Why am I writing a letter to protect an already protected open space? Read on to find out. Below is our letter to the City of Los Altos Hills in response to their plan to un-designate O’Keefe OSP as an open space and rezone it as multi family housing. UWRP stressed the value of upper watersheds for salmonid habitat and wildlife movement. Genetic isolation is putting multiple species in peril throughout the Bay Area. Purisima Creek runs through O’keefe OSP which is a tributary to Adobe Creek, which enters the bay at Mayfield Slough in our study area the Palo Alto Baylands.
January 22, 2026
Re: Protection the O’Keefe Open Space Preserve and the Open Spaces in Los Altos Hills.
Dear Mayor Bhateja and Los Altos Hills City Council Members,
The Urban Wildlife Research Project (UWRP)is concerned about the avoidance of the CEQA process with regards to the City Council’s discussions to un-designate the O’Keefe Open Space Preserve (OSP) and rezone it for multifamily housing development. O’Keefe OSP’s designation was intended to be in perpetuity. This open space is part of a larger Purisima/Adobe Creek Wildlife Corridor that animals use to traverse the landscape from mountains to baylands. Adobe Creek is a historic steelhead trout stream and its tributaries are of upmost importance for conservation.
Assembly Bill 1889 the “Room to Roam Act” mandates that cities and counties integrate wildlife habitat connectivity into their general plans, requiring them to analyze and plan for wildlife movement, identify crucial corridors, and consider development impacts on habitat fragmentation to protect biodiversity.
UWRP havs been studying wildlife at the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve for over 10 years and have witnessed first hand the impacts of a disconnected landscape, such as the 2016 die-off of the entire gray fox population. Adobe Creek enters the Mayfield Slough at the Hwy 101 crossing. Due to concrete channel and surrounding urban development the gray fox population became isolated, inbreeding resulted in low genetic diversity which resulted in weakened immune systems. With weakened immune systems came the die off of all 25 foxes due to a disease outbreak of canine distemper. Connectivity is critical for the health of wildlife populations.
Chris Wilmers of UC Santa Cruz Puma Project has also stated that the Santa Cruz Mountain Lion population also suffers from low genetic diversity due to habitat fragmentation. Many other less studied species could be suffering the same fate. The re-zoning and development of O’Keefe OSP would be another detriment to the wildlife corridor of the Adobe Creek watershed. AB 1889 requires cities (you) to analyze and mitigate for wildlife corridor enhancement. This project would be the opposite of that. Do right by your citizens who designated this open space in 2002, remove it from the ballot measure and make up for your misguided use of taxpayer funds by restoring more of the Purisima/Adobe Creek Wildlife Corridor.
Sincerely,
Greg Kerekes
Executive Director
Urban Wildlife Research Project