Equestrian trail-trading in Woodside Equestrian trail-trading in Woodside (May 26, 2004)

** Woodside council OK's swap, but property owner remains on the fence.

By Andrea Gemmet
Almanac Staff Writer

The debate in Woodside over the relocation of a popular equestrian trail has come a step closer to a conclusion, but it isn't about to ride off into the sunset just yet.

Canada Road residents Robert and Anne Bass, along with two of their neighbors, want Woodside officials to abandon a dedicated trail easement on their land and accept a replacement trail they've already constructed to the south of the existing one. The trail crosses several properties, connecting Canada Road to Albion Avenue.

The Basses said the old trail, which passes near their home, presents a safety and security risk.

Opinions about the replacement trail among the town's equestrians have been somewhat mixed. Depending upon whom you are talking to, the new trail is either a vast improvement in terms of safety and design or a utilitarian stand-in for a beloved old trail.

Supporters and detractors packed Independence Hall for the Town Council's May 11 meeting, which came to a confusing close a few minutes before midnight. The council approved the trail swap on a 4-1 vote, with Sue Boynton opposed, but added a couple of complicated conditions that may sink the deal. Deborah Gordon was absent and Carroll Ann Hodges recused herself.

"To me, this is a reasonable accommodation," said Mayor Paul Goeld, who admitted that he'd never ridden a horse he didn't first have to put a quarter into.

Led by Councilman Pete Sinclair, the council decided to accept the new trail easement linking Canada Road and Albion Avenue, but only if the Basses give the town an additional easement for a new trail through an adjacent parcel they own that would connect to a portion of the incomplete Dry Creek Trail, which runs north-south, roughly parallel to Canada Road.

That new easement would hook up with the existing north-south segment of the old trail through the Bass' property that the town is retaining. The real problem is that the dedicated easement for the trail doesn't coincide with where the trail is actually located. Rather than reconstruct the trail so it's contained by the easement, the council added a new condition to the deal -- grant the town a new easement centered on the existing trail and in exchange, the town will abandon the old easement.

This 11th-hour retooling of the agreement left many at the meeting a bit puzzled as to what was actually being requested. Town staff said they would rework the easement agreement according to the council's direction and bring it back for approval at a future meeting, just to be sure.

Mr. Bass said after the meeting that he couldn't say if the council's changes were acceptable to him -- "I'm not sure what ended up happening," he said.

"We're assessing our options," he said.

Mr. Bass said he was upset the council did not allow him to speak again at the end of the public comment period, and did not ask his opinion on the new conditions they added. "It was frankly surreal, (as if) we didn't exist and that there was a property owner who doesn't have any interest in whether or not they take an easement on a piece of property," he said.

About 18 people at the meeting, including Sheriff Don Horsley, spoke in favor of the new trail, which was endorsed by the Trails Committee and the Planning Commission before it reached the Town Council. Mr. Bass presented a tally of the ratio of riders using the replacement trail compared to the old trail -- about 11:1, he said -- since it opened in November. The original trail has steep and slippery areas, is boggy in winter, and forces riders to use an asphalt driveway in one spot, people said.

"Since the first rainy season, the trail continued to deteriorate," said Malcolm MacNaughton, the former owner of the property and original donor of the trail easement.

Redwood City resident Howard Boone, who said he has ridden Woodside's horse trails for 44 years, said the new trail is much safer.

The eight people who spoke against the new trail complained that it was far less scenic than the old trail, and said a portion of it, dubbed "the chute," forces riders to pass between two, 6-foot-high wood fences that could easily cause a horse to spook.

"High solid fences are the most dangerous kind," said Planning Commissioner Sara Jorgensen.

Woodside resident Nan Nagle offered a compromise proposal, and Councilwoman Carroll Ann Hodges, speaking as a member of the public, questioned the Basses' security concerns.

"How many crimes have been committed by people on horseback in the last 40 years?" she said.

On both sides of the issue, speakers bemoaned the dissension within the equestrian community over the new trail.

Town Manager Susan George said after the meeting that Mr. Bass' options are to accept the deal the council offered him or to walk away from the table. The council's decision cannot be appealed.

"The council is willing to do the swap with him if he gives them some concessions," she said.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.