Frequently Asked Questions About Foothills Park Opening to the General Public
By: City Of Palo Alto
Tags: Nature, Wellness, Silicon Valley, Environment, Community

Learn about recent actions by the City Council to open Foothills Park to the general public, including answers to likely questions from community members

In early November, a majority of the City Council voted to open Foothills Park to the general public. You can find more information about this decision in a recent blog post following several public meetings on this issue. This new blog post answers some likely community questions and helps to provide details on what could happen next.

NEW! WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FOOTHILLS PARK REFERENDUM

(Released on December 9, 2020)

Opinion: What you need to know about the Foothills Park referendum written by Palo Alto Vice Mayor Tom DuBois and Council Member (and former Mayor) Eric Filseth that seeks to clarify several items for the community related to this complex community issue.

NEW! FOOTHILLS PARK VIDEO: SUMMARIZING THIS BLOG

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This blog answers the following questions:

NEW! Who pays for maintaining Foothills Park? NEW!

NEW! If a resident signed the petition and changes their mind, is there a process to rescind their signature?

What does the recent Council decisions about Foothills Park mean?

How did the recent Council Action to Open Foothills Park to the General Public Come About?

Was there a democratic process used when the City Council acted to open Foothills Park to the general public?

Why are City tax dollars going to support the opening of a Palo Alto park for the general public to use?

What are the details of the Foothills Park lawsuit and is there a claim of racism?

How will the City manage Foothills Park visitors to ensure the natural environment continues to be preserved?

What is a referendum and will Foothills Park be open to the general public if electors (Palo Alto residents who are registered to vote) qualify a referendum on the recent ordinance to open Foothills Park to the general public?

Is it possible for some park amenities to include a provision so that Palo Alto residents will have first access to reservations?

With the opening of the park to the general public, how will the City monitor the number of visitors and what will happen if the maximum number at one time is reached?

NEW! Recent Community Questions Answered (posted on December 9, 2020)

Who pays for maintaining Foothills Park?

Generally, the City’s General Fund pays for all Palo Alto parks and nature preserves, including Foothills Park. This comes from residents, visitors and businesses. Specifically, the largest sources of General Fund are property tax, sales tax, and hotel tax. Property taxes are generated by both residential and commercial properties and last year generated $52M, that represents approximately 25% of the General Fund. Last year, Sales tax ($36.5M) and hotel tax (25.6M) are the second largest revenues representing 27.5% General Fund sources. Both residents and non-residents contribute to all these taxes.

If a resident signed the petition and changes their mind, is there a process to rescind their signature?

Yes, a resident who signed the petition but has changed their mind would need to notify the Palo Alto City Clerk in writing before December 16, 2020 by 4 p.m. Written notification must be delivered by the deadline noted above. The City Clerk can be reached by mail at 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA. 94301. For questions, please email the City Clerk at beth.minor@cityofpaloalto.org.

Existing Frequently Asked Questions

What does the recent Council decisions about Foothills Park mean?

The City Council voted on November 2, 2020 to open Foothills Park to the general public. This followed several public discussions and closed session consultations with legal counsel. The Council voted to temporarily reduce the maximum capacity to 750 visitors at one time (approximately 250 vehicles) for the first 90 days of opening to the general public, which could then return to the current maximum capacity of 1,000 persons at one time (approximately 370 vehicles). The Council action also ensures that Palo Alto residents have first access to reservations for Towle Campground, Oak Grove Picnic Area and the Interpretive Center Meeting Room. They also directed staff to return to the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission with proposals on entry fees, capacity, and park management/environmental integrity studies and to follow the City’s renaming process to consider renaming Foothills Park to Foothills Nature Preserve.

On November 12, the City released a supplemental report sharing the Foothills Park litigation settlement documents and other related information about the City Council actions on this matter and next steps for public information. In addition, as required by the Brown Act, the supplemental report shared certain information about the Closed Session held on November 9, 2020, where the Palo Alto Council approved a settlement of the lawsuit NAACP, et al. v. City of Palo Alto, United States District Court, Northern District of California, Case №5:20-cv-07251-EJD. The Council voted 5 in favor of the settlement (Fine, Dubois, Cormack, Filseth, Kniss) and 2 opposed (Kou, Tanaka). Subsequent to the November 9 Closed Session, the remaining parties approved the settlement document. Go here for the supplemental report, which provides the Foothills Park settlement document which was released for public information in advance of the City Council meeting held on November 16.

