OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Zoning Administrator Public Hearing for 490 E Middlefield Road Development Agreement – March 5, 2026

City CouncilThursday, March 5, 2026
BodyMountain View, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, March 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 12:10
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

See your eyes are better than those.

0:03

Yeah, we can be on the 42.

0:16

Is Pickleball in Florida?

0:19

Yeah, Michael's told me he's working with Darren on it.

0:25

It's not okay.

0:27

So it's going the direction for me to just spend it.

0:30

So we're gonna go ahead and get started.

0:32

It is now four o'clock, and good afternoon, and welcome to the administrative zoning public hearing of February 11th, 2026.

0:40

My name is George Schroeder, and I'm presiding over the hearing today as the zoning administrator.

0:44

And I would like to call the meeting to order at 4 o'clock p.m.

0:48

Today's hearing will operate in a hybrid format.

0:51

Staff, the applicants, and some community members are in person.

0:55

However, we will also ask if committee members joining us virtually want to speak on an item at certain points in the meeting.

1:03

When those opportunities arise, typically during the public comment period of each agenda item, members of the public wishing to comment may do so by clicking the raise hand feature and zoom when I announce the item on which you wish to speak.

1:17

Speakers will be notified of their turn shortly before they are called on to speak.

1:21

If you have phoned in today, then please dial star nine to raise your hand.

1:26

When you're called on to speak, please press star six to unmute yourself.

1:31

All speakers virtual and person have three minutes to provide comments.

1:35

If you are in person and wish to comment on either of the items, please fill out a yellow speaker card for us so we are able to accurately spell your name for the meeting minutes.

1:46

The next portion of the meeting is for oral communications from the public.

1:50

This is a time set aside for persons wishing to address the zoning administrator on any matter not on the agenda.

1:57

Speakers are limited to three minutes, and state law prohibits any action on any items which are not on the agenda.

2:04

Is there anyone who would like to speak on any items that are not on the agenda?

2:10

Seeing none, we'll move to online.

2:12

And online.

2:15

Okay.

2:16

So we will now move on to item three, with which is the zoning administrator public hearing.

2:22

And item 3.1 is the address of 490 East Middlefield Road with a request for a development agreement between the City of Mountain View and WTA Middlefield LLC for an eight-story mixed use building with 460 apartment units utilizing state density bonus law and approximately 9,371 square feet of ground floor commercial replacing an existing office building and the removal of 29 heritage trees on a 2.86 acre site.

2:54

And this is associated with planning application number PL 9558.

3:00

And also a recommended determination that the project is statutorily exempt pursuant to public resources code section 210 80.66 of the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA guidelines.

3:15

It is important to note that the decisions made on this item will be in the form of a recommendation to the city council.

3:22

We will make the final decision on the project at a public hearing that is tentatively scheduled for March 10th, 2026.

3:29

Okay, we will now have a staff presentation and applicant presentation and an opportunity for public comments on the item.

3:36

And then following that, I'll make a rec recommendation to the city council on the development agreement for this project.

3:42

Jeffrey Sumura is a project planner.

3:45

Jeffrey, do you have a staff presentation for?

3:48

I do, yes, thank you.

3:52

All right.

3:53

Good afternoon, Jeffrey Simara, senior planner.

3:55

Here to present today's item.

4:07

Sorry.

4:08

All right, this is a request for a development agreement between the city of Naughty View and WCA Middlefield LLC to allow a 460 unit apartment development on a 2.86-acre site located at 490 East Middlefield Road.

4:22

The project site is located at the northwest corner of East Middlefield Road and L Street in the P 41 East Wisman Precise Plan Zoning District.

4:31

This development agreement is associated with a development review permit and a planned community permit for mixed-use development, including 460 new apartment units and approximately 9,371 square feet of ground floor commercial space, replacing an existing commercial office building and heritage tree removal permit to remove 29 territories trees on site.

4:55

As per the terms of the development agreement, the project will receive an initial four-year term with extension options in exchange of monetary public benefits as noted in the report.

5:06

The developer agrees to provide the following additional voluntary public benefits to benefit the city and its residents as part of the development agreement, including 1.2 million dollars in tenant improvements for ground floor retail spaces to attract and retain high quality businesses with unexpended amount to go towards the city's recreational city facilities contribution, 1.2 million dollars towards parkland acquisition for a new park within the project vicinity to support expanded recreational amenities and park investments, redirection of these funds to go to pyramid park enhancement and connection improvements.

