:
1. Specify the conceptual (contrasted with being site
specific) nature of the plan;
2.
3.
Identify the basic elements of such a plan, e.g.,
location guidelines for amenities; desi911 guidelines
for alley upgrading; and design and location guidelines
for future parking facilitiesj
pescribe the format for such a plan which would include
a visual presentation Of the design guidelines;
4. Suggest that a task force consisting of local design
talent and other members of the counrunity prepare the
design plan; and
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Specify the limited extent of public funding, i,e., for
conBultant graphic assistance, posGible facilitator
services and for City Administrative assistance.
• Oqtober 1987 -Staff returned to Council with a work program
developed along the guidelines of the Amenities Committee
recotm1endation. The work program I which is att.ached to this
report, was adopted by the City Council on October 5, 1987,
and the Mayor was directed to appoint an Urban Design
Committee (refer to attached minute. of October 5, 1981
Co,"ncil meeting) .
• Lata 1987 . A ten~member Urban Design Committee ia appointed
and a design consultant hired to provide facilitation and
graphics assistance.
•
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~~ -Council adopts 1988-1989 Annual Budget. which
Convn.itB Planning Division staff resources to the Urban
DeSign Plan effort.
June 1989 -Council adopts 1989-1990 Annual Budget, further
ccxrrnitting staff J::'esources to the urbal'l Design Plan effort I
one year beyond original work program estin~te,
J.yne 1990 -Coun~il adopts 1990-1992 Two Ye.r Budget,
continuing to cOrmlit sta.ff resource8 to the Urban Design
Plan effort, two years beyond original work program
estimate.
• Jyne 1992 -Council adopts 1992-1994 Two Year Budget,
continuing comrn.j.tment Of staff resources to the Urban Design
Plan effort, 4 years beyond original work prognm\ estimate.
• Auguet 1992 -Draft Downtown Urban Design Plan released for
public review.
• October 1992 -Urbm DeSign Cownittee and planning staff
hold a series of six meetings with downtown interest groups I
including merchants, property owners, and nearby neighbors I
to discuss the Draft UDP. Specific comments made by persons
attending these meetings are summarized in the Planning
Commission Staff Report Of December 4, 1992. However, in
general, resp~nse to the plan was favorable.
• October 28. 1992 ~ Public Art Corrmission reviews and
endorses Draft UDP (subsequent comments from two individual
members of the Art Commission were also incol~orated into
the revised Draft) .
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• ~~~~ -Architectural Review Board reviews
and endorses Draft lJDP~ wil:h corrunent,s, at their NovEmber 5
and December 3 1992 meetings.
• ~yember 8. 199? -Historic Resources Board revIews and
endorses Draft UDP. with cOntnents.
• December 2·_liil -Utilities Advisory Commission reviews and
endorsed Ol:aft UDP, with COTrlments.
• December 4, 1992 -Planning Commission reviews and endorses
Draft UDP. with c~nts.
• f.ebruar:y 2;l,_llll -City Council public hearing held on the
Draft UDP. Following Council' s questioning about the
intent, use IDld possible future revisions to the Plan, it
was referred to the Policy and Services Corrrnittee on a 9-0
vote. Based on COO1"l1ents made by individual council mernbers$
is~ues to be discussed by the Policy and Services Con~ittee
included revie· .... of:
1) how the UDP was developed;
2) concerns raised by several dnwnto'iffl property owners; and
3) whether the UDP could be visionary rather than dictating
specific buildjng design,
•. May 18 . ...l.2.2.l -Discussion of the Draft UDP was agendized for
the May 18, 1993 Policy and Service~ meeting. Upon hearing
that the U:t.'ban Design COlm\ittee and several concerned
downtvWTl pt:operty owners had agreed to hold several meetings
to txy and resolve concerns about the Draft UDP j the
C~mittee delayed its discussion.
• July 1993 ~ The Urban Design Corrmittee neld two meetings in
July 1993 with several dOh~tOwn p~operty owners (Chop
Keenan, Jim Baer and Warren Thoits) to discuss concerns, and
possible revisions, and also received written comments.
.. SmIIDer 1993 ~ The Urban Design COIl'l'nittee then held seveJ:'al
edit-ing sessionl3 in' July, August and September to produce a
revised Draft UDP taking into consideration the comments
re(!eived,
• Late Summar 1993 ~ The revised Draft was distributed to the
three property o~~ers for their review and comment.
• pecerr~er 7. 1993 -The revised Draft UDP was agendized for
consideration by the Policy and Services C~iroittee on
December 7, 1993. Following public corrments and discussion,
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the policy and Secvic~B Committeo referred the revioed Draft
to the full Council for consideration and recommendation
without a' rec~ndation of the C~ittee. The minutes of
the meeting are included in the. Council Pack9t· with this
report. the C~~itt.e wished to indicate to the Council
that they telt review of these nrlnutes would be very
important in helpi'\9 COllncil to understand the CO<mIittee' B
poBition.
AHAr.If'oENT S
we GOALS CONS ISTEtIT IIITH U<MN OfS[GN PW
fROK
"CaKJNITY YISIONS.GOA!5 t. [SSUl'S.
I/OYEftJER 1993"
e. HOUSIMl MIl COffiNITY OESIG!f
Sense of Comunity. Place and Qual1ty of life
B.,
B.,
B.,
B.,
B.,
Halntaln and enhance the University Avenue ar ••• s the central focus of
the City, with (oJmlp.rchl, civfc, (ultut'a1 and rec~a.t~onal uses.
Housing l cOrmlunity design and workpl ace l)ptiOrlS wil) res~ct
neighborhood concerns but meet clty·wide n •• ds,
Ensure th.t the city's districts, urb.n vlll.ges, n.ighborhoods, .nd
cor.tnerchl area.; function harmoniously to tleet cHy-wide neJ!ds and to
~rovide a ctty·wide s~nse of community and plate.
lrrlpt'ove the appearance and increase tht! semi! of ~edestrhf1 friendliness
cf the city's streets and publ1c realm with the use Gf trees, street
furniture and fixtures.
Ensure safe, well-des.igned and well maintained parks, sc.hool phygrounds.
and public spaces that entourage day and evening use.
Provide access to public art .nd eultur.l f.ell1tl., In .11
ne1 ghborhoods (cOIIIllere 10 1 as we 11 as ,'e, I dentl.l),
Encourage and assist property o~ners to bett~r ~a'n\~~n their ~~s.
properties and .dj.cent public rlghts·or·w.y.
Urban Village Concept
B."
B ...
Enh.nc. cOllIn.rchl ar.as and Incr .... comp.tlblllly, Interd'pendence and
support b.lwe.n co""'.rc i.l area, .nd res Ident Ia I neighborhoods. .
C,'ute and increase public spaces j open space and' comlJolty garden spaca
which encour.ge and support pedestrian trdflc and person·to·person
contact.
Built Environment
B." Glve.pproprlat •• ttentlon to design .spect, of public Infr.structure
I mprove.ent,.
lV~\OQoIl •. cr
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C. TRAliSPllRTATIOO
Lana Use
c.,
c.,
PrDm!lte hnd usa pol lei •• th.t reduce local and region.l (ongastion,
enhance bicycle use, enhance the pedestrian ~nvir~nment, and encoura9~
pub1 i c tr.nsit.
Promote the l.oc.tion of high.r density land use •• nd r.gl00.1 facilities
(1. •• , shopping ~.nter., public facilities) noar reglon.l highways or
mass trans.1t.
Tr6nsit Systems
C.,
C.,
c.,
C.,
c.,
Reduce the parson.l loss of time .ssocl.ted with using non-.uto
tr.nsportatlon.
Work to develop physically .ecesslol., .fford.ble, effiCient,
conv.nlent, clean and s.f •• lter"atlv.s to the conventional automobile
at state, regional .nd local levels.
Work with appropriate agenc1es to pro\'· ie local transit connections
which .110. people to reach reglon.l t:'nslt without using their c.r,.
Provide comprehe~s1ve and effective inc@nt1ves to use alternative
transpo,·tatton.
Provide Intra-city publtc transit fOl' people living and/or .orkin9 in
Palo Alto.
Traffic F10'~
c., Hinlmize traffic Impacts on neighborhoods from lncr.ased high denSity
developments.
C·u Improve the management, design and control of parking.
Other Alternatives
C'U · Improve,expand .nd maintain bicycle .nd pedestrian systems and
pedestrian p.~h •.
C."
C."
C • .,
Work to ensuro mobility fo~ tllose Without automobiles, including s.nlo,·s
and teenagers, and people with disabilities.
PrOVide inv.stments in Infrastructure to support r.lated viSions.
Work with Stanford, neighboring cities, and major employers to develop
local .nd/or sub-regional tr.nsportation .ystems and facilitios.
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D. BUSI~'ESS AI{) ECONCt1ICS
Vltal1ty
0., Nurtur. ano support established buslness.s.
0., Encourage public/private partnerships to provide c~mmunity benefits
which would not otherwise be ,v'llable.
D •• H .. lp foster P.lo Alto as a world cl.ss business and professlon.l
environ •• nt consistent and In balance with Palo Alto's sense of
co"",unity.
Districts
Continue to promote .nd enhance re,itall,atlon of the University
Avenue/Oowntolffl corridor as an" imp-ortant reta 11, restaurant and
entert,lnment center.
E. GOVERIIA!.I:E AI{) PROVISIOII OF CCX+IUNITY SERVICES
What Govern~nt Should Be: Incluslonary
F.., Work with private enterprise to provide public benefit.
Wh~t Government and Citizens Should Do
E.u Haint.ln and Improv. the infrastructure.
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A~'TACHHENT C
DOWNTOWN URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE
february 18. 1993
Vear Coundl ~0Ib"'$:
l~c attached (O,t •• ti~.te Is documentation of t~e Downtown Urban Veslgn
Comltt .. ·, "'QueSt for (approximately} $ 16.600 to ensure a timely and
prof.s,lonal publication of the Urban O •• lgn Plan fOl' Vowntown Palo Alto,
A. chair of this c_ltt.e, I urge you to approve these requested funds to
provide the ~J nece"arypollshlng of the draft into a final docum.nt, W.
ofth. c~ltlee feel strongl~ that text editing. formatting, graphics work
and the ~ddltfon of color ~re e$sent~al to the usefulness of this document as
a (o'~nlt.tlon tool, W. ar. hoping for a finished product that has more
clarity,
Several'bodles who ha,. reviewed this plan. the Arc~lte'tural Review Board.
Plannlny C .. ",I"lon and 10Cil architects In p .. Ucul .... share this view.
As we are .11 ••• re. this project was vastly under funded from tile beginning.
Jt has only b::'J~n throlJgh the perseverance and donations of "the convnittee, and'
tho lr.<l·edlble ne.tlylty and hard'work of both the co,,"ltle. and planning
staff. th.t we "He able to get the drift completed under current funding.
Ii •. bellev. that an lnveSt"Mt at this .tage will more t~an pay for itself over
tir.~ in that. cle.r.r docu.ent will reduce st.ff tlmP. In explaining conc'pt,
when working with project appllc.nts in the future.
Please re,ognlz. the 1.port.nce of producing .n excell.nt document that will
b. truly·u,~(ul, one that expres"s a planning efforl th.t the community can
b. proud of and inspired by,
Your'J.ruh.
d j~/J----tV 2mV' / l.-r
S~irl.y Wif,on
Chair. Do~ntown Urban 0..19n C.,mltt.e
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FIJIII\UZATION OF URBAN DESICN )'LAN
CO:'T ESTIMATES
lhe following ~udget and work a"""es contracting finalization of t~. Oowntown
Urban O,s19" Plan out to ,company s~.cl'lllln9 In com.vnlcatlons, to be
.dited.nd ,.fomltted and to .,dd colo)-dlst,lct d"gr •• ,_ _
GraphIcs' -Produc. color district dlagr •• s (6)
~nd re·do s~veral line drawings
-Add color· aasl,: PI.ndiag,,"s
from poster
i.ICO
;00
Cover Art -Glossy cover ~n black ~nd 900
wMti! with green trt'!e , tnsldE'
cover bu; Iding key, 1000 cople,
Text Revhtorls· Incorporate tOClil~nts-as 7,500
abov., EDIT and REfORMA1
docure:ent f()J' 1f!lproved
presentation and rea(Ub! 1 i 'Y.
r4!ady document far printer
PrintIng -Off-s.t prInting including <olor
dlstnct plans and color 8"k Plan
diagrams~ l~OO cc~ies
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TOTAL:
r .~
All other graphics black and white with no signifIcant style or content
ehanges
Estlm.te Only
S J9.000 ~ lOX Conting.ncy
20,900
-4,300 R •• alnlng Budget
S 16,600 RfQUfSTfO FOR FTIIAlll1/iG 00II/111»0'1/ UR8A11 DESIGN flAIl
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A'l'TACllMENT D
Environmental Documents City of Palo Alto
fNVIBONHElIIAl ASSESSHEIlI
Project Oescrlptlon/Title: .J.I.!:ban DeslqtL.!!hn for ~lid2.J\111l.~~ThLP-l!!!
.Q.ttd<l~s a set of public ADd prjyak_9..YJ.d .. eJ~ for jrnprQyiM...J.M.~y"st aod
chauctn of Do)!ntown ralo IIlto. IIl,uocluded In the Dl.i.n ... JL~n...1l'~.U.J.Qo
section describing pote"ntiaJ ways of achjt!v1ng "be con,up.1..unsLJ2bletthes
.1JWltHled. ____ ~ ... _ .... ___ ... ____ ~
Location/Address: kl!L9f P,l. Alto • .9.!Ul!)raJly the downtown ar .. .l!~.Il!lW...hl:
MIddlefield Road. Alma Slr •• t. forest Ayenu~q lytton Aven~~
Sponsoring Agency/Applicant:
~un1tv £n~fronment.
Address and Telephone of Applicant: ll2.Jla-'!!.!1tml...Atlnu~~--Mh f!02r, r.il.2Ati.Q,
CA94303 (415) m.:l1iL... ____ ... ___ ............ _~. ____ .......... ~~ .. ~_
Application for: ...Jr!!lI/:!lA~ ____ ~_
(e.g. I loning change, subdivision of property, .lrchHectunl r-ev"Tew:--et("-:f--
Zoning at P,-oject location: ~ID'Jl!l!.S __
NOTICE Of OETERMINATION
Based upon review of the proj~ct files, tne-undersi9ned member of the Planning
Dep,rtment has concluded:
PC! ~egatlye Dechra11M: The project has 110 significant environ""nl.l
Impact. liD Envlronme)ltal Impact Report is required. The reasons for a
Negative Declaration are: the plan proyldes only guirlel1nes and
sLIggestinns intended to be used in E'va1uat1ng futUre public irr·provemenl
and private development projects. While Ihe plan Is Intended to Inspire
and encourage .cttons consistent with the Ideas presented, no specifiC
.. projects are mandated. Any Individual public or private projects
resulting f,-om this plan will be evaluated for enylronmental Impact at the
tl"e the sped fie project is proposed.
[I TM project may have a significant enYironm,nUI Impact. An [nvirOMenlal
Impact Report will be prepare~
Planning Department OffiCial: VIA.' ::;;iet~ . _____ ~
Planning Director: )\~ Sc~1k, D.te: ~JJ/.1J/.!!.b..._-
'fh. project has been approved.
The project has been denied.
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P;Utl.udp.nod
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Date:
Date:
File lio.: n:.tJA:.1Q._
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ATTACHMENT E
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COl.:..: =-1 .:,.!: i~,-L~( . .ll r ,,'.1. r:-:-.:.-;'-.::{;. t:lv.n.: 1.(';{' .. 0(; 0 t't:'-':'.::..:o
i:\:.c;': ('.<: t~H; :1':;'0 1 "Wi. ~~'.l~ ... :e h.-..!l; ~·:~.:,,;:i;h !.,hlit for.
'.:ll-':; Jjo:m~:rm:1 CO D:~.'~;.: ; .• ~i: !~i'" ;) .1.,.''':.t;,~.:.o . .:l. fc.: 3.:::0 je-::!::..~':"··/L~.:L"'j· sp~C!':"ai. ~)t';;_~d,i;. ~'.'le (;o),"\t,;i t.t.ee (!0'l"€!€!S ~ itl! \:h~ City Counc.i."'t Ul~~C. t~;: . .'!.co,(JOO r'(~l!.(.,~:G ,~00f:
.. ,J..:'-""::,~t:.{.O(L Ce.o:-p~,x':i::-·:~:· ,:'n:·:;.(;L,·;, .s:~!2(;L:.:) ~;"-'n~rL.::
.:.:;. :in'~e:;:!. ~. n;:cn::",r .. ·.,,'1 !:f_';l,:':j~ '.~h ... ;-! <-.: ul.i.r;,5.-!:1' f,,)};
.!""'1,,!':: :.:-.... ·ojc.:'.t.:;. 'i·:;~-, f:.;· :, .. i .,:' .'o:, ..• ~. ~J:;<::'il"'!"~. ~::, _ .•.
;,: .... :.:. L:.';.c. t:i.on 0-;: ;;~ • .:; :C~;.:;.::: u';: ~>(.;l:,r::.~'-'e ~: oot. .:... ~.l ccr. t .i.OOl "~:,,,·\~hl. I}:::"~ cc'l:;i':!::~·t;(,' ';';;', .. ,!::; C0:'I.~)h.t:io;1 of ~.11 ut'L3.~ '~·.-i" I ',l;-n .:"..;.,1' t h ., O{,""~'.:(;;:': i:.:".~:;. IC-,," ::~~~::~;:81~~-. or ~·.n ~:;.~l;,," L:,-:~;j';m r~,~'.~ i~d.~;'C~·5,o;~ c~.-:
(..1 .. ';)"::,, j;x('·,:u~·.ivp-fjl!1L'.'I·'T'1 ,,-',nc1, .8:;:C'd.QI~ II:::".!] 0:'..' t:1~ T.:~i'l rmcIY OL '-.:hi;.;. t·-0;:?crt.)
·1.'" ~ .. ;:'..!.:! :::'~CO,'G:!'~!;e;t:~; 0:1"-. ~:<_J..l ;j~t.J ~';JLlr
,'.i· ;,";, .. ;.;.;:: .1,} flc!)~~':il:~ 1" '-,;i'::'~:·":..: ,',':] );: ,l ... .:.:.-;:~ ~~";
o.:I~~,. i: ... ".'''1<1 "'.l,~..;:;-d.tj; ~~ .t,~::..,;.',:,:":":"-:·,:; :: i ... ,"n' !.~":,~~r'-:.::_:. ;[~~.;
1'·;:·:" ,)~c·,:} l.~,), .... ; .. ,: '"',: f!."~;j,·';'<;1 ,_,., '1.; .
• ; .. 'L' '"·",C· •. ::; ;,·~(;~:~',:ef!'.J...:';~{.,,;·,:~ ~': . .:;:...' (..l ::;.' ~oUiI0.i.l
'C'!2-,! I ~'l!-:: C0:,"J,;i~:t~:: '.-,'.: .. , :',~,:-; · •. 0 [.';,'1,'1.".;'-'1:.;:; ttH'.~: ,i .,; .~ .-."< :';',. ',1:::0.,.'" L· (.,. '".J,,,:' , ....... ~:..:..:.~h.=~~· -:::--:.:::.::::-:L~t: '<':11.:..: ;.-,=~"t
,):;:· .... ·::.:uJ;iti,~s .1y.L: ~,o~::] ::,., .. ~ 1'::.1;"" f!T'r:e;;lci.n::; t;"':~!
-" " :_1.",,: ',5.th~)I.!~ i:~!:':';.),:; !..-o '~·.'l~~ ·,I;;~~:.:~S" ";;.:.,(! ::.!::.. .. ;:.i..:.:
l' :.::::i , .• :.,::.,,~,,-:: SC(! .~n tt·.~·, :.i,,';!:~i.:0~:; •• :;J-:u..-.;~ ..•
~~ ~:.~ . .":. ;·,:·'?·2_;-':t:...'l'::!L!'.~ ~q._l~~:·: (.':~ J.!~: ~!I.:l.t:.3:J:!-X, ~ ~'jl~!S..1. <.,;'_!;
·",nr._ i.:'.s IIl1:t.ch the e(;!":',i~·,~·c': hc.l.i0·,"~": ~::'to,-.,J.d ~:··.J.,t~'~f fm: jncent:li!(">p; {c:r' bonusc:.:;; i:l t;"l{, CD "':0:-:·:Y~l·c.{.~1 Oo,"mto'~n D;:.st::j.d:~ Th(:~{ in::::),I1(t€;
,'. full servJen [006 !'If!l":--:nt/p<::>;:-Iiu>.nently •. ,si trod, ~:uJ.l-tinH:~ fu.rrn"'.,'~ nEl:!".}.::~:":-:;
C.lild cere fac11!tics;
c. Oi::f:'.;:.CCt sp ..... .,e fQ): com~lmi ty-sr,';:~·J.r:g I
nOf\-ln:ofit: o::;g::".I1J.t.:ations !;ith lim.'.ted rc,'--enuc !;Qu~ces;
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" ;,. .i:~~i,·;'5·£~~~~fr?-?Hf,-~;~+}z~~-/~~-~+~4;~f~;t~j~f~i;-t~fii!~~{~~~ ~
i":r~ <.':: subsl::ant.i?l \<'"'~u:.: .-.:0' 'Lil~ D0'-'~tC'.-I11 1.ro~, tnt
; .. :1i ..... h Ci::1 bo obt..-:;"w .. , ';:11;:0.":.-;1 '-=~"': .. i,:;"€.:c il:':'::':_~l'..:5.~'(:",
C:.: :--,i':,;-(J-~l?h r'."quir\!: . .c-';I:~.---; :'-':;);,:-••. :~: 0,1 .!1.::JYictlJ~t Pl.·o;o::'::t~. 7ti'::Y :b:c:lu~:H:
J,
~. R~~;:ehtion of U!~ ... i~i:"".,,:,_o~:~ co:'j ,,:l~(:~.·<.. :b..:.~. 0;' ;';'U~ldjn9!;;
c.
'·J"o ... i~io:\ r)~:
'OC'l:'::,-.ir,:; ,
• . i ,,". ~ '·f '-, •••••• -"..0
:r,-:,c,",~!L i\'~r.; :"-;)0 C',l':"c'":t.:_:~h:.!t! '. :·:r;.:,:.-~(:::us CO\.lr;c~l :~-:~::~'-:.'-~i -(if U:I.! ::-.(,ll.:,·".~.;:~. :;::." ",':-_.'V.~~j t-:;:i.ch I:cul,-:
h:: ~,:.r-~)~-~.cubL1 1'0, pro.il.~ct~. l.-',·ovi("t,!1':: the ;~;".:1:" . -::.·:i~);h'~~ ~j;',: ;,. ~"~." ~.GC_ ~;':.(.:' (':~ii:: cc~o :~ciJ,i~Yl:
':!. :':":0';;'cie c: hi?,lll:)' :';":C: ,l-"("it~: i..:-, ,'I; t~H:.!: 0.5 d)
(.":: 'Cj5.n:'l.,! .. l.y .• ~':'~"_~;~~:~'.: \ ("'';~l.~ .. ~'.!.;
!). j-';{'l:~j fy tl~~ 1,'.': P1~,nncd: CnJ,~'.'\'nj.:':u Z(lr!'" c:'c.:. :-.J"2
~J',:t:':{ ~~. A i.i.?:':-,'.: ','il::;1~. "-:.'.1: c\ uDl;,h1.1sh b,,,<s i.e ;~Jt~ d(\v~lo'j:nT..ellt r,"::".tl:·.~:·:;i'?!"l~:'; •.• ~<= u~os. '.L'hf!
e, .,,:-.. ;m~! nhll~~ \i·.:::ult; c'.);'"'::--ti1.~'.'~:(' .. \)]:;,\21 (~e~j~'n
;--",'::J.:OV."! i; .
'-. !::-,~~r!'rt3:t ccde,-c.;~.:, t)!. ..... ;.l:~_ .. .-::; ~)l;",.-':::::ci'; ~~plica~ioll~ ~rit~ G~i~fci!.:lt fi~::ihility to
;.' ..... Clect c~jtabl i3i1ecl OIJjcC: iv,--:o~ for the h.::"~mI;01-m ~.r:O;1; ?U1U
d. Provido public !.:in.lncia.t "ls~;jstancc for P'~'0j~cts offering :..~p~c:if!.l benefits.
-=-. Y·;·~"!]lJ:_~=?_~'.'J~~_.l'J~n: 'Nl(~ Co:'u-litt""":t) ,strongJ.~' be:lievc~ that opportunitit:s cannot he m:c.;,:droizc:J
(':.Ie th2 OotmtollJ\ A1."ea l!lthn~tt th~ gui.d~,nce of -<: conc~ptual urban dc~ign pJ.-t>.n. Sttch a pIon coul<=!
Pl'ovlde: guidelines, with Vi.slE~:l lllust:l-ations, 1.n
kct,zlT,Jning appr'opriat.e lc:cations for a.ncnities, ~-'rDj(:Ct: LC:1ofjts a,H,:I pu'"-U.c pr;r:dn;-. Its
P:·(">:-'n"~\:i: .. m cOllld involv-e -:;tini:.1;-·1 )n:h)'ic fUildillg ~'Y .h:e.;Jint;,' on t?lE.lllt<:Q :;:00~Ju;:("c~ ~vJ.ilabb-" \-}it.hin
t.l.-,;. (..'ct:\~u!lity.
Rcvis'2c\ 2/20/87
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)
«-he,. r.H~in be..)" of thr-.... ,-.-_ •. c~ ;""-~ ".~-,.)" .. -.,., com~dttco ~~':Do""·n~()t·~"n···~t~:.; i .... ~./ ;<.:'.~'.:';.j~-::-" "!~':;::"
in tho follo;!~.n(j SOl...!t .\~1~~'.
!L P:rillCiua) Fi.l,:U;l9l:
A. g!,::",.~r.~'LY..!rljJ~"Q~
'thrcughout it~; dis(:U!H.i/,.,.:u· (". ~ ~ -. ;·.~:.~.:';.I .. :.",: .:,: ~
ben<=;;fits for th9 DO\tntou;~ I.:·~'·.~, .i.1~.~~\'i(I~J.r;} ·>.:-";;.;."'t:--.~
r,.dli.b;e~s or;':en had dirL.:.:!: ..... ;.!; '.l.:;.).'~" •. :.1 ~:l.l '-~'. ~"
ben~f1t:s appropriato fot' 'Lhf.. ~':-::'.;H~·.(J'·.-n l."'::"f':-, ':vi"n ~.·5~.:\
.:.l1C~j.vj,c..u=.l vie\~::lolnts, l:;': ::.':';"':'::,'':: ·i-' -.
r .. n'.1ph,.*.±1:C thct it ".l.~a}'s !'l.~.=:'(l.~ .:,. ~.:!:'i-:C;~:'".l·.' ...• >... 5..;.
(;'j.s...-:~::::s~cl tho:! pot~ltt:li' . .l l~r:-,~,·:t:·'.·).:·.i._" ~:>.:'-::: -""~.:
j)')'V"n-(l';{n ),-i.::"'o :"~to, l':',~l\", 0 t:h:~' ... ";\' .~'. :';"
on <In u;·:t~'(\n ctesiqrl plCifl \:hi.c:~ "',-::' -, ,'.:~!'1I~' :~'~': ;:!~ ; .,
s"2ctio:n lmd~r "n'C:con,,".cn~I':'t:.:,('~~,:.l' ,,';IL' -:-c ... ,.-.~. ':.
·(!j.:;r.t~s-:.jU!1~' .::o!!:o t:'.c}:nc-\'l.;'·,'f'.~ r."'· ":1:', '.:'~ ~,,' .;.~
qti.f'.li'_j.e~ ,:bich ~::i,:;:' 1;. :;'~~.:l:":o:'n :', ~ .... , .-,l..:.\). ''\\:"..'.
CO:;~lni i; \; ee l.'CCO),Il:':Ct'iCa t; i o:~,:;, ',:~ 1': ,"'~' ;' )"'C'. ~.,:' ~}l "t.o i)' .. I .. .'.~
::.iI'C; "'(':~:'J r:Ci~j,tivc fctlmLo~.:ic:\ c:--h~' ~c''::~:."L''~' ":,':;.1
of '..:;.~,! Uo .. :n~:o· ... ·n J\re~. ',n~; er:· 'l.' Jot> .' ~ t:~:;n· •• ,1'::'
c:~~:::~ .. p.::it.~( ': o~ the r;i ~f~ or ~'-<~ '''-:' l-.,: ..... ,' I'n,· .. (' \ ,",r.:·
t:i:J~:·.:-:(,'\''-'" .~;... :'.-.'i!2'. c(.n'.:.~-:':. i."~: ... '~~:;' .. ~ .. " ,:'::'Cl·!" ,,', ;"':'.'
.t:~!ch Yi.t:alit;, f.nd cffe' ~a~, :.· .. ~:Il (L':'O!.·t\'I~:.:': .... • tn;" ;: ';;
.c'.:i;; ... n,:;c.h,:I, ... ,
,:,r,.~ '::::~'".:''':-:''';~ ::iiscUSGf<r~, 1;~',·,. c· ... ' .. c.· L-' (:.\'. ".":':
"ti\ .. '! :.:·~::::ci:-:-ility of o'otai:l.'i.:l,,' ::..:0:.5"(" ..... \. ·:n::!rj.'.~·.:; '.~q ...
p!"o..l".'i!.d'1rl ~::. f: (1 11\ !H~;":jC~! ;',:,:" .... ,. f, • .:.;,·)~I:·:· ~"." t.~j .It.:, t·:.,
i:;;".:~l~..:.i'·!. ;;it:hin a co:,n~u:·~!.:~·l r'c4~'j 'S::-. \" t~,', "'.1,
~"ta;':t {:c·:;'..:.a.::ti;!:d (t ;~l::-:~c-:" ¢,; :';!!! .• ~ .i., .. :,,;~ r;.::..:.!,::, f"l.:~;:'.
;~;:·.jt:...:;: .. ltr]y 'sc('lt.tlc" ~o (i.";:.,: .. : .• "~.I':' t.1u :., .... ,n~.'~'lr>. ... ~.'
:i"c~r,;:~\'c:s (i.Q., dcvc:lo...,.,:;~··,\. '::'O,·:l!'.'_:-" -:;'1: .r 41~.,I . .::·i;:.::;~
eX.::ci .. ::5.J.~~) that ai.'i'. ncc ... 's..;:,:·) .;,,, o.:J\:.::...-to 0; ~-; ... ;:. ,;;., ... ':
henefits.
'i'he. findings from both SOUlCCt:' \;cro h\entio.l .
. l.>roj(,,':!t::;. lIust be of substc.n';5 . ..,,1 r,:a';m$te'.io. ,1"';'1 I:.j-.;'<:
tt!ey i.1e of" qreater si~o th.!"!1 25,000 :E'.quare Iec:: i:l
:doo.t ~;~e(l and hiW.c: FAR ;.zmt·s,;-:~ 'j"rl!",tC)< ~hz.lI 0.':: i..:-:--l)
Ul o::'uel' to bo able. to afi'o~~ h;'h'';:';':C-,)f!.';:,;:1I [01.' toe,
Z.fOi:ClT'.o:ntioneu facilit.it';!s. In .:-.0.dit.!Oll, tll9 (k',,'!.lO])O;:(~
st.:.te.d that it should nev~:.: b~; i!ssutcd th;r~' a~.l -
comm>Jrc.lal of.fice .projects, ~i>gannC:;f>~ of :;i;.(~, yi.'!!d
3ut'ficient profits to offset, Ube!::;.;! -;'l~:-::e"';11 0:"4
ttnon-pl..·cfit d on-site t:l:pe raei} ~ t :"~f.:.
'l'hercfore, ths: IlAAcnJties" (::,."" .. ~l.:\:~{: \.1; :;h:.~. I':'
emphasizo that within the (r;~-:>.1Ch·:'>=·}~ of In-:;~:1'.;.i.;'e.c
originally stv]CJestc~ bt the City CCll~r.;:jl. i.G., it
lo:a~:iJt'.\.lr ... bonus FAR o~ O.!J to 1, ;lc\'.' l.l.('.·,;G~ ;)",:1~i.'i;.::". <.:.-,~i
r:.Cc·v".i.scc;. /./2G/31
"1 '1." '!'--
-or' -_, .,1
c.
~;r.:C·:it.I.\::~ .... :~.~ )i:kcl~~ '<:(1 be ':~:,U,~·;~d ,i." '..:I,-~ !)r-.:::l;'::-::l
i.i:C.(', i~'iti"d,i' \1-.hi..'fi;E'! \:0 fiv .. : ':,'<."';:::.'f' ••
'.1.'1\(', "Cor,trnJ'.:cee :Zound that 2';.0:1):" :t;!.;ort.<=.m: ~lU1; :~,:'S'.~ati,!0iy
['.mGll "l<1e'L~,~ic:·~ in te;t:~',~G 0.' tn<;:i.i.+ c?n:,. <.::"0: "Jl't':h(::
i.d~n';'::U:i.~{; iiI the. (P) P,-'!:cl.o~~'.,TL>,rl .8:; •• -.-,' .. i0.Q' "::::n:b~,n;,)I~
O~.st:r:'ic'i: g·.l; .... ~~l.:ncs. ',!'IH'! {;(;-:-:.:-,~.~'v~' :.7.s,-;; :":n~:-:::-~ ~I:,".'" .::),;
(P) Dist.:r'5,c~ C:;ll.id(!Jj.n~g G('lL~d h_' ~i·.t·~;I')tll~~H~': il';
ce,:t::':ll <.:C".<:~;, 1"(le C<"".'li~.:t:!,,-, ,~:;J ;;';;~ ,.,1(..,,:; ',)i· -:.:j~i ;~'.
s~p.cific ,e.'.·~mellts of (P, I)h:~,,::::,·i(:t. t;T,h:r:}il:,::!> cm~lt~
cd.t?lC'.l:." ~,~ ~z~!.:;nded O:J': rM,,':"~ :~,("~.~ '~?-;' .. r.-:L,'" ;:~ , .... ~'~:~ .. ~.(,.
0;)'c·::;).11 ~'~Q"'~ <".!,l'~nii:i~!l.
Oil ,::'-~·.hG.:' ~·'.-.".;.r,i'(.;,(:;:j, (';+'-;:" :~~ •. ',~.;f .1"!:.j~ .. ;,;~~; :.,
pub .. le ;:oun l,:·';'tU: (;:: US~<.,J.H o:;"! I =--?:'"'"';(!/ ~:I -:;n'T.i':!','-1'.~
fo::nd that :-inch be~\cfi;';:.; -::O:.l:l:. c},L_~.:,r~ ::' j-.:,. ():::r.'"5,:~C;
8m~11 :;',C8;1;':':."(;l::r., (:.g.~ ;, f..!";:,:J-J'~': ;:; ,~-.-!.J:' ~l!':; !", =;, i.e
1 !'}J''. and SO;I'.:!: c>:c<~ptf.o .. ;,:,:. U~,:; :1; P:>:;'.-.; .i.e..::
).5/00C'l/:.:!:'>/o cn ,-q\U!xe ;:'00': :n,'lj !c:-. f,"'>~ .;,~ :.':'~~ .
. '--'-.
~J::.-C,';-:;~~~~ ;'.';·.i.:h ~1 Il":"huil (':...:;; i~':'1 ,1;'
c:,;;),,)::'I-u~.i \:~..:.:: f.n' -ti,9 1.:.0:: .• t<;·,::1 ,., ",-',
aGhi~\'ed.
IL~'.·0),')1)n<",,,t r: ii;1 lTb.!~ ::.i,:,:: l.'j-' p.l, ~n ."c~> c.i~,c'.l:'"~;{,.'(1 l1i':~ :-.
i.:;1;;~ CO~-:'.~.' .:. t.'~ ~!:. I:" ~: ,""-co;:,; .... :net,",,~.:f. -:. "~: •
In CC'l:;;:c..:5.J.:::::;. o.'\r.irj'j n.e,l cH.rl:c:;j.I.,'" t:,,_ .. :,'~ I!~\",cn.:.~'.i .. :.:..;.u
~Ol'l,~.~.~;t<::c, 3.".: ~:t'..i.puln.t:ed,Ul-C't iJ\i,00;) .square L:.(>t;. of
:f3.oc~~ <.::rq;;: ~!"J c..llocat.-'?rl ~o f:utL'~·.-'3: DO\-mt,oll'n prc-j:~c:::..
!:l'O".:."::.i:,q "sp"(!.Le..l" l1.2lncfi'..;.. ('\'~.~ b~h.8fit:." ~lC!;C t(, b~'
d3!ir.~!d. :'::y th~ Conrr.Ii~·.t.ae.) 'l'l1..,. Coorn~,it~t!e' discussed
this lO(l( 000 zlfu::.re foot ~J.'.c(."":ttion and agreed ',..rJ.th thu
·':!ity 'Conneil ;;h.;:,t chis alloc:zU.on \·.''',S " UrCS(.>,l've;I
rat:he:-: ta<:~H (;' IIlimit.1I HQ· .. .'~v,!.-,', it ~"J.~,(l b!?;Jil· .... ~'-' t.:'i"r.
all at,·p:,,"o::!i:'"L.::.L,~ tim3 f.'O.i." t.L() C:,'~::i 1:0 cCfiside.c J~o(i.if}i:lr:!
the ::'00,000 :~quare foot G.llo~;(ttio:; tor ornjcc·c~
p:.-cviding· ;:;p'~(';i.:~l bcnc:fit \-o'o\.11d bo ';:~1:V:-l: cOI'JJ):alioll o{
a D::J\:ntclm u:-."bGi.1l design p1Z::1l.
Comr.'.i.tt'C:c lr.-':!Il,be-:.:s did n(·..:, .f0Ctl~ di~;.::::.u~si(":ls en 1 ;;';:e1'.'
nea:c-term ~.',c(> .. d;b tor the D.)~·,'lll::ol';n 1'.;::-c.'1 but on' s~ve:t"~)
occasions loe:al de\'.e1cp~)~.3 ano staL' did discu~,;.s
e.':pect2(~ t:r€.'lds.
;-;'~"i$>ed 2/.?O/87
1 '''~/-S~.
'"
'.'.
~he conclusion from thes~cl-b::ief t~i!>-::l.~;!:"; .t';:m::.: :tt., U!;-.'..: ',::":,'..:
llOi-mtoiTn ;area I'.'ill nClt \,.I.tl1,,!;~~:: (1.~'!c.lv'):',c:,t (:",;0"3 ~1f: .;1,"
noxt threEl t.o 1'out' yp.a~s cOhp;;,r<:;bl~~ to thr.-.... ~::",:.\lll~ 0:;;
.:.p.p!:()ved fol." the--Dmmtmm l.rn<=. i.)C I":V('J(:11 ).Cl~e <::;-,:..~. ,:.S 83,
The: citecl. :o:easons ar'<!:
L "Downto';oIn land eOGtL~' pc.:::-ti'-.\..l),-E\):J.:.r ii~ UV~ (:~,j:':!
araB.., htl'l9: not' fldjUEt-. .cd ~:\~i:'i:,lr::i~r.i:.ty 6:)',..'nu.-'>-.;j t:o
r<:!J::lllc;': th'9: IleW' on-~itc· tn".:::-ki.':'J ~,·c~:,-\:i .. ~~:,~7'!'o..,t:-_; ':;,0
the nCH 1.0 to 1 FAt! p~r.;litt(·.~. 'd.thLl til.; cc::~
CD-C Subdi~trict.
2. ';.'hc nel-l cn Dist:l:.'lct reC;l~J.c:U.on~~, .>:'i.:;:t~.,::,·'-.::.I.:!:lv -;·~o.
aforementioned par!.;ir::g <!:,:::.1 U.R r.~C;::_l.::,.'~:,l.C.:-i~>, in
thero~~.clvcs. do not .t1ncollr<.":ji-..! C:""OHth.
J. The office: rcnt<:'.l m'.:r}:2t i" ~<::~.:..:~. ''::l<='l":'a Counl:~" h:'.G
been :-~L:.t.i"vcly ~o~t: in ':.:b~ :~:'.c;'.:: ,.r.,:::>.~ t.::.-:l th ..... ~·?
l:tt::r~ct cond.H".~.ons have r-::m1 ~",:J.:~r:":.:~d ::.1' ~o;:L::_C:'~
.:Palo ~\l'l:.o" As a l:(":}ult, :::~(..:::t.~ .i.'cce'",·;~li· c2r,~pl'!;:"'.;:d
oftice building:::.: have c~~pt:;r':'~'1c.:?rl ~;10'.':~'!'·
absorption reces:: th2.n \J1r).'S~ t~;~""."T i~!lC2("'. !;-"
build:i.ngs completed 9"8 Q:,:" h,-n" yt.'<~n: e,::.:::).i.~}".-.
T!1c l:::.f,{' ,:cdet·.c:l ;,;t ..•. )y~,·.\ ,;}.~·'.i~··:: .;.\ '...i. ;,:t..~~,',.!::
reduGe ~:ht· oacc of o';fi(:~ Q')','<::·lO:-'1-:.d.-nt·, .1.~' ;t ):, :':'<1L
of' Z"(Wif;oO'O dep}" .. e~cj"«ti(',n f-:r)!:uC:~·':'.8~.: eli!'l~.~!<,. :1.01'> 0:
5;'l!!c.i",1 t::.f:.::>itdl ~~".in \'<;:~ l:i' '"".;,:.::i '~':;"";L.t '.':"11 I.::
I' l~a:~:H.;5.\"eli lo!~s dE.:du<.:~J l~ll:; .iO!: ;:(,,0"'..1. c~~:·::;r~.[.'
investw~nts .
'!'ne fOU.Ollillg S:~CU.OIlS
l\:~Co;r.::~lCndnU.ons in the
cX$cutiv-;:; suPtrt'.cu:::·}-.
des.r;£.Hy.: t~1'.·~ Co.):-.:.:.:iV~'~'/~~: s.
sa;:;::e 5eq',Jr::.,c~ i:!.1 1;he~',,-.i;ppc.~,)·E';d
!.\ ,:,
\:' \
"I'he l.r.\c--nit.ies CQrr.mitte~ cl~fines thes~ be!1~fJ.b: ..;;.~;. ~:"::lc:;:;f!
that are not. only important in terms of theiJ: potend.al
contribution 1:0 DOl-!I1toHn Palo Alto '!.mt. f,:,I"H.l~C'! U'"'o'.~ ~.;,:~.')
of SUff.icient ruagnitude lIS to r.2Cf~d.yC subst.3n'.:i8:1 illccntive~ .1.11 order tn bC! achieved. (~~G") 'J.~:·:':(\r.!h(,'d
Jl.ppendix for o.>:amples of c::;tiHat0d co[':t..'~ and. (:;~l-lect(2.t.t
ret.urns of projects p:rovidlng Major bnr.~fit$. ~
1. Full se!:·vice food rna-rkE'.t: '.l.':1€,. 1,,"'enitic~ COT;",r,:\i ttee
stror •. "Jly endorses 3. fu-ff se)"."Vice toad )";I.al:kct
Ci.e., a market selling fJ":esll rlleat'~1 pr)u]t'~!"1 1:i[;h
and pr-cduce in «ddit.io:l t;.,~ p::,c}:<lg3.-:! S.\:up!.(!.~) OJ: <t
pormanent.1y··sited l fulJ-tin:p. !-'art"lIm:-s ifi.i.J:}:et ns Q
1l1a-.jor Ommto ... m benefi-t.:. lIS e. ):.~~C;U~.!..:I 't::v.!
committee bel.!evCls that i'I. future dcvelopl,:\cnt
pr.oposal includ1.i1'S' such <; foed ll'.ar.ket should lJ~
revieHed in a very positivlJ manner by the Cit:l"
:R.eviceo. 2/?Oji37
'.1" r,!!),?
"' ..
,','" .,
in ',:crlH o!: j:llplCl:l'l'-"nt?,':'::':"'"~1 ::t ~ . .:;. ;.~:.':<-.:"L1c: ·.;~l,;,t
~~r'~i~ t ~~:~~~:::: ~~m~Y i ~ "~~~~~\Z~, ~X ~~f"~ Ji) :J::::;:ct
::e<.J\11t,t.io'l~. $,:';-:t(1 ('~;' t:,~ i-'(1~~; .. :,'.'~(:1 ~::e[\p'~:i(1r.s O!:
honu::ec necess8!:'y to!: such .;\ p_co:l:!cl; ::u:e: 5.l1cludcd
i a the II j,ncC:1\ t i VC~~ Ii :"~·"!G.:):\;-'~'!llL:'~ by 1: h,::, C·)""t·;;; H:-':DG.
umi: arc (::csct'"ibcd in Scct.;i,r.;' .C':I-·(; c,!,: t_~'li~; J:.",po:-:t..
how.3ve r, one cc.r:t:' i 'i.::i...'rt v~: l.;,; ;,~; i-:! c: ,t;o ~:;;2 '~tJ,~ .. :,-o-,,·zLl
is dC:'icnstratioll Cli' pl>.hllc' b:t::..':i~i.:. H(:r~c'..:.
r~ch_.:1C.",·1.~.'l'i<.Jro[;nt of i. ;,..·.)::-d ,.,i.;J;,;:.(.;:'~; ,:~~'; ~'. rr:.l_~·).1.).(;'
benefit for the ()oi-m~,:o".'H ..'·,n::~ c(~lllc. f":n.r:.ble ~,
propc:.;)l ,-,·5,t.h ~ fc'~~~ ;1.,-,:+!~.,}:,:, ·'.·.l _-:.. ·,;h~_.'_'
con,-~!.t.io'l.
f~"r.r ... '--~\,-lJ.op(n: ";ilO ;~:;:t<~<' . .:',·:l .'l:;':'"l,l:C: ' ... >" c(,:,~;-.:.:.,,"::::.~(;
p:-r::1ic"tcct that., ::;C~}:l,~)'-c::--l<:.,~-:;::-: .. '.' h>:} J ~;:-,'-:;,'ic("
foo,-:-j nar':'-:~t shcuJ.(~ .lO{! \'..:..-:.' iii jb';!;l~:,""'i1 l);,:,o _".~,:'.:'.
1.o;ll}VCr, the c.\ev~lc:)!~;.~ <..l-::,~-" ::,·:.":~(::.c~'_(:>. '.:;'-,:': "'I,eh c;
:,:;.tU;:(:i: .... ould, f)f :-'~0.;·.;.r,ac nc,,;:..:ssi~j" (.:.ail.(~ C-~,<.;t~,
l::~!lts lH;rl l)E;::-king (;0.-; ... s) I r;<,,::_,'."1.' -;~,-; ('.n I~l!;)-()(:f:.!.l!"
:~?x%et: ~n~ ~"culq <:0': -::-(" ... ~:,t"( ~ !'L; C-!-",::L;:<:"., '.1~',-.1!
l~\('c;,:r ::mp;)l'..T:~r:::2:t,,:· lo.:n·t~-::i ',),U';:;: ':'dc of 'Cb8
[1.)",:!~1·.""':n; _\r~a. j
2. O:J-m-oFf-sit.e ,.-hlJ,(. C~·.":--~ J"r,,:·;l i;·.i.~·'2',: '1'11"-'
i~cl~-,{T~~--(:ci~;!i\:-;,:-:~;;--i-;~~';!:'~::c;n1::~:-::r;-~:,:-o"n-c:"
(,:;:or-:::'_>..! c~.'_lJ c(u.'<~ -;:-"<::.~ .. !~·,i~"'·~ b '·/l,l'-'.:L::'~;.:'2:"I"}
Dc.JO~+ p\.~LJ.ic bCUt-;' j;: in '\:t~:::-I,."~ (1/ ?(~',:n.i..-t' r.c!.-'.}ic:-:'...:,~
of £e:~iLlg ,uch f""cj,J}_t_~ .":'";. '1'h(; ;~~'10n).\-5.e::;--Cor:-., d tb~c~
h(:a:-:u .'!·-=.in"esf'nt~\"":.i.-;,'3 ,.!."~';'. P'.l.c, ~~l_·,".\;-::;U:>11l1,~5,l,..~;
Clli).d C;.:""C (P ..... CCC) <-nd f.i.."()r;· !,,:~Jo :-+~_t,_) 'Cj-lild CE',::e:
'.i"<"':_>:l: ~'orc~ \.:nd~l~~;C"":_"': ::i\,:'c ':l~i:~":;.:;I1Cy ')i: c:,i!(; CJ.:CS
fl"'.ciliU_ 0:::::' in or n::.',u.' ;':i1.c i.~.:.'"!': _'_~1 m ;-,J~e.:., ::cl.:o.tiv-€!
'to the ne~d for SU(.!:'I _fd.(':":_~ . .i :":ir:!~.
Tl1€t·~i[o!."e, tlle Alil(~n':'c5.,,,;~ cOFi;;f-tt.~(~ j s
l:e<.:o~, ..... nei"l.dation is i."e:!>!;:;:lct,i.nc; to "t)d.:3 Ile-:!d ;):1
endorsing provision ot c:tilct c;n'e f.aGilit:.J.e~~ ttfl a
Ifl~ajor bGn~fi ti' in (utUl.":S ~,01-mto;-,'n del/~lopj:u::.r,t
p!'"opos211s.
East likf'.ly pt:'OCUXI')I.\Cnt of: SUC~) faciU.ti,~!'= ',,"cuJ.d
bn t;1 ........ vltlj'h approval or a PC zt'm8d ~::CGje(!t
incllidlng such f<lcili-;:ie~;. '!'hc. P .... +QI~~SS '''no.
demonst.:t·atiol'l of public be.1efit. w()P.ld p.:1.r;:,l!~)" the
proc«;.s deSC1"ibed in the r,~"evJ.ou5: section for a
':ood nerket..
3 • Q,(~A-8E? ___ . __ :::·J2'!..~~ ____ ~.Qr n'2.!1::.t?}.:..o_~J:.t-____ ~!".s:_~.~i~~9; ~_~5>~_~.: 'l'ho
CO!,l,-;'Il tt cc e!.dorscs \,):::ovisi,)n or' cO'i·n,\Ullity-!~e;:'."j ing I
non-pro.LH: organizatiollc :lith liiilitt'1d 1:"C'I'2'mlC
sourceb, e.g" the PE'ninsHlu cons-orve.tion C~nf:0r
or the Palo ]:.1 to HO~l3ing COl":po:t'{l.ticn, J,n t:l!tm:c
oownt.o,"!;t comm.c:.."cial p: ... -cjc;:ct.s 1;;.3 a -r.~(-jo,---" plI't.lie
bs:ncfit. Such space could be provid8d at
Revis(",d ?-/20/87
, I"; tl/c;"l
6,
bclo .. '-;a:r.ket. tents for <:\;:.L.i.:"'yl;,~' nO'.1'··.,i.·oCi t
c;:-gt:.nizl1ticns .. It cUe. not :-"9Cl;i~'~' t'hic:l '..:rr~: of
non-pr'Qfit. orqan;"z:ation3 l:ot':JC: cO]H';"'::itutc <"t ;:!~j0:'~
public b~IH!t'it.
1",.J.ditional pa:r}:in~' rucUl\.r<:.~~: ~I:c C:-::;n-;t:lt.t~c
Et;.iTeves t.hat fuU.:rc Pl.'oj~.c:tc Pi·';)"'ic..:'.~ j,,) .p;::;:-~:illg
eLove the .t.nount rcq\.l ~:':"'{>d woulrl be ,-"!o;\"t.Tib\~tif'.0" ~!
hl.b.jO~: bc.n~iit· t('r t!1~ \)'?~~11to· .. m J..l"0;~.
1m u .. ·l.,lan dasi-gn (>1"-7.1 .",'ould b2. l.tl h\p~:~::t.l:.l"l;': t;3~C\:.
in guiding lh~ desif~h ~.nd l,jc./'.t:i~n of such parkIllg
r~ci 1 iti-c::-.
!-.O.C\~ .I(.';;"";r0"C~eni:};! "'b':: (':-;,."~.~'.~:;:\~ C:-:::::-1"F ':;;~'~: ;:ubsf~-"t~·t'{iy·-s\i!;!.)ort to:.: .:..Uv~· ~r··:):'-('ii';!:.l::-;~;"s, e,~.,
pcc~estX'iml orienterl tac.f.d:.. r-o..::H 1.,":<:.:-.jOrlt; ?:1J C:~'.:!<~;-'
y.ind~ 0;'; aef.thztic iI'r':o\,an(·;\l..:, .l~ ."':. l:,~:j;):.-!l:~~;l.ic
b-cnefit. rt ;.1::>0 bod i"!\t~!i U~ .'t. :;'..Ic:. i.;~):-:-~.'''''':';,'.!r:~:<j.
cannot occu.t:, ill au .h.Cl·dl~(>tlt(:l :!..··:-,;~rv.):.:,·.ri'_::(.ut \:.:~e
guidanca of a!~ u~b~n dcsi~n pIon.
·rh·.~
uc.·J(jl-ap:'".c-n;-. .s. \;hi....,:l :. 11':::1:..<\;1.' :::.u.:;;.1I":8" 1 ',~.:::. ).;t";-)t;'.jc.·
contriJ.1\;"tor~ "to [)c\.,'"n f ·.(",'01 \'!t .. ,~,jl·.~, arl0 ~~ ;: l"">"5111t
shoul-:". be. c-o"~1.;"dl'::rcd il r-:~j".:t h~r:C'.f.~,t.
rn itf;' -:!i-acus!,5.o:'l 01.' .r.lb:~,(1"l:.·:~ P'L-OJE;;;~:<; ~ l:.:1!.lL::~;;0
hou9in0, tho Co~::.i th~c (":5.~ n,:)t c:i.sr.u~~~ ap::. ... ):·('Oi.))"·l;,,~·.c
£~i.l1e, -jcnsil.y c::;-c.:>.:;-t 0/ [ .• ...:\.~, r:ol!.!,;iI~c.:r.
'I-he '~iii~f1.i~io:; Co:mittce dc'in"'~s ti.l~tlt'> hcn~~H:3 c!s th<):~~~ ',~'hich COlild r;,~ke a !J:Llbs.·:'::Lnti(;~. ccn':.~:; V\.lt.'.')1) to D:;.;.rn~C" .. II'
i"'e.lo A).to anc\ '~'hich COt,ld L.\} (l::~-ain('.(~ 1.;]1?:·ol'gh e::p<llls.i.01I
I)f ·i.;he (P) Pedestrian Shopping Dh;trict d~5i<Jn
quidolines, through ar:tono;-,:onts of exist 111(;: o)":din,mces
and/or tM:ouqh provioion of c, relatively s~all FAR
bonus, e.g. ~ a O~5 to 1 bO:lus.
EXilhples of "these bCl1eti::s l,nd suggested rnc~ns of
ohtaining-t.heT.l. are:
1. Art ill l)Ubl~£_l?!~.:::£~i The Amer.ities Conu:litte\l.
recor.l1llends that the Visual Arts .1\1··Y cont:inue. to
explore T.lethods of s~curing 'art .i.n public plnGes
from pr!.vate 'projects and that it subu.i.t its
findings and :~::ccm:'Lf'lendation!; to ' ..... Il!: City Council.
2, Rf"ltcnt5.on of buildinqs: of hi~t:cr~.(:: and
fire"hi tectu l'aT'TnforC;si:"'--'i"ne-";~mellTtr;S COtl".tti. t. t:ee endor5e"Sth~--iec€:'ritfv-ainrOVP.d prov.ts.i.ons to t.he
Hi:s.torlc Prosorvatlort OrdinancC! \I~d.c'l as~H.n.·(!
retention of si.gnifS.cl".nt histol."'ic buildings (i.e.,
Revised 2/20/8'/
, ,.,: . .'~ ..
"
,
3.
bl·.ilo.3.n'9f. in c~tegQ) .. ·i~.;. t i..,(; :~i i L.: ;~,.~.·1.;·.::;E;n;.:",
of ,,11 dCfiign~tec! hi:;to;:io J)\':c!C.l.~.:; ~Ci.;,: . .!~,' .. :~(~~ l
th:-ough I.) in t.hp. DO\lilt.O:IOJ .\t·';'.:.
lncl"€:ases in and iy.;t)r:..-... ··::!~i. t~.~ .. ,,) oi", ' .:~,' . .i r.... .'. ~ .j1
SPEoCCl ThC~TtTe3 co~i"d:~~c~·· rc~'()::.f;{:n:<:· (:·,~'H~\.~5 .. 1
~:;cncnt of public oP;:'l~ r:"?~ C~ v':~~·":·.i:...'~:..:..:C:l~: :J"
prlv,,~e ~roj (lets 1:.8 C1, v..-:d .. \' .. :hh :)0:'.;:>' ·: .. ; .. t. 'j";~::
CO)<1J~ith~e believe's such htl:.dL ..... I:';"~·~-..i l. ~ ;:)!},.~ .. ~;,,1~
through reiat::ively i:~an. (i.e., It) ~:0 ~.:. til .:~
FlU{ bOlluses. Thu CO'1!.!)'::'·<:'i.:.ac .f.l!.:0 ll"::.i.;.uV..:!:; ·~.h;". '-<li
urbll.n design pli.ln cOl~ld esU;:,li:;h p~C'~)(!~'
fJuideliiH:~s "a ctt:siVr, ".~ .1C..::.,..::.'.(.q .• ~. ~.J :,! ";H;,
spaces in ot:dcr to w-nx5r,j ~,: ;;;~I .. ~jX j, ••• ~,~;;;it ;:'0 'i.;!":
public.
