"Shall an ordinance proposed by citizen initiative be adopted amending the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan to require: Transportation demand management programs for projects generating traffic on Sand Hill Road; limiting Snad Hill Road to two lanes with a third lane authorized for public vehicles; extension of Sand Hill Road to El Camino Real; efforts to redesignate as open space certain land adjacent to San Francisquito Creek currently designated for housing; and restrictions on Stanford Shopping Center expansion if traffic increases will occur on specified streets?" MEASURE M RESOLUTION NO. 7704 RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1997, FOR SUBMITTAL OF AN INITIATIVE MEASURE TO THE ELECTORATE AND ORDERING CONSOLIDATION OF SAID ELECTION WHEREAS, by Resolution No. 7679, the City Council has called a general municipal election for the election of Council Members for November 4, 1997, pursuant to Article III, Section 3, and ordered consolidation of said election; and WHEREAS, an initiative petition regarding a Sand Hill Project Alternative has been presented to the City Council in accordance with the requirements of Article VI, section 2 of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto and this Council has concluded that it wishes to submit the initiative to the electorate of the City of Palo Alto, rather than the alternative of adopting it directly; and WHEREAS, elections are scheduled to be held on November 4, 1997, in certain school districts and certain special districts in Santa Clara County; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Education Code Section 5342 and Part 3 of Division 10 of the Elections Code, commencing at Section 10400, such elections may be partially or completely consolidated. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Palo Alto does RESOLVE as follows: SECTION 1. Pursuant to Article VI, Section 2 of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto, this Council submits to the electorate of the City of Palo Alto the following question: CITY OF PALO ALTO INITIATIVE MEASURE M Shall an ordinance proposed by citizen initiative be adopted amending the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan to require: Transportation demand management programs for projects generating traffic on Sand Hill Road; limiting Sand Hill Road to two lanes with a third lane authorized for public vehicles; extension of Sand Hill Road to El Camino Real; efforts to redesignate as open space certain land adjacent to San Francisquito Creek currently designated for housing; and restrictions on Stanford Shopping Center expansion if traffic increases will occur on specified streets. If a majority of qualified electors voting on such measure shall vote in favor of City of Palo Alto Initiative Measure M, it shall be deemed ratified and shall read as provided in Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated by this reference. SECTION 2. The Council of the City of Palo Alto requests the Governing Body of any such other political subdivision, or any officers otherwise authorized by law, to partially or completely consolidate such elections and to further provide that the canvass be made by any body or official authorized by law to canvass the returns of the election, except that in accordance with Article III, Section 4, of the Palo Alto Charter, the City Council must meet and declare the results of said elections; and that this City Council consents to such consolidation. SECTION 3. Pursuant to Section 10002 of the California Elections Code, the Council of the City of Palo Alto hereby requests the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County to permit the Registrar of Voters to render services to the City of Palo Alto relating to the conduct of Palo Alto's General Municipal and Special Elections which are called to be held on Tuesday, November 4, 1997. The services shall be of the type normally performed by the Registrar of Voters in assisting the clerks of municipalities in the conduct of elections including, but not RESOLUTION NO. 7704 - Continued limited to, checking registrations, mailing ballots, hiring election officers and arranging for polling places, receiving absent voter ballot applications, mailing and receiving absent voter ballots and opening and counting same, providing and distributing election supplies, and furnishing votomatic machines. Subject to approval of the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County of the foregoing request, the City Clerk is hereby authorized to engage the services of the Registrar of Voters of the County of Santa Clara to aid in the conduct of said elections including canvassing the returns of said election. Further, the Director of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay the cost of said services provided that no payment shall be made for services which the Registrar of Voters is otherwise required by law to perform. The City Clerk is directed to