On September 22, a Palo Alto Online photographer caught someone sweeping up after an event in the Cubberley Pavilion. It's the high-ceilinged room where Friday Night Dancers has met for years. A dance instructor who has taught at Cubberley for several decades told Palo Alto Online that the Pavilion suits the dances because the high ceiling and superior acoustics keep echo to a minimum. He also said that when dances were moved to smaller gyms in the past, people complained.
Avenidas, HeartFit for Life, TheatreWorks and Maker Nexus have agreements with the city or are close to one. None of the agreements reported so far names his group or the 24 artists who rent studios on the campus. That gap is the most practical thing to understand about Measure J if you use Cubberley rather than just drive past it on Middlefield Road. The tax decides whether the city can afford the campus. Separate agreements decide who gets space in it.
What the Ballot Actually Authorizes
On June 8, 2026, the City Council voted to put a half-cent sales tax on the November 3 ballot. It passes with a simple majority. Here is the full question as it will appear:
City of Palo Alto Community Safety/Services Measure. To provide general city services including repairing Cubberley Community Center for current safety, earthquake, accessibility standards; upgrading deteriorating electrical systems, wiring, plumbing; acquiring outdoor space/sites; maintaining streets, safe, clean downtown/commercial cores; preparing for natural disasters; repairing deteriorating community spaces, libraries, shall City of Palo Alto's measure enacting a 0.5% (½ ¢) sales tax, providing approximately $15,600,000 annually until ended by voters, with published financial audits, all funds used locally, be adopted?
According to the Mercury News, collection would start in April 2027 and bring Palo Alto's sales tax rate to 10.25%.
Measure J is a general tax, so the money goes into the General Fund. Cubberley's share is set by a companion resolution, Resolution No. 10296, which says the Council would use the revenue to "purchase the seven acres and implement part of Phase 1 of the Cubberley Conceptual Master Plan." That resolution does not legally bind the city. The Council has used this approach before: with the 2018 hotel tax increase and with Measure K, the 2022 business tax. Both were general taxes with guideline resolutions attached, and both passed with more than 67% of the vote.
Each side reads that history differently. Councilmember Julie Lythcott-Haims, speaking for themself, told Palo Alto Online that "the city has a tradition of city councils articulating guidelines and honoring them." The official argument against was co-signed by former Mayor Lydia Kou, resident Jeanne Fleming and the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, Palo Alto Online reported. The argument says "Measure J hands the City a blank check" and objects that the tax has no end date even though it is paying for a one-time project. The same article notes that a Cubberley-only parcel tax or bond would have needed a two-thirds vote. The city's pollster, FM3, found in its surveys that two-thirds was out of reach.
Why the Land Comes First
Cubberley is split down the middle. The city owns eight acres with buildings on them and the school district owns the other seven. The city and the Palo Alto Unified School District say in their October 5 joint statement that the split ownership "has hindered long-term planning." Lythcott-Haims gave a more physical reason: the old utility lines cross the property line, so they can't be replaced unless one owner holds both halves.
The negotiated price is $65.5 million in 2027 dollars, which equals $60.65 million in 2024 dollars. The city's 2024 appraisal valued the land at $43.6 million to $60.2 million. The district first asked $90 million, a figure it said reflected what a third party might pay on a long-term lease, including possible use as a private school. The district would keep the other 20 acres of playing fields and parking, and the city would keep leasing them, so the soccer fields stay in place under either outcome.
The appraisal document itself has not been released. Palo Alto Online reported that the Council scheduled a special meeting for today, October 12, to consider releasing more Cubberley documents. As of this writing, no outcome has been reported.
