Dear Castilleja Community, Many of you remember that each year at Castilleja, we explore a guiding theme to frame our social and emotional learning as we . Even more important than numbers was the message. "The planning commission, which had already reviewed and approved an earlier version of this plan, is expected to dive into the details of the current one at its upcoming meeting." "The project encountered a similar division at the Architectural Review Board hearing on Dec. 2, which focused less on transportation and more on the design of the building. Special Pubs Castilleja School is an independent school for girls in grades six through twelve, located in Palo Alto, California. And for good reasons. And isn't the staff already stuck parking in the Baylands and being shuttled onto campus while students will use the campus parking? Teacher at California high school arrested after recording devices found in restroom Please, I implore readers to understand the facts, and give Castilleja the chance to educate more young women AND abide by the strict limits spelled out in the proposed new CUP. I had an amazing experience in middle school at Casti. A shuttle would then bring them to the campus. is the city committing to enforcement? Education changes. 26 One, known as Scheme B, would create a total of 83 spaces and, as such, require a 20% parking reduction, the maximum allowed under the zoning code. I think you misunderstand my above post. Castilleja is a non-profit institution. Uploaded: Thu, Dec 9, 2021, 9:43 am Based on student and parent reviews of clubs and activities. They applied for a variance to keep the same square footage, but they base it on having a large lot. Blah. I am a former employee of Castilleja and an almost lifelong resident of Palo Alto, and continue to strongly support the school's plans to modernize the aging campus and offer enrollment to more high school students. Rob Levitsky, who lives near Castilleja, sees the situation differently. It would occupy about 24,294 square feet, which is 8,186 square feet less than in the original proposal. Because a 4,000-square-foot parking garage would be considered too large to meet city building codes, school officials hoped that designating it a basement instead would allow the square footage to count as part of the overall school buildings. The other two alternatives with 52 underground spaces have drawbacks that make them either less feasible or less desirable. Laptop: $1,000 - $2,000 Spring 2020: Volume 79 Number 3. The pursuit of our motto, "Women Learning, Women Leading," has Education | Sign up for our. 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. "Does it seem to you that this is going to bite us in the rear when we look at this project in the future and ask, 'Why did we make a big deal out of this minor difference in underground parking?'" In this article, Andie Reed states that she's most concerned about the enrollment proposal. So, anyone with the resources to outlast the opposition should prevail? We were glad to see city council land on a 450 max enrollment to start, which most neighbors would support, and then entertain further requests down the road. News Vice Mayor Burt co-chairs those meetings so he hears the communitys concerns. PR MediaRelease And what's the obligation of the parents and their hometowns? Terms of Use @Staying Home - In PA, housing is effectively a finite resource. At peak demand, there would be a small shortage in parking (10 vehicles) that could be addressed through valet parking. Print Edition/Archives 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. Stanford and Paly populations dwarf Castilleja and it is those commuters that impact Embarcadero. Why did the meeting drag on so late? This process has dragged on for ten years. The school has made compromises many of them and it begins to feel like (it) will never be enough.". 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.Lee and Thompson, however, felt that the building is fine the way it is, having already gone through years of refinements and public hearings. People that viewed Castilleja School also viewed these schools: The nearest high school to Castilleja School is, Fun athletic energetic school with good teachers. It is calculated using the reported number of students and full-time equivalent teachers. 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. A smaller footprint. and self-confidence to reach her full potential. Other saw it differently and emphasized the project's impact on everything from groundwater pumping to carbon emissions. This is all at a time when accommodations such as Castilleja is seeking need to be made for "overriding public needs" such as affordable housing, which the Castilleja property would be an excellent home for! Web Link Photo by Elena Kadvany. In previous meetings, PNQL members have stated that they're fine with the enrollment increase as long as the garage isn't built. Neighbors and some council members have been distrustful of the school since learning in 2013 that it had been violating its 415-student enrollment cap for decades. "Other saw it differently and emphasized the project's impact on everything from groundwater pumping to carbon emissions. One reason this has taken so long is that the applicant has persisted