Stanford University has proposed construction of about 3,000 housing units and 2 million square feet of academic and cultural facilities, offices and athletic structures. At the same time, Santa Clara County is exerting greater control over Stanford land use then ever before. Stanford — which owns 8,180 acres, two-thirds of which is open space — has submitted a draft Community Plan to the county. The document is more detailed than previous plans, something local government leaders and community activists demanded. "It really gets down to who gets to decide what happens there," said Sarah Jones, project manager for the Santa Clara County Planning Office. "We are definitely trying to take a more active role. It's not sufficient anymore to say you can build so many square feet in exchange for such and such." Besides submitting the Community Plan, which the county is treating as a general plan amendment, Stanford has applied for a general use permit that would allow actual construction after review of individual projects. The general use permit will probably expire in 10 years, but the Community Plan should have a longer life, Jones explained. The draft plan calls for nearly two-thirds of new housing to be in the form of apartments, group housing and dormitories for graduate students. Another 350 apartments would be available to hospital residents and postgraduate fellows. Up to 687 single-family houses, duplexes and apartments would be designated for faculty and staff members. Although an environmental impact report is due in June, concerns have arisen already regarding open space protection, traffic and land for a new middle school. Members of the Stanford community and surrounding residents treasure the university's eucalyptus groves, grasslands, lakes and rolling hills. Stanford contends that its plan would not decrease the amount of open space, and, at the county's urging, the university has proposed an academic growth boundary similar to an urban growth boundary. "Development on Stanford land in Santa Clara County will be concentrated in the core campus," the plan states. But Stanford has refused to restrict potential, future use of the open space because the university's founders provided the entire site for higher education. "We plan to keep it open space for the next 10 years," said Andy Coe, Stanford's director of community relations. "To plan beyond that time would be irresponsible." Joe Huber, a former Palo Alto city councilman who serves on a county advisory committee on the Stanford Community Plan, said he is tired of this argument. A good chunk of open space should be preserved, and, if Stanford is unwilling, the county should zone tracts as open space, Huber said. Huber also doubts Stanford's contention that the proposed development would add few vehicles to the area's congested boulevards. Menlo Park City Councilman Paul Collacchi, who also sits on the advisory board, said Stanford should construct a better internal road system. Collacchi figures Stanford's university, research park, medical center, shopping center and other facilities comprise 30 million square feet of development, 37,500 workers and 15,000 students. Yet Stanford relies primarily on off-site roads. Coe said the Community Plan calls for boosting an already aggressive transportation demand management program, which includes a free shuttle to mass transit stations, payments to people who do not drive, and parking fees. Plus, additional on-campus housing should eliminate some existing vehicle trips, he noted. As for a new middle school, Stanford is negotiating with Palo Alto Unified School District. The district already has crowded classrooms, and Stanford's new housing could bring 200 to 500 additional students. The district has asked for a site in the core campus, but Stanford thus far has offered two locations away from the main campus and outside the academic growth boundary. No one strongly disputes Stanford's housing intentions. The market in the northern Silicon Valley is so expensive and tight — the median single family home prices tops $400,000 — that Stanford sometimes has trouble recruiting faculty, Coe said. The larger issue of government police power regarding Stanford might be foremost right now. "We've been trying for years to get some sort of growth plan out of Stanford that protects open space and has limits," Huber said. "Up until now, Stanford has had sort of a free ride with the county. But now the heat's on." He called the draft Community Plan a good starting point and expressed optimism about the current planning process. Even Collacchi, who city has feuded with Stanford for decades, commended the county process. "I would like to see more oversight and treatment of Stanford as a private institution, just as any other institution. It has received extra-legal treatment," he said. In fact, Stanford's land in Santa Clara County lies in a general zoning district, which allows almost any use as long as Stanford gets a use permit. That generous zoning might change, Jones said. Complicating the planning is the fact that Stanford's holdings extend over portions of two counties (Santa Clara and San Mateo) and four incorporated cities (Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Portola Valley and Woodside). In December, Stanford development in Palo Alto advanced when the Sixth District Court of Appeal ruled against Menlo Park's lawsuit regarding several Stanford projects — about 1,000 apartments and senior homes, shopping center expansion, and widening and extending Sand Hill Road, a busy thoroughfare. In an unpublished opinion, the court rejected Menlo Park's argument that the EIR must account for a great deal of future Stanford development. An EIR on another project in Palo Alto, expansion of Stanford Medical Center, is due shortly. Also, the Hewlett Foundation has expressed interest in building an office in the San Mateo County portion of Stanford. Still, Stanford officials recognize "times are different," and they want to ensure the public has plenty of input, Coe said. "There is much more attention being paid to housing, traffic and open space." Contacts: Sarah Jones, Santa Clara County, (408) 299-2454, ext. 226. Andy Coe, Stanford University, (650) 725-3323. Joe Huber, Community Resources Group, (408) 295-7034. Paul Collacchi, City of Menlo Park, (650) 321-9751.