Introduction and Background to the Initiative
Around the year 2000, some members of the Los Altos Hills Town Council raised the idea of possibly selling off some of the town-owned "redundant" real estate and using the funds
for town expenditures, possibly to fund a Parks and Recreation Department. The jutification for this idea was that this would be "The highest and best use" of these town assets.
One of the suggested proposals for instance was to "move" Westwind Barn into Byrne Preserve, and sell off the underlying 24 acres for housing development.
As this idea gained momentum, a group of residents got together and put together an "Initiative" which qualified for the ballot. This initiative would essentialy lock
in the land-use desgnation of certain identifed large parcels of town-owned land as either "Open Space" or "Recreation", and this designation could not be changed except by a vote of the residents.
Furthermore, the land could not be sold or otherwise disposed of in anyway without a vote of the residents.
Some members of Town Council tried to derail this initiative by having the town sponsor a competing initiative. This alternative initiative would have defined the land-use designation
for certain parcels
as including a "residential" option, but this movement never gained any significant traction.
In fact, the pending "Resident's Initiative" became a major plank in the campaigns of two new challengers in the Town Council election that was held in the fall of 2002.
With these two candidates being outspoken supporters of the initiative, the duo (referred to popularly at the time as "Breene and Deane") easily won seats on the Town Council and displaced the
incumbents who had originaly raised the idea of selling the land.
With new members in place, a vote was taken by the Town Council to accept the initiative directly, thus avoiding the costs of a special election. This vote passed unanimously with one abstention by a member who
had to recuse himself because he lived next to one of the affected parcels. Thus the provisions of the initiative became incorporated into the Town's General Plan in the closing days of 2002.
The complet list of early endorsers may be seen here.-
List of Endorsers
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To the Honorable Clerk of the City of the Town of Los Altos Hills:
We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters of the City of the Town of
Los Altos Hills ("Town of Los Altos Hills"), hereby propose an initiative to
amend the Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan and General Plan Diagram. We
petition you to submit the initiative to the City Council of the Town of Los
Altos Hills for adoption without change, or to immediately submit the initiative
to a vote of the people of the Town of Los Altos Hills at a special election,
or, if the initiative does not qualify for a special election, to submit the
same to the voters at the earliest regular election for which it qualifies. The
measure provides as follows:
Los Altos Hills Open Space and Public Recreation Initiative
The people of the City of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby ordain as follows:
Section 1: Purpose
- Protection and long-term preservation of outdoor recreational and open
space areas in the City of the Town of Los Altos Hills ("Town of Los Altos
Hills" or "Town") is of critical importance to Los Altos Hills residents. The
Town was founded as a semi-rural residential community and many residents moved
to Los Altos Hills because of this distinctive feature. The Town's unique
character and the quality of life of its residents depend on protecting the
significant environmental, scenic, and recreational benefits that these lands
provide to the community. Indeed, the preservation of these recreational and
open space lands, many of which are owned by the Town itself, is critical to the
vitality of the Town's native environment, social fabric, and long-term quality
of life.
- The Los Altos Hills General Plan declares that the "residential character
and rural atmosphere of Los Altos Hills result primarily from the open space and
natural qualities of the area." The General Plan further states that "[a]ll
residential areas should have public land available for recreation within
approximately one-half to one mile distances" and that this requirement "may be
met by open space preserve land in public ownership and public recreation
areas."
- The General Plan establishes as Town objectives "the maximum feasible
preservation of open space in and adjoining the Town," the preservation of the
Town's "natural beauty," and the provision of "open space for outdoor
recreational needs." The General Plan further notes that the "character and
quality of Los Altos Hills" is "dependent upon maximum preservation of existing
open space lands at all scales."
- The State Legislature has similarly declared in section 65561(a) of the
Government Code that the preservation of open space land is necessary for the
economy of the State, for the enjoyment of scenic beauty, for recreation, and
for the use of natural resources. The Legislature has further noted in
Government Code sections 65561(b) and 65562(a) that "discouraging premature and
unnecessary conversion of open-space land to urban uses is a matter of public
interest" and that these "limited and valuable resource[s] . . . must be
conserved wherever possible."
- Los Altos Hills residents wish to protect the Town's scenic beauty and to
serve as good stewards for future generations by preserving Town-owned
recreational and open space areas. These lands specifically include:
- Albert Barnitz Byrne Preserve. Byrne Preserve is the largest and most
significant open space area in Los Altos Hills. Purchased by the Town in 1968,
the Preserve offers hikers, joggers, riders, and those merely seeking a moment
of solitude in a pastoral setting a welcome refuge from the hectic pressures of
daily life.
