School expansion plan could still see major changes

The proposal has been hotly debated by the city council since 2015

PALOALTO>> A divided city council has sent the Castilleja School expansion plan back to the drawing board as it seeks to make more changes and lower the project’s footprint years after it was first proposed.

Controversy over the school’s proposed parking structure continued as city council members held a final hearing Monday on the expansion plan first proposed in 2015 before city commissioners make more revisions. And, after three hearings over the past two months, the council remains split on allowing the 112-year-old private girls school expansion project to move forward.

In the coming weeks, commissioners are set to sift through the divided opinions of a city council which has deliberated over Castilleja’s plan for years and has squabbled over minute details. One sticking point that doesn’t seem to go away is parking and traffic, which remain sore points for neighbors of the school.

On Monday, the council voted 4-3 to ask commissioners to study the idea of a 52-car garage, a smaller version of the 78-car underground parking structure Castilleja proposed.

Council members also asked commissioners to craft a process that bases increasing school enrollment on traffic reduction compliance, an issue that hearkens back to the school’s revelation in 2013 that it had been violating its 415-student enrollment cap for decades.

Council members also proposed noise and traffic management as key priorities for the PTC. Some council members agreed that the school should limit the number of students who can drive to school and also stop staff members from

driving too.

Councilman Pat Burt suggested the school should enroll more students from Palo Alto to stop people from coming from other areas.

Mayor Tom DuBois — who seemed ready to say ‘no’ to the project when he last spoke to the Bay Area News Group — said Monday that he would rather the parking garage be denied, and asked for more strict enforcement of enrollment.

“It think there’s substantial evidence to support denying this project,” DuBois said.

Councilman Eric Filseth said the council was “running up against some laws of physics” and said it’s probably not possible for the school to add students and keep traffic the same or even less than normal.

Councilman Greg Tanaka, who has been skeptical of the school’s expansion plan, said he’d also like more strict enforcement of enrollment. But he cautioned that the council’s actions could lead to a “total reset” of the project.

“It’s not like we’re changing a window here,” Tanaka said. “It’s an entirely different project now.”

Councilman Greer Stone wants the council to have the ability to suspend future enrollment increases and even reduce enrollment to make Castilleja achieve its traffic goals. He said in an interview Tuesday that it’s a good balance to allow the expansion to take place while asking the school to meet certain goals and conditions.

But even after years of debate, Stone said he’s in no rush to get the Castilleja expansion plan through any time soon. He said the school and the community have been clear that Castilleja “is an incredibly successful institution as it is right now.”

“This isn’t something that needs to be fixed immediately in order to be able to fix an education flaw at the school,” Stone said. “It’s something that the school wants to be able to do to be better and I don’t see a problem with delaying to make sure we get it right the first time.”

In a statement, Castilleja Head of School Nanci Kauffman said “there is much to be done in the coming months,” but they reiterated that they will work to get the project done.

“We’re committed to working with all the various approval bodies and of course our neighbors,” Kauffman said. “Chief among our issues is how to keep cars off the road, while having adequate parking for our staff. We’re open to all ideas and look forward to the ensuing discussions.”