For more than a year, the owners of Town & Country Village have been battling a proposal to build a condominium development on a parking lot just north of the El Camino Real shopping center. Over public meetings and in written correspondence, Ellis Partners has argued that the planned project is incompatible with the area...

With the number of vehicle dwellers on the rise, Palo Alto’s elected leaders are considering further expanding the Geng Road “safe parking” site, which provides spaces and social services for individuals and families who live in RVs. The program, which is administered by the nonprofit group MOVE Mountain View, has been gradually evolving since the...

After decades filled with false starts and shattered expectations, Palo Alto’s elected leaders on Tuesday took their first step in what promises to be a long journey to repair, rebuild and enhance Cubberley Community Center. By the standards of local planning efforts, which typically feature years of debate and numerous iterations, the current Cubberley effort...

Street closures, lower speed limits and designated “school zones” with car restrictions during drop-off times are among the measures that make up Palo Alto’s new plan to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries. These programs, and dozens of others, are included in the draft Safe Streets 4 All Safety Action Plan, a 173-page document that...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...