Category: Stanford

Local News Roundup: November 5, 2018

Here are some recent news stories of interest to College Terrace and the surrounding area.

Guest Opinion: Stanford Is Quietly Buying Up Houses
CTRA’s Stanford observer, Pria Graves, wrote an op-ed in the Daily Post covering the issues surrounding Stanford’s recent home purchases (30, at last count) in College Terrace.

JPMorgan Chase Opening Campus at Research Park
Following its acquisition of WePay, a Redwood City startup, JPMorgan Chase announced it will build a 195,000-square-foot “fintech” campus at the Stanford Research Park that will house up to 1,000 employees.

First Hydrogen Fuel Station in Palo Alto Opening Soon
The Shell station on El Camino in Barron Park will be the first hydrogen fuel station between Mountain View and South San Francisco.

And, finally, don’t forget to vote on Tuesday! If you’re still figuring out your ballot, check out the Palo Alto Weekly’s voter guide (including interviews with all city council and school board candidates), Palo Alto Neighborhood’s City Council Candidates Questionnaire and the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto’s election guide (including pros/cons for all of the state propositions).

Stanford Alert Test on October 18

On Thursday, October 18th, between noon-12:30 pm, Stanford will conduct its annual test of the campus AlertSU system. Alert messages will be sent via text message and email to the Stanford community.

The test will also include activation of the outdoor warning system, which will sound an audible tone for approximately 30 seconds followed by a verbal message from each of the 7 sirens at various campus locations. The sirens will be audible throughout the campus and may also be heard in parts of the surrounding communities including College Terrace.

For more information about the AlertSU system, visit the AlertSU FAQ.

Local News Roundup: September 10, 2018

Here are some recent news stories of interest to College Terrace and the surrounding area.

California Ave Public Safety Building and Garage Meetings
A community meeting will be held Wednesday, September 12, to discuss the project and upcoming street and parking changes to the area during the construction. The Public Safety Building will also be presented to the City Council and Architectural Review Board in the coming weeks.

Study: Stanford Can Triple Its Density (September 5)
How big can Stanford truly become? According to a study commissioned by Santa Clara County planners, Stanford can roughly triple its density and expand to 44 million square feet without infringing on the foothills.

Caltrain Launches Construction in Palo Alto (August 29)
After a year of work in other parts of the line, work on the electrification of Caltrain has finally started in Palo Alto. Local impacts include work performed at night (between 7pm and 7am), some weekend service disruptions, and the removal and pruning of trees.

What’s Up with the Stanford GUP?

One of the topics at last week’s CTRA board meeting was an update on the Stanford General Use Permit (GUP) approval process. The GUP is intended to guide the growth and development of the university’s central campus through the year 2035. Stanford has asked for approval of 2,275,000 net new square feet of facilities and up to 3,150 units of housing, which is estimated to generate an additional 9,610 people on campus.

Journalists at the Palo Alto Weekly recently discussed the proposed campus expansion and the debate over how much housing the university should provide as part of its growth plan. If you haven’t been closely following the GUP process, the video is a good way to catch up.

The period for providing comments on the recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (including the two alternative housing options proposed by the county) recently ended. Once the Environmental Impact Report is final, the project will go before the Santa Clara County Planning Commission for consideration and then to the Board of Supervisors for a vote. Here’s the current schedule for those workshops and hearings:

Planning Commission
Workshop, September 27
Hearing #1, October 11
Hearing #2, October 25
Hearing #3, November 1 (if needed)

Board of Supervisors
Hearing/Workshop, November 6
Hearing #1, November 13
Hearing #2, December 4
Hearing #3, December 18
Final Meeting #4, January 8, 2019

Check the county’s website for further information, including locations when they’re announced.

The outcome of the GUP approval process will have a profound impact on the surrounding area, and our neighborhood in particular, for years to come. (The majority of new on-campus housing forecast will be adjacent to College Terrace in Escondido Village.) So take time to read up on the issues (via the Weekly’s coverage, the county’s website, Stanford’s own GUP site, or elsewhere) and consider attending one or more of the above meetings to make sure your concerns are addressed.