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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20090519 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Meeting 09-16 SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT MAY 19,2009 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Nonelle Hanko called the Special Meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. She gave introductory comments and thanked all who were in attendance. She then asked for the Roll Call. Members Present: Nonette Hanko, Jed Cyr, Mary Davey, Larry Hassett, Cecily Harris, Pete Siemens and Curt Riffle. Members Absent: None Staff Present: S. Abbors, S. Schectman, A. Ruiz, D. Sanguinetti, R. Jurgensen, A. Jatczak, M. Williams, K. Lenington, M. Manning, G. Basson, L. Maze, T. Hugg, E. Simmons, C. Cleve, A. Christenson, B. Hsieh, G. Basson, B. Malone The Special Meeting took place at the Alvin S. Hatch Elementary School, 490 Miramontes Avenue, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019. 11. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: Director Cyr moved adoption of the Agenda. Director Hassett seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. 111. Bomm BUSINESS Director Hassett gave opening remarks as the chair of the La Honda Master Plan Ad Hoc Committee, and he said that this is the largest and most comprehensive plan the District has undertaken. He acknowledged all of the departments and staff involved in the preparation of the Master Plan, and he gave special recognition to A. Ruiz. He said the committee members included himself, Directors Davey and Riffle and former Board member Deanne Little. He also acknowledged former District Planning Manager, Matt Freeman, who was in attendance. He Meeting 09-16 Page 2 said that their overall goal was responsible stewardship of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. S. Abbors welcomed the guests and thanked District staff. He read the area-specific mission statement for the coastal protection area. He pointed out that the master plan spans a 30-year horizon and that funding is a key constraint. A. Agenda Item 5—Public Hearing on the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve Draft Master Plan; Receive Comments on the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve Draft Master Plan(Draft Master Plan); Schedule a Second Public Hearing in the Vicinity of the District's Administrative Office(located in Los Altos, CA) to Receive Additional Public Comment, Consider Public Access Option I and Option 2 and Whether to Tentatively Approve the Draft Master Plan—(Report R-09-71) Staff Presentation: A. Ruiz gave a PowerPoint slide presentation. She said the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve Draft Master Plan (LHCOSPDMP)process began July 2004, and she showed the major milestones of the Master Plan process. She also showed a map of the preserve and its relation to other open space lands. K. Lenington reviewed the natural and cultural resource management for the preserve. He spoke about the goals and public input process. He reviewed the parts of the preserve, including information about the incorporation of the Driscoll Ranch property as part of the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve(LHCOSP). He discussed the two Conservation Management Unit areas and what they meant regarding public access. He also reviewed the grazing management and fire land management recommendations. A. Ruiz discussed the public access recommendations and the public comments the District has received regarding allowed uses on LHCOSP. She reviewed the possibility of integrating public access with existing uses, such as grazing. She showed possible uses for the different areas of the preserve, including educational opportunities around the Red Barn area. She discussed and showed slides of improvements to the existing parking area, which will add up to three new parking areas at key locations of the preserve. She summarized the public access and trail use options. Finally, she reiterated that all of the plans would be phased into implementation in four phases over 30 years, and she showed a chart showing the long-term operating costs. Public Comment: Bern Smith, Bay Area Ridge Trail Council (BART), thanked the Board and staff for coming to the coast. He said that BART supports Option 2 because it is more rational and easier for staff to manage. He suggested that a multi-use trail be accessible to the vista point. Jim De la Riva, Foster City, said he supported Option 2 and that it was critical that the Board choose Option 2. He also supported docent-led bicycle rides. Faye Brophy, Los Altos Hills, thanked staff for an excellent document. She referred to livestock on page 82 and offered a clarifying paper. She said that horses are not defined Meeting 09-16 Page 3 as livestock and that horses are not associated with the exchange of diseases with humans. Patty Ciesla, Los Altos Hills, said she was a District docent and bicyclist. She spoke about the long lead-time in scheduling docent-led bike rides and that the District cannot provide a level of docent led rides to the La Honda community and that the most they could schedule is one ride per quarter. She said it was a different experience riding alone