S. D:dr;)t.inq rO'.ln';.alns <'~r,d }'u'-;l:_c ~.:",~:;~:: i".,
Com-lt':ecl(lcn',:ifrc~ .. -i.:.-ic;t·-"~";i·-~_l;c' -~J:'-")'I: .~ \. .. ~ <.-: !. ':''':~.:;
~ anci 5 is sir;i.la.:t:· to OI pu 'vi.i ... , o .. :),,:,} :-! __ . .:: .... , ~il -...:.~"!::,:>
'.)f rotcnti~l cont1:i:)' .. ~t .. :,on3 ~(, '.1>-:--.... _.J.~. :,v~!.
A srcal1 conus could b') C)~-Cl:~t:("'~ i:: 01:.1(.:_ .. ::0 C"~:'; "';1
:1.uch e:~':<:~litic<;, 1:", (:.);"';'} .. : .... ;;' ~.
u:..-b.c::n "-!:;,5:'~;n plan c.Guld (!·;i.c:.::"i.,"· .~i ;~·.:.;·;i':.
guidc:li.ncs [01' such [;'coU:' tit.:~: ';ml '--"-·n5_~·.~.-:s.
The lunp.llitics CO!'1ID!ttr><.? r~c'>;"'.:_-:-';l(!8 -t' .... C(",',m'."U ".:,-~;:!.""
the :;:ollo~·inq ) .. :I1ct;ntivc-:-;. 'l'L..:: ~_~ j~.,~,.;~, ,,:~ .. : ~.~_, :,:
prov~.dc i:hrJ '!lwans for oh1.: ...... i:1in,] r: '.'l\' \"'1:,' \:!~~ :E.W-.'· ~.'
l.eco~rr.~ ..... ucd in r ·p.'1ious 5 ... :~L'.::.'~~.;"
1.. .?~~().1.1~~: The COli\,~it::.,~c ))td_':·~'''.c:-.; \.:W.L .:\ C.S-'';c !
~~\P" ~om-''<3 Hould h~ suffici.(":n~: .~l\ ~l!""l.i.::: 0,-0 <t))i.~~3:.
such sl,~«ll bc:ner:it~ (~ ... (1 ~'i.~::l~.t.\r1'-; ~~s :;'otul.: .\~,!' ,""~l~'
va;t:5.ous Zorms of public o;>c;~ :.;p;::::.;.'! (t·.;"'~:';J.;U)~ll ll~
Section TIl-B. Ho..,'cv€.:', T,.c1jO}': -~'~-'\(>flt:s, I\.:-'~'I i\
full servicp. food na:";~.(Jl;, ·,:o'.'!J<: .r;;C!<Ji:.:c
Gubstanti.fllly greater tnC"en:: iv.::s i:h<.ii' ?l11 iIlCl"C<1scd
?J\R uf o.!} ,to 1. As a :t·c::~u:l., th'l cC;':.;1.V..:t.:'(>
:r.cqu('.sts that the c:i.ty CQU!.cj) I j,1 ... _ .. ,,;t~.ljq (".)', :<--1:>~i{;:
reco::nnendc,ticns , co;-:.;id.-.;· c~S:F'J n';iJl(~ " .. po~ .. jcy .. , i~~~t
a.lloi-'s grl. ... tcl' rlcxi~i~ ,U"y, in t<.1l:":; of c',;R, to!'"
fLltu~,:c proj0.ct~ it; the UGlm'lcl .. m ('I/,:(,:~. th,,;· ;,ro'.,d,\,c
rc.ajor benefits, e.g., a food i'1ar)~.)1;.
2. H~~J%Y}~J1'1 __ !'"h~ __ :fl:_?.!.l..II . .:o_l~ __ £.Q.'.:l.tl_\!_~H~Y ___ <,l~~) ___ }:.,?_J,_c._t.:·(:~_,~, ~"'>.~;
'ihe C-:-",mitte-L 2.c}:j1('.;"!~(:.:0S tn.:'.: ~n:O)Cct.5 o,C;:',O.rinfj
r.La:jcr benefits 01" a:·:8nii.;ic~ H~":U::"C. ;la'/(c to ~('.;
through the p~ zO!1;ir:; ?r<.'c",,::;:, so t~l;lt thCl l~~:; !~.
tied to the zoning ~J:<i 'tho bcnl~21t O).~ c::.rlC'r.h:.', ',.ill
not be lost. However { tho C'onni tte,_~ r.-;co:~:"cr.o~:
that the PC pl.·ocess ~(: ntor~i, riel! !"~Q t..hat.. (~
prclir.linary reVie"l<l to e:;I:~b-.l.ish i.:.I:e: zonillg
Hcvi.."p.d ~/20/fJ7 , .. ~ ,~-
\
',-; -
criteria is made E:il.rlY-i.m, beforC'. tho: cietl:. i.1. ('d,
cost.1y development plane: are'requl.r.cd for t;l.2
final PC approvel.
3. COd~P"\lbiic I'lorks reouirerocnts; Tile COL1.."Ill ~~.:(:.~
be.lieves that \tlh"t is 1l3eclecr-rs l10t a !lwa {v1ng o.f
the code-s n but fl'exib!lity in intcrpr(!:t~t;lotl find
facilitation in getting through the apPi:ov<.11
proce!:;s. l.s a rq,sult, Lt.: sU<jgef'.t.G thai: '
depa~ttnents involvod in th-:=: PI:OCCSS of l"evie.win9'
proje~t:: opplicAtiotls nacd to D3: a·,,·~:.:e 0; thu
special goals for Do;;mtown and \'lork coopel.·atively
to facilitate the ii:1~l:;>I::erl!.:~'.:.io)·. 0:( ttlE$O goal=--:.
This is JM)re of a problem for sl:!all project.s th::"lil
f~r It.~g£!r Ol\es. ~i.'he PlalH,j r'~ n:-:d Hu,Ddi !lq
Div~.:;;;.ons l\r'~ "lr~~dr c-:m:f.icL"d.ng <:t Hey 0:':
coc.':dillating ttl£:! pernit COL~ntc .. ~ to strc(;.n:.l tnc ~h~
ep~r'Jval procccs. "l·o~'.'~1:t"d L:.is goe.l, thO:! Co:;.ni t.t:..(>.
reCO,'ONetlcls that an on!buch;wa<l 0;.:: stair p:J!!.'s0n
:.hould he assigned to i:ss.i.st r.'!"·opert.y mmers anc:
o'..:.hck," applicnnts in obtaining' pC7U.nent
infon.lat.ion fron appr,"priat,9 staff on the
p:!:'occssing of theil" resp;?ctivc: eppJicatio:13 .
.;. .l.'.:-.::Q.":",~·~-!?ublic J.I.!lE:L:~J~!.9:: ci.~y ~l{H:tici.:pati(.·.,
stlO:.Jlc: ~}.!t~n6 to lH:,,'nst~lW{'> in :fim'.nci.nq or it"!
Itl5.!:inq public im~r.oVe!1.ellts t('l .'!ssis\: r.::,do;:
<!~er.i'.:}.pf:.
In the Ar.~enities Committee'~ :nany disCll~siollS of
app:-,oln:iu· ..... :. bp.nefits arlO. ;)r,1cnjj,;ie5 -;';·01.-the Do",.,f.:r~~:n
·~·l"~··~1 it e::tlariCI\Ced st:bstantj.c.l o~tL;,i$n f.0l.~ p:)lent~.",j
opporl:.~nit.ies in obtaining these bcmt!fi ts bllt .it als,0
e}:pe;L"i~i\ccd much frustration in not: being .to.bl(? to
suggast hOI., such amenities could or :sh';:l\~ld be, p.1. ... ce'~"
Such a t:d..GK ~,as beyond the purview of this coro:nittc~l::::.
scope of work. .
As a result j the Comm~ttae not only Htshc~ to reinforce
its ca.rlier statements on the need .end benefits of an
urban design plan for the DO'wmto'iJn Area but it. also
'wlishes to sl1l)gest a procH~s and scope of: dcv~J.opjng
sllC!h a pl(Hl~
The benefits of a conceptual, plan are l11Ulti-£old. It
would identify and provide guidance for the propt:r
placement of amenities. As one example, placing a
fountain or plaza in one location may be J,\ost
approprie.te (lnd result in benefi·..:.s to l11&ny I wherccl.G in
l;.nother location its benefit to tho comrmnH:y l~a.!l be
minimal. Placel'ttent and design of parking racil.H:ies
ar,e particularly sensitive issues. A desig~ plan Honld
provide excellent guJdancc t.o decision llH\kers on !low to
Re\·j.scd 2/20/87
'!"'.'.~ I':';
».( • . _,. '
'.'" ,
:ruax!u\.t,,:a the benc.fH;~ or ~:'tch i.'c:...~D.i~:.:.e;· .:~:.l_..'.:
minimizing the pot'.lnt:!.".:J. :~8-;.r(~J .. "~·!{~ c:~;: "~'::'
In tei."IllS of pl:OCC3~., the 71:· •.. ·;::.\.:.1..": (:._;;;'.:5.'~:~' .• -.• ~ ~","":<).":;',:, c:
that Council dh:ect s::tff' ~-.(.> ";"""e::' ~)~.l ,Ul I,,::ha i.-. .:..,~j.r:--;'
l-lork proqr.al1l lor subso;qu,::m':'; C-:.\m:--.i.l ~~)p.':ovtLl. 8w:~ ... <":
'h'cr.k pi.·ograT"\ would:
1. specify tht:!: con'cl?::)~':'i.h,,",2. ~~;t.·:!~~;,.·.-:,;,.;tc·J 1..
.s::peciCic) natu::c of t:1('" pl.:-.1.;
:." ~_ .1 ".-
2:. lclentlf:{ the basic (':leJ:H~l ... ts 0:: :"C ........ !\ <" p!n~l, .~.q.1
~. 0(:" t-, iiJr, gu i de 1. i r,::::-; fc~: ,~_ ),\,,": :~i. f;.~. 2.~;' ~',,"' -:: -'.r; i 1
gl1i<hlitl£l.'~ fo.: .d.l.<.!Y t,.,~~}:<~'·;in~!; ~.;H: d-.::':i,:,·,): ,"-,1'.::
locat5 .. ;!l guide)' in':!~: £,::,..' flttl1;;::'! ~)'::." l.!~: ! :~r~:U:: 7.~_
.). D~scribe the f(')n,\.:::t. for ta'.ell ~: pJ.(" .;,.;.("::~ ~,-~ . .'l1~.(~
inc.I.'.t<h~ a vif"o.lal o:!:::!.3cr.t'>.L~ 0:' l'~' ',,~L' rl'-:::O:.":"ll
gl~idel i nr~f;;
4. Suggest ·th~t a tns}: ~0rcc c0~~i:itill(' o~ ~~C:~
dc;.ig:l t,.";l~nt ',f:(l. oth'.H' T',c:::;)-:-::rs O.~.'-'..:~.:: '~-:;:-:-,.;ll~~l i ~·.:f
prep.:!:.? the desigH ~)l;::j; .:::):~i.
::~J>:::ci"':'! ~·.ht! li!.;~.':.~~i ":/:'~._.1', c,,: ~:'--)1.5:
~ .• t'!., i(').' cOI'3ll.lt.,--..,t c:.·l,-;'!"};---.j(,: ~:~t;5,·-,~~.·"r
fac i J. i i:.<.: t.Ol';" ~. ~.~:o:v 5.~,.·.:; an(, f '.)~. ·:;·c}" :' .~_ " :. S ~ ':::'. (,l. 'J _,,"!
C!.f::S .:. sf.:") iC:~.
In conclusion, t,he Conr,d.tteC'-wb,r.("~~ t.o n:;.:'n:r'1:~~~ ~.J.~,,=. 8nl:!l0~:
~·L~t!';r,::!;·:ts C:1 t;.;"e; V;;~,'i... <,r~:<~y of (::';""'·"·:..',·r:i~:;:(·!"; .": ~: '~.'. b"~'1
.:tl::'e -\1.v~i l~\ble ::Ol'"' tr-0 DJ;".~,:,();'!il a: .. f..::.. S~.n:::;:; -·/C:.".' ~ '; . .-.~'_).!'
0I7V{!!.0!J';:cnt .:.[. ~::p";-r:t~,·:1 ,d.'..:h,~a '..:11(: :~:-:::..:. " ... • .. .'0 .. ~ ~;h~;~;~". y.~.:.
C'O:.',~'ljttCO so€'.:; t:~ds p~.':i:ld a~i .::. Td'~.1.: D~)p..,..o:.,':::i .. ~'"· ~·jl,t: ::~. , .• "
City t,.) (1.::-,··:a'j.0p an l~:.:hi,n rles:i,sn plan .~o,'..'"' t:l~ Gc"."l~":')i.,'i~ ~!.'\';1. ....
O-:':.~~.;,.,)to c::.r;SI..',:r. t~ .. -.t. fu'..:.!..:.::,·c ·';evclo:..'pn(;i';'·. i~:;.C:.' i:!.':.;l ~':~".;:',"' ",',
""'~~\~ opp 0.':'':; uni t.i~~5.
JOHIf }.'OnTHi\-·i~'{
Clii>.rRl·!A~';
'l'E!>iPO~.RY C01IIH'l'"T::-:P. OlJ n(n1NTOlm DF.$XGN !: l\.HEi'.i'.i'!ES
Lis"!: 02 COro:1it'\:G~ l·icnb~J:s
Cost oj> H(Jjor i\lLlenitie!>
l~evL;,~d ?/7.0l87
" "'l!~ • .'~:-'
I!
lI'M'IICIUIENT F
IWt'JOH: Council l-lcmbOt"" CClbil Iilo\'ed, s(!condcd hy PatitllC('!l,
to adopt stalf 1'ccoMm.cndation as t.oJlol.'s:
1. 703lc.o tho lollo .... ·ioi1 ac:tions 00 I:ho fJolo.'nlo·,o'O D(:sillr) 05:ncl
At,:(!ooi t i~s COIQllittce: I & :rI.:Cc;::,mnnda tiolls l"eg. :.'di1l9 bf)"rJ(:f. i tf;
lind <1[:",&111 ties:
~) hpp~ovc the lisl o( ~beneiits ~cquiring mDjor incen
tivos· except (or ·office spaco fo~ nonp~D(it O~gh
ni~ations,· and ret03in the list; and
~7-.316
G/OC/87
MOTrON CONTINUED
bJ lJirocl tile A,"ellj t~Ct't.u.'a 1 Review OO<1.l'"d (ARB, to
expand' the (PJ Pedestrian Stlopping Combinin9
Distt'icl dcsj 9n 9lJfdclin~s so tha t fUllJl·C dovelop
ment. pt'oposa.~s ,I:r'ould b€'_ encouraged lo p,ro\'l(le such
benefits and eA~ptilios as a~t in publjc pl~ccs, pub
lic opon space, ftnd public drinl:jng toujllains.
2a Th1:t lolloldng actions (1) tho' Uo .... nlol.lll U~sign and
lll.\.!nilicr: COlllrrlitleeJs reco'-~[!:andod incenti ..... cs:
il) COOs ideL" lJ hi{ltier bonuc than a O. S to P/.R on
fl..!tut:c Do~mto""n (PC) Pl.1nned C<lI::trt;ur.il;y zoned pr-oj
t'cts ·on .!I ca~e-b)·-(.·<'I!>o Oltsl~, P.H:ticulcn"l~' in those
situations whl're-it can be-t1or.o')!i~l"'ted tlli'lt pco!Ji
siol) of speci .. ] bcnetit.s rcquit·~ such,) l>onus to
Offset the cont of pro~idin9 tho bellcfit;
bJ Conslc:tcr all Ot·oin .. mce ch,"l(u;)(,,. to til(> (PC) Planned
COI1'1r.lllllity rc\'i('\~ p.r:oC"(!~S to ~"'ll() ... , c(;nc'.:ptual
dc-velopncnt pliW ~rj>t"ovilj p,r i at' t.O rcyi (lW of
dot.lilcd d-asi\,tI p!':';ns for final action:
c) (;€fcr eonsid~r<'"tjDn in r'!;.\(Jj tying code and oth<:,t
ordinances ilffc(""tin9 IJoy.nlO\o!fl Pt'oj~cts, c.q.,
i",pn>Yl'li'(>lIl to building fat:ddc$ nn ,.J lc}'~, tJn!';il
(1(',(,)" -<.III (J:-b')!1 lie~i9n r,):<H~ is VrcpilIn,'d lInd adopted
$0 that desilJn polich.s clnd prio.-itie~. en'" cle.'Il'lr
ucfin<;d bL'fo!:c !;l'ch t:odi (jccltlon j s Con:!.;.) dl:~redl aHd
c) COnsjd ..... l' arJpr-Opt"iatt: pUblic tinallf.:i'liJ a5sist411cC [Ol
public improvclll{~nts aftel' adopUon o( an th.ban
Desigl1 Pl.ln -f;O that prio~iljl~s ar(l" U1c>rJ (1o~tllt.}I$hed
on ireprovcrIlcnls rcquicing \'a["iou,~ (on'ls Q( publ)e aSSislan('o.
a) Continue cncparation o! an Urban O~f;j~1I PliH~ kOl',..
(">t'onr-C!:r.l th(i t if.; consistent, wi t,h tlHl (riHIHHwt"k ~ug'" 9~~led by the A~enillcs Co~~tltQe; and
b) Rfl'turn to the Council f(",r approval Q! .a · ... ork pro
t;.'ram, afler input if> obtained ie-on the ARfl, no la.t.EH' than .Saptcsnber 1, !987~
57-Jl1
610~/87
.....
\
i
'.
jl
MOTION CON1'INtiEO
r
Furt:.he(, endorsem'ent of a work progrllm desi9na t in9 tho') t
the plan be prepat.'"cd by ., t-'lS~ fo['ce 01 ~ol·kablc Sizl'
and whi~h include:s members of the local d,H::J9" C(l(tlmlln
ityj' members of' the community at lanJc, tJnd repr('sent~
Uves from the Plannin9 (;ommission, r,rchitc-ctural RO\"lCll
Boa,:d, flistor.ic Rc-t>ou['ces DOllrd, and Yistlal }I.l·t~
'Jury.
Counc{l I'lember kenzlil'l ..... as concf1cned to some deqrce "bout th~
mo~ifications to the PC zone. She w~s wi] lio~ to explore to
aeG what. .form they might take.
l1ayot" Woolley asked staff for clad fication. stool'" UOd~l·~tood·
Council ~~s giving direction to set procecses in ~olion. dnd
the recommt;!nd.l t ions were tar fCQm I i l'"~I.
flanager-of Planning Pcoject Ceor-gl'! Zim.'lel'f,HI !..;<lid thilt ~"~1,~
corXt!ct.
Council l"lerpber ~en7.el was eoncern~d C.1ch fii0"i.'e (lIDHQ IJI iHI
i L(:catill€ pr:occss sent d mes:;agu that 011(' "'<)£'. lrIC(illt:d lo
'~,J.nt to agree, whereas she WdS more inclined to \,'..'1nt t(1 dis
a.9n~e .... itb some o[ the recommendations, SItC' ~antt'd ti~r
concern on the reco~d so it wa~ not a sUtprite ~hell tho ilel'l
L"etlH'n~d, !lhc \~(lS concerned in rcyard to UI'~ PC t",odi(ic.-;
tiolls about mal;ing commitment.s to squat"r,. loot<l(j,",~ (18 :::Pl''"
ciUe trade off Sf if Council went with th€' gent!ral ide" o(
the recommendation before tlley saw a real on-{hC-c;t'(.lund vi<:",
o( .... ·Ilat they 'w'et'e yetting i"lld ,,'hat its irnp<1ctf. mic;:l~1I 11(0,
$cverdl quoestions were rdised at the SlUdy Se-!;~.i0Il ahout till!
food mil; ('ket, and she rem", ined e,.·oocerned the demol)t"<'pll i<.:s
should be looked at closel)' to see if tile .:ln~.~ dhJ \~ilrr.'lnt J,
public investment in'a food market ~Iore tflan any other dr~a
o[ town. fit pl'"csent, they had iI hiqh popululjon of s('lliol'S
in DO'oUltQWn, but she did 'lOt bt'llcve lha~ D'ownt{H.;n I.'a~ Ijolng
to be ('1 magnet for scniocs in the future, and the~' r.1i.ght $t'e
a conver-sion to youngec families,
AMENDMENT: Council Hell1ber Levy moved, seconded by
Bechtel, to add to st~ff toe-commendation lla the follo\tlrrc;J,
•••• including safeguat"ds to maintain pedestrian scale and
f~eling conce~nin9 'food markets.-
Council 11ernbet" Levy said the City found in the past rr.<l.st
full-scale food stOl"CS required an amount of floor space,
... arehou~e space, and packing lot spllce that was too lar9~ to
really fj t in the DowntOllfl 8t'ea. He was conceroed if tllCY
~-,/
$7-31"
6/08/81
.
!oct.ls~d sillgle-mindedly 011 a food m.1t"ket, they might ond ·up
with $omethJog which \'Iould not Iwrk well. (\1 so, if the
project [diled as a food mt:1rl.;.et l they might be LeEl ."lith fI
1<lr g e facility ~or .QOillC other tlse. It was IIccess3t"y to
rn.'l'intain the pedestdan scale which ther llttclI1p'::Oed to do in
lJOl>"nto."m in' every o~her 1.,..lY.
Council I'Icmbot" l{lein agreed \dth the thrust of <.:ouncl1
I-lember Levyts thin'dng, pU-ticular-ly his comments in the
Study Session, and also Idth Council Nember:-Renzel's com
ments; however} the .amendment $€emed cntie.el~' inconsistent.
If the language was add,ed, h<'" believed a full-service food
nat"ket would be an impO'~sil.)i!jty in the DOlllntoW'n Cireil. Ire
had not seen a full-service food market consistent with the
pcdestdafl feeJ ing in the arca. As he understood earliet
commoO'llts, the t"eal issue was ... ·hethe(" the full-service food
mad;!3t"wc'lS such a desi!."able {loa) for the comnllHliq' that they
~ere willing to mal;c significant saccifices. A moee appro
pri..llC .lmendment might he Council needed to reexamine tJw
need tor the project OOI,'nl:m,rn before granting any ~pecidl
inu~ntive~. iJ(' t.:ould not vote for the ilm'~ndlilent on UH~
[lOOl".
Council l')e(T;ber FJetchet" Ihld similar sentiments to COllllCil
i'lef,lber O-:lein. ·1\(:.::lisLic(dl~'1 a grocery stOl-C .. ,'ithin Lhc
pe-c1cstt"ian sc,lle ~/Ould end up bein9 a high-rn-iced, !.~pecialt>.
stole ",hiCl} uid not dc-serve any public sub~:;id~' by <,.JJving
special incelltives.
l-1a>'or I\'oolley as.b:.'d if Council needed th(~ Idnd of refined
guidMlCC LllOIl. CV.HlJII(J or ilt a later point.
Chi1irman at the 1(,'r.Jparar~' Committee on nOl'lntoll.'l1 Design and
Amenities John NOt-th~.,.ay believed that type (Jf re[inement
I·:ould come at a ItltC'r poinl, probably pat"t of the UrlJarJ
L)esign process sll()uld Council endOl"se tltat l and cert,linly
~pccifi(;any ~lllelj ::.onteone ~ctually \-"ent in ",,·ith a proposdl
for iJ load lIlacket.
Na~'ol-Woollc~l believed Council was
leading somcon(> irlto {loin!) in with
Council Members 'lad rcserv~tions.
concerned ~bout
a proposa L ,,,Iten
mis
some
Council N.ernbet' Levy ask<&d i ( it was app("opriatc to
the list of Major-Incentives or make a gel,eral
that Counc.u would Like staff to ["tHurn with what'
sidered to ue major incentives.
[)ulL Iroll'!
sta tement
they con-
f1ayor Wo'olley clarified othet;" than eliminating the office
SPdC(>,·. Council was approvioq the list of benefits req·uiring
Najor Incentives.
S 7-319
6j08/a7
'."' ;-:.--"--"
: .. .,.
, .. "
,-.',--'
-, ' • \ ~ ,
. ,
COllncil "le"rnuc[" L~Yy a9l"cad ..... ith Council Nembcr ~:lejll.
('<"-lilei! could e! thCf say a fuU··set'"vice h)Od mc"lrket '1,'as
i~poss!ble aod to delete it, or coold s~y tfley only Woliited
to have it if, in the tcade-otf between pedestrian amenities
and' tho A<)rl;et, Council could protect t'J(~ pedestrian ame
nities/ whj~h he feared might be an impossibility. Howeve~,
tr,\! por-pose o[ his ~mend"'l(H1t ~las simply to alloH the food
niar-k~t to sta)' in but to 1Il,'d~e it c1o,),( Council did not want
th sacrifice the ped~stl"jdo scale.
Vice ~ayor Sutorius 'read the definition ot oCI full-servicE
food ma.t"ket to mean j t '",·ould soll or pro\'id~ fresh mO<1ts,
poultcy, fish and pnJduce in adrlition to packaged staples.
He ~~3 not opposed to that and would rather not see modifi
cations that wo~ld eliminate a'store that did exactly that.
CQunci! tlember klein said th~re-could be no objQctio/lS to
LPlc dofinition, but thO' [)roblem " .. as the t-ecomm~ndatif)1I
f)cr'Un~ lounc:il spoJ.:;e to that store undef thG' ne..::dinu ot
~Ue~e(its Hequir-ing Majol-InCclltives." ~11C qU0stjon was nut
I.Ih6ther-Council ,,,,tinted sucll .a store but !':hat tlley Wel-€
~Illiog to do to get it. He assllmed anottler word implicit
in the rGco(~m~ndation '-las "'a ffo.rdablo," or "1!liJt"ket priced."
ueletiog Hem Ja rile-ant Council was back in a Ileutral pod-
lion, not indic<ltirH) what theil-position Hould be it such ~I
peovosa1 Cl'tm8 before Council dna the}' c,?u)d explore at that
t i I~e wllether t.Hey believed (he area needed some type 01
pUblic beneiit subsjdy.
SlinSTll'UTl; AHE;NDI".ENT: COlJncil llnfTlber: Klc in rltoved j
cec0r'lded by "'o?l!C~" to delete ,ja to, "l-.ppn'IVe the list of
benefits t"'cqUJt"'lng rl'\i)jOl" inc€'(ltivcs" e.:cep', for. "office
;<;:P(lCC (ot'" nonpJ:ofit ot"'ganizations'" ,find "a tull !'.er-vice fcod
market/pe;:manontly,·sited, full-time fllrmer's ma:r-ket~"
"Jayor 1'1'001 ley did not \oo'ant anyone to be misled into
bQlieving Council was wilo1ehcarledly in tiupport of a grocer-y
store in tile Downto .... n. Oy orni ttin9 the Item, Conncil was
n()t presontirj9 to anyone an exhaUstive list so th.::t did not
me;)rl that sOlT'cone could not ~o 1n wi th a proposal whicll
Jncluded a grocery store. If they m3naged to go in Nitll the
kind of ·lJt"'oposal lhat fit the discussiorl, it ,,",ould be some
thing Council wo~ld want to consider.
councu ,.Iember f'lotchec would vote in favor-oC the substi
tute .Jl!loodrnent but :"did not want, to leave the impression
C(,)lIr'lct) .,.,ould not look (c"l VOl-a III y upon an appl lea tion. Undel-
111.A.1 _ot th('. report atta~hed to CMR:293:/, it :sOlid,
..... the Commi ttC'e ',believes tha. t a future development pro
po-sal<includiog sll(:h a food macket should be r~v.iewed in il
,.;:,-.. -.
, .
5 )··323
6/0B/37
I',
i'
very jJosiUvc' r.o..lnner by the City," and she Clgreed l"lit.h that
stAt~menl but it w~s a m~tt~r of degree of whctllCC tJl~Y weru
si,',,)1 iUQ a (oocJ I'l1.arke-l out of being csp.cci/.LJy \wrth~' ot
t,J:l'l ... lt "inc~"Hlves. Tht· incentives would hI? in cOlltL~diction
to til"" 9uideline~ set tip ilft{>r the (lOlo'nlOl'H1 Stud)'.
COl)lIei1 llembcl-RCflz-cl sUppol-tC'd the substitul'C' aC'l(>ndlTlcnt
.. -hieh deleted the l~o ~1(><lS ~1'('I·c she h.ld bCQIl Most ullcom
fort~\blo l-,'ith thl' itlt,>,l of tl"-<1din{j Iises for SP3C(!. Sill' did
not SC(i> flo ... to ensure ttJc uses contiLl)C'd. 11'1 rc.-slit)', if
tllo!. sp.lco ",'.as bui.lt and thp. U$,es CQuld not sun·jye, the Cit),
cOllld cod u~ belrH) forc(!o tl) allow otheor uses into tllosc
$I~ces. 111ey wouJd not have the 6rn~nj·ty and, in sonic sense,
woulf' Ilave chelltecJ OtllE"f p(operq' olo{ncrs I>}' 9ivin9 the
l>oflu~;es to p'fropl~ ..... 1..'0 pfovideo s.orethin9 s~lon teni: but
dn~cd up.witlt a lon9-ler~ space.
COl/neil !-!C1:".b('(" P.ltitl:(""C~ OPPI.,}':;CO lite substilU'll:' af.lcndm<')nt.
f'IJll service ""I i{lht' not tw clchiewloic, but h(> n(d icved it was
\>Iot-th~hilc toO t:"'lvc U.-0 \"-("!("cir"'lt;) O;)S .)11 jneC'.r)tlV(! to dl,tract
sane idecis dnd proposals, {CIt;> propos.)ls could lle lurlled
(IOh" II 11 Counc 11 dul {lot 1.i ~e the i <.ll!dS, 11. tlll.;'}' dId not
dU'H.·(C, t ... ) peJc.sLL'l-Jil •. ·;<:"enllli:'s, if It Vd-t> In tile ',/I"()IHI JuC-cl
lioll. i ( i t \1"a~ lIl~ It{"OIt:) proFo~ .. "Il, j [ II 16,,)~ not eC(;llomlc
all)' Cea:dblc. Tiler.;:> .... o'l:!;: sldl ici~nt ('\·id~ncv ti13t the-food
l:loJckct .... ·.1S <1 cone-ern an(j to d(>lct(> Lt dlO not givt:! Coullcil
'-~n opportunity c"t or.," tire to S~(> "I.-al pcople Cdr:!e up \--litll,
nil..' COlh"il.tec-r,;JI.l(;' .j (,Iood r~,jtrl recol1~"'endation, and Council
5'10<11<1 I 1..'r'I t,t(! ttl.:;> kQ({jiny il~ •
.f!i~)'Ot-L'(JOlhq ...... l~(lril-u lhC' lisl · ... ·a,<.;. net all-ioclHsivr:.
Deleting lh(> jt€t;'J did not r.'(',iH) l'ounc-il had closed of( .its
OPlilJr.':>1 hut I~ .... d sent (; $.iqnal of CIJ,g.-lJorll.
Council :illfr"J(!r;-P.:.titucci diu not ..'!9t·ee ... ith tilift intt'q)(ela
t ion. Ilc-uellev~d (JUlie! 1 ",as sendin9 a mC's~,alJ(' ltd id not
'HUlL to soc th~ I.;.ind of Pi'"Opos"l. Council ~:ight see C(~C"O'Il
~,'cndJliorH'; of thin'):!> not on lh(' list, buL an)'lhJo9 Uldt had
tJ('~11 on Uh"3', 1 ist as 't(.)(;Or'1,'-H'l1d=!tJ U)' "the (ommi ltc-e-, and turned
dOHl}, he inle-cpr(>ted to I'!Ce:fl Councll was not int<.'(esle6.
COllrtc.i1 ;"h'"l";be( renzc.ol said t\o"O points C"~\re out at the Stud~'
Se,'S~io .. p Ono, the I\r.-.eoltles Commlttee did not tnvcstiqate
closely whrHhe( O( not' Oo~dtt(J"·n was djllcrcilt froln an~' other
nciohborhood with respect to needs £or'"8 food market. Ther;c
hild IJeeo previous testimon~' to that (!(~CCl, but I,asicall)'
it \o','\S moe£: or less. t.dr.cn <'IS .."l given by the Committee with
SOllie evaluation; anu t .... o, the PC :Zone "Was available throuogh
Ot.t the community toe people t~ come in with creative ideas
to solve cOGimunity prolJlems <Jnd, at the same time, request
beilufilS (or thefflso]ves as trade-ofts.
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Council HUrn.l,)t?c Ucc'htel ~h;)red SOCi1C ol COurp,:i I ,.Jp-=bl'C"
P~titucci's concerns and pointed out one d( ~ild issuo~ pro
posed ~as .1 (~lll-till1e Ot" vc:t"nllncnt fdn·.{!,{,ls r."rJ;<1l, am} 3
(ull-set'vicc market did. not nucQssaril}' h.,v~ to be d rllJg6
jumbo S.clfelor'ay •. The only danger if the lllnQui'H'J(> ~.13 left in
~ras Council should be c(lr-eful not to sQnd ... ("''''''~;~.)ge co il
potential developer tlUit COll'lcil .... ould dC(lflitt'l~' ",Pfll-O .... C"
the proposal. She referenced thl' past housjn~ jllcQf1ti .... o
.... her-e, if a developer rJrovided i>ddHio!)~l .-'d{(I.rdable urd,ls
Council ..... ould <.1110 ..... an incre~se 111 nur,ht''[""$ ,;-)( j,ni ts anti d
pr;ojt;'ct 'on El C.anino "Ia)' 'h'here il dovC'lorct' jUr'1ped l/l(ouyh
hoops (or ,"t )'cat" belo:r~ Council ultirr-atol~' tUl"(H·d hllt': do .... n.
Council f1emloet-Klein .aqre<"d \:ith ~:d)'O( i':ooliq"s intC'l-rrl.'tcl
tlon. Council "'as not s<'.Iyioq it \~..l$ op{Josl.'d to Uw Id~il of
.there I>ein~ a [ood mai"l-al't. The lltJcstion \.';,15 \'h~UI(>.-Council
\oId~ coullilitted to the idcd tilt.: rlk)Cl--.I't ilno UIC"II-CdP1Udislic
ecunolny were 'lot wo~l:iny; and, tll~refocPj {ll~y sJl0uld P'"U
vide some type of big incentive'. He 1,:i:tS In fiJ\'Ot" of J€"ttjnt)
mark~t s},stem5 ""o{"k until it be-carle' absoJutoly of:'le-.lt' (Oflt
government n(~eded to $tep in. HI.;: oid IlOt t)(!li(>\'(> tllc\t ,",'<'16
the case and ""as coriceined .1bolJt the intcgri t~' ol tHeir
syst~J~. He did (Iol ~aot to send (~lso si9nals to (lOvolopcrs
..... hen thore WdS a stroJlg possibil it~' Council lllitJl,t not be
,",·iU inf;l to give the inC(Hlti\'C (,)t-subsid~' upon Io:hic" plarls
war-e based. If a p~oposal jncluded a fulJ-servjcc food ~ar
J;et and ..... anted some-u-'HJe-oiis, Council I>ould consldp.r It.
SUBSTITUTE AtlE~O!1E:NT PASSED by a "'ote of 6 .... )1 Sut.orlus,
Bechtel, Patitucci voting ·no.~
MOTION AS Mlf;NOED PASS80 llnani~ousl ~'.
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PURPOSE
ATTACHMENT G
P. o. sen :ln~'J
fJ.,tO ALTO, <A:':::'~';'~ ~C).·
CITY OF PALO ALTO
DOWNTOWN UR~AN DfSI~N PLAN
WORK PROGRAI!
REVISfD OCTOBER 5, 1987
The Urban Design Plan (UDP) will b. a compr.henslve document of pollcios
procedures .nd guidelines describing the desired phYSical form of
Do,mtow. Palo Alto. It will b. used to aid dev.lop.rs and designers In
unde)'s tandi ng the expectat 1 ons and objectives for Downtown deve 1 opment
and provide a framework for the Architectural Review Bo.rd (ARB),
Planning Commission and City Council to evaluate developm.nt propos.ls.
The UDP will also serve as a master plan to guide publ ic improvements ilnd
art in public places In the Downtown area. The UDP will be incorporated
into the Urban O~sign section of the C!)mprehensive Plan and may result in
amendments to applicable districts in the Zoning Ordinance.
O~JECTIVE
The Urban Design Plan for Downtown Palo Alto Is Intended to incorporate
the Downtown Study land use, development and transportation pollcle,
adopted In Hay, 1;85 by t~e Palo Alto City Council. T~e UDP provides,
visual design framework to guide public and prlv.te development In the
Downtmm .rea. The UDP for the Downto"n area of Palo Alto will:
A. Identify and guide t~. placement of amenities as recommended by the
Temporary Corunittee on Oowntolto'n Design and Amenities,
B. Identify eXisting design features in the Downtown th,t are
attracJlve assets and worthy of preservation ,nd those featur~s t.hat
are unattractive ond undesirable.
C. Identify and formulate policies for special focal points, entries,
historic areas and transition .reas:
D. Develop deSign guidelines for the improvement and rehabilitation of
existing buildings and cor,struction of new buildings Including
building facade treatment, use of materials, canopies, Signing, and
paving:
E. Develop. plan for alleyways that will coordin.te public and private
1mpr()'IIementsj
f. Develop design guidelines for parking f.clliti.,. drlve·.ays,
pedestrian access to transit and consideration of possible street clos-uresj . .
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Urban Design Work Pro. ,m
Adopt.d October S, 19~7
Pagb ~-.
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~:' Integr.t~ and toosolldate existing regulations in the Downtown area
relating to p.destrlan guidelines, push carts, historic
pres~rvatton, parking , street tree management, and art in puhllc
plac.s;
H. Assess condition of existing public Improvements and properties and
any future projects planned by the City In the Downtown al'.a;
I. Dev.lop Impl'IMntation me.sures for public and prlvat. Improv.m.nts
ldentlfl.d In-th. UDP.
fO~.ltITTEE
MembershIp
The dev.lop.ent of th. UOP Is Intended to take .dvantag. of local tal.nt
.r,d expertIse In the co,,>unlty In order to produce pol icies and
gUIdelines that are unique to the needs of Palo Alto's Downto',," area.
The Com1tte! is envisioned as a w{)rk1ng corrrnittee and 1t is ret<l.rrmended
that It be comprised of no more than ten •• mbars. Members would b.
appointed by the M.yor and could b. drawn from the fo'lowlng community
representation:
1 Planning COlll>lssloner
2 Architectural Revle. Board Members
1 HistoriC Resouroes Board Member
1 VIsual Arts Jllry Kember
2 Archltects/Oeslgn Professionals
3 Community Members (Business Owners, Property frriners, Veve1Gpers,
Res-idents)
Rasponslbll Itles
The Committe. shall act as a workIng body to develop Ideas, pre par. draft
text and sketohes for the UOP. CommIttee members will be asked to
contribute slfdes, photographs, and prelIminary sketches that may be
used In pres.ntatfons and the final UDP.
ptPERTlSE NEEDED
Urb.n DesIgn Facflltator
An outsld. consultant with expertIse In urban deSign will b. needed to
lead the Commltt.e and staff In the formulatfon of the appropriate urban
design strategIes for the Downtown area. The major function of the
consultant will be to partfcfpate In CommIttee meetings fn order to focus
the dlscussfon, keep th. Co","ltte. on track, .nd artfculate design issu"
In the dev.lopment of the UOP. The consultant will not be r.sponslble
for pI'oduclng tho flnal product.
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VI'ban 0.sI9" Work pr<)~ •• m
Mopted Ottobw-5, 1987
Page 3
WrIting and I!lustratlons
A .'Jor product of the UOP wl)1 be to lllYstrate design guidelines and
phnnlng policies rehted to the development of the Downtown .re.. The
Comltt •• will b. responsible for producing Initial text, photogr>phs and
conceptu.1 sketches to Illustrate the design guidelines. Outside
.sslstance'fron an architectur.l illustrator will b. n •• ded to prep.re
c.~ra·re.dy Illustrations and maps for the final document, Staff will
be responsible for text edItIng and preparation of the fln'l U~P.
Doc_nt PI'.par.tlon
In ·hou,' graph Its sto ff wIll be r"pon; I b I e for past.· up, cover· art,
f,""atting and production of the final UDP,
Planning Depart&ent
Ihe following Pl.,nlng staff resources, equh'alent to otte full·time staff
postt1ont will b~ ~.ade av~i1.1ble to produce tha UOP. 1he 'C01:'iiiittee
<oordln.tlon .n~ report writIng ~11l ~. handled by • project manager.
0 ..... 11 guidance for policy direction and Committee participation will
Involve the Chief PlaMlng Of rIel. I or Assistant Planning OffIcial in
cons~ttatfor. w~lh the Director of Planning and Co~~unity Environment.
Phnnlng support stoff .. 111 be call.d in, as necessary, for short perIods
to provide technical .,slstance with specIal sub·areas of the Plan and
.tt,od.nc. at CO~ltl" ••• tings, Graphics starf will be most involved
,I the bp.glnnlng and end of the UDP process to establish b". Inaps,
graphics and the fh.l report. A contract secretary will be needed to
tal::e suttnary t:llnutes of tf1e cOrrt':llttee r~eetings.
Other D.part~.nts
hrtlclpatlon by staff ",..bers from other departm.nts such as Public
Works, Utilities .nd Transportation will be critIcal in the resolution of
key Issues relating to the U~P. such Issues Include alleyway treatment,
design of ~ajor parking structures, 1nforrnationzl Signs, street closures,
transll locations, street lighting, .,aintenanee and encroachm.ots. Staff
Be~bers will be asked to provIde Information and technical assi,tance and
to p"'Ucipate in developIng S.'utloflS. Attendance.t regular Co",Itt.e
... tlngs will n~t be reQuired.
Outside DeSign Exparts
spec hi design expertise to assist the COfmltt .. will b. sought from the
stUdent Architectural th.rrette Pr~gra" or the Rural Urban Oevelopment
Assls.tance Team (RU~AT • a profe"lonal AlA multi·dlsciplined program
th~t provides .nalysls of design problems within ~. t~re.·d.y on· sit.
study). .
Urban O •• lgn Work Pro. •
Adopted October S, 1987
Page 4
"[mNGS
Frequency
He.tlng~ .re re,~~ended to be held on a regul.r ba.ls but not to exceed
two per oonth. Hore frequent ~e.tln9' pay be held during the final
draftfng of th,UOP. or If ,"bcomltteu .re fo,.,..d,
TiM
Heetlng' .. 11'1 be held during the day and should )u' no longer than 2-l/2
hours.
"Inlltes
A contract s,cretary will prepare sv~~.ry.lnutes of the noetlngs, Staff
will prep.r. agend.s and ~all·out p.c~.t, .nd proylde asslstanc. with
typing and reproduction,
Location
Regular "".tlng, wfll be held In City H.ll 0" other specified location,
Special .~etlngs may be held In offices outsIde of Clly H.ll.
TlXJfS
Field trips through the Downte'N" at •• I.d In oth&r cOlmIlInltles .'Y be
conducted during tho cOOJ.S' of the t.",ltt •• ".eI109s,
T1HE_.~li
Draft IJDP
It 1$ estimated that It will t.ke appr<>,I .. lely nine IOOnths fro. the 11m.
that the Committee boglns until a flrst·~r.ft UD? I. co~plet.d. The
dr.ft ,1111 then p,'oceed through fo,"al reylew by the Vlsud Arts Jury
(VAJ). Archltectur.l Reylew 80ard (ARB), HIstoric Re.ources Board (HRB),
Planning Commission and City Council, Attached Is a prell.lnary schedule
for thE work progr.~. '
PUBLIC REVIEW PROCESS
lIork Program
Tn. conceptual WOl'k progra" for the UOP, os present~d here, !!Ill be
reviewed and discussed by appropriate bodies .nd c~lsslons who have an
active Interest or responsibility In revIEwing Downtown design and making
~ecomm.ndatlons to the City Council. The boards and commissions Include:
the Planning Co.""lsslon, Architectural Review Board, Historic Resources
Board and Ylsu.l Arts Jury.
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Adopted October 5, 1987
Page 5
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The Urban Design Committee will be comprised of represent.tlves fro~ the
above boards as well as local design professionals, co~n1ty
representatlYes, and business Interests. Heetlngs will be posted .nd open to the public.
Workshop
It Is .ntlclpated that on. or two pubHc workshops .. 111. be held I. the
Downtown ar .•• to present preliminary findings .nd cOllceptu.1 guidelines
developed by the Committee. The purpose of a workshop will be to
publicize the unp and obtain reactions .nd SU9gestions fr.I> ,.slde"ls,
retailers. day·t1me users and others who have an 1nterest In the
livabillt, of Oowntown.
Public Hearings
Upon completion of • dr.ft UDP, the I'arlous boards listed above will hold
hearing, prior to making recolMlend.t;on, to the City Council.
fINAL PRQDUCT
The final UDP will be • spiral bound document conSisting of .pproxlrnately
50-100 pages. It will be written by staff .nd .111 Include lin.
draWings, m.ps and photographs to Illustrate tho concept, and guideline,.
BUDGn
The proposed budg.t for the project Is 127,500 b.sed on tho following:
Facilitator
Graphic Illustrator
Reproduction and Publication
Total
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5,000
7.SQO
127 ,500
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ATTACHMENT H
AHCIIITt:CTURM. REVIEW BOARD, HISTORIC RESOURCES BOARD,
!'tANNING COMMISSION AND VISUAL ARTS JlJRVR~coNMeNbATlolI
R. URUAN DESIGN WORK PROGRAM AND DUDGET AMt:HDHENf
ORDINANCE (Continued -,.;:o-m--9/21/87)--ICMR.460.1)
(1lr30-01/1041-06/701-01J
Council Mcmbe~ Bechtel cla~ified tne makeup of the committee
as proposed was modified to L"eflect the concerns of the
rcviewin<J bodies and would be mor;e of d. balance between puv
lie me~nlJe(8 and professionals.
HOTION: COl.Jl'lcil Hembet" Bechtel moved, seconded by
Patitucci, to adopt the staff ~ecom~endation as tollows,
1. End,orss the UL"ban Design Plan Work Progr!l;lIt
2. Direct the Kayor to appoint an Urban Oesion Co~~ltteo,
3.
4.
ApPL'{)ve the
$20,000 for
prog,t"~m, and
budget .9Plondment ordio.Hnce
work identified on page 5
appr()pk.-!ating
of tho work.
Direct staff to initiate consultant select\o~ ~8 defined
in the work program and indicate whethiir' th'is ma tter
should b~ r-evie .... (ld, by the Pin..snce an<\ Pub.l ic Wor.ks
Committee
ORDINANCE 3772 AS AMENDED entitled "ORDINANCe
OF THE COUNC.~L OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL rEAR 1987-
B 8 TO PROVIDE AN AIJDITIOllAL APPROPRUTION FOR A
DOWNTOWN URBAN DESIGN PLAN"
Council Member CObb asked whether staff was comfortCJble wi til
tiie budge't. as outl ined.
City Manager Bill Zaner said yes.
AMENDMeNT I Vice Kayor ~utorius moved, seconded by Woolley,
to a~and budget ordinance 'to include a contingency amount of
$2,500.
AMBNDMENT PASSEO unanimouoly.
MOTION AS AMENDED PASSED unanimously.
CITY COUNCIL MINuTES
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ATTACHMENT I
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This report was prepared for
the /lay 4, IS93 meeting of the
Policy and Services Committee
April 22. lS~l
HOHORA6l£ CITY COUNCil
P.loAlto. C.liforni.
Attention: policy and Services Committ ••
~~~NIOWH URBAN OESIGN PIAN
MEmbers of the Council:
At the City Council meeting of february 22. 1993. the Urb.n Design Committee
presE!nted thf! Oraft Downtown UI'ban Design Plan to the C<llIncil. A public
hMr~n9 'Was held on the draft Plan followin9 the presentation. Sevel'al
persons spt}kE':: tegardlng the Plan, including three downtown property owners
.concerned about the Plan's references to private property alld the potential
f~r these -guidelines· to be used as inflexible regulations.
follow,tng Countil's QUEstioning about the intent, usc and possible future
rev_1s.ions to the Plan, tne Draft Downtown Urban Oesign Plan was. referred to
the Policy and S~rvices C~mmittee ~n a 9-0 vote. Based on comments made by
individual COl.lnc11 Kembers , issues to be discussed by the Policy and Services
C~lttee include:
I)
2)
3)
4)
C~R:257 :93
Review of how the Phn and its concepts and guide1 ines were
dev.loped by the Committee over the last four years (see staff
discussion on page I of the att.ched Planning Commission staff
report dated December 4, 1992);
Concerns raisi!d by s~veral property o .... ners that the Pl an is too
binding .nd could be used to limit flexibility and cre.tiylty (see
pages? and 3 of Planning Co.mlsslon staff report);
How to ensure the Plln will be visionary and used to inspir~
downtown property owners and merchants) rather than dictate the
deSign of their projects (s •• p.ges 2 .nd 3 of Planning Commission
staff report);
Allocating addHlona1 funds to professionally edit and finalize
t~e Plan (see attathed letter from Shirley ~I I son dated February
18. IS~3).
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The yerb.t!m minutes of the Archltectur,l Reylew Boaro meetings at whl~h the
draft Plan v.s dlscu,sed (November S, 1992 .nd December 3. 1992), and which
wre ,;otprcvfou,lr distributed, are attached to this report.
If you n •• d ,nother copy Of the Or.(t Urban DeSign Plan, or .ny Other
ane,lalt related to thl. H •• , pleue conhct lOl'l Topley .t the Phnnlng Dop.rt .. nt offIces.
Respectfully su~ftt.d,
11}1.<7/~hr
/i.·.1ICY LYTlE
Chf,f Plannfng Offlcl.1
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CIty M.n.gu
~&'4/;f' P~.
KfHNfTll R. SCHREIBER ?
Director of Pl.nnlng .nd
C~un1ty [nYlr~n~~nt
AUach""nt, : CKR 114:93 dated February 18, 1993, without attachments
Pl,nnlng Como!sslon St.ff Report dated December 4, 1993, wlihout .tt,ch .. nt,
Lett.r fr~ Shirley Wl1,un dated February 18, 1993
Excerpt Hfnutes of February 22, 1993 CIty Council Keetlng
hctrpt .lnutes of Nove.ber 5, 1992 and December 3, 1991 ARB K.ellng,
co: Urban Oe519n Commltle,
ct,op K~en.n
JI. Bl!!r
Hen,'y Ga"
frick Gl1bfrtson
John H"Io;,""
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FEbru,ry IB, 1993
.. ', HONORABLE CITY COONC I L
'.' Palo Alto, Callfornb
DRAFI OO\llUOIilL URBAN OESIGN PIAN
Hembers of the Council:
.\
Thh report sun:marizcs publ fe, ad~isor.Y bond and ComIHtOr. (Qm~nts and
recol'1(1',.endat1ons on the Draft Oownto'lm Urban DeSign Phn. fl aho re(luests
City Council review and conment on the draft pl~n, a~d reco~~nds City Council
,doption,
lUml1.mn
After four years of hard work, the Urban Design Co",Hle. h .. produced a Oroft
Urban Design Plan for consider.tion by the City (ouneil, aackground
information related to the preparation of the plan, including a summary of
corrrnents }'ece1ved dut'ing pul>l i.e outreach to downtown rnerdunts, property
own.rs, neighbors, and revlew by the Archlteclur.l Review Soard, the Hlstoric
Resources Board and the Public Art Co~ls'lon, is contained In the attached
r.port to the Planning C .... l$slon dated O,w"'.r 4, 1993,
Ihe Planning Commission revi~.d the Draft Plan at their ... ting of O.cemter
9, 1993 and unanimously recommended adoption of the pl.n by the City CounCil
(mloutes are Included In the Co"ncll's packet), Th. Utilities Advisory
Connhsion reyl.wt~ the plan at their ... tlng of Oe«lObur 2, 1993 (IIlnut'$
attached). Significant cOII1llenh and ree._r.d.tlons of th. Planning
C.ImIIs.liQn and the Utilities Advisory Comlsslon, whiCh.,e not al ... ady
addressed In the Dec.lOb.r 4 Phnnlng Comisslon Staff Report, ai" s" ... ariled
below,
All of the varlou, groups, boards aod co .. l.sloos which reYlewed the plan
expressed enthusiasm a~ support for the plan, ,
Planning CO!lIlIlsslon C<>=ents
, ENTRIES: Concern .as expressed that Alm.!!l C.mlno ~e.l 500uld not b.
emphasized as an entry to downtown, especially In light of the Ctty's
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stated desire to not have Alma link to Sand Hill Roed. The
Hlddlefleld/Universlty entry seems to work fine now, so there I,
discomfort with the Ide. of emphasizing hlgh,r density housing tn this
un. (Harsh)
BUILDING MASS: Th, pl.n talk. about how building ma" ,hould be focused
at the corners in order to anchl>r intersections. SO/l'le conc«rrn wu
eKpres.ed that .a.s.does not .lways equate to an loproved p.destrlan
e.perlence, and that this plan should not neces,arily ,nco"rage
Increased building mas, at the corners. (Har,h, Cullen)
PLANNED. CO/tlUHITV ZONE .PUBLIC BENEFITS: The list of lte.IS, which "lgM
qualify .s public benefits for Planned Co~nlty Zone projects, need' to
be compared to the original list of deSIred downtown ... nltles developed
,.veral years ago. Th, plan should clarify that tM, list hu a lot of
things which would b. nice, but would be very Blnlm.l public benefits I"
and of themselves. (Harsh, Cullen,
HElG~BOR~OOD PROTECTION: Protection of residential neighborhoods needs
to be emphasized 1OO"e, wW, 'peclflc Ideas, In the discussion of
transition edges. (OJ,klan)
LETTER FROM JIM BAER: The Comolsslo" received a letter .t the .. ,ling
from Hr. Ba.r reg"'dlng his concerns .nd «._nt. on the plan. The
Commission agreed with Hr. ~.er that there should be better emph.,ls of
the plan .s 'guideline-rather than regul.tlon, and th.t .peclflc
references to Llddlcoats (I ••. , prlYate property) should be r ... ved frDa
the plan. Staff .lso .grees and sees no problem Including these
(ha~ges. .
Utilltl.s Advl.ory Commission Comments
The Commission generally supported the Draft Plan and Indlc.ted th,t In
the future they would be open to discussing ways to loprove the
appearance of necessary utility structures In the downtown.
New lighting for the do~ntown .rea Is a utilities tIP Item to be
I.pl •• ~nted In the ne.r future. Careful conslder.tion of t~e type of
light fixtures used would be necess.ry.
Next Stepr-
Staff Is recommending that. the City Council adopt the Draft Urban Oo.lg" Plan
.nd direct staff to produce a final plan Incorporating comment, received by
the public, boards and commissions and the Council.
The City Council originally approved a budget of $25.000 to produce the Urban
Design Plan. That money was used mostly to pay for the serylc,s of a
consultant, who facilitated the early meetings of the Coomltteo and produced a
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number of t~e graphic. in the plan (the remainder of the graphics were
produced voluntarily by Robert frank of the Urban Design COll'l11lttee). Of the
total $2S,O~O, approximately $4,300 remains. Staff b~lieve. that this amount
is .ufflcient to finalize the document In the following manner:
Finollze graphics without ... klllg .ignlflcant style or content changes
(all graphics In black and white);
Produce final (O\ler art in two colors;
Incorporate changes bascd on comments received from the public, boards
and commissions and Council;
In-house xerox printing, 1000 copies.
If the fin.l document were produced based on the above, it would look very
si~ilar to the d~aft in te"", of quality and content. However, due to our
current workload, the staff resources neCEssary to finalize the plan
(Incorporate comments. word processing and graphics layout). would not be
a.allable for six months. Staff would anticipate releaSing the final plan in
1 ate sUlffM!r.
Recorrmgodatioo
Staff reco,,,,,,n<!s that the City Council:
1) Adopt the attached Hegat1ve Declaration of enYlronmental Impact;
Z) Adopt the Draft Urban D.slgn Plan;
1) Direct staff to pNduce the final Urban Design Plan, responding to
corrrnents rece1'Ved (rom the publiC, board's and cOlrmfssions and the
Council.