with plans that include an enormous garage. The overall expansion wouldnt be nearly as massive as other school redevelopments on the Peninsula, she added. Castilleja's 6th through 12th grade program offers opportunities for girls across all grade levels to develop a keen sense of self and an unbridled zeal for exploration, innovation, and friendship. But as two recent public hearings on the Castilleja project showed, these moves have done little to make Castilleja's project less polarizing. Castilleja School Photo #8 - Seniors show off their school spirit! Does Casti even pay PA taxes? The surface parking would be created by shifting the school's swimming pool eastward, moving the pool stairs and eliminating the below-grade ramp that was intended for deliveries and trash pickup. Based on recent reviews by an independent consultant, the city determined that Castilleja has an existing gross floor area of 138,345 square feet. From that moment on, I was determined to make excellence in single-sex education accessible to as many girls as possible. Another member of the public said a garage would invite more traffic. Castilleja's pedagogical approach is shaped both by tradition Be careful what you wish for neighbors!! of students agree that they feel safe at their school. [11][12] In 1926, the Castilleja chapel was designed by architect Birge Clark, in a complimentary design to the existing administration building. So, I asked ChatGPT to explain itself. 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. Eloquently. Continuing to ask for more give-aways from the City after they've already been granted the 200 Melville Ave. street, When added to 26 surface spaces that currently exist and that would remain, Scheme E creates a total of 89 spaces. Help sustain the local news you depend on. Alcheck asked his colleagues.The revised proposal includes five garage designs, though only three of them meet the council's March direction of the underground facility to include no more than 50% of the required on-site parking, which amounts to 52 spaces. Castilleja supporters far outnumbered the critics. 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. TheSixFifty.com We've always known that this is a compromise and we are just so ready to get this done.". Quality of academic programs, teachers, and facilities, Availability of music, art, sports and other extracurricular activities, Castilleja School Photo #3 - Middle School English. The revised proposal includes five garage designs, though only three of them meet the council's March direction of the underground facility to include no more than 50% of the required on-site parking, which amounts to 52 spaces. Niche ranks nearly 100,000 schools and districts based on statistics and millions of opinions from students and parents. "Additionally, such reduction responds to concerns expressed by some community members about the size of the originally proposed structure.". [15] In June of 2022, the Palo Alto City Council approved the school's permit to expand the school's enrollment, renovate its campus, and build a parking garage. Whats interesting is that when this goes to CC it will be reviewed by 5 council members who, in 2019, were part of a unanimous 7-0 vote to NOT build the promised downtown garage. The only reason anyone knew that Castilleja had surpassed their enrollment is because Castilleja got a new head who reported it. Castilleja has presented many solutions, it's time to let them move forward with this project. Castilleja needs to modernize. Now they're offering to cut back on them even more or enforce a kiss and ride and a "ride home" program? @midtownmadness: I call BS that this issue is due to Palo Alto housing problem. To assuage the community's fears about the traffic impacts of its expansion, a key area of concern for council members and project opponents alike, Castilleja is now proposing several new policies to discourage driving near the campus. "We're committed to. Castilleja School. lt's a lot to ask teachers to park a distance away from school and that they can only drive to campus three days a week. On Wednesday night, as Castilleja held its first hearing in front of the Planning and Transportation Commission on its new plan, the panel heard from more than 50 residents, who in some cases pooled their allotted time to make longer presentation. of students agree that they like their school and feel happy there. 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. When is enough enough ? Casti is a bubble that feels very, very wealthy, and very liberal. There's also something called little C at the end of the day, where the teachers also help you. What most disturbs me about this process is the ever shifting goalposts. Please include any comments on: The Harker School vs. Castilleja School Varsity Womens' Basketball. The application deadline for Castilleja School is Jan. 9. "Castilleja operates under a CUP (conditional use permit) which is a privilege and not an entitlement," Sylvester said. Annual Report 2019-2020. The 34-year-old got his wish . I have spent my career in girls' education, and I am proud to carry on the legacy started by Mary Lockey. Barring intergenerational wealth or a very high-earning spouse, I struggle to see how teachers (or most families in the bay area) could afford to live anywhere near Castilleja. They are creating a need that is already satisfied with current conditions. So, no garage needed. Of course schools have to modernize. Set aside the rhetoric and focus on the practical issues. Council has to decide on whether we want to have this kind of intensification of use in this location, DuBois said. 2023 Palo Alto Online. Climate change. Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed. Castilleja School is ranked as one of the top 20% of private schools in California for most sports offered. [5] Originally from Montana, Lockey graduated from Stanford University in 1902, where she majored in English. 4. Suddenly, from being a reasonably quiet residential neighborhood, 75% of its students are commuting daily into the neighborhood and the school begins its continual expansion creep with an increasing number of disruptive evening and weekend events. with Embarcadero and a part of Melville shutdown for months; Kauffman said she worries that people are choosing not to hear the facts because of something that happened eight years ago.. Yet another said the EIR did not fully address GHG emissions. [9] In its early years, some boys were allowed to take classes at Castilleja. Advertising Info While Castilleja has maintained that it added the garage to its plans at the behest of neighbors who wanted cars off the street, Levitsky and other members of the neighborhood group suggested on Wednesday that the facility remains incompatible with the surrounding community. 3. Roy, I'm well aware that the earlier discussion about PTC decision-making wasn't specifically related to Casti but to the "Planning" department's overall performance. There are currently 89 surface parking spaces on campus, see Fehr + Peers report, footnote 5 in the staff report. Castilleja was asked by City Council to suggest alternatives to the phasing of construction. The planning commission, which had already reviewed and approved an earlier version of this plan, is expected to dive into the details of the current one at its upcoming meeting. Provides auto-suggestions when entering text. 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. 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 cityThe planning commission, which had already reviewed and approved an earlier version of this plan, is expected to dive into the details of the current one at its upcoming meeting. ", "There is no reason for the underground garage," Reed said. Castilleja School Photo #9 - The Class of 2013 is all smiles at the splish-splash party! Sports I bet you wouldn't be able to fight that project! Castilleja was named one of the Bay Area's Best Private Schools by San Jose Magazine. It speaks volumes that your tactic is to accuse someone who disagrees with you of not living here - rather than make a logical argument for your position. If traffic increases, they will not be allowed to increase enrollment. Home & Real Estate The City Council concurred with some of the arguments from the project's critics in March, when it reviewed Castilleja's plans and directed it to reduce its proposed underground garage a target for project opponents and to further refine the design of its buildings to make it more compatible with the residential areas that abut its campus at 1310 Bryant St.The revised plans, which seek to respond to the council's direction, are now set to undergo a series of reviews by the Architectural Review Board, which will consider them on Dec. 2, and the Planning and Transportation Commission, which will review them on Dec. 8. 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. "We have not compromised internally enough to give them a fair description of what they need to do," Baltay said. PA didn't just become "one of the most expensive neighborhoods in CA" by accident, residents MADE IT THIS WAY through decades of artificially constraining housing supply in an incredibly job-rich (and therefore high housing demand) area. The school's gross floor area is significantly in excess of what is allowable by code (81,385SF). Frankly, I am surprised that we arent hearing objections to the garage and tree removal from the smart young women who attend Castilleja. Ten years. of students and parents agree that the teachers adequately lead and control the classroom. After graduation, 100% of students from this school go on to attend a 4-year college. Thank you, Lorraine, I appreciate your bringing that up. Castilleja's 6th through 12th grade program offers opportunities for girls across all grade levels to develop a keen sense of self and an unbridled zeal for exploration, innovation, and friendship. If approved, the underground garage would have 24 fewer spaces than the structure that was previously proposed. Every single one of my classmates will become amazing women when they grow up, and Castilleja has been instrumental in developing our confidence, poise, ability to express ourselves, and compassion for others. Last week the project got its first hearing. The primary duties include: Leads and strengthens a Middle School athletics program that advances the mission of the school. Castilleja also has a lot of programs, or C, which are study blocks, or your elective, or grade meetings. 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