This event is hosted by Wellesley Housing as part of Affordable Housing Month 2021.

While other cities like Berkeley are addressing the racist history and negative effects of R1 single family zoning, Palo Alto is doubling down on its own. In response to a recent missing middle housing proposal, instead of giving feedback on the project, the Palo Alto City Council reversed their policy that would have allowed for this project to move forward. This was in direct response to intense negativity from neighbors about the missing middle housing. The Wellesley project would have been 24 units with 20% of them being affordable housing, while the rest would have served the missing middle– the exact kind of housing we need. To boot, the College Terrace neighborhood is already home to more than 30 existing apartment buildings, and is walkable to job centers, retail, and high quality transit. These events led us to ask ourselves: What’s so scary about apartments?

Join renowned economist Steve Levy, Palo Alto renter and housing advocate Josh Kirmsse, representatives from the Wellesley project and others to discuss the need for this type of housing, the implications of not building it and where we go from here.