The Edgewood Eichler tract in Palo Alto is listed in the city's Eichler design guidelines as Edgewood, 1956, designed by A. Quincy Jones, with 93 lots. The guidelines' map places it just east of the 1950 Green Gables district, and the records point to the mid-1950s Eichler houses on Edgewood Drive, Sandalwood Court, the east side of Wildwood Lane and parts of St. Francis Drive and Channing Avenue. Next to it sits Edgewood Plaza, the shopping center that Eichler Homes built in the late 1950s.
This post covers both, from public records: the Green Gables National Register nomination, the city's 2018 guidelines, the two ordinances that governed the plaza's renovation, the state's environmental review filings and the city's parcel map. Where those records disagree, we say so. For homes across the city, see our Palo Alto mid-century modern page.
The tract: 1955–56, next to Green Gables
The clearest early description of these houses comes from their neighbor's paperwork. The 2005 National Register nomination for Green Gables says a later Eichler subdivision was built in 1955–1956 on the east side of Wildwood Lane, extending into Channing Avenue, Sandalwood Court and Edgewood Drive. The volunteer committee that wrote the nomination left those houses out of the historic district because they "were built separately" with different floor plans and architecture.
The city's guidelines give the tract as Edgewood, 1956, credit it to A. Quincy Jones, and count 93 lots. That count comes from city GIS files, and the table notes that a lot count isn't necessarily an exact house count. Jones was a partner in Jones & Emmons, which the guidelines describe as a Los Angeles firm founded in 1950.
The city's parcel map, read today, fits those streets. Its year-built field shows 1956 for the original houses along Edgewood Drive's 1900 to 2100 blocks, all of Sandalwood Court, the odd-numbered side of Wildwood Lane and several houses on St. Francis Drive and Channing Avenue. The county's index of recorded maps, which runs to about 1957 and has gaps, has no map titled Edgewood. It lists a 1950 "Crescent Park Annex" map whose roads include Greer Lane, Wildwood Lane and Edgewood Drive, but nothing in the index ties it to the Eichler houses, so the tract's recorded map is still an open question.
No single record we read ties the nomination's later group to the city's Edgewood tract. The nomination doesn't call it Edgewood, and the guidelines' table lists no streets. The link rests on matching street names, the map's placement and the 1956 build years, so treat it as likely, not proven.
The city's 2013 ordinance on the plaza calls the surrounding area the "Duveneck/Saint Francis (Edgewood and Green Gables) neighborhood."
CC&Rs and an architectural committee
Edgewood is one of the few Palo Alto Eichler tracts the city guidelines name as having an architectural control committee (ACC). The guidelines explain that Eichler Homes developed conditions, covenants and restrictions (CC&Rs) for its tracts and that the city doesn't enforce them, but neighbors can. They name Greenmeadow, Edgewood and Charleston Meadows as neighborhoods whose ACCs use their CC&Rs to review projects, and say committees with legally binding CC&Rs give written approval or disapproval within 30 days of receiving plans.
A later chapter names only Greenmeadow and Charleston Meadows when it says "at least two" Eichler neighborhoods have active committees, and we couldn't confirm whether the Edgewood committee is active today. If you're buying, ask for the recorded CC&Rs and any committee contact before you plan changes.
Edgewood Plaza: Eichler's shopping center
The state's environmental review database holds the plaza's draft environmental impact report, received September 30, 2011. Its summary says that, built in 1956–58, Edgewood Plaza "is the only shopping center designed by Eichler Homes, Inc.," and that it "appears to be a significant historic resource." The site is at 2080 Channing Avenue, near St. Francis Drive and West Bayshore Road, on 3.58 acres.
The city agreed on its significance. In its 2012 rezoning, it listed among the project's public benefits the "preservation and renovation of an existing historically significant shopping center developed by Eichler Homes, eligible for federal, state and local historic registries." The plans for the project were titled "Edgewood Shopping Center." We didn't find a primary record naming the plaza's architect.
The 2012 approval
A developer applied on June 1, 2010 to redevelop the site. After Planning and Transportation Commission and Architectural Review Board hearings, the City Council certified the project's EIR and introduced Ordinance 5150 on March 19, 2012, and passed it on April 9, 2012 by a 7–1 vote, with one member absent. It rezoned the site to a new planned community zone and approved:
Renovation of the 37,965-square-foot center: moving and renovating the 10,000-square-foot retail building, renovating the 7,800-square-foot building in place, and renovating the 20,600-square-foot building for a grocery store.
Ten detached houses on their own lots along Channing Avenue, each with a two-car garage, on lots of 3,376 to 4,026 square feet.
A 0.20-acre public park at Channing Avenue and St. Francis Drive, maintained by the commercial owner.
