Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in East Palo Alto public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
50 issues
Woodland Park inclusionary housing compliance
The council rejected an ordinance that would have exempted projects of 20 units or fewer from inclusionary housing requirements until the countywide nexus study is complete. Opponents said it would permanently lose about 17 affordable homes and $2 million in fees; supporters argued the requirements make small projects impossible to build. The issue will return when the study concludes in 2027.
Woodland Avenue and sidewalk improvement grants
The west side of Woodland Avenue has confusing, legally unenforceable no-parking signs, and major projects (Newell Bridge replacement, creek widening) will likely wipe out most remaining on-street parking. Residents are already getting tickets while hit-and-runs go uninvestigated, and the council wants hard numbers on parking losses plus neighborhood meetings before decisions.
SAFER Bay flood protection project costs and timeline
The levee/flood project protecting the city from bay flooding would get extended engineering contracts through 2031 and a construction management budget increase of roughly $148,000.
Daylighting and street safety rules
Residents reported a dangerous unfinished driveway entrance from the 2024 Addison sidewalk project, missing stop signs at Beach/Poagus, and problem speed bumps — asking the city to fix infrastructure left hazardous.
ALPR Camera Oversight
Public commenters and a councilmember urged the city to reconsider its Flock camera contract after Mountain View pulled out over federal data-access abuses. The contract isn't signed yet, so the council can still exit.
Measure JJ Anti-Displacement Program
The family towing business, which serves the city, was given three months to leave its Ontario Street site and asked the council for help finding a new location or extending its tenancy.
Reimagine Dumbarton Busway and Trail
SamTrans wants to turn the old rail line into a dedicated bus lane plus a walking and biking trail connecting East Palo Alto to Redwood City, possibly with service running deeper into EPA. Construction is optimistically the early 2030s.
Palo Alto Wastewater Treatment Plant Financing
The Sanitary District board adopted an updated sewer capacity fee of $10,115 per equivalent dwelling unit, a cost that flows to new development in the city.
Domestic Violence Awareness and CORA Services
The council declared October Domestic Violence Awareness Month and heard from CORA, which has served East Palo Alto for nearly a decade and just moved to a new office co-located with JobTrain, where walk-in traffic has already increased.
Day of Remembrance Proclamation Controversy
A proclamation recognizing October 7 as a Day of Remembrance split the community, with about 25 speakers divided between supporters mourning attack victims and opponents calling it one-sided and erasing Palestinian suffering. It failed 2-1 because city rules require a majority of all five seats.
Mayor combining State of the City with candidate forum
Residents and two councilmembers blasted the mayor's plan to hold his State of the City address alongside a council candidate forum — with some candidates never notified. Critics call it an appearance of city endorsement; Romero wants it agendized for a vote.
Sister city with Chongqing, China
A proposal to make Chongqing's Dazu district East Palo Alto's second sister city, with school exchanges. Council likes the idea but is worried about the cost, given the city's tight budget.
New parking and bus zones
LAZ Parking issued over 8,700 citations since April, but the permit parking program residents want won't be ready until mid-2027 — Dinan and residents want it faster.
Public Works and Transportation Commission appointments
Five candidates competed for two seats. Rafael Avendaño, a parks and safe-streets advocate new to town, won the full term; Ray Zhu, an engineer focused on walkable, bikeable streets, took the alternate seat on a revote after Betsy Yanis withdrew.
Minor Home Repair Program
Climate Resilient Communities is already fixing seniors' homes for free with $106,249 in city funds — about five to six homes at roughly $16,000 each. Millions more in electrification money is available for heat pumps, stoves and solar.
Major Home Repairs Program
The city has $800,000 in hotel-tax housing funds to fix up to 22 low-income homes — roofs, wiring, plumbing, safety retrofits — at up to $34,500 each. Council is shaping who qualifies and how, with an RFP coming in October.
General Plan Safety Element update and Palo Alto Airport impacts
The city just adopted its updated safety playbook for flooding, sea level rise, groundwater emergence, earthquakes and extreme heat. Council members pushed to add blunt language that the Palo Alto Airport — with its leaded aviation fuel and crash history — burdens East Palo Alto neighborhoods, calling it an environmental justice issue.
