Santa Clara County Parks & Recreation Digest

Learn how 376 acres in the Coyote Valley once slated for commercial development has been sold to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust this week announced the purchase of over 1,300 acres of land on the southeast edge of Santa Cruz County, southwest of Gilroy.  

The City of Milpitas has placed a measure on the November ballot to extend an existing quarter-cent sales tax another eight years to fund emergency services, street repairs and city parks.

The City of Mountain View plans for the property transfer tax Measure G on the November ballot prioritize public safety, followed by parks and open spaces.

With the publishing of the final Environmental Impact Statement by the federal government, the effort to designate 116 miles of California coast a marine sanctuary achieved an important milestone.

Nearly every major environmental group in California opposes a bill that would modify the state’s signature environmental law to speed up upgrades to power lines. Supporters say it would help free the state from fossil fuels and make the grid more reliable, but opponents fear it would damage state parks.

On June 19, California YIMBY announced support for the California Forever project going to the Solano County ballot in November.

A large oceanfront property on the Big Sur coast owned by a European billionaire will be opened to public access after an agreement was reached with the California Coastal Commission.

The City of Palo Alto is upgrading and building new restroom facilities at four local parks over the next several months.

Construction at the Mountain View Rengstorff Park Aquatics Center is nearing completion, with plans to renovate the Eagle Park facility underway..

A massive ice sports complex to be operated by the San Jose Sharks is a proposed addition to the Gilroy Sports Park.

The City of Santa Clara is struggling to maintain aging infrastructure and is now facing $624 million in unfunded repairs and upgrades, according to City Manager Jovan Grogan.

The acquisition of the 103-acre property off Congress Springs Road will allow for the creation of a new publicly accessible trail that will lead to a historic area of the park.

Sanborn expansion
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of a plot of land in unincorporated Saratoga that would expand Sanborn County Park.
The acquisition of the 103-acre property off Congress Springs Road will allow for the creation of a new publicly accessible trail that will lead to a historic area of the park, according to a March 11 press release from Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian's office.
“This is an exciting opportunity to expand a beloved park,” Simitian said. “Not only will we be preserving open space, but folks will have a new opportunity to access a piece of our county’s history as well as enjoy the outdoors.”
The action also comes after the board of supervisors voted in late January to restrict parking on Black Road near the entrance to the John Nicholas Trailhead at Sanborn County Park to improve traffic congestion.
Sanborn County Park, which is open to the public for camping, hiking and picnicking, is located just north of Skyline Boulevard.
Local Coca-Cola scholar
Saratoga High School senior Zeyneb Kaya was named a national 2024 Coca-Cola scholar, according to a press release from the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District.
Kaya will receive a $20,000 scholarship and an invitation to attend the Coca-Cola Scholars Weekend in Atlanta this April. Selected from over 100,000 other applicants, Kaya will join the cohort of 150 Coca-Cola scholars across the country this year who have been recognized and awarded thousands of dollars in scholarship money. Senior Brad Ma was also selected as a finalist for the competition this year.
Kaya was previously named a 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Scholar for an algorithm she designed that sought to improve language processing models for artificial intelligence that could aid in the preservation of endangered languages.

An interview with the CEO of the popular outdoor app serving more than 60 million users worldwide.

After two years of planning, Cupertino is ready to begin the contractor bidding process and then start construction of the $4.8 million project.

Good news for water park enthusiasts and fans of all things San Jose—Raging Waters could reopen as early as this summer. The iconic waterpark broke hearts when it shuttered indefinitely in 2023.

The San Jose City Council unanimously approved allocating $200,000 to remove roughly 20 people living by the Guadalupe River Trail and work with community partners to encourage residents to frequent the trail.

California State Parks has recommended $6.7 million for seven local nonmotorized trail projects in various cities, including Galt and Gilroy.

Disneyland’s plan to reimagine the theme park into a more “immersive” experience may require up to $2.5 billion and a plan to privatize some Anaheim streets.

It only took the Mountain View City Council about 10 minutes to consider and approve a deal with the Mountain View Whisman School District to jointly use and maintain school fields.

Just weeks after a deal fell through to buy the Richmond Ranch for development, county leaders are moving forward with turning the open space into a massive park.

As training for the summer Olympics is starting, Santa Clara’s International Swim Center is closed “until further notice”—until safety, health and equipment problems are resolved.

California’s projected budget deficit of close to $38 billion likely means some cuts are coming. Among them, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed ending the California State Park Adventure Pass, which offers free access to some state parks for fourth graders.

Two businessmen are working to take over management of one of San Jose’s most beloved parks, but concerns are mounting behind the scenes about how the pair will wrangle power over a popular public space.

An estimated 100,000 pizza boxes have been removed from Yosemite’s waste stream. This is because the famed park now serves pizza on trays and puts to-go portions in compostable bags, part of a move to reduce food-related waste.

Utility giant PG&E is set to raise its rates an average of 13% on Jan. 1. That equals an extra $32.50 a month, or $390 for the year.

The city of Mountain View has given the Mountain View Whisman School District its terms for a new joint use agreement to share operations of school fields, with a year-end deadline to accept the offer.

The traditional Veterans Day service unfolded at Santa Clara’s Veterans Memorial in Central Park, and Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor and City Council members raised the flag.

State and local leaders gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate a new plan that will increase access to the outdoors for all Californians, regardless of who they are or where they live.

A pilot program that allows Californians to visit many state parks for free—after checking out a pass from their local library—is helping increase access for more people of color and lower-income residents, according to research from the California State Parks Foundation.

A beachside trail connecting the communities of Morro Bay and Cayucos could finally be built after 20 years. This happened after Chevron decided to sell land needed for the trail to be built.