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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20050629 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 05-14 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District Office 1191 Main Street, Half Moon Bay June 29, 2005 SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL Vice President Jed Cyr called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Mary Davey, Deane Little, Ken Nitz Members Absent: Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Pete Siemens Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Scliectman, Sally Thielfoldt, Cathy Woodbury, John Maciel, Rudy Jurgensen and Del Woods H. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Leonard Woren, El Granada, California is a community member that attended the field trip earlier this month. He was very impressed with the District and their process of purchasing property. He appreciates the District holding this meeting on the coast. 111. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the agenda. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0. IV. APPOINTMENT OF SECRETARY PRO TEM J. Cyr appointed D. Little to represent the District as Secretary Pro Tern for this Special Meeting. The appointment passed 4 to 0. V. BOARD BUSINESS J. Cyr outlined the procedure to be followed at this meeting, noting that staff would make a presentation, Board Members would ask brief questions, public input would be received, staff will address questions and the Board would take action. A. Agenda Item No. I —Proposed Purchase of Peninsula Open Space Trust (Miramontes Ridge) Property as an Addition to Mills Creek Open Space Preserve (San Mateo County Assessor's Parcel Numbers 056-440-010, -060, -070; 056- 450-020 and 067-310-140) (Report R-05-71). D. Woods presented the report and slides displaying the property using PowerPoint. M. Williams discussed the terms and conditions of the proposed purchase. K. Nitz asked for clarification in the Board report's Discussion section regarding the Board's authority to purchase land outside District boundaries. S. Schectman explained that, by statute, the District can purchase land within and outside of District boundaries even if the Coastside Protection Program had not been approved. Now that the boundary has been expanded, the proposed acquisition is subject to all of the policies and procedures of the service plan and the mitigation measures of the EIR, K. Nitz pointed out in the Board report that the date of sale on page 3 conflicts with the date of sale on page 7. The Board report will be corrected on page 3, paragraph 3 to read " . . . land prior to POST purchasing it in 1996." K. Nitz requested that the word "temporarily" be added to the name recommendation on page 5 of the Board report. J. Cyr called for public comment. Neal Shannon, Half Moon Bay, California, expressed his support of the purchase yet is very concerned regarding the private road that accesses the property. There is no way to expand that road to a two-lane road. M. Williams discussed how the private road would not serve as a general public access; however, it would be used for patrol and maintenance purposes, and docent-led hikes. C. Britton stated that some District preserves have private access and the public is not directed to those roads. When it is time to develop the public access plan, neighbors will be consulted, including on how many docent-led trips will be planned per year. Meeting 05-14 Page 2 There was more discussion regarding private road use and sharing access and a connecting trail with Burleigh Murray State Park. Lanan Green, Half Moon Bay, California, said she is also appreciative of the District purchasing the property but feels very strongly against using the private road for access. She also had a concern regarding public notification. She could not find any notice of this meeting in the local newspapers. R. Jurgensen stated that the District provided press releases to the Half Moon Bay Review and the San Mateo County Times. The Half Moon Bay Review chose not to publicize it. Since the District has a mailing list for coastside events, it is not common practice to take out advertisements in the local newspapers. J. Cyr requested that the District enhance the relationship with the editor at the Half Moon Bay Review and suggest that the meetings get logged in their "Calendar of Events" section. R. Jurgensen assured that he would speak with the Half Moon Bay Review on this issue. Leonard Woren, E1 Granada, California expressed his concern that the District's schedule for developing public access is extremely conservative. He doesn't believe it would be in the best interest of the District if it closes access to the property. C. Britton explained that the District often purchases land that is remote but has deeded access. This may not alwaysgi ve the District the legal right to bring in the public on that access. This property has poor public access. The District may devise a plan for public access within twelve months, but may not open the property to public acces s in twelve months. The District is sensitive to the neighbors on the private road. The District should have contacted the Half Moon Bay Review and made sure the meeting date was published and the District will advertise the next coastal meeting. S. Schectman stated that the District, under the provisions of the Brown Act, posts all legally required notices and puts them on the Web site. In addition, the Service Plan required extensive notice of all elected officials, elected agencies, non-profit groups and community organizations such as the Farm Bureau. There nt to run a newspaper ad but that is u to the Board. is no legal requirement , g q p i D. Little suggested that the Board pay the extra cost of placing an advertisement for meeting notification. r J. Cyr questioned staff regarding what roads were re-opened and by whom. I Meeting 05-14 Page 3 M. Williams answered that the access road was not paved but mowed by POST to allow access to the POST Madonna and Miramontes properties for the on site meeting. Motion: D. Little moved that the Board approve the recommended actions are categorically exempt from CEQA; adopt Resolution No. 05-19 authorizing purchase of the POST (Miramontes Ridge) property as an addition to Mills Creek Open Space Preserve; adopt the Preliminary Use and Management Plan recommendations; temporarily name the property as an addition to Mills Creek Open Space Preserve and indicate intention to dedicate property as public open space. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0. At 8:20 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. Sally Thielfoldt Recording Secretary Meeting 05-14 Page 4