Respectfully submitted,
!/hr.r~ /r-r
HANCY LfTlE
Chier Planning Official
~ -;f.' Juk4,
KfNNETH R. SCHRflBER ::r
Dlr.ctor of Planning and
Community Environment
CMR:174:93
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Athciments:
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NogallYe Declar.tlon
Planning Commission staff report of 12/4/92 with attachments
Excerpt of AAa lOinutes of 11/5/92 and 12/3/92
Excerpt of Utl1ltle$ AdYlsory Conml sslon Minutes of 12/2/92
letter from Jim a,er dated December 9, 1992
Draft Urban Design Pl.n (Council Hembers o~ly)
(c: Urban o.sl9" Coq',ltte.
Chop Keenan '
JI. ater . .
CMA:114:93
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OecelOber 4, 1991
PlAIINING (QAAISSION
Palo Alto, C.llfornla
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Clt~ of Yalo )lIto
"'.0. JOX: 10UO
t.UO AlTO. (.t. 1IJOJ
OAAfT OOlIlfTOIiN U,98N! omGn rLAII
·ErQie~scrfDtjoo
This r£:port SIh"'ll!!arllE-S public. ~d\lisery boHd and comission cOO'r'A!nts and
r.c~endltlons ~, the dr.ft Oo.~to.n Urb,n Veslsn Plan. It also request.
Planning C~lsslon review a,d r.co~nd.tlon(s) on the dr.ft PI.n th.t will
be subloltted for City Council consideration andfin.1 action In ,',nuary 1993.
llit19r9.lLM
In Sept.mber 1987, following co~letl.n and l~pltQent.tlon of the Oowntown
Study In 1986 and tlty Council polley ,ctfon on the Oowntown Amenltfes
Co ... ltte. raco_nd.tions In .. ld·1987, the City Council appointed a ten·me~,ber
Urban Design C .... Ute. (UOC) to preplre a Oown!own Urban Oeslgn Plan. Th~
tour,cll's objective >las to have a deSign pion for the Downtown Area that would
9.ldo future dev.lo~nt .nd identify Ipproprlate public I~rov.m.nt w1th;n
the cont •• t of previously .pproved policies and re9ulat10ns for the Oowntown
Area.
The volunteer C~ltte. ~t •• tenslvely over a fo"r·y.ar period In doveloplng
Infon .. tlon and vltl.ately concepts and graphic 111u.trations th.t would be
incorporated "lthln I/,e draft Plan. 1M, draft Phn was completed and
distributed for public .. "lew In AU9U$! 1992. Subsequently, ,..,lRbers of the
Urban Design Comltlee and shff .... t ~nd dl$c~,sed the Phn on six occasions
In October 1992, .IIIth varlou. OOI<.t_ hltr .. t groups, Including "'1'<hanto,
property _er" oth~r bu.!nel •. olO1er' .. 4nd nearby neighbors. Over 700 notices·
waro sent to tn·ese IndIVIduals and businesses announcing the lIntlablllty of
this draft Pllln and the date and location of the sl. outre.ch meotlng', In
addition, the draft Pion Wa! reviewed by the Public Art COllml,slon, Historic
Resources Bo.rd {HR6], Architecture Revle" Bo.rd [ARB), .nd Utilities Advi,ory
Commission {UAC). All Bo.rds and Comol •• lons who h,ve revlewod the Plan to
d.te, .ndors. It enthUSiastically.
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Purpose of tbe OO'tmtQ'rtD Urban Deslon Pho
The draft Downtown Urban Design PI,n Is Inlended 'to en~.ne. the Quality Qf
downtown .nd ensuro that It retains Its .ppeal and .ttractlon.' The draft
Pl.n emph.slzes that It Is Intended to guide downtown development and
amenities and Is n21 Intended to b. binding or regulatory In n.ture. The
Committee forward, the Pl.n with the hope that It will Inspire prlv.t •• ctlon,
rather than demand It. The Plan can bee_ a catalyst .for advocacy for publje
Improvements In the Downtown. The Committee acknowledge, th.t the Plan.
c.ptures some Ideas and concepts. Host ~oncepts will undoubtedly b< ~Ifl~i.
sllgMly or radically, In their lit .. dev'lo~nt. S_ of the ultlute goah
are likely to ba accomplished In ways th,t •• re not .nvlsloned or antlcip.ted
by the Comoltl.e. Therefore, the Plan should be viewed as • tool and
resource, rather than • requlr ... nt; .n Inspiration rath.r t~.n a r~gul.t!on.
Staff and the ARB are committed to being very flexible and oppn nind.d In
their application of the Phn. The (_Itte. Intends the Phn to ba fluid and
realizes th.I the Individual vari.bl,s ,.I.tln9 to any slngl. property."
Situation will have. gre.t deal to do with the ultl •• te design solutions, and
th.re Is • noed for creativity and responsiveness to those v.rl.ble,. for the
Pl,n to be suceessful It should to b. e~r.ced by the property .nd business
owners, n~t forred upon th.",. Impl.mentttio. is expected ov.,. tho long rathe,
than the lhorl term. Things will occur .hlch will 'd,t,' the 60cu ... nt .nd It
should M\le,' becomE' a constraint to 1nnovltio,"I. Thlt nsult ~'ou1d be contrary
to Its Intent and purpose.
SUmm,ry pi CQmm§Dts and RecQ~ndatloos 90 the Plan
To date, most momber, of the public and all of the .dvlsory boards and
com,lsslons have been very supportive of the Plan. Crltlcls~s ha,e focused o.
several areas..
lIa.9f the PliO
Some indlvldu.ls, particularly the •• jor Downtown properly o~er.
Jim B •• r and Chop r.e.n.n, have expressod concern that .t.ff and the ARB
will ule tho Plan .s • reg~1at.ry dovfce rlther than a guideline for
Improved Quality. Hr. Saer Is satisfied that the Pl.n ~Ill n~t be
misused If It Is adopted with a set of In.tructlo~. to staff and tn. AR8
not to use the Plan as • basis to deoy projocts "Ith reference to It,
Also, he would prefer that the reference to the liddicoat's butldlng ba
. deleted. Hr. Keen.n hal requested that any r.ference to prlvat.
property and architecture be rfrmOved from the Plan In order to prevent
.nother layer of 'zoning" for the Downto.~. Staff has gone to SORe
length to assure the .. property owners that the docu,,"nt wilT not h.
applied rigidly, but it is understandable that they will requlr' City
Council assurance on how the Pl.n will be used before they are
co.forhole,
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While staff and the ARB intend to be flexlbl. in applying the
guidellnes,it cannot be ignored th.t public space is formed and framed
by the bUildings which surround it. This is • fund ••• nt.1 principle of
urban design. Deleting .11 reference to priv.te property would
elifllinate tt,e three-dimension.l qualHy of this Plan, which is a primary
concept being forwarded in the document. Furlhenmore j while the major
pr~perty owners are to be complimented for their many successf~l
contributions to the Downtown, it must be acknowledged that .,ny AR8
applicants are not familiar with the urb.n fr.m.work of the Downtown and
would b.neflt from a docu .. nt which articul.tes community expectations
prior to desigNing their project. The ARB revi •• s hundreds of ,mall
.ppllcations every year, oftentimes working with unsophistic.ted
applicants .fter they have invested in pl.ns. Currently the only method
for relaying community expettations in advance of the project deSign i.
for staff or ARB members to verbally .rticulat. these concepts. This
method is unsatisf.ctory .nd creates undue tension in the process. The
verbal comments of an individual staff person or ARB mem~er are often
interpreted t~ be that person's opinion, r~ther than a community
,xpect,tion. On the other hand, an illustt.tion in the Urban D,sign
Phil can be ·worth a thousand words· in e)(plah1f'l9 to a less
sophisticated applicant the benefit of, for example, designing
pedestrian district building cornors (p.ge 59) or putting a "base on the
building' (pages 60 and "61).
Hearby residents expressed concern "er' incre .. ,d traffic into the
neighbor'hoods, particularly if AI". Stroet w .. ",de Intreasingly
pedestrian oriented and converted into a boulevard. M,asure. can b.
hken t6 visu.lly de-emphasize the autOMObile without re.t,·lctin9
automobll. traffic flow. Tree plantings .re an example. Pedestr!,n
crossings will e',.ntually restrict .utomobiles, however, and it should
be acknowledged that the AIm. Boulevard concept is • long-r.nge
aspiratinn and th.t further emph.sis on pedestrian connections, de
emph.slzlng through traffiC, will need to be accomp.nied In conjunction
with measures to .ddress the neighborhood concern. The internodal
transportation concepts now being discussed in the ·Oream Team· effort,
to eventually be tntroduced to cittzens in the Comprehensive Pl.n
process, will need to .ddress the neighborhood concerns over traffic.
It should be noled th.t until SOCiEty recogn1zes, through Indivldu.l
lifestyle chOices, the full cost of automobiles on "qual1ty of life,'
there will not be a complete resolution to this" concern_ However, It
cannot be expected that peopl, will ever us, their cars Ie,s If plann.rs
and polley-makers do not provide opttons to the automobile. The design
of Alma currently do.s not promote Intermodal transit. Pedestri.n
atcess to the train .nd bus station is dismal .t best. Bicyclists are
not enco~raged. Therefore, in order to provide better choices,
consideration of potenttal options wlll require tflorough .valuation tn
the ComprehensIve flan process and support from the neighborhoods.
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Numer, , tnterests expressed frustratton over tha perceived lack of
ldoqu •. ' parking in the Downtown ar.a. So.me indlvtduals asked why some
sttes were Identified a. being sutt.ble for parking structures while
other.potentl.l sit", were not mentioned. Thes. site' were selected due
to their adequate s.ze , (onf1guratfon and locati~"i however, it is not
the tntent of the Co~ltt •• to reduce opttons for p.rklng solutions, but
Instead to suggest opportuntttes. It was l.arned during the Downtown
outrelth that the Chaober of C"""",rce has • parking co""ltte. w"'king on
other re<""","nded soluttons to the parking deficit .. The Urb.n Destgn
Phn ts not Intended to stifle those prh.h efforts and w,uld recolTrllOnd
that the Ctty rem.ln rec.ptiv. to any future propos.ls.
S..,. members of the publ te suggested t~.t the draft Plan emphastze the
noed to expand and loprove tr.nstt, parttcularly In the context that
leproved tr.nslt and. he.lthy Oowntown were mutually supportive Items.
The '.mlttee recognilOs this need. In fact, the 'Dream Team' effort,
~Ich received inspiration from the Urban Design Plan, Is tntended to
work toward .. ph.slzlng Intermed.l transit for the Downtown. The Ideas
of the 'Oream Te,~' will eventually be Introduced Into th'e Comprehensive
Pl an process.
SOFA business "mel'S suggested th.t the Dr.ft Plan provide guidelines to
illll'ro.~ the .pp ..... nc. of .utomotlve service bustnesses. These
gvldellne, are presented on pages 53 to 55.
SJiI.ll Gulld~i.D1lln
One .rchltect suggested th.t the Plan advocate Incenttves for Improving
sMtller businesses by allowtng modest expansions. Thts concept could be
explored o •• follow-up ordin.nce. A Downtown amenttles bonus, similar
to the .elsmlc bonus, could be m.de a.ailable rel.tlvely eastly If the
poltcy .akers so desired.
Preservat1gn
Tho' flRS, in erodor.slng the Draft-Plan; urged gre.teremphash on ht storIe'
preser.ation In the fln.l doc.ulTH!nt. The C"""Hlee and staff are yery
receptiye to suggested wording for fln,l publtcatton.
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News Bach
Staff ret~l.ed • co"".nt from. r'presentttlv. of the "ewspaper Industry
vho felt th.t the,dlscusslon On ne.,racks, which focuse, on rep.lrlng
and utlllzln9 the 'x\stlng public n.w,r.cks, appears to ellmln.te olher
possible .rr.n~~nts for newspaper display. One of the follow up
.s,lgnoents to this Plan Will be to reylse the City's new,r'ck ~uhtlons. Bec.u,. there fs • legal fr ..... ork within which cHles can
reguhte oe~sr.cks, st.ff dou not .ant to preclude .ny ,reasonable
olte,o,ll." prior to thorough staff .nd public r,vlew of the news rack
regul.tlon IS$u,. Therefore. ,toff recommends that the Co,,,lsslon
should not yl.w the l.nguogelo lh. Pl.n ., .xcludlng other option,.
~tfJBt~nd.tlon
Staff r,co.".nd, th.t th, Planning Co .. I"lon recoMm,nd to City Council
adoption of tho n'9Ith. d.ch,'atlon and endors.ment of the Urban Design Plan.
R'lp.~trully IUOMltted,
/WIcr I\I.OO()X lYTLE
ChIef Planning Offlcl.l
cc: Urban D.,lgn Co~lttee
(hop K .. en,n, Keen.n land
Jt. Baor, Pre.lar Pr~p.rtl.,
Atl «Ments:
fllstorlc Resources S.ard Hlnut.s of November 8, ]992
Arthltectural R.,I •• Bo.rd Hlnutes of November 5, ]992
Pu?llc Art COOBlsslon Hlnutes of October 23, 1992, with
1.ttor froo John Kontgocory, Chair
'\ Orl!t Urban Design Plan (previously distributed)
12/04/~2
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PUBLIC HEARltroS
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
~U~<>?/ /99:3' _
4. P.!1BL1C HEARING. DolffltOIo'll Url>o.n D~si91' Pion
Mayor McCown declared the Public nearin9 open.
Chop KeenP./oIl, 700 }:."'"merson ~treot, r~I~rce(! to u letter to tho City
council tro~ ~ nUDber of thu property owners in the Dovntown area
(on file in the city Clerk's OHico). He sU9qost<>d tho Do""to .. n
Urban Design Plan b-o: roforr-od bacX to the Urban 08siqn COWlitteu
wi-tll direction to ""'orK vith llorc-hanta and proporty QllnOl"S Rost
affected by the pl~n to ~ssage the public advocacy of the public
areas. He was concerned about the "quidelines~ boco~1nq policies
and ordinances having to do 'With archit-ecturo in the private
property areas. The city had cle~rly defined zoning ordinances and
had a competent statf and Architectural Review Boord (ARB). The
process was understandAblo and it ctoallMqad the individuality of
eAch property, tho cr.ativity of individ"ale, and tho seU-interest
of property owners. He was concerned about the City'S
micromanaqlng private, property areas. In tho E=nrson corridor and
the ac'"e.a of South of Fot"est Avenuft (SOFA) t privato ollners expre.ssed
tha.selves Oil their private property within the context of the
zonir_9 ordinances. Atj; a result, 0. BG-l"'iollsly needed qroCl)ry store.
waB constructed Downtown by th$ ~rivAte Boctor with aOD$ pati~nce
by the pUblic sector. Uti-~nColJra9Gd council to teturn the plan to
!:he Urban Design COblttee to wor); on the very strong pubHc right
of-way aspects of the plan.
Jim Baer, 532 Channing /Iver,us, sold 1n 1988 alley .. yet ..... which led
to Plaza Ramona wore. tornulated 1n the DowntoYn Urban Design Plan.
The interior alley syst.".. wore n.edod to create greater pedestrian
flow, and there was also an ill-d&tined notion that there 8ho~ld be
nodes. Since 1988, tho proc.ess had -reachod bGyont! the 8t'('-ns w-hora
it had the gr~atest expertise to "the Draa. Teaa" and the int~r
relationship bet"ee" TOwn , country Villag9, the Urban Lane area,
stanford University, San Franoisquito Creek, MaoArthur Pork, and
the Red cross facility. l.t vo. '\"portant to have Significant
participation from interested Dovntolo'll property ollne.... While
property ollners were promised the plan would be interpreted with
flexibility, they were not confident that was currently the cae. at
either the staff or the ARB level or that it would be in 10 y ... rl\
when a plan 'W89 adopted and Ito\lod to-the status of requl.ations.
For example, after expressing repeated concern that tho ~lan would
not lead to flexible application of do sign criteria but rather
02/22/93 70-143
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ri9id application, on January 4, 1993, 519 University AvenuG, .at
the corner Qf University Avenue and Webster street, which housed
Merrill Lynch lor over 25 years, was .before the ARa. A motion was
.. ado to encourage the entry to that oftice be '1Oved to Webster
stxeet since the Urban Desiqn Plan viewed Webster Street as an
important gatew.y. While the motion failed, it was the kind of
thing that led to the concern about t.he extent to vhich the plan
moved from ~ vioion for the Downtown and the public rlqht-of-way
into .. vision for the specific desig" of buildir;s. Notwlth~
standing Mr. K~ehan's commonts about the ARB's accountability,
there wsre periods when that might not be truo, and the rial< v.a an
applicant would hsve to appeal to the Council. In January 1991,
he, Chop Kasn"n, and Warren Thoits attended a .. eeting with two City
plannars to detenaine whether there W8$ support for the nodea,
aney treatments, and urban "",aniUea. In that .. uting h. Ond
Messrs. Keenan and Thoits expressed concerns ftbout the i.pact on
private property rights and requested their participation be
allowed. No plan wa. drafted at that point. In septe=ber 1991,
\.'I.pan receiving a draft of the Downtown Urban Desi9n Plnn, they
wrote letters to the city .etting forth a numbor of proble2s and
spoke to a couple of Counoil MeRber8~ From their &~rlencef the
Urban Design COmMittee seemed to think it knew what vas beet tor
their collective $500 million investment. Despite "epeated input,
their «'quests and ideas regarding thair prlvat" prop&rty .. are
rejected.
Henry Gaw represented CN Capital 'Which owned 525 Unlvetslty Avenue.
He had seen the Downto'lm Urban Dosign Plan And its vax-lOUR
modifications .lthough CN C.pital was nover consulted about it. CN
Capital wtla planning a plaza expansion at 525 University AVOJlU8 and
did not know what its plan '/ersu. the Downtown Urban D<laign PIon
would look -;;'lks. He W08 concerned there ne.eded to be cooperation
'With various building O'W1l9rS and urged thlQ Council to continua
approval of the !!latter-until thAt occurrod.
Erick Gilbertson', 215 Oakhurst Place, :Henlo Park, q&nerAlly
supported tho DowntOlm TJrban D<laign PIon but tool< exception w1th
the notion that Alma Street betwa.n E1 camino Real and the Downtown
was.gensrally unattr-aet!ve and hazardou8. Jle-believed the erea VlI:R
an excellent bicycle route with qreat site lines, direotness, and
few stop signs. There needed.~o be more similar bicycla routes.
He hoped the bridge would .o .... day connect Al". Stroot frOD both
Henlo Park into Palo Alto and that there would be • bicycle/~de
"trian crossinq at Al". street and. 81 camino Real to pull In peopl"
cominq trompoints west.. The Downtown Urban Deaign Plon ne<)(led to
considar the pedeatrian ri<)"hts that modern design Ane! traffic
enqineering did not~ There nQeded to be 20 feet of site c2earance
before intersections if ane was serious about pedestrian safety.
People with strollers hllcl to pueh the Gtroller out because
oftentimes a parkinq space WAS more valuable than site clearance.
Ateome .interaectiona it would help if riqht turns ware prohibited
on red'liqhts to keep the cars out of the crosswalks. He urged
caution with the use of grade separations. He suggested less
parkinq downtown and more housing in its place. Downtown property
owners could make better ~se of availabl-s parking if fences did not
02/22/93
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surround some parking areas so those areas could be utilized at
nigH.
John Hackmann, 235 Embarcadero Road, spoke on behalf of the Fr,iends
of the Embarca.dero and said walkability was one of the :most
import~nt thing" in the desirability of Palo' Alto. He associated
with the comments of Hr. Gilbertson and said if Palo Alto wanted to
improve its walkability, th.r~ needed to be more direct limito.tions
on the activity of the automobile. While the City and tal<
structure would benefit from more d~velopment, people enjoyed tho
activiUes and services offered by the varletI' of activities in
Palo Alto, and a lot of resistance resulted from the impact of the
automobile on individuals as they attempt~d to use the facilities.
The Friends -of the Embarcadero was a group of neighbors in
ProfesBorville and old Palo Alto who sought to improve the.
situation on Embarcadero Road specifically between Middlefield Road
and Alma street. He suggested the possibility of a traffic co"",ls
sion or a wheel tax. The City also needed to consider. whether it
should subsidize parking at all.
Mayor McCown declared the Public Hearing closed.
Council Member Cobb requested response from a member of the Urban
Desiqn Committee re9arding the issues raised by Messrs. Keenan,
Daer, and Gaw.
Shirley Wilson, C'Julirperson of the Urban Design Committee, said she
sympathized ~ith the positions expressed by Messrs. Keenan, Baer,
and GaW', who could have been membe.rs of the committee but chose not
to. In terms of 525 University Avenue, she met twice with tht!~
management of the building, and the discussions were positive and
hoalthy about the opportunities, and no real dictates were put
forth. The igsues raised in the plan were exactly that-~issues to
.be looked at. The Urban Design committee did not really care how
the issues we~e solved as long as the issues were addressed. The
issues had to :be discussed, and to take offense tha~ ',an urban
design issue was raised dYring an urban design revie'li' did not
reflect a willingness to at least look at all aspects of a problem.
She expectad that would continue. In terms of 578 University
Avenue, while the motion to move the entrance onto Webster street
was defeated for many reasons, it did not negate the fact that the
entrance loca.tion was an issue in tenns of the Downtown Urban
Design plan or that it should be forgotten.
Council Member Cobb asked whether one way to interpret. the concerns
expres;sed by the, property o\fflerfl was that sO!l1chow the City would
end ~p stepping over the line between having issues to discuss to
having mandates forced upon the private property owners.
Director of Planning and Community Environment Ken Schreiber
sympathized with the concerns a~ a leqitimatQ public policy issue~
While the City had the prerogative to establish written design
guidelines, the, Downtown Ur.ban Design Plan for the Downto'Wll
emphasized that the docume,nt 'Was llQ..t intended tc.', be binding or
regulatory in nature, and there was no intent for ordinances that
would translate specific proposals in the Dovnto'lffl Urban Design
02/22/93 70-145
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Plan into private property regulations. It, over time, there was
1.1 tondenoy on the part of staff or the ARB to use the Downtown
Urban Design Plan in a more rigid way than was intended, it would
be appropriate to restructure or relook at the private sect01:"
referencGS in the plan or even "qarbaqs" the entire dOCUlDent.
statf did not intend to use the plan as a set ot regulations but
rather ~a a set of guidelines, thoughts, and idea9 people· could
think about and encourage. He was aware of the specific situation
•• ntioned by Hr. Baar at the ARB meeting and fortunately the motion
taUed. Pro .. what stlltf told him, staff was supportive of the
~al1ed. lIotion and would have .been very conce:r:ned it the Hl.otion
p .. ssed because in the context of the building itself, it woule! have
led to .. d .. ign situation that would probably not have been very
ooneticl.al to the property owner or to hand.!capped access. He
..... urad counoil" he would emphasize strongly to the ARB and other
bodi •• Who miqht use the plan about its intent.
Council Me5ber Andersen asked what the Downtown Urban Design Plan
accoaplished that the zoning ordinance did not.
ChiofPlanninq Official Nancy Lytle said the zonlnq ordinance
PNvidad • sot or .ite development regulations and included things
lJxllS floor area. ~aximum8 .and setbacks ~ihich prescribed maximum
d .. vslopm.nt lillits for a particular piece of property. The
Do~~tovn Urban Design Plan looked at the Downtovn as a whole and
""vioionad what might ba accomplished if the public and private
eactors .'Worked together toward realizing SOllie. of the visions
articulat6d. While the Downtown Urban Design Plan was within
exi"tinq zoning, it went bayond the cunent zoning to ••• how
individual properties reillted to the Downtown in its entirety.
council Member Andersen asked ...,hat would happen if he owned
2.50 University Avanue and went before the staff or-the ARB with a
pl.an tor a rem3rkable upgrAde where the Downtown Urban Desiyn Plan
envisioned an alley.
Ks. Lytle .aid it wa. hoped the Downtown Urban Design Plan would be
eJlbraced by people, and people would carry forward some of its
inspiration into the design of his/her project. A project li1i9'ht
then provide some of the public benefit, e.g., the application for
~50 University Avenue to obtain extra floor ar~a.
council H~·AndarBen said the ~carrot· was some of the bonusQs
that could be received. The -stick" was the document.
Hs. Lytle said the "stick" was not the document so much .as the
approval process could act. as the ~8tiek." In terms of how the
Dovntovn Urban Desigrl Plan was intendee! to be implementee!, she
relerred to page 2 of tho Planning C01!lT.4ission's report which
artiCUlated "the plan can become a catalyst for advocacy of public
bproveJIents in the Downtown." That section of the report was
wrJxten in response to staff's outreach efforts which had taken
place o\,'er the past nix months .and included extensive meetings with
Downtown merchants, owners, and the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce.
Tho thraa property owners who provided a report were contacted
throughout the four-ye.ar process at vat·lous intervals, even more 80
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th~n other prop6rty owners. The Urban Oe.ig" cou~ittee "acknowl
edged tllat the plan captllfod some ideas and concepts. Host
concepts "Ul llndoubhdly be "o<IHied &lightly or radic.lly in
later develop.ont. SORO of the ultimate goals were likely t~ be
accolOpHshed in ",ays that " .. re not ellvisioned 01' anticipated by the
Co~itt... Theretore, the rlan should be viewed .e a tool and
repource rather than a requlrc:nent, z.n .illspiration rather-than a
r~l"tIon.·
" Council Ke.mb8r Andnr8en said eaphaAiB had been placGd on Cowper
Street, and ho •• 1<3<1 whether that e"ph ... is wOllld .. dd to the problem
ot congasUon already on that. street. lie had heard that SODie
people 1n the area we"" deeply con corned about the extent of
trattic.
lis. Lytle said traffic congestion and people ftCtivit)· ... ere slightly
ditforent. The ide. ot being able to move the automobila in an~
out of a par~1nq structu~e at that node w~s important, but there
might be ateps the ctty could taxe that would be more efficient in
coJlbinl!ticn vit}. privlIIte actions, (I:,g'., valet parkin9. It was the
kind of "JClftldng: it ~H,ppenll plac.e that tho Plan envisioned for the
end of to!.lln.
Council K€lA:be:r 1tndOl"Sen cs)(ed ho .... thE:l: doc\J~ol":lt IJould 'Work in
conjunction vith the Compreho~sivQ Plan process.
Hs. Lytle said tho docu~ent could bo ~ rEsource tor the Comprehen
Dive Plan AdVisory C",..,lttee (CPAC), could be coordinated with the
future h,proveaonts 90als identifiEld elSl{'l\lhere in t.hs community,
and could ~ UtHxl to balanco ideas in the Plan against other
co~unity·~lde objectives in order to ~ake recommondations to the
Council. The Plan hod olready led to so •• thinking about. the
transit dopot and the proposal tor B design charette, which also
had pot&nt1al it the council de_Ired to have CPAC conduct fUrther
consideration.
H •• wilDon ".id there had been diocussion .bout whether the Plan
ehould ba on appondlx to the Comprehensive Plan. The Urban Design
Coamittea b$l!eved it should not be done because the Plan should
not be caught up 1n a legal system ond should be flexible.
Vice Hayor Kniss said since thO ComprehensivQ Plan h&d gone through
'" nUlOll>&r of hearings and discu.D1!>nD by elected policymakers, th"
·Plan being appendod to tho Comprehensive Plan would not be a
discussion pol~t.
Ha. Lytle replied the proc$ss followed in the Plan was not the sa~e
as th& legal proces& tor the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Wilson was
retexrinq to a concept that came up early on and was abandoned by
the Urb.n Design Committee.
Vice Mayor Kniss 'Was concerned that Ute documer.t might appear to
lOOK as though it had r •• l Validity. She asked how the document
<~,~OUld be kept as' a vi6ion and as somathinCj, that evolved over a
four-or rive-year period and not fall into the category of a
02/22/93 70-147
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pgraon being told that hisjher project did not fit into the vision
or tl"ie eire all..
MS. Lytle said the council needed to oFOll out clearly under the
section ot the dOCUlllont that add "How do.o thls docUllent got used
What is its purpooe and intont?" that the Plan v.s not intended to
be uoed as a regulatory tool.
Vice Mayor Kniss wa. concerned the Plan ~ight t~xe the city down •
path that the Council "ight not want to go down. particularly since
the Comprehenaiv$ Plan procoss h&d just begun and the ·Drea~ Tean
had not been dll1cus •• d. Both of those issuoo led Into .. particular
diroction that the council had not discus •• d at length yet.
Council HelIIber Huber understood the dOCUl!ont would chango ovor
ti=e. He asked if the plen were ~dopted, how the Chan~Q8 would,
it any. be .... de and how those Change. vould be incorporate<1 into
the Plan. .
Hs. Lytle replied &tter the Cc.prchen8iv~ Plan ettQrt was out of
tho way. it would be ti •• to rolook at the Downtown plan ~nd othor
areae and bring thoso are«s up to date. The docU~8nt should be a
tool that did not Decome outeated, did not work ogainst the City'8
purposcs, and helped to accoJlplish g04!O rather than stand In tho
'WAy of 9'081B.
Council Meaber Huber askod it many people came to tho City with a
twenty-first or tventy~Becond c6ntury design b~t that was not tho
right architecture at the time, wher. the City \lould uy that that
design might be tho way the DoWntovn "a. heoded.
lis. Lytle eaid ther.. wa. a proce.s in place fo.~ individual
applic.nts to pr __ sent thoir rationale to the ARB. It a per. on had
a better solution or knew specific jntor~ation about the property
that negated wh .. tev8r tho Plan said about the property, it "ould be
appropriate to bring it .forvard to statt first and then to the ARB.
The ARB was flexible end understood those variables had r'a moOr")
direct implication on tho .xact develop.ent of • property than the
conceptual vision. The vision waB .eent to inspire people, not to
direct people. The id~a would not work byit •• lf. and the private
applicant would have to .ake the i~ea co •• olivo. but it aight n~t
come alive exactly as the cOmDittee had envisionod.
Ill' .• Schreiber said there vos an annual Downtown "onitorin'l' proce8s
the Council institute<1 at the end of tha Downtovn Study in 198.0.
The Planning CO&llia8.1on re.viewed the annoal Do\iJ\tovn report sflveral
weeks ago, and it would be sent to the Council in the near tuture.
It Would be appropriate if tile Do>mtovn IIrban Design Plan vas
approved to require, AS part of that annual mOnitoring process, an
assessment be made by statf of tho; l1u..ber Of application" lind their
relationship to the Downtown Url>an oedgn Plan. Tho counoil had an
annual meating with the ARB, and as part of that process, the ARB
usually provided the council \lith a!) updato on ita activlti(ls
durinq the past year, i.e., tho. nUlrlbor of applications, trends that
the ARB Baw, etc. It would also be appropriate, as P4rt of that
annual Counoil/ARB proceSB l to ask staft and the ARB to co .. ent on
02j22j9·3 10-148
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the sta,tus of the DOlmtown Urban Design P1",n in terms Qf the
applications' that were seen during the year which would help
provid6 a form tor individuals both on the Council, ARB, and the
public to mak.e observationa, additiolls, or co.rrections~
Council Heabar, Huber lU;:Kad if a person had a piece of property that
they wanted to develop and the' vision presented was not the same as
what was -=w:rently proposed in the oowntO'Wtl Urban Deai9n Plan,
wh&thBr someone would indicate that their plan did nat comply with
the Downtown Urban Design Plan. He asked how much hassle a parson
would have to qo through before approval was received if a pers(')ll
said "no" to all those quidelin.s.
Ms. Lytle said the Planninq D6partmant provided customer servic6,
and staff tried to put applicants I)n an "genda promptly, get
him/her to the ARB within time lines that were published, and keep
him/her on a sohedule because staff recoqnized thnt time was money.
The staff'S goal was to provide resources that would help tt.e
applioant be successful in that process. Even it a person did not
share tl1at vision, staff forwarded tho applica.tion as quickly as
any other application. The ARB was willing to entertain individual
visions with as much enthusiasm as it entertained .all applications.
Mr. schreiber said that situation often occurred. The city had
d~si9n expectations tor EI Ca~ino Real and other areas which hftd
emerged over time based on the actions of ARB, Planning Com:f.IlisBion~
and the COQf1cil on various applications. ,Staff had guidelines that
we~e provided to applicants which indicated that if an applicant
filed an appli<:ation by a certain date, he/she could count on being
on an 1IRB agenda by • specified date. Applications that had
problems of inconsistency with past City actions or expectations
might take longer through the roview process if the applicant
decided he/she needed to do some modifications before qOing to th~
ARB. Some applications went to tha ARB and received comments that
led to changes and other applications had been regarded as good
ideas and haa gone through the process.
c~uncil Member Wheeler believed developers had nothing to fear if
the vision for the El Camino Real island enunciated in the 1976
Compreh~nsive Plan versus the reality of what had emerged in the
meantime was any indication of how stringently quidelines wor ..
upheld. The draft docunent vas before the council after going
throuqh several advisory boards and commissions, who had made a
substantial number of co~ents, and it vas the intent of the st~ff
to incorporate those comments in a final vei:."sion,. She expected
once the Council got thr~ugh a preliminary round of questions of a
more generalized nature I there would probably be a number of
speCific COD9nts and questions -raised by the council. She
believed the plan would require a substantial rewrite of portions
of the document,. She asked how the rewrite would be done and
wheth.r:' the document should be brought back thr:'ough a public
process before the Council finalized the document.
"Ms. Lytle said staff's impression of the process was that the
comments received would not result in a substantial rewrite, with
the exception of the comments made by the ARB which had to do with
02/22/9J 70-149
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the budgot request. The Urban Design committee was very firm that
the dOCUllent should be reformatted into a IIlore profes.iQnal1~'
edited version that was thinner and had useful graphics. The
primary comments received from other groups had more to do with
ainor changes to date. Unless the Council desired otherwise} staff
would not be able to make those minor changes and return ~lth a
final document for another six months.
Hr. Schreiber said bet" •• n the development monitoring sid,e of the
Ple.nninq Department and the Comprehensiv.8 Plan effort recently
iniUated, ther .. was little staff time available for the project or
any other type of special study. The six-month estimate was basad
on the. tisne Senior Planner Lori Topley would need to fit the
follow-up work into the lulls between the stanford .... at/Sand Hill
Road/Stanford Shoppin? centor double Environmental IIIlpact Report
(EIR) process. storr was not available to do the follow-up work on
an ongoi~g ba.is.
MOTZOH YO RagBRI Council MeRber Fazzino mov~d, seconded by Rniss,
to refer the Downtown Urban Design Plan to the Policy and Services
COIl!JRittee.
council Member Fazzino was conc~rncd that there was a significant
nuaber of qusstiolls regal'ding the content of the report. It seamad
foolhru>dy lI'.ftar the Urban Design Committee had spent ulx years on
the iaB~le tor the Counoil to dismias the item in an hour and "
half. He believed some concerns had been raised by Messrs. Beer
and Keenan and others, but instead of establishing a new public
process, it would be best for the council to have the Policy and
s9rvieBs (P«S) Co~ittee revie~ the document and bring the matter
back to tho Council for final consideration. It had been a
tremendously valuable exorcise on the p'art of a large number of
committed people, and he was not troubled that it would be used as
~ Kstick" and saw it as a vision document and a document that was
consistent with the current Comprehensive Plan. He hoped, when the
COuncil approved the n~w Compreh.ensive Plan, that it would th.en
review that vision document to make sure it -was consistent with the
policies of the new Comprehensive Plan. He Eaid as a member of the
P&S COMittee l he was willing to commit extra hourn to serious
eone-ideration of the documen't~
Council Member Andersen said 'the document ltIade reference to the use
of various square footege incentivea to encouraqe developers to
follow those quideline. and a_ked whether those incentives would
have to be 1n the form of en ordinance and if so, whether, something
would be created con.iderably more than guidelines.
Ma. Lytle said the Planned COlllmuoity (PC) zone change ordinance
allowed those incentives to be utilized whicb was the process being
used CUtt.Bl1.tly. An idea came up during tlle outreach pror::ess that
there miqht be something a little less olllinous than the PC process
which w~uld allow siMilar incentives but at a minor level.
council Member Andersen said there were a lot of things about the
document that he found exciting. He was impressed by the amount of
work and creativity that went into the document but was concerned
02/22/93 70-150
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~.t the document mi9ht ~ vie~ed as binding in the context of the
private developer vho had creative ideas. He was also concerned
the vision of the ARB might not ~ the ultimate vision of a private
developer and good ideas would be lost. He hoped tho P&S committee
would explQro how to eake certain t~e document was not binding or
regulatory. He was not persuaded. that tho. current document would
hot be that and tho City's role should be .xplored in detail with
regard"to how the process might be encouraqed and stiAulated in
public do.ain areas. The assess.ent district was one area, but
·there night be othor areas that could be explored 80 that it might
be BOVed along fn .. or. rapid ",anner. lie "anted the public/privats
·partner6hips concepts .xplor.d in more detail with respect to the
Varsity Theatra.
council Kember 51.itl.n said there wa •• r~quest for support for
additional f""ding and aaked whether U,at requost should also be
referred to the ~,s co.~ittee. He Rupport,d the motion and said
an urban desiqn plan 'Was a good idoa, and the Urban Dtlsiqn
. cO»Jaittee had dOl18 a good job. '.rha fundaroental notion to have Rome
design vision for the Downtown should not be lost. He agreed with
tho cOIaent by Ms. Lytle to the Planning commission that "for the
plan to be successful, it should he: elrlbraced by the property and
business o'Wners, not forced upon them." That 'Was the compelling
ar9Ul"1&nt (-or the referral to the P'S Committee. The referral cJid
not 8ug9G-st any conclusion about the process that led the Councll
t~ th~t point nor did it suqgest any conclusion about ~hat would
coma out ot tho: referral. Jle believed 901n9 an extra mile in
order to qenerate a"little more support from the property owners
downtovn would be worthvhile. Ita recalled the comment by Ms. Lytle
that Wit WAS A plan designed to inspire and not direct" when he
read under architecture for the Civic cross Axis District that
ftarch1tectural style of new structures should reflect and compli
Dont t.he .editerranean style of the district, although they need
not miaic. Use ot stucco, masonry, clay tile roofs, and light
color pal4:1ttas: of' Whites, creams, and light pastelB are encour
tI..god. n Host people would think thflt was mora in the way of a
direction rather than on inspiration in ter.ms of the specificity
ottered tor " particular project. The I'&S Committee needed to
discuss how to sort out the tenfl.ion between project specific
visions and visions for the entire Downtown.
IUIlCItR AlfI) 8!COllDER "QRI!ItD TO lIICOIU'ORA'I'B lH'l'O 'rlIB IlonOIl that a
request tor additional funding be referred to the Policy and
Services Cotlmittee.
council Ke1aber Rosenbaum encouraqed the Orban Design Committee4 He
refG:t"red to paqe 2, paragraph 1, of the Downtown Urban Design Plan
which stated, "In september 1987, the City council appointed a ten
",amber Urban Design co_ittee to prep .... this plan. Initial
direction provided. by ,the council 'Was to pl"oduce a comprehensive
docwoont of policies and quidelines describing the physical f"rm of
Downtown Palo Alto. The plan was to be in a form that could be
used to help devolopers and desiqners in understanding the
expactat!ol1.s and -';)bjectives for downtown development . ., 'I'he Urban
Design Committee had done exactly that. The Committee, with one
exception, 'Was made up of design professionals, and" the City
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counoil HeDlber. in 1967 .sked for the right things. He was
concerned that at tho last .omant it appetlirec;1 BOJlt8 alqnificant
Downtown property owners were not enthusiastio. A qood GXftwple was
the aarron park orainaqa Pion which W~B referred to the Finance
Co.-itt.e. Staft had done ~ q~e.t deal ot work on the plan, but
there wera .. any people who "., .• unhappy. Eventually, a plan wa.
achieved that was w~rk.ble Cor 'everyone. lIe hoped the S8me thing
"ol1ld happen and ho on"our"9'''1. the P&5 Co" .. ltte" to work with the
Urba\1 De&lgn cO!!llllittea and the OO>mtQ>m people and co,.e up .,lth
something that would work. If there wer~ d!SftqreeBents, he wanted
to eee tho .. di ... gr ..... nt. ""refully 6pell"d O'lt and the" the
counoll oould -..ko • final deciaion.
Counoil Hellber Cobb.aid lOan)' U.e. whon theCouncll r"C ..... ed an
i.st~e to a -standing cOliiOit;teiJ, It WlU;' bE:CIIU88 the counoil did not
wllnt to deal with the is"ue ot that ti.... Council HelOber Ro.enbaum
h.<I touohed the r1qht norve. He believed it was • good id •• to
reter the inu. to the "'8 Cou1u.... althouqh he believ.d the
Urban Oesiqn co~~lttee had dono on oxcollent job and had provided
BO .... ide •• that could be very exclUng tor the city. He beli.ved
the Pt.S cooittee: should focus on the issues presented, and it
ohol11d ""t be a UfO. tor another presentation. He hoped the people
Who had expresusd concern th&t evening 'Would take those concerns to
tho P&S Co_ittee and ",,,uld vork "Hh tho coruoitte. to reoolV6
those concerns. !t there "'ere other iaslI8S: besides thosi!:I raise.d
that evening, he hoped those 168\1.eS would also be-brought up 90 the
Committee could reBolvo substantive issues and then return to the
Council tor. finol decision.
council H"IObe", Huber Bupportod the lIlotion and 61.0 Bupported the
DovntO'Wfl Urban Deslqn Pltm. He was the Pla.nninq Co_ission's
appo!nteu when the process got underv~y, and the Council's
dir .. ction w." understoed at th3t point. He b<>lleved Council I!eaber
Cobb'S sugg9stlon regarding the tocus of the roterral to the P&S
COlUlitt .... w .... x"oUent. He did not thin" it should I><> referred to
the P6S co .... ittee for redesign. The Council either beught into the
vision the urban oesi90 cOJUoltte~ pr ••• ntcd or it dl<1 not. lie
believed it it were referred to the P'S Com<teo, it should be
dons in tbe context of .olvIne} the basic issues that wore raised by
Hessrs. Baer AI'\d .Keenan and othera \lith re-qard to the 91lidelines
and whether additional Boney .hould 1><>. 8lloc.ted end then l.,ve it
at that.
Vice Knyor Kniss seid it would be a di •• arvio. not to allow the
vision ideas expres8ed in the Plan a chanco to be consider.d in a
ditterent light. The tramevork vas excellent and WOuld provide
the P'S CO,."ittco with an opportunity to thoroughly revie., the
issues addr8aaed.
Hayor HcCOIm said it was iJlportant to work throuqh the i.sues
.. aieed that <av.ning. She. did not agree with the breadth of
Hr .. kar'a SU9gestions tllat the documnht shQ\lld refer only to
public areas lind not concern itself with ')\'"';'v~t ... ~ areas becauso that
was unavoidablo with any plan the cit~·, "~nvis1one:d, &.9"., the
Downtown Plan or the c~=prehen.ive Plan. When the City wanted to
articulate " vision in tho coiuounity, tile City epoke about the
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gQals and how private property Qwnero could bB encouraged to
d~velop tlleir,lend in conj,mction with those visions. She said it
did not "ake .anse to say on urbon des19n plan should elhlinote all
reference ,to concerns about private projects. A chall~nge for the
POS COllUllitteewould be ho" to articulate an integr .. ted vision
without it being a requir.ment And the languoge would h.". to 1>e
considered to determine how that could bo achieved. The cou~~il
was oft.n in the position of spendin\l .. uen of its tille reacHnq \'0
things and often spoke about wanting the opportunity to ~
proactive and try to define for people, who .. ere interested in
'helping the cOllUllunity achieve its Vision, "hat tho Council liould
like to encourage people to do. She said that waa what the Plan
was trying to achieve and believed the CQnCGrns could be worked out
and the right balance reached so the docuaent coUld be •• ed in the
eOllUllunity.
KOTIOII PMSBD 9-0.
Mayor McCown aBked the city Hanager when the ite)l1 vould be befoJ;'G
the P&SCommittee.
City Manager June Fleming said possibly early April 1993. Staif
would notify the interested people whan the issue was before the
P&S COlIUllittee.
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NEW/OLD BUSINESS
Agenda Item No, 2
November 5, 1992
Arch1tectural Review Board
ExOOIP/
Downtown Urban Deolgn Plan, Review and
rerommend ation til City Council.
Thomas Hise-Could staff tell us what your expectation of the Doard is all this
itemJ what type of action you would like us to 1ake, what our timing js, and wheth~r
we need to take actloll today. I cUdn't have time to give this item the kind of review
I would like to have given It.
Shirley Wilson-I am here tonight to J>1E""nt to you our draft of the Urban ~Ign
Plan, which has been {our years in the making, It's. very ~xciting time (or this
oommit\ee, We have worked very hard on it. We've had some turnover in the
oomnlillee, but some people have been there from the beginning and maintained
their enthusiasm throughout the whole thing, which Is fabulous, I have two
committee members here tonight, Tony Carrasco and Brue<> Fukuji. Nancy Ly~e
. IlI\d George Zimmerman have also worked with us. One of the reasOns it has been
so dlHicult is that there has been information In a lot of dilferent file drawers and it
has been ~d to pull together. How the staff got it this far Is short of a miracle and
I'm thankful. We now have something we can work with. It is a very working
document and should be taken as such.
The oommittee asks for your input and if you are supportive, we ask (or your .
support,
Nancy Lytle-l would like the ARB to make a formal re<:omn,endatlon tonight.
NovemberS, 1992 Excerpt
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M$. Wilson-At the time that this Hem (Omes before the Planning Commission and
City Coundllf anybody is so moved to speak in support of the comml~ee, we
would appreciate that This plan is a vision. We hope it is a catalyst toward
po$Itive modJlications to the downtown area and positive development for the
downtown area. What it isn't, Is a'rigid plan. [~' is not a set oIreguJations; it is a set
of guidellnes. We think It has a life of its own, that it could change over time. We
don't want It to gather dust en. ,heil, »or do we want it to be<ome so rigid that
everyone thinks thot if it isn't on page 35, you '''n't do it, because that's not the
intentofth;s. The Intent wa, to put forth ideas of urban planning that we think the
development of th2 downtown can really work well around. We had a committee
with. very broad range of background and experience, which we hope was a
microcosm olwhat the interesls were in the downto\vn. There were times when we
hnd spedal concerns about larger land developers or retailers and we invited guests
to \""Ome and talk with us about their vlCWS of the dOWll~Own area.
The goal of this came out of the Down!o\\." Amenities Study. It was our goal to
awe. visual urban design plan for the downtown areao Ith .. been a long dream of
mine, .nd I think it 1.< something that the City wiU benefit tremendo",ly from. As
)'Ou all know, we've worked with projects whe,. we have meshed and got some
planned con"lpts out thOle and we've approved several projects that had urban
design hnplkaUol1', and they are plugging into this already, which is exciting,
The process we went through was to first sit around and bralnstorm what we liked
,md didn't like .bout Palo Alto-what we thought was charming, and what we
thought didn't work very weU. Then we took that subjective material and started
walking the streetso We inventoried the entire downtown. Every building, every
alley has been looked at and thought about We (ame up with some goals, based on
an evaluation of what we haveo We looked at the potential for development, we
looked at things we really wanted to save and we carne up with these goals, which
a;'e stated as the valued principals at the begirming of this document, as well as
rome urban design Issues, which we felt were important to reinforce.
Theconte.xt for our evaluation was JivabUity, economic vJabilityl and aesthetics1 aU
taken not in stalls tical terms, but as intuitive feelings for what is good foc '
businesses. We tried to give it aU framework The more we talked about buildings
in the beginning, the more we realized that wasn't the big issue, but that one of the
biggest issues was the infrastructure of the City, the open space of the le/t-o\'er
2 November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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spa",. Parks, p"bUcHvlns rooms, alleys, rel.Uonships o[ bwldlngs to open space as
£'" as mass "'as concernoo. So, we endoo up with a document that really tends to
conC>1l1tutemore on that, even though the,. are some architectural guldeUnes in the
pi"", whlch .,.<n't too dUferent from whal we operate with all the time anyway.
We~w a lot of room for development In the downtown area that is already there.
There Is. loi of under-utilized spare In the downtown, po.rticularly on ourside
otreets. One ()f the reasons we felt our side streets don't work well Is that. lot ()f
our bulldlngs on Ihe most Intense rorridor o[Universlty Avenue, don't rum comers
very l'/ell. Thet.'. nothing Iholln"'r<'Ots YOll In going around the romer. Th.1 is an
architectural {ssue.."d one that this Board ~an perhapsaddress as developments
(lOrnealong. We dlscu.sedlhalln detail in the dccumenl.
Wewanl>ld 10 establish a strong SEnSe of "place." We wanled 10 give people a sense
of ",ycholQgical romEortln the downtown, a sense of Identifying easily with
meeting pl'<e$, Th~re are things th.t mosl of the popul'lion won'( identify with on
a conscious level, but we know as designers they really have "-" impact. Just .. the
drculation syst!m in til home or in An (lffi~ buildlng have impact and can be a very
exdUng experience, that (an be true of the downtoym also. We feel Palo Alto is.
Uttle '1>1,,11')'" that WAy righl now. Itlsn't dear. The Civic Center cross-access that
was begun with Plaza Ramona, we all know gives a very dear identity to that pari
of town. Hopefl~ly when II's conllmled across University Avenue and through the
oth., bulIding will, we wtll have A very strong axial renter to the dOWJ1town where
there's. crossing. rcopl. wiliidenlify wi th IMI. Hopefully there will be things out
On the sidewalk or the public right-of-way that will be visibly noticeable topecple
walklng up ~d down the avenues so thaI they will reoognize that as • crossing. It
Is very Important for the downtown City Center idea and very helpfW iJ1 getting
better s<aJe 10 a retaUlinear corridor tha.t is a Uttle bit too long.
So, the plan Is not Ineant to be mandatory. It's meant to be • guideline. It's meant
to be used by the ARB, the FlkJ\l\lng Commlsslon, and the City Council. This
f.mJliarlly thatlhe reviewing boards and the community and developers will have
should bea real great opportunity for public and private cooperation. It should be
the oplimal opportunity for us to work together and to be heading in the same
direction. When a big project comes along on a site that we want clos'.Il"e 01 an open
space on, everyone will feel much more comfortable about it. It should re.lly
Novemb&t 5, 1992 EXC$ipt 3
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empower the entire communlty 10 continue t'> k~p dOWntovm Palo Alto alive
and vital.
Nancy Lytle-In the beginning with Stanford we devel0pM Unlv.r>!ty Avenue; It
was the original nat for University Park and It r~maln~ Ihe-core of the downlown.
One of the mal" concepts In the Urban Design rlan Is to relnforc" UnI"eulty
Avenue relail core. Howean fhot be done? There are many ways and one Is
already in thecapliallmprovemenl program, which Is alighting pl." throughout
the downtown. The Uillily Deparlmenl ~s rum.'nlly working on Ughllng.lI of the
different districts. Relighting of the downtown ,hould then help to reInforce an of
our districts, but in particular Unl""lIy Avenue. We want to Improve a sense of
entry at el ther en d, 1ltis ttanspa rency s ho\\'s the downl 01.\7l. au tomobil e en lri €'S.
Ther. is one at University Cirde and lllC primaryr('Sidenliol miry is.t Middlefield
Road and Uruversily Avenue {or aU'.omobiles. 0" the district (h'pler, you will see
seronclaryentries marked as well. Thew ;/l,e also 1wo nOlro n€re, one dO\'{J\ at !he
Alma Street/EI Camino lnl",soctionand the other down near the TOI'm and
Country area.
1heCivic Center cross-''''''''' I,. ron"'pllhat was inlrodLJ~'<Ilo aU policy boards
and decision-makers during Jim Baer's project. It Is the "'ncepl ~f linking the Civic
Cent.er with the Senior Center and a pos$ible plaza came (rom this rommillee and It
is one of the main fundamentals of the PJan. You can sec it beginning 10 be re-aHzed
when you walk along University Avenue and got a look al that Ihrough Piau
Ramona to City Hall. We hope that someday thore will be .,duledural statements,
as shown in the Plan, out On Uru"erslty Avenue denoling that ... a very Important
plU't oftown.
Another very important area If; at Cowper Str-'l'e'llUtd Uni\'t:rslty A,'enu£>, whe-re
we're talklng about creaMg another City Center, a oommerdal center that would
foals on Improvemer.ls to 525 Uruver>ity Plaza and that en lire block area, uliJl2ing
the people generation potential of the Websler ICowper garage 10 creare a node.t
that area and maybe even bringing in the Varsil)'Theater renov.~ons Ihal would
ta1<e place there and doing for that end oftown what the Stanford Thealer has done
for the other end.
Next we have the Am,. Boulevard concept (referring 10 transparency). lne ret.king
of Alma from the automobile-domin.led feeling Ihat it has now and nlaklng It a
4 Novomber 5, 1992 Excerpt
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bouleyardthat is more friendly to people and one thalaUows (or a crossing to our
b:anslt depot on the other side, to the urban lane area, to the El Camino onllnk, and
eventually linkages !{) Stanford Finandal Center. Thls is enrouraged in the Plan,
altllough tile Plan hasn't gont that far, we have another ellort that is undenv.y. 1
was part 01 a discussion yesteId.y that is!hlnking aboul how we can create better
linkages. One of the keys 10 that is Alma Street. We haye pl.ns (or a bicycle
. Nuleyard along Alma Street, improveInents In the lolnt Powers Bo,u-d, It parking
area that could make lImore friel1dly to people, and a real vision about Ihe train
depot By the way, thls tree power program thatIack Sutorius has talked about is.
polential way of implementing some of Ihe landS<'3ping requirements thai are
talked about in Ille Plan.
Finally, the diagram for the enlire downtown plan, which indicates the ped<strian
linkages that are talked about the throughout the Plan and Ihe improvement of alley
,yetems, both placed alleys and 5eOO11dary alleys, SO thai people are more inclined
to take shortcuts that many of us already utilize them for. In pa", eu I", p"destri'n
connection to the train depot. )t is a critical part of the rlan.
Glori. Humble of our offioe did the diagrams. She look Q conoept that .lln1 Gill once
sketched out with. pen and turned them iJlIO pins. W" thought people could wear
them to the hearings, I'm delighted with it. It has become a symbol of the
public/private partnership that Is being requested through this vision and a
promotional tool.
Chairman Maser-I would llke 10 know what that little "SUlch" is on University
Avenue, Is thai just poetic IkellS(', or does University Avenue actually do th<i?
George Zimmerman-It was strictly poetic license, We should also acknowledge
the late John Monroe for his inspiration.
Bruce FukuJ~onoeptually when we were working on the plan after four years
there was always a question about how do you get 10 !hedetalls of this plan who"
you have these general ideas, We sort of spilt things up belween having a district
map IUld actually identifying areas that hay. unlque characteristics IUld separating
that out from the overall ideas we were tryi118 to achieye from an urban design
point of view.
November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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11 you were to look at a typical district, for instance University Avenue, there is a
(Ommon structure for how. U oHhese districts are organized. (I am referring to
page 27 of the draft plan,) We made general observations when we did our
inventory and toured around downtown, From that we generated sp<!cific goals
based on our observations and these goals are basically value-statements Ihat relale
to Ihe guiding principles thai are in Ihe early part of the Plan. After that, another
part is actually the map, which visually focuses attention on what the aspects are
that we are looking at in the Plan. TIle next section i. specific guidelines and they
follow the format o/what we call the '1egend" or "key," which we've used in every
.ingle district. At the beginning of the section it talks abollt district. and actually
goes Ihrough and defines what all of the different attribules are. I'll go Ihrovgh
these individually and show how they relaleto the overall idea and goals Ihat are
pari of the district, so that they pull together Ihe urban design framework that we're
UStng when we look at each district,
University Avenue is the relall core of the downtown. The Iirst goal is to try and
reinforce and maintain that. There have been several jssues that came up with
doing that. The Idea of reinforcing this a. a retail corridoris really reinforcing it
from Alma Slreet to Cowper Street as the main focus, This is a traditional area
(referring to transparency) and this i. predominately more of a residential-oriented
area. So, from Cowper Stroot to Alma Street you have enhancements for ground
lloor uses and transitions made 10 the streels that are perpendicular 10 il, II you
start by encouraging retail to happen along Emerson Street, Ramona A venue, Byron
Slreet, Florence Avenue, or Waverley Street, you can puJl that retail around the
corners. That was the first idea. The second thing was to create some fO<:al points
along University Avenue l>ecause some of Ihese blocks are reaUy quite long. When
you look at it from Cowper Street 10 Waverley Street, or Waverley Sireet to Byron
. Street, on the south side of the street you have a really long block; on the north side
they are broken up into smaller bl~. So at some point, it is actually quite along
walk. We thought maybe we should do something to break that up or create some
attention or focus activity. There are so'me natural locations to hav~ that -Emerson
Street at Ramona Avenue, or Byron Street, and loomg at tryill1!,to encourage
something to major focal points, the Ci vic Center cross-access, which i. trying to
come up with an id€a 10 see if there Is a sense of place or a slronger focus or center
10 the downtown, and also looking at what Ms, Lytle was talking about, this
parking garage, which generates a 101, Ir. not really a destination, but people arrive
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at that loca~on to go to other places in the downloWl1, We also looked at what the
pot""~alls/or dolng some Improyemenls down I..,e at this polnt (referrlng!o
transparency) to be another local point,
The next gwlls to try 10 enhance Ul~ qualities on University Avenue to make It an
exd~goutdoor pedestrian experience, A lot olthat has to do with publiC
,unenltles, We weady hav"some capital Improvements initiated, bUI also when we
met with the mercllants last week they really s""",ed to want 10 get rid 01 thOSE
ooncrete bunlt .... thai were inslalled at SOme poInt <luring the 1971Ys. It was part 01
that old bus rou!e. 'l'My are unattractive and this seems like an opportunity 10 pull
them out and 10 Incre..., vlsibillty from the aUlomobiles and pedestrians, The
merchants reall y support that and we agree, That is a perfect example 01 public
Improvemenl$ to'1ol .. ould be enhanced or modified '" such. way to suppor!
