Editor’s Note: The following article was written by a beginning journalism student. As part of our mission statement, we strive to interact with our community, including the rest of the Palo Alto High School journalism community.

In response to complaints from the public about building height and scale, developer John Arrillaga has revised his proposal for a five-building “Arts and Innovation District” project next to the downtown Cal Train station. The original plan proposed four office buildings and a theater. The revised proposal includes the same number and type of buildings, but the largest has been reduced from 10 stories (161 feet) to seven stories (103 feet). The other office buildings have been reduced to six stories. The proposed theater remains unchanged.

The City Council considered the revised plan at a hearing on Dec. 3. After receiving many complaints from the public, including criticism about a secretive process and excessive project height, the Council voted 7-0 to direct staff to conduct a planning process for the site before considering any specific project proposal. The Council also decided to postpone a public vote on the project, which staff had proposed for June 2013.

In addition to complaints about height and process, members of the public voiced complaints about parking impacts on the Downtown North neighborhood and University Avenue traffic.

Most big, modernizing projects proposed in Palo Alto generate these types of anxiety-driven complaints. But I believe that this project provides a rare and special opportunity. The City can maximize the benefits these buildings bring while minimizing negative impacts.

First, traffic concerns about this project present the perfect opportunity to remove cars from University Ave and change it into a pedestrian mall. I have lived in Downtown North, next to downtown, for my whole life and have always wondered why cars are allowed on University Avenue. Burlington, Vermont and Boulder, Colorado have both successfully converted their main downtown streets to pedestrian malls. Palo Alto should do the same. Many property owners and retailers on University Avenue have opposed this idea in the past, because they think it will negatively impact their businesses, but they could in fact gain customers. The absence of disruptive traffic on University Avenue will encourage more pedestrians to visit downtown and office workers in the new project will add even more customers for local stores and restaurants. Traffic could flow more easily in the area by converting Lytton Avenue and Hamilton Avenue, on either side of University Avenue, into one-way streets.

One of the biggest benefits of the project is the proposed performing arts theater. Palo Alto currently has only two multi-purpose performing arts theaters,at the Lucy Stern and Cubberley Community Centers. Both of these theaters are small, old and overused. Furthermore, the project would provide a perfect permanent home for TheaterWorks, Palo Alto’s premier theater company. The theater would be big enough to host events such as the Nutcracker and other large-scale performances, for which there is no current appropriate venue in Palo Alto.

Finally, the project site is currently underutilized. This transit-oriented site is the perfect place for intensive development. The fact that a variety of transportation modes, including train, bus and bike routes, converge at this location makes it a perfect place for office space. It would be both easy to get to and energy-efficient for commuters.

No project proposal is perfect and this one does contain some flaws. One major issue is parking. It is already difficult to park near University Avenue and, taking into account the cars that people will use to commute to and from the new offices, downtown parking will be even harder to find. The project as proposed would provide an inadequate three levels of underground parking (850-900 spaces), so parking would likely overflow into the downtown area. This is one of the biggest concerns for residents of Downtown North and it is a very legitimate concern, so the project should be revised to add more on-site parking. On the other hand, the convenient location of the new buildings will allow residents, commuters and others easy access by train, bus, bike and foot. Commuters should be encouraged to use public transportation, or bike, to get to the new buildings.While commuters would be even more likely to use transit if there was little or no on-site parking, on balance I believe that additional parking should be provided.

The pros of this project far outweigh the cons, and it would therefore benefit the City of Palo Alto to approve it. Having more office space will increase the revenue of businesses near University Avenue, especially if it is converted into a pedestrian mall. It will also give a permanent home to TheaterWorks and a place for major performances to be put on in Palo Alto. I encourage the City to approve the project and get it built as quickly as possible.