submit a certified copy of this resolution to the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara. SECTION 4. The City Clerk is directed to do all things requested by law to present the measure to the electorate, including required publication and noticing. Further, the City Clerk is directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the City Attorney for preparation of an impartial analysis of the above measure. SECTION 5. The Council finds that this resolution does not constitute a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. INTRODUCED AND PASSED: August 4, 1997 AYES: Andersen, Eakins, Fazzino, Huber, Kniss, McCown, Rosenbaum, Wheeler NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: Schneider ATTEST: GLORIA L. YOUNG City Clerk APPROVED: JOSEPH H. HUBER Mayor JUNE FLEMING City Manager APPROVED AS TO FORM: ARIEL PIERRE CALONNE City Attorney MELISSA O. CAVALLO Acting Director of Administrative Services INITIATIVE FOR SAND HILL PROJECT ALTERNATIVE The people of the City of Palo Alto hereby ordain as follows: Section 1. Purpose and Findings. A. Purpose. This initiative offers Palo Alto voters an alternative which reduces the impact of Stanford's proposed projects along Sand Hill Road and still provides the community benefits of new housing and road improvements. The initiative provides for connecting Sand Hill Road to El Camino Real, but keeps Sand Hill as a two lane road for automobiles from the El Camino to Santa Cruz Avenue. It provides for a potential third lane for public vehicles such as buses and ambulances. The initiative amends the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan to enable building an equal number of housing units as proposed by Stanford, but in a location closer to transit and work sites. The initiative seeks to preserve the field next to San Francisquito Creek as open space. It allows for additional growth of Stanford Shopping Center beyond the current cap of 49,000 square feet only if traffic management plans are developed and put into effect. By controlling road capacity along Sand Hill Road, this initiative will require and guide the redesign of the proposed development to meet community needs far into the future. By reducing reliance on the automobile, encouraging housing closer to transit lines and workplaces, and preserving open space, the initiative will guide development along the Sand Hill corridor in accord with the goals of Palo Alto's Draft Comprehensive Plan update. B. The Proposed Projects. Palo Alto's City Council and Stanford University have proposed to enter into a Development Agreement to build a set of major projects along the Sand Hill/San Francisquito Creek corridor ("The Project"), stretching from El Camino Real to Santa Cruz Avenue. The Project would locate 628 housing units and 1193 parking spaces on the open space meadow next to San Francisquito Creek, construct 496 senior housing units across the road from Stanford Shopping Center, expand the shopping center by 80,000 square feet, widen Sand Hill Road to four lanes, connect it with two lanes to El Camino Real, and add significant new roadways along Quarry, behind Nordstrom, and along Stockfarm Road. C. Traffic. The Sand Hill projects are based on an outmoded concept of transportation and land use: more concrete, more parking, more cars. This approach eats up open space, discourages use of alternative transportation and pollutes the air and water with automobile emissions. According to the Project's Environmental Impact Report, the proposed four-lane Sand Hill Road will have twice as many cars as the current two lanes. The projected traffic - 53,000 cars per day - exceeds both today's traffic on El Camino in Menlo Park and today's traffic on University Avenue and Embarcadero Road combined. Moreover, widening Sand Hill now will induce even more traffic by laying the groundwork for future development along this corridor. A four-lane Sand Hill Road from Arboretum to Santa Cruz will enable Stanford to completely develop the land south of Sand Hill without oversight by the City of Palo Alto. Although the City's proposed Development Agreement prevents building on some current open space until 2020, widening the road now will put the infrastructure in place for buildings planned in the future. The Project therefore violates the community objective of reducing reliance on the automobile expressed in the Draft Comprehensive Plan update. D. Open Space. The open space next to San Francisquito Creek is the last remaining creekside meadow in the Midpeninsula area. This field holds significant environmental value and provides a much-needed sense of open space in an urbanized area which grows more congested each month. The Project proposes to construct housing and parking on this meadow, a violation of the community objective of preserving natural features expressed in the Draft Comprehensive Plan update. E. Housing. Furthermore, the housing proposed for the San Francilsquito Creek site will