231 Grant Educator Workforce Housing

Project location

The project site is at 231 Grant Avenue in the City of Palo Alto. The project site is approximately 1.4 acres bounded by Park Boulevard, Grant Avenue, and Birch Street. The project site contains an approximately 6,800-square-foot office building completed in 1956 and an associated parking area. The site is owned by the County and the existing office building currently houses the Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender. The project site is on County-owned property but within the incorporated area of the City of Palo Alto (Assessor’s Parcel Number: 132-31-074 and 984-88-004).

Project description

The 231 Grant Educator Workforce Housing (the project) is currently sponsored by the County of Santa Clara, Facebook, the City of Palo Alto, and participating school districts in Santa Clara County.

The Project includes the demolition of the existing single-story building on the site at 231 Grant Avenue in the City of Palo Alto, California, and construction of a four-story building totaling approximately 115,000 SF, on the approximately 1.4-acre site. The building would be developed with approximately 110 residential units and associated amenities, as well as approximately 1,100 square feet of “flex space” which would be utilized as a café or other retail/commercial use. The residential units would be intended to serve teachers and classified staff from schools in Santa Clara County and southern San Mateo County.

The project is anticipated to utilize modular construction methods; however, the use of traditional construction methods was analyzed as an alternative to the project. 

Project approval process

The County served as the lead agency for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and as the approval authority for the project.  The County Board of Supervisors made the required CEQA findings and approved the project on January 11, 2022. After the project was approved, the County Building Official reviewed the project plans for compliance with state building codes and would be responsible for reviewing and approving the various building permits. Since the project is on County-owned land and is for a public purpose, the project is immune from city zoning and building regulations pursuant to Government Code sections 53090-53091. 

CEQA documents

Final Impact Report (FEIR)  
Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)  
DEIR Appendices 
Appendix A – Notice of Preparation and Comments Received 
Appendix B- Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Supporting Documentation 
Appendix C- Historical Resources Supporting Documentation 
Appendix D- Noise and Vibration Supporting Documentation 
Appendix E- Transportation Supporting Documentation

 The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the proposed project has been prepared in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for your review. The FEIR document includes responses to the comments received on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (Appendix A of the FEIR), and the DEIR as previously published. 

Project timeline

On December 2, 2020, the County posted the Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the project for a 30-day public review and comment period. 

On December 16, 2020, the County held a Public Scoping Meeting regarding the environmental impact report to describe the proposed project and the environmental review process and to obtain verbal input on the EIR analysis for the proposal. 

On October 5, 2021, the County posted the Draft Environmental Impact Report for a 45-day public review period. The 45-day public review period began on Tuesday October 5, 2021, and ends at 5:00 p.m. on Friday November 19, 2021. 

On October 20, 2021, the County held a virtual public meeting to solicit comments on the adequacy of the Draft EIR.  

On January 11, 2022, the County Board of Supervisors adopted the Resolution certifying the 231 Grant Educator Workforce Housing Project Environment Impact Report, making the required CEQA findings, and adopting a Mitigation and Monitoring and Reporting Program 

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