Ctea~g _r pedeslrlan environment. The idea of pulling people out of the street
and h.-ing a sidewalk cafe life and vltalily that would take place is 10 encoarage
the a",ountol pedestrian use of those streets. The key place where we are l;:.oking
at .ncour.glng that kind of Hling, you already soo iton Waverley Street and In
Lytton Plaza, and sp<'dficaliy looking at theCivicCenrer/CosweU Plaza connection
and how this area <an become a much higher level 01 pedestrian use. Espedallyon
the north side 01 Unlverslty, connecting up to the Senlor Center and Caswell Plaza
and ,aklng advanlage of thls other Idea aboul alleyways and easements,
ThIs whole idea of entries and your sense of entry and trying 10 reiniorce thai, is
really an Interestlng question because when you draw it from 101 alongUnlversity
Avenue, It's prlmarHy" tree lined boulev;ml, Your Initial experience is en!erlng a
res!den~al areo. As you're <!rivlJ1g along and you SlOp at the signal at Middlefield
Road,1n termS of land use thls is the dlvldlng line betweer. purely res!denlial and
other mixed uses, which take place to the west. We were wondering about what
klnd 01 entry weshould have, whether It should be an archllectural thing or just a
Iands<ape thlng, and part of what !s great about Palo A1lois the fact that there are
such pervasIve and mature Irees and street plants. Why don'! we just allow that
!dealo continue as you ride toward downtown i.~tead 01 trying to do more
archlrectuJal or other IyJ'" of treatment. nus is wh"re the vehicles enler, bul really
tile pedestri &nS en try is more a t Webster Street an":thls would maintain and
enhance It In t<mm of havlJ1g street !fees, landscaping and setbacks. Lytton
Gardens Is set back 20'-25' with landscaping and trees. Wear. encouraging higher
Novemb<lr 6, 1W2 Excerpt
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densHy housing on these slles oyeron this side, south ofUm,."lt)' Avenue, to
creale that kind of land""pe entry. Then when you reach Webs~er, haYing il more
of. pcdestrlan-<>riented entry whete at that polnl you realize there are commerdal
buUdJng$ on both .1 d e;s of Ih. str~t and you'ye really entered downtown.
On the other ,{de, we tried 10 figure out what 10 do 10 enhance how you gel from
downlown from the train depot or as you aredrivwg. It Is wUorlLlnate to use a
transportatl~n submerged thing. l~. difn<:tJ!1 (or pedestriar.s and it's cornusing to
motoriSI$ (I)f the l1r$1 itm •. Trying 10 make scm. Improvements here to Iry and
help .Ignal that you ar~ entering down.lown. PMI 01 Ih.1 would be that we are
looking at Jands<:ape Improvemenls on the medians. removing the IIrst row 01
parking that you haw (or on·,u""II'JIklng and perhaps making Ihose more
pedestrlan-orienloo areas and some kind of olh., p€deSlrlan-orienled u~ to
eMan{C th.las. (om,,1 enlry. You .Iready have tile ardlilc<1ural (eature of Ihe
curved \..,alJ."j; on both s!des .. perhaps \\-"'(! can ha\'e them on thesouth side on a
higher scale.
1nose are the district goals. This transparency.hows Ih.t lhis is.n entry, Ihis
shows tlUs Is the retail .;ore, and 11Il.1s the transition 10 residential. Here's the map.
We had 10 dedde.t some point where 10 cut Jt off. We !'lought we should Include
ihe block beyond Lytton or Hamillon so you can see Ihe conlext when referring 10
the map. The$<! b .. ically ouOlne all of the spedlic main ideas that we want 10 try
and ~rowa8e.
This lsoneol the srea, Ideas about the Plan. People orrive a..~d If Ihey dod de they
don'! wanlto go down Unlvenity Avenue bee.use there is 100 much congestion, so
they decide to 8<> down Lytton or HamUlon. As they go down clther of those
avenues in either dJrection, there would be parking M the surface lots, which are
visible, or there would be parking on the streel. Then Ihere Is the w~.ole question of
how do you get those people from streets to this '"laU COrridor. One of the id.as we
came up with was taklng advanlage of the existing service alley system and make
improvernenl$ln such" way as II beeomes Inore pec!estrlall-orienled. Whal
.happened at 250 University Avenue is fantastic embodiment of the spirit of what w.
were trying to do In terms of Involved experience that you see and are familiar with
here, 10 try and "pedes tri anIze" the alleys through either opening up ground floor
uses onlh. ~Jleys,or adding olher public am.nltfes such a.landscaping, lighting or
paving. r think It's a really inlere;sting opportunity beeause Ws parI of the existing
8
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infrastructure, The merchants thai wernet with last week actuoIly really liked tho
idea. The owner on Ramona Streel has that very nke double rainbow building and
she Is always having to clean the alley next to It, People ronslantly use that aUey as
• pedestrian connection to get to Lytton PI aza, 10 places where Ihey park on
HamUton AV(mueor the Civic Cenler garage. She already =s the pedestri'n uses,
so.he would really support the Idea 01 ellhandng It in some way. Th'I was
exciting to hear.
Thatin a nutshell is what you see nere, TIlere are olher things like desUnalions and
landmarks. Obviously when you think about Uniyerslty AV01\ue, Ihere are greal
landmarks-Stanford The.ter, VarsllyTheatet. We want to try and enhance ,"d
maintain those as people do other ";chllecturallmprOY<m1Ents wilhln a dl.<lriCi. The
whole idea Is we're not suggesting the Plan should havespedlJc Idea, aboul whal
buildings should look like, but Ihat when somebody Is doing anlmprovemenl, that
there's an opportunity here that there is publtc supporl (or it based on how this plan
Is developed, whlcll might be more than whallnoy are thinking aboul, and the
other thing is 10 be sensitive to the conrexl of what already exists. In alot "l plac.;,s
there are some wonderful 81chiledural conlext to be r<'Sponsi,'e tao Especially
looking at Ramana Street. The whole idea is to maintain 56,ne sensilivity to llle
character that is patt o( the dlslrict through this plan so that poople understand the
vocabulary {or it and start to look althe delalls that define what makes thai
arclUtectwe inlerestlng,
'This transparency has quite. few symbols, The black heavy lines "uUln.
something that is rather con!roverslalln our plan. We'rclooklng al now to
encowage stronger bultding volumes, I know there Is • t:l FAR, bUI the Idea Is thai
on certain intersections we would Uke to see thh'Omers held as being really strong.
and other Intersectionswe would like to delete from Ihe comer so that there Is
. actually space as you .... approaching the Inle~on, nus buIlding 80'OSS from
Xerox Is a great elfAIJlpI. of the renovation that has aealed open space. As you go
.In as a ~des trian and delete there, you come In off of m Camfno and it narrows
because you have a medlan slrlp with trees in It right In the center and it Is very
congested in a spatial sense. As you get to thai intersection It opens up and becomes
wider. That relief we think would be very important in terms of how you enter. So
this is an embodiment and the work is really exdting to see. Thar. what the heavy
lines represent,
Novem be, 5, 1992 Excerpt
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The last thing are these arrows. Basically they are areas where we would like to
continue seeing enhanced ground floor pedestrian-oriented type of thi~ss
windows for window shoppine, benches, etc. so that you encourage bringing retail
off of University Avenue onto the side streels and so that you ,Iart seeing more
activity on the streets.
That is thesurnmary oflhe districts, the symbols we are using. and Ihe way it is
organized. Th~ only thing that isn't Included here and that is in the report under
district guiding principles is on page 22. It is a fairly important idea, actually, on
edges. One of the hardest thing we had to figure out was what to do wHh the edges
and in some places the edges are very clear. On Alma Str ... 1 there is a very hard
edge where the rallroad track defines the edge of the downtown. Then whon you
are at Univen,ity Avenue, yotl wonder where the edge is between there and Ihe
residential neighborhood. Where does 'that start? That was a much softer edge. So
we looked at ideas about how you transition lrom oommerdal areas to these
residentia1 areas. l1tewhole idea was to reinfor~ the idea that ~he commercial
foclls, Lytton and Hamilton, and beyond that it really transitions at different rates to
residential areas. One of the things we're looking at to do is on page 17, the
transItions of landscaping. This idea is important. We looked at Ihe landscaping
and sidewalk pedestrian experience of the downtown, and then there's Ihe
landscaping sidewalk pedestrian experience in lheresidential area. We ratoo it over
four different levels as a way to look at how you h.ndie curb cuts, or landscape
median, or where the tree should go, or how much the buildings should be sel back.
If you read through this it is pretty straightforward. The main idea is that as you
get to residential areas, you increase the amount of pubUc landscaping that takes
place in the right-of-way. We felt very sITangly that was somelhing that w.s
achievable and would be a nice addition to how to link up downtown and at the
sam"e time not have dOlvntOwn seem too obtrusive to the residential area.
George Zfmmerman-I would like to summarize the five key areas that are
highlighted in the PJan as means lor implementation; there isr'~ one set way to
lmplement it. r will also reaffirm what Ms. Wilson said, that this plan is not to be
re8matory; irs intended to serve as a guideline. It isn't Intended to be a bible that
sits on a shelf; irs intended to be fiui<l and hopefully it will be updated and
modi fled as changes are neeessary over Ii me.
10 Novernber 5, 1992 Excerpl
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TIte /lvokey areas identified in the back of the rlan, beginnlitg on page 73, for
implementation would be: (1) through assessment districts, (2) matching capital
funds, (3) through Planned Community Zone changes, (4) through Cliy ordinanC<!S,
and (:» day.l<Hlay Implementation. Let me discuss each one briefly.
I. Assessment dlstrlct&. TIte suggestion for an assessment district would
ess€ntially be a business improvement district. Downtown had one experience
with a business Improvement district about tEn years ago and it was not
sucns.<ful. TIte reason It wasn't su<cessfulls that It started from the top down,
ralher than from the bottom up for a ground swell of support. Business
Improvement dlstrict& can be successful In two major are.s. One is to
supplement ongoing City mainlenance and also to complement capital
expenditures for certaln types of fixtures. I've mentioned other groups with
whom Ms. Wilson and I have met. I had the opportunity to be In New York last
April and even ventured into Times Square and stayed in Times Square where I
haven't been in ten years. I was amazed atnot only Ihe new development that
had OCC\lJ'l'ed Inere, bul how effectively it had been cleaned up. I spoke with the
hotel InMagor where J was staying'and I asked whal happened. He said a
business improvement district had been fanned in Times Square lor two years.
It was Inltiated by the family who owned the New York TImes and it has been
successful. One felt relatively safe. TItestreets were relatively clean. Sign age
was becoming uniform. One may not agree with some of the design guidelines,
because they are trying 10 aeatea Las Vegas affect, but the point Is, business
Impro\'ement dlstricts, if they have the support of the affected businesses and
property owners, can be suc<:essful.
2. Malchillg capital funds. There are Ih, .. sources identified in the Plan:
(l) using some assessment districts, I.e., business improvement district funds,
(2) privale donations, or (3) use of some of our CJP funds. Not ne<eSsarily in the
ror,text of matchlng funds, I'd like 10 point out that In our current CJP there is.
downtown lighting plan. So sonie of our implementation stralegies are already
going to fake place.
'3. Planned community zone change. Most of you on the ARB are aware of some
of the examples of the public benefits that have been derived from the PC 7.one
changes. We have Plaza Ramona and lh. enhancement 10 the alley and the
creation of the courtyard for that development. We have the rofurbishlngof the
Nov.m~r 5, 1992 ExC<lrpl 11
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Civic C.nl~r PIau, hopefully 10 make it more user-friendly. The necessary
, e><pendltures (or thallmprov.ment have resulled from the donations made from
the PC zone changelrom the old Pac1'ol buildlng at 529 Bryan I Sireel. Thors
been. very "llectlve mechanism to date.
4. City ordInA"~ 'I wanl to emphasize that the suggesled orciJnances would be
wry focu.,ed In nature. For example, an ordinance to regulale the proHferation
oIrww.paper racks, whIch would not only address the safety issues, but also the
4esthetlc ronre"ms.
5. DA)'-t<>-day lml'lemen!>lIon. Where we are today is an example of how the
Plan can be used (or day-to-<l.y Implemontallon, Not only forappllcants and
staff, b"t also {or members 01 the ARB to use the PI.n as a guideline. Again I
wo"ld emphasize "guldelin.," and not as a bible. I'm sure members of the
publk, parUrul.rly (Nm the design and development comm"nily when the
eronomy reoounds, will find that thJs Pian will serve as an excellent guideline
(or Idt'.ls as It) how develop and where.
I would also like 10 men lion where we are going wilh the public-review process.
We are doIng t-.... o types of outreach. One is voluntary, Ms. Wilson and her team,
ll1dudlng ""veral of us on tl1e sta(( and membors o( the very dedicared Urban
1)(>Slgn Committee, have mp.l on six oe<as:ons with various do\vnto\vn groups over
Ihe Jas. several weeks. Now we hayE', been meeting with the various advisory
boards and COmmissIons. Two w",ks ago we met wllh the Public Arts Comml<sion.
Yest~!d.y we met with the Historkal Resour«>sBoard. Today we ate meeting with
the Archn~a1 Review Board, and In Il,e early part of December we wHl meel
wHh the Legal Advlsory Commission. The two principal pubUc meetings
subsequent to Ihe advlsoty board reviews wiJI be the Plannlng Commission 111
De.:.!moor and the City Council!n January. The comments and recommelldations
that we Are re<:;)lviJog from these varlous informal outreach meetings, as well as the
recommendations thai we hope we wlJl r«eive [rom Ihe ARB will be transmitted 10
the CityCoundl. The dralt plan will be modified to reflect CoundHmproved
changes. We will print up. new document and that will be th. Plan that will be
distrlbuled to members of the puoUc, staff, and tl1e advisory boards to be used. We
areexclted about It. Ithlnk ills an extraordinary and opponune time for thls plan
to come oul. The economy has been on the down-turn and development activity
has been somewhal reduced. We hopefully expect that sometime in the near future
12 November 5,1992 Excerpt
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the e<Onomy will rebound and tlU. ,,111 serve a. an excdlenlloollo in'prove and
eMance downtown Palo Alto.
Nancy Lytle-There!s one point that I would like the ARB 1<' rover In your
comments. H Is one of thelUgheol items of conlroversy and It has to do w1lh Ihe
Board's Authorily 10 Implemenl theoe guJdelines. For property owners,ln
particular, we have h~ard concerns that !>ath staff .nd Ill. Board would take the ..
guidelines ",,4 tum them lntoregulaUons. They would bro>me 10015 (or requIting
propettyowners 10 Implement what Is In the P1m, Jthlnk the ARB needs to
comment on thai. Oearly Stlldelines <an be used to reinforce Bo.,d drosions. It [s
talked about In thedOCtlment Ihalls one way of Implementing these thinss. The
philosophy of how they would be used by the ARB need 5 to 00 submllled by
theARD.
Tony Cnr'!Ko--The reason [participated in this pr~slslhat throug" my 12
years ofexperlence 0" the ,tail and I"en on the ArchHe<:lural Review Board I
continuously heard almost a cons.en..~u, of what tohould happen downtown. but it
wasn't wrilten a.nYl\I~u're. We did review buUdi.ngs~ {or Instance, In this oorridor
(referring to transparency) looking at them in more dclall than bull4lngs farlher out,
but no where was It wrillen that was what we were going 10 do. This document, [
thInk,ls a rompU.i!on of !hal kind of feeling. Applicant< would "y, why didn't
you tell me that was what !he BoJJd WAS going to •• y. From my l"'.Ispective,I
!hought of it as an ARa.klnd of document, Somelhlng that we anUa p.te and put
into this as 'living document theexl"'rien~ that We find competenl th.t .re
coming through yoU! review process. ~use Irs alMng document, It l'n'l
regulation. These are Our experleocfS of what we find when we review projects, I
wanted torelnforre what Ms. l.ytle said. It Isn't regulation; It's meaJ\t to 00 a
guideline. This Isn't even a "should be" Issue; It Is. "maybe you mJght want to
consider" these issues.
Ms. Lytl<>--These are opportunltles.
Michael Lyzw.o--Fir,tof all,I thlnk the Urban Design Plan Is. marvelous idea,
think it Is an Idea that's gteatly overdue {or whatever reasons, whether It IV ••
political, economic, or what<!ver. I don't like to use the word "plan" as we use it,
because I think most people back Away the moment you use the word "plan ,n
Maybe the word "concept" should be used, Concept is whal the staf( and
November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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commitree are talking about; theyr.lalking about flexibility, ide." forums, bUllhey
aren't saying thlsis absolutely, positively, the law and you have 10 L"p!emenl lI,
'This urban desIgn concept Is fabulou.because it allows uS to begin organizing whal
I think is missing presently, and what [think we have be<!n sfrivlng for from d«ade
to deo1de, That is a concept and a theme, 'n,ose are missing, Th.", really ;,n'l a
strong theme through downtown Palo Alto Ihat you can relate 10. We ha\'e
identified the pluses and the things thai we really Ilke,
1 want to <ligress for a moment, Any 01 us who have had a ch.mce to travel a lillle
bit tl.rough Europe have seen there are so many marvelous urban design it'SSons to'
be learned in EUIope. One of the cities, for instance, that is vehicle-free Is VeruC<',
For obvious reasons you can't get cars In there. What In", does Is give yO\l a
wonderful city that has pedes m an-onented spaces, II always has dements of
swprise. It has very powerful vertical elements in cNtain areas, and it, is reliJliv~J'y
open. It has terrific plazas. You walk through narrow slreet; and you come 10 a
large plaza, There are fOlU1tains, there are soundsl there are smells of the Jood bt:-ing
cooked. People eat o ..... tside. There is music even a roupleof blocks away that }'OU
can hear because of the acou,lics. Prople live in Ihe city, r think for a very long
time in concept we were very arrogant towards the old worldl especially In western
civilization. We ha.ve cars; they don't have cars. We ha\'c skyscrapers; now we're
going to create a solid concrete city and "'arid, Thars exactly what we,.. created.
[would !ike for us, besides having this marvelous beglnnlng. Is maybe even add to
it the ideas of having flexible vehicle uses on University Avenue. !'or instance, if
you go to Golden Gate Park on a Sunday, cars are nol allowed. The (jrsllhlng that
happens is people walk in the streels, They don't walk on the sidewalks; they _II
seem to want to walk on the slreet;. I think we inherenUy hale vehicles. We reaUy
dislike them. Even when we were kid, we were told, don't run in the street because
you'll get run over by a car. This is a ctajor problem, Psychologlcally, even in a
place like Unlversity Avenue, you're always thinking. where do r cross, where lire
the sidewalks? How am I going to navigate from one side of the streelto Ihe olher?
Maybe we could consider the possibility, If not the whole Unlversi!y Avenue,
certain blocks at flexible hours so that vehicles would not be allowed, For instance,
past 6:00 pm. On nice summer nights people would love to venlure out onto the
S!reels and be able to walk and it would allow more outdoor seating for certain
14 November 5, 1992 ""cell'I
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restaurants. I would give It • little bit more Imagination. I know that's going to be
far-fetched and very difficult to sell.
Mil. Lytl~Some of the streel falre concepts are along those Unes. They are closing
the stree! this Sunday, ftS 1 understand it.
Thomas HIse'-There are a number of communities who do it one night a week
San Lui. Obispo does it one nIght a week and It's changed their downtown
tremendously. People who have never gone to the downtown now go more often
because they've had good experiences onThursday night.
Mr. Lyzw ..... Just that type of Idea. SomeUlb1g that doesn't cost much money, but
someth.ing that would add immenscly to the roncept that you've already
estabUshed. To talk about very briefly and to mention, and not in any regulatory
way, but to mention the idea of using trees. The idea of maybe using fountains.
AgaJnJ I don't me.an fountains because 01. water conservation t.hat we need
thousands of gallons cfwater, but just the sound of falling water sometimes is
delightful. Flower gardens. Sculptures. Areas that are quiet versus open areas.
Anytime you go to these older cities you discover small areas Ihal are delightful.
They are quiet. 11\.y are wilhout people. Then you walk a block over and there are
hundreds of people. Thlnes like that I think we should encourage, at least In a
writren form. It doesn't have to be very graphic, but in a written form m this
proposal that would get us to thmk m the future, so thai when someone comes in
with • project, we could entertam these Issues and see if It would become feasible or
possible m Palo Alto. I think we have to emphasize the .. para lion of pedeslrians
Irol)l vehicle.. ThIs Is somethmg very fundamenfal. We have to somehow try to
organize our concept to encourage that in possible form.
Also the Issue about vertical elements. Because of tho gteat success Palo Alto has
had in the past, espedaliy m the 1980's, with growth and people being concerned
about how we will accommodate [ulure office space, future automobiles,I think
what we Inadvertently created was a relatively flat height limit. We've sort of
controlled that by saying you couldn't go beyond thL, certam height. I'm not at ali
convinced that is the best concept. In areas that you ouUlned, I think it would be
advisable to allow a taller buUdlng to play off (:;~$e forms a.~d then to step down
and not 10 Untit ourselves to that single height. I wo'lid Uke for US to talk • little
about scale ch~J1ge on top of eve-tything that you've done in. very subtle way.
November 5, 1992 Excerpt 15.
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Again, I think Ihe Committee has donea superb job. I'm sorry 10 hear Ihal it took
(our years. I can undersland why it did lake that long, but I JUSI hope it doesn'llake
anolher four years to get it through. I think It's marvelous and it's going to be.
lerrllIc 1001. Ii we h~ve this in hano and we have Ihese ldeas md the energy is
there, II wUl be 80 mlKh more helpful In Ihe future. I think you've all done a
fabulous job.
M •. WUson-Il's interesting you brought that concept up, because II was one thing
we dldn'l dJscuss. There Is quite a bit of disrussion in the documenl.bout building
milSS and strong comers. We have done it In sort of a timid way, so I'm encouraged
bywhal you had tos.y. We haven't tried to breakthrough any .x'sling regulations
that thealy now has. We really felt this documenl as a first step in urban pl'Ming
oughl tobe a little cautious. What was attractive to me .bout what you were saying
aboutotreet closures is that people are very attached to their cars and it is. very
good way to introduce the concept. If people Uke it, it should grow naturally. They
mlght get so thai they love It and want!" do it for two night. a week and maybe
some day some blocks will be car fr.". II would be a great way to approach it.
Mr. H!s..-It could also be seasonal. For Instance between May and October when
people have the energ..,. and initiative 10 get out. It could really work.
Alnp Vlelra-da-Ro ... -The first trung I want to say, is thank you Srurley Wilson!
Ym. have worked and made this happen.
Ms. Wilson-Thank you, but Ihere have been a lot of people putting in alot of time
on this project. It has been a very hard working committee.
Ms. VI.lr.-da-Rosit-You have been the driving force. The ARB has talked about
this fora long time because we h.ve been inventing our own urban design plans as
we go along. That doesn't make sense because in every single project we review we
do Ihat. To have this guideline Is fabulous. These are urban design opportunilies
and onoe people get over the fear of more rules in Palo Alia, they will look through
thls document when they are plmnlng to do something and they wiU see that Ihey
ean da more, and In fact they are encouraged to do more, and there wiD be support
faT them If they want to do something that is a little different. Instead of putting in
aSpanish-style building that meets exactly the FAR. I'm thrilled h)' this. I haven't
16 November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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read aU th_ paS'" and Ihe detail, but I've gOllhe essen~ of what is going on. =', rommen t section by S<!ction.
A «>upie of IsSlles thai Mr. L)"'w. brought up make me a Uttle nervous. The idea
thai pedestrJl\J\S and \'clliclesare bad together. All cities have died when they
cl=d 0(( their major roads and they are now rropenlng them. At the same time, it
SlY"" poople an Idea. You have a chance 10 try things and $Upport new ideas
thar$ what I Uk. this document(or.·
ThJ.s documenl «>me5 01 a perfect time tn IOOOy'O meeting because we have !>elm
l.illdng about traffic conlNUets. W. were looking at ronerel' walls and wondering
U there was &<lme way you could Incolporate the conlIoUers lnto th. concrete walls.
Iitnere's an oVet.1! plan that says these concrete waU, don't really add a lot 10 the
City, It would be. reTtlblelhfng fo, one group 10 say, okay how are we going to {it
Ilw:le tlIlng. tnto the concrete walls, and then a year later based on the fact that
concrete walls look terrible, we have to pull them dow," but we can't because they
have th~e controllers. So, you have to ha.ve som~ sort of general idea 50 that you
dem't try 10 er .... what you've done before. r am thrilled to have lhis document!
I find S()me 01 the layoul. Utile hard 10 read. Ive you goln8 to have any color in
tI1e dorument7
Ms, WlISQn-Wc ate going to try. W. don't have the money lor It righl now, but
I'm hoping to go befo,e COU1lCU with a proposal. We know it needs a lot of graphic
lAyout help.
M .. Vi dra-d.·Ro9 ..... Th. I ,,1U really help 0101. Color does so much. I think thai Is
very importanl.
Anolher r~ctlon I had 10 a word thai Mr. L)"'Wz used was ~lhemes." I think that's
o word that peopleassodate with Dlmeyland. I knowwhal heme.".., though. [
don't thlJlk the ,.ord, nowever, .ppcared In the document. When you talk about a
"pedestrJan them .... In that sense it's a word thaI is associated with a paltieulal style
or 00101', 01 for instance, this Is the t'1t.alian thame/I or the ''Mexican theme," I think
that word doesn't help. [think words like "opportunity" and "encouragement" are
the words that this pfoposalshould use. A 101 of things Mr. LY"Walalked about ale
listed here In the dorumenl. Anyone who is reading through this would say,
"Wow, and then J could .•. " IT It comes forth as somethlngofficiaJ {rom the City,
Noyemb6,5, 1.992 8cC<lrpl 17
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they"YlIl fuel they are supporled, Plaza Ramona is an eXAmple of where Ihe owners
were wiUing10 slrelch and work with the CUy and do Ihlngslh.t were ooyond Ihe
nonn.
Thomas Hise-l would olso like to oo'''pllment Ihe Urban Design Conunil1E'o!. I
haven'l been Involved, and I've only oo.n hearing lillIe bits of Ii, bUll also Hunk it's
fantastic thatson'~i.r<hitects and develope!s in the rommlu>lty have par~dpaled In
this program and have, In fact, already Implemented a humber of th<'S<! ideas, while
Uus plan has 00en In progress, That says alot aoout Palo Alto,
Ms. Wilson-Irs a good slgn that the need Is there.
Mr. Hise--Yes. What! \VTO~e do\''lI\ next!o ~.hat on my nQt~ w",'s "'opportunity:
On the one hiU1d there are more bulldlngs that 0" Impacted than olhers In Ih" Plan
(or it to be implemented. I could see resistance on the part of some of !ho~
building owners, but at the same time J rould Se(' de\'(!loper:i and archilects in Ihe
commuruty who see opportunH:es with. CErta.in buUdings Ihat would sa)" you Hunk
you have a problem and we think we would like to have your problem. In olher
words, because that's where we think futUIe developmenl will be. So Ih~ archHects
and developers will actually 7~ro In on certain buJlding> Ihat they w,ml h> develop,
where maybe the present owner feels Jt Is a liability where Ih.re wiU be pressure on
him anytime he d<X'S anythlng 10 his bulldlngto Iry and conform I() Ihls Plan. I see
it as an opportunity. The community has a history of having an active de\-~Iopmel'tl
rommunity that actually is going olit and S<'lzlnglhese opportunities from olher
land owners who feel this is all a wasle of Hme, [UUnk thar. \'Ory positive,
I moved here In 1980 and al U,a' time Pak.Allo kind of rolled up the sldew.lks
around 6:00 in the evening, There weren't more than slx businesses In thi? whole
downtown U\Ot were open ooyond norm.1 office hours, oosically. A big pari of the
downtown was used for office space. I don'l know all the hlslory lK>hlnd II, but we
came up with an actual ordinance where we crealed pedestrian distrIcts and said
that when uses were to convert they were mandated 10 go to pro:cstrian-oriented
retail busL ... ses. At the time r though I it was going to be diflicult to implemenl and
have a happycommwuly. I didn'l fully undersland the wisdom in thaI. In lact, [
don't think the people who were in on that ever envisioned the life that Palo Alto
would come to, mostly related 10 U>at ordinan<e. This is a lolally different
oommunityon any evening 01 the week than it eve, was 12 years .go. It was dead
18 November 5, 1992 Excerpl
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12 years ago. My argument would be that I ean see a stronger point lor making this
something more than optional .. I understaJ\d that nobody wants more legislation
and the community h.s resis'ted, but I think we can point to thefoet that the
pedestrian retall district has changed the face of thls communiI)' and nobody can
deny that. I'm still amazed by it every evening when I come to the downtown
compared to the way it used to be. We used to joke and say, "What happt'ned to IUs
communiI)' after 6:00f' It just dJes, There was 42nd Street and Good Earth Was
opell until about 9:00 pm and the Varsity Theater. You could name a hand-full of
business.,; and a couple ofrestaurants downtown and that wasH, It'sa totally
different <'Ommuni I)' now.
I could very easily see this as write-ups for our standards for ARB th.t the first
standard review is wheth .. , the design Is consistent and compatible with applkable
elements of the City's Comprehensive Plan, The Council cOtdd then "y, ond Ihr
Urban Design Plan. It would be somethlJ.g that we could make exceptions (or. We
oould say we undersland that this partkular building isn't wrut this owner is trying
to do and It doesn't lit the Urban Design Plan, and as an advisory group we could
make a finding to suppoti that or to go against it. But, I think iI wuld actually
become a part of our legislation, and I wo<lId Uke to see it go that way. I would
argue the retail districts are. good example that could happen. In fact, this could
be softer than that, That was actual hard legislation that I felt at the time put an
undue burden on propetiY owners, and I think there was a great deal 01 uproar in
the community at the time. Property owne", who didn't see that as totaUy positive,
but t/1 at we were putting a lot of eggs in the basket that retail would be better for
the downtown than offices and they would be stuck with space thAt they rented OUI
l>ecause rIO retail wanted it. We found that not to be the case. I would like to see it
become one of our standards of review and that's the way I would encourage the
Council to adopt it. Again, that's fairly soft compared to legislation that actually
mandates cetialn kinds of physical changes to the City.
In eomplementto that I thlnk the Cil)'mlght also eonsider a building enhancement
or some kind of regulation, similar to our seismic upgrade. There are low interest
monies and other thlngs for seismic upgrades, Maybe a program where when
certain land owners dJd somethlng that really enhanced the urban plan, they could
have a tax break or maybe there is some matching money or some e"petitse
avallable, or some zoning ordlliances that eould be more flexible, To enhance the
November 5, 1992 Excerpt 19
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PC proress, but again using the seismic upgrade as a modeL We did it for this other
thing that we thought was very important; in fact, I think we were mandated by Jaw
to do someUUng there, So, we took the burden and hardship olf property owners
by a program, I think this could have a similar klI1d of program that goes along
with it. I don't know if you discussed thatin the document, but it might be another
way of having to Implement it,
M .. Wilson-We talked about it, but It Isn't in the document,
Mr. H~And as far OS the concrete barriers go, if there was a plan aloot or
somebody wanted to .tart one, I would be h.ppy to partidpate, if we wanted to get
a group of people and decldeto demolish some ofthose with volunteer heip, I
think you could find enough skilled help tha t we could actuaUy do an in hlrsection
every now and then. I see that as something th't is very possible to do. Again it
could fit Into the new theme that seems to be very popular now, which is that
volunteer organizations could take on some of the public projects. Some things that
are very urgent could be handled in Ihat way.
] am more fa.miliar vvith the d(,)('Ument now after this presentation. It is an excellent
presentation. I love the graphics. Gloria Humble elid a beautiful job. The art is
wonderful. All that will be well-received with e,'erybody.
I don't know what type of action we are required to make foday, but I would vote to
take more formal action at our next meeting.
Ms. Lytle-It would be nice to have a lonnaJ motion of what your consensl\S is on
the document.
Chalnnan M...,r-I thought this was 11l0re or less a session to gather our thoughts.
I hope the minutes will be recorded in some manner, beea", .. 1 ihink there have
been a lot of really interesting ideas that have corne forth from the session.
Ms. Lytle-We will have a transcript of the minutes, which wiU be forwarded to the
other commissions.
Chairman Maser-I! is amazing what has been done. Who was responsible for all
of the eliagrams?
Ms. Wilson-David Gates. We had a consultant early on this project.
20 November 5. 1992 Excerpt
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BNre FlIkuJl-TI,. base drawings were done by staff.
Ou.lrow\ Maser-It shows a tremendous amount of effort and they are beautifully
done. J was interested In Mr. Lyxwa's <"ammenis about closing off University
Avenue for partoHhe day. When [first came 10 thls community 26 years ago, [
wrote a leiter to the edJtor of the then Palo Alto Times and made that exact
suggestion·-that University Avenue be closed off. [think I had just come back
from visiting Europe and wa.lotally smltten with European Ufestyleand the even
mOVem<11 I and the deUght of having s!reelsc.ape that was turned inlo a plaza. Irs
sWI. dmun of mine. II may be a dr'earn that is never realized, but the thlng thai
I'm concerned .bout is In legislating an~'!Iung Uke this, which would preclude the
posslt>lUtyoiactuaJly doing that, l£ there was some proposal that came in that
hadn't been ",nsldored In all of the ""ealive thinking that has gone Into this Plan
that "..,suddenly found would make the City come alive evell more. [would hate
10 think we were closing our eyes 10 that posslbllily by legislating what we have
!>clow us. [think the Idea of this being a Stoldeline with some flexibility is much
more oomfortable tome than trying to put this into a more regent format. The
Important thing is that the public be made aware of this d()('ll.ment right off the bat.
It WOI\'t be an clfective document If there isn't public awarene5S of it. If the public
was 'ware of Its exlsten", and would be able to study and work with staff ahead of
time before formulating any idea. on < spedfic project, we would be so far ahead of
the game In that ""'peer. I thirok that's why various projects succeeded the way they
did """ause there was that awareness and inter.ction early on the project and alot
. of dedlc.~on from people like Ms. Wilson and others to resolve what have become
v~ry su=sful projects.
In that regard, I consider this document a little bit too long and too verbose. It was
an effort {or me to get through this documenl. J did read the whole document, and [
kept thlnking if this was about half as long and the visual parts of II, U-.e charts and
pholOSTaphs were twice as bIg and twice as .asy to read, for me it would have been
a far more effective document. r would like to go through and cut out half the
verbiage In here. There is repetition; there are .Iot of word. that don't need 10 be in
there. When r was a student in Carmel and took creative writing. my roonunate
who was very good In English used to say, now go through it and cut out 50% of the
. words.lId you'll have a reputable document. That's how r felt about this
document. It is too much to expect the public to go through aU this and it is too
NovemberS. 1992 ExC<!fJll 21
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disorganized rlghl now, elc.lo expect anyOOdy 10 getintoH. 1 think you would
hwe a much more cffe<tiva tool if il co\lld be edited way down.
Some 01 the 'peciRcsuggesllol\S ",nd out a double m..sage. We are saytng on the
one hand that W~ don't want lhis 10 be. d .. lgn 1001; we wanl it 10 encourase de.sign
and we want it to pr...,nlSClme opporlunlti .... Yet at Ihe same lime, we're getting
some very sp<dfic re<.'Onunend_Uons In Ihe document, which sends out.
contradictory double m .... ge. 111.n"" huge critidsm, bUI the first thing I saw on
page 12 was a drawing of Ihe in lerSJ;<1i on of Al rna showing suggestions for how to
improve the "kno!." Although It I'probably a gr._Ild.a, "'hen we gel down 10 thai
level of detail, I think we're tryfng 10 design a little bil mor.lhon we should be.
In 6wnmary,I think this d""""'ent will be. wond.,ful tool. I would encourage
you 10 continue with it and work tOWaIds. brevit)· and darity 50 thaf it be<:omtlS a
nlore subslantial tool for the pubUc allaIgo.
Mr. His~--11\is rommunHyis so lu('ky th"t we don't have a surface rajl \.unnection
here like so many romm uni ties up and ~Iown the peninsula have. \Ve have major
thoroughfares, El Cam"'o Real and then rail,.U thal,url,ce. We talked about Ihal
belng a "knot:' and you "on go into ronununlU ... on Ihe peninsula wh.re CalTran
goes right Ihrough Ihelr communlty and haw Ih.t surface right In tlldr maIn
dO\'ffitown an"'€S$. It's such a mess. San i\{a!eo~ BurBngan,C", San Bruno. Moun.lain
View I. even a mess. We are so lucky Ih'l we have Ihat problem to deal wilh ralher
than what someolherrommunlliesllaye,espe<i.lly with EI Cam"'o Real so close
arId then Alma Street. Weha"ealilhal rom~lg 10geUter and we'r.lucky we don't
have thall'101>iem.
Ms. WUson-Tharslntorestlngbecause Ihat's recognized as a problem.
Mr. Hlso-Take any of Ih..., olher oommunUles and try to gellnlo Ihem when they
have two lanes of tracks ""d then. major thoroughfare on either side of the tracks
and then one oomlng inlo Iheirdownlown area. It re.Jly screws up their
downtown.
Ms. Wilson-in some c .... they are undergroundlng. They're ending up with two
levels. They arehaving 10 move buildings away that are near Ihe railroad !Tacks.
22 November 5, 1992 Excerpl
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Mr. His~lt is • problem, built's a probll'mlhalls beller 10 have than whal some
other commUJlltles have.
M .. Lytl~A strong statemenl needs 10 come from Ibe ARB 10 Ibe CO\Uldl.
Mr. Zlmin~Today you have reviewed and rommented. On )'our ne~t
agenda you could make a specific rE<Omffi0ndation.
M .. Lytle-One thing r would Uke to clarify. I don't tMnk a rode amendmenl
would be necessary for you 10 apply the oon<epts of tlUs document In your decision
maklng. It says, "ac.."Ording to Ilndlngs and .tandards contained In this ct.aprerand
such additional standards Ib.t may be adopted and published by Ihe City Council
from time to time-,ll
Mr. H~-That's what I meant.
Ms. LytI~You could just recommend that this be used aa one of th"".-e standards.
ChaiJrnan Masel'-Why couldn't It be the same way that we use Ibe FJ Comin" Real
guidelines?
Mo. Lytle--It could be. The E1 Camino Real guidelines, hOlVever, are a bad
ex=ple.
Mr. Hise--Yes, /U\d also r wouldn't put It ~lto l<>gIslation so that It be<...",e f!Jred.
The only reason I was suggesting that was nol that 11 should berorne a fhed
document, because r think the beauty 01 It is U,at lI'tays • flexible dorument.
Jim GillUand-That was Ibe intent with the El Camino Real Guidelines ar,d the
Pedestrian Guidelines.
Outlmwl Maset'-r think all of US would embrace Ibat wlth enthusiasm.
Ms. WIls<>n--One of Ibe things we became very aware of is some attitudes Irom
various conslituendes in Ibe conununity. We have tried very carefully to make this
Plan aoceptable to everybody. Jim Saer said that he doesn't want another regulaUon
in his life. It's imporlant that Jim ll.er and people like hlm support this kind of
document. r think we can go easy in Ihe beginning on this. r hope pe<.ple will look
November 5, 1992 Excerpt 23
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at it evo,ty few years and make changes and keep buying into it with more and more
s:<ength as time goes on and we don't aUenate people early on.
Mr. HIs_I don't know the me<hanlcs pfit, bulls this an appropriate docwnent if
it's found acceptable by all to be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan? As
part of the downtown element of Ule Comprehensive Plan?
Ms. Lytl~There is a section in the current work program that says Urban Design
and there's an element in the existing Comprehenslve Plan.
Mr. HIs~ YOIl could actually go that far where it becomes incorporated into the
ComprehenslvePlan.
Ms. Lytl~It could be incorporated or it could be a reference document.
Mr. Z!mmennan-I see It more likely as a reference document with perhaps a
s\In\lnation of the principle features of the Plan in the Comprehensive Plan.
Ms. Wilson-I wouldn't want to burden this ,document with the type of review that
the Comprehensive Plan legally has to deal with and the kind of public exposure.
ChairaulJ\ Maser--Thars. very good suggestion-to make it a reference
dOc\lrnent.
Mr. His~ part of your presentation to the Council might be some levels where
they might Implement this. I see that this needs to be a document that isr.'t on the
shelf, buton the wall. Llke these drawings are on the wall so that the community
regularly sees them. They are either on the wall in the Planning Department, or on
the ground floor so that irs important enough that people see itall the time.
Ms. Lytl..-r would like to make a comment about the lack of professional editing
input in the docwnent. We would ~ke to have money {or that, which we don't now
have. I think Ms. Wilson intend, to a.k fOlSome professional editins. One thing
that this board needs to understand and people like myself who are spatially and
visually attuned need to remember, is that there Is a large segml'tlt of the
conununlty that is verbally oriented. They look at aeliagram and don't underst.nd
It. They have to read it in order to understand it.
Chairman Masel"-I think it has to be a combination.
24 November 5.1992 Excerpt
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Mo. l.yUe-Yes, but pro(esslonal editing i. clearly n~ed. It is something that we
have asked (or in our Comp'ehensive Plan as a result o(tlUs e,erese, frankly. The
budget for editing was deleted from the Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Hts-There will be. number of J"'Ople who won't n~ to read this in orde, to
buy into It. Once they see the presentation, conceptually that would be enough for a
lot of people.
Mr. l'ukuJI-It took such a long tin1e to verball"" a lot of Ideas. We got all that
down. For staff to get It to this level is a great achievement. For everyone. Thalis
what ",me out and now It's ready for editing. We know there were some sections
IMt were rather wordy and It talks about things that everybody already knows
about. The redundancy ne«ls to be thinned <,ut without losing the content.
Mr. Zlnunerman-l have a question about procedure. These comments will be
recorde<i. today and then the Item will be on the agenda for two weeks, so no monon
is ne<eSSary today.
Mr. GIllUand-,That Is correct.
Ooalrman MasoI"-1 would like to request that each of the lIoard members who
C()me to the next rnee~!1S bring a list of some of the things they would like brought
up before the City Coundi,
Ms. Lytle--I would advise also that you list your most important points. II's hard
when the Council gets Inundated, There wlU be comments from several boards and
commissions, such as outside groups, property owners, et~. The more concise and
the more you can get your priorities in. formal statement, the more it will have
an Impact.
Mr. Zimmerman-I would also like'to point out that in terms of outreach, over 700
individuals, bUsinessES, and property ow"ers have already been notified in our
outreach efforts for our downtown presentation. r wouldn't say that attendance has
been outstanding. but it has been significant in tenns 01 who has attended, so the
word is getting out there.
November 5, 1992 Excerpt 25
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NEW/OLD BUSINESS
Agenda itom No, 2
Dec<>mber 3, 1992
Archlfectural Review Boerd
Excerpl
Downtown UlbAn [)eslgn Plan. Review and reronunendation
to City CounciJ.
ChaIrman 1\faser-1 wrote some' re...'"Offimendations, based on some of the comments
I t:!lhde at the previous meeting. I starled 'wilh some general romments, which were
in particular dlre<:led 10 Shirley Wilson:
11 Is eXcili"slo su In prinllh, OIlminolion '" yam ollhoughllul and
tAltnlttl inpul/rom Ih. dflliOllfll group IIr,' ha,,,, been volunlrering Iheir
tf{orls/o Ihls end. TIll. tJwutd be an i"vol"nble ,,,,,1 and resource for the
romrnullily. /I will.1$o be 0/ gr"" benefillo those of us on various boards
and comm/s$lollS/nl!O/rwl in Ihe pltysi",,1 dwelopmenl of Ihe downlown ",M.
Qmg"l/u I./lons 0/1 alremendous Jobl' •
Irs wondcrlul to..,., this document., Although moot of my comments tend to be
al\ld.ms, they Are m.~nt 10 be In th~ spirito! good criticisms. These are
r.ltera~Otl9 of things r said At the!!!st meeting wl1en we discussed this item.
1. This dOCllrnmllrould be mDre effecti .... if it could be silorlened considerably. This
flUr:l oocur Ihrough some exltnl Ihroug.~ Ihe editing process. Additionally you mily
wanl 10 use an ""Wne frrrmAi wflh more headlines and less vtr,,",ge when
apprcpriAle, Prople are busy and inu"dAlttl with reporls, etc., and brevity can ,naJ:e
• s/1()11get, more aaessible rtftrence.
December 3, 1992 Ex""rpl
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2. There is. concern Ihal scme of Ihe sptciJic slalrmmlsand sliggestio"s 8D beyond
8uideline sla/o,s. Tile "Ian M()U/d allow for nnd '"COli rage (olllJ!',lible ",a/i,,,
solulions lhal tnRy nol conform /0 scm, of tire ,uggC::lrd ([esig" id(tls as pr=r.led.
3. The diagrams rrre wonderful "Wions 10 Ihe lal for /Ir= of U$ ... 0110 a" ,.isually
cmtnled. ~ 01 Ihem are reduced 10. point ",1I"e the/(l/ains ill Ihe ,rolc::
becomes almost "igible. Please make sure '''<y are u .. 1.ble am>" any """=ry
nolalions rl1t omilled.
Then I Jisted seven very spedfic commenls~ whiel, J l\''Ol\~t re.,d. 1 rerer Ie. pages
within the document and they have 10 do wllh sprone i"u<'S. I reduced m)'
comments 10 those thaI I thought were: the most imporlant, sinre we will all be
commenting on Ihe document lonlghl.
Nancy LyU<>-1 would like action from the Board as a whole., to "helhcr or nol
you endorse this plan in generaJ, ghren these provis-os. Staff "","'ould like IQ pass on
to the PJaIU\ing Commission and City Coundl what the Board oonSE'nSUS is on
the Plan.
MOTION: Anio Vie!ra·da·Ro .. --llhink Ch"alrm.n Maser's first comment would
make a wonderful moll on. I think tho Bo.lTd should really sirongly
support this, 3.lId strongly support .ny money Ibat Is nO<X>Ss.'Y (or
addHjonal ediling because ~ .. 'e want thls documenllo be us...'>d and not
be so cumbersome that It can'l be used. Any additional money that's
necessary to make the diagrams In color "oold be helpful, beeaUS(! in
black and white they a,oloo labor-IntensIve to work. 1 personally
would supporl achange in Ihe name o( the document to somC!hing
like 'Vrban Design OpportuJllIles," !Je.:ause the whole point of this
should be enthusiasm on eve,}'one's par! that tIlete Is sOJl\elbing extra
that Ihey can do, nol a plan or something that Is imposed on them.
ll\.h why r think il's Imporlant thai the name be changed 10
something that Is more enthusiastic. So, in addHion to what has been
said, those are the things that r reel would be Important 10 be Induded
in the motion and could be added 10 the paragraphs written by
Chairman Maser.
December 3, 1992 ExC<lrpl
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Chairman Maser-Perhaps you could write that information on this sheet and we
could give It to staff.
M .. Vleir.·da-Rosa----'Maybe the first ~ne of your comments should reod, "The
ArcltitecturioJ Review Board strongly supports adoption of this document."
Chalrman Maser-I think that .totement should be at the end. It would make even
more of. statement.
AMENDMENT: M& Vleir.·d.·Ro'lt-1 would add the last senten", to read, 11r<
ARB strongly supports Ihis documenl and for oddiHQnal fuM. for
editing, profrssional/ormatling alld (olor mhancemtlll, 10 mIlke Ihl'
documenl rosy 10 use and an exciting loo/.
SECOND: Thomas Hise.
MOTION CARRIED: The motion was carried lUlanimausly, with Michael Lji1.wa
absent.
Shirley Wilson-Thallk you so much for making tm, work after all this time.
Chalnnan Masel'-When did you start working on it7
Ms. WlIson-ln 1989.
Ms. LytI ...... Jack Sutonus was mayor. It was live yeaTS ago when it was authar17ed
and the worked progressed from there.
Me. Wllson-Once again, thank you for your support. I hope It is useful 10 )'Oll.
Ms. Lytl ...... 1 woul.d also Uke a representative from the ARlIlo attend the Planning
Commission meeting on this item next week. It is a spedal meeting. It starts al
6,00 pm with a presentation from the Board in this room. Then questions can be
asked and they willadJ<>urn to the Chambers at 7;00 pm lor. public hearing on the
item and then they will take their action on the item. Hopefully tltis will aU occur
before 7;30 pm when their regular meeting starts.
Ms. Vlelr.·d.·Rosa-I will attend the meeting on December 9, 1992.
o..cember 3, 1992 Excerpt 3
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ATTACHMENT J
December 2, 1993
HONORABLB C1TY COUNCIL
Palo Alto. California
Attention: Policy and Se~vices Committee
REVISEQ DRAFT DOWNTOWN lIll!!AN DESIGN RESOVRCIU\ru:HJUOO:ll
,,'embers of the Council
·REPORT IN BRIBF
This report submits to the Policy and Services Committee a
r.evised Draft OO'lomtown Urban DeSign Plan, which includes ch~Jlges
made to the document after Council referral to ConRittee on
February 22. 1993,
lJACKGROUlID
At the City Council meeting of Pebruary 22~ 1993, R public
hearing was held on the Draft Downtown Urban Design Pla~. The
Council referred the plan to the policy and Services committee
for discussion on a 9~O vote. Since th~t time~
•
•
Piscussion of the p1an was agendized for the· May 18, 1993
Policy and 'Serv'ices me~ting. Upon hearing that the U.l"ban
Design 'Committee and interested downtown property owners had
agreed ta hold several meet~ngs to try and resolve property
owner concerns about the plan, the C~~ttee delayed its
discuBBion.
The Urban Design Corrmit.tee held two meetings in July with
several major downtown property owners (Chop Keenan, Jim
Baer and Warren Thoits) to discuss concerns and possible
revisions, and also received written comments.
• The Urban Design Co~~ttee then held several editing
sessions in Jilly, August and September to produce a revised
draft plan taking into consideration the comments received.
CMR: 603: 93
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• The revised drAft. was distribut.ed to the three pl;operty
owners for their review and C:cmYncnt.
DISCUSSION
The Urban Design comnit-tee is n9w retutning to the policy and
Services Committee with the revised draft and requesting that the
CooYnittee recom:nend adoption of the plan to the City Council. A
copy 6t the August 10, 1992 draft Plan 1s attached to Council
Mfrmbers'. cQpies of the .staff report to facilitate comparisons
with the revioed draft.
11l.e subfJtantive changes made to the document include:
• Referring to the document as a "resource reference" rathe!"
than a "'p'J.an lll ;
• Htghlighting the pStatement of Intent" by f1k-.king it the
first sect.ion of the document with bold type;
111 In each District description r the JlArchitectut"e Guid~lines"
h'ere xemoved and, when appropriate. were incot-porated lmde:a:
"Obset-vationsl:l', no· .... titled ~Urban Design Observations".
Guidelines whi.ch relate to public improvements were retained
under a now section called "public AI'ea Guidelines""
• The general IlArchitectur€ Guidelines ll , beginning on page 57,
wer~ substantially edited and reduced in number by half.
e t>fany of the specific language changes suggested "'1ere also
incorporated.
• Additional language suggested by t.,,·o members of the Public
Arts, Commission regarding public art and use of art concepts
in building and amenit}' design was also incorporate.:1.
Tho Urban Design Committee feels they have made & cencerted
effort. to respond to the concerns of the property .owners. While
the tl'lree property Olmcrs with whom the Committee met are
probably'still not completely satisfied, the Committee believes
strongly that the document cannot absorb additional significant
changes' without 'sacrificing the overall vision and intent.
Additionally, prior to first seeking adoption by the City
Council, the Committee did ext.ensive outreach to ether downt'own
owners and merchante and received support for the plan (see the
attached Planning Coomissien staff report dated December 4,
1992) .
CMR,603,93 12/2/93
Page 2
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RBCOMMBtIt'ATION
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Staff l'ec~nds that the Polic'y and Services Co«rnittee!
1) Recqrnmend adoption of the Downto~n Urban Design document to
the City Council, and
2) Consider the Urban Design Coomittee'8 request for additional
tunding to professionally edit and finalize the document
{sr.e attached letter from Shit"ley Wilson dated February 18,
19931.
Respectfully Dllbrnittl!(\,
Il,'/flr. ~;"r ~d<j~
/WICY fl. LYTLH
Chief PlalUling OfFicial
KBNNBTH R. SCHRBIBBR
Di~ector of Planning and
COOiT.unity Bnvil'onment
trp~~~
City Manager
Attactunents,
Letter from Shirley Wilson d.ted 2/18/93
Hxcerpt minutes ot the policy &. Services Com:nit.tee
meeting of 5/1S/93
Public Art Commission statement dated 5/18/93
CMR.,251,93 dated 4/22/93, 'OIithout attachments
CMR,174,93 dated 2/18/93, without I1ttachments
Rxcerpt minutes of City Council mMting ot 2/22/93
Planning Commission Staff Report dated 12/4/92,
without attachment.
Revised Draft DowntoYn Urban Design dated 10/93
Draft Downto"n Urban Dosign Plan dated 8/10/92 (Council
Melllbere only)
cc: Urban Design C'Oimllttee
Chop Keenan
Jim Baer
Warren Thoita
Susan Wexler
Sandy Bakin8
12/2/93
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AT'l'ACHMENT K
MOTION PASD~D 4-0.
E!CERPT minute, of the Policy & Services
Comn!ttee meeting of /loy 18. 1993
Chairperson slmitian confirmed the proposal for the visit to the
bowling alley as raised by the P&S Committe •.
~~8;48 to 6;5U...m..
4. Draft Downtown Urban pesign P.l1tn
Chief Planning official and zoning Adolnistratol" NanGY Lytle
introduc~d three members of the Urban Design cormittee (UOC):
David Zin).-;-Drody, Tony carrasco, and Detty Meltter. Staff had
conducted individual. me.etings wtth council Kembers and t ... o prop9rt.y
owners, Chop Keenan and Henry Gow. staff reinforced tho int€nt ·of
the UDC, staff, and the ArchItectural Review 1308):"<1 C"'RD) to utilize
the document with flexibilIty and creat:ivity. The uoc recognized
the Downtown Ul'ban Design Plan (the Plan) nc:;:;ded hoth puhlic and
private support c:md had :made efforts in t.he past to enqage property
owners to address Council throu9h correspondence or pel"'soll~llY.
Mr~ Keenan had committed to organize a gl"OUP of pl..'vpcrt}' mmers ;:,nd
had formed a Downtown Property Owners ParKing-COl:!'.l:3ittf"!Q. The l10C
was willing to "Work with the group to exanine SOr.lE' of their
specific objections to the fot:l!!at or lall9ua98 in the Plan~
conflicts with zoning regulations I or languago \,'hich night ht!
interpreted as rEgulation, since it was not the intent ot tho
documeht. Many objections to the Plan could be elittinatcd throuqh
a crosu-ed-ucation procef>s. The tlDe recoqni'Zed there night ntl II be
differ.ences of opinion at the outset. staff aSKed for t.he P&S
committee to approve a 90-day cOlltinuance to allow U Gories or
meetings to occur with the Downtown property Owners Group. star!
would return at· the conclusion of the 90 (lays.
Chairperson Simitian read a letter from. Chop Keehan, '/00 l:.narson
street (on file in th" City Clerk's Officel, which in<licated
Mr. l<eenan had met with Shirley Wilson and Betty Holt2.Qr regardinq
property owner.!'; r concerns with the Plan. Tho 9rouP would ftcct
during the next few lIlonths to detonline "Whether the editorial.
concerns could be handled in a different nanner in the text. Mr.
