Are you fed up with
Traffic Congestion?  Lack of Parking?
Rising Housing Costs?  Increased Taxes?

In a recent editorial, The Palo Alto Weekly stated:
There is no constituency other than commercial development interests supporting new office development in Palo Alto, and every square foot of new office development approved in the city makes our housing shortage and road congestion worse.”

We agree!
The current Comp Plan allows for 1.7 million sq. ft. of new office space over the 15 year life of the plan (2015-2030). That’s over 113,000 square feet a year, as opposed to the long-term historic growth rate of 58,000 sq ft/yr, which has already handed us congestion, traffic and a 3 to1 jobs to housing imbalance.
The current rate of growth has produced huge problems of congestion, more traffic, limited parking and lack of affordable housing. The National Citizens Survey for Palo Alto shows that more than two thirds of Palo Alto residents rate traffic, parking and affordable housing as a major problem and that share has jumped by a substantial amount over the last five years.
• Rapid business expansion is the main cause of rising land prices and the cost of housing.
• Palo Alto already has more than three jobs for every employed resident. This is the highest ratio in California and the fourth highest in the nation. The rate of growth allowed in the Comp Plan would increase that ratio.
• Recent traffic studies for projects in Palo Alto and the Stanford General Use Permit clearly state that the impacts of any additional growth on the intersections around the city “would remain significant and unavoidable”.
• Residents, not businesses, pay for local government. Despite their rapid expansion, businesses only pay 25% of local taxes.

At a recent session, the City Council “cemented” its temporary office cap. BUT there was a lot of sand in the cement.
• The cap only applies to three designated areas (Downtown, Cal Ave, and South El Camino).
• The council added a “rollover” provision so that allotments not used in one year could be added to the following year, and
• The projects would be awarded on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Worst of all, the cap could be changed at any time on a whim of the Council.

Our initiative –
Would cut citywide office/R&D growth in half, bringing it back to its long term historic growth rate.
Would apply CITY-WIDE – including Stanford Research Park, Stanford Shopping Center, San Antonio, East Meadow, West Bayshore and East Embarcadero.
Would be PERMANENT
it would require a vote of the residents to increase the cap and could NOT be changed by the Council.

We need your help in getting this initiative on the ballot in November so that the residents can decide what they want.
We need to collect 3000 signatures before May 21, 2018.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Sign the PASZ Initiative

If you are a registered voter and Palo Alto resident, please sign the petition

We will have volunteers at the following locations:
Cal Ave Farmer’s Market, Sundays, 9AM to 1PM
Downtown Farmer’s Market, Sat. May 12, 8AM to 12PM
Bol Park, Sun, May 20, 12PM to 4PM (May Fete Celebration)
Midtown Safeway
Mitchell Park library

OR you may contact any of the PASZ volunteer coordinators who have petition packets to sign, can answer your questions and can come to you for your signatures:

Bring your neighbors and friends.