East Palo Alto, Ravenswood Business District Specific Plan Update
All around the Bay, cities are struggling to protect their communities from sea level rise, and in many cases, former wetlands are being restored at public expense in order to achieve these protections. By contrast, East Palo Alto is blessed with the biodiverse wetlands of Ravenswood Open Space Preserve and the Don Edwards Refuge’s Faber/Laumeister tracts along the city’s eastern edge.
The development proposals that stimulated the RBD Specific Plan Update would shift substantial new development to the shoreline, putting those wetlands at risk, constraining options for sea level rise resilience, and upending the community’s vision for the area.
Our Goals
- Amplify the voices of East Palo Alto residents
- Reduce the size and impacts of the plan and the proposed developments
- Protect wildlife and wetlands habitat
- Maximize opportunities for natural sea level rise resilience and access to open space
- Highlight the importance of natural open space for community health
Current Status
On November 18, 2021 the City Council rejected a plan for 4.15 million sq ft of new office/R&D in the RBD Specific Plan Area. But the City is still looking at more than doubling the current development limit of 1.4 million sq ft. Early in 2022, the City will kick off the CEQA Environmental Impact analysis process and begin developing policies and programs. The City hopes to make a final decision on the maximum buildout and adopt the Specific Plan Update in 2022.
Links:
- NPR: Who Will Pay To Protect Tech Giants From Rising Seas?
- Bay Advocacy Program East Palo Alto Case Study
- Letter to East Palo Alto City Council & Planning Commission
- Community Workshop Flyer
- 9/22 public workshop video (english) (spanish)
- City’s RBD Update page
- BCDC’s Adapting to Rising Tides Explorer
- 11/27 Joint Letter to East Palo Alto City Council