Water system capital payments to Veolia
The city will reimburse up to $296,110 for water system repairs from ratepayer funds, and staff committed to better benchmarking of these recurring costs going forward.
Parking enforcement fairness
LAZ Parking issued over 8,700 citations since April, but the permit parking program residents want won't be ready until mid-2027 — Dinan and residents want it faster.
Citywide street lighting pace
Councilmember Dinan criticized the nearly two-year delay on the budgeted citywide lighting project; staff said the study will come to council in October with construction expected spring 2027.
Street vendor compliance
Councilmember Barragan noted fewer unpermitted vendors since the ordinance passed but said some still operate at night; staff is continuing education on county health and city permit requirements.
Sunrise Towing displacement
The family towing business, which serves the city, was given three months to leave its Ontario Street site and asked the council for help finding a new location or extending its tenancy.
Bell Street Park trees and fire access easement
The council approved the least-disruptive fire access easement but the project will still remove mature trees; the developer pledged 12 replacement trees in the park and said it will try to save trees during construction, with residents urging community input on species.
Emergency preparedness program
Council members pushed for a full update on the emergency preparedness program, evacuation routes and signage, and possibly using churches as resilience centers, citing earthquakes, floods, and a recent fatal Highway 101 crash that gridlocked traffic.
Affordable housing at 2120-2160 Euclid Avenue
The council approved the inclusionary housing plan for a 430-unit, 100%-affordable project tied to the Ravenswood School District, with about 195 units under local hiring preference and a developer commitment to deepen discounts on ten units to 50% AMI or below.
November 2026 General Municipal Election
Two city council seats — held by Ruben Abrica and Martha Barragan — expire in December 2026, and this resolution sets the election to fill them. The city will pay San Mateo County roughly $52,000 to $62,400 to run the vote, already covered in the budget.
Climate Action Plan Implementation
PCE — soon WestLight Energy — has delivered $4.6 million in customer savings locally, 116 EV charging ports, and free home electrification for qualifying low-income households starting in May or June. Councilmembers asked about EV charging at City Hall, senior electrification partnerships, and pairing chargers with the city's planned lighting project.
Housing Element Progress and Market-Rate Housing Shortfall
The city is at 27% of its 829-unit state housing target, doing well on low-income units but far behind on moderate and market-rate housing. Dinan argued the shortfall costs the city millions in property tax and drives up rents; others countered that inclusionary requirements and affordable housing subsidies are essential to prevent displacement.
Illegal Dumping and Bulk Pickup Access for Renters
Council and public speakers flagged that renters can't directly order Recology bulk pickups — only landlords can — which fuels illegal dumping (over 1,150 dumped instances in 2025). Suggested fixes: landlord outreach, semiannual mailers, and reviving the neighborhood clean zone program.
University Avenue Grand Corridor Pilot Project
The council rejected the contract amendment for the University Avenue pilot design after members worried it would just funnel cut-through traffic onto neighborhood streets. Staff will do more outreach before the question returns.
Aggressive Dogs and Public Safety Near EPA Center
Councilmember Dinan blasted the county animal control contract — about $689,000 a year — for poor response times and no local spay/neuter or vaccine services. County data showed strong return-to-owner and field-call numbers, and the council approved the contract while asking for closer collaboration.
FY2027 Transient Occupancy Tax Grants
Sixteen youth and community organizations will share roughly $508,000 in TOT grant funding, after the council added four groups at $30,000 each to the twelve originally recommended. Staff warned that administering 16 grants strains a small team.
Water Storage Tank Siting
The city has zero potable water storage and needs 3 million gallons on top of planned tanks. EKI's draft study recommends advancing three sites — the former RV park on Woodland Avenue, the former library site on Pulgas Avenue, and the city-owned Tanklage site — with the Tanklage site emerging as the council favorite since the city owns it and it sits outside the flood and sea-level-rise zone.