Keenan requested the item be continued for 90 days. Chairporson
sirnitian asked whether tho -members ot the publ ic 'Who wished to
speak should do so after the 90-day period.
council Member Huber believcd the Public Art cvmrnission (PAC) was
interested in having its comments in a letter when the Downto"Wn
Plan was rEt.Visited~
Ms. Lytle agreed.
05/18/93
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Chel.!rperson Silnitian believed all of the materials should return to
the P&S committee ~hen the issue was ~evisited, including comments
made by the PAC incorporated as part of the packet materials.
Public Art Commissioner Sandy Rakins said the PAC Has pleased to be
able to participate in the s:eview of the" l'lan and was glad to see
public art mentioned on page 65 {the Plan) 4 It 'Was encouraging to
see the use of art in improving and guiding the look and feel of
urban areas in Palo Al to. While concentration in the past had
remained with iJniversity Avenue, there were other areaR which
warranted impr,ovement. she wanted to see artists as part of design
teams in' projects. Artists provided more creative outlooks and
were good at problem solving.
Public Art commissioner Susan Wexler presented a letter, dated
May lS, 1993, (on file 'in the City clerk's Office) I which at,tempted
to explain what public art had come to mean over tll9: past 10 to 15
years. The qluE! lJhich held the Plan toqetheJ.· was an art concept
and was what public art should be used for. Artists brought
innovative and exciting ideas into regular uses.
David Zink-Brody, 400 Ortega Avenue, ~ember of the Urban D3Sig~
Committee, agreed to defer final recommendations until completion
of. the' 90-day period, as discussed. He thanked council fat' holding
t.he public hearing and fOl' the patience and support. Many inroads
had been made in the past few months into the issue of art in tho
business community, and he u~ed continuing with specific outreach
methods to the PAC.
Chairperson Simitian said the item had bORn referred to the PbS
Co~r.tittee in an effort to determine 'Whether some competing concerns
expressed by members of the Committee and t.he bUsiness cO!U'(lunlty
~ould be balanced. He thanked the UDC.
Council Member Knie:-s said the UOC had 'Worked very hard, goinq above
and b~yond what was required.
KOTION TO CONTINUE: Co'.moil Member 'Kniss moved, seconded by
Pazzin'o, to cont,f.nue the Downtown Urban Design Plan to the
Septenber 1993 Policy and Services Committee meeting.
Chairperson Simitian believed the outreach of the' UDC to other
groups besides the business community needed no fornal motion.
Council Member Fazzino said the UDC 'Worked vory hard to educate
everyone, help Council to understand the effort and purpose of the
document" and allay fears and concerns expressed during the
February 1993 Council meeting.
"OrION T~ CONTINUE P~SSED 4-0.
05/18/93
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I
AT'J'ACI!MI1NT A
CHRONOLOGY OF ACTIOl,S RJ1L11TBD 1'() PREPARATION OF THE
DOWNTOWN URBAN DB SIGN PL1IN
A complete chronology"of the preparation of the Draft UDP,
outlining all Council actions and Committee activitiea which
pr~ceded the December 7, 1993 Policy and Services Committee
meeting, is presented below:
• .l!!..l6. ~ The recommendationg of the Downtown· Study, which
reduced the amount' of development allowed in downtown, are
implemented. During its final actions on the Study I the
Council established the Ternpo~ary Committee on Downtown
De.ign and Amenities, The pu~o.e of the Committee 'a.
stated in the attached IIReport on Corrmittee
Recommendations n , dated January 30, 1987 and revised
February 20, 1987) was to develop amenities and benefit
criteria and appropriate incentives for future projects in
the Downtown area. In exchange for the provision of these
special benefits, projects might be permitted to exceed the
new zoning regulations (primarily floor area and project
oize limitations).
• t:1id..l..2.B.1. -'l'he final recorrrnendations from the Temporaty
Committee on Downtown Design and Amenities are adopted by
Council (refel: to IIReport on Committee Recorratlendations" and
the attached minutes of June 8, 1987 Council meating). The
Committee had concluded that provision of amenities and
benefits could not he realized effectively without the
guidance of a conceptual urban design plan for the downtqwn
area. They recommended that staff be directed to develop a
work program for preparation of a plan, along the following
lines:
1. Specify the conceptual {contrasted with being site
specific) nature of the plan;
2. Identify the basic elements of such a plan, e.g. I
19cation guidelines for amenitiesj design guidelines
for alley upgrading; and design and location guidelines
for future parking facilities;
3. Describe the format for such a plan whi'ch would include
a visual presentation of the design guidelines;
4. Suggest that a task force conSisting of local design
talent and other members of the corrmunity prepare the
design plan; and
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S. SJ}acl.fy the limi.ted extOllt of public funding, i.e., for
tonsultrult' grt,phic assistance, possible facilitator
sBtvi-coa and ior City Administrative assistance.
· • ~ia2 -Staft returned to Council with a wo~k program
developed along the guideline. of the Amenities Committee
reCOI."m'Iendation. The work program, which. is att.a.ched to this
report, V38 adopted by the City Council on October 5, 1987,
and the Hayor was directGd to appoint an Urban Design
Committee (refer to attached minutes of October 5, 1987
Council meeting).
• Lot' 1991 -A ten~marnber Urban ~8ign Commdttee is appointed
and a design consultant hired to provide facilitation and
graphics a.slstnnce.
•
•
•
,TU06 1988 ~ Council adopts 1988-1989 Almual Budget, which
cOOTnits Planning Division staff l;esources to the Urban
Dasign Plan eftort.
J~ -Council adopts 1989-1990 Annual ".dget, further
conmittlng, staff l,"6'.wurcas to the Oz."ban Design Plan effort,
o11e yc;ar: beyond original work program estimate,
June 129~ ~ Council adopts 1990·1992 Two Ye~r Budget j
cont-1m,ling to cOITroit staff resources to the Urban Design
P.lan.effot't~ two years beyond original work program
estimate,
• JYAe 1992 -Council adopts 1992-199( Two Yeor Budget,
cQntinuing corrrQit~nt of staff resources to the Urban DeSign
Plan ,effort, 4 years beyond original work program estimate.
• AU$UQt 1992 ~ braft Downtown Urban Design Plan released for
pubHc revie ....
• October 1992 -Urban Design Committee and planning staff
hold a serios of six meetings with downtown interest groups,
including merchantu, property owners, and nearbY,neighborn,
to discm"s the Draf.t UDP. Specific cOtm\ents made by persons
attending these maetiug8 are IIl,j.f['f'M;ri:::ed in the Planning
Comm!BB~on Statf Report of December 4, 1992. However, in
ge"er~l, rea~ns~ to the plan was favorable.
• Q.c...t..ob,e.t:.-2.tl,-1.2.9..2. -Public Art Cocrrnission reviews and
endorses Draft UDP (subsequent comments from two individual
members of tha Art Commission were also incorporated into
the revised Draft) _
,
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• Noyember/DecembBr 1992 ~ Architectural Review Board reviews
and endorses P~aft VDP, ~ith comments, at their November 5
and December j1992 rue~tings.
• lloyembe r 8.~ -H1atoric Reeourco6 Boa)."O reviews and
endorses Draft UDP , ~ith commonts.
• December 2. 1$93 ~ Utilities Advisory Commission reviews and
endorsed Draft IlDP. 'With coomer-ta.
• December t. 1992 -Plarming Coml'lission reviews and; endoraes
Draft UDP, wltn comments.
• l3IlIruary 22. 1993 -City COuncil public hearing held on tile
Draft-UDP. Following CQuncil'S questionin9 about tl~e
intent, use and pOssible future revisions to the Plan, it
was referred to the Pol icy and Services CorrroitteA' on a 9-0
vote, .Based on cooments made by individuAl council members,
issues to 1.>e lU.ocuBsed by the Poliq· and Services COO1!Iittee
included review ot~
1) how t.he UDP ""as devo lQpeu;
2} concerns raised by several dowJ\tOYn propert.y owners; and
3) whether the UDP COUld be "iGiOIHHY r<'lther than dictQting
specific building deSign.
• M,ay-18. 1993 ... Discussion of the Draft UDP waft agendited for
the May 18, 1~9) Policy and Services meeting, UPQTl hearing
that the Urbtm Design Ccrrrnittee and sever~l concerned
dmmtown property owner.a had a9~:eed to hold several meetings
to try and 1''8so1ve 'Concerns al)oul the ,Draft UDP, the
Comnittee delayed its diec:usGion.
• Jufy 1993 -Tho Urban [).Qsign CoornittGO held t1riO meetings in
July 1993 with saverat downtown property owners (Chop
Keenan. Jim Baar and Warren Thoits' to discuss concerns and
possible revisions, and also 'received written comments.
• Su~r 1921 -The Urban Design C~ittee then held •• veral
editing se •• i"ns in July, August and Septenlber to produce a
revised Draft tlDP taking into consideration the cO<m\ento
received.
• Late Surrwer~ -The r~vi8ed D~aft was distributed to the
three p'roperty owners for their revi-ew and conment.
• pecember 7. 1993 -Tho revised Draft UDP 'Was agendhed foc
consideration by the Policy and Services Conmittee on
December'], 1993. Followh1.9 public corrrnents and discussion,
•
, .........
'.
the Policy and Servic •• Committ •• referred tho revised Pr~ft
to the full Council for cc,ns:i.detation and recom:nendation
without a recommendation of the ComnUttee, The rnin~t.B of
the meeting are include" in the Council 'packet with this
report. The C01M\i.ttea wished to indicate to the Co.unoil
that they felt review of these mdnutes would be very
important in helping CO'.lneil to under'stand the Coonrl.tteo' 0
position,
. OJ[ , '."~'
ATrACft\E1IT 8
CPAC GOALS CONSISTENT WITH I.!UlAH DESIGN PlAII
FRQIi
'COMMUNITY VISIONS,GOALS & ISSUES,
flOVEIilER 1993"
B. HOUSING ANI) COI+UNITY DESIGII
Sense of COO1lun1ty. Place and Qual1ty of L 1 fe
8.,
8.,
s .•
8,.
B.,
Maintato and enhance the University Avenue area as the central focus of
the City, with cOflYl1erchl, civic, cultural and recreational IIses.
Ho~s1ng, ccm~un1ty design and workplace opti~ns will respect
neighborhood concerns but meet city·wlde needs.
Ensure that the city', districts, urban villages, neighborhoods, and
corrrnercial areas funcHon hanrd)111mJSly to m~et city·wide needs and to
provide a clty .. wid. sense of <o"",unlty and plato,
Improve the appearance and increase the sense of pedestrian friendliness
of the tity's streets and public realm with the use of treas, stre~t.
f~rn;ture and fixtures.
Ensure safe, well-designed and well ma1ntained parks, school pl~grounds
and public spaces that encourage day and ov.nlng use.
Provide acc.ss to public art and cultural facilities In .11
neighborhoods (comm.rclal as w.ll as residential).
Encourage and assist property owners to botter maintain their hOll1es,
prop.rties and adjacent publIc rights· of-way.
Urban V111age Concept
B."
B ...
Enhance cOlTlTlerch 1 areas and increase c,ompat i bO 1ty, 'nterdependence and
support betw.en comm.rclal areas and rosld.ntlal neighborhood •.
Create and increase pub' tc sl>aces, open space arid cO!mlunity garden space
which encourage and support ped.strlan traffic and person-to-person
contact.
Bu1lt Environment
g." Give appropriate attention to design aspects of public infrastructure
improvements.
C, TRAHSI'ffiTATIOH
l~nll Use
C.,
C.,
Promote land use policies that reduce local and regIonal conge.tlon,
enhance bicycle use, enhance the pedestrian environment, and encourage
public tran,lt.
Promote the location of higher den.lty land uses and regional facilltie,
(I.e., shopping centers, public facilities) near regional highway. or
OMS transit.
Tr~'lslt Syst_
C.,
C.,
C.,
C.,
C.,
Roduco the personal loss of tim. associated with u.lng non·auto
t,·ansportatlon.
I(or~ to develop physically accesslbl e, affordable, effiCient,
convenlent , clean and safe alternatives to the conventional automobile
at state, regional and local levels.
Work with appropriate agencies to provide local transit connections
which a11o" people to reach "'910 .. 1 tran,1t without ",lng their cars.
Provide comprehenshe and effective inrentives to use alte,rnat1ve
transportat ion.
Provide intra'clty public transit for people liYlng and/o,' working In
P.lo Alto.
Traffic Flow
C., Minimize traffic Impacts on neighborhoods from Increased high density
devel.pm"t, ,
'C." Improye the manage,..nt, design and control of parking.
other AlternatlYeS
c ...
c . .,
C."
Improve, expand and maintain bicycle and pedestrian systems and
pedestrian path,.
lIork to ensure IOObillty for tho,. without automobiles, ir,cluding seniors
and teen'gers, and people with di,abilitie,.
Provide investments in infrastructure to support related visions.
Work with Stanford, neighboring cities, and major e.plo~ers to develop
loc.l and/or sub·regional tran'portation systems and facllitl.s.
'. ,<"
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f., .
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D. BUSII(CSS 00 ECONCttICS
VIUlIty
HUrt"r. and ,upport establl.hed bu.lne •• e •. D.,
D., Eo,oUr098 public/private partnership' to provide cOIm1unlty benefits
which would not otherwise be .vallable.
D., ~Ip fo.ter Palo Alto .$ a world cl,s, business and professlon,l
.n'lro~ .. nt con,l.tent and In bal.n,. with Palo Alto', sense of
c"""inlty.
Oistricts
D." Continue to pr~t. and enh.n,. revlt.llz.tlon of the University
Avenue/DolffltOltf1 (orrtdol' as an II!pOl'hnt retail, restaurant and
cnterl'ir~nt (enter.
E. GOVER/Wier N{) PRO~ISIOO Of" C(lflJ!IITY SERVICES
Wh.tGoyer~nt Should Be; lncluslon.ry·
E., ~ol'k with private enterprise to provide public benefit.
What GQvernoent .nd Citizens Should 00
£." HIlnhln and l"1'rov. theln'rast.",t" ...
',---", ..
-,., ..
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DOWNTOWN URBAN DF,sIGN COl\1!\nrrEE
February 18, ISS3
O •• r Countll ~.mb.rs:
Th. ~tt.ch.d cost •• tln .. te Is doou .. nl.Uon of .th. Downt."" Urb •. n De,lgn
COllrnltt .. 's request fo,' l.pproxl"~lelJ) $ 16.600 to on'~r •• tI..ely .nd
prof.ssion.l publication of the Urban 0.51gn Pl.n for v.""town P.lo Alto.
As <hair of this c""",ltt •• , I urge you.,to approve these r.qu,.,sted fun'ds to
provide the ~ nec.ssary polishing of the dr.ft Into • final dOtu .. nt. W.
of the commltt •• f •• l stronsl~ Ih.t text,dillng, fooo.tlln9, gr.phlcs work
and the .ddltlon of color are .... ntlal to \r,' usefulnu •• fthl, doc"" .. "t as
a communication tool. We ar. hoping for a finished pro1uct that has .. r.
clarity.
Several bodies who have reviewed this plan, the Arch1tEctur~1 Review Boaro ,
Planning COiTmfss10rJ and local arcMtects: in particular l shlr4! this \ltew.
As we are all awa.n~) this project was vastly t.wde!' funded from the beginning.
It has only been thr(lligh the perseverance and donatioiiS of t~te (o-'lnittee, and
Ue Incredibl. creativity ",0 nard "ark of both toe c"""ltt.e .nO phnniog
staff. tnat we were able to get the drdt completed under ,urrent funding.
We b.lieve tnat an Invest~.nt at this stage will . .,." tn.n p.y (or H,.I foyer
time In that a clearer document wlll r.duce staff U •• In explaining loncopts
when working with project appliClnl$ In tne futuro.
Please recognlz. the Import.nce of producing an .xcellenl docu~~nt that will
be truly,useful, one that •• pre"e$ • phoning effort thH the comuMty tan
be proud of .n~ Inspired by.
Y2~"IY' .. jJ~~/ ~r Shlrl~
Chair, Downtown Urb,n Design Committee
.--~.-.-
FJNALIZATI01l'OF URBAN DESIGN PL!.N
COST ES TIM A TF.S
The following budg.t and "or~ as'om .. contr.ctl"g fin.lIzation of the Downtown
Urban Desi9n Plan out to a company specializing in cQrr~unications, to be
edited I'd .'.formatt,d .nd to add color district diagram,.
Graphics· -Producec.lor district diagrams (8)
and re-do several line drawings
Add col';,; B.;ki>1an,Hagr'r.,s
from pos.ter
Cover Art -Glossy cover in black and
white with gt'een tree, Inside
cover building key, 1000 copies
Text Revisions -Jnr.orporat~ cor.ments as
.bove, EOIT .nd REfORMAT
document for improved
presentation and read1bility,
ready document for printer
Printing -Off-set printing including color
distri(t plans and color Basic Plan
diagrams, 1000 copies
4,100
s60
900
1,500
All other graphics black and ,,·hit. wlth no signifi"nt stylo or tontent
changes
Estimate Only
TOTAL: S 19,000
~ 1011 Contingency
20,900
-4,300 Remaining Budget
S 16,600 RfQUESTED FOR FlNALllIHG DOlIHrOWlIlIRBNI DfSlGIl PINI
, ,
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A'I'Tl\CHMENT 0
Environme"tal Documents City of Palo Alto
fNV IBQWjEIIlALAS S f S S MEN I
Project Descriptton/Tltle: .J!rban Oest9iL.£l.!!LUlr CHv of palo AltQ._ The Plan
prnvldes a set of public and private -qu~.L.fQ!:....imProyjnq Uw use and '
character of OoswntQWD palo Alto. Also included in the plan is an impltnlentatlQo
section de-scribing potential ways oCl.thie\lill.9. the concepts and',obJectives
jWl1.Wed.
location/Address: Ctty of Palo Alto. generally the downtown area bounded by
MiddlefIeld Road. Alma Street. fprest AUm1UJl.d lytton AV~i~. ____ _
Sponsoring Agency/Applicant: iltY. of Palo Alto. Veoartment of Plannln. and
COm'Jn1tv EnyircmmenL
Address and Telephone of Applicant: llQJUmllton Av~nue. 5th floor. Pal.9-A!1Q~
CA94303 (415) 329-24.~ __ _
Application for: -lilA ____ ... _~ __ ~-
(e.g .• lonlng change, subdLvislon of propert) .. architectural r€y-rew;--eft-.-,--
Zoning at ProJe~t location! VarjQus Fee Receipt 110.: 1iLA-.. __
NOTICE OF DETERMIIIATIOU
8ased UpGrl rel/iew of the project files, the undet'signed member of the Phnning
Department has concluded:
IXI Negative Qgclan.ti®: lhe project has no significant eovironrnantal
Impact. No £nvironmental Impact Report is t'equired. The r~a$ons for a
Negathe Declaration are: the plan prol/ldes only guideline,S and
suggestions intended to be used in evaluating future public improvement
and private development projects. Wbile the plan is intended to Inspire
and encourage actions consistent wHft the 1deas presented, no specific
projects are mandated. Any Individual public or priVate projects
resulting from this plan will be ".hated for environmental Imp,ct at the
tl., the specific project is proposed.
I] Th. project may nave a significant environmental impact. An Envlron.ental
Impact Report will be prepared: ~ .
Planning Department OffiCial: ~A -'::J;, __
Planning Directo,': )fQ~ s,~ 11/'0/"". __
The project has been approved. Date:
The project has been denied. D,t.:
File No.: n·E1A-40
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)'Yo·\." i. ·i.'_t;~ ..... :-:' -\,(: :.'~-.,',1 ~'.;' l' ~;:_"~ ';';'.d .. :!.'"::;:~.:;
'. _'~o:'(!' !.n t'·" :L:·.':-""('\.':, ,:-''':ll:;: •
<
. 't..·:n"~,)·.i~11 ::.··C" .~ii .. ~.:)t:~.,_":,,: '::.~:I:)~" ;,':"'(!
.. .' .. -'~:r~Tai--"filc:-"L()" ~l~~~~~· -:'-',J-.l J' ', . ..". ~:'IO:.:,l.{i
•. , ~~"')': ,'.ItC'::llU.""(,, .. {or );,O;IlI.St,·:.:i ;;':l ti.(, CD :~'''';' .. "J OO\,'t1{:O ..... 1I j)Lr:t.~:$(!·::. '1·iI..:~y int::Q .. 6e.
c, o.·: .. '':c~ ~:_J".ce rtj",~ c:,);-:':"'1ur'':'!:.'.3:'-r:(:,:.p;.:~fJl
:Y'f·:'-~;-;:'t."\fit org;'!I1~.;;(\l.ions ~Jiti: li:;;t_'.ted l'c'.-enue :';OU!':CE'~ ;
(I,
".
/.. r::~lle:iLts <in:! ,"!1fi!?JI::.;-:·f'-'::_;~.~-''':'1~L-j !~-L<.o::g!: __ l:l:£l:~!~Js~_~: ~,~-~~-,: c.-:."';) beneflb. ;,;;!.1.r.::\ i:.h'!:. ,,:o:~;-litn)~ ll'~ii£"""te$
are of subst1'lnti~1 v;~Ju~ t.o the Dc-,·:r,1lm"n t.rnr; 11:1t. 1-I;~i.ch c-:,_n ba obt:d 11(0,_ til :'"0'..' ';:1 ·'-;r.<') .. l at' .1 \'::.;.: 1\;; 5.'> ~;\
( .. 1"" throuQ'h rl'quil:"e:-;(,i~-:~.~. ':'~l~J~~.:!t: en ~~l(:!\'iC:m,1
in'ojectn: Tn-l;lY J;1(;ll...i~'~:
u. P:::-ovision or :. i1
;,. n~-::.eil.tion of tit-:-", hi!";~Qdc,,) C;1i":>,'t" _'\:<':--0:"
;m':.ldings;
c. JJlC~:2(\Se. i:l :-:.11"\ ;~ .:) .... J ... ~--:-!;.. liSe-L'!" ~~\!bilc: i~:H:11
.::;pace;
c. P.i.~Qvhdo:, 0;: (::r-L:':i~:; :f':·:·'-"~.r!:; ~""_r.~; P'~l:c
:o\!;-)'..:ain:;.
J . 1: nc-:mt i v·n.'":: ~1';1<::! CQ!~'t':. ;".l" .r:::'! }. ~cC.:T:·;(~t:ti S CnUl~C i 1 ;~-rpro-::.~-:~r-of t~le ;':ol1.:,;"h,.~ ;.:~~..;':"::'.;v.:>~-. t-,':-.~CJl \:cul<.:
0c ap~licuh!e io:r pl'O)',lcts f-.'1-,.:ov.i..(ii.n~ tile ,".70'··""·';ltion'.~,~ , . .c::;n,:.;),:~(. (c •• :.( <:: .. ·cc.: .•.. :..(.:_.-;
... (.";,1:,.::1. (.:a<;fl :'lC,~.J.1 ty} ;
c.. f-rt'),l,.'icie <~ hiolw~: :";~~; )._'o(""·;n· t;~h" t-:-w 0,:-; ~~Q 1
c::,tginal.Jy ::.t~(.fl.'~;::':::~'':. !..".' Cvu; .• : ~ t ..
b. Eodify "th'Cl PC PL~llnC!n C\I!."l',n":I' ::on.'" cht: ,. ....
lJ,,~l)·..:e8:;. .<"\ t'3.!".:.t lJh-2.s!_ \i:::.U:(\ ;'"-~Lablish h~s.\(,-
.:;:itH d~vcJf").nt:!}nt .',·,~'::;~'ir'!;-.:.>n!:~, ;:'11<': tl~,!S, ~l':F.!"
s(>'::ond phasf'! Hr.)\l tot' C0;':d:it'\'~':0 j,:Ol:;H.l! Q:8-5J.",'!l ."' ~_·.;Jl:ova 1 ~
c. X!1t:·>!'~)rct c()de~~ n-.j :n:-:Q,;-,~'";~'" ~:,":":J~£;ct
i',ypLtcat:ions ~di th ~uffici"s-:l': f.i.t.':--:ibility to
reflect €st.abl,ishE:Q (l')jccLivo2's [Ol· the
DOl-m1:mln .~rea; and
d. Provide puhlic finnncia.l assistaneo for
lY!:'Qj c.cts o),:'Cering ~pccial b,mef H:$.
~. Ui.·uan ~)c~d.S[n ?lan: 'rho COlm.i.tt ... ""!'o rd;:1.'ong.ly
f)elievQ:$··that -o!>p~ot"tunitiE's .cannot he r:'!~n!il:liz;cd
£or the DoUr.toHn Ar.ca vithout th~ quid€',nce of e;
concelltual lIrban dccign p.1.(:>.n. Such a plan could
provide guidelines, wi th vi~'U.:'!l illustrat.lons, in
{lctel.7.iining allpropriate lccat.},or.s for z...-:;onitics,
pro] ect bCllefi \:::;. and pu .... l ic p'.x)d_n~J. !Ls
IJ:.·ct,u'al~ioH could invol\"~ ~1ini!7>~l puhU.<.~ fUildin,?"
:by (h:aH.i.ng on talentecd .::c!;.:m;cc-e::: avai l<"ihlco '..-iU,in
tlie cot.\l"nuility.
Revised '-/'lO/fJ?
". ;."
, ..
.•
. \
",,"" :;-'".~"'I($...~"",~"",,;.....,..,~,,~. ~·.\;',i~:;,"~'
rrohe: ma.ill lJo...'l., of the-r-·~"'''''·· o~ -I ~""'") .... ""11V'~·~·.·.", CoIl'trr.j.tt:~e o~J DOI-:nto~·.;!l rt~ j.~:~ ';.nd~·; rr, ~.-;~~ ~: .. ~.;.':~;-~ .~;:JV' ,;; .'
in the follouing secticn~;.
Xl". Princinal Findil1Cls
'J'hrcughout its discma:;i.r:.::u; 0:: {1.j::.:·"'.··:.~.;.iJ. !:i.:'h~I~_:.·:.:". ~:.t:
benefits for the D01mto;' .. n l.;,,·e~, ilir"ivhhw.l S~;:"'Ili.i.~:t:"':!
'l"liBl'.\bC:CS of·\.:en had dift:..;;:",;.:·,;; ".'.L:.~,.!!;. 1:;,1 ·;,.i ... "" ~~~'.. oJ:.
benofits appro,Pt'iatc for 'Che Dc,\·nrto",.m .~_i.f'.:,-" .':\~';>n. ::.'1"\:::1
;i.nd1vi<.l.ual vie\'.'points, ; ;!~: Co';· ... -::5.t:i;;.,~~,> ,:i:"'::::"3 \:..)
!~mpht:siza thut it <,"l;·.·ai;~> ~"O:=~::-_!le<.. u ~.~!~SO::::'1.~;l'"_t ".':v:.~ j . .;
di~.C'.i;::.s:td t-.)v~ potelltil".l 0l":"_,>.'\,:F'1.: .. ·:i •. ~ ... !:~.:' .-:::;~ "':"' t."·~ /r,;-:
j)::l·~" ... t.o~m ~a:"o ;"'lto. 1·~'-_;1~' 0:' t~h'G':-c·~'~.'·:.c:'.:l;j.":.:· "';'~-" ;:{.~ '.':';
on un urban design plat! t·."h~.~..::t .... ~ ·6 ;.,f;{:u~-:;s(>."~ ~!l ; ).c. ~~.;:
s2ct.1on und'':1: ·'Recommc!1::l::-t.->"on~"" '!:r.(:":,,.":' C.y"'p.i~;'~· .. ~:-.
cu.~(;Us"':.i0ns also ;::.~J:n·~' .. ".lr/-".,~.,:'. T::'!" ':.aJn.·.';' «,!'."" , .. i.t;.,
\(\~f'.)"ities \'lhich exi':':'t 1 .• 1 U":'::,r:':cH'r, ~\"-:!0 +",,1;:'0. 'j."'f-.::;J:
Cor ... mit.tee rc.colil.menc.a t ior:~;, :::1~r'~ 1: "),:(), \j .:.G:t to U'..l..' .. (.. C~
th-:: ve:ry pozitivc fC1.mc'l;'~:~.cn o~ :-.h~: «.:l.S·.:1I'(; '-'.~.':(\l ~.t.·.
of the Downi".own 1I.t"cz" Tn,,:: C(:W",:i :.;: .. ~E'! .;:5 .G:~·I;:I):(.'_ ~.h'·'.t !'.'my
cO',,:nlmitic': of the S)?;f! of' :""".!.<:' JI~~:O t'lol· ... d t,~ ';i(,,-:
derr::,:,ous to ;'< .... ve ccn';:::.-.:':. ';'..'1,;<:12..<;:. (",~.~;::):ic;::,f" .... ">.' i~)'L' ... ;:~
~uch vital.t ty and etie": :HJ ::~iGh (I:::-~,'10rt\.1~<.~:.v t.')," ;'li':'.;:I~~:
ellhance'ilen~: .
';'r,;;:: ::;ol.nl~.l,t:t~e discuSS8:i, lli';LI ." ... ';(.~·;'l ~.( '-.'.:.' .. :.-": '~.I;~~r::'.";,
tlh;o ::ca~ihilit.y of o'btaini."1~ ;r.?joT' \.-_.')n.2t.{ .. :.".:.~, .-::.g ...
vrovision of ? fJ.ll1 cC:'::""ic;: l<.aJn Y,'-lr~~r:t 0:-:" ,.h~.J<.<. c,'
fa·..;.llii:i'?s \-lithin a GO!.~l~,,~:;::::";.::ll, r·;:.:j~c'::. 'ti1.. I<..t' ,,''''''.1,
staff conta.;::ted a ilt::~";'C-:''' C~: ~.,'~~~~ (.,'~'.:;"..;. (:5.:.:.:_~~;, nc~.·;:
p2.rticl1..1t;xJy Cedttlc I ~o d,..~~( ::. ... ,.~.)'l.. UlJ": :; . .t,_rni ":;,)c>' <.,,,>:'
j.Hc~ntiv~s (i. e., dcvclo~)";1?:H. ·~Oi-,Ul":...;!" c.:: :r: ':'f]t' .• :.;::;::".OI:
.~x(;el"'.:.iol'ls) that' ar-e ncc,-'ss:;>::y in ora":;;,, ~.:o (): :::nJ":, ~'.; . ..::l~
benefits.
'l~he f.indings from both sourcec' ,·;cre ident:ical.
Proj'ects must be of subtit6.n-:.:tHl !.'ilgnj.te~10 {..L .. :,., ":h.-:--;':
they be of greater stz(~ th~:1 :25,000 E:qLlal:.'e [e:c:~: i:)
~:loor area and hC!ve }·A.R !J::)m:<.>.~w qr.f..J.at:C)~ !;h~n o . .:~ to 1)
in order. to be able to af:£Ql:c;, Ilwrite-0fC::;;" for thl:
. &forem'e:ntioned f:acilities. In L'\ddi.tioJ1:, the d,'..v"~lonel's
f;t~tcd' that it should neve .. " b€.= i:;Ssu!'<'.e.a ttld"":' R,\l
conlm~rcial office 'pl'"ojectz I r('gardle~ .. ~ of :3i:;0-, yield
E",ufficient profits to off!:Jct IIbclo;..~ in(\::,"]:et ll O'!."
trnon-p):;cfit ll on-site type facilit.ics.
Therefore, th~ IiM3n;'tiesll .C~::r.:\:.:.tt:c::c wi~hf:!"i "c..-::.
emphasize tha·t ~lithin the fri!1"1tl";<.w)~ of inc<O!nti-,,:cs
r::riginally ·suggestec. b~' the city Counc.:U., Le ... a
rna;dm1.lm bonus FAR o~ 0.5 to 1, fell Ti1~jo~ bf~nci::.:i·~~ <:1':.::1
Revised 2/20/87
, / ') /, 1<;> ....
f
I
i
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I
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~~uc~liti~,S ~I:":: likely ',:0 be )':~~·lh:(>.d Jli. t!""!~~ Do::,/';o;,,',\
;~l.:e.,?. vit.hh: t!n-c(l 'co fiv(! ::'-':>';':".
C. !?T_~~~}_s..A?..!!~)_~_~!:_h~J.::._B"'n~x_~:~ ;,.~(l f\'::l'}--=-!_~_~~L~_2
'th(; Corlt.':l~.t(:8E::: founc.l tha~..: 11~!ly i1,lport:.~nt.: but:. :-:-"::,).ativciy
fJmull ~~en5.ticc.: in ten.1S oJ: tCH-,:ia.-C?::t .. i,:':r; ;d.i:cmly
J<l~jY~:i,U.,:o(: ill tha (P, !It:'c • .e~:·'.:XLl.<i $ho~,:'·:.'i!lCJ (::)!,tb.i.rd.tl0
D.:.~t~:ici: gnlt~'::di,fWS. 'I'he Co:;,:I~_i;t."1': ;~:r_o:;() :.-on:-'.c~. tt:~t. '~_"he
(P) Districi: gl.d.d~lJn2~ GOll.:t-::i .0-:-. S::~:l"f!;l'Ji:::hml~l: ill
cCl:L:-:;.l1:' ;:.;-:'~(~~.;. 'I'he rXa"lit .• :,s . .:~,r.J ;~-.;; ~:O(.!tl'; <,)j: i:";l.L;h
sop-eiiie e.2~T\lents of (P) .Disi;~ __ i.Ct. guidolin::!s could
otther-l'e e:--:l)('mcted or. wLd~ [;;r_'-~ "':.>t:.::i':iv{> jil C'~_·d::!~. i,:_c
o;)'\:·:tin :.r~{);.:e ~.menii.:i~~1.
O,L .(,;.:ilc;· ~·r.·_·-'IlH·.~.(,~;, c .... :., t""t'~l·i.';_~·-';,(l!,! .;.~ ·j.·.:.·/11~;.;':::· ",'i:~
)JuL.:l.c ~oul1l:bil1~ 01.." us;:·bJe 0/,;,.>.1 :~?,",CO, ~·h,-:, (;':))i1T:l:P:~>"1e
i'c1lnu 't!wt sHch heile-fitc"; couh\ be: t.~!)l~lr:.J~;. h~-' o::-,"':'.rj.Clg
3,.1:111 i_;·,c~; .. t::.VA£'~ r:.g./ ~,(,)o;"::"'~l)~·':.;"'~d :J:':. i'~, lJ0:1I_:':'> 0.5 i-.r.
1 :~;>l~ ar.d SO~,tl) e:--:cepli.o;·, .::c. Lh,? ~u D:i".S·'.l'.;.cl:
~.5,OOO/:?~,GOO squal."e foo!: ::)l.'Oj'.:!ct ~d.<:!:! liL',i'i.:.s.
z.,-, :~"n';':.io.H~~ ~~i:'~lic::.-:-.;.l"'. \.:h.!.:~ :: :.-:-:.-'.;::~·.t ~·;v,. ~():,~,·,:1",,~·_~~",1:::
::-.lcQ(l. [er the [J.;:o;.-m"'..:ol,I"TI (f,,~:: (:ol!~·.L,t • .c.1J.y "u~,L.s(-.,t. If 'J"'bC!
cc .. -.:.i.''':''.Gl-'. iJ;:!~.i,~ved tba~: ;"';1:';; ~E:c:":' , ...... _4 ';':;18 c5.;:'.' :;"
~-,;:c-:::~~~~: \-!ii.:h .=.~ urban c..:..:.::o; i·~ ... '1 :.:~ ,:i"' :\;<: '""!O:'V' i..:~.1 ~.-f~rcu;.."0.
1~~.;:;:O~:~41.~~!.U.:1.~=; fur tlle [.O:;i.-'co·.:n ,\!: ... ~,,". · .. ·s:n~ I". J ~Je
achi2\.",<"!d.
n.'VCl."Ji)l,l~:-'lt (.g an llrb,m Ot:!:;ic;:l pJ.c;n i~1 Ci!;C11S,<;c(1 ulld,.:::th;~ CO::;~l;.t'-':'i.!(-:I.t.: r,":<;on;:,nno:-l2..L5.'_::s.
In C;:.l",ne.i.l's N:-iginal (!j.reci;].v .. ~ to >hc HAO":'"CIL:.;;:I.CS"
::::~rl:l1:i.~·_t<;,el j t sU.pulat:e>.d I:h.:tt lJ:i, 0.')0 ;t;quot"e f .. H"1t 0):
floc;-:-' .or~(l ~') .e..llocato:?.'l to fllt.U:C~ Do\·mto1\'n In.-oj :.:!ct:.;. !~l.·ov.!.ei~,q 1:~;p~"":cJ"~lll b~netit.. (~r[~O h(.ti1E:!fits~ ~lcre te, be
'd.3fllwd b}' 'the Commit.tee. J The COl1md.ttee dic;cussed
t't>ls lOO[O()O square root alJ.oc'1tion and agrAl'cd with t.lw ~ity Conneil ~ch",t this alloc:ai:i.oll t-!~;:s <l "refjervcu
r~'..::hEP: t;1<::!"o '" IIli11lit.." . HO" . .'C:Vi!,:, it ,"'<Iso beliLvi~'; t><"'t
an a~p:::o:>:ciaL!' t'im~ f:or '..-:.hc Ci.ty to con~ider nodi fyino
tho lOI),OOO squcu::e root c.llOGni.: . .i.olL [or ~)}"~cjccb;
prcviding· "p·2..::ial llc<ne£it. would be -2.f:tcr con1p .... .?,tion or
a D~\,:i1tO ..... 11 UI."P"'11 desj.gll plall.
CO!!1T,d t:;~e li".~mbp,rs rU_d !W\:' [oem, dis..:=ussio~)s on 1 i}:cl~""
near-l.-3rm t;L"oi'.'th for the D"'·.-.rl:o~:n Are~ but on sove.raJ
occasions local develope,:" ~nd Gta,(;..' did discuss .
p--):pectc(( tl.·elld~.
R6Vizcd "')./20/81
J /:<:tJ/~~,
..
, ,
';.hE' conclusion-lro!'J thes~ ~::i"lf .::~l~~us:,.f_.:Ult: it.: th.:-.t :::~(..
Dc::n~t(iim ~t'e';~ Hill not vJt'1n.c G c.f~,!cl~ ·~:.,c~:.t (h~:5_llrj .,;Jt .....
Ilext three to four years c('i1i).r,!.·~~L) to the ~,:,,""'1m!: ('1oJ:
, .. :.PV::"' .... vcd ::or the f)O\mto',1n .~.i..·O[,. b.~t·,"('J~n '.9:"::U ~':.".~ .. t_;)3~.5.
'fho citeci ~'e<:!:sC'lns ar~:
2.
J.
,
,J. i.o ... m land COQb" p~.::::t !<";uJ,,>.'.'.1.:' ii-UH_~ C:Ol:'.~ ~~, : ha'hl not hdjust.c~ m!::·;:ici...:n~t;l:' ~m'm~·!,-,. ..... i. t:o
l:.~rl&c;:_ tile: fLOII o~-."i~t: pot'.:";d"'j ~·C~,:'ll:i.,~.:.!.~" ,j~"'::: '-I"d
the, 1I0:\~ 1,.0 t,o 1 F1.1~ pr-ri,litt(:.Q ,:ltr.i:1: the co:::.1
c~~C Subdi$trict .
. ""he 11(1W cn District n.'!{;l;t~tio.'1:, ·.y~:~t.~ . .::·~.!_I_(.~,:lv th '"
a::ol."enelltloncd piu"J.:.iny" .c.;:(.1 .. u.n r.:.;:~~,:,l .. :~;.~.cr::,;, .i7~
the)':;-:1clvc<; do not "!n~0\;n .. gc .;:-:,:o·,:ty.".
The. o(f icC' r.cnt<':.l r,;,:r.;:}:ef: i~~ ~:,:~ ........ , cl~ra C:Olln(~' I"'~.!'.
bee;, r'Cl.-~tivcly so~t in ~::he: .1.:-:.';::. ~::~.:-!'~ ,.,..;'!<~ ;':h.('.~·Z'
):"r:t'kot (',Qndh~.i,ons h~vc l'':'.C;~ ~·'n.c!·~'..:-.tl ;'.l~ :'o;n;::c:.~"",!
~'~lo ';J.to. AD a .rc:;ult.., ~o;-.? ~'(,cc;j~:ly c,"J.:pl(;·~.~d
o;"~ice b~Jildil~g~ have ex!){-cr!.(!o:c~"'rl :ilO";..·~:c
t\bso!.·pt:io~l l..?'.i::("!~ then t-.hn~~ 0'::~·"):i~2'.'::".~( l~~!
b~ildillgs cot:lplei.:ed Cl1'3 0-;.· t.I-."O y.:.c:n: c<..r.ii.·:1',
'The lH,'; :t~CdP.l·.:.l i.:.i".;: ll~~d t;J.c.<i~:! 'i}.I,J ;.-tn·:~:!L-.:
reduce!) t-.hE-' !Jace of pifie!'!: de'.'~·.I.::')n:,lr·I1t. a~ ."'1 ::r.,.:t1.lt:
o~ t'ovis..:-rl depn,:cie.~.;,i.oi1 !':(~lw-:::").!~'-;J ~.liM:~!t·.':~.(~!1 (~.:::
c.")ocir.l cr-.pitdl ~!~iH i.:<::~ 1.';" •••. <":."; ".:~'~ .·1 ~."!~ l:"t,:.~ <I •• ':
1"I'Ii):'Sl:;:i..ye ll lo!:s d(,dut.:'.:JC11:": ;:O?: 1·':."~. ('r· .. ::;I ..... C
invest If.ent s.
Itl. !..\.1)_~<:_p.!.:.0ndations
'1':10 '!(1.1.1()'.I1n~ 3ections dolSCj;!b:':. t~~~ Cv;.:.~d.tt.==,~:ti
·cc¢'):1I·!lt.H.,dll.t~.ons. in tho. s""me seq-,J'9.c.C'c ai: tiw:/ (:ppc,-.l·ecl ir, t:;.(,
ex~cutive G'ln~nrf.
>,. !!.~o_lJ~-Re((uirltlq U,!:-jOl" X!!S'!_~1J.!.~.VI~.~
The ;.t.J.(mit.ico COlu:1ittec defines the~c:-. b9n('f5_t~, '::'!"J. t:i10;:;''!.~
that at'it·not ,(mly irnportant .in tCh:r.( of t.heit· pot.cnt.i..al
Gont):.'ib':..!tion to Do',rntol,,'l\ 1'<110 Alto bitt those ~~i1<:..,"\: <.::~(.)
of sufficient n!agnitucte .tiS to r.eq'..lLn~ su'bst~r.~:.ial
itlCcntivcu .in order b,.) be Zlc.:hi~vc6.. (~;Ge u·.;.t<l!~jwc1
Appondix for er.a~ples o£ e!itiuatcd C05t:.'; r.nu u:qJccl~rJ
rlSturn~ of projects provldi,ng I'tajor. J.H'!l'lefits.)
l.. Full sarvicEt food market: The Amenii:ic!1 cor;adtt€!e stror:'Jiy-endo~a {tilT SB!.'VJCC fo~d rn.c:!:J:s.t
(.i.e., '"' Market ~ol).ing f1":asll l':L~ilt~, pr:')'.lltr'~'1 f.'i:;,~h
and. pr-cduce in t.dditio;) to p{!ctag~-::' st"pl'S'£} or a
l>llrnanent ly-.~ited, ~ull-I;in:e "al::"me.r I s IfC\rkct as Q
r.!ajor £>..,11ntoHn buncfit. l.s a J.:e:<;uJ.t, t:~w
Comraittee. be) .ievcs t.hat £I. futm:e dnveloplC"Iont.
proposal includin~ such « .food lNnket should. lh1
revie\.,l'ed in a very positiv0 t~1.c..nllel' .by t:bC'. City~
. ... t
.',!
I,('.vicecl. 2/'?0/87
, ,.., ~'1r:7
')
G.
In f.::et"jl-:-' 0::' itjp}oIJ,..~(;t:~-::r'0.:"; ":"1... ,I:. ',' :~c;~:.'(!~' ~~~I."\t
cHeh <'l propo~a.~ '.!C\~~~~ t,··:· '·d.';'j:t:r /. :,~; (" r-.:: rl .... ;::.l . .r:::,..!.
CO!.':.l,\\m i t.)' zone ch~~ .~"''J i;: c:>:i.7.e I: \. 1.) i.', l.! I)',:' :. ":
.~j·j::.r :lei cnt : 1 c;.. ibn .. '. t~· .;:"::f.:." ... ,:.:. ,,:' ,;:: . ..: ',_ t' A', ~ .1.01);';\~ :!\;.
~·e0l\1{",tions. S(';:10 ("'. ',,;:~, !J>' .. "~;' ', .. '1 '.::::t."'p-..:l (1!".i:S 0':"
bonll::e-~ necessary iot' "a;ch ,". p( ... "):i·,~oi.: :Jl'"(~ Llc},uJ:cd
i,1 the u.i.ncentiv~!;" ~:.'·':(''..:H~r!C:·--! 1. .... :: riD oC·.l':':,'.ic.\.:[J'e
.::.nd .:\r~ '~escr!bcd i~ S~C~".""':: /l:r·f; ()f t~'i~': :;,,·("po:o-:t.
hO· .... ,:f'16 1.' I one ..::on~i'.:.h.'11 l..t l~ : ... :'~ c: .... ~::;"' ·pr.cU','.ct!
is dt;:,\,~.)nctX".ai:.lon I:~' rlut·l:'c ~.'·I· . ."l~'!\~. i!cIIGt:,
;,.cz...::'Iv.·.·l .... Jgr::tn{: \'"\1' i.~ ::'';2~:, ., .• ;.,'~..::~ .. ;_:-i ~~ !,"',."h ' . .;.:
bonofit for th~ 1)o;,'(\;':OW,\ i;I."t:.".. c...:o\:h! 1";Il.1bl('! ;:
~H·o!,.lr:;;ll ·":\:h .... f.(..:-{~ .,':,.'::.::-::' .-.~ .~;_ '.:. '.:I .. _L~
CQr,(;_-:-t":V;).
!':'iH' ... ·~\'~.I.oP()l;.· ~·-·jl.,) "'~.~' J,"':".~ '.:~ :_\-"-"~_ ,;'~: ... ':'-\.':'] '::,>f.
1J~.-("'dictt::1 tha't, CO'}I:~:":' -c:-l.-.,..~>:· •. ";, f',.l:_ ~:':~:'.Iic:('.
1'00-1. n,~r;:~t s~cu}d 'O)c,'..:~' ~;; ,>:) ."~~':""'\'~ Pi.;'" ~,;:,::.
tO~/c.ver, t~le dt>V:::!C:Hl~.· J".)~',~ '-'_'..'~::,.c~',--.. ,: ... :-~,:. .,t.-!I;,
i':ill'~,C':\: ;,,;ould, .0;; ;::~"';0:;':";~iO ';\.'''';'--S~:iL}' (~~'\;;(: -l~.:,;.tS,
r.~nt5 i'.nd p;u:)..;inq CI:-.. ' .... q, (.c,',.,.!.' ;. -. .. n 1:1:r'-.:";.(.i,~,~~11
~<-':~:('::-~"Hc"_ 'Il'cuid ;~O!: ~.,,,,,. ,~,:~. :--':"':~'~"'~:-"" n~~:~
lc,r<;:::.· ~upet,~~r;~et::...: ]oc"t_~~j O'L:-:::_:i.;:ic· {Ii: t'tl~,
VQ:",·!:;-.~·:'i ,\l:ca.)
o~~-~.>' (l;:·f .. s:l..te r;hil( -:;;--:'~ i',-'".:-;,\i':~c,:;: Til •.
j ,:;.~~.::'::: !';l~~ ··I;C;:-.:;-:-J.l:t"~ t;-' }. ~;:, .. ".~', ('-il\,.· ;:~ ::h l;,'t' 0:1 ~ G~'
... ~('-:-.:.:.~ c":iL_' C~'\l:~~' ~;:-:.:.'r~·.~-;--: "';,1.,:'('(.<':"',',,'
!,~C'j-=:'_' r.~::.·}jc bon<·J.'J.~ .;.i; '\;.',~:"j, .• : ~")/ >.P·:ll":l !~~·0->(C'.;"
oJ [C.-i;lq :·Uc1'l tacH,I.U,",'.-.. '1'(.': i,.V'll.'_\<il".s ~;-0.-,dtt:',.~
h.Jl"</~ ;-,,:>;·~<; ... ~nl.t:;'~\'/":!;j • .!."1'); }",~1;. ~,,·I·.:.; .:. ... ,::-,.-'\Lli .• ~~ ..
(;1Ii."~1 C;~'e (ilj".CCC) 'J·~ .. d ~'.;,:!g:; !~:-'O ·· . .!t'.> t~:l!.!'':: ,.:::_ . .:!
. .i' .... ~,'; ~.J.,:(;" ur!d~I~:n.::o':.".~ ;-;1" ~l·"'~.; ;: :-.-rH··t .)i c:--.il(; t.:i':.""_
((,:-1: L .. i~:; in 0)' he."').' ':"'f"I! i; ... ·r~:,~,!I· l.l:~'), :''-<!!,J;l,';,·~·._'"
t.o .... ile I1I!~d .cOl.' S-uc;:, Hh";,;,~,lt;i<:f;,
'!';L~l"c.::o!"n~ th~ i\1<'I~ili ;:'5..\~ r.~./;:H'i.\~,i,:t.J'!: I: ..
rc;:,;m,:.':'l'~Oldation is :r';$:,Ol:~ULH'" to tl:J:~ nQ.':H( >rJ'
cncior.~;ing provision <.>~ c:dld c:\rn fa.njliti~:,; ,,~ (".
":m.jo~ ~(}n\J(1tl' in tutUl:':::. I.Oh"Jltm:n c1CI/(tlop"Hlt
proposals.
J.~ost 11k~ly prOC\l't'(,!:l;:~nt 0.' Sl1C:l filcl11ti~? '--::;:11d
he ;;;u'ouf;h approval ot J''' I'e ;:o.~ed t.'l.:-oj r>:,..:(:
illcludi.ng fluch facili-~ic:'i. '.J.'h-c. pl.:occ..':>e .nad
de-monBtral"ion of p\lblic LOI10fit:: ' .... ol+ld p"'A·.r-.l1r~J. Lho
process described in the 1.)l"e.V.i,Qu:"". section for a
food rnar}::et..
3. Office ~()ace: fOl' non-nr-oz;.\."_ 0rq~'\nj.~.'!t~om:: The co~:;~iTt.t~·e-Ci-;(rbrsas i')r:o'vfir";i)' 0 i::---C(~<:~i:ili'j~li:Y·-.se tv i nlJ I
non-pro.fJ..<: organl:!~'tioll::: ~/it.h. l.L; • .i·~~''Hi rev'!?'nlJ(?
sources, e,g., th~ P~lllnsl.lb C0nEDrvelion Center
or t:.hc Palo !i-Ito Hou:::.in~j COYi)O~l'.l;i(":n, :in f.lltUJ:e
Vownt.~".·.il cOI3~to):. ... ci~J. p::ojc(;t.s ~!.'" .~ -;~i"jo;.: Pll1:;.::':'C
benefit" Such spac.~ could h(! provided at:
R(!visc;d ';1./'-0/87
". ~/'l.. "l
'."
" .
. .. ,:,...," .. """*, .... ,.,~---.,"""'". _~'"., ~,",,-::'"";' . .,~:..:..t..~
4.
6.
bt:';lo'W-ma.r.}:et rents foX' C.U; • .!.l:':~""::l~: nO·:l~·:)l::ot.i.t
crg't.nizations. It c,id not ::.:nf:!I.:i2y ·.·hic=~ ~}.!:::,!: of
non-pl':ofit organization:; ~~O\·J.ti con~"':._; i:l:~:~: :t ~1<:ljO;:
puulic benot"it.
l'.dciitional~ingJacj 1ft i.e:.-: 'i'he CCir.:l11ti.:e-o
bBlfevesthat. fU'.:t.:~e proJe::t-c :ri:.:o" .... id~JIJ !J!'d:i'l';1
above the arnount r€quir~d would be co'lt~_-UmtJnt; n
l~lajo:r: Dt?nflxit fer tho DO'loJi''Ito· ... ·rl t.l'e:...
An ueban des.tgn plo.il uoulci he. ~n ,i,11P::'"~.:t('.t1\;: L:;H:::.t
in guiding the dosiqn and loc'::tion of sue!\ pC!!:::!dn:J
facilitier.. •
.l':~~_CV: __ )-.!:!1~rcvQ!~~!!.t:.~: ':'11(. C~·;,~·-I.:·.!~t..-: C!:~:'l';_"': '''.
,gubstantit..l c.upyort fc:.: ..,).J.e.:." .i:':")':()'.'-i:.1·~·'~~;~j if.,:.;.,
pec1,esb:i.an o~:) entect tacc.C:;.. P(;l~ i f i ~..:,~, ,.' O'1!. ,"':1J (: ';. '_ ._~ _':."
kinds of ae_sthetic 11"p~:(;\'er:-,r;~t.~., .12-:: 1.':....j~~~: !J~.'~.1 i (:
b9f1efit. It al;.;o beli12.''/,"!G t:t,·,t. -::;'l(,:~ i:,~l_ ....... ~ .. : .... r.:.:.;
cannot oc<.:-ur, ill an ir.c1.·c!n!Cnti'.l 1~_".l1nc1.·,tli."L;:..:.uL '._::,'"
guidance.' of an urban desi]n pl.:.n.
~!!..~~_c1::.~,q::_~ d.£ve ~_2P.~~D_t:~..L_LI_l£r~(~_i.~:t .h~~~_~. ~ r._'1.: .:"_r,lt~n i Lit~::; Co;.u.-.:i, tte<~ ccr.~..; j,(l ~; ... :.' I': i ::~/ -t~~, ,'"
developments, rihic~1 ill'.:h .. c!" h;-.\-,::-.ir,.;:-~ ';:.::. !;e :!i:_;C-.
contl.ib\~tors ~:o Do·<\·nt.o~-In V5tF_~_j1:~-?n(1 ~~:"1' ;--j· ... S,!l .• ·
should be cOIl:lidcl."ed a n.sj:;r h8r.on.t.
In itG discU3s_~.,:m ot t!l.~.X"(!~-u:o::~ pr;")'jc--'-<--j !:..::~1'.l.-:5: ..
hQusing:, the COT.!:,'Li.ttec c~.d n("lt c!i;f.:~;;~ "dr;:n'('>l);,-j ,-,~.(-"
!O.;ale, densit~· 0:: co~t of :,;udl hou!;ir.g.
'i·he Amenities COIMlitt:c:Q. dcfine~; tiH!Se: beil!! Cit:J uS t.h'l:;'1
~;hich could make a subst{..ntial (!-:)ri.·::.~:ibl..~~.;_~11 tIC"' 1).:-.;"11"-';(";'.;
i\3;lo J..~_to and \>Jhich could 09 Qb~.:ained t::H:'O\I'Jh C::;;~ll~)t.-'iI
of ·the (P) Pedestrian Shoppin<j Di~t:.rict·. de~ign
guidelines, through alT,end'?l1ents of eXisting O1:diuu.llce:::..
and/or through provision of a t'clo.tivcly snaIl J-'AR
bonus, e.g., a 0.5 to 1 honus.
ExarLlples of these bcmefit.s and suggested. means of
obtaining them are:
1. Art~blic plac03~: The Amer!.t.ties CO~i'littcu
recommends that the Visual Arts Ju;-y cont.J.lwe to
explore method8-of securinq"art in publIc pl-<i:::!es:
from private projects and that it sUbmit its
findinqs and recommendations to '.:.hfJ City COl..tll'.::::il.
2. Retention of ~_21!,~~of h_~GtcI_.~ ____ ~.~<!
architectural Interest.: The ~~\"h\enitios (;o:r,nH:tc(:
endorsp.s the recentTyap;?rov('!d provisions to the,
Hir>torlc Preservation Ordinanr.e lo-.. hicli aSsutYJ
retention of significe'.nt ldstoric building's (i .e.,
R2Vis12d 2/20/67
• .I', ,', J"'~
I
I i
I
';; ,
buildlngs ·in Cv.tegr.lt;i~.'J. 1. ~:Id 2) ("r.;) R;,.i'1t,~n-c.nc-:-,
of £\11 der-dgn~"t:ed histor.:tc ht~iJ.(:.i.I;g3 (Ct'.\:~0'.,,::; . .:~~; 1
th:-ough q in the Dovnto'.'1:n A,;,€,a.