5:41

If new parkland is not acquired within a year of final occupancy, commitments to Kelgreen compliance, lead silver equivalent design and an all electric building design.

5:55

Options for a master lease guarantee to designate up to 60 units as BMR units for a minimum of seven years, and sales tax point of sale designation for good faith efforts to require all persons and entities providing materials for the project over a specified value to have the local portion of the sales and use tax distributed directly to the city.

6:17

In addition to these public benefits, the project will be will be providing additional community benefits associated with the East WISM and precise plan bonus FAR requirements.

6:28

The project includes a request for a state density bonus, which allows for the provision of concessions and development waivers.

6:34

The applicant has collaborated closely with staff to ensure compliance with development standards to the extent possible, thereby minimizing the use of waiver requests.

6:44

After the agenda for this hearing was published, staff identified necessary tax edits to the draft development agreement to clarify the intent of the DA terms.

6:52

A list of these edits have been provided to the zoning administrator as a desk item for consideration and posted to the agenda online.

7:00

City staff has completed a review of the development agreement and finds that the development agreement is advantageous to and benefits the city as it advances legitimate planning and public objectives.

7:12

The development agreement is consistent with the objectives, policies, general land uses, and programs specified in the East Wisman mixed use land use designation under the city's 2030 general plan and the precise plan and zoning ordinance.

7:27

The project is also found to be statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to public resources code section 21080.66.

7:37

Therefore, staff requests zoning administrator recommendation or approval to the city council based on the findings in the report, including in the agenda, along with the modifications to the draft development agreement as noted earlier.

7:52

This concludes staff's presentation.

7:55

Please note that staff, including meeting development director Christian Murdoch, are available.

7:59

For any questions, the applicant team is also present and can answer any questions as well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████66%
Procedural███████████████████28%
Economic Development████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Zoning Administrator Public Hearing for 490 E Middlefield Road Development Agreement – March 5, 2026

The City of Mountain View Zoning Administrator held a public hearing on March 5, 2026, to consider a recommendation to the City Council on a development agreement for a proposed eight-story mixed-use building with 460 apartment units and 9,371 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at 490 East Middlefield Road. The project, submitted by WTA Middlefield LLC, also involves removal of 29 heritage trees and utilizes state density bonus law. Staff presented the agreement's public benefits, the applicant expressed support, and no public comments were received. The Zoning Administrator voted to recommend approval to the City Council, finding the agreement beneficial and consistent with city plans.

Discussion Items

  • Staff Presentation: Senior Planner Jeffrey Sumara presented the project details: a 2.86-acre site with 460 apartment units, 9,371 sq ft commercial space, removal of 29 heritage trees, and use of state density bonus. The development agreement includes an initial four-year term with extension options in exchange for public benefits: $1.2 million for tenant improvements (unexpended amount to city recreational facilities), $1.2 million for parkland acquisition (redirected to Pyramid Park enhancement if not used within a year), CalGreen compliance, LEED Silver equivalent design, all-electric building, a master lease option for up to 60 BMR units for seven years, and sales tax point-of-sale designation. Staff noted that necessary edits to the draft agreement were posted as a desk item. Staff requested the Zoning Administrator recommend approval to the City Council based on findings of consistency with the General Plan and East Whisman Precise Plan, and a statutory CEQA exemption under Public Resources Code 21080.66.
  • Applicant Presentation: Mr. Griggs, representing WTA Middlefield LLC, declined a formal presentation, praising staff's work. He highlighted the provision of 55 BMR units in perpetuity at 65% AMI plus an option for an additional 60 units via master lease, offering the city an alternative affordable housing delivery method. He expressed excitement to advance the project.
  • Zoning Administrator Deliberation: Zoning Administrator George Schroeder reviewed the desk item edits and found no questions. After closing the public hearing (no public comments), he moved to recommend approval of item 3.1 to the City Council, including the development agreement as modified and the CEQA exemption. He found a good balance of benefits: enhanced green building, additional affordable housing, community financial contributions for parks and retail, sales tax benefits, public pathway connections, and large open space areas, while the developer gains additional time to complete.

Key Outcomes

  • Recommendation to City Council: The Zoning Administrator voted to recommend approval of the development agreement for 490 East Middlefield Road (PL 9558) to the City Council, along with a finding that the project is statutorily exempt from CEQA. The City Council is tentatively scheduled to make the final decision on March 10, 2026.
  • Key Conditions: The recommendation includes the public benefits package (tenant improvements, park funding, green building, BMR units, sales tax designation) and acknowledges desk-item edits to the draft agreement.

