Publication Date: Friday, September 17, 2004
Baylands plan tiptoes into public view
Baylands plan tiptoes into public view
(September 17, 2004) Kleinberg, Burt solicit ideas for squeezing more use out of land
by Jocelyn Dong
The Palo Alto public got its first chance this week to weigh in on plans to revamp life along the east end of Embarcadero Road.
Despite the fact that no concrete proposal exists, about two dozen people showed up Tuesday night at the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course club house to voice their opinions. Fans of the golf course had the most to say, much of it unfavorable, about the idea of taking some of the course and converting it to athletic fields to meet the city's shortfall of playing space.
The meeting was convened by a handful of citizens who want to see a plan devised for the land between East Bayshore Road and the Baylands Nature Preserve, currently used by the Palo Alto Airport, Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course, the Regional Water Quality Plant, several auto dealerships, and various other businesses.
The right plan, they contend, could ease Palo Alto's shortage in housing, flood control, athletic playing fields, and hotels. A reconfigured golf course, which seems central to the idea, would give about 20 acres of the 180 acres to playing fields.
The group includes City Councilwoman Judy Kleinberg, Planning Commissioner Pat Burt, and the leaders of Palo Alto Neighborhood groups -- Annette Ashton, Doug Moran and Karen White. Although each holds a leadership position within their respective civic groups, they said they were not acting as representatives for their organizations.
At the top of the agenda Tuesday night appeared to be the desire to adhere to a brainstorming process that would create a cooperative, rather than competitive spirit.
Citing the much-maligned Palo Alto process, Burt said they hoped for something "better than what exists today. We're looking for an approach where we don't have winners and losers."
A lot of proposals haven't gotten very far, he continued, because members of the public weren't engaged early enough in the process.
In a community like Palo Alto, public process is everything. Projects such as traffic and development have been approved or shot down based on how well they've been handled. At Tuesday night's meeting, the moderators tried to focus the audience's attention on possibilities rather than roadblocks.
It might be a tricky sale. The Baylands plan could conceivably have more stakeholders than the golf course has ground squirrels, from environmentalists to affordable-housing advocates to soccer moms and dads.
Golfers seemed most skeptical out of all the constituents. The idea of shrinking the 180-acre golf course didn't sit well with some, especially because the course went through a $6 million renovation recently.
"We just spent $6 million for new irrigation and the reaction is that it's a good place to play," said Craig Allen, who participated in the project. "Where's the money coming from? I think it's going to come out of my pocket."
Kleinberg said the idea would be for the private sector to pay for it -- either a golf-course management company or a hotel that might use the course, for example. She said that plans were in the preliminary stage, though, and financing methods hadn't been discussed in detail yet.
Avid golfer Sharon Oliver flat out didn't like the idea of having a smaller course, calling it "dangerous" and citing another course on the Peninsula.
"Up in San Mateo (it) is like a shooting gallery," she said, with golfers' balls crossing fairways and hitting other players. "I wouldn't be in favor of shrinking the golf course."
In addition, she said, the current course could use some improvements. She'd rather see things like chipping greens, bunkers, a bigger pro shop, and a better restaurant than a renovation of the course as it has been proposed.
"There's lots of options without doing this multi-million dollar golf-course thing," she said. Closing the course for years for the renovation would ruin the golfing community in Palo Alto, she added.
Another member of the public stepped up and advocated for having more fields in town. As a father of school-aged children, he said, he felt he's paying more in property taxes than some long-time residents.
At meeting's end, Kleinberg disclosed that she had broached the topic with fellow council members and would be ready, when more consensus had developed, to bring the issue before the council so city staff could work out possible plans. In the interim, the group will compile the ideas generated at Tuesday's meeting.
Kleinberg was pleased with the meeting. "I feel like maybe we've turned a little corner here, from a fear of ruining what we have to 'if we could find the money, maybe this could work.' "
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