- Westwind Community Barn and its facilities. This historic 24,000 square foot,
"U" shaped barn sits on approximately 15 acres of land acquired by the Town in
1975, and provides boarding, riding, and equestrian events to residents, non-
residents, and handicapped children.
- Little League Fields on Purissima Road. This ten-acre area includes four
maintained playing fields with public facilities, provides a play park for
younger children, and is the location of several summer sports camps offered to
Los Altos Hills children through the Los Altos Hills Recreation Program.
- Juan Prado Mesa Preserve. This Town-owned site, reached by off-road pathways
leading from either Dawson Drive or Stonebrook Drive, is criss-crossed by
several off-road pathways and provides a number of scenic, open space, and
recreation opportunities for the Los Altos Hills community.
- Edith Park. Located at Edith and Fremont Roads along Adobe Creek, this Town-
owned "gateway" to Los Altos Hills features benches and a meandering path
through a wooded setting, and is used by children as a route to Bullis-Purissima
Elementary School.
- O'Keefe Property. This beautiful area north of Highway 280 along O'Keefe Lane
features a number of scenic, conservation, and recreational resources, including
two recreational pathways, a magnificent Heritage Oak, and shady, creekside
thickets which provide shelter for both land animals and pond-dwellers.
- Rhus Ridge Properties. These three scenic and undeveloped Town-owned parcels
are intersected by two popular and valuable recreational pathways and provide
access to the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space Preserve by way of the highly
scenic route to the Windmill Pasture.
- Murietta Ridge. This Town-owned, 13.9 acre area serves as a valuable open
space buffer between Hidden Villa and the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space
Preserve. This steep property is home to a variety of native tree, mammal, and
bird species, as well as a dense, heavy underbrush creating a sanctuary for
small mammals and reptiles.
- Central Drive. This narrow, approximately one-acre strip of undeveloped open space
land is contiguous with a section of the western boundary of Byrne Preserve and provides
open space and passive recreation opportunities.
- These critical community resources have become threatened in recent years
by land use development demands, and most lack any permanent long-term legal
protections preserving their open space and recreational uses. For example, the
Juan Prado Mesa Preserve and portions of Edith Park and the Rhus Ridge
properties are currently designated in the General Plan for residential
development despite their important open space and recreational values.
Similarly, the California Department of Transportation has recently removed
encumbrances restricting the O'Keefe property to public use. At this time, both
the O'Keefe property and the Westwind Community Barn property could be sold to a
developer with few if any constraints upon their use. Even Byrne Preserve, the
Town's largest and most important open space area, may revert back to its
donating agency if any future change in use does not meet with the agency's
approval.
- The purpose of this Initiative is to ensure that these Town-owned open
space and recreational lands are not sold to private interests or converted to
higher density urban uses. Accordingly, the Initiative reaffirms and readopts
the protective General Plan designations of several Town-owned parcels, and, in
some cases, adopts more appropriate General Plan designations. The general
location of these properties is shown on the map attached hereto as Exhibit B.
Once this Initiative is approved, these protective designations will be subject
to revision only by a subsequent vote of the people, providing a major safeguard
against any future development plans. In addition, the Initiative requires,
with limited exceptions, that Town voters approve any proposed conveyance, sale,
or abandonment of the specified Town-owned open space and recreational lands.
The Initiative thus preserves the Town's flexibility in making land use
decisions while ensuring the public a more effective voice in preserving the
Town's recreational and open space resources, semi-rural character, and overall
quality of life.
- The following documents are attached to this Initiative as exhibits for
illustrative purposes. These documents are:
- Exhibit A: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan Diagram, adopted January 2,
1974.
- Exhibit B: Map of the general location of the specified Town-owned properties
affected by this Initiative.
- Exhibit C: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan, Open Space Element, dated May
1, 1975.
- Exhibit D: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan, Recreation Element, dated May
1, 1975.
- Exhibit E: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan, excerpt (pp. 9-10) from Land
Use Element, dated November 15, 1994.
Exhibits A, C, D, and E, which are portions of the Town's General Plan, provide
context for the Initiative's specific amendments to that document. All
references in this Initiative to the "General Plan" are to the Town of Los Altos
Hills General Plan adopted on May 1, 1975, as modified by any amendments to that
General Plan adopted up to and including October 1, 2002. Except as expressly
provided in this Initiative, this Initiative does not amend or readopt the
Town's General Plan, including the Exhibits listed above.
