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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20051130 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 05-26 SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS Los Altos Youth Center 1 North San Antonio Road, Los Altos,California November 30, 2005 I MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Larry Hassett called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Mary Davey, Nanette Hanko, Deane Little (arrived at 7:35 p.m.), Ken Nitz, Pete Siemens and Larry Hassett. Members Absent: None Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sally Thielfoldt, Matt Freeman, Rudy Jurgensen, John Maciel, Meredith Manning, Mike Newburn, Matt Sagues, David Sanguinetti, Sue Schectman, Doug Vu, Cathy Woodbury II. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the agenda. P. Siemens seconded and the motion passed 6 to 0. III. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including Agenda Item 2, Cancel Special Meeting of December 7, 2005; Call Special Board Meeting for December 20, 2005; and Revised Claims 05- 21. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. N. Hanko abstained on Claim No. 3858. IV. BOARD BUSINESS L. Hassett laid out ground rules for the procedure of the meeting. !I Meeting 05-26 Page 2 C. Britton provided background on the trails and the designations as interim trails. M. Freeman described the notification process, noting that more than 400 people were notified of the meeting. He added that emails and other communications were included in the Board's packets. M. Freeman paraphrased the District's trail use policies. He talked about conformity to trail use policies and application of trail use guidelines including physical and social factors used in the assessments. A. Agenda Item No. I a — Adoption of a Use and Management Plan Amendment for the Black Mountain Trail at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve which Currently Has an Interim Designation for Hiking and Equestrian Use Only-, Determine that All Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from CEQA —(Report R-0 5-12 1). M. Manning presented the staff report and answered questions from Board Members. M. Newburn said the trail is usually hiked as a round trip. M. Manning said mountain bicyclists prefer the trail because it is single track. M. Freeman said it is popular because it connects to other trails in the Monte Bello preserve. D. Little commented that he had encountered bicyclists barreling down the trail. He supported the idea of other trails to allow bikes to access the summit. B. Agenda Item No. Ib - Adoption of a Use and Management Plan Amendment for the Ridge Trail at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve which Currently Has an Interim Designation for Hiking Use Only, Determine that All Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from CEQA—(Report R-05-121). D. Vu presented the report and recommendations from the Use and Management Committee and the staff. D. Vu said the reasons to support multiple uses on this trail, even though there is a parallel trail, was that it was more scenic and is single track. C. Agenda Item No. le - Adoption of a Use and Management Plan Amendment for the Zinfandel Trail at Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve which Currently Has an Interim Designation for Hiking Use Only; Determine that All Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from CEQA—(Report R-05-121). M. Sagues outlined staff s and the Committee's recommendations. M. Freeman said he thought the reason that no dogs were allowed was that the trail designations were based on regional considerations. D. Agenda Item No. Id - Adoption of a Use and Management Plan Amendment for the Soda Gulch Trail at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve which Currently Has an Interim Designation for Hiking Use Only; Direct Staff to Meeting 05-26 Page 3 Evaluate Trail Bridges for Equestrian Use; Determine Number of Trees to be Removed Which Would be a Requirement for Multiple Use; Direct Staff to Prepare a Proposal to Expedite Planning and Implementation of a Bay Area Ridge Trail Segment Along Skyline Boulevard; Determine that All Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from CEQA - (Report R-05-12 1). M. Freeman highlighted the staff report and recommendations. He said there were stiles on all tracks discussed at this meeting. He said the grant was not specific on trail use. He did not think the District should be forced to designate trail uses that violate two of its policies. He said there are many other ways for cyclists and equestrians to get from point A to point B without using this trail. This is also a more desirable situation because it is easier to enforce. Public Input Robert Stutz, Los Altos Hills, talked about his experience with Los Altos Hills Pathways and with the Horsemen's Association. Bill Kerns, Los Altos Hills, said he was concerned about opening Rhus Ridge trail to cyclists, and expressed support for staffs recommendations. Another concern was that the trail is very narrow and there will be safety issues and parking problems along Moody Road. Patty Ciesla, Los Altos Hills, commented that staff and committee recommendations were different. She encouraged the District to include Item 3 of the committee's recommendations, but to change "expedite" to "promote and assist." Paul Nam, Cupertino, said he appreciated the excellent trails on District land. He thought the Board had pretty much made up their minds and that was why not many cyclists came to the meeting. He thought the District puts too much emphasis on trail conflicts. He said they could get along if everyone works on it. Regarding restoration of the Christmas Tree Farm area, he said it would be nice if there could be an alternate trail there. He said he was disappointed that Zinfandel Trail cannot be considered for opening as a multi-use trail. He said the Soda Gulch Trail is excellent as it is. He thought that work at ECDM is progressing beautifully and commented on the reports on each trail. He thought there would be less conflict with bikes on narrow, winding trails. C. Britton talked about work that is ongoing and the ideal location for a ridge trail. D. Little responded that implementing the Committee proposal could be as simple as a detailed letter from the General Manager explaining what they are doing and how they think that plan would lead them forward. He felt that going against the Committee's recommendations would subvert the role of Committee. Board Discussion Meeting 05-26 Page 4 N. Hanko commented that this was not setting a precedent and was not violating policy. She did not see why the Board could decide to not support the Committee's recommendation. M. Davey said all recommendations were fully presented. She agreed that that a letter would suffice to tell the Board what the hope is in the future and that this is in the process of being developed. Motions, further discussion,votes: Agenda Item I a: Motion: D. Little moved that the Board find that the recommended actions are categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the staff report; and adopt a Use and Management Plan Amendment to designate the Black Mountain Trail at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve for hiking and equestrian use only. N. Hanko seconded the motion. Discussion: J. Cyr talked about his hikes on the trail. He said that what was before them was whether to make the current situation permanent or keep it interim. He said the recommendation is not to change existing use patterns. