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The city of Menlo Park has determined that a controversial proposal to redevelop the historic Sunset Magazine campus at 80 Willow Road does not qualify for streamlined approval under AB 2011 and may also fall short of the requirements needed to invoke the state’s builder’s remedy.
In its decision, the city said the project cannot use AB 2011’s ministerial fast track process and must instead go through full discretionary review, which includes a California Environmental Quality Act study and public hearings. The city also said the project may not qualify as a builder’s remedy submission, which is a separate state pathway that developers can use when a city lacks a state certified housing element. Menlo Park did not have an approved housing plan during portions of the application period, raising the stakes of that determination.
Builder’s remedy allows a developer to propose significantly more height and density than local zoning permits as long as, among other things, the project meets the state definition of a housing development project. That definition requires that at least two-thirds of the floor area consist of housing and prohibits hotels in alternative qualifying categories. In its determination letter, the city found that only about 61 percent of the project’s square footage is residential and noted that the plan includes a 130 room hotel. Staff concluded that those factors prevent the project from meeting the statutory threshold needed to qualify for builder’s remedy.
The distinction is significant. If the project is not eligible for builder’s remedy, it must comply with all local zoning standards, including Menlo Park’s 40 foot height limit on the site and a 30 to 40 unit per acre density range. The proposal currently includes buildings up to 458 feet in height and a density of nearly 100 units per acre. If the city’s interpretation holds, the scale of the project could be reduced dramatically.
Mayor Drew Combs previously described the proposal as possibly “the most provocative” builder’s remedy project proposed in California, given its size, mixture of uses and high profile location along San Francisquito Creek.
The project, proposed by N17 Development, is one of the largest redevelopment plans ever filed in the city. It includes four towers between 301 and 458 feet, 665 housing units with 100 below market rate units, a hotel, 301,000 square feet of office space, retail, a preschool, a fitness and swim club and an outdoor common area.
The 80 Willow Road site was the longtime home of Sunset Magazine and was recently listed in the California Register of Historical Resources following a petition by the Menlo Park Historical Society. The building was constructed in 1951 and became a well known showcase of Western architecture and lifestyle design.
In addition to its builder’s remedy findings, the city ruled that the project does not meet several requirements of AB 2011. Staff said the C-1 zoning district does not allow office, retail or parking as principally permitted uses, which is a baseline requirement for AB 2011 eligibility. The city also said the project does not comply with AB 2011’s standards for the distribution and configuration of affordable units, noting that the proposal does not match bedroom and bathroom ratios between market rate and below market rate homes and places many affordable units on lower floors.
Other findings relate to height, density and site design. The city said no list of requested density bonus waivers was provided, preventing staff from determining whether the proposed height could qualify for an exception under state law. Staff also noted that buildings appear to be set back more than 10 feet from the sidewalk and that parking is located within 25 feet of the property line along Willow Road and Middlefield Road.
The determination means the 80 Willow Road project must move through the standard review process with no ministerial entitlements under AB 2011. Without builder’s remedy eligibility, the city retains full authority to enforce zoning, height limits and development standards unless future revisions or legal interpretations change the project’s status.
At the same time, the city ruled the project is not consistent with several standards in Menlo Park for the third time since the project was proposed two years ago.
The city approved a contract for CEQA review of the project at a cost of $900,000 but the developer has yet to pay the down payment to start the review process. The review is estimated to take 17 months.
