Mercury News
December 7, 2005

Decision time on
trail plan for Stanford

By Patty Fisher

Ted Bache had to shout to be heard over the cars whizzing by on Alpine Road near Stanford University.

“No trail at all would be better than this trail,” he said.

Bache and his neighbors were walking the other day along the route that Stanford has proposed for a new hiking trail connecting Palo Alto to the foothills and, ultimately, the Pacific Ocean.

He's not against a trail; he just thinks it should go on Stanford's scenic property, where people would like to walk, instead of along the busy road that runs by his house.

Bache, his neighbors, local golfers, county Supervisor Liz Kniss and a host of Peninsula open-space advocates suspect that Santa Clara County, which ordered Stanford to build two trails in 2000 as part of a complex deal allowing the campus to expand by 5 million square feet, is about to cave and let the university off easy.

And they are probably right.

Today, after five years of negotiations, County Executive Pete Kutras plans to announce his recommendation for settling the dispute over the trail routes. Kutras wouldn't tell me what he's recommending, but his weary tone said it all.

Seeking closure

“I've been trying to balance all the interests as best I can,” he said. “I'm trying to bring some closure to this thing so that we do, in fact, get some trails built.”

Reading between the lines, it sounded like: Hey look. The county has lots of problems. We care for the poor and the sick. We repair roads and run jails. Picking out the perfect path so a bunch of Palo Altans can walk all the way to the ocean without encountering cars just doesn't warrant more taxpayer expense. Besides, Stanford will never give in, so let's get what we can and move on.

I'm just guessing at what Kutras is thinking. But I've watched Stanford officials in action long enough to know how tough they can be. It took them 20 years to get permission to widen Sand Hill Road so they could build homes along it, but they eventually wore everyone down and prevailed. With more money than Croesus and all the time in the world, Stanford can afford to be patient.

For years, Stanford did pretty much as it pleased with its 8,100 acres. Then in 2000, the county locked the university into a long-term growth plan. In return for being able to add the 5 million square feet, Stanford agreed to more than 100 conditions. One was that it dedicate and build two hiking trails, generally along routes established by the countywide trails master plan. One would be on the Page Mill Road side of the campus, the other on the Alpine Road side.

Drawing the line

But when it came time to draw the exact routes, hikers were outraged. Stanford insisted that the trails not intrude into its property, which Leland Stanford instructed be preserved forever for academic purposes.

“When you give an easement to somebody, you're giving the land away,” said Larry Horton, the university's point man on land-use issues.

After years of studies and meetings, the parties agreed on a Page Mill route that winds through the hillside to I-280. But Stanford refuses to build along that route unless it gets the go-ahead on the more controversial Alpine Road trail. All or nothing. Take it, or we'll see you in court.

County supervisors will discuss the trails issue Tuesday. Horton doesn't understand why people don't love the Alpine Road plan. Stanford will spend $11 million to reroute the road and shore up the creek. He promised the trail would be protected from traffic.

“We do quality stuff,'' he said. “Go look for the schlocky stuff we have done. There isn't any.”

He's right. Stanford always goes first class. But first and foremost, Stanford always looks out for Stanford.

Page last updated December 8, 2005.