HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 11430
City of Palo Alto (ID # 11430)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Action Items Meeting Date: 6/23/2020
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Foothills Park Pilot Program
Title: Discuss the Parks and Recreation Commission's Pilot Program to
Increase Access to Foothills Park for Nonresidents and Provide Direction to
Staff
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Community Services
Recommendation
Staff recommends that City Council discuss the Parks and Recreation Commission’s
proposed pilot plan to increase access to Foothills Park for nonresidents and either:
a. direct staff to return with an Ordinance to amend the Municipal Code to allow
non-residents to access Foothills Park under a pilot plan and a Resolution to
define the pilot plan itself, or
b. provide feedback and direct staff to explore and evaluate alternative scenarios to
open Foothills Park to non-residents.
Background
The land comprising Foothills Park was acquired by the City in a favorably priced
acquisition from the Lee family in May 1959, on the condition that it be preserved as
open space. Los Altos and Los Altos Hills were asked to contribute to the purchase but
declined. Foothills Park was opened to the public on June 19, 1965.
In 1969, the City added the residency requirement to the Palo Alto Municipal Code
(PAMC § 22.04.150 (a)-(b).), which limited admission to the Park to Palo Alto residents
and their accompanied guests. Over the years, there has been interest in opening
Foothills Park to non-residents. In 1973, the City Council unanimously reaffirmed the
residents-only policy, pointing out that the park’s acquisition was paid for out of the
City's general fund, and no federal funds were used. The residency requirement was
brought up again in 1991 and 2005, and both times Council voted to reaffirm the
residency requirement.
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In 2005, in exchange for $2 million in grant funding from California Coastal
Conservancy and Santa Clara County to help purchase 13 acres of land adjacent to the
Pearson Arastradero Preserve, City Council voted to allow non-residents to enter
Foothills Park via the Bay to Ridge trail. Non-resident hikers may enter from the
Pearson-Arastradero Preserve and from Los Trancos Open Space Preserve. At the most
recent joint session with the City Council, members of the Parks and Recreation
Commission (PRC) indicated their interest in developing options to revisit opening
Foothills Park to non-residents.
Discussion
The PRC and its Foothills Park ad hoc committee have studied several options for
providing non-residents with access to Foothills Park since 2018. The PRC discussed the
Foothills Park Pilot Plan at their July, September, and November 2019 meetings. At the
November 12, 2019 Commission meeting, the PRC voted 6-1 to recommend that City
Council direct staff to implement the Foothills Park Pilot Program as set out in the
Commission’s November 12, 2019 report (Attachment A). This item was tentatively
scheduled for an April 2020 City Council meeting but was deferred due to the public
health emergency and focus on community response to the pandemic.
Timeline
If City Council approves of the PRC’s recommended pilot plan municipal code changes
provided in Attachment A, staff would return to City Council in August 2020 with an
Ordinance to amend the Municipal Code to authorize non-residents to access Foothills
Park under a pilot program, and a Resolution with the specifics of the pilot program
itself. If approved, staff would need to prepare for implementation and anticipates
being able to begin the pilot in Fall of 2020.
Resource Impact
There is a risk that additional visitation may negatively impact Foothills Park’s natural
resources and improvements. This risk is considered limited given past experience with
visitation levels significantly higher than what is anticipated in connection with the pilot
program. Additionally, the pilot program has been designed to allow staff to adjust the
number of available passes to control visitation and avoid impacts to park resources.
Details on historic visitation levels; existing regulations limiting daily visitation; and
Staff’s plan to assess impacts to the Park’s ecology, infrastructure, and maintenance
needs resulting from additional visitors are provided in Attachment A.
Additional staff time will be required to implement the pilot program, which may result
in reduced staff attention to other projects. Open Space staffing resources are further
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strained by the freeze of the vacant Foothills Park Supervising Ranger position, which is
recommended as part of the FY 2021 Operating Budget, subject to City Council
approval on June 22, 2020. Staff will redirect existing resources as needed to
implement the pilot program while still maintaining Open Space services.
The pilot program includes the option to assess fees for non-resident passes to enter
the park.
Stakeholder Engagement
The PRC discussed the Foothills Park Pilot Program at the July, September, and
November 2019 Parks and Recreation Commission meetings.
