Palo Alto Weekly – by Palo Alto Weekly editorial board / August 4, 2017
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FAA report looks to change SFO arrivals path
Palo Alto Weekly – by Sue Dremann / July 31, 2017
Federal agency evaluates the feasibility of 104 recommendations submitted in October
A new flight path that would reduce noise over Palo Alto and surrounding cities is being developed by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a recently released report….
New housing money available
The Daily Journal – by Samantha Weigel / July 28, 2017
$24M in new tax revenue open to developers of affordable units, largest amount in county’s history
San Mateo County is putting its money where its mouth is and, when it comes to voters’ frustration with the housing crisis, that translates to nearly $24 million.
This week, the county’s Department of Housing announced its largest round of annual funding for developers looking to build or preserve homes for those making low incomes, former foster youth or people with mental illness….
Palo Alto’s brick-and-mortar retailers face steep challenges
Palo Alto Weekly – by Sue Dremann / July 27, 2017
Downtown Palo Alto stores are struggling with high costs, difficulties in finding employees who will work for minimum or low wage and a parking shortage, among other problems, a panel of business owners said Wednesday morning during a discussion on the future of retail….
Planning commission unanimously recommends office-cap extension
Palo Alto Weekly – by Elinor Aspegren and Shawna Chen / July 27, 2017
The Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission supported the city staff’s recommendation to extend the 50,000 square foot office-cap ordinance on Wednesday. Despite concerns about its long-term effects, all five commissioners present passed the motion with little debate….
The big lie about California’s housing crisis
San Francisco Examiner – Featured Opinion By Deepa Varma / July 27, 2017
It’s official: The rent in California, not just San Francisco, is too damn high.
California now has the highest poverty rate in the nation when the cost of housing is taken into account. Since 2005, more than 2.5 million Californians have been forced to leave the state in search of an affordable home.
Unfortunately, the prevailing supply and demand — “just build” — mantra put forward by opinion leaders is diverting state government from the hard truth that the market has not responded to the demand of California families for affordable homes — not luxury and market-rate homes….
Retailers want more parking
Palo Alto Daily Post – by Matt Niksa / July 27, 2017
A shortage of parking is hurting retailers and restaurants in downtown Palo Alto and in the California Avenue district, not only because it reduces the number of customers but it is also making it hard to keep workers, panelists said at a discussion on local retail issues yesterday.
Foster City planners tackle in-law units
The Daily Journal – by Samantha Weigel / Jul 24, 2017
Foster City is considering updates to its regulations on secondary units as it aims to comply with state mandates promoting the residences as a means to address the affordable housing crisis….
New affordable-housing project proposed in Ventura
Palo Alto Weekly – by Gennady Sheyner / July 21, 2017
Palo Alto Housing hopes to bring 67 small apartments to an El Camino Real site
After meeting community opposition in its most recent bid to build an affordable-housing complex in its home town, the nonprofit Palo Alto Housing is hoping for a better reception — and outcome — for its new proposal: a 67-unit development on El Camino Real, in the Ventura neighborhood.
Dear YIMBYs: The brutal, unfettered market won’t stop displacement
San Francisco Examiner – OpEd by Leslie Dreyer, Joseph Smooke and Sarah Sherburn-Zimmer / July 20, 2017
Your platform, which relies on the filtering theory, states, “Today’s new, expensive housing becomes tomorrow’s inexpensive housing.” This theory doesn’t hold true for San Francisco, nor likely any other city strangled by the current global speculative market. When the California Legislative Analyst’s Office misused UC Berkeley’s Urban Displacement Project data to advocate for the construction of market-rate housing as an anti-displacement tool, the researchers responded, in summary, by saying:
- Producing tons of market-rate units to lower rents may take generations and may never actually work to relieve displacement pressures.
- Subsidized units for low-income folks have more than twice the impact on reducing displacement pressures…