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Risks and opportunities in the next Stanford expansion proposal
 
by Brian Schmidt

Not one to pass up a development opportunity, Stanford University has seized upon a legally-required seismic upgrade for its hospital, and now proposes a massive expansion of the hospital, much additional “medical” office space, and a large expansion of the adjacent Stanford Shopping Center. The combined proposals total a hefty 1.5 million square feet of development, in a similar league with the approximately 5 million square feet of development rights that Stanford received with its General Use Permit (GUP) in 2000.

What are the impacts on open space?
Stanford’s current proposal and its 2000 GUP have different effects on open space. First, all of the land proposed for development now is already developed, so the only effect on open space will be indirect. Second, the development will be on land in the City of Palo Alto, as opposed to the GUP which was outside of city limits, and in Santa Clara County jurisdiction. Third, Stanford requests multiple exemptions from current zoning restrictions, particularly from height limitations, and requests an agreement that will prohibit the City from adding new zoning restrictions.

Just as Stanford took the seismic risk issue and turned it into an opportunity, the broader community needs to do the same with Stanford’s proposal. The university wants a Planned Development Agreement with certain benefits it cannot have under current zoning. In return, if the deal goes forward in a manner similar to what Stanford proposes, Palo Alto has an opportunity to negotiate appropriate community benefits for the city and the surrounding community. In particular, because Stanford wants extra-high density on its developed land, that benefit should be balanced with protections for nearby, low-density open space.

The proposal also raises a number of other environmental issues. Possibly the most important, indirect effect on open space could be the large number of new people brought to work at Stanford — where are they going to live? The Peninsula already has a tremendous imbalance of housing relative to jobs, and this proposal will make things worse. The new people coming to Stanford will need housing, and if their housing demand is not balanced out with new housing, then open space will face still more development pressure. This represents an opportunity for Palo Alto to secure a commitment from Stanford to add to its housing stocks and gain permanent open space protections.

Shouldn’t Stanford go green?
Still other issues, such as using “green” building standards and mitigating transportation demands, must also be addressed. Stanford is fast approaching the time when it must prepare the “Sustainability Study” it promised in the 2000 GUP, and the relation of that study to this giant proposal is unclear. Palo Alto, neighboring communities and community organizations like CGF will have to carefully monitor developments to make sure the communities’ environment remains protected.

Published Spring 2007 in Green Footnotes.

Page last updated July 2, 2007.