SCH Number 2023020691

Project Info

Title

North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan

Description

The City proposes the NVCAP in accordance with the Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 19.10 and the Palo Alto 2030 Comprehensive Plan Policy L-1.7 and Program L-4.10, which specifically calls for the preparation of a plan for the North Ventura and surrounding California Avenue area in order to establish the future of the North Ventura area as a walkable neighborhood with multi-family housing, ground-floor retail, a public park, creek improvements, and an interconnected street grid. The NVCAP would be built out over an approximate 20-year period. The NVCAP includes land use policies and programs that would allow up to an additional 530 residential units and approximately two acres of new public open space within the plan area. While new commercial space is expected in the plan area, to accommodate the new residential dwellings and NVCAP programs, there would be an overall net decrease in commercial space over the build out of the plan. The NVCAP would result in a net reduction of up to 278,000 square feet of office and up to 7,500 square feet of retail. Residential densities would range from low to high, allowing for a wide range of multi-family housing typologies and mixed-use typologies. New buildings in the plan area would be, at a maximum, 55 feet in height. The NVCAP would create and enhance well-defined connections to transit, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities, including connections to the Caltrain Station, Park Boulevard, and El Camino Real. The NVCAP would maintain the existing vehicular flow on Park Boulevard, Olive Avenue, Ash Street (proposed one-way from Oregon Expressway to Olive Avenue), Acacia Avenue, Pepper Avenue, and Portage Avenue. On Lambert Avenue, the plan proposes to downsize the vehicle travel lane to create a wider pedestrian thoroughfare. The NVCAP would eliminate portions of on-street parking to create opportunities for new Class IV bike lanes (protected lanes) on Park Boulevard, Olive Avenue, Ash Street, Acacia Avenue, Pepper Avenue, and Portage Avenue. Implementation of the NVCAP could replace the existing Lambert Avenue bridge with a new bridge spanning approximately 100 feet and connecting Portage Avenue to Lambert Avenue. In addition, implementation of the NVCAP could create a fully naturalized Matadero Creek through the establishment of a 100-foot riparian corridor buffer at most. The plan also includes an approximately two acres of public open space within the plan area.

2 documents in project