Position on Campaign Issues

By Jean H. "John" Mordo

Protect the rural character of Los Altos Hills; Increase disaster preparedness; Conserve Open Space; Maintain Pathways; Defend Property Rights;Invest in Infrastructure.

Open Space. One of the key elements of this rural character that we cherish is the open space that we enjoy. I was actively involved in the Open Space Initiative that was endorsed by the residents, and adopted by the Council, to protect the Town owned open space parcels, the largest and most important of which are Byrne preserve and Westwind Barn.

Pathways. As part of my vision for LAH, pathways are an important element. Part of the covenant we enter into when we move here, is that we agree to each sacrifice a modicum amount of control over our property for the common good. The common good is a wonderful network of interconnected, largely off-road pathways that can be safely used by all, including children and senior citizen, to hike, walk their dog, or simply go to friend's houses. We have a highly dedicated Pathway Committee, which has spent close to 2 years (many of them much longer), making sure that the current map of pathways and easement is correct. They are scheduling a series of hearings with the residents, starting in August at the Pathway Committee level, continuing in September at the Planning Commission level, and culminating sometime this winter at the Council level. This process is designed to identify and fix the issues of the existing plan, and ultimately, publishing a new plan that is a consensus of the residents. I support, and will follow at the planning commission level, an approach of listening to the resident's issues and trying to resolve those concerns to the best of my abilities.

Property Rights. I am a strong believer in property rights, for all property owners, newly arrived as well as longer-term residents. As a Planning Commissioner and as a Councilmember, I have witnessed too many situations where applicants do not get what they want, and are frustrated that their neighbors or the Town object to some of their plans. Each of us may find ourselves on either side of such hearings at one point or another during our life here. This is why I believe it is very important to take a fair, objective, ordinance based approach that would avoid the risk of favoritism. It is also important to use commonsense and moderation. In other words, I support "good neighbor's rights" on issues of development.

Safety. LAH, because of its topography, vegetation and seismic characteristics is a challenging environment in case of a disaster such as an earthquake, or a fire. As a Board member of the Red Cross, Palo Alto Area Chapter, I am very conscious of the need to be prepared. I intend to champion disaster preparedness training for Los Altos Hills residents, in cooperation with our Town staff Steve Garcia and the Los Altos Hills Fire District. I will work with the Fire District in their efforts to implement "firewise" mitigation measures for wild land fire protection to minimize potential private property (residential) losses. And I will support the CERT training program to get our residents ready to deal with a disaster such as an earthquke or a fire.

Water. Water usage is a critical issue in Los Altos Hills. Water is currently in sufficient supply, but the situation could change at any time. The last time this happened, the cost of water increased by a factor of 20. This translates into thousands of dollars per month for the high water users, or a lot of dead plants. In any case, on a longer term basis, our development needs in the Bay Area will exceed our water supply. We need therefore to educate homeowners in landscaping with low water plantings and other water conservation techniques. The City Council should lead this effort.

Spending on Recreation. The town population is evolving, with many more families with young children. In addition to the welcome re-opening of an elementary public school, we need to provide recreation for children in our community. The cost of land is prohibitive in Los Altos Hills, but we are lucky that the Town already owns such great properties as the Little League Fields and Westwind Barn. This allows us to provide wonderful sports facilities for youngsters in Town and in Los Altos. We have approved $1.3 million to improve the Little League fields, and we are partnering with a non-profit to share the cost of a seismic retrofit and restoration of Westwind barn. The Town will match private dollars up to $880,000 for this project. While Little League serves approximately 250 kids, mostly boys, the year-round riding program at Westwind Barn served about 250 kids and adults last year, mainly female. An expansion of this 3-year old program is under way, with an increase in the number of participants. In addition about 40 kids take advantage of the Westwind 4H Riding For The Handicapped program, a program that has therapeutic benefits for children with special needs. Further, a number of young riders take part in the Pony Club riding program, which is also hosted at Westwind barn and makes use of its facilities.

We are lucky that this wonderful facility with its surrounding 13 acres was donated to the Town by Countess Margit Bessenyey in the 1970s. It is a gem, unique to Los Altos Hills. It allows us to offer recreation programs that are not matched anywhere else on the Peninsula, and they are in keeping with the equestrian tradition of the Hills. After all, our Town was incorporated in great part, because residents wanted the space to have horses and other farm animals on their properties. Ruth McMahon was one of the legendary gatherers of signatures for the incorporation petition and she rode around the Town on her horse collecting those signatures.

We are also investing about $500K in our pathway system, with several new critical walking paths.

Under-grounding Utilities. We have a very able and enthusiastic under-grounding Committee, which has been working hard to evaluate how to address the issue of under-grounding public utilities. Under-grounding utilities, especially electric, is not a luxury meant to just make the Town look prettier, which of course it would. It is primarily a safety and reliability issue. Downed electric lines in the winter often result in power outages of days, sometimes as long as a week. Because of our topography, we are more subject to outages, and longer ones, than many areas. Besides the serious inconveniences to all, it is a safety hazard for older residents, who may have to put up with frigid houses for days. In the dry season, downed lines are a fire hazard. In the past downed electric lines, in both Northern and Southern California, have caused several fires, some large and tragic. The cost of massive and total Town under-grounding is high, and frankly, not affordable in today's economy, especially given our spending on Town Hall. I support however, the Committee's efforts to develop a demonstration project utilizing the PG&E 20A funds and some Town money.

Infrastructure. In addition to under-grounding we are facing a number of infrastructure issues:

• Sewers: large sections of our Town have no way to connect to a sewer, and if they could, no right to connect to one. This is an issue that suddenly appears if your septic fails or you want to expand your house and have no room for an expanded leach field. It can be very costly, or plain impractical to proceed. I pledge to work with the neighboring Towns to try and make significant progress on this issue;
• Roads and Pathways: A lot of our roads and pathways need work, and we should address this need as soon as the budget permits, and we feel that we can prudently use some of our reserves;
• High-speed Internet and cell phone coverage: I will work diligently to accelerate upgraded service in our community.

See http://www.votemordo.com/issues.htm for more.