The Cupertino Courier

News

Park fee, capacity plans to stay

By HUGH BIGGAR

Cupertino's city council decided not to revisit the thorny issue of Blackberry Farm operations and fees at its July 5 meeting.

Residents had hoped the council would reconsider per-person entry fees and picnic ground capacity at the park due to concerns about increased traffic on nearby streets and the potential effect on the environment.

Blackberry Farm is part of a larger Cupertino project that creates a 60-acre Stevens Creek Corridor Park from the picnic grounds to McClellan Ranch, joined by a bike and pedestrian trail.

As a part of those plans, the city said it depends on revenue from Blackberry Farm to fund Cupertino's parks and recreation services.

Residents, though, countered this arrangement favored park users from outside Cupertino drawn by the large picnic grounds. Blackberry is estimated to draw 90 percent of its users from outside the city. At the same time, Cupertino residents have paid a 2.4 percent utility tax since 1990 that has helped finance the city's purchase of Blackberry Farm.

According to city documents, parks and recreation staff chose an 800-person capacity as a way to achieve maximum revenue while still allowing room for creek restoration.

At the July 5 meeting, Therese Smith, director of Cupertino's Parks and Recreation, said, "Even if we don't bring in maximum revenue, it's still going a long way to providing services."

Residents also expressed concern about how the need to generate people to provide revenue could affect the environment.

"The impact of more people on the landscape is it's going to get trampled," said David McLeroy.

City Councilman Orrin Mahoney suggested differential pricing, with Cupertino residents charged a lesser fee, might be one way to mitigate the issue.

For more information, visit www.blackberryfarm.org.