Condos proposed for seniors in Atherton Condos proposed for seniors in Atherton (November 23, 2005)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Do Atherton residents want senior housing?

Developers Skip and Linda Law think they do -- and they've got a good idea of where to put it.

The Laws, who are Atherton residents themselves, asked the Atherton City Council at its November 16 meeting for permission to investigate the town's need and desire for a housing complex for active seniors on town property near the Caltrain station.

It's a radical concept for Atherton, a town that is zoned for single-family housing and has no multifamily housing, no business district and no commercial zoning. With few exceptions -- a handful of schools, civic buildings and the Menlo Circus Club -- the town is entirely residential.

The proposal presented by the Laws came with plenty of caveats -- feasibility studies would have to be done, public sentiment assessed, environmental impacts examined and an amendment made to the town's general plan to create new zoning. Atherton would retain ownership of the land and the Laws would get a long-term ground-lease.

"Aging-in-place housing, we think, is very viable for current residents who desire to move down from their homes but who don't want to leave (Atherton)," Ms. Law told the Almanac.

The idea arose out of a "groundswell" of concern from friends who ended up moving out of town, Ms. Law said.

She and her husband, Skip, envision unobtrusive, low-rise housing units to accommodate aging residents, with a barriers-free design for the mobility impaired, and call buttons in case of emergencies. She said it was too soon to say how many units might be included.

The Laws are no strangers to public-private partnerships on major construction issues, having worked with the city of East Palo Alto on the University Circle development. Their company, Law & Associates, recently completed the sale of the project's three, six-story office buildings. The contentious redevelopment project was about 10 years in the making and includes a Four Seasons Hotel that was not part of the sale.

The town of Atherton's property between Fair Oaks Lane and Ashfield Road on the west side of the Caltrain station is the site of Atherton's police station and administrative offices, a couple of trailers and largely unused parking lots.

Town officials should think about putting the roughly 1-1/2 acres of land, "a very valuable asset," to its highest and best use, Ms. Law told the council.

Redeveloping the site could give the town much-needed housing and larger, updated facilities for town staff at no cost to Atherton, she said.

To sweeten the deal, the Laws also offered to fund a study of Atherton's long-term facility needs, something town officials might find useful whether or not the senior complex ever gets approved.

Council members remained dubious about how residents would respond to such a plan, but conceded that there was no reason not to gather information about it on someone else's dime.

"Right now it's no-lose for the town," said Councilman Charles Marsala. "I think doing our due diligence is a prudent thing."

The council voted 5-0 to move forward, directing town staff to develop an agreement with the Laws to go ahead with their studies.

Councilman Jim Janz said the senior housing could help the town meet state mandates to increase its housing supply, and Councilwoman Kathy McKeithen encouraged the Laws to hold public meetings to make sure the community is informed about the proposal.

Mayor Bill Conwell said his reaction to the Laws' proposal was negative.

"This would take a tremendous change," he said. "My feeling is that it does not fit in with the profile of Atherton."

Councilman Alan Carlson pointed out that the police station, administrative offices and other town facilities are inadequate and there was no money to do anything about them.

"Why turn something down where there's no obligation to us?" he said.

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