be isolated from transportation and community services, and school children will have to cross a four-lane road to leave their neighborhood. Building in this location will violate the neighborhood services objectives in Palo Alto's Draft Comprehensive Plan update. F. Sensible Planning. Forward-looking communities around the U.S. have begun to integrate land use and traffic planning. To bring traffic under control and make communities livable, they plan housing next to transit lines, reduce roadways and parking, and protect natural open spaces. Applying such strategies to the Sand Hill projects would move housing away from Ohlone Field and onto sites (such as Hoover Pavilion) closer to transit lines and work places, limit Sand Hill to two lanes, and curb traffic growth by creating incentives for building and using alternative transportation. G. Effect of this Initiative. This initiative would amend the City's Comprehensive Plan to: Require that Sand Hill Road be maintained at its current width of two lanes for private automobiles, authorize creation of a third lane for public vehicles (buses and ambulances), and allow for connecting Sand Hill to El Camino Real; Direct the City and Stanford to work together to utilize creative techniques (such as the transfer of development rights) to preserve the open space next to San Francisquito Creek, while at the same time ensuring development of the proposed number of new housing units in our community; and Prevent expansion of the Stanford Shopping Center beyond what is currently allowed, unless the expansion is designed to ensure that there is no net increase in traffic on El Camino, Alma, Embarcadero, University, Willow and other residential streets in the area between the Sand Hill corridor and the regional highways. If passed, this initiative becomes part of the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan, and, as a matter of law, the initiative requires that these provisions will remain a part of the Comprehensive Plan until the year 2015 unless changed by a vote of the people. After that, the provisions of this initiative may be changed by the City Council at any time. Section 2. Comprehensive Plan Amendment A. Comprehensive Plan Text Amendments. The City of Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan adopted February 2, 1981 as amended through June 16, 1997 is hereby amended as indicated below. Text to be inserted into the Comprehensive Plan is indicated in bold italic type while text to be stricken is presented in strikeout type; text in standard type currently appears in the Comprehensive Plan and is reaffirmed and readopted unchanged by this initiative. All references to the "Comprehensive Plan" refer to the City of Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan dated February 2, 1981 as amended through June 16,1997. 1. The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan is hereby amended by amending Program 19 to read as follows: Program 19: Sand Hill Road Area. Reduce traffic congestion on Sand Hill Road while prohibiting a direct connection from Sand Hill Road to Palo Alto Avenue/Alma Street across El Camino Real. (a) Traffic congestion and automobile volume on Sand Hill Road shall be reduced in the long term by, to the fullest extent allowed by law, requiring projects generating traffic on Sand Hill Road to implement a transportation demand management (TDM) program which shall include, but not be limited to, the following components: regular shuttle service to the University Avenue Multi-modal Transit Station available seven days per week, bicycle access and bicycle parking facilities, small-scale commercial uses and community services co-located with residential projects to allow residents to fulfill everyday shopping and community service needs within walking distance, mandatory local employment for at least one household member of new housing, resident parking limited to one space per unit for residential projects, separate rental of parking spaces and dwelling units for residential projects, remote employee parking and employee busing for non- residential projects, fees for parking for non-residential projects, limited on-site parking facilities for non-residential projects, and offering employee parking cash-outs and other employee incentives to encourage alternative means of travel to non-residential sites. A project may be exempted from implementing one or more of the foregoing TDM measures if the City Council finds, based on substantial evidence in the record, that the measure is not feasible in light of the circumstances applicable to that project. For the purposes of this Program, "Sand Hill Road" refers to that portion of Sand Hill Road between Santa Cruz Avenue and El Camino Real. (b) Traffic improvements in the Sand Hill Road Area (e.g., Quarry Road, Arboretum Road, and Palo Road) shall be designed in a manner that will not lead to increased traffic on Alma Street and nearby residential streets. (c) To relieve