What is making San Carlos a happy city?

Now the city is considering what they want to do with Laurel, the city’s main business street, in the future. Two affordable housing projects are under construction, 24 studios at below market rates and 36 one- to three-bedroom units. Meanwhile on the east side of town, there is 2.5 million square feet of planned office space for biotech companies. Also, a couple of hundred rental units have been built on Caltrain land by the train station. Mayor Laura Parmer-Lohan says it’s the can-do spirit of collaboration of residents, business owners and civic leaders which has helped the city weather the storm.

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I recently had a COVID safe visitor and we went on daily walks to explore new areas. One was the opening of the missing link in the Bay Trail in East Palo Alto at Cooley Landing on the shore of the South Bay just south of the Dumbarton Bridge. You can reach it via Bay Road. The Ravenswood Preserve spans 376 acres with short trails, viewing decks, a learning center now closed, and access to the Bay Trail. The improvements are brand new. The day we visited we were almost alone except for some cyclists and a few other walking visitors. It has spectacular views and much history on the various sign posts. We were standing on what used to be the edge of the Bay. The meandering line of dark green plants, Juncus, was planted by local community members and high school students to mark the old shoreline.

From 1932-1960, the Cooley Landing wetlands were used as a dump site and filled with garbage, creating the land we were standing on today. Ravenswood began in 1848 when land owners planned a new community after acquiring part of the Pulgas Rancho. The promise of a railroad link prompted bank owner Isaiah Woods to build a wharf and develop plans for a new city he dubbed Ravenswood. A town began to take shape. From 1867-1930, Cooley Ranch’s wharf was a transportation hub in the Bay Area’s transportation system. A brick manufacturer in Ravenswood shipped more than 40 million bricks from here to San Francisco.

A cleaned-up Cooley Landing covered with soil has become a place for people to enjoy and nature to thrive.

It is part of the Bay’s long history of shifting shorelines. In the 1800s, settlers drained the wetlands for farms and ranchland and built dikes to create salt ponds. Stream-borne soil, from the Gold Rush mining operations, flowed into the Bay from the Sierras, burying marshes under a layer of silt. San Francisco Bay’s salt marshes have been diked, drained, plowed and paved. Today, only 10% of the original marshlands remain intact. Efforts are underway to remove salt ponds, reintroduce native plants and re-establish critical marsh habitat for native birds and mammals. These efforts combat climate change by storing carbon dioxide; wetlands can store 50 times as much carbon per acre as tropical rainforests.

Every year, the world’s wetlands may trap 140 million cars worth of carbon emissions. We came for the view and the exercise, but this was good news and a great discovery.

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We also hoped to walk around the Stanford campus but it was shut to visitors because of COVID restrictions. Palm Drive was allowed. There is a path to the mausoleum for senator Leland Stanford, his wife Jane, and the young Leland Stanford Jr. for whom the university is named. This was my first visit despite many years on campus. There is also a nearby path to a magnificent cactus garden. What discoveries! So close to home. Admission free.

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Kate Comfort Harr, HIP Housing’s executive director, is the recipient of the 2020 Business Woman of the Year Award" from the Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce. A special honor for an amazing community leader.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.