SCRL NEWS

Photo by Tom Grey

In This Issue ...

Executive Director’s Message Historic Survey Heats Up Dinner on Your Doorstep Poison Oak Alert Backyard Birding Leprechauns in Frenchman’s Park New Emergency Coordinator Property Tax Update 2020 and 2021 Annual Meetings

SCRL News is a quarterly publication for the Stanford Campus Residential Leaseholders ("SCRL") membership that includes the homeowners of over 850 homes on the Stanford campus, on land leased from Stanford University. SCRL is an independent, non-profit community organization.

From the Executive Director Spring already? Spring at last! Have you entered into a time warp where time is flying, but days are slower? I feel like I have. Still, spring makes everything a little more hopeful. I’m glad to note that we have a scheduled day for Spring Clean-up (April 17). Those of you who have been through every closet and square foot of garage space will want to mark your calendar. Our next Board meeting will be April 21st at 7:30, via zoom. And May 19th is our next SCRL Board election. Election materials will soon be on their way to your home. Neighborhood Little Libraries seem to be stocked with armchair adventures and chances to learn something new. It’s a good time to walk through our beautiful streets and take advantage of these great spring days. And if you’re not up to a walk around the neighborhood, don’t hesitate to look in on the newly updated SCRL website and see what’s been going on. Happy Spring! Cindi Kingsley

County Closes in On New Historic Review Regulations Santa Clara County has revised its interim historic review rules. Most campus homeowners won't be affected, but the San Juan neighborhood sees heightened scrutiny and a possible new historic district. After the county’s March 2 meeting of the Community Stakeholders Group, leaseholders from the proposed historic district on Alvarado, Salvatierra, and Mayfield asked the SCRL board to organize a community meeting to discuss the county’s plans.  Watch your email for the time and date of that meeting.  In the meantime, board member Grace Hinton explains the current state of things in this story.   Read more>>

Dinner on your doorstep These white trucks don’t come with tinkling tunes, but like ice cream trucks of old, they deliver happiness and tasty treats.  They’re the Stanford Catering vans that have been delivering gourmet family dinners to front doors throughout the SCRL neighborhood for almost a year.  The meal delivery service, born of pandemic necessity to provide meal options to campus residents and provide continuing employment for the catering arm of Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE), is one of the feel-good stories of a challenging year. Read more>>

Pretty Poison   Poison oak is an ever-present nearby danger, but with better weather and more pandemic ramblers and dogs enjoying campus open spaces around the SCRL neighborhood, it’s a good time for a few reminders.  Read more>>

Backyard Birding A bald eagle.  A pygmy nuthatch.  A lazuli bunting.  A dark-eyed junco.   If you’d been watching, these are some of the birds you might have seen in your Stanford backyard in recent years.  If you’d been counting, you could be up to a hundred different species by now, all in your own backyard.  Read more>>

Leprechauns Party in Frenchman’s Park Walkers in Frenchman’s Park on March 17 found the remnants of our local leprechauns’ annual St.Patrick’s Day revels.  Every year these mischievous visitors party in the stone circle, leaving behind green good luck coins for the neighbors. Frenchman’s Road resident Katie Shoven reported hearing a particularly raucous gathering this year—perhaps celebrating joyful release after a year of confinement. Emergency Coordinator Named  Barbara Stewart, former SCRL executive director and longtime resident of Peter Coutts, has joined the SCRL staff as the part-time coordinator for emergency planning. The Emergency Committee continues to update the SCRL plan, which will focus on education, individual household preparation, and neighborhood organizing efforts.  Watch for updates this spring and summer.

University files claims to address property tax issue In a March 2 letter to SCRL members, board president Jim Sweeney and vice president Allyn Taylor announced that the university has filed claims with the Santa Clara County Assessor to challenge property tax assessments that are substantially above home purchase prices.  A decision from the assessor is expected by July 1, 2021.   Read letter >> 2020 and 2021 Annual Meetings  More than 70 SCRL members zoomed into the postponed 2020 annual meeting on January 13. In addition to a review of the issues and accomplishments of the prior 18 months, the board spotlighted the ongoing property tax issues in a longer discussion. You can find a recording of the meeting here and on the SCRL website.  The 2021 meeting will be held in the fall when it is more likely that we can again meet in person.

In Our Next Issue... Emergency Plan County Historic Review Update Property Tax Update Ground Rent Task Force Anything else you’d like to hear about?   Send an email to Holly Thompson

Stanford Campus Residential Leaseholders 105 Littlefield Center, P.O. Box 18146 Stanford, CA 94309

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