Real Estate
Home›Real Estate›Residential›Palo Alto gets flood of multifamily proposals after SB…
Palo Alto gets flood of multifamily proposals after SB 79 deadline
The city’s two-week filing window attracted nine multifamily applications totaling 341 units near Caltrain stations as it tried to delay full compliance until 2032.
Palo Alto moved quickly to manage compliance with California’s transit-oriented zoning rules after Senate Bill 79 took effect on July 1, but its strategy instead drew a surge of development interest. HousingWire reports that the city opened a two-week window for submissions, aiming to ease into full standards by 2032 rather than immediately applying them.
The gamble produced nine multifamily applications totaling 341 units near Caltrain stations, according to HousingWire. City council members had expected few developers to rush in before new zoning changes could delay full compliance, the report said.
HousingWire notes that SB 79 requires Bay Area cities to adopt a permanent transit-oriented development plan by 2032 or default to the state’s full standards, while non-Bay Area counties have until January 2027. Palo Alto’s approach reflected a broader pattern in which cities attempt to comply with, or strategically work around, state rules that limit local zoning control.
The city also faced legal and political pushback over an effort to use emergency powers to narrow SB 79-permitted heights and densities. HousingWire reports pro-housing groups YIMBY Law and Palo Alto Forward threatened legal action, arguing emergency measures require documentation of an immediate threat to public health or safety; Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims said she found no evidence for such a finding during a June meeting.