In what Mayor Tom Adams called a "monumental evening," the Monrovia City Council tonight approved making the Hillside Wilderness Preserve sort of a park, which, by the way, officially opens this Saturday, though it is actually open now.
It has been 16 years since Monrovia passed bonds and got grants from the State of California to buy the hillside land. One of the state requirements was that the land be open to the public, a requirement that now appears to be fulfilled.
However, it will not exactly be a park.
City Council Member Gloria Crudgington asked that the area not be declared a "park," since it is a "preserve," but that it have its own designation, so the Council - if I understand correctly - basically duplicated the chapter in the municipal code on parks to create a new chapter for the wilderness area.
Comment: A bit odd, but well, whatever. I'm just delighted that it is open, and want to thank the City Council, City Manager Oliver Chi, Public Services Director Tina Cherry and the staff members who made this happen. Excellent!
- Brad Haugaard
Hoping that this is a quiet opening and this treasure can go back to being a locals little secret. I've been doing this trail for 30 years and remarkably have never seen even one piece of trash on the trail or the look out. Hope that continues. This route is a reason that I love living in Monrovia.
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