By Brandon Dawson
A large swath of East Bay open space is one step closer to preservation.
Assembly Bill 1086, introduced by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Senator Steven Glazer, would allow the Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) to sell an area known as “Tesla Park” to a local public agency or non-profit organization for conservation purposes if it is determined that disposing of the land is in the public interest. This sale would prevent the area from being permanently damaged by off-highway vehicle use from the expansion of the adjacent off-highway vehicle park.
AB 1086 was overwhelmingly passed by both houses of the legislature. The measure now sits on the Governor’s desk.
Tesla Park is about 12 miles south of Tracy and about 60 miles east of San Francisco. It's situated among rolling hills that exist where the Central Valley merges into the Bay Area. The area has rare ecological value and contains an abundance of highly sensitive natural resources. You can read more about Tesla Park’s importance and rich biodiversity here.
AB 1086 provides a sound mechanism to meet California’s public duty to protect Tesla’s extraordinary biological and cultural resources.
Click here to email Governor Newsom today to ask him to sign AB 1086.
Background:
The State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division (OHMVR) purchased the approximately 3,100-acre Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area (commonly called Tesla Park) in the late 1990s without an acquisition environmental impact report (EIR) or public review. For 20 years there has been intense and growing opposition from across the region to opening Tesla to off-highway vehicle recreation use.
In 2016, after two unsuccessful efforts to complete an EIR, the OHMVR Commission adopted a general plan and EIR which incorporated the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area into Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) and identified it for off-highway vehicle use. The project is now in litigation, including a challenge by Alameda County.
The state’s proposal to open the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area to off-highway vehicle use has been highly controversial because Tesla Park is simply not appropriate for this type of damaging recreational use.
Tesla Park is an important link in the ecosystem preservation efforts in the region. The area is primarily Blue Oak woodland, mountain savannah grassland, scrub sage and riparian woodlands with scenic ridge tops and dramatic canyons feeding into Corral Hollow Creek, which drains into the San Joaquin River system.
AB 1086 would allow California to protect this important piece of land. It authorizes State Parks to sell the land for no less than it was originally purchased for if it is determined to be in the public interest. Any proceeds from the sale would be returned to the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division for use in an area that is appropriate for off-highway vehicle use.
The bill provides a wise and fair way to resolve this 20-year controversy in a manner that is good for State government, local agencies and the community, off-highway vehicle users and the environment.