3. Increa.ses in and i!~pn~ved Ll_~~ __ 9J? _~~~}.9_.<,1?.'::'_~!
suacc: The A:1enitles Co:'tmit.'cc<.2-l,·C-GOr:'.r,len(l.~ Co!_~ncil
endor.~el'lent 6£ public op~n, f".?l',C?, CQt':!~·,::."ib;Jtio:--:s 1..':'
priv03.te ?rojects "'~ c<. VLth\.:<.bl~. :)(';l:<J',i.:. '.1'h::
Co:rrunittae believes £uc]) l)C:llciL.;_:;. f:Qt'i..i h.:! ch';..d.:,«~
through r.elatively £M.t.ll (Le., u~ to C.5 to ];
FAR bonuses. The COlnH:;":i::i;ee c>l~o b~l; .ovc:~ "\.:ha't~ ~.1i
urban design plan could estilbli:.;:h pr0L)er.
gllidelincs 0>1 design .:;r-,0. J o[:,:.::':.~.ei1 ·:'l' :,;rJ~;l: ,.,th'"
spac::;:-s in ol':der to r:tax~.mj ~0 t!lci.r b~'i.i~fi'<: '-;:Q i..:hc
public.
5 • Dr i!!~~ ... .nq Fou n ta i ... T! :;~_<:T,-<! _____ J;>~?,!,_::'_c. ___ ~.~~_~ ~.':~:r: _i:t F, :
Com..'1littee idcntiiic~tion t)f tile l1·..;!,w!.i;'::J. oZ i "'':':2 r,i::;
4 and 5 is sir:d.la.r to "publ i.;:: O))D:tl :=:~':"":J,;;.~I ,! n 'i:,,;:::::.~~;
of pctentJal cont:::"i:mtiol".lc tn "tho f)oi,;n',,>::' 'j~ ?~l·(:,::.
ll. small bonu~ coul<:l. be. g::ant(;d .i.l~ ordc~ -::0 O~):-';::.n
5uch aTLt'S;rlil:".iE's. T:l~ C::o:t'),,j:,.--:;,,': <~.;.':o :A~.~ ?.r-, ','::!'~ <,':~
u:cban c1esi~!n plun cljuld c::~-;':i::;.:i_L-:b ;::i:~'''G~"i~::;
'Juidl~lin(-!s for such f;:o,ciU.tJC.'..l ".nd .(>·"I'-:-nl.ti.{~s.
Tn(! ~.lneniti(.'5 Co:mm:ttE:'e recort";"snd3 tL::.t. COt.l!\G;'l c:"~::l.':"'):!;0:
t.lle ~·ollo:.:inq inc"on\:.;i.v""s. rrh,:;~o; '.~ i:':'::C,1i·.;_ '-(~f> ;,(J"lt:
pl"ovid~ ~h~ ~(':ans f~): Ob'~;>,in~nCJ r.:1~~:I~' of "l:h~ !J-::r,<:.f:."t,,-"
;re"!Ofl'.!11:;:-'.rJOCQ ~n r:-":ev~ous Secl.:;.:.~:l::>.
1. ?'i'.n bomls: 'rile COln...'nit~ee b(llicvc:-l. Lhat a. 0.::' t:c 1
FAR hoiiiXs r,.lOuld hI:! su1:ficif',ni: in Or.-c.tC17 ~':0 c,b: . .:', i_;-l
such sli'w,ll benefits (~nf;. ;:::tit~l1~.t.i.~~. :lS 1·Ot.h1ti,,11W ,"'_!1.;:1
va;;-:ious forms of public ope;". Sp':::'CB d~scribr~tl in
SEI!ction III-D. However, 101<I:jm: benefits, c.:::. I .0
full servioe. .-cood markf'l\.:, ~;ol.~ld l"cquL .. ·c
::::;:ubstantially greater incentives' "lh,n\ em illcr-cased
FAR c~f 0.5 ~o 1. As a l.'c~uli:~ U\A eO~'l1it.t~0.
requ-e-.sts th<;t the Cit¥. Cou:lciJ" ~,n acU.ng. on ·;.;.h~sc
reco~Tlraend<-. tlcns, co~~-s lQi,-:;:-"'.pr-r.o': ~ll~r <", pO_l.J.C~' :~ha t
allo';'ls g::-:eatel:.' flcxibil.i.ty, in tcnlS of FAR, for
t'utUl::e pr()j -cct~ h. the Dmmtoi.,rn AJ.:e(\ to;) i: p'l::OV ide
-major benefits, e.g., a food mat_'k<)t..
2. Hodif.Y.~llCJ thA __ ~lil_!}!l_~d CO"ll".~_I)~J:Y __ (}~9) __ ?_t?!-,-e __ t>.~~2..G~.~~ ~
The CCl1'!l11ittef::! acklloHlcdgos th.r.t projects off:::ring
major benefits or a~'lcnit.i.c~ l1ouhi. havE: to go
throuqh the PC 7.onin~· proce5~~ 80 that the u.s:;:! is
tied to ·i..:he zoning and tho bcnufi t or ~mcnit,¥ t-lll1
not be lost. HOtl"cvcr, the Cornr:litt(?(>" :rccommend~
that the PC .91:ocaSs. in modified so -that a
preliminary reviev' to est<.!b.1ish the z.onl.!HJ
Rcwi.sed 2/20/87
: ", ~ ,~.,
-' ,.
, ',>
.'( "
3.
criteria is tlad~ carly-{,m, befo!'(\! the dctailE'.d l
cosU.y development plan.s are n,~qtdr.ed for th~
final PC approval.
C.o.9~:pubJ.1.c "'orks reo:uiren~n'..:.*; Tile CO:rnrll~t',;,ee
believe.s that what is Hceded lS not a Hwatving of
the codes" but: flexibilH:.y lo intcrprat .. :tio;l and
facilitation in getting t.hi:"ough the t.ppro.''i'al
process. 1.$ a r.esul.t:., it: sU~'gestf' t:ha't
departll'lents involved in the process of revic"!,o/in'J
projeot' .npplicntions need to be a,;.,'&.:ct. 0';: the
special goals fo).· DO"rmtown and Hork cClope:cat.ively
to facilitate. the. i~pl~'Il'elit.t:..'d,on o( these (joa.lz.
This is yitOre of a prcblE::nt ';:01:: snaIl project~ th,~:1
for' larger ones. rJ'h~ PJ.i'.nr,l,l'S" .fl:1d Bl1ilcUng
DivJsi.OhS a.rc c..lrc~dy umf' U', '.yinq u ~!t.-S 01:
cOt:;~:dinatlng t.he pemit conntc::." t:o strf::t:.rr.l inc th~
appl"?val procecs, '.I.'o:'!~rd l:lis ~fot.ll ,the. CQT,~n:it:.t~o0.
rcco;r,mends that an o!'"hUCslli::.~a 0:::: t/caff. p8rso~
Lhoulci be assigned to as~~.i$t p:~opCl"ty o~m(',rs ane
other applic~nts in obtainiw; pc::::-U.nent
information fron ~ppr-opr i.:lt.e ~.t.«ff on th0
processing of their resp~ctive app)'icatio:'l.~.
l'rov i<}sl_,~.!J.~.f.~I!..~;g~~;~': c;·,~..:y ,{lal:t.ic::Lpa t.to"
should e):t.ena. to .;u;si:Gt~nc(>' in fin;mcinq .01: in
lQaking }.'ublic ~.mprove!:\<;t1i.:~ t.o ;;!3£:ist r.:aJo .. :
n~eni".,;.if>s.
In thQ: Arc.etlities Cornr.d.ttee I s many c.1iscussions of
app;-:opriate benefits and amenities :;::'or. the DOiUl.t-:)~m
.~t'eal it e):periencect scbstantLe,l ("l~1tL'lislt\ (0):' p~tent:'.8.J.
opport.unitieD in obtaining thc.so beHefits l)l~t it ah"-o
e>:perienced much frustrC!.tion in not, being f,ble to
augge.st ho,,, such al'1en..i.t.'.~G cou).d or EhO\:ld be placed.
Such a taEK ~/as beyond the putview of this Com:nittccl::J.
scopo of 'Work. .
As a result, the Committae not. only '1'lshes to reinforoe
its catlj,er statements on the neod end benefits of an
urban design plan for the DOl,mtown At'ea but: tt also
",ishes to suggest a proce~s and ScOP{~ of deve.lop! ng
such a plan.
The benefitG of a conceptual plan are mUlti-told. It
would identify and provide guicl.anca for the proper
placc!Uont of amenities. l\s OllC example, plaCing a
fountain or plaza in olle location may be r,lOst·,
aPPJ::'opri"te and re5ult in benefits to many, y,!hc:t:eas in
another location' its bcnafit to the cOMr.lunit:y r.1.ay bc
minimal. Placement and design of parking-£",cili1.:ies
arc pa:rticularly sensitive issues. A desig!l pJ.an H0\11d
provide excellent gu.idancE! to decision I't\:£\kers on :,ow t.o
..
Rev5.sed 2/20/87
'/·~::/r;o,7
\
naxi1.;ii.e tho. b.:mcfJ.b: of n;t~h {:.-.~;.:U~:·.c-'.·;~.'_l::
nirini(';ing tho: potf)ntL:~l ;\~~,;:..:_ .. ,~~ t-;.: .,-::''',
in tOi.:ns of proce5f;~ th.c.: ~'< .. ·~,.:,U'~ ·(:,i;:i'.:~_~..'" ;~~:":,/~-._.,,::-;
that COUT!cU, direct;. s-~:;',£;' ,:( . .;.l,""':~ -..)10 '~l' ., ... ~,c:';. ~' .. :-·-:.·~·i
'lOx): pl,:cx;,;am rOt" !jubs~~\1~n\.:. C~.'-'!,~-i!' .... :).).':ovc.!l. t:\!:,'ll.:o,
",orJ~ ~n:09l'lm. 1.lOuld:
1. !"pc::_if~' tho C(.>rH!f'';;~~! .... ! ~::(.:~:·.:~,";-':o:·.i '. J :>, dr 'r~i .i :'.~
f::t'S:t:ific) nnt\J:'-~ ~d t<H" P:_':-_i.;
~; Iclenl.lf~' \:he-basic ~lc.1:",:I;ts of ~\;, ... ~\ ::\ pln!l, ;:~.g,.
).oct.Lio:1 c;ui<i::.:lif.'-:,;. i-cr .; :~:~~~',~,': :',-~.: 'rm
?~~~ ~ t.~~o!;c! i~~ ~ ~j~~~?i ~\~'J ~.';~~~~~::; ;.l"' ~~ .:::.:. ~:~' .: ;-~~: j.~ ::':;~.
:3. f)~s~rib,'l th.:;. f0ro-·,-:t-" -:01' !;:!ch ~ PJ~"1 "::5.r.11 ~.·t'll~(~
incl~HI~ iJ vifal(~; 1);-:-:~:·.N!..,.;,.l0:' v.!, • ..... ~11...: ":,:::;~,~'n
g\'ictoU nUj:
.;, ~U~SC5-:' Uli\t a t-f.d~ :'~..:~(;'2: CC,-;_, i:;;;,i a:: o( :.("~:~,~.
oCFiS;' tLloe-r.t. ,-r:{: <1th"l-~·.-:-;·;·:;r!i ,"'),: ' .. ':1:: .:-,>.~~I".,i~'_:'
p:..C:pt::!".c-the desi~r;1 t'.',:-:,",,' ,::,\
~:I'''<:.':~:: ','~ .. '.' .Li,':"~"r:.j "_':'~ .', v_. ,>. -)" .. '
:' .r::" r(H-C"'or.~\"·"-:,~:lt t";;--',·;,j{, i·S!, .. ;.-_:~
In CQl\Ch.l~if)!1, the C",."r:l;P~te(> td!'>hr;-" t-_:J ~l;L'lf'"1:"'-C' :.':"<"; ~i:\~:Lt,:,'.~
~'l:Z!:t(H<)i~~;r. ('~I U'l(: ·,'.";l.L I, ,;:;-~.:.c.'/ (1.<: (.:,;"",; :,\'~:i ':.: ~.~ ~"i-.. ,. . .~-:. }:-, ._' I.-
,:n:e ':-I.v.o.lli\~~·~,.:' ::""or th! n';-:'1t.O\·i-1 Cl"'~..':_, ~in:..:,! '/C'.:' ",;',~',le
(I€'-vo!o;l'.:tl1t :.:::.: 'c~:p'.:~l:::0 ;:.;-.:l,in ''';':1(: :~ ... ::.;: <::!{) _" ':'_fl'"!;,'" ~'~~..:-. :_".[
Co:o;,r,·i.tl-t.!,) £'0(",,; L:'1il" jH"'):;:-~~ .ntl ~ .~(.r.l ;):}P,·,--o:~:".:.:'· ", :-,;H-', ~:('.: i.:r"~
ci t.)' t'.) dC\,(l:i:::~ all n-"-Pl,n ;j(!sj,c;n pl;lll ~'Q'.' t!t .. ~ !':-:·:'ii\~·.li'i\ ,:;1:C,;' :_"
o:;::c...!r to <,;~~.S\·r.h 7-~,.:-.t f~\~·:.::·.c ... ic.v~--'!)_<.'pnL;,;t~ ,'; -i 1.1:-";:01 ~":~-:-.:':~' :·~;~·:-,:;.:} .• :d,
de~j9n opp~~:\;nil~o~,
~rOHH IH.:7':TH;,';"V
CIii>.!R1IJ~;':
THiNRJ...RY c-~lI.r:r':t'T$f: Or: [;Ol-l'HTOlm DESlG~! l !l!-tE;;I'.r!~3
1',tt.a.::hmcatsr [.is~ o~ ConnLU:.ce IJcJ;;h.:n:s
'cost 01' HiljOr-Amenities
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ATTACHMENT F
~lOTrON: Council I'lerobec Cobb r:1ov{!d~ !'>('(;ondeci hy P.)tj tl!cci I
to adopt staff recommcndatjcn as follows:
L Take the f0110 .... ·:':n9 actio"s On It>.c Downlown iJ{,sJ9~1 bOt!
Mllenitics COJr.:nittOG t~ H::cc;':lIflcmulltions reg. l'<l.irl\1 t" .. 'nt:~_ilt;
and ameni tics:
a) Approve-the list o( ~banofil6 L'cquirinCj I':'I;ljor inc-ell""
tives-except fo~ -office spaco Cor nonll:'ofit O(gh
ni2:ations, II and retain the list, bnd
cr,'f! COUl'lCIL MINUTES
juM?tlffZ
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MOTION CONTUluSD
b) DinH.:t the At'chitectural RevicN' BO,1Cd (ARB) .to
expand the (I') Pede~tt'iall ShOpping COl1"lbining
Distdct des;90 ~uidelinE>s so that futut"e develop
ment Pt'oposals ,~ould be "encOuraged to provide such
benefits and lH1J(>llities as ,art in public places, pub-
1 ie open space, and publ ie drink ing foun tains.
2,. The rolloldn~1 Be U.ons on the" Oowntolm Desigo and
AI_enities Corunlilteo's ~ecornrnellded incontives:
£I) Consider a hjgher bonus Hliln .., 0.5 to 1 FAR on
future DOllOto'\-,'fl {PC) Planned Community zoned proj
ects 'on fI case-by-case basi s, par:-ticlIlarly in those
situations ~Jhere it can be der~onstt-clted that p("ovi
sian at special ocnefi ts r(;:quirc such a bonus to
offset the cost of providing the bone!it;
0) COnS;dl:l" an onJinil;nce cha;noe to the (PC; Plall!1cd
Communi ty revie.... prOcess to alluw conccptu.11
dpvclopmcnt plan approval priot" to t"eYielof of dct~ilcd d~siglJ pl&ns f0C final action;
c) Dctet-considel:."."lUon in rnodifying code CJnd othH"
onlinunccs nffecting Downtown pro jEe tS, e .9. I
imp!,'()vC"II'l'nl tr> building facades on i.] lcys, until
.:f;'('""" ';.1. (lrl>,.,. liesign Plan is prepared .and adopted
BO Ural dc~i9n Policies and priot-itieo <::re (:lc"l"l~' ~~iio~J ~cto:-c ~vch ffiodi!ic~lion is considered: alld
d) C(;IISj(;'~'I' oi'~'r~l.·(1pr:iate [JubUc financial assistance for
public .impC<l vel11ents atteL" adoption ot an Urban
Oesigll Pl~n ~(l that prioritjes are then est~bJished
011 In:provemC'flts requiring variolls torms of public (}Bsi!; t(}nC'c.
3. Direct.staff to;
a) COnUIlUl! piepil'CaUon of an Urb-3rl D.esign Plilll .... ork
Pt"09~C:1iI r p ... t is consi ston t wi til the framework sug
gested ~J the AmeniLics Committee; and
bJ Return to the Council for approval of a York pro .. ~ram:", afL~l" input is obtained £L"om the ARB, no lateL' than .September 1, 1987~
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MOTION CONTINUED
Further, endorsement of a work p~o9~am desigrl3tiog thot
the plan be prepared b~' a task force of. workable size
and which includes members of the local design commun
ity, mc~bera of 'the community at large. arid represenla
tives from the Planning Commission, fl.rcld tectural R~\,jell
SOllt'd, Historic, Re:o:ources Board, and Visual Arts
Jury.
Council Membet' Renzel was concerned to some degl'ce about the
modifications to the PC 20ne. She was willino to explore to
see what form t.hey might take.
Mayor i'loolley asked staff for clariticoEltion. She ull(ierslood
CO~lncil \\las givin<) direction to set processe$ ill motion, and
tho recommendations were far from fit'~I.
~lanager of Planning Pt"oj12ct George Zim;"!enltC:lfl !.i:aio" lh::J: 1-! .... s
con:ect.
Council Membct· Renz~l '.-as concerned c<.Ich mo\'€ aJono in an
iL~cative peoceS5 scnt a Jrlessagc that onc 'Iolaf, incl-ined to
w3nt to dgrec r whereas she n'as more inclined to ~'I~nt t.<i dis
..:lqt"ee W'ith some of the recorr,mendaLions. She wanted her
ct)nc~cn on the recol-d so it was flOt a surprise I"hell the item
r-eturnl2'd. She , .. as concerned in ccqat"d to the PC modifiCa
tions ,)bout makiiHJ commitment.G to squal-~ fo{)tdgc!:> itS :s.pe
cHic tcade oft.s, if Council went willi tile genend idc.:( of
the l"ecol1lmC'ndatiorl before tile}' sa~,' a real on-thc-Qt·ouud vie .... ·
of Io'ihit Liley ,,..e[c yettin9 (,lid what ils imp,(jct~; flljght t)e.
Several questiOns were raised nt the Study Se~~10i' at)OIJl tll~
food Ria rket, a nd she rem.'! ined concerned the demo~t"d pllies
$llou10 be looked at closely to see if the ~rea did \',·~ln"ant <l
Ilublic jllvestment in·a food market filore lilal) any otller area
o( town. At present, they had a high population of seniors
io Oownt~wn, Out she did Ilot believe that Downtown was yoing
to be cl magnet for seniors in the fut.ure, and they might sec
a conversion to younger families.
AHENO~lENT: Council ~lembcr Levy moved, seconded by
Bechtel, to add to staff recoClm.andatior.-tla the following,
·.' ... including safeguards to maintain pedestrian scale and
feeling conce~ning 'food markets~-
Counci 1 j'lelJ.lbet' I.evy sa id the Ci ty found in th(' paGt most
full-scale food stoL-es required an amount of fioor space,
..... arehouse space, and par-king lot space that was too larg& to
ce"ally fit in the Downto .... 'n area. fie was concet"ned if the)'
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" [ocust,)d si09Le~mindedly on " rood mdt-kel, they might end 'up
.... i th some"thio9 .... hich would not work well. Al !:O, if lilt!
projeCt fdiJed ilS .:Ii food rnad, .. ~tl they might be lett \-lith ,1
liHI]t! (dlci lil)' (o.r: ~ome other use. It I.,.as rJ~cessi}r:t to
f~i'l.tllt;'io the pedaslri.Hl sC'alE' which th€'~' -!lttc!lnplcd to do in
[lo')\IIHown in -every oUwr way.
Counc-il Hcn:ber I..:)eifl agreed "',ith the thL-ust of Council
ficr.-bf'r-LI;'\'Y's' thlriJ;.ing, par-ticularl'l fds COr.lments in the
-Study ~~ssi()n I and ',a 1 so ",,,-j lh Counci 1 ""cml)er Renzel's cOln
li'l€nt:"1.; Plo'Wover , the amC!'ndr.H~!lt seemed entir~ly jncon:aistCl"l)t.
l( tilt) liloOl..ldge ....... S .3dded( he believ(ld a ful1-servic~ food
M3fk@t .... ould bO an impossibility in the Downtown area. tIc
had not seen .... full-sen'ice food market consistent Hith lhe
pC'tlc-slt'ic)o fctl'l inlJ in thco area. fas he umhnst.ood earlicl"
cOrtJ.-,'cnts, the {"<Joll issuE' ... as whether the full-service food
~~I'k~t"U3~ such a desj[able goal for the community ttlat th~y
,,'cn~ ~nlin9 to wake s:t()IlHicant sclcdficcs. II rnon~ appro
rt"iatQ arencl",('ot Hi.glll be Council needed to :reexdMine the
fl('("d lOt, lf1~ f.noj<>ct UCJ',,'IIl.CI<.'"11 bC'Io"r(' ()r:""iH1Ling any speci..ll
j nColll t I 'It'S. lie-I:OU ld not "'ote [or thE.<-a rnendmen t on the
I IOOl •
C(lt!ll.:-il Mer!)cor ~'lctch~r IidQ sinii.H 5contimentf, Lo Council
Ilcl't)"C'"c ~~I(>in. R(;-·:dislicr'dlYr'" gcoccry stoce ... lithin the
pcd..:>:stl"i.1r"l sC.lJe \-."ould end Ur) bei.nq a J-iig/l-rl"iced, !>peci.alty
sto .. ·~ "'hich did not desen'(' any publ ie subsidy by yj ving
spec-i,-.I inecntivl":s.
n,">'or ' .... ooUey .ls!-;cd if Council needed th~ kind of cefincd
<:juidHlC.'C Lil,,,t c\-'cnirl<} or ilt Ct l...1.tcr point.
Ch"lif"~."n of ttl()' l'er;:riora.r')' COr:1miltE'f) on OOl.,.nio\o,'I} Design and
""'(>nities John I~octh"'dy believed that type ot refinement
I:ou!d ("Ot:lC at ,,\ l.tl'·~r point~ pl"obably part ot 111(' Urban
()[>~i9n process should Counci l endorse th.ll, and certainl)'
qxci[ic"lly ""leu ZOIn~one ~ctually h'cnt in I'>'ith a propos.ll
tot'" .1 lood (;'0) rke t •
. t-;(1"),or 'h'ool!c), believed Council was
lQitcJiHg !;Oi'!]"C:OI1C' jnto 90inq in Idth
Council l-:crr,b,",l"S tiad tes<-n'a lions.
concerned 'lbou t.
a proposal when
mis
SOttle
~ouncil Hember Lc-vy asked if it was appropriate to
lhe-list of Major" ]nc~ntives or make a general
tr .. n CouncU would lHe staff to rl!tu["r) uith ..... hat
sid~("i.·d to I)C "k)jo!:"" incentives.
pull from
sta tement
they con-
Hayor ~i'oolley clarified oth(:c than eliminating the oftice
spac(>" C(wncil was appcovillQ the list of benefits ceqLlit'ing
Major [oc~ntive$.
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Council MI!Cllt)CC Levy -'9rflCd wJth Council HOJ:'Ibcr Kl~irt.
Council could (>ither sa~' a lull-sendee food (l1\'trkct 1-'.)S
impossi~lc aod to ,delete it, or CQuld say tlley (Inly wallted
to have it tC I in the lrad~NQtt between podcstrian amenilies
and the-PVld~et, Counci I CQuld pt'otoC't the peuestrian ama~
nj ties, wldch he le.H'cd r.1i <Jht be {'In i I:lpossil)i 1 i tr. ilOl--H.' vee ,
trl" puq)OS~ o( his .'Ip;:endl"leot 'Has simpJ}' to all(}w the tood
marktl't co sta~ ill but to M:tI~~ it cl(>.<It' covlkil oid nol wC:Hlt
to saccifJce the pedeutrian sc~le.
Vice "Jayel' Sutorius "read the-dclini lion of .u fuU-snc-yjce
tood Cla r,l:;et to ate,) nit ",ould S(> 11 ot" pro\'\d(> (res" rr.~."} t s,
poul try, l ish and prQc)ucc in (1ddi t lon to pac)..,a,ged st.Qples.
Ho ~as not opposed to U"lt .lnd ~ouJd .t"..,ther not s('c modili
cations that ~ould cljmi"~to ~ store that did cx~ctly that.
Counc-iJ 1i9R'..I)er Klein said lh~l"(> could be no (llJjc-ctlolis Lo
tllO defil1"itiOIl, but the 1)t'ohl(,J':lI ... ·<JS the n~.c..,Oj~i"cnu<Jtio"
l>~(Ol'O t..-ouneO 9,,011;<1" to Ulet stO{l' lmd'~i' t.1H,~ Il~~difll.l ot
"ijunlJfils l{l:'tJuirjfH} "';(},lOt' Inceol.iv~$." ',he '~lJ{· .. ~tioll 1>.· .. IS not
whethoc Council .. cJnt~ci !'l'.Jcll t'l 5[0("(' t.Alt ~:h<lt th(')' h'(>l·t'
"..iUing to dr; to get it. lie-cl'SSLJct'a .HlOlher: ,~ord i~~licit
in the r(>con~end~tiun vas ~dilo~dabJt.~ or ~J~arl,et p~jccd.~
UeletiruJ Iter"! Id r.Oilnt Cr)uncil '\0',15 bad·; ill a II{'ut(al [iosi~
tion, not i(ldk~tiI19 vh,H thc-ir; position IIOU)ct be if suer. <l
PL'oposal cCtr..e before Council end the)' cnuJd (>xpl()r~ <.t tticst
tiltte whether the~' I)"Uev(!d the <H'(.'d (l('(',J<2'o SO::1C t)'IH:' of
public bencfit r,uosid)'.
SIJUSTll'UT? AlilWVHEN1": Council IINA)c(" ~'.lo.in moved,
seconded hY' l~ooll~~', to delell! #1\1 lO, "Appn'\.'o th{)o It&t .)f
ben&fits reqoiring nJi~r inCcllt'ves~ e;:cPI~r lo~ ~of(ice
~pace for nonprofit o~g~nizations~ elld -a (ul1 Gervicc (ood
ma .d;e t/pe tOlaOon t 1 y" s j t ild, t u) 1-tl ttle t.a L"ffiC'r' ~ tth'l r ko t ...
tlayor rioolloy did not "",)fIt olO)'OOe to be t!>lsled into
believiolJ Council t..'as 'W'flOll)hc(l.fl(>dly in ~upp(lrt o!" .. grocecy
slore in tIle j)o .... otown. fi)' -oHlltinq tllO llen l ('ouneiJ .... ·a.s
not presontin{1 to .anyone an ,t>xftavstive list so that did not
mean that someone-could not go in wi til a pt"<'post'll wtlich
inCl~ded a grocery.store. If' they ~~n~9cd Lo go 1n ~jth tflc
kind of proposal ,that fit the discussion, it would be SOi!le
t.hlhg Council ,",'otlld wf"Int to con .. dde.r;,
Council Member rletchel'" would vote in ie-vor of the substi
tute <lmendrr,eot but di.d not "'ant to le<lv~ the impression
touncil would not look ti\\'o;r"bly upon nn "pplication. Undel'"
II~.I!.~l .ot the cepo(t attached t.o CMItIL~3!7, it. sc;ld,
.,. , • the Commi t,tee ',believes t.ha t a tuture devE'lopMent pro
posal ... inc,lud.ing such a food m~rket should be revie .... ed in (1
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vety positivc:i 1l'l..lllnCl-by the City," .and sh(~ agreed 'I<."ith that
statomcnt but it was a m~tt~r of degree of wlletlle~ the~' wo~~
sin'Jlinq a food market out uf b/dny e-speciCllLy worth}' o(
~(cat incentives. The .incentives t1ould-be i,l COht(adiction
to til.:! I,}tlidelincs set up after the-Downtown Study.
Council .Icmber-Renzel supported the substlt1Jte <HII(!'ndl'lcnl
""hich deleted the tHO areas ft'here she h<ld been It.ost UIICt}r,1-
tortabLc ,tith the jdea of tradifH) uSes (at' space. She djd
_,;'not sac how to eosut"'e the llses cornil.ltc(f. In rc .. nity, if
V, the space was built and the uses could not sU{'\'.i\oe, th(' City
''. "::-'''wld eod up b€ing for-ced to allow other uscs into-thOS0
sPiJces. They lwuld not have the ameniq' and, ill S(lr:1Cl' S.~fl6(.>,
would I'lave cheated other pt-oper-t)' ow-nOt-S O}' yivio9 tt'le
bonu~;€s to people IdlO provided s01'llC'thinq f.hort t~(r; lHlt
end~d up witll a lon~-lerm space.
Council Ht)(I':bct" P~ltittlcci. oppos.cd Ule .f,ubstj luLv ,)('c:ndr,>~r~t,
Full secvice mjqht not be achievable, but flc t)~llC'ved it w~s
~"Ot-UH"'hile to have tt,e \oo'ordlOQ "5 an lncen~ I ~'e to .Ittl"')ct
SOllIe ideas and IH-OpOSd!S. Tile propo.s'lls ('"oulo l)e tUl'uecJ
oovm if Coullcil did not li,L..e fhe ideas, If lll .... ,· Old nQ~"
.~d'wro to pt:'destLl<lf); ':tmenities, i{ 1t lidS In [11>:> 11l"\.lflt} ItJc,j
lion, it: it waG ltle \(t'ong prorosal, if it ~'d"-_ flot ~C:fHlI)~i~-h
all)' tcasible~ Ther.c was suffici.ent evidence lh,'Il ttw tOOl!
I!hlrkct was <3 concern "'ld to d1dete it did not gi .... (> Coullci 1
.JI"I opportunity itt any time to see ,;llat people c.l~e up '"'llil.
Th~ Com,~itl~e 8ade a qood [aittl recor~mcndatlon, dnd Cou'lcil
silould leave Ule ..... ording ill.
Ha ~'(Jl-\';oolley ddt-j lieu the 1 isl ".~ s no t
Deleting the j tem did not filean Counci I hdd
options, but had senl i:i signal of COJlcern.
,) 11 .. i n c1 \I S i ve .
closed 0(( lts
Council t-lembec Palilucci did not ilgree "'ith thdt tnlCI"pretil"
tion. lie bcJiev~d Council lias sendio'J a mcssaye It did llQI
want to soe the kind of· proposa1. Counci 1 rniqht SOQ ("('COlt, .•
• ne'ld~tions ol things Ilot on ltle list, but dnytlling tllal rl~~
beell' on the list as n~comm('ndt~d. ur the Committee .:Jnd turneu
C)O.,., 11 , IH2' il1tecpretcd to mean Council was not int(OCl.!SLc~.
COUllcil Membec ReflzcL said two poi~ts came out at tIle StUdy
S~,s:.;iol!: On.c, Hie Amenities Committee did not j'(lvesti9~toe
clos(dy whether or not Om;ntot.'o .... as dif£c("cnt horn ony ot.her
nei9hborhood wi th respect to' needs for a food f!1,nl<.et. Then"!
had [Jeen previous lestimony to that ettect, but hasic311y
it w~'\s more or less taken as ;l qi .... en by the Cor.mittcc With
somc €vZlluation; olnd two, the PC zone "'as avail?oble lhrouqtl
o_ut the cQmmunity for people to come in with CL"eaUVe i.dp.ClIs
to sQlve communi ty problems and, at the same time-, t"equest
'oeoofits fot" themsC'lvt;'s as tr-adoe-o(fs.
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Council Ncrnbe(" Ucchtcd ~Il<,)(e<.l ~omc ol council Nember
P~titucci's conce~ns and pointed O!lt one ot the issues pro
poslld .... as a full-time-Ot-fJermancnt farlr:~r-js market , and a
full-service market did. not necessarily have to be a huge
jumbo Safeway. The only danger if the language was le[t in
was Council should be can.'ful not to send a message to a
potential developer that Council wOllld definitely ar>provc
tile proposal. She ("cl:erenced the past hou~:inq incentive
where, it a developer provided addjtional affordable units
Council would a 110 .... ' an inct"ease in numbers of unils ('Ind a
pt""ojt:h.":t on El Camino· l'1ay whor-e a dev~lopel" jumped Ull"ough
hoops for a year-before Cou~cil ultimatel). tUt-ned him dOI .. n.
Council Member Klein agreed \~ith Ma)'or Woolley's Interpreta
lion4 (olincil \-IdS nol s<lying it \,'dS oppo~{;'d to the ided of
.thct:"(~ be-inlj a tODd market. The question I--I;]S ·\~lleLher Council
was comillitted'ito the idea the 1:I.Hkel ilnd theIr capitalistic
economy wcn~' not \·:o·rl:in~Jj and. tlwt""efore , they should pr0-
vide some t~ipG' of 019 incentive. He 1-/IlS in favo(" of .letting
mat"kBt systems ... ,or:-. until .it boca me absoll1tely clear that
govet""nfllC'nt needed to step in. He did not belie\'(.. thilt was
tile case and ..... as coricerned ",bout the intlC"qrity of their.
syst~ln. lie did aot ~1,Jnt to send false signals to developer.,>,
when thet-e was a stronq possibility Counc.il might not be
I-dlling to qive the iOCclltive 0(" subsidy upon which plans
wore based. If a ,pt""oposal included a full-service food ma("
ket and .... ·anted som.::-trilde-offs 1 Council would C"onsidet" it.
SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT PASSEl) by if' vote of 6-3 1 Sutorius,
.Hechtel, Patitu.c<:i vo'ting -no. N
MOTION AS MIENDEW PASSP.{J unanimously.
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~URilli
ATTl\CHHENT G
CHY OF PALO ALTO
DOWNTOWN URBAN DESIGN PLAN
WORK PROGRAII
REVISEO OCT08ER $, 19B7
The Urban Desl9" Plan (UOP) will be a compr.henslve document of policies
procedures and guid,Unes describing the desll'ed physical form of
OO'tmtown Palo Alto. It will be used to aid developel's and designers in
unders.tandlng the expectations and objectives for Oowntown del,'el{lpment
and provide a f"m.work fo,-the Architectural Review Board (ARB),
Planning Commiss.ion and City Council to evalua~e development proposals.
The UOP ~1'l also serve as a master plan to guide public improvements and
art in pubHe pI aces .in the DOlfnto.n area. The UOP will be inco"porated
into the Urban Design section of the Comprehensive Plan and may '·.sult in
amendments to applicable districts in the Zoning Ordlnanc._
QIhlECTlVE
lhe Urban DeSign Plan for Downtow~ Palo Alto Is intended to incorporate
the Downtown Study land use, development and transportation polities
adopted in May, 1986 by the Palo Alto City Council. The UDP provides a
visual design frameHork to guide public and private development In the
OO""to"n area. The UDP for the Downtown .. -.. of Palo Alto will:
A, Identify and guide the placement of amenities as recolMlended by the
Temporary COrM1iUee on Oowntown Design and Amen1tie$j
B. Identify existing design features in the Downtown that are
attract1~e ~sset$ and worthy of preservation and those features that
areunattrattiv. and undesirable.
C _ Ident I fy and formul.te po lIc I .. for speclol foca 1 poi nto, .ntri es,
historic areas and tra,sition .r'as;
O. Develop design guidelines for the improvement and rehabilitation of
.xlsting buildings .nd construction of new buildings Including
building facade treatment, use of materials, canop1e~, $ignin9, and
paving;
f. Develop a plan for alleyways that will coordinate public and p'rlvat.
improvements ~
F. Develop design guidelines (0'-parking facilitles,driveways,
pedestrian access to transit and consld.ration of possible street
closuresj .
Vr~.n DesIgn Kork~r'< ,e
Adopted Octo~er 5, 1901
Page 2
G. Integr.te and consolld.te exIstIng r.gulatlon, In the Downtown are.
relating to pedestrl.n guldelln.s, push carts, historic
pr-i!'5"er\'.atlon, ~a.rk1ng, street tree ma.naSleg'~rlt, and art in publi,
plac., ;
H. Ass.ss co"dltl~,of exIstIng publIc Improvements .nd properties and
any fulure project. pl.nned ~y t~e City In the Downtown area;
I. Oe",lop lopl ... nt.tlo" ... su,~s for public and prlv.te Improvements
IdentIfIed In<th. UDP.
C~mE!
He<'>l>.r~hlp
The d.velo~nt of the UDP Is Intended to t., •• dvant.g. of loc.l t.lent
and ex~rtls. In the <~~nfty In ord,r 10 pro"u,e policies and
9uldellne5 thlt are unique to the needs of Palo Alto's Downlown are.<
Th~ (~~ittee !s en~lslon~d a1 I work~n9 c~~lttee and it is recommended
th.t It b. cO"l'I<t;ed of no IOOre th.n ten rn,mb .. ·s. Hembers would be
appointed by the Hayor and could be drawn fro. tho following c<>""onlty
represenhllon:
1 Phnnlng {omluloMr
2 Archlt.etoral Reylew Board He=ber$
1 Hhtorlc Reso""" •• Board He.ber
I Vlsu.1 Art< J",y fle.ber
2 Ar<hft~'I./Deslgn Professionals
3 COIfClur,fty lie-mbers (8us.1ness Owners, Property (homers, l)evelopet'S,
Resldentsl
Re$ponsl~llltl.s
The CDnlltte. ,hall act '$ • work!09 body to deyelop Ide.s, prep.re dr.ft
text .nd<sketches for the UPP. Committee members will be a,ked to
contrIbute slIdes, photographs, .nd preliminary sketches thot may b.
os~ In presen!&tlMs and the final UDP.
EXPERTISE KtEDED
Urb&n Desl9" Facillt.tor
No D"ts)d. <onsultanl with expertIse In urb,n d .. lgn will be ne.ded to
lead the Coonltt.e and staff In the formulation of the appropriate ur~an
de,lgn strate91es for the Downtown area, The major functIon of the
consultant will be to portlclpale In COIlrIfttee meaUngs In order to focus
the dISCUSSion, keep the Committe. on track, and artlcul.t. desIgn Issues
In the d.y.lop. ... nt of the UDP. The consultant will not b. re,ponslble
for producing the fln.l product.
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Urban Desigll W~rk· Pro, .• m
Adopted Octob"" 5, 1987
Pag' 3
Writing and Illustrations
A "'jor product of the UUP will be to Illustrate design guldeifnes .no
planning polfchs reht~d to the oevelo~nt of the Down tow •• re.. Th,
Committe. will be responsible for producing Inlll.1 text, photographs .nd
conceptual sketches to Illustrat. the design goid.lIn". Outside
"sistanc. froM an a"hlledur.l lIlustrator "Ill ~. needed to prep".
c •• era-ready Illustrations and Baps for the fin.1 docu~nt. Staff will
be responslbl. for text editing and preparation of tn, final UD?
Doc"",,"\ Pr.p.rllion
In-house graphics staff will be responsible for pastE-UP, cover--art,
formatting and proouctlon of th, fiOll VD?
Planning Depart .. nt
The follo~lng Planning staff resources, eQui"lent to one full-II •• st.ff
pos~tlon, will be made available to prc,du{:~ th~ UDP. The CO/7i";lltt~e
CO<lrd I nat i on and report writ i rig ~111 b{' hitod I cd b)~ a project 1:'.H:ager.
0'"1'.11 guidance for policy direction a"~ (o,",\the participation will
Involv. the cllI.r Planning Officl.l or Assistanl Phnnlng Vfflclal in
c-onsultat1on with the Dlredor of Plan!1f{l9 .and CO~-:'lJnlty rnYlron:1'~nt.
Planning support staff will be called In, ,as; necessary, for short periods
to pnwfde t-echnfcal assistance with sped,l sub·ar~H of t'he-Plan and
atlend'nc, at Cc~ltl •• rne&tlngs. Graphic. staff will b. POsl involved
at the beginning and end of the UDP proc,,, to establish bos. m.p,.
graphics and the final repo.'t. /0, <ontract s.<retary will be needed to
take summary ml~ut~s of tho (o~~tt1ee meetIngs.
Other Department.
Participation by ,taff members fro~ other d,plrt~ent' suc~ o. Public
Works, Utilities and Transportation will b.·crltlcal fn the resolution of
key Issues relating to th& UDP. Such Issues Includ •• 11.)'way treatm.nt,
design of major parking structures) infoN!at1onal $I~ns, street closures.,
transit locations, str.et lighting, mainten.nce and encroac~.ents. staff
", •. b.rs will b. asked to provide Inforo.Lion and technical .sslstance and
to partlclp.te In developing solutions, AttendanCE at regul.r Comoltt ••
m,etfngs will not be required,
Outside O.sign Experts
Speci.l d.slgn expertis. to assist the Comolttee will be sought fr~~ the
student Architectural Charratt. Prog,.. or the Rural Urban Oev.lopment
Assist.nce Team (RUMT -a profession.l AlA multi-disciplined program
that provides .n.lysls of design problems within a three·day on·slte
stUdy).
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Urban O •• lgn Work .Pro. •
Adopted october 5, 1987
Plgo 4
~EETlHGS
Fr.~uenc'y
_ Heotlngs are recoom.nd,d to be held on a regular b.sls but not to exceed
two per month. Hore f,equ,nt meeting' .ay be he,d during the fln.l
drafting of the UDP, or If s"bcoomltt"es .re fOnT~d.
TlIIIII
H,etlngs'wlll b. held during the day and .hould I •• t no longer th,n Z·J/l
hours ~
Minutes
A contract secretary will prepare summary minute. of the me.tlngs. Staff
-will prepare agendas and .,all·out packets and provide assIstance with
typing and reproductIon.
location
Regul.r meetIngs will be held In City Hall or oth.r specIfIed location.
SpecIal meetings may be held In offices out.lde of City ~all.
Tours
Field trips through the Downtown "-ea and In other c",lIIunltle' ~'l be
conducted during the cour.e of the Committee m.etlngs.
TIHE SCllroULE
Draft UDP
It Is estimated that It will take approxl.ately nine ""nth. from the time
that the CommItte. begIns until a flrst'~raft UO? I, completed. The
draft wIll then proceed through formal revle. by the VI,ual Arts Jury
(VAJ), Archltectur.l Review Board (ARB), HI,torlc Resource. Board (HRB),
Planolhg Co:mhslon &r,d City CouncH. Attached Is a proHmlnary sthedule
for the. work program.
PUBLIC REVIEW PROCESS
Hark Prog' ....
lhe conceptual work program for the UDP, as pre,ented here, will be
reviewed and discussed by appropriate bodies and comml.slons who have an
active interest or responsibility In reviewing OO"lntol<" de.lgn and making
recommendations to the City Council. The boards a~ commIssIons include:
t~e Planning Cornm1ssfon, Architectural Review Board , Historic Resources
Board and Visual Arts Jury.
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Urban Design Work-Prog.-am
Adopted October 5, 1987·
rage 5
C .... lttee
The Urban Oesign Conmlttee will be comprised of representatives from the
above boards as well aS,local design professionals, community
-representatives, and business interests. Heetings will be posted and
open to the public.
Workshop
It is -anticipated that one or two public workshops will he held in the
Downtown area to present preliminary findings and conceptual guidelines
developed by the Committee. The purpose of a workshop will b. to
publfcize the UOP and obtain reactions and suggestions from reSidents,
retailers I day-time users and others who have an intet"est in the
livability of Downtown.
Public H.arlngs
Upon compl.tinn of a draft UDP, the variovs boards listed above will hold
heal'lngs prior to making recommendations to the CHy Council.
FINAL PR0.ll.~I
The final UDP will be a spiral bound document conSisting of approximately 5~-100 pages. It will b, written by staff and will include line
draliings, maps and photographs to Illustrate the concepts and guld.l ines.
!!mill
The P"oposed budget for the project is $27,500 based on the following:
Foell itator
Graphic Illustrator
Reproduction and ~"bllcation
Total
SIS,OOO
S,OOO
---LM!Q
5ll,500
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ATTACHMENT H
ARCHI'I"t::CTURAt. REVIEI-I BOARDl, HISTORIC RESOURCES-BUARD,
fitAI<IllNU C6l1M ISslON 1INJ)VTSU7iL ARTS jUR~ hCONM8NDATIOII
Re URdAN DESIGN IiORK PROGRMI ANO BUDGET AM>;NIJM8Nr
ORO~tlMlce (Continued I<om 97TI/~-(CiiR:460'7 ,
m1U::0r;710H-06/'IOl-Ol'
Coun~il Me~&( Bechtel clarified th~ makeup of the committee
as proposed was lIlodi tied to reflect the concerns 0 f the
revi-e"d.io~ bodies dod would be more a f a balance between puo
lie me~o8['s ~nd professionals.
liOTIOth Counci.l Hel7lber Bechtel moved, seconded by
Patltucci, to adopt the staff recommendation as follows:
1.. Endorse t~le Urban Dosign Plan Work ProQram,
2. 01[,"6ct the Kayor to appoint an Ul:ban Design COll'lmitteer
3. Approve the
$20,000 fo<
proor-~mJ and
budget amend~ent ordin~nce
~ork identified on pa98 5
appropriating
of the 'Work
4. Direct 9t~ff to initi~te con8ult~nt selection as defined
In the work proQraa and indicate whother this matter
should bo reviewed by the finance ~nd Public Works
Co III nli ttOf)
onJ)INANCE 3772 AS AHENDED entitled "ORDINANC~
OF THE COUNCIl, OF THE Cl'er OF PALO ALTO
AH£NOING THE BUOOBT FOR TaE FISCAL YEAR 1997-
88 TO PROVIDE AN AOOITION~ APPROPRIATION FOR A
COW~TOWN URBAN DESIGN PLAN"
Council He~ber Cobb askod whethor staff was comfort~blB with
t'he budgot as outl tnEd.
City Han.J.ger Bill Zaner &aid yes.
AKENO)1ENT: Vico Mayor Sutor ius moved, seconded by Woolley ~
to amend budget ordinance to include a contingency amount of
$2,500.
AMeNDMENT PASS~D unanioou8ly.
KOTION AS ANENDEO PASSED unanieouBly.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
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Ni'l'ACtH1ENT r
~staH t
This l-eport waS prepared for
tho M3y 4, i 993 .ooet 1"g of the
Policy and Services committee
W =_tel }JOI _______ --'-__ -----,
April 22, 199J
HONORABLE CITY (OUNCIL
PlIo Alto, Callfornra
AttentIon, Polley and S.rvlc •• (~Itl ••
",ober' of the (ouncll:
At the CHy Council ",ollng of febru.ry 11, 199), the I!rban Design COmlHte.
presented th~ IJrafl Oolil'lt(;~n Urba., Design Plan to the Council. A pl1blic
hear1ng ~as held cn the dr~ft Plan following the pre$tnlation, Several
pel'soM SpOli.1l reguding the Plan l Inclvding three downtown property (Iwners
concerned about the Pla"'s references to vr1v~te property and the potential
for thase ·9~fd~lines· to be used a$ inflexlbl~ regulations.
Following (oun(llf s ques.tlcning ab¢ut the intent. use j)nd possible futUre
revision'S to the 9'lan, the Graft Downtown Urban Ot!sign Plan was refened to
the Pol1c)' and Servi(~s (~lttee on a 9~O vote. Based 011 CO!\YTlents made by
Indl.idual (ouner! H,SIb<rs, is,",s to b. discussed by the Policy and Services
Co,"ltt,. Inclod.:
2)
3)
R.vi .... of how the Phn and It> con«pts and guldellnes w.re
developed by the Co~!tt.e ovor tho l.st four years (see staff
dlscus'ion on page I of th •• ttached Planning Commission staff
reporl dated Oe,e~r ., 1991);
CGncero'S r.ahed by several property ownel'S that the Plan is too
binding and could be used to limit flexibility and cr.at1vlty (see
pages 1 and 3 of Plannlog (o~lssion ,taff report);
now to ensure the Plan w~ll be visionary and used to inspire
downtown property owners .and merctlants, rather than dictate the
design of their projects ("e page, 2 and 3 of Planning Commission
staff report);
4) Allocating addltlon.l funds to professionally edit and finalize
the Plan (see att.ched letter frOM Shirley Wilson d.ted February
IS, 1993).
CMR:2S7:9J
'''"_< __ .-:'''' ........ '''".;:;,;.:;~ ..... ~""'~ ....... ,.:,.;..:,':,:.'i, '._.0..-,-'. ,
The verbatim minutes of the ArchltecLural R.vlew ~ard ... tlngs at which the
draft Plan was discussed (Nov •• ber 5, 1992 and Oecelllber 3, 19921, and which
were not preylously dhtrlbuted, are atttthed to this report. .
If you need another copy of the Dr.ft Urban Design Plan, or any other
.aterl.,. r.lated to thl. Item, pl •• s, contact lorl Topley .1 the rlannln~ Department offlc,.,
Respectfu'ly submitted,
1<17'~hr
NAlley lYTLE
Chief Pl.nnlng Offlcl.l
~UAA"~).u~ ~I·:~
CI ty H.nager
Attachments: CHR 174:93 d.ted Febru ... y 18, 1993, without .1t.cMenls
Planning (o~.I.slon St.ff Report dated D,ce.ber 4, 19,3,
without att.ch.ents
lette,-fro .. Shirley Wilson dated february IS, 1993
Excerpt Minutes of february 27, 1993 (Ity Council Keetlng
Excerpt minutes of Nov •• ber 5, 1992 .nd Oece=ber 3. 1992 ARB Meetings
cc: Urban Oe.ign Committee
Chop Keen.n
Jim Baor
Henry Gaw
Erick GlIbertson
John Hac"".nn
CMR:257:93
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february 18, 1993
HONORA8l£ CITY COUNCIL
Palo Alto. CalifornIa
DRAfT DOWNTOWN URBAN DESICN PLAN
Members of the Council:
Report !n..l!l:kf
TMs report SlIlMlartzes public, advisory baard and Comission coments and
recommendations on the Draft Downtown Urban Design Pl.n, It also requests
CHy Council review and corrment on the draft pl2Hl, and recorTYIlends c.ity Council
.doption.
After four years of hard work. the Urban Desfgn Committee has produced a Draft
Urban DeSign Plan for consideration by the City Council, Background
information related to the preparation of the plan, incl uding a SUlMl"Y of
comments received during pUDlic outreach to downtown merchants, property
owners, neighbors, and r.,fe. by the Architectural Revle. Bo.rd, the Historic
Resources Board and the public Art CommIssion, is contained in the attached
report to the Planning Commission dated December 4, 1993.
The Planning Commlss!on reviewed the Draft Plan at their m.etfng of Dacember
9, 1993 and unanimously recommended adoption of the plan by the City Council
(mioutes are Included In the Council's packet). The Utilities Ad,!sory
CO!llllission revl.wed the plan at theil' meeting of December 2, 1993 ("Inutes
attached). Significant comments and recommendations of the Planning
',Commfssion and the Utilities Ad,lsory Commission, which·are not already
addressed in the Cecembor 4 Plannfng Commission Staff Report, are summarized
below.
All of the varf~us groups, boards and commissions which reviewed the plan
.'pressed enthusfasm and support for the plan.
Pl.nning Commission Comments
, • E//TRIES: Concern was expressed that AlmalEl Camino Real should not be
emphasized as an entry to downtown, .specially in light of the City's
CHR: 174:93
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stited desire to not nave Alma link to Sand Hill Road. Tho
Middlefield/University entry seems to ~ork fine now, so thero is
dlscnmf.rt with the Idea of empha'izing higher denSity housing in this
.rea. (Marsh)
BUilDING MASS: The plan talks about how building mass should be focused
at the corners in order to anchor intersections. S~e con~ern was
expressed that mass does not always equate to an Improved pedestrian
experience, and that this plan should not necessarily encourage
Increased building mass at the corners. (Harsh, Cullon)
PlANNED COMMUNITY lONt PUBLIC BENEFITS: The list of items, which ~ight
qualify is public benefits for Planned Community lone projects, needs to
be compared to the original list of desired downtown amenities de~eloped
several vears ago. Th. plan should clarify that this list has a lot of
things which .ould be nice, but would be very minimal public benefits In
and of themselves. (Marsh, Cullen)
NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION: Protection of residential neighoorhood. needs
to be emphasized more, with specific ideas, In the discussion of
tr.nsltlon edges. (Ojaklan)
LmER fROH JIM BAER: The C01!mlsslon received, I.ttor at the .,ceting
fr~ ~r. Baer regarding his concerns and co~nts on the plan. The
Commission agreed with Mr. Baer that th.re should be better emphasiS of
the pl.n as 'guideline' rather than regulation, and that specific
references to Llddlcoats (i ••. , private property) should be removed from
the plan. St,ff also agrees and s.es no problem Including the.e
changes.
utilities Advisory Cooml •• lon Comments
7ne Commission g.nerally supported the Draft Plan and Indicated that in
the future they would be open to discussing ways to Improve the
oppaaranc. of necessary utility structures in the downtown.
N •• Ilghll09 for the downt~"" area i. a utilities CIP ite~ to be
Implemented In the near futur.. Careful consideration of the type of
light fixtures used would be necessary.
Hexl S1o •• ·-..··· .
Staff Is r.comendlng th.!. the City Council adopt the Draft U,'ban DeSign Plan
,"ddi,ect staff to produce a final pl.n Incorporating comments received by
the public, bo.rds and cOll1lllssloO$ and the Council. ..
lh. city CounCil originally approved a budget of $25,000 to produce the Urban
~$ign Plan. That money was used mostly to pay for the services of •
consultant, who facilUated the early me.tlngs of the CO:mlltt .. and produced a
C~R:J74:93
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nuobpr of t~. graphics In the plan (the re",alnder of the graphics were
produced voluntarl1y by Robert Frank of the Urban O,slgn Conrante,). Of the
total Il5,ooO, approxl.ately 54,300 remains. Starf b.lleves th.t this .mount
Is sufficient to flnallz. the docu .. nt In the following manner:
Fln.lIlO graphics wllhout making slgnlftcant style. or content ch.nges
tan griphlc$ In black and white);
Produce fln.l tover art In two colors;
Incorporate challjles bued on co,,"ents received f,'om the pubHc, boards
and COB1lsslons and Counell;
In·hou,. x~rox print Ins, 1000 copies.
If th. fln.l ~o<_"t wne produced b .. ed on the above, It would lock very
sloll.r to the dratt In tenos of Qu~llty .nd cont,nt. However, du, to our
Cl1rri?nt l(~rkIQad I the staff 1'E'$.ourcu necessary to finallle the plan
{incorporate '~nt$, word processing ~nd graphics layout}, would not ba
.,.Il.ble fo. six ROnth.. Staff would antlclp.te rele •• ing the final plan in l.ate SUffi.eI'.
hl.Q,.-,end 0\ 1011
Staff ,'oco",,,,,nds that the CHy Council:
I) Mopt the .thched Negat!"o Oec! n.tlon of env I ronm.nta I Impact;
l) Adopt the Oraft Urban Oe.lgn Plan;
) Olr.ct st.ff to produce the final Urban Design Plan, responding to
(.OI!'I1ttiltS )"ec:ehed frt1J1 the public! boards and cOfMliss1on$ and the
CO"n,n,
Respectfully sO~ltted,
I/h r.y ~ ftT
fWlCY lfTLE
Chief Planning Offlcl.l
CH.~: 174: 93
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KENNETH R. SCHREIBER ;r
Director of Planning and
Community EnVironment
2/18/93
Page 3
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Attachments:
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N&yi,tlv~ Declaration
Phnlll"g COIIIlulonstaff repor! of 12/4/92 wH~ attachlllents E~cerpt of ARB alnute5 of 11/5/92 and 12/3/92
EKcerpt of UtlHtl.s Advisory C .... lsslon Hlnutes of 12/2/92
Letter frOQ JIM aaerd,ted Oece-o,r 9, 1992
Dr,ft Vrban De$19n Plan (Council Me~.rs o~'y)
Ct: Urban DeSign C~lttee
Chop Keen.n
Jim Soer .
CKR: 174:93
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Page 4
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Dec •• ber 4, 1992
·PlANNING COMMISSION
P.lo Alto, C.llfornl.
C\t!, of)'alo )lIto
P.O. lOX t0250
P~lO 1ILlO. CA enOJ
DRAfT DOWNTONN URBAN DES!GN PIAN
Members of the Commission:
Project DescriDt1~
This report summarizes public, advisory board and commission co~r.t$ and
,<<commendations on the draft DOlo'lltown Urban Design Plan. It 41so requ.,ts
Planning Commission r.vie~ and recommendatlon(s) on the dr.ft Plan thtt will
be submitted for City Council consideration .nd final 'ctlon In January 1993.
