A new eight-story apartment building approved on Jordan Avenue and El Camino Real has sparked concern among Los Altos residents regarding safety and altering the city’s low-density character.

“Los Altos is a low-density town,” Los Altos resident Thomas Chapman said during public comment at a city council meeting on Jan. 27. “Across the street is Mountain View — it’s not Los Altos. We have a different character, a different design element, a different community.”

With Los Altos High School and Egan Junior High both less than a mile away, residents said they felt the building would increase traffic in an already busy intersection. After the city approved the proposal in November 2025, some residents held a joint appeal, led by Los Altos resident Yanhua Mao.

“The building will eat Jordan as a road for kids to walk and bike to school,” Mao said. “It is already congested as it is, and sooner or later, someone will get hurt.”

Despite the concerns, the appeal was unanimously denied by the City Council.

In response, some residents, including Mao, filed a lawsuit against the project, hinging on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) waivers that allowed it to be approved. Mao said the hope from residents suing is that the developer will make concessions, like lowering the height or removing balconies.

“This [was] our first fight with the city about the building, but I hope it won’t be the last,” Mao said. 

According to attorney Brian O’Neill, who represents Aron Developers, the company developing the Jordan Avenue apartment, the project is an eight-story, 85-unit and 95-parking space building. O’Neill added that 10 units are reserved for “very” low-income households. The site is located near a major transit stop and daily amenities, including a Safeway, Target and 24 Hour Fitness, among others, at San Antonio Center.

“The idea is that [the apartment] is going to be very walkable, within walking distance to schools, grocery shopping, shopping centers and public transportation,” O’Neill said.

The project’s size is unusual as residential buildings in Los Altos are typically limited to four floors or 40 feet tall. The development would be the city’s first housing project to exceed that threshold.

However, the proposal qualifies for an exemption under California State law. Density Bonus law and Assembly Bill 1287 requires cities to approve housing proposals if the developer includes a significant percentage of lower-income or very low income housing — defined as households earning 50 to 80% or 30 to 50% of the area’s median income respectively — even if it leads to higher-density housing than the city’s laws permit.

“Los Altos is very limited in the discretion that our agency can apply,” City Council Member Pete Dailey said. “When a developer comes forward with a plan that meets all of the criteria established in law, then the council no longer has discretion to say, ‘Sorry, we don’t approve that.’”

O’Neill acknowledged that adding homes could increase congestion but highlighted the accessibility of services and transit, potentially reducing needs for driving. He added that the developer is willing to fund traffic calming measures through changes to nearby public streets. 

Dailey said with changes occurring near the intersection, like the new Bullis Charter School campus opening on California Avenue and Showers Drive, it is difficult to predict traffic patterns to mitigate congestion.

But, if the development is met with traffic issues, the City will likely implement tools like parking restrictions, signs or speed bumps, according to Dailey.

“I’m not promising we’re going to be able to solve the congestion, but I’m promising we are going to try,” Dailey said.