Massive new Yahoo campus approved by Santa Clara

The City of Santa Clara has approved a plan by Yahoo allowing the Internet giant to build its new headquarters on a sprawling 46-acre (186,155 square meters) campus in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Yahoo spent US$112 million on the property and will contribute over $10 million on transportation and other improvements to the city, according to public documents on the city's Web site.

"For them it's a big chunk of money to invest and for the city it's a great deal to have someone like Yahoo come into the city," said Kevin Riley, director of planning and inspection for Santa Clara, in a video of the Tuesday hearing.

When completed, the new southern California site will include 13 six-story office buildings and three two-story special-use buildings to house cafeterias, fitness centers and possibly child care facilities so the 12,000 employees meant to work there can arrive early and stay late if they want to, according to Yahoo representatives at the city council hearing.

The majority of parking will be underground, with only 9 percent of land above ground set aside for additional parking lots and 60 percent of land to be landscaped, green areas.

Yahoo planners have worked to make the project carbon neutral in a number of ways, including keeping the campus green with underground parking lots, building new bike paths, putting in pedestrian ways to promote the use of public transportation, and adding solar panels that will ultimately provide about 8 percent of the power required by the campus, according to Yahoo representatives at the hearing.

"It is a very high quality, well done development," Riley said.

City council members voted unanimously to approve the agreement.

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