In what some see as another housing vs. business battle shaping up, the Palo Alto City Council took a step last week toward potentially locating a hotel and conference center on housing-zoned land at the corner of Page Mill Road and El Camino Real.
The Council voted unanimously to hire Hill Glazier Architects at a cost of $10,000 to study the sizing and design alternatives for a hotel and conference center on the 6.2-acre site on the northwest corner of the intersection.
The property is owned by Stanford University and zoned for high-density residential use. But Stanford Management Company official Curtis Feeny said the university does not intend to build housing there for as long as it owns the property.
"We have 10 million square feet of (Stanford) research park tenants screaming for a hotel and conference center. They are not screaming for housing," Feeny said.
However, if the study results in viable hotel alternatives, the city would have to act as the applicant on the project. Stanford is not willing to be the applicant itself because it currently has all it can handle with its controversial application to extend Sand Hill Road, build 630 housing units at Stanford West and develop about 500 units for seniors.
That made some Council members uncomfortable.
"I'm concerned about the number of individual actions this Council is taking," said Vice Mayor Lanie Wheeler.
Members of the business community said the site is an ideal location for a hotel and conference center to serve the research park and the rest of the community, including non-profit organizations that have an increasingly difficult time finding a place to hold award ceremonies and other events.
Housing advocate Denny Petrosian was the lone voice in opposition. "We're nickel and diming community services, while we're throwing $10,000 out just to be business-friendly," she said.
Mayor Joe Simitian said the approval of the architectural study is in no way a conclusion that a hotel will go on the site, but "an attempt to provide information to reach a conclusion."
Palo Alto-based Hill Glazier, which was recommended over two other architectural firms, is widely known for its hotel and resort designs. Actor Kevin Costner recently chose the firm to build a controversial destination resort and gambling casino in Deadwood, S.D.
--Peter Gauvin
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