Update: Victory! On 10/17/23, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Stanford Community Plan, including a 99-year extension of the supermajority vote requirement. While this vote won’t prevent any development from ever happening in the Stanford Foothills, it will require that for the next 99 years, 4 out of 5 Supervisors in the County of Santa Clara must agree that it’s a good idea to allow development there. Other development proposals require only a simple majority (3 out of 5 Supervisors), so this higher bar recognizes that these 2,300 acres of grassy hillsides and oak savannah provide irreplaceable habitat for wildlife and need extra protection. Thanks to everyone who contacted the Supervisors and encouraged them to vote yes!

On Tuesday, October 17, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will vote on the update to the Stanford Community Plan, including a proposed 99-year extension of the protections for the foothills. You may recall that last month we asked you to contact the Planning Commission about this. Now the final decision rests with the Supervisors. Please use the form below to email the Supervisors and tell them to protect the Stanford foothills!

What’s Happening

Since the year 2000, the Stanford Community Plan has protected more than 2,300 acres of hillside open space in the Stanford foothills. This plan, which guides the direction of future growth on Stanford University lands in Santa Clara County, includes an Academic Growth Boundary that prohibits any development in the open space of the foothills west of Junipero Serra Boulevard. Currently, the plan mandates that any changes to the boundary require a supermajority (4/5) vote of the County Board of Supervisors. However, that requirement will expire in 2025.

County Planning staff have prepared recommendations for an update of the Stanford Community Plan. The staff-recommended update includes provisions for a 99-year extension of this supermajority vote requirement. Stanford has countered by requesting that the supermajority vote requirement be extended by only 25 years.

On September 28, the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors to approve the 99-year extension. Now it’s up to the Board of Supervisors to cast the final and decisive vote, wrapping up a Stanford Community Plan update process that has taken almost three years.

Why It Matters

The Stanford foothills encompass some of the last grassland habitat for miles in this area. They comprise approximately 2,300 acres of grassy hillsides and oak savannah, providing irreplaceable habitat for wildlife.

The Academic Growth Boundary is the line of defense against future sprawl development proposals in the Stanford foothills. Stanford has plenty of space within its existing campus footprint for future growth. In fact, a 2018 study by the County found that Stanford could nearly triple its current density without going beyond the Academic Growth Boundary and without becoming denser than other similar universities. Therefore, there is no reason for Stanford to sprawl into the open space of the foothills.

Furthermore, the supermajority vote requirement is not a total ban on future development in the foothills. It merely creates a slightly stronger standard for Stanford to meet. The supermajority vote requirement is reasonable, justified, and prudent.

Protecting the Stanford foothills was the original reason for the founding of Green Foothills in 1962. By and large these foothills are still open space, just as they were when we fought our first battle 60 years ago. It’s thanks to folks like you speaking up for smart land use and planning policies like those in the Stanford Community Plan that the foothills are still preserved.

What You Can Do

Please use the form below to email the Board of Supervisors and tell them to approve the staff recommendation, including the 99-year extension of the supermajority vote requirement.