Historic land-use deal approved Historic land-use deal approved (May 04, 2005)

Mayfield agreement to bring soccer fields and housing to Palo Alto

by Jocelyn Dong

Come late October, children and adults will have two more athletic fields to play on, following the Palo Alto City Council's approval Monday night of the Mayfield agreement with Stanford University.

Some five years in the making, the agreement was hailed Monday as "the most complicated and comprehensive agreement Stanford has ever entered into with one of its neighbors." As part of the agreement, Stanford will lease the 6-acre corner of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road to Palo Alto for $1 a year for 51 years and build two soccer fields and a practice field there. Nearby, the university will build 250 units of housing along California Avenue, including 50 to 70 affordable homes.

In exchange, the university receives the right to develop an additional 300,000 square feet of Stanford Research Park land, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The university will also implement a traffic-management plan for the research park.

The 5-1 vote pleased soccer players and coaches, advocates for affordable housing, and some neighbors in College Terrace, which borders the new housing. Palo Alto parents and kids, including the Got Space? group, have been advocating for more fields for years, citing a severe shortage that has hampered youth sports.

But other residents were not so happy. They voiced concerns about the traffic that could be created by 250 new homes, as well as the height of some of the buildings, which would block views from their homes. Others complained of being left out of the process.

Council member Yoriko Kishimoto opposed the deal. Council members LaDoris Cordell, Hillary Freeman and Dena Mossar could not vote on the issue due to conflicts of interest.

"There is no doubt that this is something the wider community wants," Morton said, following two hours of public testimony. "I feel we've done as good a job as we can to take into account the major concerns of our community."

The issue was unusual in that the council had no authority to adjust its terms because it was a negotiated agreement between the university and the city. As an ordinance, the deal required approval by five of the six members of the council who were eligible to vote on it.

The rigid nature of the deal frustrated Kishimoto, who made several failed attempts to amend the motion so that community concerns would be addressed. Council colleagues refused to support her substitute motions.

"I do think overall it was a good process," Kishimoto said. "But I'm pretty upset that this whole thing was brought to us as a 'take it or leave it.'"

About 45 members of the public spoke at the meeting. Among those opposing the deal were residents of the Peter Coutts neighborhood, adjacent to the so-called "Upper California" housing site, which would have 209 housing units. Some of the new housing will be built up to 50-feet tall, and residents said the buildings would obstruct their views of the bay, one of the most attractive features of their neighborhood.

But city staff said the housing would be no taller than the Agilent Technologies buildings already located on the land. The housing may not be built for at least a decade, because the land is currently under lease to companies.

The Peter Coutts neighbors were also upset that neither Stanford nor the city informed them of the impending deal. They only found out one month ago, and felt Stanford officials ignored their subsequent feedback.

Residents of the College Terrace neighborhood were split on supporting the deal, with some saying that concrete standards for the housing and roads to be built across California Avenue should be spelled out in writing now. Other residents, including leaders of the College Terrace Residents' Association, put faith in Stanford's promise to consult with the neighbors on an ongoing basis.

Fred Balin, a College Terrace resident, rallied 260 neighbors to sign a letter petition that advocated for several changes to the project -- including conducting a new traffic study and guaranteeing a full review of the housing plans, rather than the minimal review that will be allowed.

"We're disappointed. Now it's totally up to Stanford's outreach," he said. "The concerns are still there."

Council members tried to acknowledge the ongoing issues, even as they voted in favor of the plan.

"This is a winner, but not everybody wins," Beecham said, referring to the possible traffic effects and the blocked views for the Peter Coutts residents. Likewise, Kleinberg took note of the balancing act the council had to do.

"We did hear you; we do understand," she said. "The art of compromise is government."

Senior Staff Writer Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.

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