LGCC


THE BEAR CREEK REDWOODS OPEN SPACE PRESERVE IS NOW A REALITY. CELIA THOMPSON-TAUPIN
July 1, 1999 The former Alma College property is now the Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. The entire property is being purchased by Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) and Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). In March, MROSD negotiated an ingenious deal with the private owner, Arlie Land and Cattle. The upper 806 acres would become the property of MROSD and be preserved in its natural state, if the owner could obtain permits to develop the lower 260 acres with at least forty luxury homes. MROSD paid $10.5 million for this deal, which included an option to buy the entire property for an additional $14.5 million by June 30, 1999. It happened. By that date, MROSD added another $4.5 million, and Peninsula Open Space Trust provided the remaining $10 million to complete the purchase. Funded entirely by private donations, POST is borrowing money from a local bank for the acquisition. The purchase results from years of effort by many people and organizations. They shared a belief that this land is too beautiful and too ecologically important to be used for individual luxury homes and a golf course. Members of our own grass-roots organization, Friends of Bear Creek Redwoods, contributed to mailing costs and to the time-consuming work of tabling, writing letters, attending meetings and hearings and alerting the public and elected officials. Local conservation organizations--Greenbelt Alliance, The Audubon Society, Committee for Green Foothills, and the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter--provided essential help. Preservation of the open space was also endorsed by The League of Women Voters, The Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, town councils of Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Campbell, San Jose and Morgan Hill. The San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Gatos Weekly Times, Metro and our own Mountain Network News carried stories. The Mercury News, Los Gatos Weekly and Mountain Network News also supported preservation in their editorial pages. Local and state government contributed, too. After the Planning Commission raised questions, our Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors denied an application to build a golf course and country club. State representatives, Jim Cuneen and Byron Sher, supported a preserve and are seeking state funds. But our work is not finished. We must help POST pay off this debt. POST has gone out on a limb to save this property. We want them to thrive and continue their great work. Friends of Bear Creek Redwoods will be doing fund raisers, but we will need more help from more people. Lets start now. Donations over $100 may be sent directly to POST, 3000 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Write on the check: "For Bear Creek Redwoods." Smaller donations can go to Friends of Bear Creek Redwoods, P. O. Box 867, Los Gatos, CA 95031. We will use this money to organize and pay expenses for fund- raising events. All donations are tax deductible. Both groups are 501(c) organizations. Can we save the trees? The timber rights were sold by Hong Kong Metro Realty before Arlie Land bought the property. Big Creek Lumber owns these rights and is currently cutting a 125 acre portion for which they have an approved THP. If, after the land is secured, more money can be raised, remaining timber rights could be bought back from Big Creek. Although there is always more to be done, we can share a great victory for our community. The Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve is now a reality.

January, 1998 Los Gatos Country Club Neil Wiley The Los Gatos Country Club is proposed by Peter Denevi for the south side of Bear Creek Road at Highway 17, just west of Lexington Reservoir. The plan calls for an 18-hole semi-private golf course, a 5-acre driving range with 25 turf tee boxes, a 6,500 square foot clubhouse, two maintenance buildings totaling 10,000 square feet, four single family dwellings, one duplex and one triplex for employee housing, an 18,000 square foot athletic club, including fitness center and spa, locker rooms, restaurant and banquet/meeting rooms, two swimming pools and ten tennis courts on a 210-acre site. The original use permit application was denied by the County Board of Supervisors, November 19, 1996. Proponents say that a country club is a better use than allowing the old Alma College property to deterioriate. Opponent's environmental concerns include conflict with county general plan, impact on public water supplies, erosion, traffic, wildlife, loss of forest canopy, noise, and loss of open space. Celia Thompson-Taupin is working with the group Friends of Bear Creek Redwoods Regional Preserve to preserve the 1130 acres along Bear Creek Road in its natural state so that in the future it could become a low-impact park for the whole region. This land is currently threatened not only with the huge country club development, but also with logging and extensive housing development--possibly as many as 52 residences. She reports these recent developments: 1. Arlie Land and Cattle Co. of Cottage Grove, Oregon has bought the entire 1130 acre property from Hong Kong Metro Realty. (Pietro Denevi still has an option on the 210 acres where he wants to build the country club. We do not know the conditions of the option.) 2. The timber rights on the entire property have been sold to Big Creek Lumber in Davenport. They are preparing a THP. 3. Originally, on the 900 acres not involved in the country club, there were 28 building sites. Now Arlie Land has found 24 more on old patent maps and is applying to make those official lots also. It is assumed that they would apply for cluster lot line adjustments and centralize the housing in the old vineyard areas. They will have to do an Environmental Impact Report and go through all the steps to get the development approved. 4. Meanwhile, Thursday, Feb. 5th at 1:30 P.M. the Santa Clara Country Planning Commission will hear public input about the LG Country Club Draft EIR. No vote will be taken. Later in the spring, there will be a hearing and vote on the Final EIR. 5. It is clear that, in fact, the golf course and country club and the subsequent big housing development are all a related project, although they're being presented as totally separate. At the final EIR hearing, we'd like to get a really big turnout of people who support the idea of open space and a possible park. The hearing will probably occur in early April. And then, whoever loses will appeal to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. That will call for maximum attendance, placards, the whole political effort.