League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Nancy Shepherd Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Palo Alto

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. How would you balance neighborhood and city-wide concerns?

I do not support excessive development at the expense of our quiet neighborhoods. I understand how critical this issue is to all of us. My top priority is to find solutions that achieve a balance between reasonable development and quality of life. That's why this year as Mayor, I focused on a plan to complete the Comprehensive Plan update by 2015--to ensure that the City could update our vision and zoning for today and into our future.

This issue has been a challenge for Palo Alto over the decades because part of living here is being in close proximity to high paying jobs. Working close to home is an important element for quality of life. Stanford University too, also attracts leading specialists and experts in research and technology who find Palo Alto an appealing place to live with quiet neighborhoods and good schools. I was surprised to learn that in 1969 Stanford Professor Frederick Terman, the father of Silicon Valley, was asked a similar question when interviewed for Palo Alto's 75th Anniversary. Here is the interview website location: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwk2Y4mi87w

Palo Alto is proud of its residential features with eclectic neighborhoods having distinctive charm and character filled with families, seniors and students. Many of these neighborhoods are in close proximity to non-residential commercial property where developers are replacing simple shops with job-heavy offices or research and development buildings. I hear from many in our community that they find this a challenge--too much change, with buildings too close to the street. And neighborhood quality of life is being threatened by spill over traffic and parking problems. These outcomes were never expected when the City implemented the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, Palo Alto's "land use bible" which created our vision for 2010.

I believe that Palo Alto is not too big to be personable and adaptive to protecting even the mini-hoods inside our neighborhoods so that new home designs are not out of scale. We need the participation of dedicated and caring citizens to advise and help craft ideas as we navigate our tomorrow. It is this synergy that makes us what we are--a community with an entrepreneurial "can do" spirit and keeps Palo Alto a great place to live, raise a family and retire.

2. Palo Alto and surrounding communities are under economic pressure to grow and environmental pressures to live and work closer together. How do you envision Palo Alto responding to these pressures?

Palo Alto has been responding to this pressure and will be doing more. The most important transition Palo Alto needs to make is securing senior friendly housing in walkable areas like California Avenue or downtown. I hear from seniors the feeling of isolation in neighborhoods, especially when driving is no longer an interest, or ability. Being closer to shopping, transit, and health care is vital to living well, and a good quality of life. Early next year the City will consider relocating some residential units zoned in the South El Camino Real area to the downtown districts. This will support the idea of providing housing for seniors, or housing close to job centers and transit, which will stop the sprawl into the southern neighborhoods.

As a city located along the rail corridor I champion the Caltrain modernization because our residents need efficient commute options. I advocate for increasing the train schedules for workers to travel efficiently into or out of Palo Alto without their car. Sustainable and low carbon commute options are vital to the environment and health of our area.

3. What proposals do you have to alleviate the traffic and parking situation in Palo Alto?

Reducing car trips into Palo Alto is critical. I will work to have an overall reduction of trips by commuters of at least 30%. Under my leadership as mayor this year, the council is tackling the issues of increased traffic and congestion, lack of adequate downtown parking and relying on neighborhood streets as worker parking lots. We need to change how Palo Alto commuters operate on the days our population doubles or triples with workers. I voted to eliminate all parking exceptions on new commercial projects, and then implement commute strategies to reduce solo car trips by 30% or more as fast as possible.

I support the three strategic initiatives that are in varying stages of implementation:

1)Residential Parking Permit Program: In January 2015, Residential Parking Permits will be implemented in the downtown neighborhoods which will protect the neighborhoods from being used as free commuter parking lots. The program is being designed to issue limited permits for workers which will reduce the impact of over-parking today in the neighborhoods, and allow residents access street parking easily. 2) Expand Parking Options: Building new garages, using technology to find open spaces and creating off-site parking lots with shuttle services will take more cars off the neighborhood streets and reduce cut-through traffic. Today the City has a pilot program in front of City Hall that places monitors on the street at parking places. These monitors indicate when a spot is open and can signal to a smart phone a vacant space. It also creates parking data for the City to understand how and when parking becomes impacted during the day. 3)Transit Districts: I supported and championed the concept of transit assessment districts in the Palo Alto business areas where there is a high concentration of workers commuting and creating traffic and parking problems. This is modeled after Contra Costa Transit Village, where businesses assess themselves to generate revenues that offer train or bus passes for workers. Incentives to use public transit instead of driving a car will reduce trips into Palo Alto and is a proven way to get cars off the road.

I am focused on changing the traffic experience for Palo Alto, and I look forward to developing more systems designed to reduce trips, making Palo Alto a better place to live. Many recognize that when the schools are on holiday traffic is not a big problem. This is why I have called for increased shuttle service to our middle and high schools, taking even more cars off the road, and making our streets safer for students.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 12, 2014 18:15
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