News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			The Almanac August 27, 2003   Menlo Park should back open space plan The Opinion of the Almanac How often do residents of Menlo Park venture up to Skyline, or to the coast to enjoy the beaches? How many times have our children prevailed and earned a trip to the Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay? How often do we acknowledge that our quality of life is enhanced by our proximity to the redwood forests and beautiful beaches of the county's western slopes of the Coastal Range? Without a doubt, most of us would admit that in addition to our superb weather, quick access to the coast is one of the most important reasons we enjoy life on the Peninsula. That is why it is so difficult to understand the Menlo  Park City Council's decision last week to withhold support for a resolution  endorsing the Midpeninsula  Regional Open Space District's effort to annex 140,000 acres of Coastside  land. By doing so, the council is saying it does not support the district's  effort to preserve and protect, in an extremely benign fashion, lands  that are slowly being turned into hotels, golf courses and housing developments. The district, which already manages about 50,000  acres of land, has been instrumental in saving giant swaths of open space  that will be enjoyed by Peninsula residents for years and years. These  lands feature minimal improvements, and are havens to hikers, bikers,  horseback riders and just plain viewers. In turning thumbs down on the resolution last week  by tabling it, Mayor Nicholas Jellins said, "this really isn't our fight."  The mayor and two of his colleagues seem to believe their jurisdiction  stops at the city's borders, and that Menlo Park representatives have  no business commenting or taking positions on issues that may be located  outside these arbitrary lines on the map. Wrong. As citizens of San Mateo County, all of us are entitled  to a say in what happens to the thousands of acres that are not part of  a chartered city. All of us elect members of the county's Board of Supervisors,  who govern this vast area. And all of us pay a small but important property  tax to support the open space district's management of its lands. A few years ago, Coastside residents approached the  district and requested that it look into annexing county lands, in order  to protect them from future development. After numerous hearings, the  district is about ready to submit its annexation plan to the county commission  that will decide whether to put the issue on the ballot. And so far, it  appears that while there is some local opposition, including the ever-present  lawsuit, most local governments on the Peninsula have endorsed the plan. Menlo Park and Woodside are two that have not. In Woodside's case, the town has a property management  dispute with the open space district, and town officials decided to withhold  endorsement of the annexation plan in an effort to resolve it. But council  members made clear last month that they are not opposed to the annexation  plan itself, which could still be taken up and passed. Menlo Park has no such reason. In contrast, Councilwoman  Lee Duboc justified her vote to table the matter by saying she was "uncomfortable"  taking a position on an issue that had "more to do with neighboring cities."  This "bury your head in the sand approach" does a disservice to the local  residents who understand how important it is to save the coast for all  residents of the county, and the state. We urge Menlo Park residents to let  council members Jellins, Duboc and Winkler know how important the  Coastside is in our lives, and why their support of this annexation proposal  is needed. There is still time for Menlo Park to have a change of heart  and endorse the open space district's annexation plan. Page last updated August 27, 2003 .