Environmental Review
The subject project has been assessed in accordance with the authority and criteria
contained in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State CEQA
Guidelines, and the City’s environmental regulations. Specifically, the City, acting as the
lead agency, finds this project exempt from CEQA in accordance with CEQA Guidelines
Section 15301 (Existing Facilities). There are no physical improvements to Foothills Park
proposed as part of this pilot program. This exemption applies to the pilot program only
and any expansion of the program may require additional CEQA analysis.
Attachments:
• Attachment A - PRC Foothills Pilot Project Memo
1
To: City Council
From: Parks & Recreation Commission
Re: Report and Recommendation for Foothills Park Access Pilot Program
Overview
The Parks & Recreation Commission (“PRC”) and its Foothills Park ad hoc committee (the
“Committee”) have studied options for providing non-residents with access to Foothills Park (the
“Park”) for over a year, with public PRC meetings on the topic in July, September and November
2019. The PRC and the community recognize that Foothills Park is a special place and the pilot program outlined herein utilizes robust visitation information to ensure that the Park retains its
special character. At the same time, the PRC recognizes that current policy requires staff to turn
away several thousand would-be visitors each year—approximately 60 people per week—and that
there are means available to responsibly share the park with those visitors.
Key parameters of the pilot program proposal:
•One-year pilot program to test the concepts of providing (1) a limited and adjustable number
of Park passes for non-residents, and (2) broader availability for student fieldtrips.
•Non-resident passes would be available on the City’s new online reservation portal. Thissystem will allow us to gather information about those seeking to visit the Park.
•Staff will use robust historic visitation data to adjust the number of non-resident passes
available per day, with a maximum cap of 50 passes for any given day.
•City will encourage and formalize a school field trip program and reservation process, whichis not presently anticipated by the Municipal Code for nonresident students.
•$6 fee for non-resident passes will allow the City to recover a portion of the expenses
associated with the existing cost of staffing the entry gate.
•Continue to prioritize resident access—no changes to current access policy for residents.
•At conclusion of pilot, staff and PRC would review Park visitation and impact data, and
recommend how to move forward, including potentially reverting back to the current policy,
making the pilot program permanent, or making other revisions.
The PRC has considered numerous alternatives (discussed below) and recommends this pilot program because it ensures close control of total visitation to the Park and allows the option to
assess fees for non-resident passes to recover at least some of the significant personnel costs related
to staffing the entry gate.
Background
The approximately 1,400-acre parcel comprising Foothills Park was acquired by the City in a favorably-priced acquisition from the Lee family in the late 1950s. The Park opened to Palo Alto
residents in the 1965-66 fiscal year. Visitation when the Park opened was significantly higher than
it has been in the past 30 years (peaking at approximately 372,000 visitors for two consecutive years
Attachment A
2
in the early 1970s).1 In the past 17 years, visitation has been steady at approximately 152,000
persons visiting each year. One recent exception was 2011-2012 when the Park saw 202,000
visitors. Based on staff observation, the Park was a bit busier in 2011-2012, but that number of
visitors did not negatively impact the Park’s resources and infrastructure.
Enacted in 1969, the Municipal Code makes it a misdemeanor for any non-resident to enter
the Park unless they are a guest of a City resident or employee, or are traversing the Bay-to-
Foothills Trail on foot. (PAMC § 22.04.150 (a)-(b).) In addition to the residency restriction, the
Municipal Code imposes a cap of 1,000 persons in the Park at any time. (P.A.M.C. § 22.04.150.)
This limit has not been approached except in the case of a special event many years ago.
During most weekends and holidays, the single point of entry on Page Mill Road is staffed
regularly and persons not able to demonstrate Palo Alto residency are turned away from the Park.
The exception is that during winter weekends and holidays, when staff is constrained and park
visitation rates are lower, entry gate enforcement of the residency requirement is less frequent. In
the last five years, approximately 2,800 non-residents have been turned away on weekends each year, which is an increase from the last decade. For the most recent year with complete data, more
than 3,700 persons were turned away at the gate. Enforcement of the residents-only restriction
requires that the Page Mill gate be staffed, with associated costs estimated by staff to be
approximately $89,000 per year. As written, the Municipal Code provides no discretion for the City
Manager or staff to allow unaccompanied non-residents, including school or volunteer groups.
