When the Palo Alto City Council approved the expansion and reconstruction of Castilleja School in June 2022, it strived to resolve a six-year tussle between the school and its neighbors, many of whom opposed the project.

But as the private all-girls school proceeds with the redevelopment, which includes the replacement of most academic buildings and the construction of an underground garage, it is required, as part of the approval, to relocate a 25-foot public easement on its campus at 1310 Bryant St. And that requirement, formerly seen as routine, is thrusting Castilleja back into the public spotlight.

The strip of land is associated with a deal that the city made with the school in 1992, an agreement under which the school claimed a portion of Melville Avenue, between Bryant and Emerson Street, for its campus while the city reserved the easement for public utility purposes.

In approving the project, the council attached a condition requiring Castilleja to relocate the public easement to be within the boundaries of the school's new driveway near the intersection of Emerson Street and Melville Avenue. According to the environmental analysis for the Castilleja project, the easement would be shifted 15 feet to the southwest to accommodate the construction of the new garage.

In December, Castilleja's Acting Head of School Kathy Layendecker signed an agreement that relocates the public utility easement to the driveway location.

But much like everything relating to the Castilleja project, what staff had hoped would be a routine item is now turning out to be less so. Last August, City Manager Ed Shikada postponed a planned vote on the easement because the description of the item on the City Council's agenda did not actually mention Castilleja.

The item was then returned to the council in December with a proper description, but it was on the council's "consent calendar," which is typically reserved for routine items that are approved in bulk. Three council members — Pat Burt, Lydia Kou and Ed Lauing — declined to take it up on consent and voted to remove the item, setting up a Jan. 22 public hearing on the easement relocation.

Burt told this publication Monday that he voted against approving the item on consent because he wanted a public discussion of the issue.

The existing 25-foot wide Public Utility Easement (PUE) located along the old alignment of Melville Avenue through the campus would be retained but shifted 15 feet to the southeast to accommodate construction of the proposed below-grade garage. There is an existing sewer line within the PUE; the garage walls would be placed a minimum of 5 feet from the sewer line so that the sewer line would not be affected by the project.

The easement issue came up only sporadically during the dozens of public hearings on the Castilleja project, which many neighbors argued is out of scale with the single-family neighborhood. Critics of the project specifically objected to Castilleja's planned underground garage, which they claimed does not belong in a residential setting, and the school's proposal to gradually expand student enrollment.

To address these concerns, the City Council imposed a "no net new trips" standard that required Castilleja to adopt or expand a host of transportation programs, including shuttles, carpools and bike amenities. It also established a three-member committee of nearby residents to oversee Castilleja's traffic reports and ensure the school complies with its conditions of approval.

The school and city staff see the easement relocation as a relatively routine action. The environmental analysis that the City Council approved in June concluded that relocating the public utility easement "would not result in a significant impact" and thus does not require any mitigation measures.

Rob Levitsky, a Castilleja neighbor who serves on the citizen committee, has spoken out repeatedly against approving the relocation public utility easement. At the Dec. 18 meeting, Levitsky noted that the existing easement, which the city is giving up, is located next to a sewer line, and vacating it would make it more difficult for the city to address sewage problems in this area. The action, he said, is a "plain giveaway to Castilleja of the Melville Avenue public utility easement."

"It seems like a dumb thing, but that's just the way it's set up now," Levitsky said at the Dec. 18 meeting, referring to the proposed relocation of the easement. "What could go wrong?" n