Three cheers to Yoriko Kishimoto and Brian Steen, who helped lead a two-day workshop that came up with a plan for an environmentally friendly way for high-speed rail to pass through our communities.
    The idea put forward for Ather­ton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto is to pay for undergrounding the trains by buying the surface development rights for the roughly eight-mile by a hundred-foot strip. The roughly $1 billion cost of undergrounding probably equates to the value of this strip, which cuts through some of the most valuable real estate on tbe planet.
     A hundred years from now our great-grandchildren will thank us for breaking through the barrier that now separates our cities and providing a green corridor that bikers and pedestrians can use to get from city to citv.

    The Sierra Club yesterday announced it is endorsing Brian Steen, Larry Klein, Karen Holman, Gail Price for Palo Alto City Council.
     "Brian Steen will bring a new voice that will advocate strong environmental positions on the Council", said Diane Allen, who led the endorsement team.
     The Sierra Club endorses candidates who are judged to be the most supportive of the club's environmental goals and policies. Candidates are screened through a questionnaire and interview process. The Sierra Club has 1,878 members in Palo Alto.

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Steen will be hosting a high-speed rail workshop in October that will address the feasibility of building the tunnel.

"I'm taking the assumption that the high-speed rail is coming one way or another into the community," Steen said. "It is my interest, my responsibility, to try to bring it here in the most environmental way possible." "I do believe (tunneling) does present the least environmental impact versus the other alternatives," he said. "But it has to be worked on -- that's what I've been trying to figure out."

But the controversial rail system is just one of many land-use issues the City Council will have to grapple with in coming months and years. There's also the proposed expansion of the Stanford University Medical Center, the final approval of the College Terrace Centre commercial development on the "JJ&F block," and the usual list of dense and controversial mixed-use projects.

Steen said the city should be focusing on developments that generate revenue. He points to the Rickey's Hyatt Hotel, which was recently converted to the Arbor Real housing development. The hotel, he said, generated about $1.3 million in annual revenues, while the new development (which he called a "poor decision") generates around $100,000 in taxes.

Steen said he supports Measure A, the business-license tax that will be on the November ballot. He also supports the council's tough stance in negotiations with the Service Employees International Union over a new contract. He initially considered seeking the union's endorsement but later backed away.

Heading for the Campaign Kickoff

· 7/27 - Steen announces candidacy
· 7/27 - Candidate list growingSteen rides his bike to campaign events, sings with the Bay Choral Guild and serves on the Board of Directors of the Palo Alto Rotary Club. He said he was encouraged to run for office by Mayor Peter Drekmeier, and he considers a seat on the council as the natural next step after decades of protecting public land.

Steen said his work with the land trusts -- the Big Sur Land Trust, where he served as executive director from 1980 to 1998 and the Sempervirens Fund -- taught him about land transactions, conservation, negotiations and environmental reviews. These skills, he said, would serve him well on the council.

"Palo Alto has many different land-use projects coming up that need land-use expertise," he said.    >> READ entire article at Palo Alto Online       >> Campaign Log p.2