Mr. Dave Keck
General Plan Team
Northern Service Center
1725 23rd Street, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95816
Re: Castle Rock State Park General Plan
Dear Mr. Keck:
Thank you for inviting the public to give input on the important issue
of a general plan for Castle Rock State Park. It is good to see how
much interest there is in one of the most beautiful natural resources
in the area. The South Skyline Association represents approximately 200 residents
and owners along Skyline Blvd for the 18 miles between Black Road and
Old La Honda Road. This region includes Castle Rock State Park. For
the last 29 years the Association has concerned itself with issues of
local fire and rescue, safety, zoning, and conservation.
The Castle Rock Planning process has been of great interest to us. We
have been briefed frequently by members of the Citizens Advisory
Committee and published relevant articles in our quarterly newsletter. In the January newsletter to our members, we included a comprehensive survey to query members about their participation in and attitudes toward local parks and open space, including Castle Rock State Park. The results from 74 comprehensive responses were compiled.
Survey results show that Skyline residents are frequent users of the
parks for a variety of recreational activities. In Castle Rock State
Park alone, members reported 1108 family visits per year: 970 visits
for hiking and jogging; 30 visits for equestrian use; 11 visits for
camping; and 97 visits for rock climbing. These members expressed
considerable concern for the future of the Park.
The survey also showed that SSA members make a significant contribution
to the care, maintenance and patrol of local parks. Volunteers
reported 1740 hours per year of volunteer work in local parks, of which
502 hours were spent in Castle Rock State Park. In addition to the
time spent in maintenance and patrol, local residents in South Skyline
Fire and Rescue and Las Cumbres Fire and Rescue routinely respond to
emergency situations within the Park that cannot be handled by the one
ranger on duty. South Skyline residents serve as eyes and ears for the
Park. Within the last two years, residents who responded to the
questionnaire observed 45 problems within Castle Rock State Park and
reported 23 of them.
The most urgent problem noted for Castle Rock was the parking situation
along Skyline Boulevard and the turnout that serves as a parking lot.
The boundary between park land and highway appears to be blurred in the
minds of the Park visitors, resulting in toddlers and strollers
wandering onto the highway. We know of at least one tragic death of a
pedestrian in this area. Immediate action should be taken to reduce
this dangerous situation.
Much concern was shown for the low level of ranger patrolling in Castle
Rock State Park, resulting in an atmosphere where violators of Park
rules feel that they can get away with mountain biking on closed trails
and defacing rocks, even in closed areas. Ranger support should be
increased now, and continue to increase with usage. It is unconscionable
to further develop the Park without parallel planning for additional
staffing.
Most important for the general planning process was the members’ strong
commitment to "giving preference to preserving the ecosystem" and
limiting the types of recreation within the Park to "present use."
Given the impact of present users, along with the specific problems
they create and the ability to cope with these problems, there is no
justification for expanding the types of existing use in any way. This
policy would serve to prevent the conflicts that have developed from
hikers, joggers, bikers and equestrians sharing trails on MROSD lands
and in other parks, thereby avoiding another enforcement headache for
Park staff.
The South Skyline Association has long been an advocate of parks
acquiring land only from willing sellers. Therefore, we encourage the
State to maintain its position of acquiring property from "willing
sellers."
Finally, we wish to introduce a new issue of which we believe you are
not yet fully aware -- the threat of damage from feral pigs. They are
now well established on nearby MROSD preserves, and residents inform us
they have entered Castle Rock State Park. Our members agreed that
action is needed to manage the spread of these non-native, destructive
animals. All public agencies as well as residents of the Skyline area
will need to work together on a comprehensive plan to successfully deal
with this menace.
We realize that planning for such a spread out park such as Castle Rock
is no easy task, and we appreciate the work and dedication of the park
planners and members of the Advisory Committee over the past several
years. We look forward to a continued partnership in preserving a
unique park for the public.
Sincerely yours,
Judith H. Lovell, President
South Skyline Association
12366 Indian Trail Road
Los Gatos, CA 95033-8241
cc:
Stu Langdoc, Chair, Advisory Committee
Jan Anderson, Park Superintendent
Ian Campbell, Chair, Parks and Recreation Commission
Bruce McPherson, State Senator
Fred Keeley, Assemblyman
Dave Vincent, Superintendent