These Council actions open Foothills Park to the general public on December 17, once the City’s ordinance goes into effect, and resolves the legal claim the City faced over the resident-only restriction at Foothills Park.

How did the recent Council Action to Open Foothills Park to the General Public Come About?

The opening of Foothills Park to the general public has been a topic of interest for many years and more recently since 2018. In 2018 the Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) began discussing opening Foothills Park to non-residents. In November 2019, the PRC voted to recommend that City Council adopt a pilot program to open Foothills Park to the general public. On August 3, 2020, the City Council directed a series of actions including bringing back details for a pilot program to increase access to the general public and renaming the park.

On September 15, the NAACP and several Palo Alto residents and non-residents sued the City seeking to open Foothills Park to non-residents. Plaintiffs claim that the Park’s residency requirement violates their First Amendment rights to free speech and free assembly under the federal and California constitutions, as well as their constitutional right to travel. The City worked with plaintiffs to confirm that opening Foothills Park to the general public would enable a legal settlement and avoid protracted litigation.

The final action to open Foothills Park to the general public may have been expedited by the legal challenge, but the topic has been under consideration for several years with many opportunities for the community to weigh in and share their input.

Was there a democratic process used when the City Council acted to open Foothills Park to the general public?

Yes, the Foothills Park discussions by the City Council and by the Parks and Recreation Commission were transparent and were provided in several ways through an open and deliberative public process to gain community input.

As a representative body, City Council is elected by the community to vote on issues facing the community on their behalf. The City Council held discussions about this topic where the general public provided input on several different occasions. In addition to taking public comment at these open meetings, the City Council also weighed public comment received via email and through individual discussions. The Council has received several hundred emails on this issue since August.

The Council also held two publicly posted closed session meetings to confer with the City’s attorneys regarding the lawsuit. The public is permitted to speak to Council prior to every closed session and many residents sent in emails and shared public comment in advance of these closed session meetings. To protect the City’s ability to effectively defend itself in litigation, attorney consultations are conducted in private.

The Council also held two meetings which were open to the public on November 2 (first reading of the ordinance) and November 16 (second reading of the ordinance) where the public provided input and shared their feedback directly on whether the Council should open Foothills Park to the general public. On November 16, a majority of the City Council voted to open the park to the general public. The ordinance will become effective on December 17.

In addition to these public meetings, the City released information about the Council action in advance of the second reading of the ordinance to provide the public additional details about the Council’s decision-making process, ways to provide input, and more details on their upcoming actions. These proactive communications included sharing details on the City’s homepage and through the City’s digital newsletters, and posting information via social media and Nextdoor, where the City received significant input from the general public on this issue.

Why are City tax dollars going to support the opening of a Palo Alto park for the general public to use?

Generally, the City’s General Fund (or operating budget) funds all Palo Alto parks and nature preserves, including Foothills Park. The revenues that fund park operations and other City services come from a mix of tax revenues generated by residents, visitors and businesses, such as sales tax and transient occupancy taxes. Property taxes are not the only taxes supporting City services and park operations and maintenance.

Currently access to the park will be free. After studying entry fees, capacity limits and park management/environmental integrity, staff will return to the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council for consideration on these items. There will be opportunity for community feedback as part of this iterative process. Staff anticipates returning to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council in the spring, to plan for and consider additional park management opportunities and enact any changes before the busy summer months. The community could view this initial action as the first step in a series of future opportunities to monitor the natural environment of the park and better understand other potential impacts, that will be refined and evolve as uses of the park are known.

What are the details of the Foothills Park lawsuit and is there a claim of racism?

The plaintiffs are not claiming that the Foothill Park residency requirement discriminates against them based on their race. Rather, they claim that the residency requirement violates their First Amendment rights to free speech and free assembly under the federal and California constitutions, as well as their constitutional right to travel. The lawsuit notes, however, that because the number of Black and Hispanic people who live in Palo Alto is relatively small, the residency requirement effectively means that few members of those racial groups have access to the Park. The lawsuit makes an argument, which is subject to dispute, that these demographic characteristics are a result of discriminatory housing and lending practices of the post-war period.