The PRC received public comment before, at and following the PRC’s July and September
2019 meetings. Comments at the July meeting, which included a range of options for discussion,
were fairly evenly split between persons expressing support for the existing policy and those
supporting expanded public access. However, public comments largely did not relate to the menu
of options discussed for a pilot. The comments from persons speaking against expanding access expressed a general concern about overuse of the Park and potential impacts to the Park’s ecology,
and changes to the existing Park experience, with some commenters citing concerns about their
personal safety if non-residents are allowed access. Persons speaking in favor of a pilot mentioned
their desire for inclusiveness and a sense of being good neighbors, concern about “elitism” and
being “embarrassed” by the current policy’s exclusion of non-residents, that the City has lost economic diversity from the time when the residents-only policy was implemented such that the
policy has negative effects not present when first implemented, and that a more effective policy
could be crafted to ensure preservation of the Park while also allowing public access. During the
September 2019 meeting, where the specific pilot program laid out here was presented, two
commenters expressed strong support for the pilot, one commenter expressed a preference for allowing access for residents and non-residents only after they go through an orientation to the Park
and one commenter noted that the pilot program would require a revision to the existing Municipal
Code provision that generally bars non-residents.
In addition to studying visitation data and other quantitative measures, staff have begun
documenting a baseline for qualitative measurements to aid an assessment of the pilot program.2
1 A more complete discussion of the background and detailed history of the Park is set forth in
the Committee’s memo to the PRC in advance of the July 2019 PRC meeting.
2 The qualitative measures include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) level of and frequency of restocking restroom supplies, (2) usage of parking and picnic areas during typical
3
The Committee appreciates the extensive input of past and current leaders within the Community
Services Department (“CSD”), particularly the Foothills Park ranger staff, Junior Museum & Zoo
staff and the leadership of the Open Spaces, Parks & Golf Division, in developing this pilot
program proposal.
Details on the Pilot Program Proposal
The following pilot program proposal is made in light of the principal comments from the
public and staff feedback on implementation and operational considerations:
1.One-year pilot program using extensive historic visitation data to dynamically adjust the
number of unaccompanied non-residents able to visit the Park. Non-resident passes wouldbe required on all days, with continued staffing of the entry gate on weekends and holidays.
2. Purpose for pilot is to assess quantitative and qualitative impacts to the Park’s ecology,
infrastructure and maintenance. As noted above, staff have begun documenting a baseline
for qualitative measurements. Staff will measure and assist in analysis of visitor impact
data.
3. Establish a pass system for non-resident visitors. Up to 50 vehicle/bicycle passes available
per day, with staff adjusting number of passes available based on visitation patterns.3 (E.g.,
busy weekends would have 0-10 non-resident passes available.)
a.Non-resident visitors accompanying a Palo Alto resident would still be allowed and
would not need to obtain an online pass, pursuant to current policy.
b. Over the course of the pilot, staff will track demand and explore dividing the total
number of passes available among non-resident student and volunteer populations
and the general public (e.g., 10 passes reserved specifically for non-resident students,
10 for non-resident volunteers and the remainder for the general public).4
4. All passes would be available online through the City’s new Parks & Recreationreservation system. The Committee has been advised that staff at Mitchell Park and
Lucie Stern Community Centers would be available to assist people with the online
reservation system.
summer weekends and holidays (including photos), (3) any impacts to the landscape, such as social
trails (including photos), (4) notes on any impacts to staff resources, (5) frequency of barbeque cleaning and maintenance, (6) frequency of Greenwaste refuse and recycling pickups, etc.
3 For administrative ease, passes would be for each passenger vehicle or bicycle group. Using the historical average of ~2.7 visitors per vehicle on weekends, 25 passes would equate to
approximately 68 visitors and 50 passes would equate to approximately 135 visitors (a lower
historic ratio applies for weekdays). A passenger vehicle would be defined as one carrying up to
eight people. For persons entering by bicycle or other non-motorized means, one pass would cover
also cover eight people.
4 As used in this memo, “students” means preK-12 students, which is a key population to
target for access as identified through academic research and community feedback; “volunteer
groups” means those organized volunteer organizations that are strategic partners with the
Community Services Department (as determined by staff), including but not limited to Grassroots Ecology, Canopy, Environmental Volunteers, etc.
