Expansion plans still don’t sway neighbors

Traffic is the major concern for many in the community

PALO ALTO — Castilleja School hoped its latest iteration of expansion plans would appease neighbors upset about traffic and tree removals, but so far they’re saying no dice.

The all-girls private school at 1310 Bryant St. made a few changes to its plans in response to neighbors’ concerns and submitted the revisions April 28, said Kathy Layendecker, Castilleja’s chief financial and operating officer.

But residents say that after months of community meetings, their main concern remains the traffic congestion that would ensue if the city allows Castilleja to increase its enrollment by about 100 students in four years.

The new plans, made public Wednesday, show a shift in the exit ramp of a proposed parking garage so it doesn’t send cars in front of a residence. The exit ramp will now align with a public street, Melville Avenue.

The school also will add a net of 22 trees instead of impacting every tree on campus, as project opponents initially feared.

The revised plans include about 30 new documents, such as arborist consultations, noise studies and topographic surveys. The public has until the end of the business day on May 12 to submit comments on what issues should be evaluated as part of the proposed project’s environment impact report.

Residents of the Protect Neighborhood Quality of Life neighborhood group say they already know the changes aren’t significant enough.

About 45 of them delivered a petition Wednesday to Castilleja reiterating their opposition to any underground parking garage.

“It is distressing to see that the school continues to imply that the neighbors of the school are in favor of the underground garage,” the petition states. “This is not an accurate assessment of the neighborhood.”

Group members say the school already is over-enrolled and should revert back to having only 415 students, the number allowed by a conditional use permit issued in 2000.

The city learned in 2013 that Castilleja actually had 448 students enrolled then and fined the school. Castilleja subsequently submitted a plan to reduce enrollment to 438.

The school’s latest plan would set student enrollment at 540 and add about 25 each year to meet growing demand. The prestigious school, with a $42,000 annual tuition, turns away nine out of 10 girls who apply because of the enrollment limits, school officials previously said.

Nelson Ng lives at the home that would have been directly affected by the parking garage exit. Moving the exit fixes the problem of headlights shining into his home at all hours of the day, Ng said, but cars still will be constantly exiting the garage onto his street.

Ng said the planned garage wouldn’t even satisfy the school’s parking needs.

“Is it really worth it to have minimal net new parking spaces and subject everybody to this?” Ng asked. “To build a garage that does not solve our needs and, at the end of the day, does not solve their needs?”

Ng said neighbors aren’t against the school’s mission but just want to preserve their own quality of life.

Castilleja officials say neighbors misunderstand the garage’s purpose, which isn’t meant to provide more parking but to address the number of cars that currently drive to campus.

“The garage is really designed to move cars that are currently coming to campus off the street and underground, so out of sight, essentially,” Layendecker said.

Castilleja’s proposal makes clear that the school is committed to increase enrollment with no new net trips to campus, Layendecker added. To do this, the school will boost its transportation demand management program, adding shuttles to train stations and off-site parking lots, for example.

Layendecker said the school has reduced car trips by 20 percent over the last few years — a figure verified by an independent auditor who visits Castilleja unannounced twice a year to measure peak traffic.

Castilleja was founded in 1907 and last modernized 50 years ago, so school officials are seeking a comprehensive facelift in addition to adding enrollment.

“Most of the learning spaces our students come to every day were built in the 1960s,” Layendecker said.

Plans involve replacing current academic buildings with a new one with more levels, though the change won’t be visible from outside because building heights are expected to stay the same.

The center of campus will be lowered and terraced, allowing for amphitheater seating and opening to a dining area with sliding glass doors that provide more fluidity between indoor and outdoors.

The pool also will be moved below grade.