Planning & Design Meetings 11/11/2009 - Minutes
PALO ALTO HS LANDSCAPE
Programming and Predesign
Palo Alto Unified School District
10 NOV 2009 | Page 1
PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL MASTER PLAN
Palo Alto Unified School District
PROGRAMMING AND PREDESIGN: MEETING NO. 2
DATE: 11 November 2009, 3:30-5:00 pm
SUBJECT: Landscape Subcommittee Meeting
ATTENDEES: See attached sign-in sheet
The following are the highlights of the meeting:
1. Linda Gates (LG), Owner of Gates of Associates, introduce the meeting and gave an
overview of the Master Plan Process. A presentation followed on the progress of the
Concept Design and Studies.
2. Gina Chavez (GC) gave a status on the Tree Inventory progress and LG followed with
a description of the Tree Mitigation Approach. The following items are a combination
of comments:
Comment by the Public:
During the student’s site walks, it was mentioned that the removal of 3 palms near El
Camino Fields was a real loss to students, would like to incorporate back into the
design.
Question by the public:
When a tree is removed what will the replacement size be?
Response:
The inclination would be to plant 24” box. 15-gallon trees don’t make sense in a high
activity area like a school.
Comment by the Public:
Redwoods have taken a long time to grow. It is defeating to replace mature trees with
small new trees.
Response:
We will be avoiding removal of mature trees wherever possible. If it is not possible to
avoid a tree it will be replaced based on an agreed upon mitigation strategy. It’s
never equal to replace mature trees with new trees. That’s why we will do our best to
protect the trees wherever possible and mitigate where we cannot.
Question by the public:
Is maintenance figured into ranking system?
Response:
Yes, also figured in when selecting replacement species.
Comment by the Public:
Evergreen trees can be just as messy as deciduous.
Response:
PALO ALTO HS LANDSCAPE
Programming and Predesign
Palo Alto Unified School District
10 NOV 2009 | Page 2
Deciduous trees are also sustainable in that they allow sun to heat buildings and
outdoor spaces in the winter.
Question by the Public:
Will dead trees be removed?
Response:
Ideally yes to make room for healthy trees.
Comment by the Public:
The existing Sycamores need to be pruned.
We are sorely lacking funds to maintain the landscape on campus. Chuck is doing a
great job but he is grossly understaffed. Please contact your board members which
you can find on the school district website.
Plant material we put in must be maintainable. We need to embrace natural systems.
3. LG then presented a mitigation approach for the El Camino Field and Multi Purpose
Field. It was explained that if the mitigation approach was accepted by the committee
then the following is the results of the upcoming projects:
a. El Camino Field’s mitigation would have a mitigation of 18 additional trees
b. The Multi Purpose Field’s plan will have a credit of 23 trees
c. Classroom A & B will required a mitigation of 19 additional trees
4. LG gave an updated on the Master Plan Process. A color coded site plan was shown
to identify the major campus roles and the following goals:
• The landscape architecture role in this project is to contribute to the overall vision
of the master plan from which landscape improvements / smaller projects will be
implemented incrementally.
• The master plan will help the community generate priorities when allocating the
budget because there won’t be enough for all the improvements.
• Building footprints in Project 2 are set. The general location of other buildings is
pretty set but the area around the buildings is flexible.
• Architecture style is not set in stone, still needs community input
• Must look at whole picture vs. specific interests
5. Following are additional comments from the Public highlighted by topics.
Quad Area
• More seating areas needed in and around the quad including comfortable shade
areas
• Students enjoy open space on the lawn; need seating around but not directly on
quad.
• Perhaps shaded gathering areas on periphery. Bring character of the patio in front
of the Tower Building into the quad area
• When considering uses for spaces we must take into account having multiple and
various groups coexisting
• Area from Tower building to Quad is too open. When you walk out you feel like
there’s a spotlight on you. Perhaps trees would soften the space.
• This space is also used for graduation ceremony. It is the where graduates sit.
• The quad side of the Tower Building is a good seating area. It accommodates all
existing events and is consistent with the collegiate feeling of the campus.
PALO ALTO HS LANDSCAPE
Programming and Predesign
Palo Alto Unified School District
10 NOV 2009 | Page 3
• We don’t want cars to have access to the quad.
• There’s a patch of lawn, which keeps dying. It’s in the area where the pool used
to be. Urban legend says that the pool was never removed, just filled in.
Courtyard Areas
• The students like the ambiance of the patio in front of Tower Building. It has a
classy collegiate feeling, however is not used because it does not face student
activity.
• This patio was gifted by alumni. It is an outdoor staff room, which students are
welcome to use.
• When designing courtyards noise levels and proximity to teaching spaces must be
considered.
Parking Area (southwest corner)
• Students hanging out in the Southwest corner of the site is a safety concern
because of its proximity to the intersection and the lack of supervision in that area.
• If we don’t allow students to use this area we could be losing valuable space.
Perhaps parents could take turns supervising.
• It could be a drop-off and seating area.
Entrances
• Both entrances (El Camino and Embarcadero) should be ceremonial. Although
the El Camino entrance does face the front of the school, more people use the
Embarcadero entrance. But when Trader Joe’s comes in this entrance will be
more problematic.
• Many people also use the Churchill entrance, especially bicyclists. There are
bike/vehicle conflicts at this entry.
• When planning and designing the Churchill entrance should consider the
possibility of a Caltrain undercrossing in the future
Site Furnishings & Wayfinding
• When selecting site furnishings might want to look at the character of those at
Haymarket Theatre.
• When considering landscape and furnishing materials provide a continuous style
throughout campus.
• Well lit signed circulation needed.
• Hierarchy of paths is needed.
• Campus landscape, furnishings, and materials should reinforce way finding
creating a hierarchy of circulation which is intuitive so that signage is secondary
Sustainability
• We should think about sustainability including systems of rain collection and water
reuse.
PALO ALTO HS LANDSCAPE
Programming and Predesign
Palo Alto Unified School District
10 NOV 2009 | Page 4
Stormwater Drainage
• Flooding in multiple places, drainage improvements are needed
• Need covered walkways.
• Drainage is a priority, standing water will be addressed.
• We also have ADA compliance issues, when those are solved drainage issues will
be as well.
Bikes
• Need at least half the student population in bike parking spaces.
• Racks need to be toward the interior of the campus to avoid theft.
• Thieves backed their trucks in from the Churchill entrance a while back and stole all
the bikes.
• That is why students like parking their bikes in the quad.
• Bike parking near the northwest lot would probably be okay.
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 3 June at 3:15pm
END
Please advise if you feel that any of the above items are inaccurate or need further
clarification or detail.
cc: Attendees
File