Editorial: Why not condos in Atherton? Editorial: Why not condos in Atherton? (December 07, 2005)

Can Atherton afford to pass up a developer's offer to build a brand new town hall/police department building in return for the right to develop a condominium project for the town's senior citizens on city property?

Never mind that Atherton's zoning ordinance strictly forbids condos, or for that matter, virtually any residential construction that is not located on a one-acre lot. As for business development, forget it. There is no commercial zoning in Atherton, which has some of the highest priced residential property in the country.

Clearly developers Skip and Linda Law (who, incidentally, live in Atherton) know the town's weak spot, which is a total lack of cash to improve its inadequate infrastructure, including an antiquated administrative offices and police station, with important town operations spilling over into trailer-park-like mobile buildings.

So the Laws cleverly have offered to perform a no-cost assessment of the town's long-term facility needs, along with a feasibility study to determine if a condo project built on town property at Ashfield Road near the Caltrain station could produce enough income to pay for a new town hall.

Linda Law, who developed the University Circle office building project at University Avenue and the Bayshore Freeway in East Palo Alto, sees a "win-win" for the city in the condo project:

** The town would receive a new town hall/police station at no cost.

** Elderly residents could downsize and remain in Atherton at the condos.

** The town would meet the state mandate to provide new housing.

** The development would sit on excess land, an underutilized asset.

The upside looked good enough for the council to vote 5-0 to authorize the study at, of course, no cost or obligation to the town. And if comments from most of the council members are any indication, the idea would pass if residents did not object.

Only Mayor Bill Conwell said that the project was outside of the town's traditional land-use policy. "My feeling is that it does not fit in with the profile of Atherton," Mr. Conwell said.

That may be true, but what about that carrot of a brand new building that would house the town's employees, including the Planning and Public Works departments, which now do business in a double-wide trailer parked near the railroad tracks.

It is hard to imagine that the Laws will return to the council with a study that finds such a project is not feasible. Good developers are known to do their best work ahead of time on the back of a cocktail napkin, so we suspect that there will be nothing but good news when the results come back.

The real question is whether Atherton is ready to open its ironclad zoning ordinance a crack, just wide enough for a small senior condo project to squeeze through.

We are sure the neighbors will have a thing or two to say, as may other residents who might think condos could lower their property values. But there are many very good businesspeople whom live in Atherton, and they are likely to see the value in the town receiving a new building free and clear for simply allowing a handful of condos on surplus city property by the railroad tracks. Why not?

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