Who We Are:
We are a Citywide organization of residents concerned for our City’s future. We are actively involved in issues that are in agreement with our Principles and Goals as we strive to keep Palo Alto a unique place for raising families and fostering business innovation.
Our Mission:
Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning (PASZ) is a grass roots, political action committee dedicated to a high quality of life for Palo Alto residents and the innovative spirit that has made Palo Alto unique. We are for sensible land use planning and development and will continue to be advocates for mitigating the negative impacts of excessive development.
Our Vision:
We envision a dynamic Palo Alto that remains a family-oriented community with excellent schools, infrastructure and community services. Technology and business innovation are part of Palo Alto’s heritage and should be fostered. We envision a City that is not overwhelmed by excessive development. We value diversity, our historic resources, our neighborhoods, parks and open spaces, and support projects that enhance our quality of life
Our Goals:
- Ensure that the pace of development does not outstrip our infrastructure, schools and City services, or compromise the beauty and character of our City.
- Encourage Housing that Allows for a Diverse Economic Population
- Maintain our Community as a Great Place to Live
PASZ NEWS
EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in the news items cited here do not necessarily represent the opinion of Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning. We try to present a balanced picture of the news on the subjects of housing and legislation.
Housing Report: Blame Ourselves, Not Our Stars
By Wendell Cox and Joel Kotkin
in California Reports
No issue plagues Californians more than the high cost of housing. By almost every metric—from rents to home prices—Golden State residents suffer the highest burden for shelter of any state in the continental U.S. Its housing prices are, adjusted for income, as much as two to three times higher than those in key competitive states.
Focus on surplus properties for housing
By Leon Huntting
We do not have a housing crisis, we have an affordability crisis. You can build as much housing as you want, but that doesn’t mean people can afford to buy or rent it. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) mandate for the Bay Area is 441,176 new units. Several sources, including the state auditor, have shown that this is very overstated.
The Real Affordability Crisis
By Bob Silvestri
Politicians in Sacramento have been wailing on local governments about the need to build “affordable housing” as a scapegoat to avoid dealing with their own public policy failures. In addition to attacking local control of planning and zoning laws, they are even trying to eliminate the citizen’s ballot initiative process in the single-minded belief that their policies are the only answer. But, what if they are just plain wrong?
Simple Explanation of RHNA and Housing Mandates
By Amy Kalish
Marin Post
RHNA is the Regional Housing Needs Assessment — the number of housing units (a place for at least one person to live) assigned to an area by the state. This happens in eight-year housing cycles, and the allocation numbers are determined by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Opposing bad housing plan isn’t being NIMBY
By Melinda Stefan
Regarding “YIMBYs love to hate her. Inside one Bay Area mayor’s anti-housing campaign” (Bay Area, SFChronicle.com, June 4): I followed the link in this report to a Palo Alto Weekly article about Mayor Lydia Kou. I learned that she has championed protections for renters, worked to address airplane noise and led the effort to establish Palo Alto’s first safe-parking program for
vehicle dwellers.
Moving the goal posts to conceal housing policy failures
By Bob Silvestri
Every article we read these days about affordable housing legislation presents formulas about what percentage of new units need to conform to various percentages of “median income” or “middle income” or “area median income” or other such standards to qualify for government subsidy, waivers, bonuses, and other developer incentives.
YIMBYs love to hate her. Inside one Bay Area mayor’s anti-housing campaign
By J.K. Dineen
SF Chronicle
Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou is the Silicon Valley politician the YIMBYs love to hate.
As the pro-housing “yes in my backyard” movement has spread across California, bringing with it an avalanche of state laws making it more and more difficult for neighbors to block residential development, Kou has doubled down on her role as the South Bay’s most pugnacious anti-YIMBY, an outspoken critic of what she feels is Sacramento’s overreach in forcing municipalities to build housing.
Arizona Limits Construction Around Phoenix as Its Water Supply Dwindles
By Christopher Flavelle and Jack Healy
New York Times
Arizona has determined that there is not enough groundwater for all of the housing construction that has already been approved in the Phoenix area, and will stop developers from building some new subdivisions, a sign of looming trouble in the West and other places where overuse, drought and climate change are straining water supplies.