Atherton embraces master plan to transform its only public park Atherton embraces master plan to transform its only public park (June 08, 2005)

Atherton's Holbrook-Palmer Park is a pretty nice place. It's got a shiny new children's playground, open meadows, lush trees and quiet patios.

But it's also got some room for improvement, according to three volunteers who drafted a vision for a better future for the town's only public park.

A landscape master plan for Holbrook-Palmer Park created by Denise Kupperman, Joan Dolan and Rosalyn Rubesin-Eigler drew praise from Atherton City Council members at a recent council meeting.

Ms. Kupperman of the Atherton Tree Committee, who spearheaded the project, presented sketches for a series of improvements that aim to build on the park's assets, among them: enhancing the arboretum, restoring the creek to a more natural state and building an amphitheater.

The plan includes adding a lot of new trees, reconfiguring and masking the town's corporation yard with landscaping, and rearranging parking lots.

"We couldn't afford what you people have done. I think it's wonderful," said Mayor Bill Conwell at the April 20 council meeting.

Transforming the park would entail a multiyear series of projects, estimated to cost $4.9 million, something that the cash-poor town of Atherton is unlikely to fit in its budget.

Rather, council members agreed that the master plan will serve as a template for creating a cohesive and more beautiful park. The park's fund-raising arms, the Holbrook-Palmer Park Foundation and the Atherton Dames, should be able to use the master plan to help formalize future projects and make it easier to acquire grants, council members said.

"I think it really would be possible over time to do this," said Ms. Kupperman.

One small project is already under way: The Dames are raising money to complete the walking path around the park, an improvement identified in the master plan. Betty Ogawa, the Dames' president, accepted a check for $1,000 toward the $3,000 goal from the Atherton Civic Interest League at its May 26 town meeting.

"The key is that this master plan not go on the shelf and gather dust," said Councilman Alan Carlson. At his suggestion, the council directed the Atherton Park and Recreation Committee to review the master plan on a quarterly basis.

Town staff is due to deliver suggestions on how to implement the plan at the June 15 council meeting.

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