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SOSA's fact sheet
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suitable for printing.
On
June 23, a Draft
Environmental Impact Report analyzing Stanford's development
plan was released. (also see quotes
from the Draft EIR.)
Local
residents are alarmed because Stanford’s plan:
| Extends
the “core campus” southwest of Junipero Serra Blvd, allowing
development in the foothills. |
| Allows
for more than 4 million square feet of development in
the next 10 years. This is a 35% increase in the size
of the campus, or the equivalent of three new Stanford
Shopping Centers. Alarmingly, the plan offers no permanent
open space protection as mitigation. |
| Increases
Stanford’s daytime population by 2,200 people. These additional
people will all need housing and services. |
| Constructs
more than 3,000 new parking spaces, threatening
to eliminate Stanford’s current policy of no net new commute
trips. |
| Provides
no long-term development plan beyond 10 years.
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What
is the threat?
Stanford’s plan calls
for re-designating 154 acres in the foothills (an area recently named
“Lathrop” click here for map)
as “core campus.” It would allow 20,000 square feet of development in
this area over the next 10 years, in addition to 21,000 square feet proposed
for the Carnegie Foundation. After 10 years, the land could be developed
as densely as the rest of the campus. Stanford says there will be no development
in the “Foothills District,” but they don’t mention that the "Foothills
District" keeps shrinking as the University renames areas it would
like to develop.
Although many people
assume the rest of the foothills are protected, this is not the case.
They are designated “academic reserve,” meaning they could be the future
site of classrooms, administration buildings, housing and other uses associated
with the University. Whereas other developers are required to set aside
permanent open space as mitigation for development, Stanford has never
been required to do so. With the University asking Santa Clara County
for a general use permit that would expand the campus by 35%, now is the
time to demand permanent protection of the foothills.
What
would a better development plan look like?
Stanford is a world-class university. It now has the opportunity to create
a world-class development plan. Stanford Open Space Alliance suggests
the following steps to help Stanford’s Community Plan and General Use
Permit live up to its potential.
1) Permanent Protection
of the Foothills
Stanford’s plan calls
for more than 4 million square feet of development, increasing the size
of the campus by 35% -- the equivalent of three new Stanford Shopping
Centers. To create public benefit equal to the value of the development
generously given by the public, and to mitigate such extensive growth,
the University should set aside the foothills as permanent open space
by creating a permanent academic growth boundary at Junipero Serra Blvd.
2) Make Housing a Priority
Stanford should build housing for students and staff before other development
takes place. Although Stanford is proposing up to 3,000 housing units
over the next 10 years, its plan would lead to a population increase of
2,200 people. This leaves a net gain of only 800 housing units. Before
adding more jobs and students, Stanford should make sure adequate housing
exists on campus to house the current population.
3) No Net New Commute
Trips
Stanford has managed
to grow significantly over the last 10 years without generating a lot
of new traffic. The pressure to create and invest in innovative programs
which made this possible can be attributed directly to the requirement
of "no net new commute trips" in the last general use permit.
This policy must be renewed in the new general use permit. Through incentives
not to drive, good bicycle lanes and easy-to-use public transportation,
such as the Marguerite Shuttle, Stanford can continue to be a leader in
transportation demand management.
4) Maximum Buildout
Plan
In a biological system,
unlimited growth is called cancer. In an urban setting, unlimited growth
is called sprawl. Stanford University should be treated like every other
urban land use in the County and be zoned, with each zone having a described
maximum build-out intensity. If, after reaching this limit, Stanford wants
more academic facilities, it should do so by replacing non-academic buildings
on Stanford land (e.g. the Industrial Park and the Shopping Center).
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