Los Altos approves $800K for Westwind
Update in works for Coyote Creek Parkway

Los Altos approves $800K for Westwind
Funds to help repair deteriorating stables
By Melanie Carroll / Daily News Staff Writer
In recognition of the Westwind Barn's importance to the town, the Los Altos City Council will spend $800,000 to rehabilitate the aging facility.

"I can't imagine Los Altos Hills without Westwind," Council Member Breene Kerr said. "If you can't imagine the town without the barn, you're compelled to fix it."

The city council's 3-1 vote Thursday night paves the way for the $1.7 million restoration work, half of which is to be financed through privately raised funds.

Applause broke out when the council approved the expenditure about 10 p.m. after much debate.

Council Member Craig Jones, who cast the dissenting vote, said "there is no other topic more troubling than Westwind Barn. ... There's a dilemma. It's really expensive. We're talking huge numbers."

Because the stables, built in the 1940s, are seismically unsafe, restoration will include "collapse-prevention" work.

"Westwind is a town treasure," longtime Westwind supporter Nancy Couperus said. "Westwind is a community asset that needs to be cared for."

Nearly a dozen riders from the local Pony Club and 4-H groups told the council how much they love Westwind.

Resident Jim Abraham, however, argued against spending so much for "this place that sucks money." He said Westwind caters to a small group of people, mostly girls who like to ride horses.

Ulli Sharma, president of Friends of Westwind, which runs the barn, said the city should be as generous to the stable as it is to its Little League fields...”

E-mail Melanie Carroll at mcarroll@dailynewsgroup.com.
http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2007-12-15-12-15-lah-facilities


Update in works for Coyote Creek Parkway:
…It is the largest river parkway in the Bay Area - a 15-mile trail meandering under cottonwood, willow and sycamore trees - and open to Silicon Valley joggers, bicyclists and horse riders.…Coyote Creek Parkway has become a little worn around the edges in recent years. And unlike more popular waterfront routes such as the Los Gatos Creek Trail, every day thousands of motorists zoom along Highway 101 between San Jose and Morgan Hill past its green spaces, unaware that Coyote Creek even has a park. All of that may be about to change….-In an ambitious rejuvenation, Santa Clara County leaders have approved a plan to build new trails, bridges, restrooms, parking areas and picnic sites along the Coyote Creek Parkway. The plan, estimated to cost $36 million to $46 million, also seeks to restore native plants and wildlife, along with fish living in the creek such as steelhead and salmon.…

"This is a vision for what the community is looking for. It's a long-term vision," said Lisa Killough, director of the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department, which oversees the park. "We're trying to really bring back the creek as much as possible," she added, "and we're looking to the future to expand the park."

-Slice of beauty: A ribbon of green, the park stretches from Anderson Dam in Morgan Hill to Hellyer Park in San Jose, just north of the Highway 85-101 interchange. Once the site of orchards, wineries and ranches during the "Valley of Heart's Delight" era of the early 20th century, most of the parkway's 1,690 acres were acquired by San Jose and county officials in the 1960s. Picnic areas, restrooms, bridges and a paved trail followed… Springtime on Coyote Creek is phenomenal. It's like our own wild and scenic river in our backyard," said Bob Power, executive director of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. "It's very rich in bird life." More than 170 species of birds nest in the county, Power said. "I suspect at least half of those could be found along Coyote Creek." Among them: red-shouldered hawks, white-tailed kites, ash-throated fly catchers, wood ducks, Canada geese, mallard ducks, herons and egrets. The area also is home to black-tailed deer, gray foxes and bobcats. … In some areas, suburban homes extend within a few hundred feet of the creek. In others, white-blossomed cherry orchards sit adjacent.

-Coyote Creek is the longest river in Santa Clara County. It winds 42 miles from the remote back-country of Henry Coe State Park east of Morgan Hill through San Jose to Alviso and the bay.

…PLANS: -Widening the paved trail from 10 to 12 feet and improving signs.

-Rebuilding two of the three existing bridges to accommodate horses, and building two new ones.

-Building a new ranger office on the south end of the trail at Malaguerra Staging Area.

-Expanding picnic areas from eight to 12 and renovating restrooms.

-Developing canoe and kayak access areas.

-Building a visitors center at Perry's Hill, with a new access road from Coyote Creek Golf Course Drive …

-Increasing the number of parking spaces from 80 to 549 over 20 years. Most of the new spaces will be at Perry's Hill; a staging area off Burnett Avenue near Morgan Hill; and Monterey Highway Recreation Area, in the middle of the park near Bailey Avenue and Monterey Highway.

-Finding funding: Killough said only about $3 million of the $36 million is in hand. The rest will come from parks bonds, federal grants and the county parks charter fund, a $1.5 million annual guaranteed source of county general fund money...Killough said she would like to see the visitors center built within five or six years. In a decade or more, the plan calls for building a public swimming area at the Ogier Ponds, former gravel pits now filled with water, and restoring the former Malaguerra Winery, opened in 1869 on the south end of the park, as a museum. The plan projects increased visitation by 2025, from the current 27,000 people a year to 264,000 a year.

Elish Ryan, a county parks planner who helped design the plan, joked: "People need more than mall-walking."
-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS - Paul Rogers, Mercury News - April 2, 2007

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