Woodside: Hills are alive with controversy Woodside: Hills are alive with controversy (May 04, 2005)

** Wildflower site shut down amid complaints, confusion.

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

It's been an unusually rainy spring, and that makes for some spectacular wildflower displays. People in the know say the best place to see abundant fields of native wildflowers is a 22-acre triangle of land in Woodside, located off Farm Hill Boulevard along the east side of Interstate 280.

But don't bother lacing up your hiking boots and heading over there. Thanks to a fractious conflict involving off-leash dog walkers, irritated neighbors, off-road vehicles and the land's uncertain legal status, litigation-wary Caltrans officials fenced off the property about two weeks ago.

Nearby residents of Ridgeway and Cinnabar roads complained that they've been harassed and threatened by people and dogs, and fear that smokers and motorbikers may spark a huge wildfire. They're also not too pleased by people who go there and fire rifles, paintball or otherwise, and say they've counted up to 17 unleashed dogs accompanied by a single professional dog-walker.

Jack Gaines, a Caltrans spokesman, said he heard about unleashed dogs accosting a couple of walkers and decided to take action.

"I said it sounds like a liability problem, so I called the sheriff to kick everyone out of there, so we can get it settled," said Mr. Gaines. "Now we've got to figure out the best use for that land."

Caltrans maintenance workers sealed off the fences surrounding the property, and have been back several times patching up new holes in the fence.

Unleashed dogs aren't allowed on Caltrans property, and if there are sensitive plant species in the area, then having dogs racing around all over probably isn't the best idea, Mr. Gaines said.

The site's closure caused much consternation among dog walkers, hikers, and wildflower enthusiasts who frequent it. In the past two weeks, more than 30 of them have formed a grassroots group, Friends of Farm Hill Open Space, and posted a Web log with information and updates at http://theopenspace.blogspot.com.

Menlo Park resident Schel Reyes, who is acting as the group's spokeswoman, said she has gone jogging with her two dogs on the property for the past year or so.

"It's so pretty," she said. "There are nice little paths, and it's not very strenuous at all."

Professional dog walkers seem to be the ones most often cited as the source of problems, she said.

Ms. Reyes said her group wants to lobby for public access that will preserve the wildflowers and keep out the motorbikes, but added that members are having trouble figuring out their rights because they are unsure of the legal status of the property.

They aren't the only ones. Woodside officials, state Sen. Jackie Speier's staff and even Mr. Gaines, the Caltrans spokesman, are waiting on a legal opinion from Caltrans' counsel's office to figure out what, if any, easements or access agreements might have been put on the property.

Other than the fact that the land is owned by Caltrans, there is not a lot of consensus. Known locally as a wildflower preserve, it is designated as open space in Woodside's general plan and believed to be home to threatened or endangered native plants, said Woodside Town Manager Susan George.

"It's in the town (boundary), but we don't have any easements, and we don't have any written agreements with Caltrans," said Ms. George.

Mr. Gaines said it appears that Woodside and Caltrans had some sort of very casual agreement regarding public access dating back to the construction of I-280 in the late 1970s.

"We didn't enforce any trespassing laws and our maintenance crews would check on it, but if it was managed without any problems, we wouldn't bug them. But now we're getting calls right and left," said Mr. Gaines.

Both the town of Woodside and Caltrans prohibit unleashed dogs.

Harry Price, an attorney hired by "a large number" of Woodside Hills residents, said the land is private property belonging to Caltrans that should be closed to everyone. Despite accusations to the contrary, he said residents do not want to use the area as their own private park. He said he was unaware of any gates in residents' fences leading on to the Caltrans land.

"We're gratified that Caltrans is taking appropriate steps to control their property," Mr. Price said.

Although the area has been in use for many years, problems escalated severely when Stanford University officials closed the Dish property to dogs, he said. This happened in September 2000.

Sen. Speier's office got involved about four months ago when a constituent called to complain that one of Caltrans' fences had fallen down, said Margo Rosen, Sen. Speier's district director. A staff member obligingly called Caltrans to let someone know about the fence, she said. Since then, the office has been bombarded with calls and complaints on both sides of the issue, she said.

Among the missives: Woodside Hills residents have sent copies of invoices for official-looking "no trespassing" signs they've posted, as well as photos of dog poop and a woman with 17 loose dogs, Ms. Rosen said.

Sen. Speier is monitoring the situation, and awaiting more information from Caltrans, but that's the extent of her involvement so far, Ms. Rosen said.

"I have a feeling that in the end, it's going to be a no-win situation," Ms. Rosen said.

Rumors that Sen. Speier's office was originally involved in making the land a wildflower preserve aren't true, she said.

"It says this happened in 1978, and she literally had no office in 1978," said Ms. Rosen, pointing out that that was the year Sen. Speier was an aide to Congressman Leo Ryan on the ill-fated fact-finding trip to Jonestown.

Woodside Mayor Paul Goeld, who represents the Woodside Hills neighborhood, said he thinks people with off-leash dogs have abused the privilege of using the property.

"They've created a very difficult problem for the residents who live there," Mr. Goeld said. "They've been asked politely a number of times to leash their dogs, and they've been rude and discourteous."

He and his daughter were confronted by a pair of aggressive, unleashed dogs recently, and haven't been back since, he said. He is not among the residents who hired Mr. Price to represent them, he said.

Dogs aren't the only problem -- he's also heard weapons being fired, and said county sheriff's deputies have found shotgun shells on the ground.

Mr. Goeld said he would like to see a compromise that would protect the neighbors while allowing public access to the property, but has his doubts about such a plan working.

"After it's been fenced off and no-trespassing signs put up, people are still breaking in," Mr. Goeld said. "If they're going to do that, what gives us comfort that they will follow a leash with just signs posted?"

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