Amazing work from Castilleja. On page 1 this report indicated Alternative 4, the Disbursed Circulation/ No Garage Alternative-would meet the Citys Municipal Code requirements providing 104 parking spaces, which is based on the number of teaching stations. Founded in 1907 by educator Mary Lockey, Castilleja is the only Blah. Here's a roadmap to finding the school you want. She was a bold and opinionated . with Embarcadero and a part of Melville shutdown for months; Visitor Info, Send News Tips The 42-year-old was a teacher and the head wrestling coach at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson. Science evolves. 2023 Palo Alto Online. I think we've pretty much been saying the same thing for 5 years. I cant but help think that if Casti truly feels it is so important to increase the number of young women benefiting from their education, Casti would want to move to a location where they can grow and not limit this wonderful opportunity to only 540 young women. Become a member today. "Our plan now checks all the boxes," Kauffman told the planning commission Wednesday night. Interesting that this report makes it seem like last night was a balanced showing from the public. What are your favorite school events or traditions? Board member David Hirsch urged significant revisions to the layout of the project, including setting the building's further back and creating a drop-off and pick-up area for students on Kellogg Street. No new traffic. Time to read: about 5 minutes. The information contained in these 2 reports should cause the PTC to send Castillejas expansion plans back to the drawing board. Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life, Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do. In theory the free market would solve this by building enough housing to meet their demand, but when you strictly enforce single family zoning (and make any possible exceptions go through a long and expensive bureaucratic maze), that isn't possible. Home & Real Estate Building an unnecessary underground garage that isn't needed, is a threat to the environment and sets a dangerous precedent for other neighborhoods. "It's often called an 'expansion,' but the footprint would be smaller. Why did the meeting drag on so late? That is just absurd since they will not make it to their club sport practice and games. A&E And because Lew's term is about to conclude and he is not seeking another term, the ultimate decision about whether the new design passes muster could hinge on a board member who has not yet been appointed and who may have other ideas about the building's design. Blah. Castilleja School's polarizing bid to rebuild its Bryant Street campus and construct an underground garage will return to the spotlight this week, when Palo Alto's two main land-use bodies start reviewing the school's plans.The school's bid to expand its enrollment and reconstruct its facilities has been moving through the city's approval process since 2016, when Castilleja applied for a new conditional-use permit that would allow it to gradually grow its student population from its current level of 426 to 540. real-world experiences, which develop in each student the skills Palo Alto backs e-bike ban on Baylands trails, Stanford sues Santa Clara County over tax exemptions for faculty residences, Hit-and-run driver kills man, crashes into five cars Sunday morning, Santa Clara County wants to put millions into child care, California homelessness: Where are the state's billions going? Large parking structures are not environmentally friendly. Before joining the Palo Alto Weekly/PaloAltoOnline.com in 2008, he covered breaking news and local politics for the Waterbury Republican-American, a daily newspaper in Connecticut. Also, just as Casti continues to conflate the schools stellar ability to educate young women, which NO ONE disputes, with land use entitlements, neighbors continue to question the likelihood that terms of the CUP and TDM program will be enforced. Living on Embarcadero about 3 blocks from campus. Palo Alto: Castilleja School expansion plan, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements, Palo Alto: Castilleja School expansion plan held up by parking garage debate, Santa Rosa high school student stabbed to death in classroom, Exactly what I needed: Los Gatos teachers move into affordable units, Teacher at California high school arrested after recording devices found in restroom, California high school scheme used fake documents to get basketball players on team, report says, Stockton elementary school teacher arrested on charge of being intoxicated on campus. of students and parents agree that students at this school are competitive. When added to 26 surface spaces that currently exist and that would remain, Scheme E creates a total of 89 spaces. "We have not compromised internally enough to give them a fair description of what they need to do," Baltay said. We may remember differently the outcome of that discussion. contributing global citizens. Neighbors would love to support a less massive project and reasonable enrollment increase. Castilleja is a dynamic, diverse, and intentional educational community for students in grades 6-12 that believes in the power of women learning and women leading. Let's reduce the pain to all parties, to more quickly get their renovations completed! As uncomfortable as it might be to tell Castilleja NO to the garage, that is the only way to move forward in a way that aligns with the Citys S-CAP goals. He was one of many residents and Castilleja supporters who told the commission on Wednesday that the review process has gone on for long enough and that it's time to approve the project, which includes reconstruction of three academic buildings, relocation of the school's swimming pool and construction of a garage. "It's often called an 'expansion,' but the footprint would be smaller.". 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. