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When Dirk and Josine Smits purchased 10 acres of oak-forested land on the outskirts of Los Gatos 17 years ago, they knew they had fallen in love with the town. Ten years later, they purchased 11 more acres from their neighbors, with the intention of someday donating an open-space easement to local agencies.
That "someday" appears to be soon. The town council accepted the offer to grant an 11-acre easement to both the town of Los Gatos and the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District last week. The easement allows the Smitses to retain ownership of their land while giving away all rights for additional development on the site.
"Our primary motivation is to maintain the park in its natural state," said Josine Smits. "When we pass away, somebody cannot subdivide and build on the land we love. We take responsibility as stewards of the land quite seriously."
Smits describes the frequent sightings of wildlife and the family's frequent walks and picnics on the Shannon Road property as a magical experience. Often, wild turkeys, coyotes, bobcats, Cooper's hawks and deer are seen on the premises.
"It's basically living in paradise," she said.
Eventually, the family would like to grant the remaining 10 acres as a second easement, Smits said.
Bud Lortz, director of community development for Los Gatos, said the Smitses should be commended because their offer to grant an easement was voluntary. Individuals or companies usually grant easements when required to do so as part of a development project to gain town approval.
"They were doing it because they thought it was the right thing to do. They're just generally conservation-minded," Lortz said.
For Smits, being able to grant the easement was an honor and gave her and her husband peace of mind to know that the land would remain in its natural state for future generations.
Immediately following last week's council meeting at which the town council accepted the easement, the Smitses celebrated by going to the Los Gatos Brewing Company—the same restaurant they went to in 1996 when they purchased the 11 acres from their neighbors.
"The easement has always been a part of our [plan]," Smits said. "Believe me, if we could have done more, we would have."
"We wanted to make sure Los Gatos doesn't lose its natural quality. If there's no more green space, then it will have lost its roots," Smits said.
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