Remodeling and additions in Palo Alto

Adding a second story in Palo Alto

In Palo Alto's single-family (R-1) zone, a new two-story home or a second-story addition has a design review step of its own. Since February 2025 there are two paths: meet the city's two-story objective design standards, a set of measurable rules for placement, massing and windows, or choose Individual Review (IR), a discretionary review against the city's guidelines. Which one suits your house depends on the design, so we compare both before drawings are final.

IR measures a design against five guidelines: placement of the driveway, garage and house; compatibility of height, mass and scale with the neighborhood; resolution of form, massing and roof lines; the character of the street-facing facade and entry; and placement of second-story windows and decks for privacy. The city notes that IR is not meant to prescribe an architectural style. In practice the privacy guideline shapes most second stories: upper windows and decks should limit direct views into neighbors' windows and yards, using tools like obscure glass, higher sills, permanent screens and planting.

IR also involves the neighbors. Adjacent owners and residents are notified by mail, a sign goes up on the property, and there is a 21-day comment period; once the director issues a proposed decision, the applicant or an adjacent neighbor has 14 days to request a hearing with the planning director. That step is the least predictable part of the schedule, which is why we design window and deck placement with privacy in mind from the first sketch rather than after comments arrive.

Before any of this, we check the parcel. Some Eichler tracts are in Single-Story Overlay districts that limit homes to one story, and the objective standards add specific rules for Eichler neighborhoods. If a second story isn't allowed, a rear addition or an ADU is usually the next conversation.

Our part: we prepare the drawings, coordinate structural engineering, and can request an optional preliminary meeting with planning staff when a design would benefit from early feedback. We prepare the submittal, respond to staff and neighbor comments, then carry the approved design through building plan check and schedule every inspection.

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Sources: City of Palo Alto — Planning forms and applications (Individual Review and two-story standards) (opens in new tab) · City of Palo Alto — Two-Story Objective Design Standards (2025) (opens in new tab) · City of Palo Alto — Individual Review Guidelines (opens in new tab) · City of Palo Alto — Individual Review process handout (opens in new tab) · City of Palo Alto — Individual Review preliminary meetings (opens in new tab) · City of Palo Alto — Eichler design guidelines (2018 draft) (opens in new tab)