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in print/digital reporting and a minor in political science and German. Get daily headlines sent straight to your inbox in our Express newsletter. Promotions But then again, the city council does like bending over for bad actors on the community, so maybe its on brand after all. Elizabeth Hughes, a consultant who developed the transportation-demand-management plan for Castilleja, assured the commission and the public that the programs in the plan will keep traffic levels steady. to oppose something that they don't want to see even though the council indicated it will approve some version of this project. "Castilleja operates under a CUP (conditional use permit) which is a privilege and not an entitlement," Sylvester said. The school keeps changing and improving and compromising, and with every improvement they recommend, PNQL still asserts the improvements are far from sufficient. Stanford and Paly populations dwarf Castilleja and it is those commuters that impact Embarcadero. Instead, new housing construction has consistently fallen short of local job growth for decades, then the people blocking housing have the gall to complain about teachers or students who need to live far away and drive here. "It's ridiculous. "Our plan now checks all the boxes," Kauffman told the planning commission Wednesday night. Now they propose that the building be 3 feet taller and even more massive than the previously approved design. Obituaries Not all neighbors are looking forward to the added congestion on Embarcadero that years of construction, the added enrollment and the garage would entail. In late 2007, the Wall Street Journal identified Castilleja School as one of the world's top 50 schools for its success. That was then and a different garage, but in the interim the climate situation has only worsened. He said the council would like to explore whether there are slightly less ambitious alternatives to accomplishing the schools goals. The assertion that the neighbors are to blame for "holding up the entire project" is not credible. I have participated in some of the S-CAP meetings. @Staying Home - In PA, housing is effectively a finite resource. "Every year spent in process negotiation and compromise has resulted in scores of young women being shut out of joining the Castilleja community," Burch said. Here's the new, best answer. The school's new plans include five garage designs, though only three comply with the council's request that underground parking make up no more than 50% of the total spaces on campus. I also want to point out that there are underground garages in residential neighborhoods in Palo Alto. But Mary Sylvester, co-founder of PNQLNow, argued at the architectural board meeting that the revised design particularly, the garage continues to clash with the surrounding context. Nanci Kauffman, Castilleja's head of school, assured both panels in recent meetings that the school has already made many compromises with neighbors and urged them to approve the project and allow the school to increase enrollment. of students and parents agree that the teachers genuinely care about the students. Don't miss out on the discussion! Nanci Kauffman is Castilleja's sixth Head of School. Redwood City Pulse, 2023 Palo Alto Online Finding the right school for your child is a major project. Terms of Use The one at Kol Emeth has improved quality of life just as Castilleja wants to do. And what's the obligation of the parents and their hometowns? If Casti supporters and parents really wanted to end the discrimination, sexism and misogyny their daughters -- and all women -- face here, they could eradicate it at the companies, law firms, vc firms etc. ", "There is no reason for the underground garage," Reed said. Not recognizing the impact to traffic, safety issues for bike boulevard, taking old trees out, and not even thinking about the impact of this project with the Churchill proposal. To allow a private, tax-exempt educational institution to dramatically expand its enrollment, which largely consists of young women who live elsewhere and will likely contribute absolutely nothing to the community once they graduate. You are complaining about construction for a year or two, but what about construction for affordable housing in your neighborhood with underground parking? 1. Quality of academic programs, teachers, and facilities, Availability of music, art, sports and other extracurricular activities, Castilleja School Photo #3 - Middle School English. For more information, please contact the school. At Castilleja, she taught in the History and Social Sciences department for seven years, and served as the interim Middle School Head for a semester. Because of its aggressive transportation-demand-management program, which includes shuttles, carpool programs and a requirement that staff drive no more than twice per week, Castilleja would also receive a 14% reduction in parking requirement from the city. [Post removed; successive comments by same poster are not permitted.]. is the city committing to enforcement? I challenge those folks to say that Castilleja's traffic and/or parking impact on the neighborhood right now is even measurable. The opposition to this project keep referring it to a large scale expansion and that Castilleja wants bigger buildings. "Every year spent in process negotiation and compromise has resulted in scores of young women being shut out of joining the Castilleja community," Burch said. Photo by Elena Kadvany. This is a wonderful neighborhood, but it simply isn't practical to block all new development in an attempt to pretend it's still 1990. The neighbors asked for a garage. Castilleja School Photo #10 - Our multi-story athletics center includes spinning, a yoga studio, rock climbing wall, cardio room, and dance studio in addition to two full-size gymnasiums. If they were, this whole long mess could have been avoided. Castilleja School Foundation - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica CASTILLEJA SCHOOL FOUNDATION PALO ALTO, CA 94301-3507 | Tax-exempt since Aug. 1943 EIN: 94-0373222 Classification ( NTEE ). "The review process has gone on for long enough" is perhaps the worst argument for approval I've ever seen. And I say BRING ON the improvements, the modernization, the garage and the carbon-footprint improvements. Casti should sell the property to a developer and put in low income housing then watch neighbors scream "NOOOO, We were only kidding! Period. Castelleja has not keep faith with this community by expanding their student body over many years in violation of the rules. 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