The Partners With Paper
Even the land is only the first step. The city estimates Phase 1 at $300 million to $400 million. It says Measure J revenue could support about $220 million in bonds, and it expects nonprofit partners to contribute tens of millions more. That funding gap explains why the Council has spent the fall signing agreements. Each agreement brings in outside money, and each one also reserves space in the new campus.
| Cubberley user | What exists in writing | What the paper covers |
|---|---|---|
| TheatreWorks | Agreement approved by Council in February 2026 | Performing-arts complex in Phase 1 |
| Friends of the Recreation and Wellness Center | Earlier agreement with the city | $40 million fundraising target toward the new gym |
| Maker Nexus | Agreement slated for Council approval on Sept. 28 | Industrial-grade shop with program space open to the community |
| Avenidas | Letter of intent approved by Council, reported Oct. 5 | Expanded space and services |
| HeartFit for Life | Letter of intent approved by Council, reported Oct. 5 | Dedicated long-term space, with HeartFit fundraising toward capital costs |
| Palo Alto Community Child Care | Partnership being explored | Terms not published |
| Friday Night Dancers and other Pavilion users | No agreement in reported coverage | Pavilion's future not specified in the published plan |
| 24 studio artists | No agreement in reported coverage | Studio plans not specified in the published plan |
Phase 1 as adopted on May 18 includes a recreation and wellness center with a gym, a theater and performing-arts complex, an education building, parking and tennis courts, and renovation of the remaining buildings. Visual-arts and technology facilities are listed for Phase 2. Community services, rental space and flexible space come in Phase 3. The city describes the plan as a conceptual framework. Each sub-phase depends on funding and on being ready to build.
The Users Without It
Today the city counts 23 long-term tenants and 24 artist studios at Cubberley. The tenants range from AbilityPath and the Palo Alto Historical Association to Ranger Taekwondo, the Hua Kuang Chinese Reading Room, Zohar Dance Academy and the Palo Alto Humane Society. Residents also rent Gym A, Gym B, the Pavilion and the 317-seat Cubberley Theatre for meetings, dances, rehearsals and games.
City officials have said they intend to keep existing tenants if Measure J passes. The adopted plan says phasing is meant to limit disruption. It gives no construction start date, no relocation schedule for any tenant, and no plan for the studios or the Pavilion while work is under way. Palo Alto Online reported that Friday Night Dancers already faces uncertainty about whether other locations would work. The longtime instructor said the sound quality of any new space is unknown, and that if it is not as good as the Pavilion's, the dance would have to be canceled. He said he does not want to see the new theater replace the Pavilion.
The case for acting is the condition of the buildings. Cubberley was built in 1956 and housed a high school until 1979. Peeling paint and burst pipes recently kept its gyms closed for an extended period. The master plan says that within 10 to 20 years, every building will have reached the end of its functional life. A 2018 joint master plan stalled when the district said it would not demolish the auditorium and gym and would not fund facilities unrelated to education. So the users missing from the reported agreements are also the ones using the buildings with the shortest remaining life.
If the Vote Goes the Other Way
- The 2024 memorandum of understanding between the city and the district says the land sale would not happen if voters did not approve the November 2026 measure. The memorandum is nonbinding.
- The memorandum describes that measure as a "City-sponsored bond," and the city's 2024 announcement called it a general obligation bond. Measure J is a sales tax that would back bonds. No published document explains how the original contingency applies to the new mechanism.
- If the sale falls through, the memorandum says the two parties would meet before June 30, 2027, to discuss alternatives. Those include extending the current lease or signing a new lease on part of the district's property.
- Separately, the city's project page lists a five-year lease with the district that runs through December 31, 2029. The page does not explain how that lease fits with the memorandum's fallback terms.
Polling suggests the result could be close. In May, FM3 found 55% of voters leaning toward support, with a 4.9-point margin of error. In the same survey, support fell to 51% after voters heard favorable messaging and to 46% after negative messaging, according to Palo Alto Online.
The Campus Before Election Day
The building most at risk of changing hosts the next public event. Cubberley's Open Studios runs Saturday, November 14, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 4000 Middlefield Road. Twenty-three artists will open their studios in the E, F and U wings, showing painting, photography, sculpture, textiles and printmaking. The Friends of the Palo Alto Library will hold a book sale, and food will be available to buy. Admission is free. It falls eleven days after the vote.
At Mariana Ryd +Co., we spend a lot of time on the problem Cubberley faces: old wiring, deferred repairs, and deciding what to keep and what to rebuild. If you live near Middlefield and want to talk through how projects on a long timeline fit your own home plans, request a complimentary home valuation and renovation consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
