The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the building process could resume by Stanford on two pedestrian trails, one of which will be located south of Page Mill Road. Building of the pedestrian trail came to a halt following a lawsuit by the Committee for Green Foothills in 2006.

The Committee for Green Foothills, an environmental watchdog group, filed suit following an agreement between the University and Santa Clara County pertaining to trail alignment.

The trails are part of a deal made between Santa Clara County and Stanford in 2000. Stanford started construction of the first trail, located south of Page Mill Road, but when the University tried to move the second trail across Alpine Road into San Mateo County, Green Foothills raised concerns about the effect on land near a local creek.

The group cited concerns about a proper environmental assessment before a decision was made to move the trail to the opposite side of the road.

The court today declared that the lawsuit was invalid because it was filed months after the statute of limitations expired.

Larry Horton, senior associate vice president for public affairs at Stanford, said Stanford will move ahead with the project, which now needs approval by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

-Kate Abbott and Adam Cole