In Septe.ber 1987, following compl.tlon .nd ImplementatIon of the Oowntown
Study In 1966 and r,lty Council policy lctlon on tho Downtown Amenities
Committee recommendatIons in mld-lIB7, the CIty COUNcIl appoInted a ten-~mber
Urban Doslgn Committee (UOe) to prepare a Downtown Urban DesIgn Plan. Th.
CounCIl's objectIve was to have a desIgn plan for the Downtown Are. th.t would
guIde futUre development and Identify appropriate public Imp,·ov .... t wlthto
the context of preViously approved pollcle, and regulations for the Downtown
Area.
The volunteer Committee met extensIvely over a four-year perIod In developing
loformatlon and ultimately concepts and graphic IllustratIons that would be
Incorporated within tne draft Plan. This draft Pion wa. completed and
dl,trlbuted for public r.vlow In August 199Z. Subsequ,ntly. m.mbers of the
Urban Oe.19n C""",ltt .. and staff met and discussed the Plan on SiX occasions
In October 199~, with variOUS Downtown Interest groups, Includln9 ~rchant.,
property owners., other bus 1 ne~s owners_!nd nearby nelghburs. Over 700 not Ices
.. -weI'<! sent -to these fiiMvfdu.1s and busInesses annountlng the avaIlability of
this draft Plan and the date and 1 ocat I on of the sl x outre ach ~ .. t Ing s . ! n
additIon. the dr.ft Plan was reviewed by the Public Art Commission, Klstorlc
Resources Board {HRBj, Architecture Review Board (ARB), and UtIlities Advisory
Commission [UAC). All Boards and Comolsslon. who have revIewed the Plan to
date, endorse It enthusIastIcally.
12/04/92
Page 1
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~se 2f the Downtown Urban p.Slgo Plan
lhe -iraft Downtown Urban Design Plan is Intended 'to enhance the quality of
downtown andeDsure that It retains its appeal and attraction.' The draft
Phn emphasize. th4! 11 is Intended to guide downtown developm,nt and
amenities and Is n21 intended to be binding or regulatory In nature. The
Committe. forwards the Plan with the hope th.t It wIll inspire prlvato action,
rather than d ... nd It •.. The Plan can beeo"", a catalyst for advocacy for publ1c
Impro.ements In the Downtown. The Commltt.e acknowledges that the Plan
captures some Idea. and concepts. Most concepts 0111 undoubtedly be modified,
slightly or radically, In their later developm.nt. So,,", of the ultimate goals
are likely to be accomplished in ways that were not envisioned or anticipated
by the Coomlttee. Therefor., the Plan should b •• Ie.ed as a tool and
resource, rather than. requirement; an Inspiration rather than a regulation.
Staff and the ARB are comitted to being very flexible and open minded In
their oppllcatlon of the Plan. The Committee intends the Plan to be fluid and
re.liz.s tnat the Indl.ldual .ariables relating to any single property or
sltu.tlon will nave a gre.t deal to do wltn tne ultlm.te design solutions, and
there is a need for creativity and respon.,lveness to those v.rlable.. For the
Plan to be suce •• sful It should to be embr,,,ed by the ~roperty and bllsiness
own.rs, not forced upon the.. Implementati,'n Is expected over the long rather
than the short term. Things will occur whlc~ will "date' the document and it
shollld never become a constrafnt to 1nnovatlo,1. That res(J1t would be c(lntrary
to Its Intent and purpos •.
SUmmary of Comrnentlond Becommgndat1~~~ qn the Plan
To date, most members of tne public and .11 of the advisory boards and
commissions have been very supportive of the Plan. Criticisms have focused on
several areas.
Use 0 f ihLllin
Some indl.lduals, particularly the major Downtown property o'mers
Jim e •• r and Chop Keenan, ha.e expressed concern that staff and the ARB
will use the Pl.n ., • regulatory device rather th,n a guideline for
improved quality. Mr. Baer is satisfied that the Plan will not be
misused If It Is adopted with a set of instructions to st.ff and the ARB
not to use the Plan. as a basis to deny projects with ref.rence to It.
Also, h. would prefer that the reference to the lIddi~oat's building be
del (ted. _ Mr._Keenan has "requested" that any reference topTivat •. - " -
pr~perty and architecture be removed from the Plan in order to prevent
another layer of 'zoning' for the Downtown". staff has gone t. some
length to aSSU\'e these property Owners that the document will no.t bo
applied rigidly, but.l! Is understandable that they will re~u!re City
Council assur.nce on"how the Plan will be used before they .re
comfortabl e.
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12/04/92
Pag, 2
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While staff and the ARB Intend to be flexible in applying the
guidelines, It cannot be ignored that public space is formed and framed
by the buildings which su,'round it. This is • fundament.l prinCiple of
urban deSign, Deleting all reference to private property would
ellmlnat. the three-dimensional quality of this Plan, which is a prlmafy
concept being forwarded in the doc~ment. Furthenmor~, while the major
property owners are to be compl ;mehtild for their m:my s1Jccessful
contributions to the Downtown, It must be acknowledged that m.ny AnB
applicants are not fa.lliar with the urban fr.m.wor~ of the Downtown and
~ould benefit from a document which articulates community expectations
prior to designing their project. The ARB reviews hundreds of small
applications every fear, oftentimes working with unsophisticated
applicant, after they have Invested In plans. Currently the only method
for relaying community expect.tions in adyance of the project deSign Is
for staff or ARB momb.rs to verbally articulate these concepts. ihis
.. thod is unsatisfactory and cre.tes undue tenSion In the process. The
'Vt!rbal cements of an indlYidual staff person or ARB member are often
Interpret~d to be t~at person's opinion. rather than a community
expectation. On the oth.r hand, an ;llu$tr~tlon In the Urban Design
Plan can be tworth a thousand words N in explaining to a less
sophlsticat,d applicant the b.neflt of, for .xample, desIgning
pedestrian dIstrict building corne,', (pago 59) or putting a "base on the
building" (pages 60 and 61).
lllffic.
Nearby resid.!nts exp'(essed concern over Increased traffic into the
n.lghborhoods, particularly if Alma Str.et was mad. increasingly
pedestrian oriented and co "'''ted Into, boulevard. Heasures can be
taken to ylsually de·emph.slIe the automobile wIthout restricting
automobIle traffIc flow. Tree pl.ntlngs are an exaMple. Ped.strian
crOSSings will eventually restrict automobiles, h.wever, and It should
be acknowledg.d that the Alma Bouleyard concept Is a long-range
.splratlon and that further emphaSis on pedestrian conn.ctlons, de
.~ha'iling through tr.ffic, wtll need to be accompanied in conjunction
with measures to address the neighborhood concern. The Intermodal
transportatton concepts now being discussed in the 'Dream Team" effort,
to eventually be introduced to citIzens In the Compreh.nsive Pl.n
process, will need to address the neighborhood concerns over traffic.
It should be noted that until society recognizes, through Individual
lifestyle chOices, the full cost of automobIles on 'quality of life,'
there will not bo • complete resolution "to this concern."" Howev.r, It
cannot be .xpected that people will eyer use their cars less if planners
and policy· •• kers do not provide options to the automobile. The design
of Alma ,urrently do.s not promote Intermod.l transit. Pedestrian
access to the train and bus station is dismal at best. Bicyclists are
not encouraged. Therefore, in order to provide better ~hoices,
consideration of pot.nti,l options will require thorough evoluation in
the Com~rehensiv. Plan process and support from the neighborhoods.
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Page 3
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Hu.oer. ! Interests expressed frustration over the perceived lack of
.d.qu._' parking In the Oo~town .re.. So.e Individual. a.ked why .om.
sites were Identified &. being sult.ble for p.rkiny structures while
other potential slt"s .ere not mentioned. Thes •• It.s were selected due
to th.ir ad.quete S.ZO, confi.uralion and location; however, it I. not
th& Intent of the Cooalt1 •• to r.~ute options for parking solutions, but
In,teld to SU99's! opporlunltl.s. It Wa' learned during the Downtuwn
outre.ch that the ChlObor of CODOtte. has • parking comoittee working on
oth.r rtc~nd.d solutions to the p.rklng doflclt. The Urban V.slgn
Pl,n i. ~t intended to stlfl. those prl~.t. efforts and WOUld recom.~nd
th,t the Cltjn_ln ritcepltv. to Iny future proposals.
s_ ~ .. of the PIIblic suggested t~.t the draft Plan emphasize the
noed to .. plnd tnd 1"I"'ovo t"'~llt, particularly in the context t~at
impr~ved tra •• lt and I ~ •• lth1 Oowntown ~er. ~tu.l1y supportive it.ms.
lh. (_Itt •• recognhe, this need. In fact, t~. ·Dre.~ Te",· .ffort,
whlc~ received in'piratlon fr~ the Vrb.n Veslgn Plan, Is intended to
work tov.rd <mph.slling Intenood.l tr.nslt for the Downtown. Th. ide.s
of the ·VrelO T .... • will eventu.lly ba introduced into tho. ComprehenslY.
Phn process..
SOfA buslnes. own", suggested that the Vrart plan provld. gUidelines to
l"I'rcy~ tho~pp •• r.nc. of .ut&motlve servlc. business.s. Th •••
gul~a1In.s Ire present.d O~ pig's 53 to 55.
~!lIl1 Bylldlllg LIlI'_1.ll1.Iml
On. ar<hlt.cl suggested th.t the Plln ,dYocate Incentiyes for Improving
1, .. I1.r bUsln,sse. by .110011."9 raodest .. plns!on,. This concept could b.
explored .$ • follow·up ordin •• c.. A Downtown amenltle. bonus, similar
to the sel,~lc bonus, could be •• de lyall.bl. relatl,.ly '1~lly If the
PDllty .. ~.rs so de.lre4.
treUNl\100
-1ht· HRB, in-endorslng-the Orin-~hn.· urged greater elllJ'hasts on historic
preservation fn the final docu.ent. The C~ltt •• and ,taff ar. very
receptive to sU9gested wording for final publication.
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12/04/92
Page 4
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Nm Rae kl
Staff recehed a c"",,",nt t'rOIlI. r.pres.ntatlYe of the newspapu l,duHry
who felt that the dlsc.ulon on n •• ,r4Cks, whleh focus •• on repairing
and utilizing the exhtlng publ1c n.wsracks, 'pp ..... 10 elloln.t. other
possible arrangements for n •• spaper display. On. of the follow up
,ssignments to this Phn will I>e to ,.e.ls. the City's n'''$I .• ck
regul.tlons. B.cluse there is • l.gal fra"lIOrk within which cltle. can
regul,t. n"'rack., staff does not •• nt to preclude .ny re"onabl.
alt.rn,tiv.s prior to thorough .taff and public revl •• of the n.ws rack
r.gul,tion issu.. Ther.for., ,t.ff recomm~nds that the C~.is'l.n
should not vl.w. the hnguage in the Phn as excluding olher options.
Staff RftcQilW!PldUion
Staff recornoends that th. Planning C~ission reconr .. nd to City Council
adoption of the n'9.tlve declar.tlon ,nd .ndorse .. nt of the Urb.n Uesl9 n PI,n.
Respectfully ,ubmitted,
NANCY HADDOX llTlE
Chief Planning Offlchl
cc: Urban Design tomlttee
Chop Keenan. Keenan land
J1~ Baer. Premier Properties
Attach~ents:
HI,torte Rescurce. Board Mlnule, of Nc'.~b.r8, 19~2
Architectural Re.le. Bo.r<l Hlnuto, of Novel>ber 5, 19n
Public Art Coml"ion Hlnut.e, of Octobor 26, 1992, IIHh
letter fro. John Montgomery, Chair
Draft Urban Design Pion (previously distributed)
·ll/OV92
Page 5
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PUBLIC RE.~RINGS
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
-'YU;Jt<.?':; /f9:3"
4. P.UBLIC HEARING: Downtown Urban Desiqn Plan
M~yor McCown declared the Public Hearing open.
Chop Keenan, 700 Emerson street, referred to a letter to the City
Council from a number of the propeJ.'ty owners in the Downtown area
(on file in the city Clerk'. Office). He suggested the Do.~town
Urban Design Plan be referred back to the Urban Design committee
with direction to work with merchants and property owners J:!!ost
affected by the plan to massage the public advocacy of the public
areas. He was concerned about the "guidelines" becoming policies
and ordinances having to do with architecture in thCJ priva.te
property areas. The City had clee.rly defined 2.oninq or-dinancfl:s and
hod a compatent staff and Architectural Review Board (ARB). The
process was understandable and it challenged the individuality of
each property" the crea.tivity of individuals, and the self-interost
of property owners. He was concerned about the City's
micromanaqinq prlvat-e property .t'!reas. In the Emerson corridor and
the area of South of Forest Avenue (SOFA) I private owners eKpressed
themselves on their private property within tlH3 contex-t of the
zoninq ordinances. As a result, a seriously needed grocery store
was constructed DO~ltOwn by the private sBctor with SO~$ patience
by the publio sector. He en.couraqed Council to return the plan to
the Urban Design Committee to work on tlle very strong pubHc riqht
of-way Aspects of the plan.
Jim B.er, ~l2 Chatlning Av.nue, said in 1988 alley systems which led
to Plaza Ramona were formulated in the Downtown Urban Oesiqn Plan.
i'be interior alley syst&WI were·needed to create qreater pedest"('ian
flow, and there was also an ill-defined notion tllat there shOUld be
nodes. Since 1988, the process had reached b8yond the areas where
it had the greatest. expertise to "the Dream Team"' and the inter
relationship bet'W'een '!'Own " Country Village, the Urban Lane area,
Stanford university" San Francisquito Creek, MacArthur park, .and
the Red cross facility. It was important to have significant
participation from interested DO"""to'm proparty owners. Whll ..
property owners were promised the plan would be interpreted with
flexibility, they were not confident that was currently the CBse at
either the staff or the ARB level or that it would be in 10 years
when a plan was adopted and moved to the status of regulations.
Pot' example, after expressing repeated concern that the plan would
not leael to flexible application of desiqn criteria but rather
02/22/93 70-143
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ri9'id application, on January 4 j 1993, 578 University Avenue, at
the corner of University Avenue and Webster street, which housed
Merrill Lynch for over 25 years, was, before the ARB. A motion was
.ada to encouraqe the entry to that office be moved to Webster.
street since the Urban Design Plan viewed Hebster st:reet as an
iaportant 9ateway. While the motion failed, it was th~ kind of
thing that led_to the CQncern about the extent_ to which the plan
moved from ~ vision for the Downtown and the public right-of-way
into ... vision for the specific d.sign of buildings. Hotllith
standing Mr. R6enan'S comments about the ARB's accountabilitYJ
there were periods when that miqht not be true, and the risk was an
applicant would have to appeal to the Council. In January 1991,
he, Chop Keenan, and Warren Thoits attended 8 .. eeting with two city
piaMus to determine whether there wae support for the nodes,
alley treAtments, and urban amenities. In that .... ting he and
He.sra. Keenan and Thofts expressed concerns about the lmpaet on
private property rights and requested their participation b.
allowed. No plan was drafted at that pDint. In September 1991,
llpon receiving a ci:'Aft of the Downtown Urban Oesiqn Plan, they
wrote letters to the City setting forth a number of problems and
epo>te to a couple Qf counoil Members. From their experience, the
Urban DesIgn committee seemed to think it knew What was best for
their collectivR $500 million investment. Despite repeated input,
thoir requests and ideas regarding their private property were
rejected.
H9nry GB.W re'presented CN Capital which owned 525 University Avenue.
He had HBen the Downtown Urban Desiqn Plan and its variolJs
modifications although en Capital was never consulted about it. en
Capital was planning .. plaza expansion at 525 University Avenue and
did not knOll what its plan varsus the Downto,," Urban Desi9" Plan
wo~ld look like. H~ was concerned there nesded to be cooperation
with various building owners and urged the Counc11 to continue
appr.oval of the matter until that occurred.
trick Gilbertson, 215 Oakhurst Place, Henlo Park, generally
supported the. Downtown Urban Design Plan but took exception w1tll
the notion that Alma street between El camino Real and. the Downtown
was ganer.ally unattractive and hazardous. ,He belie'/ad the aroa 'Was
an excellent bicycle route with great site lines, dlrectness s and
few stop signa. Thare needed.to ~ more similar bicycle routes.
He ho .... d the bridge would sOlOeday connect Alma Stre.t from both
Monlo Park into palo Alto and that there would be .. bicycle/pede
strian crossing at Alma Street and El Camino Real to pull in people
COIling froll points west. The Downtown Urban Desi9" Plan needed to
consid.... the pedestrian rights that .. odern desi9" anel traffic
enqineering did not. There needed to be 20 taet of $ite clearance
before intersections if one was serious about pedestrian safety_
People with strollers had to pUSh the stroller out because
oftentimes a parkinq spaoe was more valuable than site clearance.
At some intel'sections it Would help if ri9ht turns ... re prohibited
on red lights to' keep the cars out of the crosswalks. He urged
caution 'With the use of qrade separations. He suggested less
parJdnq downtown and more h:ousing in its place. Downtown property
owners could make bette~ use of available parking if fences did not
02/22/93 70-144
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$urround some par)::in9 areas so those areas could be utilized at
ni9 h t.
John Hackllliann, 235 ~J::'cadero Road, spoke on behalf of tlle Friends
of the _rcadero and s~id walkability was one of the ",ost
i"portant t.hiIl9" in the desirability of Palo Jl1\:o. He associated
with the co" .... nts of Kr. Gilbertson and said if Palo JIlto wanted to
improve its walkability, there n".ded to be 1D0re direct Ih,itations
on tIls activity of the automobile. While the City and ta"
structure would benefit from more development, people enjoyed the
actiYities .nd •• rvices offered by tho variety Df actiyitis. in
Palo Jllto, And II lot of resistance rasulted from the impact of ths
auto.obile on individuals an they attempted to us. the facilities.
Tho Friends of the EJoI><Ircad.ero was a group of neighbors in
Protessorville and old Palo Alto who souqnt to improye the
situation on _rcadoro Road specifically between Middlefield Road
Oil<! lib" street. Ha suggested the possibility of a traffic commis
sion or a 'Wheel tax. The City also needed to consider whether it
shOUld subsidize parki"9 at all.
Hliyor J(cCoYn declared the Public Hearing closed.
Council }h;rx:ber-Cobb Tequesteu response from a l!lCMer of the Urban
Design COI:l.aitt.ge regarding the issues raised by Messrs. Keenan,
B;lur, .ftnd G6'W.
Shirley h'!lson, Chairperson of the Urban Design COInIaittee, s~id aha
sYlllpathlzed 1ilth the pOEl'itions Et>''}JX'E!ssed by Messrs. Keenan, Baet",
and CAW, ~ho could have l~en meMbers of the committee hut chose not
to. In terns of 525 University Avenue, she met twice with the
JlanageDlcnt of tbe building, and the discussions were positive and
healthy 'about the opportunities, and .no real dictates were put
fo,.-th. Tho issues raisad in the plan were exactly that--issues to
be looked at. The Urban Design committee did not really care how
the issues were solved as long as the issues wore addressed. The
lsSUElti. had to be discussed, and to take offense that an urban
desigli issue -was rAised during an urlum desi9n review did not
reflect a w .. UU .. ngness to at least look at all aspects of e. problem.
She 8lq)ected'that 'Wo::;Iuld continue. In terms of 57R University
Avenue, while the motion to mOve the 6ntranc~ onto Webster street
was det~~ted for many reasons, it did not negate the fact that the
entrance location was an issue in terms of the Downto'olll Urban
Pe&ign.Plan or that it should be forgotten.
council Member Cobb .asked whother one 'Way to interpret the concerns
expressed by the propert~~ owners was that .eiomehow the City would
end up stepping oYer the line between having issues to discuss to
having aandates forced upon the private property owners.
Direotor of Planninq and Community EnvirolUDent Ken schreiber
sympathized vith the concerns as a legitimate public policy issue.
While the City had the pl·orogative to establish written desi9n
guidelines, the Downtown Urban Design Plan for the Downtown
"ltphasized that the document was Ill!l; intended to be binding or
requlatot'Y in nature, and there was no intent fol' ordinances that
-would tr-anolate specific proposals in the Downtown Urban Desi9n
02/22/93 70-145
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Plan into private property r&gUlations. If, over time, there wa5
.. tendency on tlJ~ part Of staff or the ARB to use the Downtown
Urban Design Plan in a .are rigid way than was intended, it would
.be appropriat4!l to r.,.structure or relook at the pr.illatQ sector
references in the pl~n or even "qarbaga" the entire document.
statf did not intend to "e. the plan as a Bet of regulations but
rather as a set ot g'Uid&llnea, thouqhts, and IdeaB people could
think about and encourag,a. He v.nc;: BliftrO Of the speCific situation
•• nUoned by Kr. Boer at the ARB .eeting and fortun.tely the ,"otion
toiled. Fro," what staff told hiB, etoff wa. supportive of the
failed .. otion an<l >10\11<1 hove been very conc.,"n_d it the moUon
po ••• d beeau._ 1n the c<>nte><t of tlJe buildiT\9 itself, it would have
led to a design situation that would probaply not have been very
beneticial to th" p,..opiJrty ovnn or to h.ndicapped access. He
.ssur&<! council "e would •• phasi •• strongly to the ARB and other
bodies who »lght U •• the plan about its Intont.
council Keaher Andereen a8~&d wh~t thG Downtown Urban Desiqn Plan
accoap1ished that tho ~onlng ordIMn". did not.
Chief PlaJIn1ng Officl.l Ilaney Lytle .old the zoning ordinance
prQv1d~d a RQt of site developm~nt requlations and included things
11k(ll tll)Qr area m8xieUJ18 and lDotb..'\cks which prescribed tloludlllUlil
developl!ent li1aits .tol' .a p~rticular piece of property. <.rhe
Downtown urban Dasign plan looKe~ at the Dovntovn BS a whole and
envisioned whel;t aaiqht. bG accol!plishcHS it th(l public and privdte
seotors worked toqother towi!lrd re,.lizinq some ot the visions
articulated. While thO Dolintovn Urban o..slgn Plan lias within
existiT\9 zonill9, it wont b&Yond the current toning to so. how
individual properties ,..elat.d to the Downtovn in its entirety. .
council Kembel' Andersen asked ",~at 'Would hapPfJ" if he o\inad
250 University' Avenue and went be foro the atati or the ARB with a
plan tor a remarkable upql'adc w)v:u:e tho Downtovn Urban Des.ign Pl.an
anvisioned an alley.
lis. Lytle oaid it waa hoped tho Dolmtoltn Urban 0 •• 1gn Plan would b&
~raced by peopl., and !>'Iople would carry forward so .... ot its
inspiration into tho design .ot hia/l10r projeot. A project might
thon provide soae of the pUblic benefit, e.g., the application for
250 University Avenue to obtain .xtra floor are."
counoil H6aber ~dere.n laid the -~carrot" was co~a at the bonuses
that coul<l be received. 'l'ha -"t1cl<" wall t.he docwaent.
Ka. Lytla said' the "stick" WAS not the docwaent 00 much as the
approval process could ~ct 88 thQ "Btick." In terms of how the
Downtown Urban Design Plan was intended to be imple .. ented, she
referred to page 2 ot tlJ. Planning COlUlission'B report which
articulated tithe plan can becolle eo catalyst for advco4cy of public
aprovaents in the Downtown.· That section ot the roport was
written 1n response to staff'S outreach efforts Which had taken
place over the past six JIIOnthB and included extensive meetings with
Downtown merchants, owners, and the Palo Alto Chambor of Commerce.
The threE! property owners who provided a report were contActed
throughout th:e four-year proce.ss at VAl:'loUB intervals, even more so
02/22/93 70-146
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than other property owners. ~he Urban Design cQ~~lttee "acknowl
edged that the plan captured som(l ideas and concopts. Most
concepts ... ill undoubtedly be modified slightly or radically 1n
later dBvelop",ent. So.,. of til. ultimate 90018 ... ere likely to be
acco.,pli."ed In ... ays that .... r .. not envisioned or anticipated lly the
COllUllittee. Therefore, the Plan fJhould ,be vlewed as a tool lind
resource rather than a requiremont, an inspiration rather th~n a
regulation."
Counoil MeDber ~nd.rsen said .mphad. hod been placed on CO,,!,er
Street. and he "sked whether that emphasiu lioold add to the probloJl .
of congestion already on that streElt. He had heard tl"lat;. sOlie'
people in the area were deeply concerned lIbout tho extent ot
traffic.
Ma. Lytle said traffic congestion and people activity were .lightly
difteront. ThA id •• of being able to move tho automob!l$ in ~nd
out of a parkinq structure at that node was important, _ bUt there
might be steps the City could toke that would be ~r. e!ticient in
combination with private actions l e.q., valet parking. It waa the
kind of "making it happen" place th.t the Plan envisioned (or the
end of town.
council Member Andersen asked how the docu:aont would work .1n
con1unction with the Conprehensive Plan process.
Ms. Lytle said the document could be ~ resource tor tho Compreh8n~
sive Plan Advisory Couittee (CPAC), could be coordinated w.tth the
future improvements 9'081& identified elsewhere .in the C'olUlun1ty,
and could be used to balance ideas in tha Phr.n aqainet other
community-wide objectives in order to make recommendationu to the
Council. The Plan had already led to SO". thinking ~bout th&
transit depot and the proposal for a design charette, whioh ~l~o
had potential if the Council desired to have CPAC conduct further
consideration.
Ms. Wilson said there had been discussion about vhether the Plan
should be an appendi~ to the Comprehensive Plan. The Urban Dosiqn
Committee believed it should not be done because the Plan should
not be caught up in a legal system and should be tlexlblo.
Vice Hllyor Kniss said since the Comprehensive Plan had gone throuqh.
a number of hearin9s and discussions by elected policymAke.rs, the
Plan being appended to the Comprehensive Plan would not be e
discussion point.
Ms. Lytle replied the process followed in the Plan "'UB not the sama
as the legal process tor the Comprehensive Plan. Ms, Wilson was
referring to '8 concept that came up early on and vas abandoned by
the Urban Dosiqn Committae.
Vice Mayor Kniss was concerned that t.he document l!:ight appear to
look as though it had real validity. She asked how the document
could be kept as a vision and as something that ~volved over a
four-or five-year pe:t"iod and not fall into the category of a
02/22/93 70-147
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person being told that his/her project did not fit into the vision
or tho dreaa.
Ms. Lytle • del, the Council needed to spell out clearly tlndar the
.ection of the document that said "How does, this docum~nt qat uBed
What is its purpose and intent?" that the ~lan was not intended to
I>e used as a regulatory tool.
Vice. ,Mayor Kr"iiss was concerne'd, the Plan might taxa t.he City down a
path that the Council might not want to go down, pa,'tic\\larly since
tha Comprehensive Plan proceBs had just begun and the "Dream Team"
had not boon discussed. Both of those issues led into a particular
. direction that the council had not discussed at lQn~ yet.
Council Member fluber understood the document "ould cht.nge over
tille. He asked if the plan 'Were adopted, how the changes would,
if Any, be ~ade and how those changes 'Would be incorporated into
the Plan.
Ms. Lytle raplied after the Comprehonsive Plan effort 'Was out of
t.ho w"y, it II0l11d be tilne to relook <It the Downtown plan and othsr
areas and bring those areas up to d&te. The documant should be a
tool that did not becoms outdatsd, did not work against the City's
purposeo, and helpod to accomplish goc16 rather than stand in the
way of goals.
council Member Huber asked if ~any people c.me to the City with a
twenty-first or twenty-second century design but that was not the
right arcbitecture at the time, when the City would say that that
design miqht be the way the DOW'ntovn was headed.
Ms. 1.1ytle said there was It process in place for individual
applicants to pres8nt their rationale to the ARB. If .. peraon had
a better solution or knew specific information about the property
that neqated whatever the Plan said about tha property, it would be
appropriate to brinq it forward to staff first and then to the ARB.
The ARB was flexible and understood those variables had a more
direct implicaticn on the exact development of • property than the
conceptual vision. The vioion was meant to inspire p~ople, not to
direct people. ~h~ idea would not work by itself, Gnd the private
applicant would have to make the idea come alive, but it miqht not
come alive exactly as the Co .... ittee had envisioned.
Mr. Schreiber,said there was an annual Downtown monitorinq proceeD
tho Cguncil instituted at the end of lobe DoW'ntovn Study in 1986.
The Planning Commission reviewed the annual Downtown report several
weeks 8g0, and it would be sent to the Council in the nQ8r future.
It would be appropriate if the Downtown Urban Design Plan was
ap~roved to require, as part of that annual monitorinq process, an
assassment be ,."de by staff of the number of applications and their
relationship to the Downtown Urban Design Plan. ~he Council had an
annual meeting' with the ARB, and as psrt of that. process, the ARB
usually provided the council with an update on it. activities
during the past year, i.e., the number of applications, trends that
the ARB S.{lW, etc. It would also be appropriate, .as part of that
annual Council/ARB process, to ask Etaf! and the ARB to comment on
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the status of the Downtown urhan Design Ple\n in terms of the
applications that weX'e seen during the year which· yould help
provide a form for individuals both on the council, ARB, and th~
public to make observations, additions, or corrections.
Counoil HeJ;ber Huber asked if a person had a piece of property that
they wal'ltelj to develop and the vision preaented was not the same as
what 'Was currently proposed in the Downtown urban Design Plan,
whether someone would indicate that their plan did not comply with
the Downtown Urban Desi9n Plan. He asked hoW' much has"sle a person
would hlve to 90 ,through before approval was received if a person
said "no' to all those quidelines.
Hs. Lytl~ said the Planning Department provided customer servicQ,
and staff tri." to put applicants on an agenda promptly. qet
hi_I her to the ARB within time lines that were published, and keep
hila/her on a schedule beca.use staff recoqnh:ed that time 'Was mon0Y.
The staff' 8 goal was to provide resources that would help the
applicant be successful in that process. Even if a person did not
shore that, vision, staff forwarded the application .s quickly as
any other application. The ARB 'Was willing to entertain illdividual
visions with as much enthusiasm as it entertained all applications.
Mr. SchreAbor said that situation often occurred. The City had
desiqn e~ctatlons for El camino Real and other arens which had
(lmarqed over time based on the acti<Jns of ARB, Planning COlllInission,
and the Council on V'arious applicD.tions~ Stuff had guidelines that.
"'ere provided to appHcants which ;,ndicated that if an applicant
filod an application by a certain date, he/she could count on being
on an ARB agenda by a specified date~ Applleations that had
problems of inconsistency with past City actions or expectations
:might take longor through the review process if the applicant
decided he/she needed to do some modifications before going to the
ARB. Some applications 'Went to the ARB and received cozrunents that
led to changes and other applications had been regarded as good
ideas &nd had gone through the process.
Council Member Wheeler believed developers had nothing to toar if
tho vision for the El Camino Real island enunciated in the 1976
Comprehensive Plan versus the reality of what had emerged in the
meantime liAS any indication of how stringently quidelines liere
uphold. The draft document was before the Council after goinq
throuqh several advlsQ,ty boards and cOllUCissions, who had made a
subst.antial nu.mb.itr of comments, and it was the intent of the staff
to incorporate those comments in a final version. She e~~ectBd
once th~ council got through a preliminary ~ound of questions of a
more qeneralized natural there would probably be a number of
specific comments and questions raised by the Council. She
believed the plan would require a substantial rewrite of portions
of the document. She asked how the rewrite 'Would be done and
whether the document should be brouqht back throuqh a public
p~ocess before the Council finalized the document.
Ms. Lytle said staff's impression of the process was that the
comments received would not result in a substantial rewrite, with
the exception of the cOMments madp. by the ARB which had to do with
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t.h. budget r6~e.t. The Urba" Design committee was very th:m that
the dOCUJlent should be: retoraatted into a more professionally
edihd version that was Ullnner and had useful graphics. The
pri.ary co~ents received from other qroups had more to do vith
.1nor chMlqes to date. Unless the Council desired otherwisG-., statf
would not be able to make those .1nor changes and return with a
tinal docuaent tor another six months.
Kr. schreiber ~:old: bQt..;:;.Qr. ttl:} do .... elop=Gnt mQnitoriii9 side, of the
Plannill9 Depart".nt and the co.prehensiv .. Plan effort rocently
initiated, thoro was little atatf time available for the project or
any other tYJ><> of >p8C! .. 1 study. Tho six-month e.tim.te was baBed
on tho ti... senior Planner Lori Topley would neod to tit the
tollow-up ~ork into tho l\llls oat"e.n the stanford Wast/Sand Hill
Road/Stanford Shopping .Center double Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) proc.... Staft W.8 not avo!labl. to do the [olluw-up work on
an ongoing baei ••
)(O'rXOH ~ Jt.BrBP.1 c::>uMcil HeAber Ffttz.ino moved, seconded by Kniss,
to reter tho Dovntovn Urban Design Plan to the policy and services
Co""'itt~".
Council HG~r r.atzino vas concerned that ~here was a significant
nUl1.bor Qt qu9StlO1l8 regllt'Cling the content of the r.eport. It seemad
foolhardy 8tter th~ Urba~ Design committee had spent six yearn on
the: issue to~ the Council to dismiss thc item in .an ho'.t.r and a
half. He bcliov~d some concerns had been raised by Messrs. Saer
and Keenan and others, but i,n9t~ftd of tastablishing a new public
process, it would be bast [or tho Council to have tho Policy and
Sarvice. (P'S) co~itt •• review the documont and bring the matter
bacle to the councU for tinol consideration. It hOd ;,eon a
tremendously valuabl.e ~xerclso: on the part of a large nwnber of
committed people, and he WAS not troubled that it would be ueed as
II "stick" .end sa'" it as a vioion docUlIlent and a docunent that WI:IS
consistent \l'1.th the cut"l"Elnt COlAprehensive Plan. He hoped, when the
Council approved tho nell Comprehensive Plan, that it would then
ravi." that viaion docu,,~nt to _oke our" it was consistent with the
poHo1es ot the n.II COllprehenoive Plan. He said as a m.mber of the
PaS Coulttea., he vaG villing to cOlll!lit extra hours to serious
consideration ot the doc~ent.
Counoil. )(t.abe:r Ander •• n Baid' "the. dOCUlllent made. refere.nce to the use
ot various squa.re footage ,incentives to encourag-e developers to
tollow tho •• quid.linas and aaksd whether those lncentivea would
hov. to oa in U\e tora of .. nordinance and if so, whether-something
~ouldbe ere_ted coneider.bly aore than guidelines.
H8. Lytle said tho Planned community (PC) zone change ordinftnce
allowed those incentives to be utilized which was the procees being
used currently. An idea came up during the outreach process that
there .ight be something a little less ominous than the PC process
which would allow similar incentiv.s hut at a minor level.
council Member Anderson said there wore a lot of things about the
docU'Jdent that he tCluod exciting. He was impressed by the amount of
'Work and creativity that 'Went into th~ dooument but was concerned
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that tha 40cument might be viewed •• binding in the context of the
priva.te developer who had creative ideas." lie vas also concorned
the vision of the ARB might not be the ulti"ate vision of a private
d$velop9r and good ideas .... ol\ld be lost. He hoped the P&S couittoc
woUld exploro how to ~ake certain the docuoent vas not binding or
regulatory. He was not per~uadod th~t the current documunt would
not be that «nd the City's role should be explored in detail with
regard' to how the proce •• ti'<jht be on"our"ge4 and atill.lat.d ill
pUblic domain ar&aB~ The assQss.ant district vas on9 area, but
there might be other .~ea. that could be explored so that it might
be moved along in "ore rapid lIanner. He wanted the publio/private
partnerships concept. explored in lIore detail with respoct to tho
Varsity Theatre.
Council HeRber Siaitia" Baid there v.s a requaRt tor support tor
additional tunding and ,,"ked "hethar that roq"o.t ehould also be
referred to the P&S Co .... ittee. He euppal"ted the aotion and .old
an urban design plan V49 a 900d i,daa; and tho Urban Design
Committee had done a .good job. '",,'he funda&-ental notion to have sOlie
design vision for tho Do~to~n should not ~ lost. He 6gre~d with
tile COMent b}' Ks. Lytle to the Planning Connission that t'lfor the
plan to be successful, it should be eNn",aced by the property and
business owners, not forced upon the~." That was tha co~pelling
argument tor the referral to tho P'S Co~-mittQe. The referral did
not suggest any conclusion ~bout the proce9s that led the council
to that point nor did it suqqost any conclusion lIoout vhat 'Would
come out of the referral. .He belioved goinq an cxtrll :aile in
order to qenorat& a 1 ittle Dore eupport from the-pl'operty ovners
downto'Wn Would be worthwhile. He recallEld the cOnl:lont by Ms. Lytle
that "it. vas a plan desiql\od to ir,sp.lre and not direct" When he
read under architecture for -the civic Cross Iuds District. that
"at'ch1teotural style of neW' structuros should reflect and compll
lUent tne meditorl"anoan style of tho district, altt,ough they need
not lIi1Dic~ Use of stucco, l:!:I3Sonry, clay tile roofs, and li-gh.t
color palettes of Whites, creams, and light pastels &re encour
aged. tI Moat ,people would think th~t 'Was Blore 1r. the way of a:
direction rather than ~n inspiration in terDS of the specificity
,offered for a particular project. The NS Co""itt •• needad to
discuss how to sort out the tension between project specific
visions and visions for the e,ntire Downtovn.
IIUB!I AlIt> IIUOl/D1m AGlUlIID 2'0 IIICO~PORA'I'l! INTO '1'1111 XO'I'IOIi that a
request for additional funding be refOl"red to the Policy and
services Committee.
council Kember Rosenbaum encouraged the Urban DesiC)n Committee. He
referred to page 2, _paraqraph 1, of the Downtown Urban 09919n Plan
which stated, tlln september 1981, the City Council appointed a ten
member Urban DeSign committee to prepare this plan. Initial
direction provided by the Council was to produce ~ comprehensive
document Qf policies and guidoHhes describing the physical forti <>f
Downtown Palo Alto. The plan was to be in a form that could be
used to help developers and desiqners in underst~ndin9 the
expoctations and objectives for dQwntown development." The Urhan
Design committee had done exactly that. The Co~ittoe, with one
.l<ception, was made up of design professionals, and· the city
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council KeJ>.b<lrs in 1987 asKed for the riqht thinq.. lie wa.
concerned that ~t the last moment it appeared some significant
D01mtovn property owners were not enthusiAstic. A good example was
tbe. Barron Park Drainage Plan which 'Was referred to the-rinancEi
Committee. Stotf bad done a great deal of YO"l( ')n the plan, but
there ware many people who wa~e unhappy. Eventually, a plan was
achieved ~Iat was workable for everyons4 He hoped the same thinq
would happen and he encouraged the P&S Committee to work with tho
Urban Desiqn committee and the Downtown people and co.o up with
somethIng that would-work. If there were disagreements, he wanted
to sea those di .. greement. carsfully spelled out al1d than the
Council could make a final decision.
Council Kember Cobb said many time. whon the Council referred an
issue to a atandinq committee, it vas because the Council did not
want to deal with the issue at that till.. council Hember Rosenbawa
had touched the right nerve. Ha believed it was ~ good ide. to
reter the iasue to the P&S committ ... , although he believed tho
Urban Design Comoittee had done an excellent job and hod provided
Bome ide •• that could be very exciting for the city. He believed
the PiS Committeo should fceus on the issues presented, and it
'should not be a timo for .nother presentation. If. hope<\ tho people
who had expressed concern that evening would take t.hoso concerns to
the P&S commj,tt-ae and would work with the Committee to resolve
those conCet~B. It there were other issues besides those raised
that evening, hE! hoped those issues would also be brought up 00 the
Committee could resolve substantive iSBueo end then return to the
Council for a final decision.
Council Member Huber 8upport6d the motion and alao supported the
Downtown Orban Design Plan. He 'Was the Planning COllilissionJa
appo1ntea whan the process qot underway, and the Council's
direction was understood at that paint. Ho beHeved Council l!eJ>.b<lr
Cobb's BU9Qestion l'egardinq the focus of the referl"al to the PieS
COl:IIIIlttae was excellent. He did not thin)( it should be reten'.d to
the P&S Committee for redesign. The council either bought into the
vision the Urban Desiqn CClMlitt.e presented or it did not. He
believed if it were reterrad to th., P&S Committe .. , it shOUld 1>8
done in the context of solving the basic iesuifls that 'Were rellised by
Messrs. Baer and Kaenan and others with req~rd to the quidelinas
and whether additional money should be allocated and then l.ave it
at that.
Vice Kayor KIlis. said it would be a disservi". not to allo" the
vision ideas expressed in the Plan a chance to be-considered in a
dlfferent liqht. The framework was excellent and would provide
the P&S Committee with an opportunity to thorouqhly revi.w the
issues addroBs6d~
Mayor Mccown said it w~s important to "ork through the issues
raised that evening. She did not agree with the breadth of
Mr. Baer'S sU9gestions that tha document should refer only to
public &reaa and not concern itself with private areas because that
was unavoidable witll any plan the City enVisioned, e .9~, the
Downtown Plan or the Comprehensive Plan. When the City 'Want!Qd to
articulate .. vision in the coinmunity, the City spoKe about the
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goals ancl how private property o~ers coul~ be encouraged to
devolop their l.nd in conjunction with those visions. She oaid it
did not .. ake sense to sayan urban design plan should eUminate aU
rBferene~ to concerns about private projects. A challenge tOl" the
p,s COJ'J!littee would be how to articulate on integrated vidon
without it being a r~irement and the lanquaqewould have to be
conoidered to deterRine how that could be achieved. The council
'Was often in the. position of spending much of its time roacting to
things and otten spoke about wanting the opportunity to be
proaotive and try to define for, people, who were interested in
helping the community achieve its vision, what the Council would
like to encourage people to do. She .aid that was what the Plan
'Was trying to achieve and believed the concernD could be worked out
and the right belance reached so the document could be u •• d in the c" .... unity.
J(O'l'IOli l'ABBIID 9-0.
Kayor McCown asked the City Manager when t.he item 'Would be bofore
the P&S committeo.
city M.naqer June Fleming said possibly early Apt'il 1993. staff
would notify the interested people when the .tsaue was before the
P&S committee.
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November 5,1992
Architectural Review Board
Excerpt
NEW/OLD BUSINESS
Agenda Ilem No, 2
D01'lJ\lown Urban D.olgn Plan. Review and
reoommendalion to City COtUlciJ.
Thorn,. Hl,..--Could staff !ell us what your expectation of the Board is on this
i"",,-whallype "f action you would like us to take, whal our liming is, and whelher
we need to lake action today. r didn't have lime to give this Hem the kind of review
! would Uke to have given II.
Shltley WU •• n ..... r am here tonJght to present to you our draft of the Urbart Design
Plan, which has been four yeatS In the making. rrs a very exciting lime for this
com"'lt~. We have worked very hard on it. We've had some turnover In the
oomntilWe, but some people have been there from the beginning and maintained
thelr enthuslasm throUShoul the whole thing. which is fabulous. r have two
oomntIttee members here tonJgh~ Tony Carrasco and Bruce FukuJI. Nancy LyUe
and George Zimmerman have also worked with us. One of tlte reasons it has been
so di!flcult Is that there r.as been Wormation In a lot of dtfferent file drawers and it
has been hard to pull together. How the staff got it this far is short of. rnJracle and
1'm iharucful. We now have something we can 'work with. It Is a very worldng
document and showd be taken as such.
1""-' commll~ asks for your Input alld If you are supportive, we ask for your '
support.
Nancy LyUe-J would Ilke the ARB to make a formal recommendation tonight.
November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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Ms. Wilson-AI the time Ihal t!Us Hem rome,; before Ihe I'l an nlng Commission and
CltyCoundllf anybody ls so mov,'<Ilo speak In support oElhO committee, we
would appreclate th.t .. This pl.n ls a \·ision. We hope ills a <atalyst toward
positive modifications to IhedowntO\Vfl ared and positive development (or the
downtown .,ea. What It lsn't, ls a ,jgid plan. It Is not. sel of reg\llations; It is a sel
of guld~lines. We !hlnK il hos a life of Us own, that II rould change over time. W.
don't wanllt to gather dust on a ,helf, nor do we wan I II to oo,,-ome so rigid that
everyone think"nat IJillm'ton page 35, you ~an'l do it, ~.use thafs not Ihe
inlenlofUII,. The lIlIenl w.s 10 pul forlh Ide .. of urban planning that we think Ihe
de,'elopment of the downlown can really work well Mound. We had. committee
with. very broad range of ba&ground .nd ~"J'<'ri""ce, which we hope was a
micrOCQSm of whal the In!erests ,",,'ere in th~ downlm,'11. lneTe were times whrn we
had spedalconcclflS about larger lAnd developers or relailers and 'Ii""e invited guesls
to con'le and lalk with us about Ih~!r \'i~,,\'s of the down to WTI cu('a.
The goal of Ihis came out of tht' [)(w"'11to\\~n AmenHies Study. It was our goal to
ha\'tl' a visual \uban design plan (or the downlown area. II ~la.'5· been a long dream of
mine, and I think if is something tiLl! the Cit)' \dU bcnefillremendollsly from. As
you all know, we've \'/orked \,'ilh pro}Cds whi!re ",·e have meshed and got some
planned oon<:<:pts out there and we've opproved se"eral proje<ts thai had url>an
design imI'Uc.>tions, and they are plugging Into Ihls already, which is exciting.
'11,. PlO<'CSS we went through was 10 flrsl sit arollnd and bralnslorm what we liked
and dIdn't like aboul P.\lo Alto-what we thought w., charming, and whal we
thought dldn', work very \YeU. Then we lOOK Ihat subje<tive material and star tOO
walldng the streets. We tnventoried the enlire downtown. Every bull ding, every
ailey has been looked 01 and thought about. We tame up wilh some goals, based on
an evalllallon of what we hav~. We looked al the polential for developmenl, we
looked althings we really wanted 10 save and we came up.with Ihese goals, which
areslaled as the valued prindpals a' the beginning of this document, as weJI as
,some urban design issues, whjch we feU H"~re important to rein/oreE'.
Therontexl (,)r \Jur evaluation was livabltit)', economic viability, and aesthetics, aU
taken not In statislleal terms, bUI as Intuitive feetings fo, what is good for
businesses. We tried 10 give it all framework. The more we talked aboul buildings
In the beginning, the ".ore we re.liud 11,.1 wasn't the big issue, bullhal one of the
biggesllssues was the infrastructure of the City, Ihe opcn .pa", of Ihe left-over
2 November 5,1992 Excerpt
·pace. Parks, pubUc living rooms, alloys, relationships of buildings to open space as
(ar as ma .. was concerned. So, we ended up with a document that really tends to
concentrate more on that, even though there are some archllectural guideline. In the
plan, which aren't too diUeren! from what we opErale with all the time onrw,),.
We saw alaI o( room for development In 0 .. downtown orea that Is alIe.d)' Iher •.
There Is alot of under-utllizcd space In the downtown, paro""I.,.ly on our side
,treets. One of the reasons we felt our sIde ,treet. dOll't work woU I.s that a 101 of
our buildings on the mos!!nlense corridor of UniversIty Avenue, don'! turn comers
very well. There's nothlns that Interests you in goln8 around the comer. That Is An
architectural i .. <ue and one thaI this Board can perhaps address as de,·dopmont.
rome along. We discussed that in detall in the dOClUl\.n!.
We wanted to establish a strong sense of "place." We wan led to g;,'" people a sense
of psychological comfort In the down tow", a sense of identifying easily with
meeting places. There are things that most of th. pop")"tion won't Idenll!y ",;th on
a conscious level, but we know as designers they reitlly ha"e an Impact. Jus\ as the
circulation system in a home or in an om", buUdlns ha"e impact and C<U". be a very
exciting expellence, that can be Ime of the downtown also. We feel Palo All" is a
Uttle "blurry" that w.,yright now. It Isn't clear, The Civic Cent.rcross-.~ that
was begun with Plaza Ramona, we all know gives a very clear Idellllty to that part
of town. Hopefully when It's continued across Uniyerslty Al'enue and through lhe
other building wall, we will have a ,ery strong axial omlt'r to the downtown where
there's a crossing. People will idenUfy with that. Hopefully Ihere wlll be things out
on the sidewalk or the public right,of-way that will be vislbly noUceable to people
walking up and down the avenues so that they will recognl2e Ih.t as a crossing. It
is very important for the downtown City Center Idea and very helpful In geWng
better scale to a retail linear corridor thaI Is II litU. bIt too long.
So, the plan Is not meant to be mandatory. It's mean I to be a guideline. l~. meant
to be used by the ARB, the Planning CommissIon, and the City Council, This
familiarity that the revielYing boards and the community and developers will have
should be a real gr.at opportunity {or pubUc and privote cooperation. It should be
the optimal opportunity {or us to work logelher and to be heading in Ihe same
direction. When a bIg project comes aJong on a site that we want closure of an open
space on, everyone will reel much more co\1uorlable aboul It. It should reaUy
Novembflr 5, 1992 Excerpt 3
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empower t11e enUre community to continue t() keep downtown Palo AHo alive
and vital.
Nancy Lytle-,ln the beginning with StWord we developed University Avenue; it
was the original flat for University Park and It remalns the rore of Ihe downtown.
One of the main concepts in the Urban Design Plan is to reinforce University
Avenue retaU core. How can thai be'done? There are many ways and one is
already in the capital improvement program, which is a Ughting plan throughout
the downtown. The Utility Department is currently working on Ughting all of the
different dfstricts. Relighting of the downlown should then help to reinforce all of
our districts, but in particular University Avenue. We want to improve a sense of
entry at either end. This transparency shows the downtown automobile entries.
There is one at University Circle and the primary r<'Sideutia! entry is al Middlefield
Road and University Avenue for automobil<'S. On the district chapters you win see
secondary entries marked 21S well There are also two noted here} one dOlVll al the
Alma Str."I/EI Camino intersection and the other down near the Town and
Country are ...
The Civic Center cross·access is a conrept that was introduced to aU policy boards
and decision-makers during Jim Baer's project. It is the concept cf linking the Civic
Center with the Senior Cente-.r and a possible plaza came from this ('Ommiltee and it
is one of the maln fundamentals of the Plan. You can see it beginning to be realized
when you walk along University Avenue and get o look at that through Plaza
Ramona to City Hall. We hope that someday there will be architectural stMements,
as shown in the Plan, out on UniversUy Avenue denoting that as a very important
part of town.
Another very important area is at Cowper Street and University Avenue .. where
we're talking about cre.ting another City Center, a commercial center that would
:, focus on improvements to 525 University Plaza and that entire block area, utiUzing
the people goneration potential of the Webster/Cowper garage to create a node at
Ihal area and maybe even bringing in the Varsity Theater renovations that would
take place there and doing for that end of town what Ihe Stanford Theater has done
for the other end.
Next we have the Alma Boulevard concept (referring 10 transparency). The retaking
of AIm. from the automobile-dorninated feeling Ihal it has now and making it a
4 Nov.mbor 5, 1992 excerpt
boulevard tha t is ",ore friendly to prople and OM that allows for a crossing 10 our
'translt depot on the other side, to the urban iane area, to the E! Camino onlir.k, and
even!1.1ally linkages to Stanford Financial Center, This is encouraged in the Plan,
although the Plan hasn't gone that far, we have another effort th.t is underway. I
was part of • discussion yesterday that is thinking about how we can create better
linkages. One of the keys to that is Alma Street. We have plans for a bicycle
boulevard along Alma Street, Improvements in the Joint Powers Board, a parking
area. th.t could make it more friendly 10 people, and a real vision about the lTam
depo~ By the way, this tree power program that Jack Sutorius has talked .bout isa
poten~a1 way of implementing some of the landscaping requirements that are
talked About in Ihe Plan.
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FmaUy .. the dl~grji1n for u'le entire downtoWJl plan. which indicates the pedestrian
tink_ses that are talked about the throughout the Plan and the improvement of alley
systems, both placed alleys and se<ondaryaUeys, so that people are more inctined
to take shortcuts that many of uS .lready utiliz<> them for. In particular, pedestrian
connection 10 the lTain depot. It is a critical part of the Plan.
Glorla Humble of our offloe did the diagrams, She took a concept that Jim Gill once
sketched out with a pen and turned them into pins. We thought prople could wear
them to the hearings. I'm delighted with it. It h .. become a symbol of the
public/private partnership that is being requested through this vision and a
promotional tool.
Chairman Ma..,r-I would like to know what that little "glitch" is on UnIversity
Avenue, Is that just poetic license, or does University Avenue actually do thatl
G.u~ Zimmerman-It was strictly poetic license. We should also acknowledge
the I.", John Monroe for his inspiration,
Bl"JCC FukuJ>--conceptually when we were working on the plan after four years
there was always a question aboilt how do you get to the details of this plan when
you have these general ideas, We sort oisplit things up between having a district
Dlap and actually identifying areas that have unIque characterls tics and separating
that out from the overali ideas we were trying 10 achieve from an urban design
point of view.
November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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liyou were to look at a 1)'Pka' distrIct, Cor instance Universily Avenue, there is a
common structure for how.U of these districts are organized, (I am referring to
page ~7 of the draft plan.) We mad. gel'eral observations when we did our
Inventory and toured around downtown. From that we genf;'ra~ed specific goaJs
based on our observations and these goals are baskally value-slatements that relate
10 the SU'ding principles thaI are In the early port of the Plan. Afler that, another
pm I. actually the map, which visuolly focuses attention on whal the aspects are
thM we arelooldng Olin the Plan, The next section is specific guidelines and they
follow the format 01 what we call the '1egend" or "key," which we'ye used in every
single district. At the beginnll18 01 Ihe section it talks about districts and actually
goes through and dennes what all 01 the different attributes are, I'll go through
these Individually and show how they relale to the oyerall idea and goals that are
part of Ihe district, so thai they pull togelher the uroon design framework that we're
using when wclook at each district,
Uni .... ersity Avenue is the re~ail core of Ihe downtow'n. "the first goal is to tty and
reinforce and maintain Ihat. There have been several issues that came up with
doing that. The Mea Q! relnfordng this clS a retail corridor is really rein/orcing it
froll1 Alma Streel loC<'IYper Street as the main focus, This is a traditional area
(referring to transparency) and this is predominately more oC a residential-oriented
area. So, from COIvpt"f Str("et to Alma Street you ha.ve enhancements lor ground
floor uses and h'ansilions made 10 theSlreets thai are perpendicular to it. rr you
starl by enrour.glng .. lair to happen along Emerson Streel, Ramona Avenue, Byron
Streel, Horen"" Avenue, or Waverley Street, you can pull that relail around the
comers, Tnat was the firs I Idea. The &e«>nd thing was 10 create some focal points
along Unlversily Avenue because some ofthese blocks are r".llyquite long. When
you look at Ii (rom COlVper Streello Wayerley Street, or Waverley Street 10 Byron
Str<!el,on the south sfde ofthe streel you have a really long block; on the north side
they are broken up Into sll1011r.r blocks. So at some point, Ills actually qui Ie a long
walk. We thought maybe we should do something to break th.1 up or creale some
attention or focus Activity. Th~le are some natural locations to have that -Emerson
Street at Ramona Avenue, or Byron Sireol, and looking at trying to encourage
something to major focal points, the Civic Cenler cross·acCESS, which is trying to
come up with an idea to see If there is a sense of place or a slronger focus or cenler
to the downlown, and also looking al what Ms.l.ytle was talidng about, this
parking garage, which generates a 101. II's not really a destination, bUI people arrive
8 Noyember 5, 1992 Excerpt
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al that location to go to other rl."" In the downlown. We also looked.1 what the
potential Is (or doing soma Improvements down here 41 this point (re(erru'g to
!Tansparency) to be anothe< foc.1 point.
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The next go.l Is to try to e!\han'" Ih~ qu.UU .. on University Avenue to make II an
""dting outdoor pedeslrllUl ~rien",. A 101 of that has 10 do with public
lUl\enlijes. We already have £Ome caplla! Improvements Initiated, but also when we
met with the merchants lASt w ... k Uwyreally~ed to want 10 get tidol those
conaete bunkers that WMoe In$tolied at some polnt dlUing Ihe 1970's. II w •• part of
that old bUHOUIe. They .... e un.ttractive and lhis ~ Ill<e an opportunity 10 puU
them out and to Increase visibility trom Ihuulomoblles and p«I .. IOOl\ •. The
merchants really .upporllh.1 and we agree. Th,t b a perfect example of public
improvements that could be ennan<-ro or modified In such a way to support
creating bel!»r pedeslrl.ll <,,,"Ironmenl. Theld .. of pulling poopl. OUI of the street
and having a sidewalk cafe !ifeand vitality Ihat would lake place is 10 encourage
the amount 01 pedeslrlan use ofthose 6lreelS. The key pl.", where we are looking
at encomaging that llila of thins-YOll already..., II on Waverley Street and in
Lytton Plaza, and .~[flcally looking allheCMcCenler/Cosweli Pl.za connection
and how thlslUea can be«>me a much hlghe, level of pedestri.n uS<!. Espedallyon
the north side of Unlvel$ity, ronn«'tlng up to the Senior Cent'" and Caswell Plaza
and taklng advantage of this olh~, Idea .boul alley",.y. alld easements.
