Lodato Park Trail System Will Soon Expand

The hiking trials at Lodato Park will soon expand to join another set of hiking trails on the privately-owned Blair Ranch property just southeast of the park. On Wednesday night, the Scotts Valley City Council approved a preliminary plan to connect the two trial systems, something that the city’s parks and recreation commission has been looking into for some time.

The Blair Ranch Road side of the property, owned by longtime resident Chuck Blair, is in an unincorporated area of the county north of Santa Cruz, and the 49-acre Lodato Park is in Scotts Valley. Blair and the Scotts Valley Parks and Recreation Commission have long wished to join the two sets of trails for public use, but this plan was complicated by the mystery of who owned a sliver of overgrown land between the two locations.

After a long search by Parks and Recreation Commissioner Wendy Brannan, the owners of the parcel—a philanthropic group called the Sundean Foundation—came to look at the property and thought joining the two trail systems was a great idea.

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has agreed to cover any liability insurance costs the two private property owners will require to allow the public into the area, parks and recreation officials said. The city predicts the project will cost nothing from its general fund.

During public comment at Wednesday night’s council meeting, Jack Sohriakoff informed the council that Lodato Park is currently home to a firing range used by the Scotts Valley Sportsman Club, and said they want to help make sure the new trails do not create live targets for those practicing their aim with handguns.

“We would like to be involved in this process to verify that any pathways are not going to compromise public safety or operation of the range,” he said. “We fully support access, and we would just like to be included in the process.”

The club's lease with the city requires members to help maintain the range. The council agreed with Sohriakoff's suggestion that time spent designing and clearing the new trails be counted as credit toward those hours.

Mayor Dene Bustichi requested that the final agreement allow all parties the flexibility to easily change their level of involvement with the project and the trails in the future. For example, to allow Blair the option of closing his part of the trails off if he wished. That is unlikely since he has allowed them into the area for years already “if they could get to it,” said a parks and recreation staff member.

“I'd hate to see someone get locked into something,” Bustichi said. “And with the gun range I would like to see them be involved that makes a lot of sense.”

Council member Jim Reed echoed his fellow members’ comments just before the vote.

“Lodato really is one of the best kept secrets we have in town,” Reed said. “For us to expand on it and make it even greater is going to allow that many more people to enjoy it.”