Section 2 General Plan Amendments
This Section of the Initiative enacts amendments to the Town of Los Altos Hills
General Plan.
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Amendments to General Plan Diagram: Designation of Specified Publicly-Owned
Lands as "Open Space Preserve" and "Public Recreation."
The General Plan Diagram, attached hereto as Exhibit A, is amended by this
Initiative as follows:
- The "Open Space Preserve" designations of the publicly owned lands
commonly known as Byrne Preserve, Central Drive, and the O'Keefe Property and identified by the
Assessor's Parcel Numbers ("APN") listed below are hereby reaffirmed and
readopted in their entirety.
APN 175-39-012 APN 182-21-016 APN 182-22-014 APN 182-22-022
APN 182-22-023 APN 182-29-045 APN 182-48-020
- The publicly owned lands commonly known as the Rhus Ridge Properties and
identified by the Assessor's Parcel Numbers listed below are hereby redesignated
from "Residential - Very Low to Low Density" to "Open Space Preserve;" such
redesignation does not amend the "Open Space Conservation Area" overlay
applicable to a portion of these properties.
APN 336-30-012 APN 336-31-022 APN 336-31-023
- The publicly owned land commonly known as the Juan Prado Mesa Preserve and
identified by Assessor's Parcel Number 336-42-019 is hereby redesignated from
"Residential - Very Low to Low Density" to "Open Space Preserve;" such
redesignation does not amend the "Open Space Conservation Area" overlay
applicable to a portion of this property.
- The publicly owned land commonly known as Murietta Ridge and identified by
Assessor's Parcel Number 351-37-001 is hereby redesignated from "Private
Recreation" to "Open Space Preserve."
- The "Public Recreation" designation of the publicly owned land commonly
known as the Little League Fields on Purissima Road and identified by Assessor's
Parcel Number 182-04-073 is hereby reaffirmed and readopted in its entirety.
- The publicly owned land commonly known as Edith Park and identified by
Assessor's Parcel Number 175-25-059 is hereby redesignated from "Residential -
Very Low to Low Density" to "Public Recreation;" such redesignation does not
amend the "Open Space Conservation Area" overlay applicable to this property.
- The publicly owned land commonly known as the Westwind Community Barn and
identified by Assessor's Parcel Number 182-28-039 is hereby redesignated from
"Private Recreation" to "Public Recreation;" such redesignation does not amend
the "Open Space Conservation Area" overlay applicable to a portion of this
property.
The general location of the lands designated or redesignated by this section are
indicated on the map attached as Exhibit B to this Initiative.
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Amendments to General Plan Text: Limitation on Conveyance, Sale, or
Abandonment of Specified Publicly-Owned Open Space and Recreation Land.
The following text, shown in bold italic type, is hereby added to the General
Plan as: (1) Principle 11 of the Open Space Element at page 46, immediately
following Principle 10; and (2) Principle 8 of the Recreation Element at page
57, immediately following Principle 7. The Open Space Element and Recreation
Element of the General Plan are attached hereto as Exhibits C and D,
respectively.
Residents of Los Altos Hills accord the highest value to the Town's open space
and recreation areas. These areas, many of which are owned by the Town itself,
help supply and preserve the unique character and semi-rural atmosphere of Los
Altos Hills, provide important balance to the more densely urbanized San
Francisco Bay plain, and provide numerous recreational, scenic, open space, and
conservation resources and opportunities for the Town and its residents.
Accordingly, the lands owned by the Town of Los Altos Hills commonly known as
Byrne Preserve, Central Drive, Juan Prado Mesa Preserve, O'Keefe Property, Rhus Ridge
Properties, Murietta Ridge, Little League Fields on Purissima Road, Westwind
Community Barn, and Edith Park shall not be conveyed, sold, or abandoned in
whole or in part for any purpose, except pursuant to a vote of the Town
electorate; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not require a vote of
the electorate for any conveyance by the City of a leasehold, easement, or other
property interest in these lands for a use consistent with the property's
General Plan designation.
Section 3: Conforming Amendments
In light of the General Plan amendments set forth above in Section 2 of this
Initiative, the General Plan is hereby further amended as set forth below to
promote internal consistency among the various elements of the Plan. Text to be
inserted into the General Plan is indicated in bold italic type while text to be
stricken is presented in strikeout type. The language adopted in the following
amendments may be further amended as appropriate, consistent with this
Initiative, without a vote of the people in the course of future updates and
revisions to the General Plan.
