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HONO~ABlE CIT¥ COUNCIL
Pa'~ Alto, California
ExpansiQn of Pal(j Alto Veterans Administution Medica' Center
M~rs ~f the Council:
Report jn Brief
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The Veterans A~inis.trati{Jn has completed af' En .... ironmental Assessment {attached}~
in acc~rdincE with tne reqUirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA}, for the proposed repiacement of buildings for seismic corrections at th~
existing hospital located along Miranda Avenue in tne Stanford Rl?5~arch Park.
Tne ~eteran$ Admi~istrit1on has toncluded that the project would not affect the
environaent and ~as prepared iii Finding of No Significant Impact (FaNSI}. The
City Council is requested to provide comments on the fnvironme"t~l Assessm~nt.
Since this is iii federal facility. no form~l action is requir~d by the City.
Due to tne Ye-terans Administriti(Ht'S schedule, there was inadequate ti~ to
schedule the enVironmental assesslnf!nt for review by the Planning Comission,
prior to the City Council meeting and the deadline for cOrmlents Or! the
Environmental Assessment. !h~ attached E~'Vironmental Assessment, Traffic and
Parking Study ~nd Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting PrQ9ram were rec~iv~d by
the City on March 11, 19'93. Ther.e is a 30-day public r€\fiew period on the
Environmental Assessment.
Genera11y, the Veterans Adllinist~ation has been very responsive to Cil.\/ .staff
conments on the drift environmental documents which w-ere previousiy submitted for
City review. With the exception of off-site traffic im'provemellts~ which are
necessar,)l to mitigate traffic impacts frorr! the project~ the environmental
asses'S!PIent includes adequate mitigation measures to reduce the project ilTlpacts
tc 3ns'!qnificant levels. Howe .... er. the Veterans ~drt1i1'iistration ~aSi not agreed to
any of the off-site traff;c mitigation measures "hich have been requested by City
staff. It is anticipated' U1aJ: this issue will be resolved prior to the March 22,
1993 Citj Council meeting. In the event that this issue is not resolved by the
Coun'lll!'leetlng~ staff recommends that a letter identifying requested mitigations
be s.utwJtitted as part of the CHyTs formal coments Oil the En ..... ironmental
Assessment.
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Arch1tectu~a1 Revre~ Byard OjscyssiQ~
1ht! Architectural ::;'evie\fll Beard re'lleIHed the project at their meeting on
Oct<:lber 17, 19'91. The Board hii.d very posltive cOlMlents regarding He
architecture and site design, pro .... ided that envirol1rnental issues (e.g .• parking.
circuhtion and traffic) irE' resal .... ed. The project has been substa"ltLdly
revised since that ti~. due to funding. The Baud .i11 be discussing the
revised project at their 1r.e-2ting on March 18. 1993. Heir cement'S .,..i11 be
providtd oTil1i at the M~rch 22, 1993 City Co~ncil meeting.
Backgroynd
In 1991 the City was infol'"!l'!ed that the Veterarls Ia.dministration planned to rna.!:..e
SUbstantial cnanges at the he-spital. The main hospital/clinica1 but1ding was
e.xtensi. .... ely damaged and has been parth.-Ily unocc'lp:ed since the October 1989
earthquak.e. OlJr;ng the past two years, the Veterans Administration has been
preparing the EnvirMmental Assessment.. last y.ear the Veter-ans Administration
hired a lecal environmental fir'TI, Environmenta-r SClencE Asso(ietes ([SAL to
prepare the attached t"' .... ironmental Assessment. On M~rch 18, 1993, the Veteran~
Administration will hold a neighborhood meeting at ~oover Elementary School to
i~forFI the neighborhood ~bout the project and to obtain comments. The Vete~ans
Administration hiS indicated that they will attempt to satisfy the City's
concerns. As the project progresses. they have agreed to submit p1ans to the
City for review and c~nt.
