East Palo Alto councilmember caught messaging developer before policy vote

During a July debate over affordable housing, East Palo Alto City Council member Mark Dinan was involved in a message exchange with a developer who stood to financially benefit from the subsequent decision, according to documents obtained by this publication. The WhatsApp messages were revealed in a series of videos that the Weekly has received, which show project applicant Owen Byrd communicating with Dinan and another developer, Mike Kramer of Sand Hill Property Company, during a July 7 discussion over the city’s inclusionary housing rules, which require developers to devote a portion of units in new developments to below-market-rate housing. The topic has over the past years polarized council members, like Dinan, who consistently favored loosening the requirement and the council’s more senior members, Vice Mayor Ruben Abrica and Councilmember Carlos Romero, who supported maintaining the existing rules.

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