Palo Alto Weighs Foothills Park Vehicle Entrance Fee

PALO ALTO, CA — The threat of a costly lawsuit compelled the city of Palo Alto to overturn an exclusionary ordinance.

Now the city is considering the opening of Foothills Park to non-residents a potential money-maker.

A proposal to charge a $6 to $10 vehicle entrance fee and limiting visitor attendance at Foothills Park was scheduled to go before the City Council Tuesday night.

Under the proposed ordinance, the daily vehicle entrance fee would apply to both residents and non-residents.

Other pricing options include: an annual pass costing $65 to $80 for non-residents or $50 to $60 for residents.

Seniors or low-income people would be eligible for a 25 percent discount on the annual pass.

Entry for pedestrians, bikes and park volunteers would be free.

Introducing entry fees would provide revenue to help offset park maintenance costs and could keep visitation manageable.

The city will also consider allowing fewer people into the park at one time to ensure safety of pedestrians and bicyclists on the park roads, and outside the park where there are many parked vehicles nearby.

When the park first opened to the public, there were no entry fees and attendance was limited at 750 people for the first 90 days of opening.

After that, the attendance limit would have increased to 1,000 people with residents getting first access to facility reservations.

Since its Dec. 17 opening to the public, the park has seen many visitors, reaching its 750-people capacity on several days.

There were 4,081 visitors on the weekend before Christmas 2020, almost six times higher than the same weekend in 2019, according to a staff report.

The city estimates that having approximately 500 people (185 vehicles) could be a more manageable capacity limit.

The proposed ordinance would allow the city to limit attendance at the park to less than 1,000 in some circumstances.

Foothills would not be the first park to introduce entry fees.

Both Santa Clara County Parks and San Mateo County Parks charge a $6 vehicle entry fee, while California State Parks sometimes charge up to $15 for vehicle parking.

— Bay City News and Patch Staffer Gideon Rubin contributed to this report