Media Statement: Council Action on 340 Portage and Related Addresses

Published on June 21, 2022

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MEDIA STATEMENT

June 21, 2022 

Council Action Regarding 340 Portage and Associated Addresses

The following was read into the record by Mayor Pat Burt at the June 21, 2022 City Council meeting:

The 340 Portage Council Ad Hoc Committee, created on October 25, 2021, has completed its work. The City Council authorized staff to draft and execute a Tolling and Project Processing Agreement with the Sobrato Organization. The Agreement will avoid potential litigation and enable an application to be processed in accordance with local procedures including opportunities for public engagement at noticed hearings. The Agreement creates a framework to consider rezoning the subject site and outlines the parameters of a Development Agreement incorporating the following terms:

  • Rehabilitation and preservation of contributing historic features of the Cannery Building with public access to view the monitor roof/internal truss system and interior/exterior display features such as an historic plaque, storyboards and public art to honor the site’s cultural significance in Palo Alto and the region;
  • Replacement of approximately 84,000 square feet of the existing, approximately 232,000 square foot Cannery Building with 74 new market rate townhomes;
  • Retention of existing research and development floor area in the Cannery Building with the exception for approximately 2,600 square feet of floor area dedicated to a rent-supported retail or retail-like land use;
  • Retention of existing office uses at 3225 Ash St and conversion of 3290 Park Blvd from automotive to research and development use;
  • Dedication of approximately 3.25 acres of land on the site to the City for use as: (1) future parkland and (2) an affordable housing development of approximately 1 acre;
  • Contribution of $4 million to the City’s affordable housing fund for use in the North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan (NVCAP) area;
  • Contribution of $1 million toward park improvements in the project area, which may include a pedestrian bridge over Matadero Creek; and
  • Construction of a parking garage behind the Cannery Building to replace parking spaces lost by the land dedication to the City.

The Agreement does not commit the City to ultimate approval of a proposed project, which will require preparation of an Environmental Impact Report and hearings before the Architectural Review Board (ARB), Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC), and Council. Council will hold a study session in early August to permit early public comment, after which staff and the Sobrato Organization will prepare a more detailed Development Agreement that will be presented to the PTC and Council.

For more on the NVCAP process, go here. 

 

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