congestion around Stanford Shopping Center, Sand Hill Road shall be extended to El Camino Real. Sand Hill Road between Santa Cruz Avenue and El Camino Real shall be no wider than two lanes, except that a third lane may be added for public vehicles such as buses and emergency vehicles. (d) Sand Hill Road has severe traffic congestion problems. Minor intersection improvements need to be made, traffic signals upgraded and coordinated, and bike lanes, sidewalks and crosswalks improved as minimum safety actions. Sand Hill Road serves an undeveloped 46-acre site zoned for multiple family residential. The Comprehensive Plan requires the City to identify potential methods of redesignating the site as Streamside Open Space and developing the multiple family housing elsewhere in the City (including lands such as the Hoover Pavilion or Campus West areas that may be annexed to the City in the future) through a transfer of development rights or other mechanisms. If, despite this requirement, housing is developed on this site, access will be improved by designing the project in compliance with the traffic management principles set forth in paragraph (a) of this Program and by the road improvements described in paragraph (c) of this Program. Development of housing on this site may make improved access necessary. However, any connection of Sand Hill Road to Palo Alto Avenue and Alma Street would encourage traffic increases on Alma Street and nearby residential streets, especially north of Downtown and, therefore, should shall not be approved. (e) The City shall consult on a regular basis with Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and the cities of Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Woodside and East Palo Alto to identify and implement methods of eliminating or significantly reducing any adverse traffic impacts of the Sand Hill Road extension and projects in the Sand Hill Road area. The City shall report on the consultations and the measures identified and implemented as a result of those consultations on a regular basis and shall seek public comment in connection with each report. The City shall issue the first such report and hold a public hearing on that report by June 30, 1998. Subsequent reports shall be issued and public hearings held at least once per year thereafter. 2. The Urban Design Element of the Comprehensive Plan is hereby amended by adopting the following Program 25A implementing Policy 7 ("Strengthen gateway identity.") to be inserted immediately following Program 25: Program 25A: The undeveloped 46.7 acre parcel known as both "Ohlone Field" and "Stanford West" on Sand Hill Road at the northeast entrance to the City is the last significant open space in the City adjacent to San Francisquito Creek. The site is currently designated as Multiple-Family Residential. To protect this valuable community resource in its undeveloped form and promote the development of housing in more suitable locations, the City shall consult with affected jurisdictions and affected property owners to identify potential methods of redesignating the site as Streamside Open Space and allowing development of at least 628 units of multiple family housing elsewhere in the City (including lands that may be annexed to the City in the future). The City shall evaluate the options identified and, following public hearings on the options evaluation, seek to implement the option or options best suited to promote redesignation of the site and development of housing at a location (or locations) that is well-served by public transit and within walking or cycling distance of significant employment opportunities. Methods of achieving this goal may include, but are not limited to, creating transferable development rights, allowing use of transferable development rights to allow higher density development in areas currently designated for multiple-family housing, designating some or all of the El Camino Park site for multiple-family housing, and annexing lands in the Hoover Pavilion and/or Campus West areas of the Stanford Campus for use as multiple-family housing. 3. The Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan is hereby amended by amending the description of the category "Regional/Community Commercial" as follows: Regional/Community Commercial: A. In General: This designation applies to larger shopping centers and shopping districts that have a variety and depth of goods and services usually not available in the neighborhood shopping areas. They rely on large trade areas and must be sized in accordance with the regional transportation systems serving the areas in which they are located. They may include department stores, apparel shops, sporting goods stores, toy stores, book shops, plan stores, fabric stores, appliance dealers, furniture stornes, restaurants, theater, and non-retail services such as offices, real estate brokers, banks, and insurance brokers. Residential and mixed use projects may also locate in