To the overwhelming number of residents who came to speak at City Council about the need to address the city's housing shortage - thank you! There were 45 pro-housing comments made at the Land Use Element, compared to only a handful of comments against. City Council listened to you. Council members Marc Berman, Pat Burt, and Cory Wolbach proposed motions that spoke directly to the need to increase housing supply in our downtown areas for all residents and specifically for Palo Alto's increasing population of seniors. These ideas were included in the Council's final direction for the Comprehensive Plan. Nevertheless, it is clear that achieving our goal of a Palo Alto that remains inclusive to residents of all incomes and all ages will be an continuing struggle. Your voice will be needed in the weeks and months ahead to make sure Council addresses the housing shortage with the same urgency that it has displayed for other important issues this year such as managing office growth and regulating downtown parking. Thanks again to all the residents who spoke or wrote in favor of housing - your voice is beginning to be heard!

  A ghost home owned by a foreign buyer? Attrib: sanfranman59 on Wikipedia. Foreign investment seems to be on everyone’s mind these days with stories about unoccupied “ghost” homes making the headlines. Many people are saying that foreign investment is the cause of Palo Alto’s sky-high housing prices.  Others say that the foreign investment trend is a reason for Palo Alto to not build more housing.  But how much do foreign buyers increase home prices, and what can Palo Alto do about it? Read more

Palo Alto has the highest in-commuting rate in the region and the second highest in the country after Manhattan.  Downtown areas are busy and it’s hard to find parking. On Tuesday, the Comprehensive Plan Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) will be discussing talking about the policies and programs to help address the city’s transportation challenges. As we think about the future of transportation, here are some thoughts for the committee to consider…   Read more

Palo Alto is updating the city’s Comprehensive Plan, setting guidelines for the coming decades.  You can share your ideas about the future of transportation in Palo Alto on this city website.  This is your chance to provide comment on Palo Alto's Transportation Element, and you can do it in 5 minutes or less. Please respond before September 3rd to have your comments incorporated as part of the recommendations of the CAC! Share your ideas now, or check out our food for thought as you consider your suggestions. Read more

If I were to ask you whether or not the city should pay commuters to drive to work in Palo Alto, I imagine you’d scoff at the idea. Who me? Subsidize vehicle traffic? Encourage employee parking on neighborhood streets? No way. Many Palo Altans are acutely aware of parking shortages downtown and challenging commute-hour traffic. Some are complaining about the lack of parking on neighborhood streets due to employee parking. However many people don’t realize that subsidizing commuters is in fact what the City of Palo Alto is doing today. Read more