The Palo Alto Architectural Review Board on Dec. 4 heard a lengthy presentation and public comment on a proposed seven‑story, 321‑unit housing development at 3606 El Camino Real. Staff framed the proposal as a "builder's‑remedy" project processed under state law (AB 130) and the El Camino Real focus‑area standards, and noted an expedited schedule that begins after tribal consultation.

Staff told the board the proposal would demolish about 13,000 square feet of existing commercial floor area across seven parcels and replace it with 321 units in a podium building that steps down toward the rear. The applicant proposes 37 deed‑restricted affordable units (13% of total) at 50–80% of area median income, internalized parking with EV charging, and 280 bicycle spaces. The project team said it is proposing 391 vehicle parking stalls overall — in part to exceed the focus‑area minimum of one space per unit — and that the building would be roughly 84 feet tall, under the 85‑foot focus‑area limit.

Marissa Riley, project manager for Saris Regis Group of Northern California, described the site's transit connections and said the design team sought a "timeless" brick‑and‑metal palette to activate the El Camino frontage. Architect Nathan Simpson said the ground floor includes double‑height spaces to conceal the podium parking, corner accenting and a central mass break intended to reduce bulk along the frontage.

Neighborhood opposition was pronounced during public comment. Speakers from Barron Park and nearby blocks asked the board to require a transportation analysis and questioned the project's height and length where it faces two‑story homes. Examples of concerns: Chris Jung said the long, sheer wall facing residential streets would "negatively impact the neighborhood," and Penny Brennan warned a seven‑story block would "tower and loom" over adjacent neighborhoods and generate large traffic volumes for local streets.

Supporters also spoke. Rob Nielsen, a Palo Alto resident, said the site is identified in the housing element and the project helps meet local housing goals and RHNA obligations. Applicant representatives emphasized design moves that break up the building mass — stepbacks, a podium with planted courtyards, tree buffers and a central fitness amenity that creates a mass break — and said operational details such as trash staging have been revised so compaction and staging occur inside the building on pickup days.

Board members asked detailed technical questions on construction type, pool maintenance/delivery logistics, trash collection frequency, tandem parking assignment, the amount and accessibility of common open space, and service access. Many members converged on similar design directions: break the long El Camino façade into smaller visual components (repeat the corner emphasis and use material or massing variations), reconsider the seven‑story extent where the project backs onto single‑family homes, and expand accessible shared outdoor spaces for residents rather than reserving smaller planted zones that are not occupiable.

The board's role at this hearing was advisory: staff said AB 130 creates a compressed timeline that may limit future ARB review to a single meeting, so the comments are intended to inform a city recommendation to council. Board members suggested applicants return with studies that show neighborhood impacts and potential mitigation (transportation/queuing analysis, daylighting/massing studies and more detailed landscape sections for courtyards). No ARB vote on approval was taken at the Dec. 4 meeting.

What happens next: the city will complete tribal consultation and then has a statutory window to proceed under AB 130; staff and the applicant signaled intent to refine design, study operational logistics and provide additional material and massing options in follow‑up materials to the city and ARB.