this land use category. Regional/community commercial areas shown on the Plan Map are Stanford Shopping Center, Downtown (University Avenue), California Avenue, and Town and Country Village. The allowable building/site floor area ratios range from .35:1 to 2:1 and may be adjusted downward where necessary to reflect limitations in the transportation system serving the facility. B. Stanford Shopping Center: Due to substantial existing development and traffic constraints in the area, the Stanford Shopping Center (the area designated as Regional Community Commercial and bounded by El Camino Real, Sand Hill Road, Quarry Road and Arboretum Road and including properties adjoining Arboretum Road to the south) shall not be permitted to add more than forty-nine thousand (49,000) square feet of floor area to the total amount of floor area existing as of January 1, 1997 unless the City Council finds, based on substantial evidence in the record, each of the following: (1.) At least one year has passed since completion of the intersection of Sand Hill Road and El Camino Real; and (2.) The expansion will result in no net increase in traffic volume during the afternoon peak traffic hour on Sand Hill Road, Quarry Road, El Camino Real, or Alma Street. Design elements to achieve this goal may include, but are not limited to, the Transportation Demand Management program elements specified in Program 19(a), improved pedestrian connections to University Avenue/Downtown and nearby housing, and redevelopment of the University Avenue Multi-modal Transit Station area. Prior to making the findings referenced above, the City Council shall hold at least one noticed public hearing for the purpose of receiving testimony and evidence from the applicant and the public on the proposed findings. This hearing shall be in addition to any other public hearings regularly required for the project. 4. The Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan is hereby amended by inserting the following text after the last paragraph on page 76 of the Comprehensive Plan: Initiative for Sand Hill Alternative In 1997 the voters approved the Sand Hill Road Initiative adopting certain amendments to this Comprehensive Plan. In accordance with that action, the following policies, programs, and provisions shall continue to be included in the Comprehensive Plan until December 31, 2015 unless earlier repealed or amended by the voters of the City: Transportation Element, Program 19, paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (e); Urban Design Element, Program 25A; and Land Use Element, Regional/Community Commercial land use designation description, paragraph B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the above-referenced provisions may be renumbered and reordered in the course of ongoing updates of the Comprehensive Plan in accordance with the requirements of state law. In addition, the above-referenced provisions may be amended by the City Council if it finds, by a majority vote and based on substantial evidence in the record, that: (1.) The application of the provision to be amended would constitute an unconstitutional taking of a landowner's property; and (2.) The amendment and associated land use designation will allow additional land uses only to the minimum extent necessary to avoid said unconstitutional taking of the landowner's property. Substantial evidence may include, but is not limited to, a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction that the referenced policies constitute an unconstitutional taking. Prior to making the findings referenced above, the City Council shall hold at least one noticed public hearing for the purpose of receiving testimony and evidence from the applicant and the public on the proposed findings. This hearing shall be in addition to any other public hearings regularly required for the project. Section 3. Implementation. A. Effective Date. Upon the effective date of this initiative, the provisions of Section 2 of the initiative are hereby inserted into the City of Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan as an amendment thereof, except that if the four amendments of the mandatory elements of the Comprehensive plan permitted by state law for any given calendar year have already been utilized in the calendar year in which the initiative becomes effective, this Comprehensive plan amendment shall be the first amendment inserted in the City's Comprehensive Plan on January 1 of the next year. At such time as this Comprehensive plan amendment is inserted in the City of Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan, any provisions of the City of Palo Alto Zoning Ordinance, as reflected in the ordinance itself or the City of Palo Alto Zoning Map, inconsistent with this Comprehensive Plan amendment shall not be enforced. B. Interim Amendments. The City of Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan in effect at the time the Notice of Intention to circulate this initiative