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Local news, information and analysis
County seeks to reassure critics of bus-only lanes
Controversial Bus Rapid Transit proposal would
exacerbate traffic on Alma Street
With plans for a greatly
expanded bus service on
El Camino Real speeding
toward a decision, several cities
along the prominent corridor
remain skeptical about the most
dramatic proposal on the table:
the creation of “bus-only” lanes
between Palo Alto and San Jose.
To reassure the critics and add
by Gennady Sheyner
credence to its own analysis of
what is known as Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT), the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) on
Tuesday released a new independent
review that the agency said largely
validates the analysis in its draft Environmental
Impact Report (EIR).
The transit agency’s analysis
concluded that the new, dedicated
bus lanes would significantly reduce
the amount of time it would
take for its 522 bus to travel from
Palo Alto to San Jose: dropping it
from the current level of 85 minutes
to 48 minutes. A less extreme
alternative known as “mixed
flow” — in which buses share the
right lane with cars — would only
drop the travel time to 81 minutes,
the analysis found.
The review by a specially appointed
steering committee
took some issues with the EIR’s
methodology, particularly when
it comes to the VTA’s traffic-diversion
analysis, and the way the
information was presented to the
public. But by and large, the committee
supported the findings of
the analysis and concluded that the
agency’s draft environmental study
“adequately discloses the project’s
expected environmental impacts
and presents evidence sufficient
for the relevant bodies to make an
informed recommendation.”
At a media briefing Tuesday,
officials from the VTA, which is
implementing the project, touted
UTILITIES
the committee’s conclusion that
creating bus-only lanes on El
Camino would greatly improve
transit without causing the type
of traffic havoc many fear.
The analysis showed that the
travel time for cars would only
go up from 40 minutes to 43.7
minutes as some drivers switch to
other modes of transportation or
find new routes to take.
Even so, the findings are unlikely
to calm Peninsula anxieties
Palo Alto looks to expand
‘drought-free’ water supply
City Council to consider bringing recycled water
to Stanford Research Park
by Gennady Sheyner
(continued on page 14)
A HAPPIER, HEALTHIER HABITAT
Monique Huygen, center, and Bethany Davidowski, back center, pour mulch over planter beds
on Sept. 23 as they work beside volunteers and staff from Habitat for Humanity at a home on
Brentwood Court in East Palo Alto during the nonprofit’s “Building Blocks: EPA” three-day
neighborhood revitalization.
No area in Palo Alto has
seen as much change during
the past few years as
California Avenue, which has
undergone a full-scale makeover
and remains at the epicenter of the
local construction boom.
Yet there’s one thing that city officials
and residents are hoping to preserve
about the city’s “second downtown”:
the eclectic, independent and
neighborhood-serving vibe.
To that end, the City Council
on Monday unanimously passed a
law that will restrict chain stores
on the bustling strip — an idea
that was sparked by a grassroots
effort from California Avenue
merchants last year.
The law will apply to “formula
retail,” businesses with 10 or more
ZONING
City to limit chain stores
on California Avenue
New ordinance aims to protect independent retailers — and area’s eclectic character
by Gennady Sheyner
locations in the United States with
standardized characteristics, including
“merchandise, menu, services,
decor, uniforms, architecture,
facade, color scheme, signs,
trademark or servicemark,” according
to the ordinance.
Such businesses will be required
to obtain conditional-use
permits from the city before they
can open on California Avenue.
Residents will also be able to appeal
the approval of the permit.
The new law won’t apply to
California Avenue’s existing
chain stores, which include Benjamin
Moore Paints, The Counter,
FedEx, Starbucks, Vitality Bowls
and Subway.
In supporting the new law, council
members emphasized that they’re
Veronica Weber
not trying to solve an existing problem
but preventing a potential one.
With property values skyrocketing
and rents increasing, many longstanding
mom-and-pop operations
have left California Avenue in recent
years. This includes Avenue Florist,
Bargain Box, Cho’s Mandarin Dim
Sum and Club Illusions.
“We don’t want retail and personal
services to have to compete with
today’s office rates and get driven
out,” Councilman Pat Burt said during
Monday’s discussion. “That’s really
what has been a big concern.”
He noted that offices on California
Avenue are now reaching
rates of $5 per square foot, and
“small retail folks who’ve been
(continued on page 12)
As California’s water woes
continue to stress local
trees and inflate water
rates, Palo Alto officials are preparing
to move ahead with a $35
million project that would significantly
increase the city’s supply
of “drought-proof” water.
The City Council on Monday
will consider approving an Environmental
Impact Report for a
major expansion of the city’s recycled-water
system — a project
that would bring recycled water to
south Palo Alto and the Stanford
Research Park. If the council OKs
the project, as recommended by
city staff and the Utilities Advisory
Commission, the city would
pursue grant funds for a program
that officials hope could transform
how water is viewed. The
vision calls for greater differentiation
between types of water, with
potable water generally reserved
for drinking and recycled water
used for things like landscaping,
toilet flushing and processing.
This project would be the second
major expansion of a system
that has been in place since the
early 1980s, when recycled water
began to flow to the Shoreline
Golf Links in Mountain View.
The delivery system was later
expanded to the Palo Alto Municipal
Golf Course, Greer Park
and the areas around the Regional
Water Quality Control Plant in
the Baylands. Later proposals to
expand the system were not pursued
after city officials deemed
them too expensive.
Now, with the drought stretching
through its fourth year, city officials
believe the time is right to
pursue with the expansion. Karin
North, watershed protection manager
with the Public Works Department,
noted that the city now has
four different companies trucking
recycled water to customers.
“There’s a whole new industry
that’s been coming because of the
drought,” North said at the Sept.
2 utilities commission meeting.
“We did not, a few months ago,
have four recycled-water haulers
essentially selling our recycled
water to customers.”
In the new phase, pipelines
would run past Mitchell Park,
delivering recycled water there,
and into Stanford Research Park,
home of large corporate campuses
with lush lawns. A staff
report from Public Works notes
that this area was chosen because
it is “the largest concentration of
customers with irrigation needs”
in the city.
The project has drawn some
concerns from Stanford University,
which owns the park, and
from groups such as environmental
nonprofit Canopy, which
(continued on page 11)
Correction
The Sept. 18 article, “Community Center,’” incorrectly identified the
street on which Karen Ewart lives. It is Harker Avenue. The Weekly regrets
the error. To request a correction, contact Editor Jocelyn Dong at
650-223-6514, jdong@paweekly.com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA
94302.
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • September 25, 2015 • Page 5