Planning commission approves 66,000‑square‑foot East Wing addition at Stanford Healthcare Tri Valley

The Pleasanton Planning Commission unanimously approved design review for a 66,000‑square‑foot, three‑story East Wing addition to Stanford Healthcare Tri Valley, located at 5555 West Las Positas Boulevard.

The addition will expand the hospital campus by creating an enlarged emergency department footprint, space for relocated laboratory, pharmacy and sterile processing functions, and shelf space on the second floor that can be built out later as a 24‑bed nursing unit. Diego (city planning staff) told commissioners the project is within the scope of the site’s original PUD environmental review and that no new CEQA document is required.

Staff said the project is consistent with the site’s general plan designation and the PUD master plan; it will include rooftop mechanical screening and a temporary ambulance canopy during construction. Mino Sastry, interim chief executive officer at Stanford Healthcare Tri Valley, said the expansion would address crowded emergency‑department conditions: “we are proposing a modest expansion, which will provide much needed relief to our emergency department.” Molly Swenson, director of land use and licensing for Stanford Medicine’s planning, design and construction department, told the commission the applicant has no current plans for additional expansion beyond the East Wing.

Key project facts described to the commission include: the hospital campus sits on about 27.7 acres and the PUD previously authorized a 488,000‑square‑foot medical center complex. To date the campus contains about 282,325 square feet; with the proposed 66,000‑square‑foot addition the total would reach 348,325 square feet, leaving about 39,675 square feet of the approved total available for future development. The East Wing will be up to roughly 50 feet tall to the parapet; a 2,347‑square‑foot rooftop penthouse raises the maximum structural top to about 59 feet, 10 inches. The project includes three potable water tanks (above grade in a 3,308‑square‑foot enclosure) and underground wastewater storage tanks for seismic resiliency.

Staff noted parking conformance under the PUD standard for hospitals with sleeping accommodations (1.79 spaces per bed). For the 24‑bed nursing unit contemplated on the shelled second floor, the PUD standard requires 43 spaces; the city’s traffic engineer concluded that phase 2 (the build‑out of that nursing unit) will require an additional 31 on‑site parking spaces to be installed before occupancy. The planning commission’s approval includes a condition of approval requiring the applicant to install those 31 spaces prior to occupancy of phase 2.

Tree and landscape measures were also addressed: staff identified 64 trees within the immediate project area, including 22 trees that meet the municipal code’s heritage‑size threshold; the project would remove 22 on‑site trees, including three heritage trees, and proposes 43 replacement trees and enhanced landscaping. Staff recommended that the project must comply with the city’s water efficiency landscape ordinance as a condition of approval.

After questions from commissioners about traffic access, setbacks from nearby residences and CEQA screening, Commissioner Jane moved to approve the design review application (P‑24‑0532) and Commissioner Pace seconded. The commission voted 5‑0: Commissioner Jane — Aye; Commissioner Mohan — Yes; Commissioner Pace — Aye; Commissioner Wedge — Aye; Chair Morgan — Aye. The motion approved the design review application and the draft conditions of approval in Exhibit A, including the pre‑occupancy parking requirement for phase 2.

The commission’s approval retains OSHPD jurisdiction over building permit issuance and construction means/methods for the medical building; the city retains site, height, massing, landscaping, grading and parking jurisdiction. Staff said the project conforms to the original initial study/negative declaration for PUD‑86‑11 and that no additional CEQA review is required for the East Wing.

Commissioners praised the hospital’s services and urged timely permitting; applicants said they expect construction completion in mid‑2028 if permits proceed on schedule. The commission closed the public hearing after no members of the public signed to speak.

The planning commission’s approval is conditioned as reflected in Exhibit A of the staff report and includes the requirement that the additional 31 on‑site parking spaces be installed prior to occupancy of the shelled second‑floor nursing unit.