CTRA Interim Regulation Requests

While we have a number of specific requests for the interim regulations, the overall intent of these is to encourage reuse and renovation in preference to demolition. We feel that changes must be made to the process to balance the economics of a remodel/demolish decision and look forward to working with the city and developers to help define the new process.

We feel it is important that these interim regulations be viewed as only a first step in the process of discerning what the Palo Alto of the 21st century should look like. The revision of the Historic Resources Ordinance is an opportunity to rethink the way in which development in our community is managed. Input from neighbors and consideration of the character of the neighborhood must be part of that revised process.

Our specific requests for the interim Historic Resource regulations are as follows:

Demolitions

• A permit application seeking to demolish any structure originally constructed more than 50 years ago must be subject to review before the permit can be granted. The term structure includes barns, water towers, carriage houses, commercial buildings and any other type of building as well as houses. The term demolition includes any construction involving the removal of more than 50% of the exterior walls. When such a demolition permit is requested, notification must be given to the Historic Resources Board (HRB) and to all owners and residents of properties within 300 feet of the structure to be demolished.
• If requested by any one member of the HRB or any three members of the neighborhood (owners or residents) the application must go through a full HRB review process before the permit may be issued. Demolition permits for any building currently listed in the Historic Register regardless of category must likewise be subject to a full review.
• The review process is intended to encourage creative reuse of existing structures in preference to demolition and the HRB must have the authority to deny demolition permits if they feel that the situation merits it.
• Before a demolition permit may be issued, planning approval for a suitable replacement structure must be obtained. However, obtaining such approval does not guarantee that a demolition permit will be issued.

Replacement Structures

• New construction must be subject to architectural review with strong resident participation to ensure that the proposed structure is in keeping with the character of the neighborhood in style, materials, and scale. Replacement of existing homes with inappropriate buildings is disruptive to the surrounding community.
• When such a review is scheduled, notification must be given to all owners and residents of properties within 300 feet of the proposed structure.
• The architectural review should be viewed as an opportunity for the design of the proposed structure to be improved as well as to obtain input from those who may be impacted by it. If the proposed structure is not suitable for the neighborhood, the permit may be denied or may require modifications before it is issued.
• To encourage houses more in keeping with the historic flavor of Palo Alto, the garage and/or carport must not be allowed to dominate the facade of the building or the neighborhood. Ways to avoid the "garagescape" look include requiring garages and carports to be set back relative to the main entrance of the house and including the full garage and carport space in the FAR calculation. Another possibility is relaxing the requirement for off-street parking on small lots (which are common in College Terrace).
• Palo Alto prides itself on being a city of trees. New houses and their associated hardscape (driveways, patios etc.) must allow sufficient space for planting of trees and other landscape materials. Existing trees should also be retained.
• Palo Alto is also a city of gardens. The design of a new building must respect the needs of neighboring gardens as well as its own, especially the need for light.
• The presence of porches on the front of houses tends to foster the building of community. To encourage the building of new homes with usable porches, porch space should be excluded from the FAR calculation. It must, however, be made clear that exceptions to later enclose such a porch making the house exceed the FAR will not be granted.
• Although our zoning specifies daylight plane and height restrictions intended to protect natural light reaching adjacent homes, this is not always sufficient when the buildings are considerably different in scale. Care must be taken to ensure that existing homes do not lose their sunlight when new construction occurs nearby. Expanded setbacks and/or design modifications should be used as necessary.

Other

• To preserve the diversity of lot and building size particular to College Terrace, the current Certificate of Compliance procedure allowing the erasure and redrawing of lot lines must be changed: any lot line erasure as well as the moving of more than one lot line in a parcel must be subject to public hearing.
• Forcing an older structure to conform in all respects to current building codes often makes the cost of reuse or renovation prohibitive. The City must develop alternatives which address major safety issues but allow the historic nature of the building to prevail. State and federal preservation agencies should be approached for guidance in this area.
• The City is encouraged to enforce appropriate maintenance standards and building codes throughout Palo Alto to prevent historic structures from being allowed to deteriorate to the point where they are not worth renovating. We would encourage community involvement as a possible solution in cases where such maintenance imposes a hardship.
• Economic incentives including tax considerations should be used to encourage remodeling existing homes instead of demolishing them.
• Immediate, severe financial consequences must result from noncompliance with City regulations. Developers must not be allowed to ignore requirements imposed on them.