My purpose in writing this column week to week is very simple. By telling you about the many parks, preserves and beaches we have at our doorstep, I hope you will be inspired to strap on your striders, grab your day pack and get out. No politics; no religion. The only passion I want to awaken is the one that pushes you outdoors.
After all, what two subjects could be more unrelated than politics and connecting with nature? Oddly, they are very closely related. As I look over the more than 200 columns I have written about mountains and trails, all but a couple are in a park or preserve purchased with your tax dollars that are also managed and maintained with your tax dollars. Parks including Henry W. Coe State Park, Pinnacles National Park, Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve, Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve, Point Reyes National Seashore and on and on. Virtually every natural sanctuary is there to enjoy because you support the notion of open space with your tax dollars.
So, even a day on the trail has political ramifications. And never has the connection between politics and open space come closer to home than it will on Election Day, Nov. 4.
The California State legislature created the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority in 1993, and since then it has been funded with a small assessment from properties within communities that opted to participate. The Authority has preserved more than 16,000 acres of open space, sensitive habitat, creeks, streams and local farmland. If you know Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve, Sierra Vista OSP, the lands that will soon open as Coyote Valley OSP and the other properties that SCCOSA hopes (with funding) to open as preserves, you are aware of the important work the Authority does.
Measure Q would levy a uniform $24 parcel tax per year for critical land preservation, restoration and public access projects. The funds will be placed in a separate fund, accounted for annually and reported to an independent citizen advisory committee. The funds can only be used for purposes specifically stated in the measure; purposes that were guided by the findings of an exhaustive community outreach process compiled in the SCCOSA’s “Santa Clara Valley Greenprint.” Among those are protect open space; protect land around creeks, rivers and streams to prevent pollution and protect water quality; and open, improve and maintain parks, open space and trails. The feature I like best is that up to 25 percent of the funds will come back to communities through grants for “urban open space, outdoor education and programs such as urban creek and flood plain restoration and community gardens.”
Most of you have what I call the outdoor chip and need no convincing. But opponents are vocal, vigilant and offer misleading arguments against Measure Q.
– “Almost no OSA land is open to the public for any use.” It is true that some OSA parcels are not yet open to the public, but that is because resource inventories must be done and trails and staging areas must be built; something for which Measure Q funds will be used.
– “OSA is redundant. We have the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency to preserve wildlife habitat.” SCVHA sets out boundaries and rules in the development permitting process, but does not purchase property and set it aside as permanent open space for people to enjoy.
– “OSA is unnecessary. We have a county park system.” Yes, we do. So does San Mateo County. Yet, take a drive along Skyline Boulevard in the peninsula hills and marvel at the stunning string of preserves that are not a part of the San Mateo County Park system.
It has been said that our national parks are America’s best idea. Whether it’s national parks or nearby preserves, the idea is the same: our lives and our world are immeasurably enriched by the work the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority does to protect and preserve our remaining open space.
For more information, visit openspaceauthority.org.