Tne City Attorney's Office has concluded that b€cause it ;s i federal project on
federil land, the project is not subject to local development regulations. The
project. however. must comply 'IIi th the Federal Resource and P.ect"lvery Act and
NEPA. At a. minimum, such compliance ",eans that the ,eterans Admin;striti~n must
comply with Pilo Altols regulations pertaining to solid and hazardous wastes and
must engage in a proc~ss to assess the project's environmental impa~ts on the
surrounding area. In addition, the project will require electrical, water~
sewage and garbage service, all of which the City may regulate in order to best
promote tne public health. safety and wel fal'e. notwithstandil'lg the general
federal preemption.
Proipct Descriotion
The main hospital/clrnical building and several others, totaling 488,460 square
feet, are scheduled to be removed and replaced with a new c11nical/bed tower
building, Diagnostic Rad~~1ogy Center (ORC) and a new administrat~on building,
tt"ltaling 651,000 square feet. After construction, there WOUld be apprOXimately
200 additional staff membqrs {compared to the pre·earthquake staff lEvel) at the
hospital reflecting l-egal1y mandated reqUirements to impro'le nurse·patient
ratios, and to reduce medical-residant work. weeks to ser'lle simil ar patient
levels. The proj!ct ~ill bring the hospital up to a total of 669 in-patient
beds, th~ same le¥el prior t~ th~ earthquake. The hospita1 currently provides
538 in-patient beds. Out-patient visits would decl ine b)' th,=" year 1998, from an
annual rite of al>cut 143,500 in 1989. to 106.000 in 2005. The project would
centralize most of the park.ing in a new lot at the front of the site. The
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e)(ist;~g main driveway onto Mirar,da A",enue would be relocated a si'1ort distance
to the Mrth.
The new btlildirJgs would hive a considerably greater setback frcm Miranda A-""Enue
and wOLlld have a sillilar helght compared to the existing bul1d'\ngs 'Which are to
be demolished. Tp,e hospital wou1d be 68 fp.et high and the administration
building would be 78 feet till compared to the existing 7S foot tall building.
The-ORe. would be one story and tcnlll?cted to the (1 ir.ical/bed tower by a covered
walkway. The new build1ngs will be greater in vo1ume in c~mparison with other
bujldings on the $~te that will rema~n after constructlon.
The administratiD~ bl.dlding would be linked to the dip,i.cal bed tower by a fo-ur
stOl"Y conne-ding corridor. A canteen, auditorium and chap~l would be en the
ground floGr of the admfnhtr.ation building. whic~ also inclUdes medical
ada~ni$trative f~~ct1ons on the second and third floors and medical ~esearch or.
the t~ird and fourth f1oors.
lhe clinical/bed tower would have a partial basement ~ithin approximate1y on!
third of the buildlng pad!. In addition to flursing Ul'1its, the tower will house
surgery, an intensive C-ire unit, a pha:---macy, rE:SpHatory therapy and siJrgical and
orUiopedic units. l~e four floors above grade an! organized around i central
court feature. A terrace would be available for outdoor dining, in the space
created between the new clinical/bed tower and administration building and the
existing recreation bui1dtng.
ThE construction period will be approximately fjve years. Two buildings in the
c:onstructi<Hl: area were demolished last year. This year the excavation and
foundation for the hospital building will be started and completed. The pfoject
would be completed in e.rly 1999.
Environmental 1mpacts
The EnvirDnmental Assessment analyzes tne effects ~f the project on the basis of
the difference between pre-19S9 earthquake activities and activities at
completion of the project. Major environmental issues are traffic/ci;--culativn.
park.;i1g~ aesthetic.s, hazardous materials/risk to human health, solid waste
generati'on and water q-!Jality.
A Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Progr4m (attached) has been prepared to
document how a.nd when the necessary mitigation measures will be accurnplished.
