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The Stanford Daily By Evan Berger After two years of dispute, the University and members
of the community remain entangled in a battle over Stanford's proposed construction of recreational trails on its property — trails whose locations Stanford and the community have not been able to agree upon, but that Santa Clara
County insists must be constructed as part of a land-use agreement. Stanford agreed to build the two trails in 2000 when it negotiated the General Use Permit, a deal with Santa Clara County allowing Stanford to develop nearly 5
million square feet of its property. Yet in the years since, neither trail has been built. Stanford's proposed eastern trail, named S1, remains under consideration by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, while the
proposed western trail, C1, is the subject of both a lawsuit and bitter opposition from community and campus organizations. The S1 route is still undefined; though it is supposed to follow Matadero Creek and Page Mill Road, it
may eventually take a slightly different path if built. The C1 trail, known to some as C1-C, hugs the western boundaries of the campus, proceeding alongside Alpine Road past the golf course and running adjacent to San Francisquito
Creek. Local groups claim that C1 is unsafe, environmentally unsound and unappealing for recreation. Ginger Holt, a resident of Stanford Weekend Acres neighborhood, said that the high volume of traffic at Alpine Road makes the
site of C1 dangerous and unsuited for leisure. She described Alpine Road, which accommodates as many as 31,000 cars per day, as so loud that "you can't even talk to the person next to you." The close proximity of the path to the
road would pose a safety threat for runners and bicyclists, she added. Stanford and Santa Clara County began negotiating the GUP in 1998, when the University's endowment was considerably larger and the school aimed to expand. At
the time, Stanford planned to build 3,000 housing units and various sporting and academic facilities. Its previous agreement with Santa Clara County had expired, though, and Stanford once more needed the county's approval to
develop. After two years of tense debate, the county gave Stanford permission to expand in exchange for 101 conditions, including a guarantee that Stanford would not build on the Foothills for 25 years and that it would construct
the C1 and S1 trails for public use. Because of budget constraints, Stanford never began building its planned facilities. As Director of Community Relations Andy Coe said, "Stanford has developed minimally on the GUP, mainly
because the economy slowed down and securing financing became much tougher." Even so, the University was still bound to dedicate two trails by the end of 2001. When Stanford announced the location of the proposed trails in 2001,
it was met with backlash from community members and a harshly critical editorial in the San Jose Mercury News. To many, Stanford's proposed paths seemed unfit and peculiar; one of the trails, the C1, even strayed into San Mateo
County. But Stanford's proposed routes met the conditions it had agreed to in 2000. The GUP stipulates that C1 be a "connector route [that] . . . generally follows the creeks and Alpine Road;" Stanford's proposal is consistent
with those guidelines and is nearly identical to the route that the county mapped out in the GUP. Larry Horton, associate vice president and director of government and community relations, defends Stanford's proposal, emphasizing
that the University followed the county's demands and that the Parks Department has deemed the paths suitable. An assortment of groups representing neighbors, environmentalists and Stanford students oppose the University's
routes and have presented a number of alternative possibilities. In September 2002, Stanford rejected requests by community members to reconsider the trails and announced that it would continue with its plans. By April 2003, 13
community and campus groups endorsed an alternate trail, called C1-B. The alternate route moves slightly east of C1, passing through the cow tunnel under 280 and running by the eastern side of the golf course. Sophomore Tim
Telleen-Lawton, president of the Stanford Green Party, said that the community-endorsed trail is far less ecologically damaging than Stanford's C1. C1-B, he said, prevents the removal of 40 old oaks, protects the fragile ecosystem
of San Francisquito Creek and keeps trailgoers away from dangerous intersections. Telleen-Lawton said that the Greens are "glad to show our support on the issue," adding, "it's important to show that not all people on campus agree
with Stanford's stance on the trails." Stanford has deemed C1-B unacceptable because it veers from the campus's periphery. "We would never have accepted a trail that went through the interior of our land," Horton said,
"because it would limit forever the ability of the University to build to its needs." But any trail on the periphery of Stanford's land will have limited recreational value, opponents argue. Peter Drekmeier, director of the
Stanford Open Space Alliance, a local group, argues that Stanford's C1-C would be neither safe nor fun. Trailgoers "would be sucking in fumes from Alpine Road," he said. John Nagle, Class of 1985, said that C1-C would be nothing
but "a paved bike path that won't get used much." Holt echoed these comments, lamenting, "This is supposed to be a gift back to the community," but that the unappealing roadside trail will bring far more harm than good. The
issue is likely to remain contentious for some time. The C1 trail remains tied up in litigation, while the S1 is awaiting a supplemental environmental impact review by the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, a process that will take
more than 18 months. To some it is a dead issue, because, as Nagle said, "Stanford doesn't have the money to build in the Foothills anymore." But the matter remains important to Stanford and the community. Horton, who calls
Stanford "the best stewards of land in Santa Clara County," believes it is crucial for everyone to understand that the University "is keeping the pledges it made to the community." At the same time, the issue of open space has
become more contentious than ever in densely populated Santa Clara County. Telleen-Lawton said, "To the community [the Foothills] become a special resource because Stanford owns the county's only open space." For this reason, he
continued, the community has a special interest in making sure that Stanford lives up to its promises. |
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