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	1959 Factories kept out of foothills A band of residents from Palo Alto and the Los Altos Area organizes with the specific purpose of keeping factories out of the foothills. The catalyst for their concern is a large-scale development proposal by Stanford University. Stanford proposes that 254 acres of their land be annexed to Palo Alto to permit industrial development west of what is then a small road winding along the foot of the hills. Eventually, this road is to become Foothill Expressway. This small group of residents organizes and gathers thousands of signatures to place a public referendum on the ballot. Unfortunately, the opposition is well funded (Stanford's public relations firm is paid the enormous sum of $450,000, in contrast to the citizen activists' war chest of $1,462) and the pro open-space forces lose 49% to 51%. Ampex, the proposed developer, unnerved by the narrow margin of the vote, later withdraws its application to build.