- Amendments to the General Plan Diagram.
The following text is hereby added as a textual amendment or legend to the
General Plan Diagram, attached to this Initiative as Exhibit A:
This General Plan Diagram was adopted in January 1974 and may not reflect
General Plan amendments made since that date. For information regarding
specific land use designations at this time, consult the Town of Los Altos Hills
Planning Department. In particular, note that pursuant to the Los Altos Hills
Open Space and Public Recreation Initiative, the voters of Los Altos Hills
adopted or readopted the following land use designations:
- Byrne Preserve (APN 182-21-016; 182-22-014; 182-22-022; 182-22-023;
182-48-020): Open Space Preserve.
- Central Drive (APN 182-29-045): Open Space Preserve.
- O'Keefe Property (APN 175-39-012): Open Space Preserve.
- Rhus Ridge Properties (APN 336-30-012; 336-31-022; 336-31-023): Open Space
Preserve.
- Juan Prado Mesa Preserve (APN 336-42-019): Open Space Preserve.
- Murietta Ridge (APN 351-37-001): Open Space Preserve.
- Little League Fields on Purissima Road (APN 182-04-073): Public Recreation.
- Edith Park (APN 175-25-059): Public Recreation.
- Westwind Community Barn (APN 182-28-039): Public Recreation.
- Amendments to the Open Space Element.
Section 310 of the General Plan Open Space Element, attached hereto as Exhibit
C, is hereby amended by adding the following text on page 52, immediately
following the two paragraphs beginning "f. Neary Quarry."
- O'Keefe Property - This beautiful area north of Highway 280 along O'Keefe
Lane features a number of scenic, conservation, and recreational resources,
including two recreational pathways, a magnificent Heritage Oak, and shady,
creekside thickets which provide shelter for both land animals and pond-
dwellers.
- Rhus Ridge Properties - These three scenic and undeveloped parcels at the
intersection of Moody Road and Rhus Ridge Road form the gateway of the Rhus
Ridge pathway, which is used by hikers and equestrians for convenient entrance
to the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District by way of the highly scenic
route to the Windmill Pasture. These parcels also provide a scenic pathway that
connects the off-road trail from Hidden Villa to the Rhus Ridge hiking area and
further on to Summit Road.
- Juan Prado Mesa Preserve - This site, reached by off-road pathways leading
from either Dawson Drive or Stonebrook Drive, is criss-crossed by several off-
road pathways and provides a number of scenic, open space, and recreation
opportunities for the Los Altos Hills community.
- Murietta Ridge - This 13.9 acre area serves as a valuable open space buffer
between Hidden Villa and the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space Preserve, and
provides a heavily wooded refuge for a variety of mammals, birds, and native
plants and trees.
- Central Drive - This narrow opproximately one-acre strip of undeveloped open space
land is contiguous with a section of the western boundary of Byrne Preserve and provides similar
open space and passive recreation opportunities.
- Amendments to the Recreation Element.
Section 406.3 of the General Plan Recreation Element, attached hereto as Exhibit
D, is hereby amended on page 59 to read as follows:
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Recreation Areas - Public. Most small-scale recreation areas for daily
recreation needs of adults and children are supplied on residents' own lots, in
the form of yards, play equipment, swimming pools, riding facilities, and, in
some instances, tennis courts. Large-scale recreation areas, however, must be
provided at public recreation areas and school sites.
The only Town-owned recreation facility is facilities include the Little League
field Fields on Purissima Road. The three elementary school and college sites
provide a vital supplement to the Little League Fields.
Town-owned public recreation facilities also include the Westwind Community
Barn, a historic 24,000 square foot, "U" shaped barn on Altamont Road. The
Community Barn and its approximately 15 acres of surrounding land were acquired
by the Town in 1975 from the Hungarian Countess Margit Bessenyey, and provide
boarding, riding, and equestrian events to residents, non-residents, and
handicapped children. The Barn and its adjacent facilities currently house the
Westwind 4-H Riding for the Handicapped program, the Pacific Ridge Chapter of
the United States Pony Club, and Town of Los Altos Hills recreation programs.
Town-owned public recreation facilities also include Edith Park, a "gateway" to
Los Altos Hills located at Edith and Fremont Roads along Adobe Creek. The park
features a meandering path through a wooded setting and a plaque commemorating
the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, and is used as a route by
children to Bullis-Purissima Elementary School.
- Amendments to the Land Use Element.
