Issues - Parks and Open Space

The five Santa Clara County Supervisors are stewards of a 45,000 acre parks and open space system that is one of the most diverse recreational areas in the State of California. Working with a dedicated Parks and Recreation Commission, and supported by the hard-working employees of the Department of Parks and Recreation, they oversee a beautiful array of trails, lakes, streams, urban and mountain parks, and open space.

Because of many factors, I see our county park system as under-funded and struggling to continue providing the kind of access we would like to see.  It is crucial that we as leaders remain vigilant in protecting and promoting the County’s 28 parks by encouraging public recreation, maintaining clean and safe facilities, and wisely overseeing future acquisition and development of park and recreation facilities.

Even while facing threatened state and local budget cuts, the Board of Supervisors must remain committed to keeping visitor fees down, while looking for alternative sources of revenue through special programs, planned giving, and state and federal funding partnerships. The need for housing can be balanced with the preservation of parks and open space in our communities. In 2000 I was a strong supporter of Measure K, the City's greenline initiative, which prevents city subdivisions from encroaching upon our hills.

The key to having a healthy balance between housing and open space is to do appropriate advanced planning and involve all stakeholders who have recommendations about what the necessary infrastructure of parks, trails, roadways, schools, and other improvements should be. Early in the planning stages, those needs must be integrated into the housing plan.  I conducted such a plan in the Evergreen area of San Jose where neighborhood leaders sat alongside housing developers to effectively plan for the future housing and open space needs. 

The San Jose City Council District I’ve represented for seven years has one of the largest residential populations, and yet still has the highest ratio of parks per capita.  That has been the vision of our neighborhood associations, and I have proudly worked with them to accomplish their goals. Now, parks that were stalled are getting built. Housing development has been slowed to a standstill so that traffic congestion and school impact can be properly addressed without ruining our quality of life.

The love of the outdoors is not unique to one council district or one city. I’ve seen how much can be accomplished when neighbors, and recreation enthusiasts cooperate with other stakeholders for common goals. After all, this is not just about a park, but healthy lifestyles for us, our children and generations to come.

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