4
5.Formalize and promote City-authorized school field trip programs to the Park, which are
presently not anticipated by Municipal Code. The pilot would lift the residency requirement
for co-curricular fieldtrips. Staff are building upon their existing process for centrally
coordinating school/co-curricular and volunteer group reservations to optimize theeducational experience.
6. The existing 1,000 visitor cap would remain in place. Current restrictions on reservation of
group spaces would also remain in place (i.e., restricted to residents).
7.$6 fee for non-resident access passes to aid recovery of costs related to current need to staff
the entry gate on weekends and holidays. As part of CSD’s broader fee reduction program,fee waivers would be available through the online portal for targeted groups, including
(1)students, (2) persons volunteering with City-supported programs, and (3) persons who
certify that they have an economic hardship.
Alternative Approaches Considered by the Committee and PRC
Before landing upon the proposed pilot, the Committee and PRC considered numerous alternatives, including the following: (a) opening the Park with no visitation limits; (b) shuttle
program (e.g., partnering with Stanford’s Marguerite system or another community partner to
operate a free weekend shuttle from local libraries/community centers to the Park); (c) visitor
orientation program (e.g., allow access to non-residents after participating in an “orientation to the
Park”); (d) annual “memberships” for non-residents willing to pay a significant annual fee; (e)student-centric program that extended access to underserved students and their families;
(f)taking no action with respect to the existing policy. Each alternative has benefits and drawbacks.
On the whole, these alternatives were assessed to be operationally difficult and/or less conducive for
a focused pilot program. However, elements of these alternatives may be considered in the future
after the results of the pilot program are available to better inform those alternatives.
Factors Supporting Proposed Pilot
a)Effectively mitigates principal concern about overcrowding/overuse of the park.
b) Incorporates focus for students and volunteers.
c)Addresses public input that policy should be revised to allow reasonable non-resident
access.
d)Allows for experimentation and additional data collection during pilot program on the
number of passes available (up to 50 but often fewer), distribution of passes among targeted
groups, etc.
e)Fees are expected to generate modest revenue that would help offset the cost of staffing the
entry gate.
f)Good policy: uses robust data to inform the policy and adjust its implementation.
Quantitative data will be reinforced by the more qualitative information that ranger staff is
developing for a baseline comparison and the information we collect from users via the
online reservation system.
5
Potential Risks
As noted previously, the principal risk is that additional visitation will negatively impact
Foothills Park’s natural resources and improvements, or otherwise tax park resources. This risk is
viewed as a limited one in light of past experience with significantly higher visitation than is anticipated in connection with the pilot program and the effective controls on total visitation that are
the core of this pilot.
For the pilot program, no capital expenditure is anticipated. Incremental costs may be
incurred, including CSD and Foothills Park staff time which may result in reduced staff attention to
other projects. Finally, there are certain existing infrastructure needs within the Park (e.g., restrooms that need to be replaced in the next five years), but staff views those as pre-existing needs
regardless of this pilot program.
For the pilot program, staff have agreed to monitor both overall visitation and pilot-specific
visitation to Foothills Park and to work with the Committee to prepare a report and recommendation
concerning the pilot program and associated impacts after one year.
Recommendation
The PRC recommends to the City Council that it direct the City Manager and staff to move
forward with the pilot project. To enable the pilot program, the PRC recommends that the City
Council amend the Municipal Code as suggested in Enclosure A hereto and adopt any further
resolution pursuant thereto.
Approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission on November 12, 2019
ENCLOSURE A
to PRC Report and Recommendation re: Foothills Park
PAMC 22.04.150:
Foothills Park shall not be made available for the exclusive use by any persons except
for Towle Camp and the Oak Grove Group Area, Pine Gulch Group Area, Wood Fern
Group Area, and the Foothills Park Interpretative Center classroom. Foothills Park may
be accessible to the general public for the purpose of using the Bay-To-Foothills trails.
