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E-Mail Bulletin #8 - 21 September 2002
- Initiative Update & Next Steps
- Media Coverage
- Endorsements
- Coffees
- Council Action
Initiative Update & Next Steps:
The final draft of the Los Altos Hills Open Space Initiative is in the hands of the Town Planner and Town Attorney for review. Once input has been received and any necessary changes made to the document, it will be filed with the "city elections official," Pat Dowd, our City Clerk.At this point, we will be requesting that a ballot title and summary be prepared by the Town's Attorney. No more than fifteen days after the initiative is filed, the Town's Attorney must submit to the City Clerk an impartial ballot title and summary for the initiative. Publication of the intent to circulate the initiative is the next step. Following publication or posting of the notice of intent, ballot title and summary, we will be able to start circulating the initiative petition among registered voters of the Town for signatures. We will have 180 days to collect 800 to 900 signatures (15% of the registered voters) for a special election.
Media Coverage:
This past week a number of newspaper articles have appeared about our open space initiative. The Town Crier's editorial in the Wednesday, September 18th edition, supports the LAH Open Space Initiative. The entire editorial can be read by clicking on http://www.losaltosonline.com/latc/arch/2002/38/Comment/1edit/1edit.htmlFrom the Town Crier Editorial: "We support this effort to preserve the land. The charm and the lure of Los Altos Hills is its natural beauty. The vast majority of people seem to know this and are fully behind the initiative, which would secure such beauty for generations to come."
The San Jose Mercury News on Thursday, September 19th carried an article entitled "Open Space Policy To Be Discussed." Click on http://www.lahopenspace.com/Merc020919.html
"The initiative would lock in all those lands' designations as open space or recreation in the town's general plan, a blueprint for development, unless voters approve a change."
A third article appeared in Friday's San Jose Mercury reporting on the Town Attorney's report to Council. http://www.lahopenspace.com/Merc020920.html
Endorsements:
The Committee for Green Foothills officially endorsed the open space initiative this week. The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and Bay Area Barns and Trails have previously given their endorsement. We are aware of other organizations who are also considering an official endorsement.Individuals may add their names to the list of individual endorsers on our website. Simply e-mail couperus@mindspring.com. Although you may have contributed to LAH Open Space and/or joined our e-mail bulletin list, we can't list you as an endorser until we hear from you.
Click on List of Endorsers to see the current list.
Open Space Coffees:
Sixteen open space coffees have been scheduled in different areas of Town. We still have some open dates -- in case you'd like to host a coffee! We can provide you with a list of the residents in your neighbor- hood with contact information, as well as an invitation you can adapt for your particular coffee.If you would like to attend a coffee in your neighborhood, contact Doris Welsh, our coffee coordinator, and she will be able to help you find the closest one to you. Doris's email is kharis6@cs.com
Council Action:
At the Town Council meeting on Thursday, September 19th, the Town's Attorney Steve Mattas reported on three policy options for preserving open space. In brief, the three options were:- A Council action designating public properties as open space,
effectuated by an initiative which would approve designations on a
one-time basis or written to provide for voter approval for any change.
A variable on the initiative would be to go to the residents asking for an advisory vote. This would not be legally binding.
- The Council could consider utilizing "conservation easements"
which could be modified subsequently by future councils. This
option is questionable because generally conservation easements are
put on property controlled by others - not your own property.
- A third option is looking to the possibility of conveying the property to some kind of third party entity like the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, for example.
E-mail distribution list:
If you have friends or neighbors in Los Altos Hills who would like to be placed on this e-mail information list, please have them contact either Nancy Couperus at couperus@mindspring.com or Val Metcalfe at metcalfes@worldnet.att.net