ThIs whole idea of I'l1lrles and )'Our sonseof en tty and hying to reinforce Iha.', is·
r,>IIlly an interesting quesijon because whell you drAW 11 from 101 along Unl'/e ... ity
Avenue, It's primarily alrecllned boulevard. Your 1n111.1 experience Is "'ttering a
residential area. As you're driving along and you SlOp at the sJgnaJ1t Middlefield
Road, In terms ofland use this Is the divldlng Une belw"",n purely residential and
other mixed \IreS, which take place to Ihe west. We were wondering about what
kind of entry we should have, whether It should be an architectural thing or Just a
landscape thins-and part of what Is great about Palo Alto Is the fact that there are
such pervasive and mature trees and si1wl planlS. Why don't we Just oliow that
idea 10 continue as you ride toward dOWlltown Instead of trying to d()more
architectural or other type of treatment. this I. where the vehicles enler, but really
the pedestrians entry is more at Webster SIr ... t and this would maintain and
enhan'" It In terms of having street !Tees, landseaplng and setbacks. tylton
Gardens is set back 20'-25' with landS<'aplng and trees. We are encouraging higher
Nov.mOOr 5, 1992 Ex""1J'1 7
density housing on these sHes over on thls side, south of University Avenue, to
create that kind of landscape entry. Then when you ",ch Webst .. , having It more
of a pedeslrlan-orlented entry where at thatpoinl YOll realize there .recommercial
buildings on both sides of the streeland you've really entered downto"".
On the other side, we Irled 10 figure out what to do to enhance how you gel from
downtown from the train depot or as you are driving. It is unforlUnat" to use a
transportation submerged trung. It's difficult for pedeslrlans and It's confusing to
motorists for the first time. Trying to make some Improvements here to tty and
help signal tItatyou are entering downtown. Part of that would be that we are
looking at landscape improvements on the medians, .. moving the first row of
parking that you have for on·street parking ..... d perhaps making those more
pedestrian-oriented areas and some kind of other pedestrian-oriented uS<'" to
enhance that as a formal entry. You already have the architectural (e. t lire of the
curved walls on both sides, perhaps we can have them on the south side on a
higher scale.
Those are the dlsl1'ict goals. 1his transparency shows that this Is an entry, t~Js
shows thJs is the retail core, and this is Ihe transition to Te-sidential. Here's the map.
We had to decide at some point where to cut iloff. We thought ,YO should tndude
the block beyond Lytton or Hamllton SO you can see the context when referring to
the map. These basic-aUy outline aU of the specific main ideas Ihat we want 10 try
and encourage.
ThIs is one of the great ideas about tI.e Plan. People anive and if they decide they.
don't want to go down University Avenue because there is tcomuch congesHan,so
they decide to go down Lytton or Hamilton. As they 80 do"" either of thoc",
avenues in either direction, there would be parking al the surface lOlli, which il!C
viSible, or there would be parking on the street. Then there is the whole question of
how do you get those peaplefrom streets to thls retaU corridor. On~ 01 the Ideas we
cam" up with was taking advantage of the exisHng service alley system and make
improvements in such a way as it becomes more pedestrian-oriented. What
happened at 250 University Avenue is fantasticembediment of the spirit of what we
were trying to do In terms of Involved experience that you see and are famlllar with
here, to try and "pedestrianlze" the alleys through cHher opening up ground floor
uses on the alleys, or .dding other public orneruties such as landscaping. lighting or
paving. I thlnk it's a really interesting opportunity because Jr. part of the existing
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infr,utruc!Ure. The merchanls that we met with last week actually really Uked the
idea. The owner on Ramona Street h,uthat very nice double rainbo .... bullding and
.he is always having to clean the alley next 10 It. People constan~y use that aUey as
a pedestrian connectlon t~ get to Lytton Plaza, to places where they park on
Hanillion Avenue or the Civic Center garage. She already sees the pedeslrian uses,
60 she would really support the Idea of enhancing It in S<)me way. 'fhat was
exciting to hear.
That in a nUlsheU is what you see here. There are other things Uke destinaHons and
landmarks. Obviously when you think about University Avenue, there are great
landmarks -Stanford Theater, V",!,ity Theater. We wanl to try and enhance and
maintain those a. people do other architectural improyemenls within a district. Tlte
whole idea is we're not suggesting the Plan should have specific ideas about what
buildings should look like, but that when somebody is doing an Improvement, thai
there's an opportunity here that theN is public support lor it based on how this plan
is developed, which mighlbe more than what they are thinking about, arId the
other thing is to besellSiliYe to the context 01 what already exisls. In a lot of places
there are some wonderful architectural context 10 be responsive to. Especially
looking at Ramona Street. The whole idea is to mainlain some sensitivity to the
character that is part of the dislric! through this plan so that people underr.tand the
vocabulary for it and start to look at the details that deline what makes thai
architecture interesting.
This transparency haIS quite a few symbols. The black heavy lines outline
somethlng that is rather controversIal in our plan. We're looking at how to
encourage ,Ironger building volumes. I know there is a 1:1 FAR, but the idea is that
on certain Intersectlons we would like to see the corners held as being really strong.
and other Jntets<octions we would like to delete from thewmer so that there is
actuaUy space as you arp. approaching the intersection. 'rhls building aaoss from
Xerox is a great example 01 the renov.lion that has created open space. As you go
in as a pedestrian and delete there, )'ou come in off of HI Camino and It narrows
because you have a D.edian strip with trees In It right In the center and It i. very
oongested in aspallal sense. As you get to thaI intersectlon It opens up and becomes
wider. That relief we think would be very Important in terms of how you enler. So
this is an embodiment and the work is really exciting to see. That's what the heavy
Unes represent.
November 5, 1992 Excerpt 9
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1'hel>sl thing are these arrows. Basically Ihey are areas where w~ would like to
continue seeing enh.need ground floor pedestrian-oriented type of things
windows [or window shopping. benches, etc. so thai you encourage bringing retail
off "fUnIversity Avenue onro the side streets and so that you star! seeing more
activity on the streets.
ThaU, the summary of the districts, the symbols we are using. and the way it is
organized. The only lhing thot isn't Included here and that is in the report under
dI'trict guld!ngprinciples Is on page 22. It is a fairly important idea, actually, on
edges. On~ of the hardest thing we had to figure out was what 10 do with the edges
and In rom. pIa"", the edges are very dear. On Alma Street there is a very hard
edge where the reilroad track defines the edge of the downtown. Then when you
are at University Avenue, you wonder where the edge is between there and Ihe
residentiall1eighborhood. Where does ihat start? That was a much softer edge. So
we Jookoo at ideas about how you tranJition from commercial areas to these
re&!den !ial areas. The whole idea was to reinforce thl? idea that the commercial
focus, Lytton and Hamilton, and beyond that it reaUy transitions at different rates to
residential areas. One of the things we're looking at to do is on page 17, the
transitions of landscaping. This Idea Is important. We looked at the landscaping
and sIdewalk pedestrian experience of the d-owntown, and thom there's the
landscaping sidewalk pedestrian experience In the residentiaJ area. We nteci it over
four dlfferentlevels as a way to look at how you handle curb ruts, or landscape
median, or where the tree should go, or how much the build ings should be set back.
liyau read through thls it is pretty straightforward. The main ide. is lllat as you
get to residential areas, you increase the amount of pubU cl andscaping that takes
place in the right-of-way. We felt very strongly that was something that was
achievable and would be a nice addition to how to link up downtown and at the
.same time not have downton-n seem too obtrusive to the residential area.
George Zimmerman-I would like to sununarize the five key areas thot are
highlighted in the Pla" as means for implementation; there isn't one sat way to
implement iI. I will also reaffirm what Ms. Wilson ~ald, that this plan is not to be
regul.tory; II's intended to serve.s a guideline. It isn't intended -to be a bible that
sIts on a shelf; It's Intended to be tJuid and hopefuUy it will be updated and
n'.Odifted as changes are necessary over time.
10 November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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Th~ Ilv~ k~y areas Identified In the back 01 the Plan, beginning on page 73, for
Implementation .... ould Ix>: (I) through assessment districts, (2) matching capital
fund., (3) through Pla.nned Ccmmunlly Zone ch.n~, (4) through City ordinances,
and (5) day-t<>.<Jay Implementation. '..,t m~ discus.. each one briefly.
1. As.eoom.nt disb"Jcts, The suggestion for an ossessment dIstrict would
essentially Ix>. bu,in~< !mprol'ement dlstrlct. Downtown ".ad one experiellce
wJlll. busin ... Improvement district about ten ye"", ago and It was not
suc<>l$S(u1, The reason It wam't suOO!S91ul is thot It start«! from the top down,
. ,.th.". than from the boll<>m up (or A ground 6well ofsupport. Busin ...
improl'emonl dlstrict. can Ix> successlul in Iwo major are ... On. is to
supplement ongoing Ot)' maintenance and aJso to complement capital
expendllwt'3 lor certain types 01 lixtum. fvemendoned olhe.-group. with
whom M •. lVilson ane! I have met. I had the opportunity 10 be in New York last
April and .ven ventured into'l1mes Square and siayed in Times Square where I
haven't been In ten years. I was amazed at not only Ihe new development that
had O<UU7ed there, bUI how effectively it had been cleaned up. I spoke with the
hotel manager wll«e I ...... st'yUIg and I asked what happened. He said a
busJnesolmprovement di.tri~1 had been formed In Times Square for two years.
II was IniHatro by Ihe family who owned the New York TImes and it hos been
6u«<$,I\\I. One felt rel'tl',ely safe. The str""" were retatively clean. Sign age
was Ix>comlng uniform. One may not agree with some of tile dt'3lgn guidelines,
because they are trying to cr •• tell La, Vegas affect, but Ihe point I., busines..
Improvement districts, if they h,,'e the support of the affected businesses .nd
propE'tty ""''/leI'S, can be sUC<eSSluI.
2. Matching c.plto.! fund •. There are Ihree sources Identified in the Plan:
(1) using some assessment distrim, I.e., business Improvement district funds,
(2) private donations, or (3) use of some of our CIP funds. Not necessarily in the
context of malching funds, I'd like to point out Ihat In our current CIP there Is a
downtown IIghUng plan. Soseme of our implementation strategies are already
going 10 take place.
3. Pla.nned <ommunlty zone chwge, Mo.t of you on the ARB are .ware of $Om"
o( the examples of the public benefits that have been derived from the PC zone
~hanges. We have Plaza Ramona and Iheenhancement to Ihe aile)' and the
creation of the courtyard (or that development. We have Ihe refurbi.hing o( the
Novembar 5, 1992 Excerpt 11
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CivkCenter Plaza, hopefully (0 make It more uSN-friendly. The n=ary
expendltures for that Improvement have resulted from the dona Ii ons made from
Ill. PC zone change from the old PacTel bulldlng at 529 Bryant Street. That's
been a very effective mechani.m to date.
4. aty ordl",mces. J want to emph .. l", th.t the suggested ordlnances would be
very Io<used in nature. For example, an ordinance to regulate the proli[er~tlon
of newspaper ... ds, which would not only address the safet), I~ues. but also the
aesthetic concerns.
5. Day-to-day!mplementallon, Whe,. we are tod.y I. an ~xa.mple of how Ihe
Plan can be used for day-to-day Implemenlation. Not only for applicants and
staff, but also for members of the ARB to us« the Plan i!S a guideline. Agarn I
would emphasize "guJde1ine/~ and not as a biblt>. I'm sure members of Ihe
public, parlicuJarlyfrorn thed.sign and d~velopment ",nununlly when the
economyrelxn,mds, "ivill find that Ihls Plan \'IHI ~e""'e as an ex("('Ut>nl guidt'Hne
£01 ideas as to how develop and wh~r{>.
I would also like to mention where we are going with the p"bli<",.vlcw p=.
We are doing two types of outreach. One I. volunl.ry, Ms. Wilson a"d her toam,
including several of us on the staff and mNnbers of the ver}' dedicated Urban
Design COlnnuttee, have met on six occasion.c:. with various dOW"l1h)\\'u groups over
the Jast several weeks. Now we have been meeUng with Ihe various advisory
boards and commissions. Two weeks Age> we met "ilt. the Public Arl. Conun;"lon
Yesterday we met with the Historkal Resources Board. Today we are meeUng with
the Archilectural Review Board, and In Ihe early part of ~ber lye \'IHI moel
with the Legal AdvJsory Commission. The two prindpal public mP.etings
su!>seq uent to the ad vlsory board reviews will be the Planning Commission in
December and the City Council In January. The rommenls and recorrunendations
thaI weare receiving from these various Informal outreach meetings, a. well M Ihe
recommendations that we hope we will re-ceive from the ARB will be transmitted to
the City Coundl. The draft plan will be modified 10 reflect Coundl-improved
changes. We will print up" "ew document and that will be the Plan that will be
distributed to members of the public, stalf, and the advisory boards 10 be used. We
are excited about it. I think it is an exlraordinary and opportune lime lor this plan
to rome ou!. 111e economy has been on the down-tum and development ac!lvily
has been .omewhat reduced. We hOpEfully expect Ihat sometime in the near futur~
12 November 5, 1992 Excerpl
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the e<onon,y will rebound" and Ihis will serve as an excellent tool 10 Improve and
eManC" downtown Palo Alto"
Nancy Lytle-There;. one poillt that I would ~ke the ARB 10 cover In your
comments. It Is oneof the high .. t items of controversy and it has to do with the
Board's authority to implement th..., guidelil1",.. For property ownelS, in
particular, we have heard concerns that both staff and the Boald would tak_ these
guidelil1es and tum them Into regulations. They would become tools for requiring
property owners 10 implement what Is In the Plan. I think the ARB needs 10
commenton that. Oearly guide~e:. can be \I sed to reinforce Board dodsion,. It Is
talked about in the do.."Wnent that is one way of implementing these things. The
phllosophy of how they would be used by the ARB needs to be submitted by
the ARB.
Tony earrascl>-The reason I palticipaled in this process is tllal through my 12
years of expenence on the staff and then on the Architectural Review Board [
continuously heard almost a. consensus of what should happen downtown, but it
wasn't written anywhere. We did reviewbulld~ngs~ (or instancel in this corridor
(referring to transparency) looking at them in more delailthan buildings farther OUI,
butno where was it written thotwas what we were going 10 do. This document, 1
think, is. compilation of that kind offeelil1g. Applicants would say, why didn't
you teU me that was what the Board was going to say. From my perspective, I
thought of it as an ARB-kind of document. Something thaI we anticipate and put
into this as a living document the experiences that we find compelent that are
coming through your review process. Because it's a living document, it isn't
regulation. These at" our e><periences of what we find when we ",view projects. I
wanted to reinforce what Ms. Lytle said. It isn'I regulation; it's meant to be.
gtude1ine. This isn't even. a "should be" issuej it i:; a "maybe you might want to
consider" these issues.
Ms. LytI~These are opportunities.
Mldtael Lyzw_Firstof aU, I thil1kthe Urban Design Plan is a marvelous idea. I
think ills an idea that's greatly overdue for whatever reasons, whether It was
politicall economic~ or whatever. I don't like to use the word "planll as we use Jt~
because I thil1k most people back away the moment you use the word "plan."
Maybe the word "concept" should be used. Concept is what the staff and
NovemberS, 1992 Excerpt
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committee are talking about; they're talking about flexibility, ideas, forums, but they
aren't saying this is absolutely, positively, the law and you have to implement iI.
nus urban design con"'pt is fabulous be<:au.,e It allows us to begin organi?lng what
I think ls missing presently, and what I thlnk we have been striving for from decade
to de<'3de. That is a con"'pt "nd a theme. Those are missing. There really isn't a
strong theme through downlown Palo Alto that you can relate to. We have
identifledrhe pluses and the things that we reaUy like.
I wanl to digress fou moment. Anyof us who have had a chan", to travel a little
bit through Europe have Seen there are so many marvelous urban design lessons to
be learned in Europe. One of the dtles, for instan"" that is vehicle-free is Veni",.
For obvious reasons you can't get cars in there. What that does is give you a
wonderful city that has pedestrian-oriented 'pa",s. It always has elements of
surprise. It has very powerful vertical el€ments in cerlain areas, and it is relatively
open. It has terrific plazas. You walk through narrow slreets and you come 10 a
large plaza. There are fountains, there are sounds, there are smells of the food being
oooked. People eat outside. There is music even a couple of blocks away that you
can hear be<'3use of the acoustics. PE'Ople live in the city. I think for a ver), long
time iIi concept we were very arrogant towards the old world} especially in western
dvillzation. We have cars; they don't have cars. We have skyscrapers; now we're
going 10 create a solid concrete dty and world. That's exactly what we've created.
I would like for us, besides having thi' marvelous beginning, is maybe even add to
it the ideas of having flexible vehicle uses on University Avenue. For instance, if
you go to Golden Gate Park.on a Sunday, cars are not allowed. The ftrst !hingthat
happens Js p"'ple walk in the streets. They don'! walk on the sid .. v.Jks; they all
seem to want to walk on the .treets. I think we inherently hate vehicles .. We really
dislike them . .Even when We were hlds we were !old, don'! run in the street because
you'll get run over by. car. ThJs is a major problem. Psychologically, even in a
pIa", like UJ'Jv..rsity A venue, you're always thinking, where do I cross, where are
the sidewalks? How am I going to navigate from one side of the street to the other?
Maybe we could consider the possibility, If not the whole University Avenue,
",rlain blocks at flexible hours so that vehJcles would not be allowed. For instance,
past 6:00 pm. On ni", summer nights people would love to venture out onto the
streets and be able to walk and it would allow more outdoor seating for col1ain
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resta\)rants. I would give it a llttle bit more imagInation. I know that's going to be
far·fetched and very dlfficulttc> seU.
Ms. Lytlt-Some of the street falIe concepts are along those lines. They are dosing
the street tlll. Sunday, as t understand it.
Thomos HIst-There are a number of communities who do it one night a week.
Sail tulsOblspodoes Itonenlght. week and Irs changed thelr downtown
tremendousl),. People who have never gone 10 the downtown now go more often
because they've had good experIenre9 on Thursday night.
Mr. L}'>:Wa-lust th.t type of Idea. Something Utat doesn't cost much money, but
something tha! would add Immen.se'J.y to Ute concept that you've "lready
e.;tabllshed. To talk aboUI very briefly and to mention, and nol in any regulatory
way, hut to mention the Idea of using Irees. The idea of maybe using foulltains.
Agaln,! don't mean founlalns bootuse of water conservation that we need
Utousands of gallons of water, but Just the sound of falling water sometimes is
deUghtful. Hower gardens. Sculptures. Areas that are quiet versus open areas.
Anytime you go to these older dUes you dlsoover smaU areas that are delighlful.
They are quiet: They are wiUtout people. Then you walk a block over and Ihere are
hundreds of people. 'nUng.Uke thai I think we should encourage, at least in a
Wlitten form. It doesn'l have to be very graphic, bul in a written form in this
proposal that would get us to think in Ute fllture, so that when someone comes in
wiUt a proje<.t; we could entertain Utese Issues and see if It would become feasible or
possible In Palo A'to. ! lhink we have to en\pl.asize the separation of pedestrian,
lr¢m vehicles. 'nUs Is something very fundamental. We have to .somehow try to
orgAllize our concept to encourag. that In possible form .
. Also Ute Issue about vertical elEments. Because of the great sucress Palo Alto has
had in the past, especlally In Ute ]98O's, with growth and people being concerned
about how we wllla=mmodate future office space, future automobiles,! think
what w. inadvertently created was a relatively lIat heighilimit. We've sort of
controlled that by saying you could,,', go beyond this certaln height. I'm not at all
convinced that I. Ute best concept. In areas that you outlined,! think it would be
advisable to .Ilowa taUer buUdlng to playoff Utose forms and then to siep down
and not 10 tlmlt ourselves to Ihat single heighl. I would like for us to talk" litUe
aboul scale change on top of everyU1lng that you've done in a very subUe way.
November 6. 1992 ex""fpl
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Again, I think the Committee has do"" a sUp<'rb job, I'm sorry to hear that it took
four yean;, I can ""de,"and why I! did take that long. but I Just hope it doesn't take
another four years to get it through, I think trs marvelous and ifs going to be a
"'rriflo tool, Ifw. have tM, In hand and we have th"'" ideas and the energy Is
them, itffill be 00 much mOT" helpful in the future, I think you've all done a
fabulouS job.
Ms, Wllson'-lfs interesting you brought that rom"pl up, bea.use It was one thing
we dldn't di$CU..<$, There 1$ qulJ". bit 01 discussion In the do<umffit about building
mass and strong "'mers. We have dooe It in sor/ of. timid way, so I'm encouraged
by what ),ou had to say, We haven't lried 10 breakthrough anyexlsting regulations
that the City now has, We really (elllhis dOCllmenlas a firsl 'tep in Ulb."" planning
ought to be a Utile cautious.. \vh~t l ... ·~S aIITactl\-e to me-about ,,,hat you '-'·~.resaying
about srreet closures i~ that people are vC'ry attached (0 lheir ca.rs B_nrUt is a very
good way toinlrodu"" the con""pt. If people like 1I,U should grownaluraUy, They
might get so Ihat ~\ey love It and want 10 do it for two nights. wc~k and maybe
some day SOme blod<s will ~1 car (c{>e. J! would be a grE'~t wa), ~o approad\ it.
Mr. Hls .. -JI could also be seasonal, For instance bel .... een May and <X:tober when
people have Ihoenerg)' and initiative to gel out. It could really work,
Alno Vlelr.·d.·Ros..-Tho first thing I want to say, Is thank you Shir:ey Wilson!
You have worked and made this hap~"'n,
M .. Wilson-Th.nk you, but there have be<>n a lot of poople putling In a lot o( time
on this pro~t, II h., been. wry hard worldng <omo,ln ...
Mo. VJel£.·d.·Rou-You ha\'ebe<>n the drlvlng force. Tho ARB has ,a1ked .bout
this (or a long time ~ause ,,'e have be<>n lnve>lllr.s our o'vn urban design plans as
we go elong. Th.t doesn't make &<nse I>e<:Ause In every single project we review we
do that. Tohav. this guideline Is (abulous. These are urban design opportunities
and once people gel over the (ear of more rules In PitloAHo, they will look Ihrough
" this document when they are planning to do romething and th~y will see that they
can do more, and In fact they areenoourage<! 10 dOlnore, and there will be support
for them If they want to do something that Is _lIlUe dilferent, lnsl.,ld oIpuHing in
a Spanlsh-style building thai meets exactly the FAR. I'm thrilled by this, I haven't
16 November 5, 1992 Excerpt
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read all these pages and the det.iI, but I've got the es..<cnce of what Is going on. I
can't common! section by section.
A couple of issues that Mr. Lyzwa brought up make mea Uttle nervolls. The Idea
that pedestrians and vehides ore bad together. All cities have dioo when they
closed ofl their major roads and they are now reopening them. AI the same time, It
gives people an Idea. You have a chance to try things alld suppo,t new Ideas
that's what I like !his document for.·
nus document comes at. perk<:t tim. In todays mee~ng because".., have be<!!1
talking about traffic con lroU elS. We were looking .1 concrete walls and wonder; ng
U there was some way you could incorporate the contrQUers Into the oonCTCte \\'b.lJs.
If there's an overall plan that says these concrete walls don't really add a lot 10 Ihe
City, It would be a terrible thing for one group to say, okay how are we golns to f1I
these things into tJ..e t'Oncrete walls, and then a year later b.s<XI on thefact that
concrete walls look terrible, we have to puU them down, bll t we can't b<""'lSe the)'
have these controllers. Sao, you have tohave rome rotl of general Idea so that you
don't try to erase what you've done before. I am thrilled to h,ve this documenll
I find someof Ihol.yout a little hard 10 read. Are you going to have any (olor In
the document?
M .. Wllson--·We are going to try. We don't hay. the money lor it right now, but
I'm hoping to go before Council with. proposal. We know It needs alot of graphic
hyouthelp.
Ms. Vielra·da·Rosa-That will really help a lot. Colol'does so much. I !hlokihat 1,
very important.
Another reaction Ihad to a word that Mr. Lyzwa used was "themes," I think that's
a word that people associate with Disneyland. I know what he means, though. I
don't think the word, however, appeared in the document. When you tal., about a
"pedestrian theme:' in thai sense It's a word that is assed.ted with a particular slyle
or color, or {or instance, this is the 11talian Uleme," Or the ''M"exican theme." ] think
that word doesn't help. [think words like "opportunlty" and "encouragement" are
the words!lut this proposal should use, A lot of things Mr. Lyzwa talked aboul .re
listoo here in the document, Anyone who is reading through this would say,
'Wow, and then I could ... " If It comes forth as something official from tho City,
Noveinber 5,1992 Excerpt 17
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they will feel they are supported. Piaza Ramona is an example of whue the owners
were willing 10 streich and work with U.e City and do things that were beyond the
norm,
Thomas Hise-l would also like to compliment the Urban Design Commlttee. I
haveJ~t been involved, and I've only been hearing Jillie bits of it, but I also think!\,s
fantastic that some architects and develo!"'" in the comnumity have participated in
this progr •. m and have, in fact, already Implemented a number oflh..., ideas, while
this plan has been in prog<ess. Th.1 sa~. a lot about Palo Alto.
Ms. Wilson-Irs a good sign that the need is there.
Mr. Hise--Yes. What I wrote down next to that en my notes was "opportunity,"
On the one hand there are mo,e buildings that are Impacted than others in the Plan
for it to be ImpleJnente<l. I could see resislance on the part of some of those
buiiding owners, but at the san,e time I coulrl see develo!""s and architects in Ihe
community who see opportunities with certain buildings that would say, you think
you have a problem and we think we wouid like to have your problem. In other
words, because that's where we think fulure development will be. So the architects
and developers wiil actually zero in on certain buildings that they want to develop,
where maybe the presenl owmr feels it is a lIabiJity where there will be press",e on
him anytime he does anything to his building to try and conform to this Plan. Is ..
it as an opportunity. The community has a hislory of having an active development
community that actually is going out and seizing these opportunities from olher
land owners who feel this is all a waste of time. I think thar. very positive.
r moved here in 1980 and at Ihat time Palo Alto kind of rolled up the sidewalks
around 6:00 in the evening. There weren't more than six businesses in the whole
downtown Ihl<t were open beyond normal office hours, basically. A big part of Ihe
downtown was used for office space. I don't know allihe history behind It, but we
came up with ari actual ordinance where we aeated pedestrian districts and said
that when uses were to convert they were mandated to go to pedestrian--oriented
retail busin.,. .... At the time I thought it was going to be difficult to Implement and
have a happy community. r didn't fully understand the wisdom in that. In fact, I
don't think the people who were in on that ever envisioned the life that Palo Alto
would come to, mostly relaled to that ordinance. This is a totally different
community on any evening of the week than it ever was 12 years ago. It was dead
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12 ye.,., ago. My argument would be that I can see a stronger point for making this
something mllre than optional. I understand that nobody wants more legislation
and the conununlty has resisted, but I think we can point 10 the fact that the
pedestrian retail district has chang<xl the face of this ccmmunlty and nobody can
deny that, I'm still amazed by it every evening when I come 10 the doW!\leW!\
compared 10 the way It used 10 be, We used 10 joke and say, ''What hap~ned 10 his
communlty after 6:oor' It Just dies. There was 42nd Street and Good Earth was
open until about 9:00 pm Slid the Varsity Theater. You cculd name a hand·full of
businesses and a couple cf restaurants downtown and that was iI. It's a totally
different cotruJlunlty now.
I could very easUy see this as write-ups for our slandards for ARB that the first
standard review is whether the design is consislent and compatible wilh appUcable
elements of the Ci!)ls Compr~hensive Plan. The Council could then say, and the
llrban Design PU ... It would be something that we conld make exceptions for. We
could say we unclerstand that this particular building isn't what this owner is trying
10 do And It dO$n't fit the Urban Design Plan, and as an advisory group we could
make a finding to supporl Ihal or to go againstit, But, I think it could actually
berorne a part of our legislation, and I would like to see It go that way. I would
argue the retail districts area good example thai cculd happen. In fact, this cculd
be softer than that. That was acrual hard legislation that I felt at the time put an
undue burden on property owners, and I think there was a great deal of uproar In
the communlty at the time. Property owners who didn't see that as totally positive,
but thai we were putting a lot of eggs in the basket that retail would be better for
the downlown than offices and they would be stuck with space that they rented out
because no retalJ wanted It We found thaI not Ie !>e the case, I would like to see it
beccme one of our standards of review and that's the way I would encourage the
Coundl to adopt It. Agahl, that's falrly soft compared 10 legislation that actually
mandates cert.dn kinds of physical changes to Ihe City.
In complement to thai I think the City might also consider a bullding enhancement
Of some kind of regulation, similar to our seismic upgrade. There are low L,terest
monies and other things for seismic upgrades. Maybe a program where when
certain land owners did something that really enhanced the urban plan, they could
have a tax break or maybe there Is some matching money or some expertise
available, or S(Jme zoning ordUiances that could be more flexible. To enhance Ihe
November 6. 1992 Excerpt
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PC proress, but again usinglhe SEismic upgrade as a model. We did it for this olher
thing ti1.t we thought"" •• very importanl; In fact, I think we were mandated by law
to do romethlng there. So, we took the burden and hardship off properly owners
bya program. I thlnk this oould have it similar klnd of program that goes along
with h. 1 don't l<l1ow If you diScu.ssect that In the document, but it might be another
WAy oC h.vlng 10 implem.,.,1 H.
Ms. lYl4on-We talked about It. but It Isn't In the document.
Mr, H~And ItS far.s the concrete !>arrier. go, iI the", was a plan afoot or
""m~body \va.nted 10 <tartane,1 would be happy to partldpate, il we wanted to get
• group of p<Ople and de-dde to demolish rome of those with volunteer help, I
thlnk)'ou oould find onongh skilled help that weoould actually do an intersection
ev~ry now And then, I see thAt as somelhlng Ihat is very possible to do. Again it
rould fit Inlo the new theme Ihal_ms to be very popular now, whlch is that
volunteer organizations could take ()n rome of tl,e public projects, Some thillgs that
Me ve,y urgent could be handled In thai way,
1 am mClre-/amUiar wHh the document now aitf".1 this presentation. It is an excellent
pre$<'ntaUon. I love the graph Its, Gloria Hwnble did a beautiful job, The arl is
wonderful. AU that will be weil·recelved with everybody.
I dor"t know what type of action we arc required to make today, but I would vote to
take more formal a~on 01 our next meeting,
Ms, Lytl ...... 1t would biJ nice to have a formal motion of whal your consensus is on
the documenl.
Ch.tlmun MlS<I'-I thought this wa$l1)ore or less a session to gather our thoughts,
I hope tho. mInutes will be recorded In $Orne manner, because I thlnk the", have
been a lot 01 really I!llere$ting Ideas that have come forth from the sessiol\.
Ms. LytI ..... We will have a transcript of the mill'Ire5, which w!ll be fonvarded to the
other commissions.
Chalrman Maser-Ills amazing what has been done. 1'1'110 was responsible for all
01 the diagrams?
Ms, Wilson-David Gates. We had a consultant early on this project.
20 November 5,1992 Excerpt
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Br\lC<! FukuJlc-The I>ase drawings were done by stoff,
Quitman M ...... -It.hows A trem";'dous amount 0/ effort and they are ""aull/utiy
done, I was Intuested In Mr. I.yotwa's conunerfS .ooul closing off University
Averuefor part 01 the day. When I /irs I came to this cornmulIlIy26 years ago, I
wrote a letter to the edllor 01 the then ""loAllo TimtS and made Ihalexa<1
suggesdon-Illat Unlverslty Avenue bed<>SC<l off. Ilhlnkrh,d just ('(Ime back
from visit!ng Europe and was Mall y "",111m with European liEeslyJe and the,even
movement and the delight 01 havfng streerseape that WA.S turned Into. pl"'l'O, It's
.tlU a\lre= of mine, II may be. dream !hat 1$ never realized. but the IhIng that
I'm con<:emed about 1$ In legi.ladng anything like this, wblch would preclude the
possibility of actuAlly doh'g thai, 1/ there was some propos..o!lhat come In that
hadn't been consldered In aU 01 the =.tl\'~ Ihlnldng that has go"" Into this Plan
that we .uddenly found would make Ihe City rome aUveeven more. I would hate
to thlnk we were closing ()ur eyes to that possibility by Jeg\slallng what we have
belore us. !thInk the idead this being a gtlideline with some flexibility I. much
more comfortable 10 me Ihll.l\ trying t() put this Inlo a more ",&"nllormat, 11.e
importanllhing Is that the pubUc be made aware of tills documont right of( the bo\!.
Itw,,"'! be an ,,[(mye document II ~"ere Isn't puNk awareness of It. If the public
was aware of Its existence and wo\~d be able 10 study and ,,"ork with staff allead of
time before formulating any Idea, on a sproAc proJe-<f, we would be SO IAJ' allead 01
the same In thOI respect. 1 think thot's why VMOUS projects .uC'<eeded the way they
did because there was that awareness and Interaction ""'lyon the project and alol
01 dedication [rom people like Ms. Wilson and otht"" to resol ve whal have be<ome
very successful projects.
In that regard, I consider this d<XUll1""10 UtUe bil 100 long and too verbose, It was
an effort for me to get through th1s <'owmenl. I did read the who)e dorumenl, and I
kept thlnkInglf th1s was ooout hAlf as lang and the visual parts of It, the charts and
photographs were twice as big and twice as "asy 10 read, fur melt would have been
a far more e((mve documenl, J would like 10 go through and rut out h.IEthe
verbiage In here. There Is repetltlolV Ihere are a lo! of words thai don't need 10 be In
there, When I was a student In Carmel and took creative writing. my roommate
who was very good In IlngUsh used to say, now go thmugh JI and rut oul 50% of the
words and you'll have a reputable d()('UJIl(>J1t. That's how I lelt ahout IhIs
document, His 100 much to expect the public!O go through all this and It Is 100
November 5, 1992 Ex(;6rpl 21
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disorgantzed right now, elc. to expect anybody to get into it. I think you would
havea much more effective 1001 if it could be edited way down.
Some 01 the speciflcsuggestions .. "d out. double message. We are saying on Ihe
one hand lbal we don'l wanl thi. 10 be a design 1001; we wanllt to .noour>s" design
and we want II to present some opportunities. Yelallhe same time, we're go tUng
some very speclllc re«>mrnendatlons in the docwnent, which sends out.
contradictory double message. It Isn't ~ huge criticism, but the fln;l thing I saw on
page 12 was 0 drawing of the InterS«tion 01 Alma showing suggestion. for how to
improve the "knot." Although It is probably a great Ide., when we get doWn to that
level 01 detail, I tItlnk we're trying to designaliltle bit more than we should be.
In .ummary, I think this document will be a wonderlul too!. I would ""oo""ge
you to continue with it and work towards brevity and clarity so thai it b«omes a
more substantial roollor the public at larse.
Mr. Rise-This L'Onununity is 601ucky that we don't have a svrfact' rail oorulC\."ilon
here like so many oommunities up and \lown the peninsula have. We have major
thoroughlares, III Camino Real and then rail, aU that surlace. We talked aboullh"
being a "knot," and you ca:. JO Into communities on Ihe penin.ula where CalTran
goes right through their oommunity and have that surface right In thelr main
. downtown access. It's SUL'l: a mess. San Mateo. Burlingame, San Bnmo. MOW"llain
View is even a mess. W"are so lucky Ulat we have that probl"", 10 deal wilh rolher
than what some ofuer oommunities have, especiailywlth EI Camino Real so dose
and th." Alma Street. W., have all that coming together and we're lucky we don't
hive !hat I'roblem.
Ms. wilson-Thar. interesting because thor. recognized as a problem.
M%. Hise-Tak.e any of these other communities and try to get Into them when they
have two lanes 01 tracks and then a major thoroughlare on either side 01 the tracks
and then one coming into their downtown area. It really screws up their
downto'wn.
Ms. Wi.Isor>-1n some cases they are undergrounding. They're ending up with two
levels. They are having 10 move buildings away that are near the railroad tracks.
22 November 5, 1992 EXC<lrpl
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Mr. Hise-It is a problem, but It's a problem that Is better to have than what some
other OOJIUl1unities have.
M .. Lytle-A strong statement needs to come Irom the ARB to the Council.
Mr. Zlmmennan-Today you have reviewed and commented. On your next
agenda you could make a spedflc recommendation.
Ms. LytJe-One thing I would Wee to clarify. I don't think • oode amendment
would b. neoessary for you to apply the concepls 01 this document In your decision
making. It says, "acoordlng to Ilndlngs and standards contained In this chapter and
such additional standards that may be adopted and published by the City Council
ftom time t9 time,"
lI'.r. His e-That's what I nleant.
M .... Lytle--You oould jusfrecommend that this be used as one 01 those slandards.
O.~ltman Ma .. J<-Why COUldn't It be the same way the" we use the El Camino Real
gu1;1elinei;?
Ms. Lytle-It could be. The HI Ct.nUno R~a1 guldell"es, however, are a bad
oxllDlple.
Mr. Hise-Yes, and also I wouldn't put Jt Into legislation so that It became fixed.
The only reason I was suggesting that was not that it should become a fixed
dotument, because I think !lIe beauty 01 It is that it stays a flexible document.
]bn GlllUand-That was the Intent with the E1 Camino Real Guidelines and the
Pedestriar. Guidelines.
Chairman Masn-I think all of us would embrace that with enthusiasm.
Ms. WUson-One of the things we became very aware of is some a!tHudes from
various constituencies In the community. We have tried very carefully to make tros
Plan acceptable to everybody. JimBaer said that he doesn't want another regulation
In his life. It's Impoztanl thatJIm Baer and people Ilke him support this kind of
document. r think we can go easy in the beginning on this. r hope people will look
Novemoor 5, 1992 Excerpt 23
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alII every rew years and make changes and~;,ep buying info it with more and more
strength 0$ lime goes on and we don't alien:.te people early on.
Mr. Hise-l don't know the mechanlcspf it, but is this an appropriate document if
It's found ow'ptable by all 10 be incorporated inlo the Comprehensive Plan? As
part 01 the downtown element of the Comprehensive Plan?
M .. Lytle-~els a section In the current work program that says Urban Design
and ther". an element inth!! existing Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. H~ you rould actually go that far where it becon,es Incorporated into the
ComprehensIve Plan.
Ms. Lytl~I1 rouJd be Incorporated or It rould be a reference document.
Mr.l.Wunorma".·-I see It more likely as a re(erencedocument wilh perhaps a
.ununalio .. of the prinelple (''''twes or the Plan in the Comprehensive Plan .
. M .. W!lwn---I wouldn't wanllo burden this doerune .. t with the type of review that
the Comprehensiv!! Plan legally has to deal with and Ihe kind of public eXp05w·e.
ChaIrman M....,r-Th.t's a very good suggeslion-to make it. reference
document.
Mr. Hlse--So part of your presentation to the Coundl might be some Jevels where
they mlght implement this. I see that this needs to be a document that isn't on the
ohelf, buton the wall. Uke these drawings are on the wall so that the community
regularly sees them. They are either on the wall in the Planning Department, or on
the ground 1100r so that irs important enough that people see it all the time.
M9. Lytle-I would like to make a comment about the lack of professional editing
Input In thedoaunent. We would like to have money for that, which we don't now
have. I think Ms. Wilson intends to ask for some professional editing. 011e thing
that this board needs to understand and people like myself who are spatially and
visually attuned need to remember, is that therei. a large .. gment of Ihe
<".)mmluUiy thO! I. verbally oriented. They look at a diagram and don't understand
it. They have to read it in order to understand it.
Chalrm.an Maser-I think it has to be a combination.
24 November 5, 1992 Excerpl
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M .. LyUo-V .. , but promslon.1 edlUng Is clearly nC<X!ed. It Is somethlnglhat we
have asked for In our Comprehenslve!'l.n as aresultoftlUs exerese, frankly. The
budge! furedlUng was deleted from the Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Hiso-Therewill be a number of prople who ",on'! need to read IlUs In order 10
buy Inlo It. Once lIiey _ the presentaUon, conceptually that would be enough for a
lot 01 prople.
Mr. Ful<uJ~ft look ""dlA long time 10 v~baJl~ .Iot of!de.s. We got all that
down. For ~Wf to get It to thls level b. great achlevement. l'<>r everyone. That i.
whJ\t cime O\1t.oo now Irs ready (or ediling. We know there were some sections
that were rather wordy and IIlalks about tlUngs t~ ... 1 everybody already knows
about. The redund.l'.<)' need> to be thlnned OUI wlthout losing the content.
Mr. Zlmmetman-I hnve a question about procedure. These oomments will be
reoorded (odoy and then the item ,.nU be on Ihe agenda for two wC<'ks, so no motion
Is nOOlSSAlY today.
Mr. GUllland-That Is correct.
Chalmun Maoe ..... l would til<;, to request that each of the Board member1i who
COme 10 the next meeting brin(t '.Iistol some 01 the IlUngs they wouJd Uke broughl
up b<>!oro the ClI)' Council.
Ms. Lytlo-l would ad,<!se "'SO thAt you Iisl yOW' most Important points. It's hard
wilen the CounCIl sets inW1dated. There wiU be oomments from several boards and
oo!tUl\lsslons, 6uch as ouWdo groups, properly 0\'f1ler1i, elc. The more oondse and
Ih. more you can get your prforities Lt. ~ formal slalemenl, the more it will have
an Impact,
Mr. ZlmnImnan-l would also Ilk" to polnt oul thuln terms of outreach, over 700
Indlvldl14ls, businesses, and properly owner. have already been notified in our
ou\read, efforts for our downlown preseIItatlon. I wouldn't saylh.! attenda",,, has
been outstanding. but II has been slgnlllcanlin terms of Who has attended, so the
word Is getting oUI there.
November 5. 1992 Excerpl 25
NEW/OLD BUSINE~S
Agonda 110m No.2
Oeooml>or 3, 1992
Architectural Review Board
Exwrpl
Downlown Urban D~sign PJan. Re\'lew and recommendation
to City Coundl.
Chalrm..lt1. Maser-I wrote some rerommenda.tJorul b"sed en some of the (OhunC'nts.
] made atthe previous m.reting. ] slarted with some general ronunents, which were
in particular directed to) Shirley Wilson:
11 is exciling 10 see in prinllhe CIIimin.Hon of yam of Ihoughlful.nll
lalenled input frem Ihe dtdictlltd group 1,,,"1 "",,,, bun volunlming their
efforts 10 this end, This should be an inoo/uable 1001 and resource for Ihe
"'mm un ily, 1/ u;JI .lso be of grM t benefilt. Ihose of us IJn N1lous beards
and cammissions involved in ~ phy>ico/ drodopmtnt of IhtrlcwiftCAQ" .r<"l.
CcngratuIRI'cms on a Iremendous job/
It's wonderful to see this document .. Although most of my commenlS ~nd to be
crltlcisni.s, they are mean I to be In theoplli! of good crlild,ms, These AIe
reiterations of things! said at the last meeting when we discussed this Hem.
1. This dOCllmenl would be more effictioe if it could be sIIorlmed considerably. 711i.
may OCCIIr Ihrough some exlenlthrough Ihe ediling process, AddilionAlly YOllmlly
want to UM an outline fomw.l wilh m<>re hemilitltS and less wlriDge IOhm
appropriAte. Peeple are busy and inundllted with rtports, elc" and hmlIly run make
R stronger, more aro'SSible re[otna,
O~mb.r 3,1992 E:<cerpl
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2. Titer. is a concern IhRlsome of Ihe ~cific slalemenls and suggeslfons go beyond
guideline slalus. The plan shrmld allow for and encourage compaJible ",,,U,,,,
solulions Ihalrnnynol conform /() ,ome of Ihe suggesled design id"". as presenled.
3. The d"'grams are wonderful edilion, 10 Ihe lexl for Ihose of us who are "isually
oriented. Some of them are reduced to a point u'here thdeltering in tht/IMes
becomes olmos! eligible. PletlSe make sure they are reRdable alld any unnecesstl'Y
. ,notations are omil/ed.
Then I listed seven very spedEk comments, which I won't read. I refer to pages
within the document and they have to do with specific issues. I reduced my
comments 10 those that I thought were the mast Important, since we will all be
commenting on the document tonight.
Nancy LytJ_r would like action hom the Board as a whole as to whether or not
you endorse this plan in general, given these provisos. Staff would like to pass on
to the Planning Commis-sion and City Council whaf the Bo3_rd consensus is on
the Plan.
MOTION: Anio Vieira-da·Ros;t--1 think Chairman Maser's first comment would
make a wonderful motion. !think the Board should really strongly
support this, and strongly suppo,t any money that is necessary for
additional editing because we want this document to be used and 110t
be so cumbersome that it can't be used. Any additional money tha~.
necessary to make the diagram s in color would be helpful, because in
black and white they are too labor·inteMlye to work. I penlOMlIy
Would support a change in the name of the document to something
like "Urban Design Opportunities," because the whole point of this
should be enthusiasm on everyone's part that there is something extra
. that they Can do, nol a plan or something that is imposed on them.
Thafs why I think ifs important that the name be changed to
something that is more enthusiastic. So, in addition to what has been
said, those are the things that I feel wOllld be important to be included
in the motion and could be added to the paragraphs wriHen by
Chairman Maser.
2 December 3, 1992 ~rpt
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Cha!nnan Ma.er-Perhaps yo'" could write that information on the, sheet and we
could give it to staff.
Ills. Vielra.da.Rosa-Maybe the first Une of your corrunents should read: "The
ArclUtectural Review Board strongly supports adoption of this dorument."
Chairman Maur-I think that statement should be at the end. It would make even
mOle of a statement.
AMENDMENT: Ms. Vielra·da·Rosa--1 would add the la.t sentence to read: 71Ie
ARB Slrangly suppcrl$lhis documenl and {&r additional funds {&r
edillng, pro/tsSional fvrmalting .nd coler enhancemenl, 10 ",Ilk. this
docummt ... sy 10 use and on exciting 1001.
SECOND: Thomas Hise.
MOTION CARRlIID: The motion was carried unanimously, with Michael Lyzwa
absent.
ShUle), Wilson-Thank you so much for making this work after all this time.
CI1a!rnwt Maser-Whon did yo .. start working on 1t7
Ms, Wilson-In 1989.
M .. Lytle-Jack Sutorius was mayor. It was five years ago when it was aUlhorized
and the worked progn;~sed from there.
III .. WlIson-Once again, thank you for your support. I hope it is useful 10 you.
Ills. Lytle-I would also like a representative from the ARB to attend tho Planning
Commission meeting on this item next week. It is a special meeting. It starts at
6:00 pm with a presentation from the Board in this room. TheIl qUesU-:>,lS can be
asked and they will adjourn to the Chambers at 7:00 pm for a pubUc hearing on the
item and then they will take their action on the item. Hopefully this will all occw'
before 7:30 pm when their regular m'''tlng start •.
M .. Vlelra·da·Rosa-1 will attend the meeting on Decemb<>.r 9, 1992.
Oecember 3, 1992 Exe<>rpl
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D~cemb~r 2, 199)
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
palo Alto, Cal!fo<nia
1l.T"r1l.CH!l.€NT J
Jl.tterit'ion: Policy and services Corrmittee
t-'.e.,....bers of thG COI...mcil
,REPORT IN ERI6F
'This repOrt submits to the Policy and Services Convoittee a
revised Pratt Downtown Urban Design PIal_/ which includes changes
mado to the document after Council referral to Corrrnittee on
Fehruary 22, 1993,
IlACX() ROOHD
At,the City Council meeting of February 22', 1.993, a public
hearing was held on the Draft DOwntown Urban Design Plan. The
CouncIl referred the plan to the Policy ,and Services Committee
for discussion on II 9~O vote. Since that. time:
• Discussion of the Plan was agendb:ed for t,he May 1B, 1993
Policy and Services meeting. Upon hearing that the Urban
,Design committee and interested downtown property owners had
agreed to hold several meetings to try and 'resolve property
owner concerns about the plan, the Commdttee delayed its
discu"ston,
• The Urban Design Committee held two meetings in July with
several major downtown pt"operty O'fme-rs (Chop Keenan, Jim
Saar and Warren Thoits) to discuss concerns and possible
revisions, "and also received written comments.
• The'U~ban Design Committee then held several editing
sessions in July, August and Septe~)er to produce a revised
dr&ft plan taking into consideration the comments received.
Q.\R:603:93
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• The revisc-d dt'8ft was disu:ibuted to the three property
owners for their review and comment,
DISCUSSION
The Urban Design Cott"l'aittea is now returning to the policy 'and
Services COlTfl:littee with ,the revised: draft and l'equesting that the
Coroouttee recot'mlend adopti('ln of the: plan. to tho Cit.y CO\Jncll. A
copy of the August 10, 1992 draft Plan is attachod to Council
Me~IDers' ~opies of the staff report to facilitnte comparisons
with the revised draft.
The Substantive changos made to the document includ",=
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RE;Jterri1l9 to the docur::enl as it "-resource l"cterence" rather
than a "plt'n!;l;
Highl.ighting the "Statcl;,.ont of Intent., by making it the
first scctiol\ of the docmr,ent yith bold typoe-,
In each District description; the ~Architect\l~e Guidelines"
were removed nnd, I.'hen appropriate. 'Were incorporated under
HObservations", no'« titled "Ul'ban Des;;gn Observations"'.
Guidelines w!1ich relate to public irnprove:ne:nt$ ",'el"e l:etaincd
under a net..· section called IlPublic I'.rea ~"uidelineG".
The general ~Architect\lt"e GuidoUnes fl , heginniny on page 57.
were substantially edited olmd reduced in mnnber bi' half.
Many of tlte sp'Ccific language changes sugge:sted wcx:e also
incol.'POx:ated.
ll.<lditional language suggested by two members of the Public
Arts, Corrrnission regilrding'pUblir. art and use of art concepts
in building and amenity design was, .o.lao incol1)orated,
The Urban Defdgn Co,rrmittcc feels they havQ made a concerted
effort to l."espond to the concerns of the projrerty owners. While
the three property owners with 'whom the C~~ittee met are
pL"obably still not completely satisfied, the COIMIitte. believes
strongly that thn document cannot' absorb additional significant
changes wit.hout sacrificing the bvetall vision and intent.
Additionally, prior to first see~ing adoption by the City
council, the Corrmittee did extensive outreach to other downtown
owners and merchants and received Hupport for the plan (se~ the
attached Planning commission staff report dated December 4,
1992) .
CMR,603,93 12/2/93
page 2
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RI!COMMBNDIITXON
Staff recomrn9nds that the Policy and Services C~~ittee!
1) Reconwend adoption of the Downtown Urban Design notument to
the City Council, and
2) ConBider the Urban Design Coomittee' 6 request for addttion~l
funding to professionally edit ~nd finalize the docu,t)1ont
lBee attached letter from Shirley WilBon dated FebrualY 19,
1993) .
Respectfully submitted,
!/.'7 1f1
. ~/'r-
NANCY M. LYTLE
~xaI~-1~
Chief Planning Official KE!1N!ITH R. SCIIRRIBBR
Director of Planning and
Ccni11unity Rnvironment
'~NG~~
City Manager
Attachmel1ts:
Letter from Shirley Wilson dated ~/19/93
Excerpt minutes of the Policy & ServiCES Committee
meeting of 5/18/93
Public Art Commission atate~nt dated 5/18/93
QMR,257,93 dated 4/22/93. without attachments
CMR,174,93 dated 2/18/93. without attachments
Excerpt minutes of City Council meeting of. 2/22/93
Planning Commission Staff Report dated 12/4/92,
without attachments
Rev,ised'lltaft Downtown Urban Deei.gn dated 10/93
Draft Downtown Urban Design Plan dated 8/10/92 (Council
Members only)
cc: Urban Design Committee
Chop Keenan
Jim Baer
Warren Thoits
Susan Wexler
Sandy Eakins
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12/2/93
Page 3
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ATTACHMENT K
MorION PASSSD 4-0.
EXCERPT minutes of the Pol icy & Services
Committee meeting of May 18, 1.993
Chairperson' Si~itian confirmed the proposal for the visit to the
bowling alley as raised by the P&S committee.
~~~;46 to 6;52 p.m.
4. praft Downtown Urban ~ign Plan
Chief Planning Official and Zoning Administrator Nalloy I.ytle
introduced three members of the Urban Design committee (U[)C):
David Zlnk-Brody, Tony Carrasco, and Betty J.feltzer. Staff had
conducted 'individual-meetings with Council Members and two property
owners, Chop :Keenan and Henry Gow~ Staff' reinforced the intent of
the UDe, scaff, and the Architectural Review Board (ARB) to utilize
thQ document with flexibility and creativity. The UDC t:E",cognized
the Downtown urban Design Plan (the Plan) needed both public and
private support and had made efforts in the past to engage property
owners to address Council through correspondence or personally.
Mr. Keenan had committed .to organize a group of property owners and
had forme.d a Downtown Property O\mers Parking comrolttee. The: UDC
was ,dlliug to work: with the group to examine some of their
specific objections to the format or language in the Plan,
conflicts with zoning regulations, or lar.guage which might be
interpreted as regulation, since it was not the intent of the
document. Many objections to the Plan could be eliminated through
a cross-education process. The Uoc recognized there toight still be
differences of opinion at the outset. Staff asked for the P&S
committee to approve a 90-day continuance t.o hllow a series of
meetings to occur with the Downtown Property Owners Group. Staff
would return at the conclusion of the 90 days~
Chairperson simitian read a letter from Chop Keenan, 700 Emerson
street (on file in the Ci.ty Clerk's Office), which. indicated
Mr-~ Keenan had met with Shirley Wilson and Betty Meltzer regarding
property owners t ,concerns with the 'Pla,n. The group would meet
during the next' few months to determine whether-the editorial
concerns could be handled in a different IUann~r in the text. Mr.
Keenan reqUested the item be continued for 90 days. Chairperson
simitian asked whether the members of the Dublic who ·..,ished to
speak should do so after the 90-day period. -
council He-mber Huber believed the Public .Art Commission (PAC) was
interesteq in havi~9 its comments in a letter when the Downtown
Plan was revisited.
MS4 Lytle agreed.
05/16/93 P&S;18
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Chairperson s1mitien believed all of the materials should re~urn to
the P&S Co~itteo when the issue was revisited, including commonts
made by tho PAC incorporated as p'art of 'the packet materials.
Public Art commissioner Sandy Eakins said the PAC was pleased to be
able ~o participate in the review of the Plan and was glad to see
pUblic art mentioned em page 65 (the Plan). , It was encouraqing to
see the use of art in i~proving and guiding the look and feel of
urban areas in Palo Alto. While concentl."ation -in the past had
remain-a:d 'With University Avenue, there were other areas which
warriu,ted improveMent. she wanted to see artists as part of design
tel!lillls in projects. Artists provided more creative outlooks and
... ere good at problem solvil"lg~
Public Art COMmissioner Susan Wexler presented a letter, dated
Hay-18, 1993, Con file in the city Clerk's Oftice)I which attempted
to explain ~hat public art had corne to mean over the past 10 to 15
yeara. The glue which held the Plan together was an art concept
and was what public art should be used for. Artists brought
innovative and exciting ideas into regular uses.
David Zlnk-BrodYt 400 Ortega A.venue, member of the Urhan Desigr,
cor.ul!ittee, agreed to defer final recommendat.ions 'lntil completioll
of the 90-day poriod, as discussed. Ho thanked Council for holding
the public hearing and for the patience and support. Many inroads
had been Dade 1n the past few months into the issue of art in the
businoss co~unity, and he urged continuing with specific outreach
methods to the PAC.
Chair,person Si~ltian said the item had been referred to the P&S
cOlr>.nittee in an effort to determine whether some competing concerns
oKpressed by rn~mbers of the committee and the business community
could bo balanced. He thanked the UDe.
Council Member Kniss said the uoc had worked very hard, going above
and boyond what was required.
MOTION IfO CONTINtT8: Council MeMer Kniss moved, seconded by
Fazzino, to continue:! the OOw-ntown Urban Design Plan to t.he
Septembe'r 1993 Policy and services Committee meeting.
C:hairperson Simiticin believed the outreach of the UDe to other
groups besides the business community needed no for~al motion.
council Member Fazzino said the UDC worked very hard to educate
everyone, help Council to understand the effort and purpose of the
document, and allay .fears and concerns expressed during the
Fobruary 1993 Council rueeting.
HorION TO CONTINUE PASSED 4-0.
05/18/93 i'&S: 19
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