(a)Only (i) residents of the city and regular or part-time city employees, members of
their households related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and their accompanied guests
and (ii) such other persons authorized by a specific pilot program approved by
resolution of the City Council are entitled to enter on foot or by bicycle or vehicle and
remain in Foothills Park. No person who is not a resident of the city may enter on foot or
by bicycle or vehicle unaccompanied by a person entitled to enter and remain in
Foothills Park for the purpose of using the Bay-To-Foothills trails, except as provided in
subsection (b). An "accompanied guest," as used in this section, is one who enters
Foothills Park in the presence of a person resident of the city or regular or part-time city
employeeentitled to enter and remain in Foothills Park. Each person resident of the city
or regular or part-time city employee entitled to enter and remain in Foothills Park may
be accompanied by no more than 15 guests, or two vehicles containing no more than
15 guests, at any one time. Upon the request of an authorized city employee or a
member of the Palo Alto police department, a person seeking to enter Foothills Park at
the main gate or a person within the boundaries of Foothills Park shall provide
identification or information to satisfy the requirements of this subsection. The good faith
judgment of the authorized city employee or police department member requesting
identification or information shall be conclusive as to whether such identification or
information provided satisfies the requirements of this subsection. No person shall enter
or remain in Foothills Park in violation of this subsection. Violations of this subsection
shall be an infraction misdemeanor.
(b)Unless otherwise specifically authorized by the director, no person who is a
resident of the city shall enter or exit from Foothills Park except through the main gate
on Page Mill Road or at designated entry and exit locations on the park boundaries
shared with the Enid Pearson Arastradero Preserve and the Los Trancos Open Space
Preserve. No person who is a resident of the city shall enter or exit from the Bay-To-
Foothills trails in the park except on foot. For the purpose of using the Bay-To-Foothills
trails in the park, no person who is not a resident of the city shall enter or exit the park
except on foot and at the designated entry and exit locations on the park boundaries
shared with the Enid Pearson Arastradero Preserve and the Los Trancos Open Space
Preserve. No entry by any person who is not a resident at these designated entry and
exit locations on the shared park boundaries shall be permitted by horse or bicycle.
Violations of this subsection shall be a misdemeanor.
(c)Foothills Park shall be closed from sunset (the actual closure time to be
prescribed in park regulations and posted accordingly) until 8:00 a.m. the following
morning. No person shall remain in Foothills Park, other than duly authorized city
employees and permit holders or participants in city-sponsored activities, during the
hours of park closure. Violations of this subsection shall be a misdemeanor.
(d)No person shall exceed the maximum speed limit for all vehicles in Foothills Park
of twenty miles per hour. Violations of this subsection shall be an infraction.
(e)No person shall leave an unauthorized vehicle in Foothills Park after the closing
time designated and posted for closing of the park. Violations of this subsection shall be
a misdemeanor.
(f)No person shall operate a bicycle or a motorcycle except on the paved roads of
Foothills Park. No person shall operate a skateboard or roller skates or blades or other
coasting device in Foothills Park. This subsection shall not apply to a bicycle or
motorcycle operated by a police officer or park ranger acting in the course and scope of
his or her duties. Violations of this subsection shall be an infraction.
(g)No person shall smoke on any trail in Foothills Park. Violations of this subsection
shall be a misdemeanor.
(h)No person shall make a wood fire in Foothills Park without a permit. Permits for
wood fires within Foothills Park may be issued only for the Towle campfire ring. No
person shall start or maintain any charcoal cooking fire within Foothills Park except in
city-provided braziers and barbecues in areas so designated and posted. Violations of
this subsection shall be a misdemeanor.
(i)No person shall shortcut across trail switchbacks. Violations of this subsection
shall be an infraction.
(j)The city manager shall promulgate regulations for the use of Boronda Lake to
protect the users, plants, animals, and structures of the lake.
(k)No more than one thousand people shall be permitted in Foothills Park at any
one time.
(l)No person owning or harboring any dog shall allow or permit such dog to enter or
be in Foothills Park on any holiday, as defined in Section 2.08.100(a) of this code, or
any Saturday or Sunday. At all other times, no person owning or harboring any dog
shall allow or permit such dog, whether licensed or not, to enter or be in Foothills Park
except when held under leash by an able-bodied person. Violations of this section shall
be an infraction.
(Ord. 4865 § 1, 2005: Ord. 4435 § 70, 1997: Ord. 4368 § 2 (part), 1996)