We need your help to stop development at Santa Teresa Park.

A proposal has been brought forward to the County Parks Department for the development of the vacant lot across from Bernal Intermediate School. The proposal is suggesting the County swap private land for the park�s vacant lot to build five or more cluster homes on the site.

At present the lot is designated as part of Santa Teresa County Park and will be apart of the Santa Teresa Historical Park District. The site is master planned to be apart of the Joice/Bernal Interpretive Site. As you may have remembered nine years ago, our community came together to get the County Parks Department to save the historical site from development for our neighborhood and city. Our community needs to do this again.

You can help by voicing your opinion to County Supervisor, Don Gage, and City Council Person, Forest Williams stating that you would not like to see development of public Santa Teresa parkland into homes. Furthermore, you would like to see the County purchase the Agraz Bernal house. That property is next to the Bear Tree Lot and is also being considered for development of fifteen (15) or more cluster homes.

The Pyzak or Agraz Bernal house property is presently has an Option to Purchase and time is of the essence to voice our concerns to our public officials. We need to contact the City and County officials before it is finalized in November. Both lots include Indian burials registered with the State of California and the Pyzak/Agraz/Bernal house is planned to be apart of the interpretive historical story of Rancho Santa Teresa.

This historical home is on the Santa Clara�s Inventory of Historic Homes and is valuable to show visitors the life style changes the Bernal family made over the last 175 years. It is (was) first on the priority list of historical properties next to be purchased. The Historical Commission of the Santa Clara County Parks Department recommended this property as an asset to the County..

Many of the children and community members have put forth hours of volunteer time to see this Historical Park become a reality. Over a hundred volunteers have helped clean-up, paint, weed, and clear brush from the site to make this an attractive place for families to visit.

In the spring of 2002, the Joice/Bernal Interpret site will be giving tours to school children in our neighborhood. With the opening of the site means that rest rooms will be open and picnic areas be closely monitored. The site could be expanded to have interpretive activities for the walking local public.

The children of our area and the Parks department have helped raised funds to complete this project and having the Bernal/Agraz/Bernal house purchased will add a final finishing touch to our beautiful park.

Please, help us write or call Don Gage and Forest William, our local government officials, to encourage them to purchase the Pyzak property and voice your opinion against building more cluster homes on our public parkland.