The Los Altos Planning Commission unanimously approved Safeway’s proposed plan for a new downtown market Dec. 15, but not before a lively debate about the project’s hot-button issue – parking.
The grocery giant’s construction plans will head to the Los Altos City Council for final approval at its Jan. 24 meeting.
“We truly appreciate the support of the Planning Commission, and we look forward to the city council review next month,” Safeway Director of Public & Government Affairs Susan Houghton wrote in an email to the Town Crier. “Our goal has always been to bring a great new Safeway to Los Altos residents, and we believe our plan/design represents that opportunity.”
Parking problems
Prior to its vote, however, the commission heard from a handful of residents and business owners who voiced skepticism about Safeway’s shared-parking agreement with the city.
The council approved the framework for a shared-parking agreement with the grocer in October, which calls for 129 of the plan’s 154 on-site spaces to be used as 90-minute public parking.
The agreement supersedes the city’s parking requirement of 226 spaces for the proposed 45,265-square-foot store at 160 First St. It includes a $500,000 payment by Safeway to the city for future parking solutions and contains two opt-out clauses for the store – one at $1 million and another at $500,000.
Among those voicing opposition to the parking agreement was the co-founder and director of Passerelle Investment Co., Amanda Tevis, who said the plan was under-parked, would lead to congestion and would “kill the charm” of downtown Los Altos. Tevis added that congestion would drive away shoppers for nearby smaller businesses as well.
“If there’s one thing that Los Altos has, it’s charm, and that needs to be preserved and protected,” she said.
Tevis told the commission her preference is for the city to collaborate with Safeway and kick in funds to build a larger underground parking area.
“They’re a stakeholder, they’re out there and they’re building anyway,” Tevis said of Safeway. “It’s our opportunity to collaborate with a very community-oriented tenant to provide at least 150 additional spaces. It would make a huge difference to our town.”
Bill Maston, a local architect, told the commission that a traffic study conducted by consultant Fehr & Peers was inadequate because it tracked parking at the Los Altos store, as well as three other comparably sized Safeway stores in the Bay Area, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a single day – Aug. 25, 2007.
The study correlated those findings with the store’s transaction records for an entire year to determine peak parking periods and trends. City and Safeway officials determined that the shared-parking agreement was feasible, in part, after the study revealed that the city’s peak parking hours – from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – were different from the store’s peak, 4-6 p.m.
“The idea that you’re relying on one day in August, when my family is on vacation and most families in Los Altos are on vacation, doesn’t make sense,” said Maston, who also favored an underground parking solution and estimated that the project is under-parked by more than 100 spaces.
To that end, Safeway representative Deborah Karbo told the commission Safeway would provide additional explanations when its plan reaches the city council, showing that Fehr & Peers’ study was a valid method of determining accurate parking data.
“Safeway wouldn’t be spending the money (on constructing a new store) if we didn’t think it would work,” Karbo said of the shared-parking agreement.
She added that Safeway has no interest in pursuing an underground parking structure because costs would nearly double.
Assistant City Manager James Walgren told the Town Crier that the study was conducted under the conservative assumption that parking demands would double along with the store’s doubling in size.
Walgren added that the city’s shared-parking agreement with the grocer is an example of good urban planning when the only other alternatives are to build up or underground.
“Someone at the meeting said (the agreement) sets a bad precedent, but I think it sets a good one,” Walgren said.
Parking aside, some residents, including those from nearby University Avenue, expressed concerns about the store’s efforts to screen vehicle headlights and other artificial lighting from shining across Foothill Expressway into their homes, as well as bicycle safety issues along the property on First Street.
Project support
Others registered their support of the project and urged the commission to push Safeway’s plan through.
Los Altos resident Donna Shoemaker told the commission she feared the city would appear unfriendly to businesses if the Safeway project weren’t ultimately approved.
“The bottom line here for me is if we don’t get on this with this, we’re going to lose this retailer,” Shoemaker said.
Commissioner Jerry Moison said he supported the project, noting that Safeway “needs to be treated as an anchor tenant,” adding that the traffic study’s findings appeared valid in his estimation.
The commission ultimately approved the project with the recommendation that the city council examine whether the parking plan’s opt-out clauses fall in line with other city development projects with parking shortages.
In addition, the commission added a recommendation suggesting that Safeway continue to work with University Avenue residents on adequate shielding issues, including the possible addition of landscaping along Foothill Expressway.
