Los Altos voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether the city's 10 downtown parking plazas can change without another trip to the ballot box. Measure D is a citizen initiative that would lock in voter approval for most sales, leases and permanent alterations — and it has pulled the city into a fight with state housing law. For more November contests, see our Nov. 3, 2026 Bay Area election guide.

What the measure would do

According to the city's Measure D page and the ballot question, a yes vote would stop Los Altos from selling, leasing, conveying or declaring surplus any of the 10 City-owned Downtown Parking Plazas, or from authorizing new uses or physical changes that diminish protected trees or parking availability, access or convenience, unless a majority of city voters separately approve. Maintenance, repair and community events are exempt. Affordable housing on Parking Plazas 7 and 8 could proceed without a further vote — though the initiative does not define "affordable housing," the city notes.

Proponents Barbara Loebner and Lucinda Langley-Andrews filed the notice of intent in March 2026. The Santa Clara County registrar verified enough signatures for the ballot; the City Council placed the measure without alteration on June 23. The city's Elections Code §9212 impact analysis credits the plazas with 131 parking spaces on Plaza 7 and 135 on Plaza 8 (266 combined, or 292 including loading areas).

Why housing law is in the middle

Los Altos's certified Housing Element counts the 10 plazas for 124 homes — 63 moderate-income and 61 above-moderate — inside a larger surplus of about 640 units over the city's RHNA target. In an Aug. 28, 2026 technical assistance letter summarized on the city's Measure D FAQ, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) said that if Measure D passes, the city must amend its Housing Element, treat the measure as a potential governmental constraint, reevaluate whether the plazas remain appropriate housing sites, and address four listed Housing Element programs. HCD would then review whether the element still substantially complies with state law.

HCD has not said Measure D automatically triggers the Builder's Remedy or strips compliance overnight. Separately, YIMBY Law told the city it is prepared to sue if the measure is adopted and has argued Senate Bill 330 could require replacing far more zoning capacity than the 124 Housing Element units; the city says that interpretation is not an HCD or court determination. The Los Altos Town Crier's editorial board urged a no vote on Sept. 29, calling the measure poorly drafted and arguing it would force staff into housing-law damage control instead of local planning.

What your vote means

  • Yes: Most sales, leases or lasting changes to the 10 plazas need a later citywide vote; affordable housing on Plazas 7 and 8 stays exempt; the city must amend its Housing Element if HCD's direction holds.
  • No: The plazas stay under ordinary council and planning rules, and the current Housing Element treatment of the sites continues unless the city changes course on its own.

Official arguments, the city attorney's impartial analysis and HCD correspondence are posted on the city's Measure D page and in the Santa Clara County voter guide.