compared to riding with a docent led group. She discouraged Option 1 and said it should be a priority to allow bikes to ride along the Ridge Trail. She said the Trail to the Sea should also allow bicycles. She suggested that the District use an Even Day/Odd Day system to allow certain trail users' access on specific days. Mei Xi, La Honda, thanked the staff and Board. She said she and her husband were mountain bikers. She said the neighbors were okay with mountain biker use on the preserve, and she gave a recent bicycle experience she had riding along the road to meet up with a docent led bicycle ride at El Corte de Madera. She said it would be great if bicycles were allowed to ride through the preserve and stay off the roads away from the car traffic. She said she supported Option 2. David Crane, La Honda, said he was a bike user and that he has been following the Master Plan options. He said Option 2 was great and supported having bike access to landmarks on the preserve. Frank McMillan, San Jose, said he was a mountain biker and a multi-use trail user. He said he supports Option 2 and to allow bike access to the vista point. He said he has never had a situation with horses. He suggested that Phase I and Phase II be reversed. He also supported the alternate day suggestions and he gave examples of parks where the alternate day approach roach wo rked. Ross Finlayson, Mountain View, said he was a member of ROMP and said he was glad the District meetingwas on the coast. He said there should re sponsible es onsible bike usage,ae especially in the Driscoll Ranch area of the preserve. He said that the District should not 1 ace emphasis anpercentages an r d reducing bike access p p (J District-wide because over C 5 time the District will get more land. He supported adopting Option 2 with a modification that mountain bikes have access to Driscoll Ranch and the vista point. Mark Tiernan, Milpitas, said his family has owned the Tichenor Ranch for five generations. He said he appreciated the process since the District came to the coast and that he wants to be good neighbors. He said his property was located on both sides of j Highway 84. He thanked the Board for keeping their commitments to the coast. Neil Panton, San Gregorio, said he was president of the San Gregorio Environmental Resource Center. He read a statement to the Board. He thanked the Board and said the District's primary responsibility was for the grazing lease, in addition to supporting the preserve and protecting the resources. He discussed the order of priorities. He said there needed to be buffer zones. He said this was a wonderful, comprehensive plan. Meeting 09-16 Page 4 Craig Haupt, Sunnyvale, said he supports bicycle access, he wants to participate in using the preserve and he supports the alternative day use idea. George Catterwole, San Gregorio, said he was a member of the Coastside Habitat Coalition and that he had concerns for the red-legged frog and California garter snake. He said they should be protected and that the District needed to outline areas and corridors for non-humans. He suggested that there should be a 500 foot setback, and he gave examples. He said the District needed to think about corridors for wildlife. Henry Pastorelli, Los Altos, said he rode his mountain bike two to three times per week. He said he supported what the District is doing. He said he liked the idea of the alternate day access. He said he supported Option 2 and that the District should recognize bike user groups. Lyndall Erb, vice president of the Coastside Horse Council, Montara, said she supported opening up trails to horse use. She spoke about horse trailer parking. She said that she often rides in small horse groups. She said she supported alternative days for bikes. Josh Moore, president of ROMP, Woodside, thanked the Board and said both options showed progress for bike usage. He said there were interesting cultural and geologic areas on the preserve. He said that Option I should allow docent led rides throughout all of the preserve. He said he supported Option 2. He said it had been 10 years since the trail guidelines had been adopted and suggested that these guidelines be updated to increase bicycle access. He said the Conservation Management Units were great. Severo Ornstein, Woodside, asked if there were any plans to connect El Corte de Madera to La Honda Creek. He said he was worried about fire and concerned about exits from the preserve. He asked if grazing would be less intense. He said the District was aware of the needs of the area, but that it needs access to buy or obtain an easement, requiring the cooperation of its neighbors. He expressed concern about over-grazing. He said he was a hiker and that he was in favor of the alternative day approach. Sean Gordon, San Jose, thanked the Board and staff. He said he was a mountain biker. He said he understands the fears people have about bikers and he gave an example of riding with a child. He said he was in favor of Option 2 and the alternative day approach. Joyce Halpin, La Honda, said she was a member of the Los Viajeros Riding Club, the San Mateo County Horse Association, and ETRAC. She thanked the Board for considering all users and she thanked A. Ruiz. She said she supported Option 2 for