STANFORD: Hills are still in question Old map showed development plans

by Don Kazak

The war of words over the Stanford foothills got new life last week, thanks to a 13-year-old university map showing extensive development plans for the hills. The map was released to the media by the Stanford Open Space Alliance, which contends it is proof that Stanford intends to build in the foothills.

But that map is "a dead letter," said Stanford's Larry Horton, and should be disregarded.

"It's a historical artifact, nothing more," said Horton, Stanford's director of government and community relations.

Horton said the map was prepared by Stanford staff to show one planning option--which was rejected--in 1987, at a time when Stanford was preparing its application for its current general use permit from Santa Clara County.

Stanford President John Hennessy has told the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors that the university can accept a 25-year academic growth boundary largely along Junipero Serra Boulevard, as long as that boundary can be reviewed before the 25 years expires to cope with changing housing needs.

Horton expanded on that somewhat last week by noting that there might be areas west of Junipero Serra which "might be appropriate for housing. There are flat areas, there, too." But he emphasized that Stanford would never build anything in the popular Dish area or along the scenic ridgelines.

The Dish area, he added, is now viewed by Stanford as a "long-term, public, recreational area."

Peter Drekmeier of the Stanford Open Space Alliance released the 1987 map--which Stanford officials say was never a secret--to the media.

"We've heard rumors for years and years about moving the golf course and building housing up to the ridgeline," Drekmeier said. "These documents show that is their intention. Obviously, we need strong language in the (county) plan to protect the foothills."

"That's simply not true," Horton said, denouncing claims that the 1987 map represents any current intentions of Stanford. The 1987 land use plan where the map came from "showed various things that can be done. Our current thinking has nothing there."

Horton called some of Drekmeier's statements "astonishingly inaccurate."

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to potentially vote on a new general use permit for the campus at its meeting Nov. 27.

Stanford has applied for a use permit that would allow about 2 million new square feet of academic buildings and about 3,000 new faculty and graduate student housing units.

As part of that, Stanford indicated it would accept a 25-year academic growth boundary, with the housing caveat.

But Supervisor Joe Simitian has proposed that Stanford set aside 1,000 acres of its foothills as open space for 99 years in return for a new use permit, a position Stanford officials have said is unacceptable to them.

As of last week, there had been no new meetings between Simitian and Stanford officials, although both sides have said they are hopeful of reaching some accommodation by the Nov. 27 county board meeting.

Simitian wasn't surprised by the emergence of the 1987 map.

"I think Stanford's been pretty clear that they view the area above Junipero Serra as a housing reserve," Simitian said.

Before Simitian released his much-debated proposal Oct. 24, the Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously Oct. 23 to state its preference for permanent protection of the Stanford foothills as open space. That position was championed by Mayor Liz Kniss, who last week won the election to replace Simitian on the Board of Supervisors