Publication Date: Friday, February 25, 2005
The first step?
The first step?
(February 25, 2005) Will a trail now open-to-all in Foothills Park crack a decades' old exclusionary policy?
by Bill D'Agostino
Sometime in the future, possibly even next year, those living outside Palo Alto will finally legally enjoy Foothills Parks' breathtaking vistas without a resident escort.
On Tuesday night, the City Council agreed to open a single trail in the park to the general public. In exchange, the city will receive $2 million in grants to help acquire 13-acres of nearby open space.
Some council and community members hoped the hiking trail would be the first step toward eliminating the park's ban on outsiders. Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell said the discriminatory prohibition "borders on obscene."
Open Space Division Manager Greg Betts said Palo Alto had the "distinction" of being the only city in Northern California to limit use of its open space to residents.
Other council members also seemed to express support for a new policy, without necessarily saying so.
"We are taking baby steps along that new trail," Councilwoman Judy Kleinberg said. "We'll see how it works."
Even though the vote to open the trail was unanimous, the idea to lift the ban on the entire 1,400-acre park was not. Councilman Vic Ojakian noted the city has other parks and open space available to nonresidents.
"I've never felt that Palo Alto hasn't done its share regionally in providing park space," he said.
The council's official action opens two gates in Foothills Park, bordering Los Trancos Open Space Preserve and the Arastradero Preserve. Only hikers will legally be able to pass through the opening, not bicyclists nor horse riders. The main gate on Page Mill Road will also remain closed to unaccompanied nonresidents.
Only a few residents spoke out against opening the trail in Foothills Park on Tuesday night. A few more also sent e-mails in opposition.
"This quiet oasis is just that because of the restrictions on the potentially large numbers of public who could and would use it if opened up," Gloria and Ron Pyszka wrote.
In the past, word of opening up Foothills Park to nonresidents elicited strong reactions. Historically, the city's rationale for keeping the park closed was it alone paid for the land's purchase, while other adjacent communities -- including Los Altos Hills -- refused.
The vast majority of speakers and e-mailers were in favor of opening the trail to acquire the grant money. Many of them were longtime environmentalists who pushed the city to preserve its open space, long before such a stance became commonplace. Last year, the council renamed the Arastradero Preserve after one such resident -- former Councilwoman Enid Pearson.
Some of Tuesday night's speakers also pushed the council to open Foothills Park entirely.
"I don't want to be from the city that doesn't share its parks," Parks and Recreation Commission Edie Keating said.
Along with Councilwoman Dena Mossar, Councilwoman Kleinberg has been raising money to buy the 13-acre parcel, located in the Arastradero Preserve. The two, newly secured $1 million grants are coming from the Coastal Conservancy and Santa Clara County.
With those grants, the city will have $2.59 million of the $3.56 million needed to acquire the property from the Peninsula Open Space Trust. The trail will be opened when the city acquires the property.
City officials insisted the new trail wouldn't have a heavy impact on the park because the path is steep and theoretically only for experienced hikers.
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com
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