Woodland Park Euclid housing project amendment
Sand Hill wants changes to its deal to build 550 units (160 rent-stabilized) on Euclid, including paying $12M toward Ravenswood School District's 430-unit affordable teacher housing instead of building 78 off-site units. Council wants a better price before approving.
Urban water supply and drought planning
The state-required water plan shows adequate normal-year supply through 2050 but potential worst-case dry-year shortfalls up to 47%; the city is exploring groundwater expansion.
$125 Million General Obligation Bond for Civic and Infrastructure Projects
The council voted 5-0 to put a $125 million bond on the November 2026 ballot for a new civic center, library, police facility, sports field, and water and stormwater infrastructure. Homeowners would pay about $105 per $100,000 of assessed value per year. A recent poll showed roughly two-thirds support.
Measure HH workforce development program
The city is spending $1.1 million in Measure HH parcel tax money on job training. The council split the procurement, hiring a master contractor and evaluator first, and debated whether funds can support high school tutoring and robotics programs.
Fireworks complaints and community response
A resident described hours of 100-plus decibel illegal fireworks on July 4 and asked the council to create a resident task force to change community attitudes, noting police response was inadequate.
Community event funding and Mama D Day
The council raised per-event funding for city-sponsored festivals from $8,000 to $12,000 and added Mama D Day — a celebration honoring the late community matriarch and Pacific Islander families — as a fifth sponsored event, responding to speakers who asked for the recognition.
Successor Agency wind-down
The city is paying off the last bond from the old Redevelopment Agency this year. Once that's done, the Successor Agency can dissolve and redevelopment tax dollars return to the normal property tax process.
Meeting disruption policy (SB 707)
State law required the city to adopt rules for handling meeting disruptions by July 1. The new policy covers Zoom outages, comment time limits, removal of disruptive attendees, and — after Councilmember Barragan raised it — limits on signs left on chairs or blocking views.
Traffic and air quality concerns
Longtime resident Gail Dixon told the council the city has the Peninsula's highest asthma rate, blaming cut-through traffic and dust from Highway 101, Willow Road, and University Avenue. She urged the city to restrict through-traffic during certain hours.
Structural budget deficit
The city is spending about $4.7 million more than it takes in from its general fund next year, and recurring costs are growing faster than tax revenue. Staff say reserves can bridge the gap for now, but one-time federal money and other stopgaps are running out — meaning harder choices are coming.
Epicenter arts and cultural programming
Epicenter's first year drew thousands to concerts, a Juneteenth jubilee, and cultural festivals, but the proposed budget contained no money to continue it. The council added $100,000 from reserves to fund a second year.
YMCA weekend access funding
The city funded free weekend YMCA access last year but proposed nothing for year two — until Councilmember Dinan pushed $175,000 from reserves to keep it going. About 683 residents have used the programs, and the council may explore funding weekday access next.
FY 2026-27 city budget
The city faces a structural deficit and the budget adoption was pushed to June 23 after the long housing debate.
City vacancies and SEIU staffing concerns
Vacancy rate is down to 4.8%, but SEIU says maintenance worker, public works secretary, and building inspector positions have sat empty, stretching workloads.
Residential permit parking program
The permit parking ordinance is now city law after a 3-1 vote. Residents clashed over big work trucks like F-250s and F-350s parked on residential streets — some want them restricted, others worry ordinary family trucks will get caught. Enforcement officers will use discretion on whether trucks count as commercial.
EPASD FY 2026-27 budget and rate pressure
The Sanitary District is projected to run a $1.8 million operating deficit; covering it through rates could add roughly $180–$200 a year for residential customers now paying about $660. Formal adoption comes June 16.
Woodland Avenue parking and coming construction disruption
The west side of Woodland Avenue has confusing, legally unenforceable no-parking signs, and major projects (Newell Bridge replacement, creek widening) will likely wipe out most remaining on-street parking. Residents are already getting tickets while hit-and-runs go uninvestigated, and the council wants hard numbers on parking losses plus neighborhood meetings before decisions.