Special to the Town Crier
The Los Altos Hills Pathways, Recreation and Parks Committee met with the City Council Thursday to discuss charging more to build pathways and switching to a more equitable system of billing.
The committee currently charges $7 per foot of pathway - but the actual cost of building a foot of pathway is around $100, said Scott Vanderlip, co-chairperson with Diane Barrager of the Pathways Committee. "We need to adjust our in-lieu fee to be closer," he said.
He recommended altering the system of billing as well as the price. Currently, residents with a pathway on their property must incur the cost of building the path, whether by constructing it themselves or paying the $7 in -lieu fee to have the city build it. Currently, residents with a long lot on the side of the path must pay more - and neighbors across the street from a path don't have to pay at all.
The Pathways Committee is considering charging a flat fee to every neighbor, or a fee based on building area. "Let's be a little more equitable," Vanderlip said.
City council did not make a decision about whether to change the system, but Mayor Elayne Dauber said, "We're open to making the pathway fees equitable."
The committee also wants to build a new path from La Loma Drive to the Midpeninsula Open Space District.
The committee is considering a path that curves around the back of some Purissima Hills Water District tanks, said member Les Earnest. "The other (routes) are all either more expensive, or impractical," he said.
However, the water district is concerned about its tanks being covered with graffiti. The tanks have been vandalized before, and sandblasting away the lead-based paint was expensive, said district member Ernie Solomon.
He suggested changing the route to move it farther from the tanks. Dauber said the committee also shouldn't rule out other routes, in case the water tank path didn't work.
The Pathways Committee also discussed revising the pathway map, which hasn't been updated since 1994. They want to computerize the map, as the file can be easily maintained that way, said Pathways Committee member Les Earnest.