This Midpen board meeting will be held in-person at 5050 El Camino Real, Los Altos, CA and via zoom. Instructions on how to attend and comment are available in the meeting agenda link below.
At this meeting, Midpen’s Planning & Natural Resources Committee will receive an update on the Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections Project and recommend a strategic direction to the full board of direction. This project, which aims to improve public access and regional trail connectivity near Lexington Reservoir, was initially deferred due to concerns over high newt mortality on the adjacent Alma Bridge Road. Midpen has since partnered with Santa Clara County and other agencies to study the issue and identify a design solution for a newt passage under the road.
With a design now identified for the adjacent Newt Passage Project led by Santa Clara County, the committee will now select the most strategic way to implement the Beatty Project. It will review and recommend one of two phased implementation options that integrate public access with critical funding for newt protection infrastructure:
- Implement a small, seasonal, permit-only parking area on the Beatty property, and contribute funding to build the specific section of the Newt Passage Project immediately adjacent to the Beatty property.
- Implement the trail connection and improve and share the use of the existing Miller Point Parking Area first, while contributing funding to build wildlife passage structures to the north in an area of higher newt mortality.