It includes a requirement for mitigation monitoring and operations status reports
to hi! pyepared annua1Ty by the V-eterans Administration. At a minimum, the
reports will includ€ doctlmentation of any neighbor complaints, the status of
compli~nce with all mitigation measures, a~d recommendations for any necessary
compliance efforts. Each report ~il1 be presented to the Director of PTanning
and Communlty Environment for review.
Traffic/Circulation -A Traffic and Parking Study (attached) \lias prepal"ed by
Fe-hr ind Peers Asscciates. The-findings of the ~tudy are s:Jmmarized in the
Environw.e~tal Assessment.
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The ~eterar.s A.{!mir.istration has; aare~d to implement a Transportation De:1"land
Minagement (TDfo1J program to reduce~ the number of employee related drh'e-a1one
vehicle trips to and from the sHe.
C; ty staff has requa sted ti'ut the En ..... ironment a 1 As se s smen t i den t i fy as a
mitigatior. measure tne funding of off-site traffic impro'¥ements, becijl,;se the
project contributes substantial additional traffic from 216 new employ~es to the
area:. 1'n,s. new traffit wi1~ exacerbate existing operaticnai problems at the
F~oth;ll/Hil':l{ie\ll'/Mira.ndil and Foothi11/Arastradero/Miranda intersections. and
measurab1y contribute to f~ture L.evel of Service (LOS) F conditions at those
intersections. Specifically, staff has requested the ~·eteriln$ Admirdstration be
required to either (a) construct a proposed neill intersection at Foothill
Expressway and ttle Veterans Administration driveway. or (bJ pay the
transportation impdict fee, plus, 'ii,.. either case, construct the minor signal
phasing miti9atior. '!leasure identified for the foothill/Page Mrl'l intersection.
Th~ construetion of a new signalized iPltersection at Foothill txpressw.a.y and the
Veterans Admlnist~ation drfveillilY is an integral e1ement of a three-part
improvement project? which al so includes major improvements at the Footh; ll;'
ArastraderojMiranda and Fc.,thln/Hi1lview/J·nranda intene<.tions. The need for
these intersection improvements ... as identified in Palo Alte's 1989 Citywide Land
Use and Transportation Study (~Citywid! Study~J. ThiS study also id~ntified the
n,E'2d for majo'r" improvements at the Foothill Expressway/Page Mill Roa.d
intersection, plus four other intersettions in the area, fer a total of eight
interse.ctions.
As an outcome of the Citywide Study, the Ctty Council approved a transportation
impact fee for the Stanford Research Park area. The purpose of the fee is to
provide improvements at tne eight intersecti~ns. De'¥~1opment projects in th~
Research Park pay tnis fee as their contribution tow~rds the implementatior. of
improv~ments at the eight intersections. All ~ther companies in the ar~a are
required to m-jUgate the impact of their new developments on these intersections
by payment of tne transportation impact fee. The v"eterans Administration should
not be an exception.
Another off-site traffiC mitigation. measure, to which the \leterans Administra.tion
has Mt yet corrrnitted, is at the foothill £Xpresswa}'/P~ge Mill Road intersection. ne Traffic and Parking Study identified il proJect impact at tMilt location artd
proposed a signal phasing improvement to mitigate this impact. This mitigation
measure ;s in addition to the funding and construction of the foothill/Veterans
Administration driveway inte~section o. payi~g the t~afflc mItigation fee.
The Veterans Administration has indicated a preferenc~ for funding t~e specific
Foothill Expressway/Veterans Admir.istri.tion driveway ir,ter:sect;on~ as opposed to
contributing in a less specific manner by means Df the transportation impact fee.
This is understandable and acceptable to City staff. The ~~terans Administration
would benefit directly from the ne\!j ir,tersection at the project entrancE', because
it would be provided with direct access to Foothill Expressway via an
intersection that wou1d opeorate at an excellent lOS B. BecalJse of the relatively
small delay associated Ioiith lOS B, City staff does not expect queuing or other
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prc;biems Qn th~ Vehrans Admir;stration site associated with the new
inle-rsectiof'l.
