Reference

Plain-English glossary

Every technical term on this site, decoded. Dotted-underlined words elsewhere on the site link here — hover for the short version, click for the full one.

Builder's remedy

A separate state law that lets projects skip local zoning when a city's housing plan is out of compliance with state law.

It pre-dates SB 79 and works completely differently. The most visible example in Palo Alto is Redco's proposed apartment project at 156 California Ave (the Mollie Stone's site), filed in late 2023 under the builder's remedy — not SB 79. See projects in motion →

CEQA

California's environmental-review law — the usual basis for studies and lawsuits over building projects.

Short for the California Environmental Quality Act. Projects that qualify for SB 79's checklist-style approval skip this review — that's a big part of what makes the approval "automatic." More in the FAQ →

Daylight plane

An invisible slanted ceiling that forces a building to step down near its neighbors.

Palo Alto's new transit-area rules include one wherever a transit lot touches a low-density residential block: starting 16 feet up at the property line and rising at 45 degrees, so buildings get shorter as they approach their neighbors.

Density (homes per acre)

How many separate homes are allowed on each acre of land.

SB 79 sets minimum densities near top-group stations: 160 homes per acre right next to a station, 120 within a quarter-mile, and 100 within a half-mile. Palo Alto's own interim ordinance takes a different approach — no density cap at all, with building size limited by floor area ratio instead.

Floor area ratio (FAR)

How much total floor space a building can have, relative to the size of its lot.

A FAR of 2.0 on a 10,000-square-foot lot allows 20,000 square feet of building. This is the dial Palo Alto's "50%" ordinance turns: SB 79 allows a FAR of 3.5 within a quarter-mile of a station; the city's ordinance halves that to 1.75. See the full comparison →

First and second reading

Cities vote on a new law twice. The second vote makes it final.

Palo Alto's SB 79 ordinances passed first reading on June 1, 2026 (5–0) and second reading on June 15. The regular ordinances wait 30 days before taking effect — so the city’s rules apply from July 16. The companion urgency ordinances were not adopted, leaving a two-week window (July 1–16) when SB 79 applies in full.

HCD

California's housing department. It writes the SB 79 rules and reviews how cities respond.

Short for the Department of Housing and Community Development. For Palo Alto's interim ordinance, HCD gets the draft 14 days ahead and reviews the adopted version within 90 days after the fact — that's notice and review, not permission. Only a full city alternative plan needs HCD's sign-off before it counts.

Housing element

The housing plan every California city must write and get state-approved every eight years.

It spells out where the city will make room for its share of new homes. When a city's housing element falls out of compliance, developers can use the builder's remedy to bypass local zoning entirely — which is how the 156 California Ave project got filed.

Ministerial (automatic) approval

Approved by city staff using a checklist — no Council vote, no public hearing.

The opposite of discretionary review, where officials can weigh in and say no. Under SB 79, a project that meets the state's standards on paper gets approved on paper — staff verify it checks the boxes, and that's the whole process. More in the FAQ →

Parcel

A single legal lot of land — the unit that zoning rules apply to.

SB 79's rules attach parcel by parcel, based on each lot's walking distance to a station. In Palo Alto, 5,968 parcels sit inside the half-mile areas around the three Caltrain stations. Look up any address →

Preemption

When state law overrides local rules — the city can't enforce stricter limits.

This is the legal heart of SB 79: within a half-mile of a qualifying station, local height or size limits stricter than the state's minimums simply stop being enforceable. Cities keep their other rules only to the extent they don't block a building of the state's minimum size.

Prevailing wage / skilled-and-trained workforce

Union-scale pay and training requirements for construction workers.

SB 79 requires them on buildings taller than 85 feet. It's one of the conditions added during the bill's 2025 amendments, and part of why building trades unions supported the law.

Rebuttable presumption

Treated as correct unless someone proves otherwise.

The official regional map of which stations qualify under SB 79 (publishing mid-2026) carries this status: it's presumed right, but a city or developer can challenge a specific station's classification with evidence. Our own count of Palo Alto's stations →

Tier 1

The busiest stations — 72 or more trains a weekday. The biggest buildings are allowed near them.

SB 79 sorts qualifying stations into two groups by how much service they get. Tier 1 covers heavy rail (like BART) and commuter rail with at least 72 trains stopping per weekday, both directions combined. All three Palo Alto Caltrain stations qualify: University Ave gets 104 trains a weekday, California Ave and San Antonio 90 each. See how we counted →

Tier 2

Stations with less train service (48–71 trains a weekday). Smaller building minimums apply.

Tier 2 covers light rail (like VTA or Muni Metro), commuter rail with 48–71 weekday trains, and buses running in dedicated lanes. None of Palo Alto's stations are Tier 2 — all three clear the Tier 1 bar.

TOD Combining District

The new zoning label Palo Alto is putting on land near its train stations.

TOD stands for "transit-oriented development." The district (a new section 18.14.070 of the city's municipal code) is the legal vehicle for the city's "50%" ordinance — it covers every transit parcel except historic ones and sets the halved floor-area rules there. What the ordinance does →

Upzoning

Changing the zoning rules so bigger or more buildings are allowed on the same land.

SB 79 is, in effect, a state-imposed upzoning near transit. Separately, Palo Alto's Council has asked its planning commission to study focused upzoning of specific corridors — especially California Avenue — over the next 6–12 months.

Urgency ordinance

A city law that takes effect immediately, instead of waiting the usual 30 days.

A regular ordinance sits through a 30-day window during which residents can petition to overturn it. An urgency ordinance skips that wait, but requires the Council to declare a “current and immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare.” Palo Alto’s council considered urgency ordinances for its SB 79 rules but voted on June 15, 2026 not to adopt them, citing litigation risk — leaving a July 1–16 window when SB 79 applies in full. Details on Council watch →