Time to Build: East Palo Alto Needs to Approve the Euclid Site Compromise

Mark Dinan

Mark Dinan

— 3 min read
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Time to Build: East Palo Alto Needs to Approve the Euclid Site Compromise

On Tuesday, June 16, East Palo Alto City Council met to discuss a proposed modification to the development agreement for the Euclid Site. Sand Hill Properties has been working to build a new apartment building here since 2019. While 160 apartments were demolished several years ago, new construction has stalled because the project's financials don't pencil out under East Palo Alto’s high Inclusionary Housing Fees. Simply put, a private developer will not build a project just to lose money—or to make less than they would by simply putting their investment into a high-yield savings account.

To break the deadlock, East Palo Alto City Staff, Sand Hill, and the Ravenswood City School District (RCSD) Board have spent the last four months hammering out a compromise. The proposed agreement would advance a 430-unit affordable housing development on RCSD land, satisfying Sand Hill’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (IHO) obligations and finally allowing construction to move forward on 550 units at the Euclid site.

All told, this agreement would bring 980 new units of housing to East Palo Alto—a absolute game-changer for our community.

The Breakthrough: 430 Units of Affordable Housing

Adding 430 units of affordable housing is a tremendous victory. To put that in perspective, that is more affordable housing than Light Tree, Colibri, and Serenity combined.

  • For Educators: This project will enable RCSD teachers and staff to live close to their jobs in East Palo Alto and Belle Haven.
  • For Local Residents: Per the agreement with Sand Hill, 78 of these units would be specifically reserved for East Palo Alto residents—a massive win for the community.

Moving Forward on the Euclid Site

Meanwhile, the 550 units at the Euclid site would allow renters who were relocated years ago to finally return to brand-new homes. Developing the Euclid site is also a critical step forward in meeting East Palo Alto’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) targets—our state-mandated housing quota.

During the meeting, Sand Hill presented three options for alternative IHO compliance. Contributing to Ravenswood’s affordable housing project is the preferred path, but the developer needs a backup plan in case the RCSD project stalls for any reason. These contingencies are vital from a financing perspective; Sand Hill cannot secure investors unless these requirements are legally satisfied upfront.

Enough is Enough

I fully support this compromise. It is vital for our city to move forward on housing and stop letting critical projects like Euclid get held up indefinitely.

The Euclid project was first announced in 2018, and the application was submitted in 2019. Since then, there have been over 40 community meetings and 20 public hearings between the Planning Commission and the City Council. Timing is important on both projects - Superintendent Gina Sudaria directly said that the school site project is in jeopardy if this part of the financing falls through.

City Council did not make a decision on this compromise at our Tuesday meeting. This issue is scheduled to be back on the agenda on July 7th. I encourage all of our community to show up and support housing at this meeting.

Enough is enough—it is time to build!

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