September 7, 2019 – Palo Alto Matters
Stanford’s application for a General Use Permit for add 3.5 million square feet of new development will take center stage again this fall as the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors begins final deliberations. On June 27, 2019, the county Planning Commission rejected Stanford’s bid for a Development Agreement that would credit the university for housing that is existing or already in the pipeline. Instead they recommended conditioned approval of Stanford’s expansion based on Alternative A from the Environmental Impact Report, which would require Stanford to build a minimum of 2,172 new units of housing (not counting student beds) – far exceeding the 550 new units proposed in Stanford’s application. 70 percent of the units in each income category must be be constructed on campus.
Regarding conditions related to traffic mitigation, the commission supported the recommendation that car trips be counted during the entire peak period of the commute (rather than a single hour), but did not support staff’s proposal to count reverse commute trips and average daily traffic as part of Stanford’s no-net-new-trips obligation, opting instead for further study to develop an alternative regulatory standard.
A third major component of recommended conditions of approval for the GUP is long term protection of the Stanford foothills. On August 28, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District sought to shore up that recommendation of the county staff and Planning Commission. The district unanimously passed a resolution asking the county to limit development outside of the university’s current Academic Growth Boundary for 99 years unless a supermajority (4 out of 5 supervisors) approve breaching the AGB. Read the District resolution.
Meanwhile, new research by a group of media organizations revealed that Stanford has been buying up single family homes in the area, now owning at least 37 in Palo Alto and 700 countywide. The media groups expect to publish and air their report in mid to late October.
The County has scheduled study sessions and final public hearings on the following dates:
- Tuesday, September 24: Study Session #1 at 1:30 pm
Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose - Tuesday, October 8, 2019: Study Session #2 at 1:30 pm
Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose - Tuesday, October 22, 2019: Public Hearing #1 at 6:00 pm
City of Palo Alto Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto - Tuesday, November 5, 2019: Public Hearing #2 at 1:30 pm
Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose
To get back up to speed on how we got here, check out our past coverage of the Stanford GUP and explore the county’s website dedicated to the project.
- Amid drama, county staff takes firm positions on housing needs and open space protections related to Stanford’s expansion June 18, 2019 – Palo Alto Matters
- Stanford just drove a wedge between the county and PAUSD. May 5, 2019 – Palo Alto Matters
- City and School District criticize impacts analysis and sufficiency of mitigations for Stanford’s growth plans July 25, 2018 – Palo Alto Matters
- Should Stanford meet housing demand it creates? July 8, 2018 – Palo Alto Matters