Please join eight former Mayors and over 1000 community members in asking City Council to exercise leadership and address Palo Alto's housing shortage now!
The cost of living in Palo Alto has skyrocketed. As a result, we are seeing long-time neighbors move because they can no longer afford the rent. It is not unusual for Palo Alto workers to commute in from areas as far as Stockton, Gilroy, and Tracy, putting severe strain on our roads and our climate. We are on the path to being a city composed only of long-time landowners and wealthy newcomers.
This situation is the result of city policies that have discouraged new housing while encouraging more office space. As a result, Palo Alto has the nation’s highest median rent and the region’s highest jobs-to-housing ratio. City Council has taken measures to address the jobs side of the equation by limiting office growth. Now, it is time to address the housing side of the equation.
A true fix will require a long-term focus and deep commitment; we believe, though, that we can maintain the character of our community while making changes to alleviate this imbalance. Council can show leadership by crafting policy to achieve the following goals:
1. Encourage construction of more studio apartments and other naturally affordable smaller units.
2. Encourage buildings composed of apartments and condos over ground-floor retail. Current policy requires developers to build office space into any new four-story building in a commercial district.
3. Make it easier for homeowners to build second units on their property, especially to accommodate multiple-generation households and caretakers.
4. Allow car-light and car-free housing in walkable, transit-accessible areas for residents who are able to not own a car.
5. Facilitate the development of new senior housing, including alternative models such as co-housing, home sharing, and mixed-use senior communities with retail and services.
We ask the City Council to plan for more housing so that Palo Alto can be the community of opportunity it has historically been: a family-friendly city that welcomed interesting thinkers and doers of all ages and all incomes. Many of the above ideas were implemented successfully in Palo Alto’s South of Forest (SOFA) plan. We know that this can be done!
To find out more see our blog post.
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Ebony Adagun signed 2016-07-26 11:04:53 -0700
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Natalie Martinez-Vlasoff signed 2016-07-26 10:24:35 -0700
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Nadine Martinez signed via Nicholas Shafer 2016-07-14 20:54:39 -0700
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Barbara Dawson signed 2016-06-30 21:59:50 -0700
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Rebecca Fox signed 2016-06-06 21:20:21 -0700
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Geoff Paulsen signed 2016-06-04 01:05:09 -0700
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@AlexVomWald tweeted link to this page. 2016-05-31 11:12:22 -0700Join with me to support more housing and transportation options in Palo Alto! http://www.paloaltoforward.com/ask_city_council_to_fix_palo_alto_s_housing_crisis?recruiter_id=4129Reply · Retweet · Favorite
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Alejandro Garcia Del Bosque signed 2016-05-31 11:12:02 -0700
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Becky Richardson signed 2016-05-30 11:43:55 -0700
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Clayton Nall signed 2016-05-26 07:20:48 -0700Clayton Nall
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Dipesh Bhattacharya signed 2016-05-22 22:15:40 -0700
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said mentese signed 2016-05-22 19:07:15 -0700SAID N MENTESE
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Soraya Lobos signed 2016-05-17 13:36:22 -0700I support the housing program in Palo Alto but I do believe that the “laws” for housing should be modified a little in terms of income qualification and the way residents from housing are treated.
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Noah Gaspar signed 2016-05-16 19:44:55 -0700
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Emil Popov signed 2016-05-16 13:16:27 -0700
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Laure Gueudelot signed 2016-05-16 12:27:19 -0700Laure Gueudelot
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Julie Love signed 2016-05-16 12:26:55 -0700
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Susan Lusman signed 2016-05-16 12:26:21 -0700
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Sean Love signed 2016-05-16 12:24:26 -0700
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Matthew Lovitt Buran signed 2016-05-16 12:23:37 -0700
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David McCormick signed 2016-05-16 12:22:35 -0700
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Dennis Lawler signed 2016-05-16 12:21:42 -0700
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Anna Berevamaschi signed 2016-05-16 12:20:48 -0700
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Pk Mueller signed 2016-05-16 12:19:17 -0700
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Jacob Sendowski signed 2016-05-16 12:15:12 -0700
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Glen Segal signed 2016-05-16 12:14:22 -0700
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Evelyn Nicolaov signed 2016-05-16 12:12:40 -0700
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Beth Mills signed 2016-05-16 12:08:19 -0700
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Megan Formato signed 2016-05-16 12:07:29 -0700
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Jenna Fu signed 2016-05-16 12:06:30 -0700
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