Category: Events

City Council Candidate Forums Next Week

We’re only a few weeks away from the November 6 elections and there are a number of events coming up to help voters become more familiar with local candidates for Palo Alto City Council. Five candidates–Pat Boone, Alison Cormack, Tom DuBois, Eric Filseth, and Cory Wolbach–are vying for three seats on the council.

The Palo Alto Weekly is hosting a candidate debate at the Little Theatre at Cubberley Community Center on Monday, October 3rd at 7:30pm. The following night (October 4th) at 7pm, Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN) is hosting a candidate forum at City Hall moderated by former City Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell. The League of Women Voters of Palo Alto will also hold a candidate forum on October 9th at 7pm at First Congregational Church on Louis Road.

If you can’t make any of those events, be sure to check out PAN’s City Council Candidates Questionnaire, which gathers responses from the candidates on issues ranging from accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to renter protections.

The Weekly has a summary of other election events, including School Board candidate forums as well as events covering the various ballot measures. Do your homework and don’t forget to vote!

What’s Up with the Stanford GUP?

One of the topics at last week’s CTRA board meeting was an update on the Stanford General Use Permit (GUP) approval process. The GUP is intended to guide the growth and development of the university’s central campus through the year 2035. Stanford has asked for approval of 2,275,000 net new square feet of facilities and up to 3,150 units of housing, which is estimated to generate an additional 9,610 people on campus.

Journalists at the Palo Alto Weekly recently discussed the proposed campus expansion and the debate over how much housing the university should provide as part of its growth plan. If you haven’t been closely following the GUP process, the video is a good way to catch up.

The period for providing comments on the recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (including the two alternative housing options proposed by the county) recently ended. Once the Environmental Impact Report is final, the project will go before the Santa Clara County Planning Commission for consideration and then to the Board of Supervisors for a vote. Here’s the current schedule for those workshops and hearings:

Planning Commission
Workshop, September 27
Hearing #1, October 11
Hearing #2, October 25
Hearing #3, November 1 (if needed)

Board of Supervisors
Hearing/Workshop, November 6
Hearing #1, November 13
Hearing #2, December 4
Hearing #3, December 18
Final Meeting #4, January 8, 2019

Check the county’s website for further information, including locations when they’re announced.

The outcome of the GUP approval process will have a profound impact on the surrounding area, and our neighborhood in particular, for years to come. (The majority of new on-campus housing forecast will be adjacent to College Terrace in Escondido Village.) So take time to read up on the issues (via the Weekly’s coverage, the county’s website, Stanford’s own GUP site, or elsewhere) and consider attending one or more of the above meetings to make sure your concerns are addressed.

Save the Date: Spring Picnic on May 19

Mark your calendars! The CTRA will be hosting its annual Spring Picnic on Saturday, May 19 from 3pm to 7pm at Mayfield Park, next to the College Terrace Library. We’ll be grilling burgers (meat and veggie) and hot dogs. Drop by, bring a potluck dish to share and meet some of your neighbors from across College Terrace.

By the way, the CTRA Spring and Fall Picnics are made possible by your donations, so why not donate today?

 

Mayor to Address CTRA Annual Meeting

Palo Alto Mayor Liz Kniss, who has represented the interests of our city in elected office for over three decades, will address our neighborhood at the annual meeting on Saturday, March 24, at 10am at University Lutheran Church. She has served one 4-year term on the Palo Alto School Board, two on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors sandwiched between five terms, including her current one, on the Palo Alto City Council. In January, she was elected mayor for the third time.

During her long career in public office, she has concurrently served on numerous county committees and regional regulatory authorities, including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which she chaired last year.

For the year, she has cited housing, and specifically senior housing, as one of her top priorities. Her prior career as a nurse, led naturally to her strong support over the years for initiatives related to public health. Between those two issues rests a wealth of experience and engagement in the major challenges facing our city and region.

Come early to personally greet and chat with Liz Kniss prior to the meeting, followed by the election of the CTRA Board, the president’s intro, and the mayor’s remarks.

Read the March 2018 CTRA newsletter, Views from the Terrace, which includes highlights from the past year, as well as information about the CTRA 2018-19 board nominees.