PA Weekly Article on Wellesley Project

The lead story in today’s Palo Alto Weekly – Housing plan stirs opposition in Palo Alto’s College Terrace – centers on the apartments proposed for the corner of Wellesley Street and College Avenue. The article quotes neighbors in opposition to the project, as well as a representative for the developer, Cato Investment Company, who says Cato is “undertaking a robust community outreach effort and will be holding a community meeting.” As of yet, no date has been set for that meeting, although it is supposed to happen prior to the City Council’s pre-screening of the project (tentatively scheduled for March 25).

The article also summarizes the “battle brewing over R-1 zoning” citywide. It describes Palo Alto’s planned-housing zone (PHZ) process, the projects that have been proposed under PHZ so far, and quotes a pair of city council members (Pat Burt and Mayor Tom DuBois) who believe the PHZ should not apply in single-family neighborhoods.

Teacher Housing Study Session at City Council Tonight

At our December meeting, the CTRA met with representatives working on the proposed teacher housing project at 231 Grant Avenue, located a couple of blocks off California Avenue across the street from the county courthouse. The project offers an exciting opportunity to create new high-quality, and much-needed, rental housing affordable for teachers, school employees, and their families. This new community will include 110 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, amenity spaces, and landscaped gardens. You can learn more about the project at 231Grant.org.

The City Council will have a study session about this project tonight at 5pm. (Because the land belongs to the County, it won’t go through the City’s process for approval.) There will be additional study sessions to gather community feedback and the CTRA hopes to organize another community meeting in the coming months.

Wellesley Housing Project Plans Submitted

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Thanks to everyone who attended last week’s CTRA board meeting! We had over fifty neighbors in attendance, weighing in with their opinions on the proposed apartments at Wellesley and College. Three neighbors spoke in favor of the project, while 25-30 spoke in opposition.

The project developers, Cato Investment Company LLC, own at least nine properties in College Terrace (including the two on Wellesley) as well as a few others elsewhere in the city. This Monday, the developers submitted their request for a City Council pre-screening to consider their plan to change the zoning at 2239 and 2241 Wellesley from R-1 to PHZ (Planned Housing Zone) in order to accommodate a 24-unit apartment building. View their application and plans here. (Pro tip: visit paloalto.buildingeye.com to see all current planning and building applications in the city. You can also sign up for email alerts.)

We encourage neighbors to review the plans and send their feedback to the City Council at city.council@cityofpaloalto.org. We don’t yet know when the City Council will pre-screen this project (most likely in March or April), but we will notify the neighborhood as soon as we do so neighbors can attend and share their feedback in person.

New Apartments Proposed at Wellesley and College

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An article in Friday’s Palo Alto Weekly describes a new apartment building proposed for the corner of Wellesley and College Avenue in College Terrace. The project by San Francisco-based Cato Investments would house 24 units in a three-story apartment building on two side-by-side lots at 2239 and 2241 Wellesley St. Today, both lots contain single-family homes.

The developer is applying under Palo Alto’s Planned Home Zoning (PHZ) designation, which allows developers providing affordable housing to request exceptions to development standards. Eligible developments must offer at least 20% of the project to below-market-rate units. The project would also require exemptions for parking, height, and setback requirements.

A project website – WellesleyHousing.com – lays out the developer’s vision to provide missing middle housing in a walkable neighborhood close to public transit, in a part of College Terrace that already contains multi-family housing. The developers plan to hold a community meeting before the City’s formal pre-screening of the project, although there is no date set for that community meeting yet. There is also a link on the website for a community survey, but it isn’t active yet either.

We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available. In the meantime, we recommend reading the articles in the Weekly and San Jose Inside, as well as the project website.