Month: July 2017

Childrens corner

Stop the City Council from giving up our public land to a private enterprise!

Children’s Corner wants us to

  • Give up 6,500 square feet of our civic center land for 20 years.
  • Use our money to build dedicated space for its exclusive use.

Why offer our land and funds to this particular school?

Such funding would “require reduction in the currently proposed Community Center building size and/or quality.” *

That means there would be less space for classes and activities to serve all Los Altans. Our seniors would get even less than the currently allocated 2,000 square feet and our teens less than 800 square feet.

Yet Children’s Corner would get 3,000 square feet of custom-built indoor space for a very small percentage of Los Altos preschoolers.

Stop this bad deal!

Wear RED to the City Council Meeting on November 28 at 7:00 pm

Council Chambers, One North San Antonio Road

Wear RED and speak out to oppose this special interest proposal that does not serve the best interests of our community.

Wear RED and send an email to Council at council@losaltosca.gov

* Staff report at: https://www.losaltosca.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/10951/4.proposal_from_childrens_corner.pdf

Affordable Housing

Among the major topics on Affordable Housing are the lack of an ordinance for “Accessory Dwelling Units” (ADUs or “Granny Units”) and one to fully implement the California Density Bonus law.

More than 80% of Los Altos residents are individual homeowners who live in homes they own. A “granny unit” at every home–if the unit were rented out to a couple, for example–could double the population of Los Altos. That could double the traffic, double the parking and double the services needed, without doubling the property taxes paid.

The Density Bonus Law impacted city decisions on the multi-family development at 4880 El Camino, and a draft ordinance with a menu of developer options was finally reviewed at the Planning and Transportation Commission on June 1, 2017. The PTC directed staff to incorporate commissioners’ and public comments and bring back a revision for recommendation to City Council. Read more here. 

Other affordable housing items the city council is considering:

  • Imposing “linkage fees” on development (potentially all commercial and residential development) to fund affordable housing.
    Staff report is here.
  • Policy options to increase affordable housing, based on the “Housing Element” of the General Plan. This is one of council’s priorities for 2017.
    Staff report is here, and the Housing Element of the General Plan can be found here.

Want to make a difference? Write the Los Altos City Council on this important issue. Email them at council@losaltosca.gov. Short, clear letters are best and can really make a difference.

Parking and Traffic

Parking  

Downtown Los Altos just before 9:00 a.m. on a weekday. Parking is much more difficult to find, later in the day.
The current city parking requirement for office space is roughly based on one employee per 333 sq ft. However, the current industry standard is one employee per 151 sq ft if you assume typical office sizes.  This difference becomes very important in larger buildings. For example, the currently proposed LACI building on First Street has parking for about 250 occupants, but industry standard suggests it could occupy over 500. So, potentially 250 more vehicles from these occupants could be seeking out community parking downtown.  If city codes are current and accurate, the city is able to set expectations for parking needs when a building is implemented, and could plan for the associated issues. As bigger and bigger buildings are proposed for downtown, the importance of having accurate parking codes becomes increasingly critical.

Traffic

March 28, 2017, the Los Altos City Council decided not to move forward to test speed limit increases on one or more segments. Want to know more about why council members made this decision and why speed limits can be complicated in California? Click here. At the same meeting, the Los Altos City Council approved a formal stop sign policy. Click here for the staff report. The Council also decided to consider whether to move the “Transportation” responsibilities from the current Planning and Transportation Commission back to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission. Council members Jeannie Bruins and Lynette Lee Eng will work with staff and the respective commissions on a final recommendation. February 14, 2017, the Council heard an update on school safety issues. Click here for the staff report. And click here for a presentation on the subject.

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