Meeting Transcript

See your eyes are better than those. Yeah, we can be on the 42. Is Pickleball in Florida? Yeah, Michael's told me he's working with Darren on it. It's not okay. So it's going the direction for me to just spend it. So we're gonna go ahead and get started. It is now four o'clock, and good afternoon, and welcome to the administrative zoning public hearing of February 11th, 2026. My name is George Schroeder, and I'm presiding over the hearing today as the zoning administrator. And I would like to call the meeting to order at 4 o'clock p.m. Today's hearing will operate in a hybrid format. Staff, the applicants, and some community members are in person. However, we will also ask if committee members joining us virtually want to speak on an item at certain points in the meeting. When those opportunities arise, typically during the public comment period of each agenda item, members of the public wishing to comment may do so by clicking the raise hand feature and zoom when I announce the item on which you wish to speak. Speakers will be notified of their turn shortly before they are called on to speak. If you have phoned in today, then please dial star nine to raise your hand. When you're called on to speak, please press star six to unmute yourself. All speakers virtual and person have three minutes to provide comments. If you are in person and wish to comment on either of the items, please fill out a yellow speaker card for us so we are able to accurately spell your name for the meeting minutes. The next portion of the meeting is for oral communications from the public. This is a time set aside for persons wishing to address the zoning administrator on any matter not on the agenda. Speakers are limited to three minutes, and state law prohibits any action on any items which are not on the agenda. Is there anyone who would like to speak on any items that are not on the agenda? Seeing none, we'll move to online. And online. Okay. So we will now move on to item three, with which is the zoning administrator public hearing. And item 3.1 is the address of 490 East Middlefield Road with a request for a development agreement between the City of Mountain View and WTA Middlefield LLC for an eight-story mixed use building with 460 apartment units utilizing state density bonus law and approximately 9,371 square feet of ground floor commercial replacing an existing office building and the removal of 29 heritage trees on a 2.86 acre site. And this is associated with planning application number PL 9558. And also a recommended determination that the project is statutorily exempt pursuant to public resources code section 210 80.66 of the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA guidelines. It is important to note that the decisions made on this item will be in the form of a recommendation to the city council. We will make the final decision on the project at a public hearing that is tentatively scheduled for March 10th, 2026. Okay, we will now have a staff presentation and applicant presentation and an opportunity for public comments on the item. And then following that, I'll make a rec recommendation to the city council on the development agreement for this project. Jeffrey Sumura is a project planner. Jeffrey, do you have a staff presentation for? I do, yes, thank you. All right. Good afternoon, Jeffrey Simara, senior planner. Here to present today's item. Sorry. All right, this is a request for a development agreement between the city of Naughty View and WCA Middlefield LLC to allow a 460 unit apartment development on a 2.86-acre site located at 490 East Middlefield Road. The project site is located at the northwest corner of East Middlefield Road and L Street in the P 41 East Wisman Precise Plan Zoning District. This development agreement is associated with a development review permit and a planned community permit for mixed-use development, including 460 new apartment units and approximately 9,371 square feet of ground floor commercial space, replacing an existing commercial office building and heritage tree removal permit to remove 29 territories trees on site. As per the terms of the development agreement, the project will receive an initial four-year term with extension options in exchange of monetary public benefits as noted in the report. The developer agrees to provide the following additional voluntary public benefits to benefit the city and its residents as part of the development agreement, including 1.2 million dollars in tenant improvements for ground floor retail spaces to attract and retain high quality businesses with unexpended amount to go towards the city's recreational city facilities contribution, 1.2 million dollars towards parkland acquisition for a new park within the project vicinity to support expanded recreational amenities and park investments, redirection of these funds to go to pyramid park enhancement and connection improvements. If new parkland is not acquired within a year of final occupancy, commitments to Kelgreen compliance, lead silver equivalent design and an all electric building design. Options for a master lease guarantee to designate up to 60 units as BMR units for a minimum of seven years, and sales tax point of sale designation for good faith efforts to require all persons and entities providing materials for the project over a specified value to have the local portion of the sales and use tax distributed directly to the city. In addition to these public benefits, the project will be will be providing additional community benefits associated with the East WISM and precise plan bonus FAR requirements. The project includes a request for a state density bonus, which allows for the provision of concessions and development waivers.

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