By Town Crier Staff

More than 20 members of the residents group bombarded the tiny Town Hall offices and turned over a hefty stack of petitions containing over 1,200 signatures to City Clerk Karen Jost. The citizens’ initiative aims to protect over 150 acres of town-owned properties as open space by requiring the council to obtain resident approval before selling, abandoning or redesigning the properties.

“It’s a milestone in protecting the rural roots of the community,” said Breene Kerr, who was on hand and will take his seat on council Thursday night. “We’re going to protect these open spaces for generations to come.”

Jost said she gave the petitions a cursory count, then immediately hand-delivered them to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office, which has 30 days to determine if the initiative qualifies for a ballot measure.

The group needed support from 15 percent, or 822, of the city’s 5,480 registered voters. Because the petitions carry more than 500 signatures, the county will most likely perform a random sampling method to verify the authenticity of the signatures.

If the initiative qualifies, Jost will receive a certificate of sufficiency from the county, she said, at which point the initiative can be adopted by council.