May 6, 2025
Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers:
Protecting our City Parks with a robust interpretation of the City Charter language is important to many community organizations and persons. This item was planned to be heard on 3/25/25 but was dropped. Attached to that item were many letters of support. For some reason not clear to me, the City Clerk did not post those letters to you as part of your consideration of this item. I have provided the links to the prior letters and lists of signatories.
Our traditional parks, their adjacent Community Centers, trails and golf courses warrant explicit acknowledgement as chartered. Park land is a sacred trust which the city and its elected are bound to protect for the good of the community,
--Jean Dresden
Letters Batch 1 of 3
https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13942845&GUID=986733A6-FEC5-4FBA- A98C-1146D61B947C
Virginia Holtz, former San Jose Parks Commissioner
Vicki Alexander, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Board – District 5 Eric Carruthers, Principal Planner (ret) Santa Clara County Rod Diridon Sr, County Supervisor, District 4, ret
Gloria Duffy, former President, Guadalupe River Park Conservancy Kathy Sutherland, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Board – District 4
Edward Rooks, Wildlife Artist
Carolyn Straub, District 7
Stephen McHenry, District 7
Shani Kleinhaus, PhD, Environmental Advocate, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society Katja Irvin, AICP, Guadalupe Group Conservation Chair, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter Alice Kaufman, Policy and Advocacy Director, Green Foothills Deb Kramer Executive Director Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful
Lawrence Ames, Chair, District 6 Neighborhood Leaders Group on behalf of D6NL
Letters Batch 2 of 3
https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13951020&GUID=208EFAAA-3889-44A4- 89A9-236ABA2217D8
Davide Vieira, Friends of Five Wounds Trail
Eve Meier, volunteer for Santa Clara Valley Bird Allince Diane McCoy
Juan Estrada, San Jose United
Jean Dresden, on behalf of Yes On SJ Parks
Rudy Flores, Former Chair PRNS Commission
Protect Our Parks Petitions—over 40 persons
David Poeschel, D10
Bill Rankin, on behalf of Save Our Trails
Letters Batch 3 of 3
https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13952062&GUID=91B1C036-1ED1-442A- B032-5652CECC66DB
Alie Victorine, President District 7 Leadership Group on behalf of D7 NL
Protect Our Parks Petitions—16 persons