Martial Cottle Park Master Plan (2007)

Client: Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department

Partners:  PlaceWorks, Master Plan Lead; Santa Clara County Parks

Date of project: 2007

SAGE provided agriculture and food systems consultation for a master plan for a 290-acre Agricultural Park located in a San Jose residential area. The Martial Cottle Park came about when Walter Cottle Lester donated a portion of his family’s historic 290-acre farm to the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department, and sold an additional portion to the California Department of Parks and Recreation.  Terms of the deed require active agriculture as a major use of the land with educational programs and passive recreation as complementary land uses. Opened in 2015, Martial Cottle Park  celebrates the agricultural heritage of Santa Clara Valley, once called the Valley of the Heart’s Delight.  Jacobs Farm, farming almost 200 acres organically,  is the major agriculture lessee.  The site also include 16-acres for UC Cooperative Extension  agricultural projects and a community garden.

Relevant Publications and other Projects:
SAGE produced the Martial Cottle Park Master Plan Case Study Report

Martial Cottle Park is part of the Growing Roots: Growing Beginner Farmers through Agricultural Learning Hubs project, 2014 – 17.