Publication Date: Friday, December 03, 2004
Stanford housing project too tall, too dense?
Stanford housing project too tall, too dense?
(December 03, 2004) Professors, students, homeowners take their concerns to the streets
by Jocelyn Dong
A classic protest over housing took place at Stanford University this week, amid helium-filled balloons and homemade signs reading, "Residents Now" and "Downsize the Dorms."
Although the proposed housing consists of dormitories for graduate students, rather than million-dollar homes for yuppies, the demonstration had all the hallmarks of protests popping up in communities throughout the state. Stanford residents spoke out about the burdens they would have to bear as a result of the new housing: additional traffic, housing "out of scale" with the neighborhood, and decision-makers who are not heeding the concerns of the community.
The Stanford story has an added twist, though: These dorms are funded in part by a $43.5 million donation from the 356th richest man in the world, billionaire Charles T. Munger, and his wife, Nancy, a Stanford alumna. And their wishes, apparently, count significantly.
Stanford administrators this week said their agreement with the Mungers contains three non-negotiable elements: the dorms will house 600 law, business and other graduate students; be located adjacent to the law school; and provide spacious, apartment-like living quarters.
Two of those, however, are points the housing opponents don't like: The location and the size.
"We're all in favor of graduate housing, of course. But cramming it all here -- it's not such a good idea," said 35-year resident Glenna Houle, standing at the corner of Campus Drive and Alvarado Row, where the four new dorms would be built.
Some people want the university to consider locating some dorms near the law school and others elsewhere -- near Lake Lagunita, Escondido Village, or replacing temporary office buildings along Campus Drive.
Emily Leslie, co-house manager for Chi Theta Chi, a house for 35 students, is concerned that the size of the new buildings -- three to five stories -- would effectively create a wall between the Chi Theta Chi residence and the main campus.
"We're not looking forward to navigating through this chasm of a city you see marked out here," Leslie said on Tuesday, pointing to the balloons that had been hoisted to five stories tall and the yellow "caution" tape the protesters laid out to show where the four buildings would be.
One geology professor, Marco Einaudi, analyzed the shadows the buildings would cast and said that "dark canyons" would be created in the area.
The buildings are designed to be as large as they are because the Mungers envision the dorms as "the best graduate student residence in the country," according to a statement from Stanford Provost John Etchemendy.
The average apartment size will be approximately 700 square feet per student, according to Chris Christofferson, associate vice provost of facilities. Units will range from studios to four-bedroom suites, including private kitchens, bathrooms and laundry facilities.
"We believe the situation for graduate students is much like faculty. We see ourselves in competition for the best and brightest," he said, adding that having "proper accommodations" will give Stanford an advantage over other law schools.
According to U.S. News & World Reports' annual list of colleges and universities, Stanford's law school ranks third in the country, behind Yale's and Harvard's.
Perhaps what some opponents object to the most is the administration's alleged lack of flexibility in incorporating residents' ideas into the housing plan.
An Oct. 6 community meeting with Etchemendy was "a mixed bag," said David Victor, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for International Studies. Many of the answers to residents' questions began with "the donors want," he said, indicating to him that many of the decisions had already been set in stone.
The idea that the design would be shown to the residents in early October and approved later that month by the Stanford Board of Trustees "seemed completely wrong to us," Victor said. "That just isn't appropriate."
Other projects around campus go through a longer vetting process, he said.
But Gordon Earle, the university's vice president of public affairs, denied that the administration was turning a deaf ear to community members.
"This has been a collaborative process between the donor and university and the community. We've listened carefully to the concerns that have been raised," he said.
He cited a new conceptual plan, released this week, as an example of the administration's willingness to collaborate. Originally, the Munger Graduate Residences were to consist of three buildings instead of four, all as tall as four and a half to five and a half stories. The revision scales them back to three to five stories. The largest building has been reduced by 25 percent, Earle said, and the dorms next to Campus Drive have been shortened.
A total of five old houses would have to be moved to accommodate the dorms.
Current residents and faculty may not like denser housing, but at Stanford and elsewhere, it is and will continue to be the trend, Christofferson said.
Opponents call the design changes "marginal."
"There are two good things" about the project, said Peter Stansky, chair of the University Committee on Land and Building Development, an advisory committee: housing 600 more students, and receiving a gift of $43.5 million.
While no one wants to be looking a gift horse in the mouth, opponents said the future success of students and faculty relies on having more inviting surroundings.
"Is the price of having large, out-of-proportion buildings in an inappropriate place -- is that a price worth paying?" Stansky asked.
It appears to be the price the university would be willing to pay. On Dec. 13, the trustees are expected to review the new conceptual plan. If it's approved, the board will consider more specific designs in the new year. Groundbreaking was planned for next summer, but Earle indicated the date might be delayed, due to the recent design revision. The project is expected to take two years to complete and would include 750 underground parking spaces.
Senior Staff Writer Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.
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