This 42 unit low income housing infill site in an established San Mateo neighborhood created a unique set of challenges due to its accelerated time schedule, negotiated construction contract, neighborhood centered process, and skeptical Planning Commission and City Council. Callander Associates worked closely with the architect and project design team in the traditional role as landscape architect and also as a facilitator of the neighborhood outreach process. The "planting over slab" structure also provided a number of design challenges as well as the need for prudent budget control. Strategic locations for precast planters along with dry irrigation, the use of vines on fences and trellis work, and retention of several major trees allowed us to soften the architectural massing of the three story structure.