By Lauren McSherry

When explorer Juan Bautista De Anza led his expedition through what is now Los Altos Hills in 1776, he did not follow any trail markers. Now, the city’s pathways committee must decide if and where the trail commemorating the historic journey that led to the discovery of San Francisco Bay should be placed.

The National Park Service notified the committee this month that its proposed route could not be certified because of “safety, aesthetic and equestrian issues.” Congress mandated the 1,200-mile trail from Arizona to the Bay Area in 1990.

The committee will look into other routes and may consider not having the trail go through the Hills at all, according to Chris Vargas, committee chairman. The committee is seeking a route that is scenic but still respects the privacy of residents.

The park service rejected the proposed roadside route along an existing multiuse path because it did not meet off-road criteria, among other reasons. The route abruptly ends at least seven times on roads with moderate traffic, forcing the trail user to cross the street without benefit of a crosswalk to pick up the trail, Stan Bond, park service superintendent, said in a letter to the committee.

He referred to another section as “dangerous to hikers and unusable by equestrians” and wrote that, in a number of places, trees and telephone poles can only be sidestepped by walking on a roadway.

The roadside trail was proposed because of a city policy not to route regional trails along off-road paths that border residential property, according to Carl Cahill, city planning director.

Members of the city council voiced concern in April that if the trail were certified, “a backpacking convention” would inundate the secluded, affluent community.

“What is the expectation for our town to fulfill this need?” asked Councilman Dean Warshawsky, pathways committee liaison. “Once the pathway is approved … there’s no going back.”

Jane Mark, county park planner working with the park service on the trail, said there is no regulation requiring the Hills to comply. “However, putting in this nationally known trail is all in the spirit of cooperation,” she added.

The park service stipulates the trail must go through an environment similar to that the Anza expedition encountered and must connect to trail segments designated in adjoining communities.

In Los Altos Hills’ case, the trail could link Cupertino’s Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve and Palo Alto’s Pearson-Arastradero Preserve.

The pathways committee was expected to decide Monday after the Town Crier’s press deadline whether to scrap the trail altogether or propose a new route.