Open Space in LAH

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="3" width=205 BGCOLOR="#66CCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 24 WIDTH="22"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="22" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="22"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="22" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="14"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="14" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="28" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Issues Challenges"><U><B>LAH ISSUES & CHALLENGES</B></U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b70118cc990000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Open Space</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Town Hall"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">New Town Hall</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Citizen Disenfranchisement"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Disenfranchised in Los Altos Hills</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Underground Utilities"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Underground Utilities</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Winbigler House"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Winbigler house</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pathways"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Pathways</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Special Interest Actions"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Special Interest Council Actions</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Los Altos Hills, California"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b70118ffffff00.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Return to Home Page</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#66CCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> Open Space in Los Altos Hills</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=420 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="017f48c0.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>In January 2002, the City Council directed the town staff to inventory all town owned properties so that the Council could determine if they were receiving their "highest and best use", usually a euphemism for development. The Council also sought and received from the state (Caltrans) a release of the open space usage condition on the O'Keefe property. This would only be done in preparation for property sale.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Council also made inquiries into relocating Westwind Barn (home of the </B><B>Westwind 4-H Riding for the Handicapped </B><B>Program) to Byrne Preserve, again a prelude to sale. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>All of this time, the Council protested that they had no intention of selling any town owned property. However, their actions strongly indicated otherwise. The Council was seeking funds for the undergrounding of utilities (a $50.0M project) and a new town hall (a $5.0M project).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>These actions were so alarming that a group of citizens worked several months to prepare an initiative for a 2003 ballot providing for the protection of all town owned properties appropriate for recreational use or open space preserves. This initiative was filed with the City Clerk on Oct. 1, 2002. Following a few minor updates, it was refiled on October 7,2002.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>For reasons that seem to be politically motivated, the City Council on October 3, 2002 instructed the Town Attorney to prepare and file an alternative Open Space initiative. We are delighted that the Council has heard the voice of the people and is willing to join us in saving our open space and recreation lands. A second initiative, however,  is completely counterproductive. It will be a source of confusion to the citizens of the town.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The LAH Open Space Initiative group has invited the City Council to work with them to prepare a single initiative to present to the voters. The Council's alternative initiative was hastily written and is deeply flawed. It protects properties that do not need protection, and does not offer strong protection to the properties that do need protection. (For example, open space properties could be leased to homeowners and developers on a long term lease basis.) It fails to revise the town's General Plan which makes the initiative subject to a legal challenge. To date, the Council has not agreed to work with the citizen's group.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>On October 22, 2002 the town attorney delivered to the LAH Open Space Initiative group their initiative's legal title and summary as required by California  law. This is meant to be an objective and easy to understand title and summary. The "short title" is 70 words long! </B><B>Why not simply "Citizen's Open Space Initiative"? </B><B>The "summary" is so long that it must be printed on a 11 inch x 17 inch (double the standard letter size) page! This is nothing less than a Casey/Fenwick ploy to bolster their untrue claim that the citizen's initiative is too complicated? </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Arial" ><B>(It isn't! It's very easy to understand.)</B></FONT><B> </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>This is an affront to the citizens of Los Altos Hills! It's an effort by the Casey/Fenwick Council to cripple the citizen's initiative through confusion. Our town deserves better than this!</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>On Saturday Oct. 26, a mailer from Kerns & Vitu arrived claiming that the "Open Space Initiative Misleads Neighbors". </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Not true!</B></FONT><B> This mailer is itself very misleading and deceptive. It claims that Westwind Barn should be classified as Open Space. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Not correct! </B></FONT><B>If classified as Open Space, the existence of Westwind Barn would be an inappropriate use! They claim that the Council initiative provides that no town property can have its use changed without a vote of the people. That is true, </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>BUT, they are locking in Residential classifications on properties that should be Open Space! The town could actually develop the town park at Edith and Fremont without a vote of the people!</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Either Kerns and Vitu are woefully uninformed on the situation or they are purposely being deceptive. In either case they are unfit for Council positions. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Again, our town deserves better than this!</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Two candidates, </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Breene Kerr</B></FONT><B> and </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Dean Warshawsky </B></FONT><B>have endorsed</B><B> the citizen's initiative which is the real protector of Open Space. The two Civic Association candidates (Vitu & Kerns) have not done so and are misleading the electorate.</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=10 BGCOLOR="#66CCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=10 BGCOLOR="#66CCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>