“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably on the menu.” This saying should be a warning to Palo Alto and surrounding communities when it comes to Stanford’s General Use Permit (GUP).
A new process, proposed by Stanford, is being considered on Tuesday, October 16 by the County Board of Supervisors, and it should cause concern for all of us. The proposed “Development Agreement” would opens the door for a back-room deal, struck outside the public eye.
The agreement would be negotiated behind closed-doors by two Supervisors sitting down in private with Stanford’s lawyers and developers. The public could have no visibility on what was agreed until the deal was fully negotiated and presented for final approval. With no seat at the table, we could find out only at the end that our community interests, including our schools, are on the menu instead.
We don’t have to let this happen. The Board of Supervisors needs to hear from our community that an open and participatory process is critical.
What you can do:
-
- Come to the meeting – we will be at the October 16th meeting to let the Supervisors know the public’s expectation for open government and a fair agreement. Email fairsharegup@gmail.com for time/place details.
- Email your supervisors – Let them know what we think about closed-door deal-making on the county’s largest ever development project. Please include ALL the emails below, to make sure your email gets seen and included in the meeting packet: boardoperations@cob.sccgov.org, mike.wasserman@bos.sccgov.org, cindy.chavez@bos.sccgov.org, dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org, supervisor.yeager@bos.sccgov.org, Supervisor.simitian@bos.sccgov.org
