Hold Stanford to its environmental promises on trails!
Posted December 8, 2005

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

It's been five years since Stanford University promised to dedicate two hiking trails for the public as mitigation for approximately 5 million square feet of newly-allowed development.

We still don't have trails. Worse, it looks like Santa Clara County may accept Stanford's plan to re-label and expand an existing sidewalk on Alpine Road as one of its "trails" — depriving the community of the new, safe, recreational trails we were promised. And worse still, County staff recommend letting Stanford do NOTHING on the north side if other jurisdictions disagree with the proposal. Santa Clara County even wants to foist the responsibility for environmental review onto San Mateo County and Portola Valley.

Next Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will consider how to move forward on this issue. Please ask the Supervisors to reject the Alpine Road sidewalk route, and to move forward with the long-delayed trail on the south campus.

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Background
For almost five years, Stanford has been refusing to play fair on the alignment of the two promised trails: the S1 trail on the southeast side of campus, generally following Matadero Creek and Page Mill Road, and the C1 trail on the northwest side of campus.

requirement. Most recently, after Stanford threatened to sue over the location of the S1 trail, the County removed from consideration the two environmentally and recreationally superior alternatives.

This fall, Stanford continued its political maneuvering and convinced the County to tie the best of the poor choices for the S1 trail to an even worse choice for the C1 trail on the northwest side of campus — a so-called "trail" that would follow Alpine Road. This dangerous route is not the recreational hiking trail Stanford promised, and could damage San Francisquito Creek. The route is even on an already-dedicated right-of-way, making a mockery of Stanford's promise to dedicate a trail easement.

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Why this is important
The GUP required Stanford to dedicate these trails by December 12, 2001, a year after they promised. It's time for the community to have these trails without further compromise and delay, and to make sure that these trails offer true mitigation for Stanford's growth.

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What's next
Next Tuesday, December 13, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will accept a staff report on these trails, and make their recommendations about how to move forward.

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What you can do
1. Attend the hearing on Tuesday, December 13, at 1:30 p.m. (Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors' Chambers, 70 West Hedding St., San Jose CA 95110). If you can attend, please let CGF Legislative Advocate Brian Schmidt know; you can reach him at Brian@GreenFoothills.org or 650-968-7243.

2. Write to the County Supervisors. Let them know that you oppose a route that would create a dangerous sidewalk along Alpine Road and could threaten the creek. Ask them to stand strong for a real recreational trail on the northwest side of campus, to reject the loophole letting Stanford out of creating a trail at all, and to take responsibility for any required environmental review. Please also ask the Supervisors to move forward now with the S1-C trail route without further delay.

Time is short: please fax or email the Supervisors by Monday, December 12, the earlier the better.

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 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.

3. Sign. Letters are most important — but if you don't have time to write a letter, please sign the Stanford Trails Coalition petition.

4. Read the December 8, 2005 article in The Mercyry News.
   Read the December 7, 2005 column in The Mercyry News.
   Read the Article from CGF's fall 2005 Green Footnotes newsletter.
   Read our November 2001 action alert on this issue.
   Read our September 2005 action alert on this issue.
   Read our Trails Position Paper.
   Read our Fact Sheet regarding Stanford's compliance.
   Visit the Website of the Stanford Trails Coalition.

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

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