July 28, 2005

Open Space Authority to build parking lot in Almaden’s Rancho Canada Del Oro Preserve

Facility could be available to public as early as September

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

Outdoor enthusiasts wanting access to the remote Rancho Canada Del Oro Preserve will know this week if the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority will build a small car and horse-trailer parking area at Casa Loma Road.

The South San Jose-based agency is expected to give the project a green light during its July 28 meeting at 6:30 p.m., at its headquarters located in the South Valley Business Center, 6830 Via Del Oro, Ste. 200. The authority’s board of directors is expected to approve a so-called mitigated negative declaration on the project, as an environmental impact report on the proposal was not deemed necessary, based on initial studies.

The proposed staging area, which will cost between $150,000 and $200,000, will also feature a vault restroom facility, fencing and gates to delineate and secure the area, trailhead signs with brochure dispensers and other signage to direct preserve visitors to Longwall Canyon and Bald Peaks trails. The trails are now open to hikers, equestrians and the public. They connect them into Calero County Park. Construction could begin as early as September and open to the public this fall.

The authority’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee met the evening of July 25 to discuss the project. To minimize particulate pollution, half the lot, including its entry road, will be paved and the other half, dedicated for a10-equestrian trailer parking area, will be made of gravel. The entire pad will be 21,850 square feet. About 10,600 square feet will be used for the paved parking lot and 11,250 square feet will be dedicated for the equestrian parking area.

Agency planners are working with the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department to evaluate what to do with horse manure disposal.

Currently access to the Rancho Canada Del Oro Open Space Preserve is through Calero County Park. To reach trails managed by the authority, recreationists have to hike more than three miles to get to the trailhead. The new parking lot will put them in immediate contact with the trail system.

“It will provide a closer opportunity for people to go onto our property,” said Patrick Congdon, general manager of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority.

Rancho Canada Del Oro Open Space Preserve is made up of several chunks of land the authority has acquired during the last four years totaling about 3,100 acres. The recent Calero County Park land acquisitions bring public ownership in the area to almost 8,000 acres.

The Santa Clara County Open Space Authority’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee met Monday evening to discuss the proposed Rancho Canada Del Oro Open Space Preserve parking area. From left, members of the committee are Son Cheong, David Poeschel, Patrick Congdon, Carmen Montano, Kitty Monahan, Susan McKuhen, Eric Carruthers and Daniel J. Kenney. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

According to the mitigated negative declaration document, the project will have minimal impact to the riparian area along Llagas Creek and Casa Loma Road. Llagas Creek is a modest size creek that flows to Chesbro Reservoir in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Morgan Hill. The authority chose the site because of its proximity to Casa Loma Road. Past site land use included a pasture and an orchard. Today it mainly features non-native grasses, which will be replaced by native grass and shrubs.

The project will also have minimal long-term impact on noise levels, the document states. The area will be open to visitors from sunrise to sunset. The increase in preserve visitors is anticipated to be low.

“It’s a beautiful spot,” said committee member and Almaden resident David Poeschel. “Almaden Valley residents are really interested in this because it’s very close to us. The public is going to be well served by having that open.”

Kitty Monahan, a longtime Almaden resident who serves on the committee and is an avid hiker and equestrian, said she was excited to have the facility built as it’s been pushed for several years. She said residents living along Casa Loma Road are also excited to see the lot built because now they can access the open space purchased by the authority.

“Now they can go riding and see the beautiful open space,” Monahan said.

David Burnham, a former committee member who has lived in Almaden for 35 years, said, “I’ve been hiking these hills for as long as I can remember and this is a great move to provide access to even more people to the preserve.

Without it hikers have to climb over a high ridge between Calero and Canada Del Oro.”

Future plans call for the construction of a mile-long all-access trail in the meadow beyond the staging area for persons who have physical or vision challenges and a new trail connecting the staging area to the north and to the Longwall Canyon trail by the end of the year, Congdon said.

Almaden resident Kitty Monahan, a respected community leader and activist, is a member of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

A gate will secure access to Casa Loma Road used by residents who live along Casa Loma Road and Loma Chiquita Twin Falls Road. Gates to the parking facility will be closed after sunset. Currently there are two gates before entering the pristine area. The main gate will be removed. The gate to the trail and a stile will be put in with the assistance of the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department.

On June 3, the authority began a 20-day public review and comment period for the mitigated negative declaration. The document only examines the impact of the staging area and not the impact of trails to be built in the future, Congdon said.

Just this month an appeals court ruled 2-1 to uphold the validity of the agency’s 2001 mail-in assessment election, which earns the agency about $8 million a year to preserve open space, farmland, parks and wildlife habitat within county limits. The yearly assessment was raised from $12 to $32 a year for single-family property owners and increased commercial owners’ fees by $20 a fifth-acre.

The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association may appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court. If successful, the agency could have access to $26 million to continue its mission to protect open space.

For more information on the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, 6830 Via Del Oro, Ste. 200, San Jose, Calif., 95119, call (408) 224-7476, or visit www.openspaceauthority.org. The agency’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee has seven vacancies in the areas of business, civic organizations, District Seven, District Six, education and parks. Members serve as volunteers for two years, are appointed by the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority Board of Directors and must apply by downloading a form from the authority’s Web site.