Publication Date: Friday, February 18, 2005
A fair trade?
A fair trade?
(February 18, 2005) Path in Foothills Park could be opened up to nonresidents to help city acquire 13 acres in Arastradero Preserve
by Bill D'Agostino
The City Council could loosen restrictions on a controversial policy that keeps Palo Alto's Foothills Park closed to nonresidents.
During its Tuesday meeting, the City Council is scheduled to decide the emotionally- and politically-charged issue of opening a path in the park to nonresidents so the city can receive $2 million in grants to acquire 13 acres of open space in the nearby Arastradero Preserve.
In October 2002, the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) purchased, through bankruptcy proceedings, the previously private land in the northern section of Arastradero Preserve for $3.56 million. POST hoped the city would then buy the land, for the same sum, to "complete" the preserve and thwart a new private owner's desire to purchase it.
"If this property is not acquired and protected as parkland, the property would certainly be developed, compromising the scenic and recreational value of the (Arastradero) Preserve" and risking precious wildlife habitat, according to a city staff report, written by Open Space Division Manager Greg Betts.
Both the California Coastal Conservancy and Santa Clara County have each promised the city $1 million for the purchase -- but only if the city allows a regional trail from the San Francisco Bay to Skyline Ridge to go through Foothills Park.
Other than the $2 million, the city has only been promised $592,210 for the POST property. The deadline is October 2005.
POST "really needs to see a serious commitment on the city's part," Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison said.
If the City Council agrees to open the path in the 1,400-acre Foothills Park to nonresidents, cars or bicycles from outsiders would still not be allowed inside, other than when accompanied by a resident. City officials also believe few people would use the path due to its rigorous hills.
"It's not just hikers, it's hikers in really good shape" who could climb it, Harrison said. Those hikers, though, would be "permitted to visit the Interpretative Center, use park restrooms, or individual picnic tables for picnicking," according Betts' report.
In the past, when critics have complained the city's policy was elitist, Palo Alto officials and residents argued outside visitors to Foothills Park would overuse it and cause environmental damage. Officials also pointed out that when the city purchased it in 1958 they asked other cities to help pay for it and were refused.
In 1991, then-City Councilman Ron Anderson floated the idea to open the park entirely to nonresidents, only to be met with outrage from numerous residents. A protest erupted in 2003 when environmental group Acterra held a concert in the park, and the city allowed nonresidents to enter.
In truth, the park's residency requirement is not currently being heavily enforced, due to recent years' budget cuts. The city no longer staffs a ranger to sit at the park's entrance gate on Page Mill Road.
POST President Audrey Rust hopes the city takes the two agencies' offer, rather than losing the $2 million and risking that the 13 acres will return to private hands. For one thing, the city will then get grants from other governments, nullifying the argument that only city dollars are used for its open space, Rust said.
For another, she added, "I don't live in Palo Alto and I'd love to hike there."
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.
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