County staff to release proposed conditions of approval for Stanford development on or before May 23rd
MAY 30 PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING IN PALO ALTO
SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara County Planning Commission will hold its first hearing regarding the Stanford University General Use Permit application on Thursday, May 30th in Palo Alto City Council Chambers beginning at 6:00 p.m.
On or before May 23rd, the County will release the staff’s proposed conditions of approval and other associated documents necessary for consideration of the Stanford General Use Permit application. The proposed conditions of approval follow a rigorous environmental review process, which incorporated feedback from the public and nearby communities affected by the proposed development.
“I encourage community members to attend the hearing, and to review the conditions of approval and Community Plan amendments; they include mitigation of housing, transportation, and other environmental impacts of the development,” said Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Joe Simitian. “This is the largest development ever reviewed by the County in its 169-year history. We owe it to the applicant and the community to get it right.”
The Planning Commission hearing on May 30th is currently the only hearing the Planning Commission has scheduled in Palo Alto, and is an opportunity for members of the community closest to the proposed development to learn more about the University’s application, and offer their comments regarding the proposed development.
Conditions of approval are the rules that govern how a permit will be implemented. They incorporate the mitigations identified through the environmental review and include additional measures necessary to ensure protection of public health, safety and welfare.
Released alongside the conditions of approval will be:
- A staff report with recommendations on the project
- Staff proposed amendments to the 2000 Stanford University Community Plan
- The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan (from the Final Environmental Impact Report)
- Findings necessary to approve the project
The staff report will provide background information and context that explains how the review process has proceeded thus far, and how the staff recommendations align with the goals and policies articulated in the Stanford Community Plan.
Following the Planning Commission Hearing on May 30th, two additional dates are currently being held for Planning Commission consideration of the Stanford GUP application. These meetings are on June 13th and 27th, both starting at 1:30 p.m. and held at the County Government Center in the Issac Newton Senter Auditorium located at 70 W. Hedding Street in San Jose. The Planning Commission may take formal action on any of the hearing dates.
There will be additional opportunities for public comment later this fall when the application is heard by the Board of Supervisors. At that point, the recommendations will incorporate direction, if any, provided by the Planning Commission as part of its consideration of the Stanford GUP.
“With a project as large and complicated at the Stanford General Use Permit, it’s difficult to predict exactly when it will come before the Board of Supervisors,” noted Simitian, “but the public should know we’re doing all we can to ensure an open and public process, where their views are heard and the impacts of the project are fully considered.”