NVCAP – ALTERNATIVE M

HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST

The 12 acre old cannery site which was home to Fry’s Electronics for a generation is the largest piece of undeveloped land in Palo Alto.  Its redesign has been the subject of two years of deliberation by the North Ventura Coordinate Area Plan working group.  Several alternatives have been put forth. PAN has endorsed ALTERNATIVE M, a proposal put forth by two working group members.

Alternative M helps solve one of Palo Alto’s most pressing problems. Palo Alto has historically met or exceeded production of new homes for wealthy people (as defined by ABAG/MTC/RHNA*).  Palo Alto fails to provide housing for the missing middle and families earning 60% and below the Area Median Income of $120,000 /year.

What “Alt M” does:

  • a) demonstrates a simple way to build desperately needed, truly affordable homes,
  • b) provides important neighborhood amenities like parks and a community center,
  • c) preserves a historic resource as well as and the character of Ventura, and
  • d) minimizes incursion of commercial traffic and added congestion in Ventura

Alt M shows how, together, we can add hundreds of new townhomes and apartments to the city’s housing stock, while protecting and preserving the diverse communities that already call Ventura their home.

Just to reiterate: of the several alternatives put forth by members of a working group tasked with envisioning the future of the 12 acre cannery site, only one plan – Alternative M — meets the City’s desperate need for housing for the people that desperately need housing: people who make 60% and below the Area Median Income of $120,000.

This bold plan uses existing zoning and typical municipal financing tools to purchase the property and to join with partner agencies to develop and build new homes for new neighbors in Ventura.

For the details of Alternative M. Click here.