On June 27, the Santa Clara County Planning Commission voted to recommend extending the current protection of the Stanford foothills for 99 years. Now the matter will be heard by the Board of Supervisors in the fall where we will ask that they make the protection permanent. Thanks to everyone who sent emails or came to speak — your voice made a difference!

What’s Happening

The County of Santa Clara is in the midst of considering Stanford University’s application for a General Use Permit (GUP), which would approve campus development through the year 2035. As we mentioned previously, this is a critical opportunity to extend the current protection of open space in the Stanford foothills.

We’re pleased to report that the County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Supervisors approve the staff-recommended 99-year extension. We are still hopeful that the protection can be made permanent, and we will be asking the Supervisors to take that action when they vote on this issue this fall.

The Planning Commission also requested County staff to address other environmental concerns, including requiring bird-safe design for all new development on the Stanford campus and protecting heritage oak trees. We will be following staff’s proposals on these issues.

If you haven’t signed our petition yet, please do! This is a long process, but with your help we are one step closer to achieving permanent protection for open space in the Stanford foothills. Thank you for supporting open space protection!