HOWEver. the Veterans Administration has withheld a formal cO!TlTlitment to any off·
site traffic mitigation measures., pending the OIJtcome-of ad'ditional studies by
the-ir traffic (:onsuHant (the attached env;ronmenta1 assessment does not cOl1tain
lTI1 off-site traffic mitigation measures). If the Veterans Administrition does
not fund and construct the F{)Othi11/~eterar.s ft.dmi<'1~strat;on driveway
intersection, the City would ultimately ha~e to do so with tfanspartation 1rn~act
fee funds. In that case, the Veterans Administration should pay the
transport.i!t1on impact fee before corrmencement of its project, as would any other
development project in the K€seard Park. Because the transportation fmpJct fees
collected thus far by the City are not sufficient to cover the next intersection
improvement, the City1s first prinrHy project, Fo~ttii1J/Page Hill impro'lem€nts.
wDuld nave to be further .delayed in order for tne Cit.y to construct the Veterans
Adm1 n htrat i on dri veway and re 1a ted Footh ill /i'1 il1v; ew and F o'lth i ll/Ara:s t radero
interim improvements.
rt is anti<:ipated tnat this issue may ~e resolved prior to the Harch Zl, 1993
City tour-cil meeting. However, in the event that it is. nat resolved by the
Miri'!"ch Z2. 1993 Council me02ting, staff recorrmend:!: that the Council contest the
proposed adoption of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the project,
on the basis of inadeq~ate traffic mitigations.
Fark1ng ~ The e~isting parking sUPPlY at the ~ospita1 is adequate to satisfy the
~x;ltin9 d~nd. There are currently 1,690 perking spac~s on the site compar~d
to 1,798 spaces p~ior to the earthquake~ or a net reduction of 108 spaces. This
loss resulted from reductions in parking are3S to acc~date temporary
buildings. Based upon a. recent park.ing survey? the current parking d~mand is
i,6S0 spaces,
Theri! will be a considerable supply-demdnd iMbalance during thl! con'Strl!ction
period. The changes in the total number of Darting spaces on the site ~ill
continYE throughout the construction period, when the parking s~pply will range
from 1,590 spaces to 1,900 spaces, During this period! construction employee
park.ing wOl>ld increase parking demand by up to 400 spaces, resulUng in z need
for about 2,050 spaces, or ISO spaces less than will be available. Mitigatio~
measures include a TOM program, as w",,11 as providing additional temporary parking
either on-s;t~ or off·site during construction.
T~ere will be 1 ,590 parking spaces upon project completion, when the estimated
demand is 1~635 spaces, or 45 spaCES less than will be avatlable. Mitigation
~asure$ include a TOM program as ~el1 as providing additional cD·site p~rking
facilities.
Aesthetics ~ The Environmental A:isessm~nt concludes. that the projec.t would have
minor tmp~cts on aesthetics. nH~ tower arid administration bulldings would be
... isible from' Miranda Avenue and Foothill Expressway. The new structures would
have a minimal visual impact from the Berron Park neighborhood due to e)(tensh'e
existlng landscaping.
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Ko,st -The El"'vironl11t:'ntal A.ss,=,ssrnent indicates that the project wou.ld ~a'Je mirH.lr
noise tmpacls. Co~struct'on acti~'ties ~ill increase noise levels temporarlly.
because of hea ..... y eqlJipmeilt, macninery and tf"l:ck traffic. Sensitive receptors in
Ute aru incluJ$e patients. Cln site and residential neighborhoods to the north€ast,
eHt lind southeast of the site. Gurm High School is irrrn-ediately soutt1 of the
site. The Veter*~s ~dministration has agreed to comply ~ith the (ity's N~ise
Ordir.an~e. NO~5e ~uppressant devises; will be used on equipr'llent, and noise
produc:i:19 work. wili be schedul~d' :::!lJring less sensitive hours (8:00 am to B;OO p::,:,
Monday througn friday, 9:00 am to 6;00 pm on Satlirday a.nd 10:00 am to 6:00 pm nn
Sunday and hol ida.1s). The contractor wll1 be required to take iloise JileaSUreiTlents
durif'!g the construction activities, once every five successive 'IIIoridng days, when
noise is above S5 dBA. Sinci! the number of em:;loyees and patients is not being
increased, there would be n'J net increaSE! ;11 motor vehicle relat€d MiSE
following completion of the project.