A rule that no permits for the houses, other than model homes, be issued until a grocery operator had signed a lease or similar commitment.
The historic conditions were specific. The applicant had to document Buildings 1 and 2, the two retail buildings besides the grocery, to Historic American Buildings Survey Level III standards before work began, create a display on the history of Edgewood Plaza "as built by Eichler Homes," and keep the buildings' windows, frames and eaves where possible, with a preservation architect checking the work against the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. The city's Historic Resources Board was to review the sign's rehabilitation.
The 2012 demolition and the 2013 rebuild
The plan changed within months. According to the city's 2013 ordinance, the applicant was required to rehabilitate Building 1 as a historic resource, but in September 2012 it demolished the building without the city's permission. The city immediately put a stop-work order on the rest of the project and later let parts of it go forward.
On February 26, 2013, the applicant asked to amend the zoning so it could rebuild Building 1 with all new materials. The Historic Resources Board reviewed the request on August 21, 2013, and the Planning and Transportation Commission on September 11. The council introduced Ordinance 5224 on October 7, 2013 and passed it on November 18, 2013 by a 7–2 vote. Its terms included:
Rebuilding Building 1 in its originally approved location and layout, in a design "significantly closer to its original appearance," with custom windows that have narrow full-height frames and projecting moldings.
Rehabilitating Building 2 and the original historic monument sign.
Keeping the 20,600-square-foot building as a grocery store for the life of the project.
An on-site display in the park on Joseph Eichler's achievements.
A $94,200 payment to the city for the improper demolition.
The ordinance expected construction and tenant occupancy within 12 months, by October 2014, unless extended. Today the city's parcel map still labels the zoning PC-5150. It shows the ten Channing Avenue houses with a 2015 build year and the 2.74-acre commercial parcel on West Bayshore Road with a 1956 build year. The map's historic-status field for the plaza parcel reads "none," even though both ordinances treat the center as historic, so don't rely on that field alone.
Where the records disagree
Tract dates. The Green Gables nomination says 1955–1956. The city's guidelines say 1956. The parcel map shows 1956 for nearly all the original houses.
Plaza numbers. The draft EIR described about 39,000 square feet of commercial space and a 0.24-acre park. The approved 2012 ordinance says 37,965 square feet and a 0.20-acre park.
Rules for Edgewood houses today
Edgewood's houses aren't in the National Register district and don't have a single-story overlay. The city's 2015 list of all twelve overlay zones doesn't include Edgewood, the 2018 guidelines' map doesn't show an overlay there, and the parcel map shows its lots as plain R-1, without the "(S)" that marks overlay lots. That means the city's normal R-1 rules apply, along with the objective standards for SB 9 projects in "mapped Eichler Tracts" listed in a May 2023 city staff report: roof pitches of 3:12 or less, a 22-foot height limit for pitched roofs and 20 feet for flat ones, a second floor capped at 25% of floor area outside an overlay, and no projecting entry porch. Confirm the current standards with the city.
Before you buy or remodel, check:
The parcel's flood zone. The map shows a mix of AH, a FEMA special flood hazard area, and X across the tract.
The CC&Rs and whether an architectural committee reviews plans.
Permit history for additions, enclosed carports and roof changes.
What the voluntary 2018 design guidelines suggest for your project.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check with the City of Palo Alto planning department before you design anything, and with an attorney about CC&R questions.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the Edgewood Eichlers?
The city's Eichler design guidelines credit the 1956 tract to A. Quincy Jones. We didn't find a tract map or permit set that names the architect directly. The Green Gables nomination says its later 1955–56 neighbors, which appear to be the Edgewood houses, used different plans from the 1950 Anshen & Allen houses.
How many Eichlers are in Edgewood?
The city's tract table counts 93 lots, based on GIS files, and warns that lot counts aren't exact house counts. We didn't find a record that gives an original house count.
Is Edgewood Plaza a historic landmark?
The draft EIR said the plaza appears to be a significant historic resource, and the 2012 ordinance called it eligible for federal, state and local registers. But the state's list of listed historic resources in Santa Clara County has no Edgewood entry, and the city's parcel map shows the plaza's historic status as "none."
Can I add a second story in Edgewood?
The tract has no single-story overlay, so the normal R-1 rules apply. The CC&Rs and the committee may add their own limits. Check with the city and read the CC&Rs before you design.
Related reading
Eichler Architects: Who Designed Which Homes, Tract by Tract
Greenmeadow Eichler History: Palo Alto's Jones & Emmons Tract
Charleston Meadow Eichler History: Palo Alto's Anshen & Allen Tract
Restrictive Covenant Modification in California: Old Tract Deeds
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
Want help checking an Edgewood house's history, CC&Rs or zoning? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
