Barron Park Association Board position on the Maybell-Clemo project

To the Planning and Transportation Commission – May 22, 2013

Summary: The Board of the Barron Park Association understands the need and supports the effort by the Palo Alto Housing Corporation to build affordable housing for seniors. However, we feel the location identified in the P&TC Staff Report (ID# 3721) as 567-Maybell Avenue is not a suitable location for such a high density project and rezoning should not be approved.

Background: The proposed development in its current form would create a significant negative impact in our neighborhood and our neighboring neighborhoods. It would further increase the traffic congestion experienced and endanger pedestrian and bicycle safety on Maybell Avenue and on the surrounding local streets and create a density and size of housing along Maybell Avenue that is out of scale with the surrounding community.  Additionally, it would significantly impact and reduce emergency response time to any emergencies within 2 neighborhoods; especially those emergencies which may happen during the hours of standstill traffic congestion.

The proposal itself specifies that all automobiles enter and exit the project via a driveway on Clemo Avenue, which would direct all traffic to and from a stop-controlled intersection on Arastradero Road; however the ‘Mitigated Negative Declaration” (MND) for the environmental review states that this would create an adverse impact to traffic circulation. Instead of recommending changes on Arastradero Road (for example, returning Arastradero and Charleston Road to 4 lanes), the MND recommendation (by the Traffic Division staff) states this must be mitigated by allowing traffic to flow into and out of the project on Maybell Avenue by obtaining an easement to use the PAHC-owned neighboring 65-unit development’s driveway onto Maybell Avenue. This neighboring 65-unit PAHC development not only consists of one, but also, two, three and four bedroom units, which are already contributing to the congested traffic on Maybell .

The average daily traffic (ADT) on Maybell Avenue – a bicycle boulevard and a heavily used corridor by bicyclists and pedestrians – increased by 25% as a consequence of the “re-striping” of Arastradero Road and is already at a level, 3350 vehicles per day on a weekday, that significantly exceeds the acceptable volume on a local residential street (2500 vehicles per day) as defined by Palo Alto’s own Traffic Calming Program.

The proposal would exacerbate an already serious issue in the neighborhood. We categorically reject statements in the Traffic Study commissioned by the PAHC and in the MND that the additional amount of traffic on Maybell Avenue ‘would not be significant.’

Barron Park Association’s  Specific Recommendation:

1)      Keep the current zoning and do not approve the proposed PC re-zone.

Sincerely,

Lydia Kou – for the Board of the Barron Park Association

Emergency Preparedness and Safety Committee Chair & Secretary