bike access. She asked about horse trailer parking and she asked for access to Sears Ranch Road. Jerry Pickering, Half Moon Bay, said that bike access was a wonderful way to experience the outdoors. He thanked the Board. He gave examples of where alternative days works well (Tahoe, Henry Coe State Park). He said that dog access is disappearing and said that allowing on-leash dog access would be nice. He said the Board should consider one-way trail access. Meeting 09-16 Page 5 i i Katie Haddox, Skyline, said she participated in horse patrol in San Mateo County and that she was also a bike rider. She suggested one-way use and that bikers and horse users should be directed in the opposite direction. She said that 95%of the time all users get along without any problems. She said that the alternate day approach might be j a problem to enforce. I Board Comments: President Hanko asked about the location of the 2°d hearing and S. Abbors said that the location had not yet been determined, but that it would be on the bayside and that the final meeting would be at the District's Administration office. Director Cyr asked about siltation on existingroad and trail structures. K. Lenin on � said that staff had a road and trail inventory that gave a ranking of high, medium and low for trail sites. He said it could take a few years to remedy the siltation issue. Director Davey thanked the public for attending the meeting. She remarked on the Advisory vote to annex the coastal area and noted that there was no tax issue in the initial annexation, and she asked the audience if they would think about ways to raise money pay to a for the projects ro'ects and to let the District know if they suggestions. had su estions. j Director Hassett expressed concern about being set up for failure, regarding allowing bicycle access. He gave examples of grazing area surface and how much management the District will need to do to maintain trails. He asked for feedback from the bicycle community about that. President Hanko asked about keeping bicycles separate and how staff might propose to keep mountain bikes off hiking trails. A. Ruiz said that they would use signage, brochures, stiles, trail users/patrol and education about trail use. She said mountain bike use was limited to the southwest area of the preserve. i Director Siemens asked how the regional trail might get to the coast if Option 2 is chosen. A. Ruiz said there was a gap between the coast and the property at this time, but that the plan allows for a review every ten (10) to 15 years. Director Siemens said he drove Highway 84 to the meeting and noted that where the Driscoll property ends there are better lines of sight along the road. He said that if a trail connected with Highway 84 that might be a safe way to go. Director Harris asked what alternative day access would look like and she gave some possible examples. D. Sanguinetti said there were difficulties with the alternate day idea. He said the District is unique in that there was not one controlled entrance to any preserve. He said his biggest concern would be compliance and that it may involve more staffing to gain compliance. I Director Riffle asked how it might work if a portion of trail were on an alternate day schedule. D. Sanguinetti said that anything could be done,but staffing levels would need to increase to control the process. Director Riffle asked for staff to check with I i Meeting 09-16 Page 6 other agencies. D. Sanguinetti said that most have a single entrance where people could be turned away. Director Davey asked if there is a conflict between users. She said that based on the comments tonight there are little or no conflicts. She asked if signage would help limit the conflict. Director Hassett said he was lookingforward to the next hearing. g I President Hanko expressed concern about safety for mountain bikers. She said there might be a cross between Option 1 and 2 and said she had looked at an option of a trail ending at Driscoll Ranch. She asked where bicycles go when they leave the preserve and if there is a safety issue. Director Riffle asked staff if some trail alignments are out of District hands. K. Lenington said that the California Department of Fish and Game had concerns about the red-legged frog and California garter snake. He said that they were not permitted to allow use that could harm wildlife and added that the CEQA document would address these issues. President Hanko asked if there were any agreements with funding of a proposal like this. S. Abbors said that the services the District provides in this preserve couldn't affect services on the bay side where the funding comes from. He said that was one reason the planning process is spread over 30 years. President Hanko asked for written documentation from the Good Neighbor Policy and the Coastal Policy regarding funding. President Hanko asked if staff would have answers to all of the questions brought up at tonight's meeting. S. Abbors said they would. The Board received the staff report and presentations and thanked the staff and the j public for sharing their information and comments. i IV. ADJOURNMENT At 9:04pm, President Hanko adjourned the Special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Lisa Zadek, Recording Secretary