GILROY
– Santa Clara County residents have two last chances to weigh in
on a 20-year plan that will make the 4,450-acre Coyote Lake-Harvey
Bear Ranch park a premier recreation spot for Silicon Valley.
GILROY – Santa Clara County residents have two last chances to weigh in on a 20-year plan that will make the 4,450-acre Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch park a premier recreation spot for Silicon Valley.
The county has announced a meeting today with the County Parks and Recreation Commission and an Aug. 21 session with the Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee (HLUET) to review park improvement plans and their impact on the environment. In September, staff will ask county Supervisors to approve a three-phase approach to developing the park and a corresponding environmental study.
“This will end a two and a half year master plan process that included 26 public meetings,” County Parks Planner Elish Ryan said. “If the Supervisors approve it, the next step is implementation.”
The August sessions will be held at the County Government Center at 70 West Hedding St. in San Jose. The Parks and Recreation Commission meeting is tonight at 6:30. The HLUET meeting is Aug. 21 at 9:30 a.m.
The park master plan will be on the Aug. 21 agenda only if the Parks and Recreation Commission approves the document Wednesday.
Gilroyan Mark Zappa, an avid boater who uses Coyote Lake regularly, may be one of the people commenting at the August sessions.
“All I pretty much use the park for is boating, so I kind of like it the way it is,” Zappa said. “But if publicly owned land is going to be made more accessible, I really don’t have any issue against that.”
Zappa is a member of the Silicon Valley Taxpayer Association which is in the midst of a lawsuit against the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority regarding methods used in acquiring land. Zappa contends that land acquired by the public with public funds should remain, at least to some degree, open to the public.
Current proposals will preserve more than 4,000 acres of open space. Multi-use trails will traverse the area, but most of it will remain as natural habitat. Opportunities for hang gliding and paragliding may be provided at key points along the ridge.
On the remaining acreage, a golf course, equestrian center, improved campgrounds and educational center are proposed.
