The 16-year development battle over Veronica Meadows, a 14-acre parcel of open space along the lower stretches of Arroyo Burro Creek, was finally put to rest Tuesday when the City Council voted unanimously to contribute the $2.7 million necessary for the Trust for Public Land to purchase the property from the developers for $4 million. When the ink is dry, the Trust will turn the property over to City Hall.
The fight over Veronica Meadows — pitting developer Mark Lee against the Urban Creeks Council, Citizens Planning Association, and various constellations of neighborhood groups — involved multiple redesigns, many agonizingly long public hearings, two separate legal battles, and one citywide election. At issue in the Measure Y campaign of 2012 was whether a public easement over nondeveloped city park property, to allow for the construction of an entrance bridge over the Arroyo Burro Creek, should be allowed for the private development — 25 homes — of the land. Sixty-six percent of the voters said no.
“It’s a really big deal,” exclaimed Mayor Helene Schneider. “It’s a very long and winding road to get to where we should have been in the first place.” Echoing her sentiment was Councilmember Bendy White, an ardent supporter of open-space acquisition. “Miracles come along and happen every 10 years,” he said. The $2.3 million in city funds came from Measure B reserves set aside by voter approval for creek preservation and restoration projects. Measure B funds come from a surcharge to the bed tax exacted by City Hall and is not available for general fund purposes.