After 12 years, still waiting for Tolay Park to open

For far too many years, southern Sonoma County has gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to public parklands.

Tolay Lake Park, located off Lakeville Highway just a few miles southeast of town, had originally been planned to open for full public access way back in 2009 following its acquisition a few years earlier. But since it was purchased nearly 12 years ago, the land has been mostly closed to the public, though special permits for those seeking to enjoy it on weekends may be obtained.

The parkland was purchased in 2005 from the Cardoza family for $31 million, with funds coming from the Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space District, other government agencies and some private donations. Initially, the district set aside 1,769 acres, with an additional 1,657 acres of adjoining Sonoma Land Trust property added to the park last year.

The park, now comprising more than 3,400 acres, is a treasure of the best of Sonoma County’s inland environment. It includes rolling hills, a large valley with a creek and spectacular 360-degree views of San Francisco Bay, Mount Tamalpais and Mount St. Helena. It contains pristine grasslands, a seasonal freshwater lake, ponds, wetlands and many other natural resources. It provides habitat for several species, including the burrowing owl, California red-legged frog, northwestern pond turtle, golden eagle, white tailed kite, horned lark, northern harrier and the tricolor blackbird. For more than a decade, Petaluma area hikers, nature lovers, bird watchers, bicyclists and horseback riders have all been looking forward to accessing its eight miles of trails.

The excruciatingly long delay in getting the park fully opened came about due to the Great Recession and the attendant lack of money for new park planning and development that includes costly environmental reviews and engineering studies. Also delaying the park’s opening have been wealthy neighbors, represented by their attorneys, who wrongly believe that the park’s owners, the public, should be severely restricted from accessing their property.

In the face of an implicit threat of a legal challenge, the county has moved very cautiously in dealing with these neighbors.

Now, according to South County Supervisor David Rabbitt, the park should be fully opened to the public by the end of 2017 with limited amenities including a gravel parking lot, outhouses and the few trails that have been used by weekend visitors with permits. Following a repaving of the Cannon Lane access road this summer, the park should open sometime in the fall, said Rabbitt.

Eventually, park officials say they plan to add a myriad of features that would include more extensive hiking trails, camp sites, picnic tables, an interpretive center and restrooms. But to achieve that, both Rabbitt and County Regional Parks Director Caryl Hart say that more money is needed. Measure J, a November sales tax ballot measure that would have raised an estimated $95 million over ten years to rehabilitate and add improvements to county parks, fell just shy of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. Only residents living in the unincorporated areas of the county voted on Measure J because the proposed tax would only have applied to purchases made outside cities.

Rabbitt says that a new plan is being explored that would apply a temporary sales tax increase to purchases at all businesses countywide. Such a measure would require approval from all cities, whose representatives would likely demand that a share of the revenue be used to support city parks.

For a number of reasons, such a plan would be a marked improvement over Measure J, and we wish Rabbitt and his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors all the best in crafting a measure that can win countywide voter approval.

But if officials this year are unable to fully open Tolay Lake Park, the purchase of which was paid for by taxpayers nearly 12 years ago, then any new ballot measure to improve county parks is likely to be greeted by voters with understandable skepticism.