After failing last year to win support for its plan to build nearly 400 apartments at the site of Creekside Inn in Palo Alto, a developer is preparing to rely on the state's "builder's remedy" provision to get a modified project through the city's approval process.

Unlike the prior project, which featured 382 apartments in two buildings that flanked Matadero Creek, the new one includes a mix of hotel rooms, townhomes and apartment buildings. The developer, Oxford Capital Group, is now looking to renovate three existing hotel buildings, which have 63 rooms between them, and to construct a new hotel building with 137 rooms, for a total of 200 rooms.

The residential portion has been scaled down from the initial scheme, with the new plan calling for 185 apartments in two buildings and a cluster of four townhomes.

The development would also include an underground parking structure with "stacker" parking for residents and valet parking for hotel guests, according to the application that was submitted earlier this month. A letter from the developer's attorney claims that the revised project "responds to community input" and states that the project is relying on builder's remedy to "ensure accountability in the consideration of the revised project.

"The overarching project goals include maintaining respect for the existing Matadero Creek and creek area while replacing a number of existing, lower density buildings with new mid-rise buildings and subterranean parking," states the letter from attorneys Chelsea Maclean and Genna Yarkin, who are representing Sar Peruri of Oxford Capital.

The application is the latest sign that local developers, emboldened by new state laws, are taking a more assertive approach when it comes to proposing new projects. Oxford Capital's last attempt to win approval for a residential project relied on the "planned home zoning" process, which involved extensive negotiations between the city and the developer about zoning exemptions and which gives the City Council broad leeway to deny or revise projects.

But builder's remedy allows developers to violate underlying zoning laws in jurisdictions that don't have a certified Housing Element, and by relying upon the state law, Oxford is effectively giving Palo Alto an offer that the city may not be able to refuse.

Maclean and Yarkin wrote in their letter that the planned-home zoning process "has not proven to be fruitful."

"The City Council has considered several pre-screening applications and almost none of them have moved forward," the attorneys wrote. "The Builder's Remedy tool allows this thoughtful project to proceed, and we look forward to working further with City officials to promptly advance the consideration of the Project in a manner consistent with state law."

Even though the council last month formally adopted the city's Housing Element – a state-mandated document that lays out local plans to produce 6,086 housing units between 2023 and 2028 – the document has yet to be certified by the state Department of Housing and Community Development. The state agency rejected the city's prior draft, and it is just starting its review of the newly adopted Housing Element, which Palo Alto submitted earlier this month.

The attorneys also argue that the development should be considered a housing project – and hence eligible for builder's remedy – because more than two-thirds of it consist of residential uses. Furthermore, 38 of the 189 units would be dedicated to low-income households, according to the application.

According to the project plans, the new hotel would be six stories tall and would occupy the corner of El Camino Real and Matadero Avenue. The two new apartment buildings would also be six stories tall and would stand just north of the new hotel, bisected by the creek. The townhomes would stand along Matadero Avenue, west of the hotel.

Oxford's prior attempt to redevelop the site at 3400 El Camino Real also included six-story tall buildings. It appeared doomed last October, when the council held a pre-screening session on its two proposed residential buildings and emphatically rejected the plan.

Council members and residents from the Barron Park neighborhood criticized the project for its size and density and lamented the fact that it would require the demolition of two longtime community businesses: Driftwood Deli and Market and Cibo Restaurant.

Barron Park resident Arthur Liberman called the prior proposal "grotesque and bloated," while John King, president of Barron Park Residents Association, told the council at the October meeting that the project is "out of scale and, if implemented, would present a host of density-related environmental and traffic problems to our neighborhood area."

The council largely agreed, with several members complaining about the scale of the project, citing the overwhelming neighborhood opposition and suggesting that it would bring significant traffic to Matadero Avenue, a school commute corridor. Mayor Lydia Kou, who was vice mayor at the time of the October hearing, was among the project's critics.

"Let's keep the street safe, and let's stop putting these outrageous developments on these locations," Kou said.

The proposal from Oxford is one of three "builders remedy" projects that the city has received in recent months. The other two are a 350-apartment complex proposed for 3997 Fabian Way and a 45-condominium development eyed for 300 Lambert Ave.

Much like those other two developments, Oxford has also filed an application under Senate Bill 330, which prohibits cities from changing development standards once a housing project is proposed and which limits the review process to five public hearings.