According to SF Yimby, a Southern California-based company has filed an application to implement builder remedies for 350 units in Palo Alto.the proposal is the third largest in the program bay area Legal provisions were cited.
so far–An untested provision in the Housing Responsibility Act of the 1990s allowed developers to automatically approve their projects in cities without housing plans (formally known as housing elements). To qualify, projects must designate at least 20% of units for affordable housing or 100% of units for moderate-income housing.
The application was submitted by Juno Realty Partners, an entity managed by former Hines managing director John Favreau. Located at 3997 Fabian Way, the site is 87 feet tall and covers 489,000 square feet. Unit sizes average 8 square feet and include 92 studios, 156 one-bedrooms and 102 two-bedrooms. Of the 350 apartments, 70 will be designated as affordable for low-income families.
The project’s original plans were for a five-story, 290-unit building. then, local officials There is concern that the building is too tall for nearby residents. Now they may have to concede to higher structures without any say.
Juno Realty’s project isn’t the first proposal to use Palo Alto’s rules. Locally-based Peninsula Land & Capital has lodged a builder’s remedy application for the purchase of 45 apartments, nine of which are affordable.
Palo Alto has acknowledged it needs a builder’s remedy.
“Until the city adopts new housing elements that comply with state law, it cannot reject certain eligible housing projects, regardless of whether they meet zoning standards or comprehensive planning,” the city said in a statement about the apartment project.
That’s in stark contrast to cities like Atherton and Sonoma, which claim they’re exempt from any such regulations and are poised to challenge state authority.
Bay Area cities haven’t experienced the same level of builder remedial boom as Southern California cities. So far, about half a dozen cities in the Bay Area have submitted applications under the rule. In the South, however, the number of cities exceeds 25.
