The Greensheets -
(original founding documents that started it all, and which were to become the Manifesto for Incorporation of the Town)
Also shown -
  • The list of the residents on the Incorporation and Sponsor Committees
  • The draft map showing the proposed borders of the new town
  • The formal statement of "The Platform for Incorporation" (Derived from The Green Sheets)
  •     ... and a few other bits and pieces

Introduction

Some time around 1954, an informal committee of residents started to meet to discuss the threat posed by the increasing encroachment of suburbia and its attendant problems into the area where they lived.

The idea of incorporating their area into a separate city with its own zoning laws was raised as one way to control the future direction to be taken by the community.

Accordingly, a small committee was formed with members chosen from five main "areas" within the general region of what was envisioned to become the new town. Residents from the following five areas formed "The Incorporation Committee":

  • Magdalena - Summerhill
  • El Monte - Moody
  • Elena - Altamont - Page Mill
  • West Fremont - Purissima
  • Robleda - Burke - Sunset
A trial balloon document was prepared by this informal committee, and circulated to a selected set of fellow residents in each area - this larger group became known as "The General Committee"

The resulting document became known as "The Green Sheets" and its six pages are shown below.

Also shown on this web page (after the The Green Sheets) are a membership list showing the members of the committees (names marked with a *) as well as a wider selection of residents in each area who supported the movement as "Sponsors".

Following that is shown the first known sketch marking the proposed boundaries of the new town to be called "Los Altos Hills".

Finally there are some more documents that show the process used to determine a proposed budget and the level of tax rate that would be required to support it. This information needed to be figured out before the ballot as it was the critical deciding factor for many people.

 

 

  Page 1 of "The Green Sheets"

 

  Pages 2 and 3 of "The Green Sheets"

 

  Page 4 and 5 of "The Green Sheets"

 

The last page of "The Green Sheets" and a map showing the boundaries of the proposed Town that was to become Los Altos Hills.

The initials "R.G." (bottom right corner of the map) are those of Rex Gardner, a resident who was given time off from his job with PG&E to do the leg-work of creating the background and supporting documents necessary for submittal to the County Supervisors. The latter approved the ballot for the vote to incorporation the town

 

 Members of "The Incorporation Committee" (Marked with an *) and "The General Committee"

 

 

Once "The Greensheets" had been widely circulated and discussed - and there appeared to be enough support in favor of a Ballot Measure to incorporate as a town, a shorter "Platform" document was created for wider circulation during the ballot process. It was only three pages long (half the size of The Green Sheets).

An introductory pamphlet was also prepared (on blue paper) with an outline map showing the proposed borders of the new town and an introduction to the "The Platform" document.

 

 

  The pamphlet that introduced residents to "The Platform"

 

  Page 1 and 2 of "The Platform For Incorporation of The Town of Los Altos Hills"

 

  Page 3 of "The Platform" and "Notice of Special Election" sent to all registered voters within the proposed Town.

 

 The "Urgent Message" sent to all property owners together with a list of 176 residents who have stated their intention to vote in favor of incorporation.

 

The strongest argument by those opposed to incorporation revolved around the idea that incorportation would inevitably cause taxes to go up. To counter that argument, the above sheet was developed and circulated to the more vocal residents.

On the left, four sets of possible budget scenarious are shown based on different Property Tax rates - ranging from zero to $0.90.

On the right, to get an idea of the magnitudes that might be involved, it shows the expenditure on roads (within the borders of the proposed new town) spent by the county over the previous four years.

 

Figuring out four possible scenarios for a budget and associated tax rate for the proposed town

Following is a note written by Rex Gardiner (The volunteer assigned to do all the leg work and preparation of documents leading up to the vote for incorporation). It was written nearly 50 years after the event.

In it he explains the situation he found himself in, and the background to the document he created at that time showing four possible "Balance Sheets" for the operation of the proposed town - each necessitating an associated tax rate.to garner enough revenue to cover the anticipated expenses.

As he explains in this letter, the Incorporation Committee chose the one with the lowest tax rate (and thus the smallest budget) as they were afraid that a higher one "might lead to defeat in the election".

The actual document he created is reproduced right after his letter below.

 

 

  The Analysis Document Produced by Rex Gardiner  

 

 

 

 

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