- The General Plan Land Use Element subsection entitled "Town Government,"
starting at page 9 and attached hereto as Exhibit E, is hereby amended by adding
the following text on page 10 as Procedure #2 immediately following Procedure
#1:
As required by Principle 11 of the Open Space Element and Principle 8 of the
Recreation Element, the lands owned by the Town of Los Altos Hills commonly
known as Byrne Preserve, Central Drive, Juan Prado Mesa Preserve, O'Keefe Property, Rhus Ridge
Properties, Murietta Ridge, Little League Fields on Purissima Road, Westwind
Community Barn, and Edith Park shall not be conveyed, sold, or abandoned in
whole or in part for any purpose, except pursuant to a vote of the Town
electorate; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not require a vote of
the electorate for any conveyance by the City of a leasehold, easement, or other
property interest in these lands for a use consistent with the property's
General Plan designation.
- The General Plan Land Use Element subsection entitled "Town Government" is
hereby amended by adding the following text on page 10, immediately following
the paragraph beginning "Present Town Hall facilities. . . .":
Residents of Los Altos Hills accord the highest value to the Town's open space
and recreation areas. These areas, many of which are owned by the Town itself,
help supply and preserve the unique character and semi-rural atmosphere of Los
Altos Hills, provide important balance to the more densely urbanized San
Francisco Bay plain, and provide numerous recreational, scenic, open space, and
conservation resources and opportunities for the Town and its residents.
Section 4: Implementation
- Effective Date. Upon the effective date of this Initiative, the provisions
of sections 2 and 3 of this Initiative are inserted into the Town of Los Altos
Hills General Plan as amendments thereof, except that if the four amendments of
the General Plan permitted in a calendar year have been utilized prior to the
effective date of this measure, this General Plan amendment shall be the first
amendment added to the General Plan on January 1 of the following year. At such
time as the General Plan amendments enacted by this Initiative are inserted into
the General Plan, any provision of the Town's Zoning Code inconsistent with this
Initiative shall not be enforced.
- Interim Amendments. The Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan in effect at
the time the Notice of Intention to circulate this Initiative was submitted to
the Town's election official (October 1, 2002, "submittal date"), and that
General Plan as amended by this Initiative comprise an integrated, internally
consistent and compatible statement of policies for the Town. In order to
ensure that the Town's General Plan remains an integrated, internally consistent
and compatible statement of policies for the Town as required by State law and
to ensure that the actions of the voters in enacting this Initiative are given
effect, any provision of the General Plan that is adopted between the submittal
date and the date that the General Plan is amended by this measure shall, to the
extent that such interim-enacted provision is inconsistent with the General Plan
provisions adopted by sections 2 and 3 of this Initiative, be amended as soon as
possible and in the manner and time required by State law to ensure consistency
between the provisions adopted by this Initiative and other provisions of the
Town's General Plan.
- Other Town General Plan Provisions, Ordinances, and Policies. The Town is
hereby authorized and directed to amend other provisions of the General Plan,
Zoning Code, and other ordinances and policies affected by this Initiative as
soon as possible and in the manner and time required by State Law to ensure
consistency between sections 2 and 3 of this Initiative and other provisions of
the Town's General Plan, the Town Zoning Code, and other Town ordinances and
policies.
Section 5: Severability and Interpretation
This Initiative shall be interpreted so as to be consistent with all federal and
state laws, rules, and regulations. If any section, sub-section, sentence,
clause, phrase, part, or portion of this Initiative is held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, such
decision(s) shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the this
Initiative. The voters hereby declare that this Initiative, and each section,
sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase, part, or portion thereof would have been
adopted or passed even if one or more sections, sub-sections, sentences,
clauses, phrases, parts, or portions are declared invalid or unconstitutional.
If any provision of this Initiative is held invalid as applied to any person or
circumstance, such invalidity shall not affect any application of this
Initiative that can be given effect without the invalid application. This
Initiative shall be broadly construed to achieve the purposes stated in this
Initiative.
Section 6: Amendment or Repeal
Except as otherwise provided herein, this Initiative may be amended or repealed
only by the voters of the Town of Los Altos Hills.
Exhibit List:
Exhibit A: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan Diagram, adopted January 2,
1974.
Exhibit B: Map of the general location of the specified Town-owned properties
affected by this Initiative.
Exhibit C: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan, Open Space Element, dated May
1, 1975.
Exhibit D: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan, Recreation Element, dated May
1, 1975.
Exhibit E: Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan, excerpt (pp. 9-10) from Land
Use Element, dated November 15, 1994.
No animals were harmed in the testing or manufacture of this product.
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