Still waiting for Tolay Park to open

It has been a decade since Sonoma County acquired 1,769 acres of pristine open space surrounding Tolay Lake southeast of Petaluma, and yet Tolay Lake Regional Park remains closed to the public.

If you have ever visited the park, you know that it has some of the best natural history that southern Sonoma County has to offer - red-legged frogs and burrowing owls, Native American artifacts and views all the way to San Pablo Bay and the surrounding mountains.

But the majority of the public has not visited and has no access to the park that was purchased in 2005 for $18 million, more than half of that using local tax payer money.

The only way to enjoy the area’s rolling grasslands, seasonal ponds, marshy wetlands and scenic ridges is to obtain a permit after attending an orientation, go on a guided hike with a ranger or visit the annual Tolay Fall Festival.

The site offers an opportunity to establish multi-use trails for cycling, hiking and equestrian use. It will also have facilities for picnicking and an interpretation center. Tolay Lake will be restored. Bird watchers will flock to the park.

The planning process, which has already stretched far too long, could take at least another year, park officials said at a meeting in Petaluma last week. The excruciating delay in getting the park fully opened is partly due to the recession and the lack of money for new park planning and development that includes environmental reviews and engineering studies.

But the economy has recovered, and yet the preparation of an environmental impact report, which itself is no small task, hasn’t even started.

Officials are also bracing for the inevitable push back and legal challenge from neighbors. For that reason, the park must be planned and used in a responsible way. Neighbors will have to get accustomed to more traffic on rural roads, which is no doubt one of the downsides to having to share a beautiful landscape with the public.

But Tolay Regional Park is the public’s land now. We bought it, and we have been patiently waiting to enjoy it. We don’t want to wait much longer.