News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			Palo Alto Weekly July 5, 2000   EIR: Stanford plan has big impacts Not all impacts will be mitigated By Don Kazak Stanford University's 10-year campus development plan will have significant impacts on open space, traffic, California tiger salamander habitat, noise and possibly historic resources, according to a draft environmental impact report.  Public debate over the development plans has focused largely on Stanford's desire to build up to 20,000 square feet of new facilities west of Junipero Serra Boulevard. That has been sharply criticized by environmental groups and the Palo Alto and Menlo Park city councils.  Loss of open space could be mitigated if Santa Clara County agrees that nothing more should be built west of Junipero Serra Boulevard, said Sarah Jones, a county planner. And a new plan for relocating the California tiger salamander may also remove that as a significant impact.  But, especially with traffic impacts, the project is almost certain to have what will be unmitigated significant impacts. That means the county will have to approve what's called "a statement of overriding considerations" for the project to go forward, under the California Environmental Quality Act.  The 10-year plan calls for 2 million square feet of new academic and support buildings, up to 3,018 new units of student, faculty and staff housing, and 2,873 new parking spaces.  Out of all that development, though, it is the 20,000 square feet proposed for the west side of Junipero Serra, in what Stanford has labelled its Lathrop District, that has drawn the most attention. "We have a large project with a substantial number of academic buildings," said Larry Horton, director of community and government relations for Stanford. "And 99.5 percent of that is located skillfully at infill sites. And then you have this controversy swirling around the Lathrop District."  Horton said that with two think tanks there, a third under consideration, and with the golf course, 85 percent of the Lathrop District is already developed. "I still feel the same way," said Palo Alto Mayor Liz Kniss. "Keep development this side of Junipero Serra." "Menlo Park felt adamant about an academic growth boundary along Junipero Serra," said Menlo Park City Councilman Chuck Kinney. "Otherwise, it's incremental (growth in the foothills)." "Twenty-five years or fight," then-Palo Alto Mayor Gary Fazzino said last October when the City Council reviewed Stanford's plans. That's the length of open space commitment Fazzino and his colleagues wanted Stanford to make about its foothills.  Stanford's proposal to build almost 2,000 units of new graduate student housing has been widely praised, and a new performing arts center that will be part of the plan--and possibly jointly done with Palo Alto--has also won plaudits.  But Stanford's desire to build west of Junipero Serra has drawn widespread criticism.  Creating new habitat for the California tiger salamander could also be a stumbling block for both the 10-year plan and the proposed Carnegie Foundation project, which is now under separate consideration by the county.  The salamander habitat includes the Lake Lagunita area, where Stanford wants to build additional housing, and parts of the foothills, including the area Stanford wants to build academic facilities and the Carnegie Foundation wants to build a 20,000-square-foot facility.  Stanford has built new ponds in the hills in an attempt to develop a new breeding habitat for the amphibians. "We think our program for the tiger salamander is quite good," Horton said. "We think we have a real handle on that."  Others disagree. "The encroachment into the tiger salamander habitat is an unacceptable impact," said Denice Dade of the Committee for Green Foothills. She added that there needs to be a "proven, viable" habitat elsewhere before salamander habitat is lost.  Peter Drekmeier of the Stanford Open Space Alliance notes that the new ponds may not be effective--and the plan doesn't guarantee that they will be.  Drekmeier is also critical of Stanford's plan to build in the hills. Like others, he believes Junipero Serra Boulevard should be an academic growth boundary for the campus.  Dade also noted that the general use permit Stanford is applying to county for is discretionary on the county's part. "The county has the power to make a decision in the best interests of the public," Dade said. "There is a negotiating process, and the county can protect the public's interest." Page last updated November 4, 2001.