Palo Alto Forward

04/13/2026

TONIGHT! 321 homes need your support at Palo Alto City Council

3606 El Camino Real includes 321 homes, including 122 two-bedroom homes and 38 three-beds in the most recent plans. This project illustrates that family-friendly multi-family housing can be possible, but the Planning Commission recommended denial even though the project is protected by state law. Council needs to hear community support to move forward so we avoid legal risk and build housing for the future families of our city

You can write your support to the city at [email protected] or join the meeting over zoom at https://cityofpaloalto.zoom.us/j/362027238, estimated start time for open meeting around 6pm

04/10/2026

Celebrate Affordable Housing Month with a walking tour of housing on Cal Ave!

We’ll visit three housing developments along California Ave, Alta Housing’s California Park, a successful affordable housing community; 231 Grant, a project for local teachers and district staff; and Mollie Stone’s, the tallest development proposal in Palo Alto’s history

Tour real housing projects and proposals on Cal Ave to help us dream of the future of housing in Palo Alto.

04/09/2026

Help save public transit AND celebrate Palo Alto’s biggest festival of the year, May Fete!

Sign up to table in support of PAF + gather signatures for a regional ballot measure to fully fund our transit agencies. We’ll have trainers on hand to teach new canvassers the basics

Gather signatures to fund our regional transportation agencies at Palo Alto's biggest event of the year!

04/03/2026

Help save public transit in the Bay Area by canvassing to pass a funding measure this Saturday, 9am at the Downtown Palo Alto Farmers’ Market!

Join us to start gathering signatures for Connect Bay Area, the five-county regional transit funding measure! We will meet near the Farmer's Market--at the…

02/07/2026

Tomorrow, 11am at Lytton Plaza on University Ave--help save Bay Area public transit! RSVP at the link below

We need to gather ~200k signatures to get a regional funding measure on the ballot to ensure Caltrain, BART, VTA, and other agencies we know and love can continue operating and improving service into the future. Tomorrow will be an opportunity to help collect signatures, including a signature gathering training at the start. No experience necessary, just come through anytime during the event

Join Stanford Abundance and the Connect Bay Area campaign to start gathering signatures for the five-county regional transit funding measure! Everyone is…

09/16/2025

Let's send a clear message about the importance of clean energy! Join us.

09/10/2025

Come meet Palo Alto Forward’s incoming Executive Director, Jeremy Levine! And celebrate our outgoing fearless leader of more than three years, Amie Ashton, as she transitions into a volunteer role.

Happening tomorrow, September 11 5:30-7:30. RSVP link in bio (or here for Facebook viewers: https://partiful.com/e/g95kh1rZ28k3Nq37XYqs). Come for the pro-housing conversations, stay to learn about opportunities for you to support housing in our community.

07/31/2025

Three more Santa Clara County jurisdictions—Campbell, Sunnyvale, and Los Altos—join the City of Mountain View in earning the State of California’s Prohousing Designation. 🥳🧡

Prohousing cities go above and beyond state law to remove barriers and accelerate housing production. Mountain View has already put its status to work—securing $870,000 in Prohousing Incentive Program (PIP) funds to support local affordable housing initiatives.

Designated cities also receive extra points when applying for competitive state funding, such as Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities funds, and become eligible for PIP grants, which can fund everything from affordable housing preservation to development gap financing. An $8 million pool is currently available in the latest round of PIP funding.

City of Palo Alto - Public Agency - let's be next!!!!!!

Read more at Silicon Valley at Home's website here: https://siliconvalleyathome.org/campbell-sunnyvale-and-los-altos-just-earned-pro-housing-status-is-san-jose-next

07/19/2025

Paris - the city of lights, bikes, and trees! 🌎 🧡 🚲 🛴 🌳

"The city of Paris is saying au revoir to cars. Over the past 20 years, it has restricted vehicle traffic, encouraging people to walk, bike or use public transport. In the beginning, many Parisians complained, but now a large majority embrace the transformation to a greener French capital."

Air pollution and noise are down dramatically. With heat waves increasing in frequency, the city is planting mini urban forests to cool and beautify outdoor spaces.

Imagine all this in a city like Palo Alto - fighting climate change has never been more fun or beautiful! Listen and read more here: https://www.npr.org/2025/07/17/nx-s1-5471269/paris-replaces-cars-with-bikes-closes-motorways-and-plants-thousands-of-trees

06/28/2025

The Berkeley City council just voted 9-0 in favor of more middle-income housing units. 🌎 🚌 🤩 🏢 🥳

Dubbed the Middle Housing Ordinance, the new policy streamlines the permitting process for residential buildings such as duplexes, triplexes, and three-story multi-family homes. A typical 5,000-square-foot property could have five to seven units.

The change could increase housing options for middle-income residents who have been increasingly priced out of the market.

Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, who has long championed the proposal, said the idea is to promote more housing on existing lots, with the expectation that the new homes will be more accessible to middle-income earners who don’t qualify for affordable housing.

“The goal is to think about the future of our city and what kind of community we want to be,” Kesarwani said. “I believe that we need to be a city that has housing opportunities for our middle-class workers. And really, the only way we can do that cost-effectively is through middle housing.

Thanks for the inspiration Berkeley!

06/26/2025

We are overjoyed to announce that we received a $50,000 grant from the San Francisco Foundation to continue our work promoting more housing and transportation options in our community! 🥳 🤩 🥰

This vital funding will significantly bolster our efforts to create a more accessible, affordable, and connected city.

Thank you so much to the San Francisco Foundation and their incredible staff who helped us through this process. Time to dig in and get to work, we have so much to do - join us!

06/23/2025

Congrats to the City of Mountain View on the completion of the 777 W. Middlefield residential development, which will provide high-quality housing to that community. 🌳

The project includes 144 affordable and 572 market rate units and amenities, such as a publicly accessible bike path, open space, and several swimming pools.

The project transforms a former low-density site into a modern, mixed-income development. A portion of the homes are dedicated for school district teachers and staff, reinforcing the city's commitment to an inclusive, livable Mountain View.

Now it is Palo Alto's turn. Let's get some housing built!