Former South Bay Fry’s Site Eyed For Housing Development: Report

PALO ALTO, CA — The site of a former Palo Alto Fry’s Electronics store is being eyed for a townhouse development project, and the property owner is already maneuvering to use state laws limiting the city’s ability to regulate the project to its advantage, Palo Alto Weekly reports.

The Sobrato Organization wants to build 85 townhomes at 340 Portage Ave., a site where some neighborhood leaders believe affordable housing should be built, the report said.

But attorneys representing the Sobrato Organization submitted two letters to Planning Director Jonathan Lait asserting their client’s intent to take advantage of Senate Bill 330 and the Density Bonus Law to limit the city’s ability to regulate the project, the report said.

State Bill 330 would prevent the city from making zoning changes that would modify the project and possibly make it unfeasible. The Density Bonus Law would limit the city’s ability to enforce open-space regulations.

City officials in 2017 approved a proposed Sobrato 50-unit project at the site of a former Mikes Bikes at 3001 El Camino Real, but the developer backed out of the project, citing higher-than-expected construction costs.

Read more at Palo Alto Weekly.