Palo Alto Daily News
October 19, 2006

Stanford trails lawsuit thrown out

Bay City News

Stanford University announced Wednesday that a Santa Clara County judge has thrown out a lawsuit by an environmental group that tried to block two trails the university wants to build on its eastern and western edges.

Superior Court Judge Leslie Nichols issued an order on Oct. 12 in favor of Stanford, and university officials expect a judgment dismissing the case to be filed shortly. The group that filed the lawsuit, Committee for Green Foothills, is considering an appeal.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors authorized the trails in December 2005 as part of Stanford's expansion plans. However, the Committee for Green Foothills contended that the trail on the western edge of Stanford's property is not actually a trail, but an expanded sidewalk.

“Stanford promised to build two trails to make up for the impacts from a massive expansion in campus development,” Brian Schmidt, the Committee for Green Foothills’ lawyer, said. “They pressured Santa Clara County to drop one trail requirement in return for an expanded existing sidewalk along Alpine Road that provides no recreational value, is enormously expensive, and would cause environmental damage to hillsides and a local creek.”

Stanford contends that the proposed pathway is actually a trail. University officials warn that any appeal could delay the construction of both trails.

"If the matter is appealed, it could take a year or so for it to be considered,'' Stanford spokesman Larry Horton said.

Page last updated September 13, 2010.