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Published on 05/11/1998 All articles from this issue

Work together on LAH off-road pathways

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Editorial

Even in a sophisticated community like Los Altos Hills, it seems that emotion and a lack of understanding have gotten the best of many residents caught up in the issue of off-road pathways.

The pathways system has been part of the town since the 1950s, yet a new group of residents, many apparently represented by the Los Altos Hills Civic Association, said pathways easements should not be a condition for owning property in the hills.

The group against proposed pathways said a majority of the town council is turning a blind eye to their liability, safety and property rights concerns. Some favoring the system have seen this opposition as an effort to scrap all pathways.

Neither is true, from where we sit. Somewhere in the middle of this is a moderate mind-set that we hope will prevail and lead to a compromise solution.

The proposed pathways system and process does need a review, we feel. The council acknowledges this and is proceeding. It stands to reason that a philosophy adopted 40 years ago and a paths map last updated more than 15 years ago should be brought in line to reflect the majority of residents' desires in the 1990s. And, with such strong feelings on both sides, the matter of additional pathways should probably be put up to voters in an election.

Once upon a time, Los Altos Hills was a horse town hidden in our beautiful foothills. Pathways between 5- to 10- acre properties were no big deal, and security and liability issues were practically non-existent. In the 1990s, liability is a question wherever you go, crime statistics are downright ugly and the hills are filled with homes on subdivided parcels. The pathways issue, and the liability and security questions, loom large for some new property owners.

However, we sincerely hope residents do not want "gated and fenced suburbia," as one letter writer put it. Even in the 1990s, our neighbors should be seen as friends, not threats.

The current off-road system offers bridges to neighbors and shortcuts to roads. On the other hand, when is enough enough, and how much use would other proposed paths really generate?

These are questions we hope all residents will examine with reason and compromise in mind as the pathways system undergoes review.

In the meantime, we implore both sides to refrain from alarming statements in newsletters and other communication based on misinformation. Such actions build walls, not bridges.