El Cerrito Hillside Organization or ECHO was formed in 2006 by a group of El Cerrito residents in response to a proposed development on the 15 acre parcel known as the Fairview Open Space, the largest remaining parcel of unprotected open space in El Cerrito. Fairview Open Space can be accessed at the end of Fairview Drive in El Cerrito (where Fairview meets Tamalpais Avenue), is located on the slope above and to the east of Ganges Avenue, and below and to the west and south of Arlington Boulevard. To the immediate south of the Fairview Open Space is a portion of El Cerrito’s Hillside Natural Area.
Fairview Open Space is visible from much of El Cerrito and the north-central Bay Area (including San Francisco). Although privately-owned, this land has always been in a natural state, and has several features that make it particularly unsuitable to development. ECHO is dedicated to preserving this unique 14.88 acre site that borders El Cerrito’s Hillside Natural Area with panoramic Bay views and two natural creeks.
As long as the property remains in private hands, with developers willing to destroy the natural habitat and risk the effects of building on a slide zone, this property remains at risk. The members of ECHO believe that this land should be preserved in its natural state, both for the animals that make their home there, as well as the residents of El Cerrito and the greater Bay Area.
Fairview Open Space 