Tell Santa Clara County to Stop Stanford’s Stalling on Trails!

Posted February 16, 2008

• Background
• What’s happening
• What’s next
• Why this is important
• What you can do

After years of delay and maneuvering by Stanford to avoid its commitment to build new trails under its Santa Clara County General Use Permit, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has rejected Stanford’s environmentally-destructive sidewalk expansion along Alpine Road. Please ask the Santa Clara County Supervisors to support San Mateo’s call for Stanford to dedicate the money it promised now and begin providing trails and recreation.

Background
Over seven years ago, Stanford University promised to construct two hiking trails in return for building approximately 5 million square feet of new development on its campus. Stanford has been building for seven years, but we still don’t have trails. Instead of complying with the requirements of their General Use Permit (GUP) to “dedicate, construct and maintain” a trail crossing Stanford lands on the Santa Clara side of Los Trancos/San Francisquito Creeks (the “C-1” trail), Stanford offered $8.4 million to San Mateo County to expand the existing sidewalk/trail next to busy Alpine Road.

An expanded sidewalk does not repay the debt Stanford owes to the community from its expansive development, nor does it mitigate the impacts from its new construction. Expansion of the Alpine sidewalk/trail would intrude into sensitive creek and riparian habitats, require removal of trees, require major cutting into the hillside, and cross many private driveways at Stanford Weekend Acres, creating safety problems. It would cost $8.4 million without delivering any new recreational opportunities.

Stanford has been refusing to play fair on the trails: switching the southern S-1 Trail to a barely acceptable route along Page Mill Road, and then stopping its construction unless it was relieved of its obligation to build the C-1 trail on Stanford land. Instead, the university was only willing to expand the existing Alpine Road sidewalk in San Mateo County.

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What’s happening
On February 12, San Mateo County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected Stanford’s sidewalk expansion proposal. Instead, the Supervisors told Stanford it should give the $8.4 million to a grant program that Santa Clara County could set up to provide trails and other recreational improvements in the vicinity of Stanford. This would substitute for the C1 Trail that Stanford promised, but provide similar benefits — recreational opportunities to mitigate the environmental problems created by Stanford’s increased development.

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What’s next
Santa Clara County has to decide whether it will support San Mateo County’s proposed alternative. While this may require Stanford’s cooperation, San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon stated it would be “unconscionable” for Stanford not to cooperate.

Let’s put an end to the political maneuvering and move forward with trails and recreation for the community.

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Why this is important
The GUP required Stanford to dedicate these trails by December 12, 2001. For years now, Committee for Green Foothills and others have been urging the County and Stanford to dedicate and build scenic, recreational, safe trails for the community — part of the environmental mitigation for Stanford’s huge development rights.

Importantly, this requirement is one of the five key environmental components of the General Use Permit. It’s time for the community to have these trails without further compromise and delay.

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What you can do
Please write to the Santa Clara County Supervisors and ask them to support the proposal for a grant program now, one that provides real environmental benefits, and to tell Stanford it needs to cooperate.

Write to:
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
County Government Center
70 W. Hedding Street, 10th Floor, East Wing
San Jose, CA 95110
Fax (408) 298-8460
Email all five Santa Clara County Supervisors

Please send your thanks to the San Mateo County Supervisors County Government Center
400 County Center
Redwood City, CA 94063
Email all five San Mateo County Supervisors

Please send a copy of your message to CGF so we can track our efforts on this issue: fax 650-968-8431 or email: action@GreenFoothills.org.

For more information, read Patty Fisher’s column in the San Jose Mercury News, our Trails Position Paper, or our Fact Sheet regarding Stanford’s compliance with the GUP trails condition.

Thanks for speaking up for trails. Your voice does make a difference!

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