How will the City manage Foothills Park visitors to ensure the natural environment continues to be preserved?

If the City’s ordinance goes into effect, the City Council and City administration will continue to manage the park and will ensure the natural environment of the park will be preserved through continuing management controls already in place and explore additional options to support Foothills Park.

In fact, as part of the Council action, the Council instituted a stricter visitor cap to monitor crowds and the potential impact on the natural environment at Foothills Park. The Council voted to temporarily reduce the visitor cap from 1,000 visitors to 750 visitors at one time (approximately 250 vehicles at one time) for the first 90 days of opening to the general public.

After studying entry fees, capacity limits and park management/environmental integrity, staff will return to the City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission for consideration on these items.

How will the City monitor and protect the natural environment of Foothills Park?

The City has partnered with several local organizations to ensure the natural environment of Foothills Park is protected while ensuring an enjoyable visitor experience for everyone. These organizations include Grassroots Ecology, Friends of Foothills Park, and Environmental Volunteers. They will help provide environmental monitoring, interpretation, and stewardship opportunities.

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.

What is a referendum and will Foothills Park be open to the general public if electors (Palo Alto residents who are registered to vote) qualify a referendum on the recent ordinance to open Foothills Park to the general public?

A referendum is a petition filed by a sufficient number of electors (residents who are registered to vote) requiring that a law recently adopted by an elected local council be repealed or placed before the voters for determination. In this case, if a referendum petition is submitted with a sufficient number of valid signatures, the ordinance adopted by Council opening Foothills Park to the general public will not go into effect. Instead, as required by the Palo Alto Charter, the Council will consider whether to repeal the ordinance or place it on a future ballot for the voters to determine. In the meantime, the residents-only rule will remain in the City’s Municipal Code.

Depending on when the Council decides to schedule a vote on the referendum, this could mean several months or years before the community could consider removing the residency restriction.

If a referendum qualifies, the Foothills Park legal settlement provides that either party may void the settlement and resume litigation. It is very likely that litigation would resume. Litigation costs and timing of the legal proceedings are uncertain but likely to be significant. In addition, under our system of governmental checks and balances, which endows courts with the authority to enforce constitutional requirements, it is possible that at some point a court order could be entered that would override the City’s Municipal Code and regulations regarding non-resident access and order the City to pay plaintiffs’ attorneys fees and costs.

Is it possible for some park amenities to include a provision so that Palo Alto residents will have first access to reservations?

Yes, part of the City Council action to open Foothills Park to the general public includes a provision so that Palo Alto residents will have first access to reservations for Towle Campground, Oak Grove Picnic Area and the Interpretive Center Meeting Room.

With the opening of the park to the general public, how will the City monitor the number of visitors and what will happen if the maximum number at one time is reached?

The historical maximum capacity of Foothills Park of 1,000 persons at one time (approximately 370 vehicles) is generally based on the number of parking spaces available inside the park. This limit has not been approached except in the case of a special event many years ago.

In recognition of the community input received in advance of the November 2 and November 16 City Council meetings, the Council voted to temporarily reduce the maximum capacity to 750 visitors at one time (approximately 250 vehicles) for the first 90 days of opening Foothills Park to the general public. This temporary visitor cap will provide staff an opportunity to monitor use and bring forward additional recommendations for City Council consideration in the spring.

Staff is implementing a visitor counter to assist with monitoring the number of visitors at one time. Staff will monitor the amount of vehicles that come into and exit the park and turn away cars if the maximum capacity is reached at any one time.

ONLINE RESOURCES

For the November 2, 2020 City Council meeting report on this issue, go here.

For the November 2, 2020 meeting agenda, go here.

For the Staff reporting with the Foothills Park legal settlement, go here.

For the November 2, and 16 City Council meeting videos and other meeting materials, go here.

For a recent blog post on the Council’s actions on this issue, go here.

For the City’s website on Palo Alto open space preserves and parks, go here.

To learn about the Parks and Recreation Commission, go here.

For a panel discussion hosted by the Parks and Recreation Commission about Foothills Park access, go here.

To follow the City on social media, to here and to sign up for the City’s newsletters, go here.