Project referendum gains support

Barron Park residents willing to pay to hold vote

“The views of themembership are very clear. By more than a 2: 1 margin, the membership voted to support the BPA contributing to the referendum preparation effort, and by a 3: 1 margin, the membership supports the holding of a referendum.” — Barron Park Neighborhood Association president Art Liberman in a post on the organization’s website

PALO ALTO— Support is strong in one Palo Alto neighborhood for holding a referendum on a controversial senior affordable housing project that was recently approved by the City Council.

Residents are even willing to pay to make sure voters get a say, according to the results of a two-question survey released Wednesday by the Barron Park Neighborhood Association.

The organization’s members were asked whether they would support holding a referendum on the project, which would bring 12 new single- family residences and a 60- unit apartment complex for lowincome seniors to a plot of land at Maybell and Clemo avenues.

Of the 176 residents who responded to the question, 128, or 73 percent, said they were in favor of holding a referendum.

Residents were similarly supportive when asked if the association should contribute $ 1,000 toward a referendum effort. About 66 percent, or 117 of the 177 who responded, said yes.

“The views of the membership are very clear,” Barron Park Neighborhood Association president Art Liberman wrote in a post on the organization’s website. “By more than a 2: 1 margin, the membership voted to support the BPA contributing to the referendum preparation effort, and by a 3: 1 margin, the membership supports the holding of a referendum.”

The survey was distributed to members in electronic and paper form. Of those who received the former, 150, or 43 percent, responded. And of those who received the latter, 29, or 54 percent, responded. Liberman noted that an 89- year- old woman got on her bicycle to return her ballot.

“This excellent response from our membership is proof of interest in this issue,” he wrote.

The project, put forward by the nonprofi t Palo Alto Housing Corporation, has drawn stiff opposition from the surrounding Barron Park and Green Acres neighborhoods. Dozens of residents concerned primarily about effects on traffic urged the City Council last month to reject the plans or at least scale them back.

However, the project has received a good deal of support because it would increase the city’s affordable housing stock. The apartments are intended for seniors who make 30 to 60 percent of area median income.

Council members, who cemented their approval of the project June 28, also contend it will result in fewer effects on the surrounding area than one that is built to the underlying zoning.

The survey results follow a “notice of intent to circulate a referendum petition” that was fi led with the city clerk’s offi ce June 28.

Petition organizers will have until July 26 to collect the 2,298 signatures needed to force the City Council to rescind its approval or place the project on an upcoming ballot.

“I’ve had people emailing and calling me to ask, ‘ Where can I sign?’ ” resident Bob Moss said earlier this week.