Mountain View’s mobile home park tenants scored a big win Tuesday evening, following a yearslong effort to get the city to offer more rent control protections and cap annual rent increases below the rate of inflation. In a split 4-3 vote, the City Council approved limiting rent increases to 60% of the Consumer Price Index, with a...
The next Santana Row? Council has big plans for California Avenue
A new proposal to enhance car-free California Avenue with planters, road improvements and a playful “modern optimism” aesthetic won a warm reception on Monday night from Palo Alto’s elected leaders, whose chief regret was that the work hadn’t been done sooner. The street, which closed to cars in 2020, is up for a refresh starting...
Mountain View approves teacher housing ground lease, with option to buy land
Mountain View Whisman’s school board approved the ground lease for its staff housing development at a Thursday evening meeting, paving the way for local educators to start moving in as soon as next month, as well as signing off on an agreement that gives the district the chance to negotiate a deal to buy the property. At the...
Mountain View hits obstacles diverting trash from landfills
Karen Noryko had not lived in Mountain View for long before she started to notice a lot of items that she wanted to recycle were not eligible for curbside pickup outside her home. So, Noryko looked into options other than what the city offered and discovered Ridwell, a company that collects and recycles materials not taken...
Palo Alto teacher housing project passes the test
A proposal to build housing for educators on the site of a shuttered Travelodge motel in Palo Alto eked out a hard-fought victory on Wednesday when Palo Alto’s planning commissioners voted 3-2 to move the project forward. The Planning and Transportation Commission broadly agreed that the project is a significant upgrade from the version that...
Builders vie to construct housing on downtown Palo Alto lot
Palo Alto’s effort to transform downtown parking lots into affordable housing sites could reach a milestone later this month, when the City Council considers a new plan from the nonprofit Alta Housing to build more than 50 apartments on a Lytton Avenue lot. Alta, which three years ago completed construction of the Wilton Court, a...
Palo Alto treads lightly on artificial turf as health concerns surface
Concerned about the health and environmental impacts of synthetic turf, Palo Alto has halted its plans to resurface the playing fields at El Camino Park as it weighs the costs and benefits of plastic and grass. The turf-versus-grass debate came up last May, as the council’s Finance Committee reviewed its annual capital budget, which included...
Mountain View Kohl’s to close, new school planned at shopping center
Mountain View’s longstanding Kohl’s store is set to close this week, making it the final retail outpost to shutter in a shopping center where the Los Altos School District hopes to build a new school. The department store, located at 350 Showers Drive, is scheduled to close on Saturday, Jan. 18, according to a sign posted...
New Palo Alto rules would curb parklet extensions
Facing criticism from downtown merchants, Palo Alto is preparing to drop a policy that allows restaurants to extend their dining areas into adjacent properties, even without consent from neighbors. The change, which the City Council will consider at its Jan. 13 meeting, aims to address arguments from retailers that expanded parklets are threatening their businesses,...
Mountain View looks to trim down cost of $210M public safety building
Mountain View is taking steps to close a massive funding shortfall for a new public safety building after the cost shot up to $210 million, an amount that far exceeds what the city budgeted for it. In a 6-0-1 vote, the City Council approved a recommendation on Tuesday evening to revise the project scope by reducing the...