measure was submitted to the City of Palo Alto City Clerk ("submittal date") as amended by this initiative measure, comprise an integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of policies for the City. In order to ensure that the City of Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan remains an integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of policies for the City as required by state law, any provision of the Comprehensive Plan that is adopted between the submittal date and the date that the Comprehensive Plan is amended by this measure shall, to the extent that such interim-enacted provision is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan provisions adopted by section 2 of this initiative measure, be amended as soon as possible and in the manner and time required by State law to ensure consistency between the provisions adopted by this initiative and other elements of the City's Comprehensive Plan. C. Other City Ordinances and Policies. All City plans, policies, ordinances, rules, and regulations constituting legislative acts shall be amended as necessary as soon as possible and in the time and manner required by State law to ensure consistency between those policies and the provisions adopted by section 2 of this initiative. D. Project Approvals. Upon the effective date of this initiative, the City, and its departments, boards, commissions, officers and employees, shall not grant, or by inaction allow to be approved by operation of law, any Comprehensive Plan amendment, rezoning, specific plan, tentative or final subdivision map, conditional use permit, building permit or any other ministerial or discretionary entitlement, which is inconsistent with this initiative. Nothing in this initiative shall be construed to prohibit the City from complying with State laws requiring density bonuses and/or other incentives for projects including housing for seniors or for lower or very low income households. Section 4. Exemptions for Certain Projects. This initiative shall not apply to any development project that has obtained as of the effective date of the initiative a vested right pursuant to state law. Section 5. Severability. If any portion of this initiative is declared invalid by a court, the remaining portions are to be considered valid. Section 6. Competing Measures. In the event there are competing measures on the same ballot with the measure proposing this ordinance that address the same subject matter of this ordinance, the following rule shall apply. If more than one such measure passes, then both ordinances shall go into effect except to the extent that particular provisions of one ordinance are in direct, irreconcilable conflict with particular provisions of another ordinance. In that event, as to those conflicting provisions only, the provisions of the ordinance which received the most votes shall prevail. For the purposes of this section, a direct, irreconcilable conflict includes, but is not limited to any provision or provisions that would purport to grant any vested rights to development on or in the vicinity of Sand Hill Road. Section 7. Amendment or Repeal. Except as specifically provided herein, this initiative may be amended or repealed only by the voters of the City of Palo Alto at a City election. CITY ATTORNEY'S IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE M Measure "M" amends the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan Transportation, Urban Design and Land Use Elements. The measure would control the location and size of streets, housing and commercial development that may be approved along Sand Hill Road. The measure creates policy limiting Sand Hill Road to two lanes, and an extension to El Camino Real is required but not funded. Effect of Measure "M" Measure "M" does not grant approval for any specific development. The policies in Measure "M" are being proposed to the voters by citizen initiative. If Measure "M" is approved by a majority vote and receives more votes than Measure "O," the City Council's approval of Stanford projects along Sand Hill Road will be rejected. Alternative proposals for the Sand Hill Road Corridor would require additional environmental review and planning approvals by the City. Background The Comprehensive Plan is a "constitution" that governs development. The Transportation Element governs the location and size of roads and transit facilities. The Urban Design Element creates policies for the visual character of development. The Land Use Element designates land for certain types and amounts of development. Operation of Measure "M" Measure "M" would change three elements of the Comprehensive Plan to: Require Transportation Demand Management ("TDM") Programs for any development in Palo Alto that generates traffic on Sand Hill Road. When required, TDM programs must include, among other components, shuttle buses to the University Avenue train depot, at least one resident of each new housing unit must be