H>I.!!.!'0:1~!.!!: ~aterhls/ll1sk to Human Health The h{lspltal would conttnue to use
and dispose of hazardous ~aterials at the same levels as generally occurs at the
existin9 campus. Mitigation measures i~clude removal and disposal of asbestos
lIater-hils by iii licensed removal contractor, prior to dernoliti\1n of existing
buildings. Hie :leterar.s Administration has submitted a Hazardous Materials
Bus :nESs Plan documenting material s ma.nagement a!"';:: safety procedures at the
existing facility. A mitigation measure requires a plan t\1 be pre:pa!'"ed
documenting mate~ial management a~d safety procedures at the new fac11ity (the
plan would be updated annually).
Soliel Waste Generation -The project 'Would generate substantial construction
debris from buildings demolished as part af the project. Demolition-related
materiil would be recycled, as feasible, to implement the hospital's recycling
program.
The Veterans .Administration has agreed to establish a recycling comittE:e and to
implemefit a c~mprehensive recycling prQ9ram to include white paper, aluminum,
plastic, glass and metal. rach fioor of the new buildings .. ou1d have iii
designated area for recycl'tng bi ns. A Waste Management/Recycl ing Coordirlator
would be hired to coordinnte the recycling program.
water Quality -The project wou1d require two ouf.fa11s to MGtad~ro Creek:, tc
acc.ormlodate lO-year storm drainage requjreme~ts. The outfa1l5 liIIill be designed
tlJ avoid erOsion and scour of t~e Matadero CrE:ek area, as well as disturbance to
wildlife habitat.
~c!'Ffnendat;.Qn
Staff reconrnends that Council authorize the Mayol'"' to send' a letter t!'J the
Veterans Administration concerning the adequacy of the En .... ironmer.t.al Asse$sment,
communicating th~ following points:
1. City support for the En'iironmental Assessment and Finding of f.lo
Si!imificant Impact, on the C<lndition that the Veterans Administration
makes a firm cOiJ'llli tment to ei ther (a) constructing the proposed new
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inteiSe,tiol1 at Foothill Expressway iind the ~'A~( ori'oleway, or (b) paying t~e transportation impa.ct fee. plus, ir] eit"er case, constructing the
minor s1gl"tal phasing mitigation measure identified for the Foothil1jPage
Mill ;ntersect~on; and/or
2. If the Vetera~s Administration does not make a c0~it~ent t) the specified
m1tfgattons, the City contests the Finding of No Significa~t Imp~ct an~
requests that an Environmental Impa<.t Statement (EISj be pr'e~ared,
Respettfully Sijbmitted,
';{~V:4'dt~V
ROBERT SCHUBERT
Planner
FLEMING
Mani9tr
Attachments (Council Members only);
Environmental AssessmEnt
-/f~-'1r4.;'l.l;Z·,£:~e S~ (". /" -~.;, {. ... -
KENN[TH. R.SCHREIB[R
Director of Planning and
COJTliTlllnity cnv1 ron:nent •
Hitigation Monitoring and RepQrti~g Program
Triffic and Parking Study
Plans
cc:: Eri<: Carey. Veterans Administration
Joel Harlow, Veterans Administration
David Chalton, Barron Park Associatfon
Curtis feeney, Stanford Management Company
Andy Ooty, Stanford Unfversity
David Neuman, Stanford University
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