My house is "illegal", but it shouldn't be.

My small, charming home was initially built in 1891, with additions in 1894, 1912, and 2011. From the front, it is a cute historic Victorian era structure. I bet many people would love to have a similar home in Palo Alto today, but the ugly truth is: my house is "illegal". If I wanted to locate and build the exact same house today on this exact lot, I would not be able to. Why? Let me count the ways:

1. The lot width is substandard 25 feet, not 50 feet.

2. The lot size is substandard, only 3,000 square feet, not 5,000 square feet

3. The front setback is only 16 feet, not 20 feet

4. One side setback is only 18 inches, not 6 feet

5. The side of my house encroaches into the allowable daylight plane

My small lot house in 2018. The front was an addition built in 1894. The original structure is beyond it.

The original 1891 part of my house served as the Parkinson Lumber Co and was located at the train station.

My home is “illegal” because technically, it does not conform to my city’s current zoning regulations. On a 25 foot wide lot, the current development standards would only allow a 13 feet wide structure. Most of today's zoning rules were were put in place in 1978, 87 years AFTER my house was built. Other cities have similar issues: 40% of NYC’s housing could not be built today and in 2016, Somerville, MA,found that only 22 structures conformed with existing zoning rules.

Zoning regulations are a set of invisible rules that significantly impact our lives on a daily basis. We don't think about them, but they govern every aspect of our built environment, from the types of housing we can build, to where stores and offices can be placed and how much space we need to dedicate to car parking. Zoning is only 110+ years old - younger than many American cities. However, zoning rules have created significant cumulative impacts on community demographics and affordability over time. Some people think that zoning should be strictly adhered to and enforced. But zoning regulations are choices, and can be changed. Just as we have changed laws to allow interracial and same sex marriage, zoning regulations can and should evolve over time to meet the needs of our people and our communities.

Many people think my neighborhood is R-1 single family but it definitely it is not - that’s one of the reasons we chose it. We live next to a popular downtown on the second busiest Caltrain stop, blocks from the birthplace of several major tech companies. We love walking to coffee, dinner, ice cream, groceries, drug store, bank. We have a great mix of middle housing types on our block: single family homes alternate with duplexes with small apartments at the corners. Two blocks over, mini bungalows sit next to boarding houses that look like big houses, across the street from 4-5 story senior housing complexes. But sadly, most of the middle housing in my neighborhood were constructed before the 1970s and could not be built in their present form today.

Sample of homes in my neighborhood that couldn't be built in their present form today

Most newly constructed middle housing projects from the last 40 years have required zoning exceptions or gone through a Planned Community (PC) process BECAUSE the baseline 1970s zoning regulations were so restrictive:

• A community activist I knew lived in a lovely 8-unit townhouse complex built in 1976, but technically the site is currently zoned as R-1 single family.

• A few acquaintances lived in 12-unit condo 1979 model “green development” which required a Planned Community (PC) process to be built

• Another friend owns a townhome in a 6-unit complex that required a PC process when it was permitted in 1983.

• Several neighbors I’ve gotten to know live in small lot single family homes projects that were also developed through PC processes in the mid/late 1990s.

These eight townhouses from 1976 sits on a parcel technically zoned R-1. It's definitely not a single family residence, and the eight compact townhouses are a great addition to this block.

Two examples of middle housing provided under Planned Community PC zoning: Left: 3-story 12-condo model green development built in 1979. Right: 6 unit townhome complex built in 1983

Two more examples of PC Planned Community housing, used for small lot single family homes in the 1990s

Also, because the zoning is so restrictive, new structures that conform to current zoning, can reduce housing stock, as was the case several blocks away where 3 small homes on one site were converted to one large single family home, in 2022.

2012 imagery above shows a few small buildings in the upper parcel, each small units. 2022 imagery on the bottom shows the large single family home that replaced the 3 units.

Thinking about my wonderful neighbors, I wonder how many of us wouldn't be here if our homes hadn't received special exemptions from baseline zoning. The fact that middle housing like townhomes and small-lot homes requires a Planned Community (PC) or Planned Housing Zone (PHZ) process illustrates that our zoning rules are broken.

When middle housing stock is not considered in conformance with zoning code, homeowners can't fully utilize their properties, modest projects face endless battles for basic exceptions, and construction grinds to a halt. The result? Skyrocketing prices and a housing shortage that pushes out our friends, family, and workers. I'm grateful to have small lot home in my middle housing neighborhood, but my home shouldn't be "illegal". My community and others need to update their zoning and development standards to allow middle housing to flourish so more people can also afford to call our neighborhoods home.