Stanford-trails cost approaches $20 million Stanford-trails cost approaches $20 million (December 09, 2005)

Five-year dispute of routing foothills trails heading for showdown vote Tuesday, with approval of Stanford's preferred routes likely

by Jay Thorwaldson

The price tag Stanford University may pay for two trail connections to the foothills above its sprawling campus is approaching $20 million -- 10 times initial estimates, according to a new report from Santa Clara County.

The report recommends following Stanford's alignments for two trails, a southern trail along Page Mill Road in Palo Alto and a northern trail along Alpine Road in San Mateo County, including a portion in Portola Valley.

The trails issue has been agendized for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, whose five members are expected to vote 4-1 to uphold the recommendation from the county's Parks and Recreation Department. North County Supervisor Liz Kniss has consistently opposed the alignment of the northern trail and voted against linking the approvals as Stanford insisted.

Building the two connector trails was a key condition of the county's approval in late 2000 of Stanford's development plan for the next decade or longer, known as the general use permit or "GUP." But Stanford has strenuously maintained it will not allow dedicated trail routes to be built within its Dish or Felt Lake properties, as those areas may someday be needed for academic expansion.

Opposition to the Stanford alignments has been voiced by environmental organizations, the City of Palo Alto and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, among others. Environmentalists, who also fought the university tooth and nail over the GUP, are expected to again voice their opposition Tuesday.

The report discloses that Stanford has increased its funding offers by nearly $6 million above earlier cost estimates of $5 million for the southern trail and $8 million for a San Mateo County trail, which Stanford refused to confirm or deny.

According to the new report, Stanford has now offered $2.8 million to Portola Valley to fund trail construction and improvements to Alpine Road in its jurisdiction, in addition to $8.4 million to San Mateo County for a paved bike/pedestrian trail that runs along Alpine Road to its intersection with Arastradero Road at Rosotti's Alpine Inn.

It also has offered $1.05 million to Los Altos Hills to fund a trail link north -- just above Highway 280 -- along Arastradero Road to Page Mill Road and west toward Palo Alto's Pearson Arastradero Preserve.

Those commitments are in addition to an estimated $7 million cost of constructing the Page Mill trail west of Junipero Serra Boulevard to Deer Creek Road. A new design would split the trail into bike lanes heading south on Deer Creek Road and a hikers-only unpaved trail over the so-called Ramos horse ranch property between Deer Creek and I-280 -- ending at where Arastradero Road passes under 280.

The $7 million is about $2 million higher than earlier estimates.

Stanford also has spent "more than $500,000" on engineering drawings and cost estimates by the Brian-Kangas-Foulk (BKF) engineering firm, Stanford spokesman Larry Horton confirmed this week.

And the costs will likely go higher -- they are linked to a construction-cost index that tracks cost increases and inflation.

Despite the cost, Horton said Thursday he believes the agreement with Santa Clara County "is a very fair resolution of something that has gone on for a long time."

He said if the agreement is approved by the supervisors, the Page Mill/Ramos Ranch trail (known as S-1) "will be open within 12 months," assuming all permits are approved.

Stanford will issue formal offer letters to San Mateo County, Portola Valley and Los Altos Hills assuming the supervisors approve the trails plan.

"I believe that when all this is finished that it will be seen by all who use it as a significant and positive recreational amenity," Horton said.

Under the agreement with Santa Clara County, Stanford has committed to leave the offer to San Mateo County and Portola Valley on the table for five years, with a possible extension of two additional years.

Santa Clara County Manager Pete Kutras, who has taken a personal interest in the report, told the Weekly that if the northern trail is not approved within that time frame the funds would revert to Stanford and the commitment would expire. Kutras had taken a helicopter tour of possible alternate routes for Alpine Road route (known as C-1) and had walked the area twice.

"The risk is if any one of those jurisdictions (San Mateo County or Portola Valley) decide they don't want to do the trail," he said.

In reaching the conclusion to follow Stanford's preferences, Kutras said he and county planning officials "looked at a number of alternatives" in San Mateo County.

"One was, for lack of a better word, too deep (into Stanford lands) and not agreeable to Stanford." Another alternative would have put the trail too close to the small creek in some places, intruding on the riparian habitat and likely disqualifying it from getting approvals by environmental regulatory agencies, Kutras said.

Kutras said he believes the route does qualify as a connector trail despite its close proximity to Alpine Road -- parts of which may have to be rebuilt to accommodate the trail and shore up two areas where the creek threatens to undermine the road.

Horton said the trail link would be cantilevered out over the creek in some areas.

Residents of an small neighborhood between Alpine Road and the creek have voiced intense opposition to the Alpine Road alignment, and at one point filed a lawsuit against it. Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be reached at jthorwaldson@paweekly.com.

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