Thinking outside the stall?
At the Nov. 17 Los Altos Hills Council meeting, tempers flared and a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee screamed and berated a councilmember. The short reason for this outburst was because the councilmember was attempting to establish a 10-hour per week, rather than a four-hour per week, riding program at Westwind Barn. Both alternatives were being presented to the council.
In January 2004, the council signed an ironclad 10-year lease with Friends of Westwind (a 501 (c) (7) organization, IRS lingo for a private club with over 75 percent of its members being nonresidents) for $1,088.95 per month for the barn. Unfortunately, the town did not have the foresight to reserve sufficient resources for a year-round riding program that the Parks and Recreation Committee had been considering, even though the president of Friends told them at their September 2003 meeting that they had no rights to the arenas.
Over the last several council meetings, the council agreed to lease two stalls in their own barn for $1,000 per month for two horses, and that Friends would allow them four hours use of an arena per week. The problem was how to get an additional six hours of arena time without having to build an additional arena at the cost of $100,000.
It can’t be any clearer that the town has lost control of its most valuable resource, often referred to as the crown jewel of Los Altos Hills, Westwind Barn. It’s time for the town to consider either begging Friends, or trying to figure out how to break the lease that Friends now holds.
Is there anyone out there who wants to run a barn for the town? The lease arrangements are good: a net $89 per month with you providing two stalls and 10 hours of arena time per week to the town.
The council also plans to spend $50,000 to upgrade their Town Ring, across from Fremont Hills Country Club, for year-round use. Isn’t it reasonable to consider leasing the ring in exchange for developing a riding program for the town? It would provide year-round facilities and is much more cost effective than any alternatives currently being considered at the barn. It’s time for our council to start thinking outside the stall.
John Harpootlian
Los Altos Hills
More than losing a pumpkin patch
Regarding “Hospital eyes Grant pumpkin patch” in the Nov. 9 Town Crier: The proposed sale of the Grant-Levin “Farm Fresh Produce” would mean far more than a loss of a pumpkin patch. Over the years, thousands of schoolchildren have visited for enjoyment of pigs, goats and birds and for train rides. For “city-type kids” it’s fun and a bit of education. The just-picked grown-here corn and tomatoes are bonuses - far better than days-old items at a grocery. Where houses and pavement have covered much of our rich valley soil, this is a breath of fresh air.
If the present owners want to sell, the proposed El Camino Hospital extension is logical and would also benefit our community.
Meantime, the present owners deserve our thanks for our years of enjoyment.
Howard Martin
Mountain View
Restoring open government
It seems the Town Crier, city staff and others think that Los Altos residents are mushrooms that should be kept in the dark and fed … you know what.
The Nov. 9 issue of the Crier reported that a Planning Commissioner had “tipped off” a neighborhood about a possible high-density housing project adjacent to their homes. The phrase “tipped off” implies a treasonous exposure of some secret information. I am the commissioner who informed the neighborhood and I firmly believe that residents have the right to such information at the earliest possible date. I resent the Crier’s implication that I did something wrong. As a news organization, the Crier should be defending the public’s right to be informed, not criticizing those who provide information.
In response to the Crier story, Community Development Director James Walgren sent a memo to all Planning Commissioners admonishing them not to talk to developers and implying that they should not disclose future projects to neighbors because “it results in residents getting worked up about a project.”
In a reply to Walgren’s memo, Penny Lave wrote, “I was pretty surprised and dismayed to read in the Town Crier that a Planning Commissioner ‘tipped off a neighborhood association about a project.’”
This is a blatant example of how city leaders view the public’s right to information.
When I was first on the Planning Commission, we got a monthly report listing all of the potential projects that the planning staff was aware of, even those in the formative stage well before the filing of a formal application. That practice has been discontinued.
The result is that even the planning commissioners are denied knowledge of projects until the last minute.
Effective involvement requires early knowledge. One of the most frequent complaints from residents of Los Altos is that they don’t hear about a project until it is nearly a done deal.
It’s time to restore open government to Los Altos. Withholding information serves no one but developers and bureaucrats.
Bruce Skov
Los Altos
Planning Commissioner
Editor’s note: We agree completely that residents should know what’s coming in the planning pipeline. There was no intention on our part to fault the whistle-blower. If anything, the article highlights the problem - that residents have to find out from a planning commissioner as opposed to other means. We sincerely hope staff and other commissioners share your philosophy of open communication with Los Altos residents.
