STANFORD DEVELOPMENT DRAFT EIR
PUBLIC MEETING ON OCTOBER 19th

Who:  Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian

What: A community meeting on Stanford University’s General Use Permit Application and the associated Draft Environmental Impact Report.

Santa Clara County has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for development proposed by Stanford University in its application for an updated General Use Permit. Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian noted, “This is a significant moment in the County’s review of the proposal which calls for growing the campus by 2,275,000 square feet of academic and support facilities plus 3,150 units of housing. If members of the public have comments, questions, or opinions, now’s the time to weigh in.”

Simitian will be holding a public meeting in Palo Alto in the Palo Alto City Council Chambers on October 19th to discuss the application and solicit public comment and feedback on the proposal. Comments will be responded to and incorporated into the Final EIR

“If approved, this proposal is likely to be in place through 2035. This is a once in a generation opportunity to get it right,” said Simitian. “I think it’s important that we make sure the public has all the information, and a chance to weigh in on what would be a sizeable addition to the campus.”

Stanford University submitted their application for an updated General Use Permit to the Board of Supervisors last November. Over the past year, Santa Clara County, in conjunction with an EIR and traffic consultant, has been evaluating potential impacts of the development proposal. With the release of the Draft EIR, the County will be soliciting feedback from the community about the assessment of impacts and the identification of possible mitigations.

The Draft EIR is available online now at the following URL:  https://www.sccgov.org/sites/dpd/Programs/Stanford/Pages/GUP2018_CE  QA.aspx. Members of the public will have 60 days, until December 4th, to provide feedback on the Draft EIR.

The community meeting held by Supervisor Simitian at Palo Alto City Hall will serve as an opportunity to hear about the proposed development and the process for reviewing it, including the opportunity for public engagement. It will also be a forum for the community to offer comments for consideration in the Final EIR. County Planning staff will also be on hand to describe the application, explain the process, and answer questions.