A developer last month filed the first builder’s remedy application in Los Altos to increase the size of a proposed housing project at 349 First St.
The application, filed by Emeric J. McDonald of Octane First Street LLC, bids to expand on a previous plan, from a four-story, 12-unit project to a six-story, 17-unit project. Four of the units are in the “low-income” category for affordable housing.
Builder’s remedy projects allow developers to bypass local building restrictions if a city does not have a compliant housing element in place, provided that 20% of the units qualify as affordable housing.
A housing element, part of a city’s general plan, outlines strategies for determining and meeting housing needs over eight-year cycles.
Los Altos’ 2023-2031 element is on the cusp of state approval, while Los Altos Hills and Mountain View received approvals for their elements recently.
Housing plans for the 7,100-square-foot site at First and Whitney streets go back to 2016, with a Planning Commission study session review in 2021. The initial project application had been deemed incomplete. The new application, filed May 5, is a basic outline of the developer’s intentions, according to Nick Zornes, the city’s development services director. Zornes said the developer would have 180 days from the filing date to bring forward specific plans for review and possible approval.
While builder’s remedy applications in Los Altos Hills have been contentious, Zornes noted the Los Altos application is less of “This is what I’m doing” than “This is what I want to do.”
The builder, Zornes added, is “invested into doing the building envelope … and now (he) will work out the rest of the details to provide a project.”
The applicant could not be reached for comment.
The 349 First St. housing proposal is one of several multistory, multifamily projects that have populated the First Street corridor between the Main Street and San Antonio Road intersections.
The developments came about in the wake of recent state housing laws that have overridden local regulations as state legislators seek to address what they see as a state “housing crisis” and lack of affordable housing. Laws require a streamlining of the housing application projects and a set of objective design standards.