employed locally, limiting residential parking to one space per new unit, parking fees for non-residential projects, and employee incentives for transit use; Require road projects in the Sand Hill Road area to be designed not to increase traffic on Alma and nearby residential streets. Require that Sand Hill Road be extended to El Camino Real. Prohibit expansion of Sand Hill Road beyond two lanes, except that a third lane could be added for public vehicles like buses and ambulances. Require Palo Alto to consult with neighboring cities and counties on ways to reduce the traffic impacts of development in the Sand Hill Road area. Require Palo Alto to identify and seek to implement methods of: Redesignating a 46.7 acre parcel adjacent to Sand Hill Road from multifamily housing to open space. Transferring development rights for at least 628 residential units from the 46.7 acre parcel to another site. Limit expansion of Stanford Shopping Center to 49,000 square feet more than what existed on 1/1/97 unless at least one year has passed following completion of the Sand Hill Road to El Camino Real connection and the expansion will result in no net increase in afternoon peak hour traffic volumes on Sand Hill Road, Quarry Road, El Camino Real, or Alma Street. CITY ATTORNEY'S IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE M - Continued LM=10 All City regulations must be reviewed and amended to ensure consistency with Measure "M." All future City development approvals must be consistent with Measure "M." With minor exceptions, Measure "M" could not be changed without voter approval until 12/31/2015. Dated: August 18, 1997 ARIEL PIERRE CALONNE City Attorney ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE M Traffic congestion in our community is a major problem. To improve our quality of life, we have to reduce traffic flow in our residential neighborhoods and busy thoroughfares. Measure M is an effective solution to the traffic problems on Sand Hill Road. If passed, MEASURE M WILL: Improve traffic flow on Sand Hill Road by extending and connecting Sand Hill Road to El Camino Real. In addition, it proposes to widen Sand Hill Road by a third lane designated for buses and ambulances. Measure M reduces traffic congestion and improves emergency access to Stanford and Lucille Packard Children's Hospitals. Limit expansion of Stanford Shopping Center. Currently, local zoning ordinances in Palo Alto allow limited expansion at Stanford Shopping Center. Measure M states that the Shopping Center may not expand beyond the cap currently designated by law, unless responsible traffic management plans are implemented. Provide the Palo Alto community with more housing. Measure M allows for over 1,000 new housing units for senior citizens and Stanford employees. Stanford University proposes placing their housing on Ohlone Field, the last remaining natural creekside meadow in the mid-peninsula that offers wildlife habitat. Measure M requires the City of Palo Alto to negotiate with Stanford for alternative housing sites closer to existing community services, jobs and transit. Protect the environment by preserving Ohlone Field, the meadow alongside San Francisquito Creek, as open space. The Sierra Club endorses Measure M. Measure M improves our quality of life by reducing traffic congestion and delay, while promoting responsible development and placing proposed new housing away from environmentally-sensitive areas. Over 4,000 Palo Alto citizens signed petitions placing Measure M on the ballot. Please join neighborhood, school and business leaders, environmental organizations, and thousands of your fellow citizens in voting YES on Measure M. WALTER V. HAYS, Attorney & Mediator DEBORAH D. MYTELS, Executive Committee, Loma Prieta Chapter, Sierra Club LARRY CUBAN, Professor of Education, Stanford University YORIKO KISHIMOTO, President, Palo Alto Civic League GERRY MASTELLER, Co-Owner Printers Inc Bookstore REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE M MEASURE M - EMPTY PROMISES AND A POISON PILL Despite its empty promises, Measure M won't fix the Sand Hill Road bottleneck, won't improve traffic flow, and won't improve ambulance access to hospitals. M provides no funding or project approval for extending Sand Hill Road Traffic studies show M's two-lane limit for cars makes traffic worse M calls for an ill-advised third lane for public vehicles on Sand Hill Road - a bad idea rejected by the City Council. A single lane for buses, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and other emergency vehicles raises serious operational and safety problems - including an increased likelihood of accidents. M promises housing, but cannot deliver. It only cancels what the Council has approved. M's suggested sites for housing have already been rejected - one requires cutting down 300 trees and another paves over El Camino Ballpark. If Measure M gets more votes than Measure O, it wipes out City Council approvals for Sand Hill Road