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Published on 10/20/1997 All articles from this issue

Park plans for Edith, San Antonio begin to flower

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

Louise Lee is smiling. Park plans are proceeding for the undeveloped land next to her home in the Parc Regent condominiums on the corner of San Antonio Road and Edith Avenue in Los Altos.

Temporary sprinklers are in. Hydroseeding for wildflowers and meadow grass was scheduled for last Friday. And the master park plan for the area will undergo some fine-tuning at one more meeting before heading to the city council in December.

"Things are on the way, things are moving," said Lee, president of the Parc Regent Homeowners' Association, after the Oct. 15 meeting of the Los Altos Parks and Recreation Commission.

That's a different story from last June when Lee called the area "an ugly place, a public nuisance," and others referred to it as a "dust bowl."

Now Parc Regent residents, about 18 of whom attended the Oct. 15 meeting, are excited and actively participating in developing the master park plan.

Just ask Virginia Morgan.

"We thought his (park-planner Jay Beals') overall conceptual drawing was very nice. But we thought the entrance he designed was too formal. We told him we wanted a more informal park," Morgan said.

Beals, of the San Jose-based Beals Landscape Architecture, worked last spring with the 401 Rosita task force developing a master plan for the city's 5.5 acres for active, recreational use.

Now he's helping with the .75 acre city-owned parcel across from city hall, for a passive green spot in the midst of downtown.

"I think of this as a French country garden with flowers, trees, turf and a walkway," Beals said. "I think of this park as a little jewel. Care has to be taken to keep it simple but with enough interest to keep it special."

Bob Rayl, Los Altos recreation director, said "We've had excellent turnout and input from the Parc Regent residents and other neighbors. We turned the meetings into a workshop atmosphere."

Plans to date include berms, "to give a rolling texture to the lawn," Rayl said, as well as paths, flowers, shrubs, and a "buffer zone between the park and Parc Regent."

The next meeting, Nov. 19, will include a cost estimate for the plans. Currently, the city has $55,000 set aside for the park.

With that, "some things could be done," Rayl said. "We could go so far with $55,000, but I don't know how far."

There is no time line for putting in the park. "That depends upon council approval," Rayl said.

Park plans are scheduled to go before the city council Dec. 16.