A plan to outfit a piece of Woodside land for outdoor gathering space may be in jeopardy. A town resolution has surfaced that placed the land along the Cañada and Woodside roads intersection, known as Cañada Corners, under an open space conservation easement.
Residents narrowly voted to pass Measure A, potentially allowing expanded use of the residentially zoned parcel, but a 1980 agreement between the town and Roberts Market owner George Roberts, who owns the parcel located behind a parking lot behind Buck's and The Village Bakery, was not widely know about at the time of the election. After the election, the Measure A opposition group Save Rural Woodside posted about the easement.
The resolution states that no construction can take place on the property, San Mateo County records show.
The Town Council can choose not enforce an easement (or amend it), if members deem it to be for the public good.
Proponents of Measure A, an initiative to allow two sites in the Town Center area of Woodside to be considered for outdoor community gathering spaces that narrowly passed in November, want Roberts' parcel to be developed into parking spaces that could accommodate permanent outdoor dining, trails and play structures.
Measure A co-author Alex Tauber said he is "aware of this hiccup and we needed to win the election to be able to discuss it."
"Now, it is up to the owner of the property to address it with the town of Woodside," he said.
The Save Rural Woodside group noted that "unfortunately the proponents did not do adequate research" before causing the town to spend money on an election.
When George Roberts applied to expand the Center in the late 1970s, his ultimate approval came with conditions that required the dedication of an open space easement across a significant portion of the rear parcel (in addition to a Conservation Easement along the creek bank and a trail easement), according to town records.
Last spring, Roberts Market President Christine Roberts said the grocer would love for the zoning of the Cañada Corner parcel to change.
"We are in desperate need for some more parking for the shopping center and the grocery store," she said at the time. She noted there are only about 40 parking spots for the store and nearby restaurants. "Over the years our business has grown. We have more employees in the grocery store and of course the restaurants have gotten more popular and everyone needs parking for employees and the customers."
She did not respond to requests for comment on the easement issue.
The Town Council, by resolution, can abandon an open space easement, if it finds that keeping the land as open space no longer serves any public purpose, according to the Cañada Corners easement resolution.
Town Manager Kevin Bryant confirmed in an email that the Town Council "would consider any request made with respect to the open space easement in the context of a specific proposal."
"No resolution abandoning an open-space easement shall be finally adopted until the matter has been referred to the city or county planning commission, the commission has held a public hearing thereon and furnished a report on the matter to the governing body and the governing body has held at least one public hearing after giving 30 days of the meeting, and by posting notice on the land," according to a state government code on open space easements.
The other piece of land mentioned in Measure A is a town-owned complex along Woodside Road from Whiskey Hill Road to Roberts Market that includes government buildings. (This parcel does not have the same easement restrictions that Cañada Corners does.) Those who proposed the measure say this space could be used for the town to build a public building — a gazebo or amphitheater — for community events.
Because the rules were established by ballot measures J and 1 in 1988 and 1989, only voters could overturn the restrictions that limit future development on the two sites.
Measure J, approved by the voters in 1988, prohibited development of commercial or office space on a then vacant, town-owned parcel near where Town Hall is now located. It also required residential properties within and adjoining Town Center to remain in residential use unless commercial parking on those properties had been permitted prior to June 1, 1988.
Measure 1, approved by voters the following year, created an exception to Measure J's requirement that residential parcels in Town Center remain in residential use. Upon its approval by the voters, residentially zoned parcels in the Woodside Road Whiskey Hill Road Parking Assessment District were authorized to be improved to provide access, parking and open space — as shown in the 1989 Town Center site plan — so long as at least 50% of the residential parcels were maintained in open space. Approval of Measure 1 allowed the town to construct Town Hall parking and access improvements which now serve Town Hall, commercial businesses in the Town Center and the public.
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