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. Agenda Item I b: Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board find that the recommended actions are categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the staff report; and adopt a Use and Management Plan Amendment to designate the Ridge Trail at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve for hiking only. K. Nitz seconded the motion. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. Agenda Item I c: Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board find that the recommended actions are categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the staff report; and adopt a Use and Management Plan Amendment to designate the Zinfandel Trail at Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve for hiking only. M. Davey seconded the motion. Meeting 05-26 Page 5 Discussion: C. Britton explained the difference in the recommendations from the Committee and the General Manager, noting that it related to a decision the county might make in the future. The point staff made at the committee meeting was the fact that if the Board designates this as hiking-only at this point, if the county at some future time wanted to reconsider their point of view they could come back to the District and the Board could change their mind. He said there was a letter from the county in the packet that indicated that they would not be reconsidering it for at least a ten year period. They see that there would probably be a parallel trail at some future date that would make it unnecessary for this to be multi-use. The staff's recommendation is to make it a permanent closure, and that would not preclude reopening the question if the county were to do some master planning in that area. D. Little said the Committee made recommendations that ran counter to staff's or amended them. He thought the Board should respect the work that the Committee had done. He said he could support the General Manager's recommendation because the county will not do anything in the foreseeable future. Speaking as a Committee member, P. Siemens agreed. J. Cyr, who is also a Committee member, said that given the fact that the county will not consider this soon, he would support it as well. Vote: The motion passed 7 to 0. Agenda Item I d: C. Britton said he could write the Board a memo on his plan on the east side of Skyline. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board find that the recommended actions are Categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as set out in the staff report; adopt a Use and Management Plan Amendment to designate the Soda Gulch Trail at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve as hiking only; and direct staff to prepare a proposal to expedite planning and implementation of a Bay Area Ridge Trail segment through properties along the east side of Skyline Boulevard, this to be implemented by a letter from the General Manager as to his intentions. M. Davey seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Little responded on the Committee's position. He said they are hoping that there will be real ridge trail on the east side of Skyline and is satisfied that C. Britton will write a letter regarding his Meeting 05-26 Page 6 plans. He said the interim designation that the Committee voted unanimously for was related to the fact that once they make a permanent decision about a trail, it is very hard to reverse it. They wanted to maintain maximum flexibility. He requested as chair of the Committee that the status remain as interim. Regarding Committee recommendation No. 2, he said he did not intend to propose a full study. He said he would like to encourage the Board to recognize the role and authority of committees in making recommendations and decisions. Amendment to Motion: D. Little moved to amend the motion to maintain the interim status. P. Siemens seconded the motion. Discussion: P. Siemens spoke as a Committee member noting there was not much support from the Committee for opening this section to bicycles. There was some concern that they might want to look at allowing equestrians. He thought the Committee's recommendation 2 was to have staff take a look primarily at the bridge supports and come back next year to finalize it. D. Little said he thought the Committee felt that this trail's highest and best use would be hiker-only. He thought the reason they felt it should remain interim was that they want to have the flexibility, if the eastern side corridor of the ridge trail never becomes a reality, to reopen it to multi-use. He said they made the decision for good reason. C. Britton said any Board Member could bring a change of use to the Board. L. Hassett said if this truly becomes a regional trail the Board would look at that with a very open mind about making the right connections. N. Hanko said she did not want to insult the Committee, but she thought this trail should be hiking-only. She said it did not fit as a regional trail. J. Cyr said that from a physical standpoint, he did not think the trail tread supports any activity beyond hiking. He said there are certain sections of the trail tread where substantial work would have to be done to alter any use. D. Little noted that bicyclists gave much more testimony at the U&M meeting. He reiterated that they should maintain maximum flexibility out of respect for other communities, including cyclists, who want to use preserves. Roll Call Vote on amendment: AYES: J. Cyr, D. Little, P. Siemens NOES: M. Davey,N. Hanko, K. Nitz, L. Hassett The motion failed 3 to 4. Meeting 05-26 Page 7 Roll call vote on original motion: AYES: M. Davey, N. Hanko, K. Nitz, P. Siemens, L. Hassett NOES: J. Cyr, D. Little The motion passed 5 to 2. C. Britton clarified that he meant no disrespect to the Committee or the Board. L. Hassett thanked staff. V. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS J. Cyr: 1. He had enjoyed hiking while the weather was good. 2. He showed an advertisement in the national BMW magazine in which the District's red barn was featured. L. Hassett: 1. He enjoyed Thanksgiving hikes with family members on the Ridge Trail. They encountered two bicyclists who were going at incredible speeds and caused him and a young child to jump from the trail. 2. He will host the South Skyline Association holiday party December 11. 3. There was a great turnout for the Dennis Martin Road information meetings in Half Moon Bay. He said the staff presentations were fabulous. M. Davey: 1. She complimented staff and Committee members for a job well done on the work for this meeting. 2. She said staff provided good information for the Budget Committee meeting held this week. K. Nitz: 1. He said the Budget Committee was conducting the mid-year review. 2. He said there would be a Good Neighbor Policy meeting tomorrow. N. Hanko talked about the Good Neighbor Policy meetings. C. Britton: 1. He announced that the December 7 meeting was cancelled and there would be a regular meeting on December 14. There will be a special meeting on December 20 at the Skyline Field Office. District offices will be closed December 23 to January 2. 2. He had an invitation to the staff holiday party on December 21. 2. He had received notice of an Open Space Authority ribbon cutting on December 3 at Rancho Canada del Oro. M. Newburn introduced and acknowledged the attendance of Stephanie Ferris. VI. ADJOURNMENT At 9:44 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. Roberta Wolfe Recording Secretary