Petition Drive Seeks Tax District for Park

After waiting years for the county to build them a park, a residents’ group is asking neighbors to tax themselves for a community meeting place complete with youth sports facilities.

A petition is being circulated in Portola Hills seeking a special tax district that would pay the costs of maintaining a 6.7-acre park.

Plans for Portola Hills Park include a multipurpose field that could be used for baseball or soccer, a basketball court and an amphitheater. The site is off Saddleback Ranch Road near Ridgeline Road.

“Portola Hills does not have a community park,” said organizer Dave Cole. “One of our urgent needs is a sports park for our kids. Facilities in other communities are filling up rapidly, and Portola Hills kids are going to be asked to find another place to play.”

The $648,000 needed to build the park has been set aside by the community developer, the Baldwin Co. But the county stopped committing funds to maintain new parks several years ago.

The cost of maintaining the park has been estimated at $80,000 to $120,000 annually. Each of the 1,900 homeowners in Portola Hills would pay about $60 per year, according to members of the committee that organized the petition drive.

Cole said 60% of Portola Hills property owners need to sign the petition for the county to move forward with creating the special tax district.