improvements M destroys the hard-won agreements between the City and Stanford, achieved after years of public input M cancels real improvements for Sand Hill Road and blocks any hope of eliminating the gridlock. Without funding and new approvals, Sand Hill Road will still dead-end into the Shopping Center parking lot. Ambulances trying to get to the Stanford Medical Center will still be trapped in congestion. Measure M promises many things; it delivers nothing. M is a poison pill to destroy Measure 0's independently-validated traffic solutions for Sand Hill Road. It is NOT a real alternative. Vote No on Measure M JOSEPH H. HUBER, Mayor, on behalf of the Palo Alto City Council RUTH M. LACEY, Co-president, League of Women Voters of Palo Alto BETSY BECHTEL, Council Member 1980-1989; Mayor 1983 WILL BECKETT ROBERT D. SIMONI, Professor of Biological Sciences, Stanford University ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE M MEASURE M - A ROAD BLOCK, NOT A REAL ALTERNATIVE If you want -- to break the Sand Hill bottleneck and extend the road to El Camino Real... to improve traffic flow on Sand Hill Road and in adjacent neighborhoods... VOTE NO on MEASURE M better ambulance and emergency access to Stanford Medical Center... nearby senior housing and continuing care ... a new child care facility ... VOTE NO on MEASURE M Stanford University - rather than taxpayers - to pay $20 million for needed road improvements in the Sand Hill corridor ... ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE M - Continued VOTE NO on MEASURE M Measure M wipes out years of public participation and review. If Measure M gets more votes than Measure 0, the City Council's unanimous approval of Stanford University's Sand Hill Road project will be canceled. The traffic studies show Measure M's two lane limit for cars will make traffic WORSE, rather than better. Measure M also claims to require extending Sand Hill Road, but provides no funding and no approval to do the work. Sand Hill Road would continue to dead end into the Stanford Shopping Center. Measure M proposes undesirable housing sites - such as paving over El Camino Ballpark or part of the historic arboretum near Palm Drive (which would require cutting down 300 trees versus just four trees on the approved Stanford West site). Sites suggested by Measure M were considered by the City Council and were rejected as unworkable. WHAT WOULD YOU LOSE WITH MEASURE M? Proponents of Measure M claim it does a lot, but the plain truth is there will be no improvements, no traffic relief, no housing, no extension of Sand Hill Road if Measure M gets more votes than Measure 0. Like the current Sand Hill Road, Measure M is a dead end. It is NOT an alternative. VOTE NO on MEASURE M and YES on MEASURE 0 JOSEPH H. HUBER, Mayor, on Behalf of the Palo Alto City Council RUTH M. LACEY, Co-president, League of Women Voters of Palo Alto LARRY KLEIN, City Councilmember, 1981-89; Mayor, 1989, 1984 CRYSTAL D. GAMAGE JANET A. NEFF, Coordinator, Trauma Center, Stanford and Packard Children's Hospitals REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE M The argument against Measure M is false and misleading. Our opponents say that Measure M is a dead end. They want you to believe that Measure M won't relieve traffic or provide housing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Measure M REQUIRES that traffic congestion be addressed by extending Sand Hill Road to El Camino Real, and adds a third lane for public transit and emergency vehicles. Measure M allows nearly 1000 units of new housing to be built for seniors, Stanford faculty, and staff. This is the same number of housing units proposed in Stanford's plan. Measure M simply requires the City of Palo Alto to negotiate with Stanford to put new housing nearer to transit and jobs. Measure M also maintains the meadow along San Francisquito Creek as open space. Measure M permits expansion of Stanford Shopping Center within the current growth cap of 49,000 square feet. The truth is, Stanford Land Management Company needs bigger development to make their project financially worthwhile. They also need a four-lane highway to support future development along Sand Hill Road. REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE M - Continued The truth is, Stanford wants it their way or no way. Stanford has refused even to consider an effective, reasonable solution to the traffic and housing problems. That's just plain arrogance. Measure M has been studied by many University faculty, staff, civic leaders, and average citizens who want relief from traffic, but not at the cost of big development. They agree that Measure M works. VOTE YES ON MEASURE M and NO ON MEASURE 0. WALTER V. HAYS, Attorney and Mediator MILLIE DAVIS, Charleston Meadows Neighborhood Assoc. Bd. of Directors AGNES C. ROBINSON, Former School Board Member 1963-73 ERIC S. ROBERTS, Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University WINTER DELLENBACH, Palo Alto Housing Attorney