This rendering shows plans for Palo Alto’s Mollie Stone’s market, one of the large developments proposed near a Caltrain station.

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

Neighbors are trying to stop two developments in Palo Alto that are using a new state law that allow taller apartment buildings near Caltrain stations.

“I moved here to live in Palo Alto, not Manhattan,” resident Dan Mahoney said in an email to council on Friday.

The city received nine applications for a total of 341 apartments using Senate Bill 79, which requires cities to allow seven-story buildings with a quarter-mile of Caltrain stations and six stories within a half-mile.

Residents like Mahoney are upset about two projects in particular: a six-story building at 2497 High St. and a four-story building at 340 Palo Alto Ave. Neighbors of the High Street project are worried about having only two parking spaces for 19 apartments in the already crowded Ventura neighborhood.

“A building of this height will cast longer shadows on to nearby homes, yards and gardens,” said resident Gary Holl, who lives at 200 Colorado Ave.

The development was proposed by Wei Wu Cheng, 55, of Burlingame, during a two-week window before Palo Alto City Council’s limits on SB79 took effect on July 16.

Realtor Celeste Johnson said the development “will ruin the current residential character of the neighborhood and will definitely adversely impact home values.” Resident Ilya Veygman is taking the opposite position from her neighbors after one of them encouraged her to try to stop the development.

“Ignore the haters and build, build, build,” Veygman said in an email to council.

Building near the creek

Neighbors of the Palo Alto Avenue project don’t like how six new condos would get built near the San Francisquito Creek.

“A project of this scale raises serious concerns about exacerbating flood risk for neighboring properties,” resident Sophia Xu said in an email to council.

Neighbors are also concerned about the building’s height, losing old oak trees and that the condos won’t be affordable.

The property is currently owned by Darel Robert Chapman, 61, and Elu Chapman, 65, of San Mateo. They’ve listed the property for $6.3 million, marketing the “rare development potential” north of downtown Palo Alto.

Limited discretion

In an interview on Tuesday, Councilman Pat Burt said the city has limited discretion in denying SB79 projects.

“There’s very little that council can do,” he said.

Burt encouraged residents to speak with state legislators. He called SB79 “an arbitrary piece of legislation that was designed as one size fits all out of Sacramento.”