A special task force that helped advise the county on how to use
its new parkland around Coyote Lake will review a completed draft
of formal land-use plans for the park tonight.
SAN MARTIN – A special task force that helped advise the county on how to use its new parkland around Coyote Lake will review a completed draft of formal land-use plans for the park tonight.
The draft master plan lays out guidelines for future recreational development of the 3,600-acre Bear and Mendoza ranches in the hills east of San Martin, including a new golf course and events center, campgrounds, equestrian and environmental education centers and a trail network.
Other topics in the plan include details on financing, the timing and phasing of the improvements and design guidelines.
Meanwhile, formal decisions on a proposed bicycle play area and a hang-gliding launch site in the new park are still pending depending on the results of an environmental review.
The design of the proposed 18-hole golf course will also be an issue of interest for conservationists. Parks officials have described plans to incorporate native plant and grass restoration areas and limit the use of pesticides at the course.
The county purchased the former Harvey Bear and Mendoza ranches adjacent to Coyote Lake County Park in 1998 for about $11 million, and it has worked to craft a master plan for the combined parklands since the winter of 2000 with the help of the task force made up of park neighbors, South County residents and recreational enthusiasts.
Parks staff say copies of the plan will become available on the county Parks Department’s Web site at www.parkhere.org. Revised copies will be available after May 5 on the Web site, at the Gilroy library and for purchase from the department’s offices.
The meeting is slated from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Gilroy Senior Center, 7351 Hanna St. in Gilroy. For more information, call Park Planner Elish Ryan at (408) 355-2236.
