Update: On November 2, 2022, the East Palo Alto City Council approved the Woodland Park Euclid Improvements project!
Greenbelt Alliance is excited to officially endorse Woodland Park Euclid Improvements project by Sand Hill Property Company in East Palo Alto.
This new proposal would replace several aging, 100-year-old structures with new mixed-income buildings that add 445 new homes to the existing 160— more than doubling the housing supply. It would also update and maintain all of the rent-stabilized units, and provide better parking and mobility options without displacing current residents. Of the 605 homes, 36% (160 homes) will be rent-stabilized and allow all tenants of the original units the right to return to a new rent-stabilized home.
Other measures that were taken to avoid displacement while relocating tenants included: paying moving expenses, giving tenants first right of return, and temporarily housing existing tenants in the same neighborhood in a similar unit at their same rent-controlled price. Community engagement was also a key part of the process, with developers hosting dozens of meetings with the greater East Palo Alto community for over six years to achieve this final outcome.
Transit and Sustainability
While Woodland Park Euclid Improvements will offer 625 parking spaces—which has a lower car parking ratio than required—it will also offer more than 350 bike spaces and presents a robust Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan that includes car-sharing, transit passes, and other measures.
In terms of sustainable features, the project will pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, or equivalent to improving safety and energy efficiency measures that are healthier for tenants.
Outstanding SMART Goals
We consider that Euclid Improvements is a great example of what a climate-smart, no-displacement project should look like when replacing out-of-date residential buildings in a low-income community. This project goes above and beyond our Climate SMART—Sustainable, Mixed, Affordable, Resilient, Transit-Oriented— Development Endorsement Program goals, as it will increase the housing supply, provide better parking and mobility options, increase climate resilience, and provide a significant amount of affordable housing.
According to GreenTRIP—a free online tool created by TransForm that models traffic and greenhouse gas impacts of residential projects in California—the Woodland Park Euclid Improvements project will result in:
1,628 fewer miles driven every day compared to the San Mateo County average.
9% fewer GHG emissions impact every day compared to the San Mateo County average.
7% less parking use every day compared to the San Mateo County average.
This development would not only contribute to meeting the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals, but also targets both low-income and missing middle housing. In Euclid Improvements at Woodland Park, the City of East Palo Alto has the opportunity to create new, denser housing that will contribute to the State of California’s collective efforts to respond to our ongoing housing crisis.
Greenbelt Alliance’s Climate SMART—Sustainable, Mixed, Affordable, Resilient, Transit-Oriented—Development Endorsement Program goals call for fully protecting the Bay Area’s greenbelt, directing growth into our existing communities, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in a way that equitably benefits all Bay Area residents. Our Endorsement Program provides support for projects that advance the right kind of development in the right places. By promoting climate SMART development, we can create thriving, resilient neighborhoods with ready access to transit and housing choices for all of the Bay Area’s people.
Find out more about our Endorsement Program here. Feel free to contact our team for more information and support.
