Fall & Winter 2022 Palo Alto Newsletter

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UPLIFT PALO ALTO COMMUNITY MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR (CONTINUED) FROM PAGE 1 Critically, doing so is important for your family’s health too. And, on November 12, the City co-hosted a “Climate Collaboration Summit’ and workshop at Gunn High school. The event featured the United States Assistant Secretary of Energy along with state, local, and scientific leaders. If you missed the event it was well attended and there will be more ways to engage on climate action in 2023. Ribbon cutting ceremony for Rinconada Park, the Solar System Exhibit and Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo. Recently, we secured State and County grant funding for Homekey Palo Alto, the City’s interim housing facility with the capacity to serve over 200 individuals and 100 families annually, including providing the essential medical, social, and other services needed for these residents to transition from being unhoused to permanent housing. Also, the 59-unit Wilton Court affordable housing project will be opening this fall. We have several other affordable housing projects in progress; 50 units of low-income housing at 525 East Charleston (including full support services for adults with special needs), a project currently going through approvals for 129 units of very lowincome housing for individuals and families at El Camino and Portage, and the 110-unit teacher housing project at 231 Grant near the north County Courthouse. Together, these make up the largest set of affordable housing projects in our community in decades. Lastly, the city is wrapping up its Housing Element based on the state mandate to plan for over 6,000 new housing units at various income levels over the next eight years. There are several ways to share your input on our Housing Element and read the newsletter article for ways to engage on this process. In addition, as we look to a new year, the Council continues to make progress on achieving fiscal sustainability, notably CITY COUNCIL’S 2022 PRIORITIES • Economic Recovery & Transition • Climate Change: Protection & Adaptation • Housing for Social & Economic Balance • Community Health & Safety To address and track these priorities, the City Council adopted a workplan for each. The workplans include projects that are currently underway, scheduled to begin this year, or are planned but not yet scheduled. For more about the City Council’s 2022 priorities, visit www.cityofpaloalto.org/ CouncilPriorities restoring City services such as library hours, and key positions like fire and police officers. I hope you enjoy catching up with what’s going on. As the holidays approach, we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming special events and around town. Sincerely, Mayor Pat Burt UPLIFT PALO ALT FEATURED EVENTS Car Free Streets Community Meeting December 7 from 6 – 7 p.m. Help shape a study of street configurations and options related to Cal Ave. and Ramona St. at an in-person meeting at PerformanceGaines Gym: 310 California Avenue For more events to go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/calendar Shop and eat local in Palo Alto this holiday season! We’ve made it easy with a list of local discounts and promotions. Holiday events are right at your fingertips too. GO TO UPLIFTLOCAL.ORG TO START CELEBRATING THE SEASON WITH US! 2
CLIMATE CHANGE – PROTECTION AND ADAPTATION FALL/WINTER 2022 | www.cityofpaloalto.org City Council Adopts Series of Actions to Address Climate Change Consistent with the City Council’s priority, Climate Change – Protection and Adaptation, the Council endorsed several proposed actions focused on updating the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) to help the City meet its sustainability goals, including its goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The Council’s actions included adopting an ambitious goal making the City carbon neutral by the year 2030 and endorsing updated goals and key actions of the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, which will serve as a roadmap to achieve the new carbon neutral goal and other important steps. For more go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/sustainability. New Resources to Switch from Gas to Electric Appliances at Home Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, making impressive progress towards reducing its carbon impacts, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and resource consumption. Through rebates, programs, and revised permitting processes, the City is offering streamlined tools to electrify your home. These resources are available to help you make better choices when thinking about home upgrades, electrification, and reducing GHG emissions. Looking to support the environment and not sure where to start in your home? Learn about rebates, project assistance, and why electrifying your home and lifestyle can have a positive impact on your health, your wallet, and the community at www. cityofpaloalto.org/GoElectric. New options rolling out soon include a full-service solution with a rebate where a City contractor installs the electric heat pump water heater and you choose between two different payment types: lump sum or partial on-bill financing. The other option is a “Do It Yourself” application for a rebate and you choose your own contractor to complete the water heater installation. In addition, recognizing that installation of heat pump water heaters may sometimes conflict with certain residential zoning regulations, staff is recommending to the Planning and Transportation Commission in December and shortly thereafter to the City Council, changes to allow these and other electrification-related systems to partially encroach into garage parking areas and exterior side and rear yards. Go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/ upgradeyourwaterheater to learn more and sign-up ahead of the program launch later this year. 3
Page 1: UPLIFT PALO ALTO Residential Newsle
Page 5 and 6: HOUSING FOR SOCIAL & ECONOMIC BALAN
Page 7 and 8: ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND TRANSITION FA

Fall & Winter 2022 Palo Alto Newsletter

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