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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20090616 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Y Midpeninsula Regional ' Open Space District i Meeting 09-19 SPECIAL MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT JUNE 16,2009 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Nonette 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, B. Malone, A. Duong, S. Sommer, M. Baldzikowski,N. Perez, G. Laustsen, D. Simmons The Special meeting took place at the Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos, III CA 94070. II. ADOPTION OF AGENDA R. Jurgensen told the Board how the public notification was handled. President Hanko thanked people for attending the meeting. She called for a motion to adopt the agenda. II Motion: Director Hassett moved adoption of the Agenda. Director Cyr seconded the III' motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. III. BOARD BUSINESS Director Hassett gave opening remarks as the chair of the La Honda Master Plan Ad Hoc Committee and he stated the goal of the meeting. He acknowledged all of the departments and e 2 Meeting 09 19 Page staff involved in the preparation of the Master Plan, and he gave special recognition to A. Ruiz, the new Planning Manager. 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. Jatczak reviewed the public comment process. A. Agenda Item I — Second Public Hearing on the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve Draft Master Plan; Receive Additional Comments on the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve Draft Master Plan (Draft Master Plan), Schedule a Third Public Hearin at t the District's Administrative Office to Receive Additional Public Comment Consider Public Access Option 1 and Option 2 and Whether to Tentatively Approve the Draft Master Plan—(Report R-09-85) Staff Presentation: A. Ruiz gave a PowerPoint slide presentation. She said the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve Draft Master Plan (LHCOSPDMP) process began in July 2004 and she showed the major milestones of the Master Plan process. She showed a map of the preserve and its relation to other open space lands. K. Lenin on reviewed the natural and cultural resource management for the reserve. ,� g P He spoke about the goals and public input process. He reviewed the parts of the information about the incorporation of the Driscoll Ranch property reserve includingo P � p P Y 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. recommendations and the public comments the A. Ruiz discussed the public access e p p District has received regarding allowed uses on LHCOSP. She reviewed the possibility of integrating public access with existing uses, such as grazing; and 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 improving the existing parking area and the addition of up to three new parking areas at key areas of the preserve. She summarized the public access and trail use options. Finally, she reiterated that all of the plans would be implemented in four phases over 30 years and she showed a chart showing the long-term operating costs. Public Comment: Ken Nitz, Redwood City, said it was a great report and he liked the prioritization within the document. He said that $10 million was a lot of money and that it could be spent better in areas with greater public use such as Rancho San Antonio or the farm area. He said the public safety problem at Fremont Older should be handled first. He suggested using"Z gates to eliminate the need for self-closing gates and he said the fencing in the riparian area should be done by the rancher. He asked if the school parking lot would be used for overflow parking at the Sears Ranch parking area. He said the permit parking should be left as it is. He said he would rather see an interpretive center at Rancho San Antonio because the La Honda location is too remote. He suggested flipping Phase I with Phase II because restoring the water habitat is more important. He said he liked the new parking lot ideas and suggested installing them one at a time. He asked why the Meeting 09-19 Page 3 white barn was not being added to the historical registry. Finally, he said that the CMU � Y should be defined in the document. i Mei Xi, La Honda, said she is a mountain biker and that she supported Option 2 and indicated that she spoke at the May 19 meeting. She asked the Board to consider opening access to bikers at the Sears Ranch area to allow access to Driscoll Ranch and the vista point. She said that complaints sound louder than compliments and she wanted the Board to know that she had a 100%positive experience on District trails. She said she was in favor of the alternate day use access and said that the majority of the biking community would abide if they are educated. She said that creativity may be necessary to keep all user groups satisfied. She said the District could reduce trail maintenance costs on remote trails as bicyclists like the uneven surface. f i Arend Sidow, Palo Alto, hikes and bikes on trails regularly. He said mountain biking is a healthy activity and he enjoys the trails at El Corte de Madera. He said he has had friendly encounters with other users and has experienced no adversarial confrontations. j He suggested making multi-use trails a default in all master plans. He asked why there are no mountain biking only trails. Walter Gloskowski, Belmont, said he was representing SMCHA and LAH. He said he was a horse rider and that he rides at Purisima Creek Redwoods. He said in the past two weeks he encountered situations that could have resulted in serious accidents on single j track trails with bicycles and he said both cases were due to excessive speed on the bicyclists' part. He asked if the road near gate 1 at La Honda Creek could be used to connect it to El Corte de Madera and he suggested adding a horse trail along the road. He suggested requiring a speed limit control and suggested a device to limit speed to 15 m.p.h. Ernst Meissner, Menlo Park, said he was a horse rider and that he keeps his horse near Arastradero and that he rides on many District preserves. He said he works on trail crews and said that all users are able to celebrate the outdoors together. He said that all user groups are aware of each other and look out for each other. He said that many users are unaccustomed to interacting with new user groups. He compared single track trails to wider trails and said that sharing single track trails could cause major problems because certain trails are not compatible with multi-use. He said it is okay to share trails where it is safe to do so. Joyce Halpin, La Honda, said she was representing ETRAC. She said that ETRAC fully supports Option 2 and that she had viewed the road and toured the area, especially the area around the Red Barn, with A. Ruiz. She said she would like to have two rig parking spaces at the Sears Ranch parking lot area. She referred to the pathogen report g and said she contacted experts and was pleased with the result of the report that there were no major pathogens caused by horses. Paul. Wendt, Belmont, said he was a member of the Sierra Club and that he was a lifelong conservationist. He enjoys biking and hiking trails at Purisima Creek Redwoods and El Corte de Madera. He said he was in favor of Option 2 and that he was Meeting 09-19 Page 4 pleased that the District was moving forward with public access and the La Honda Master Plan. Lynn Belingheri, La Honda, and said she is a neighbor of the Red Barn area. She thanked the Board for their good direction. She spoke in favor of dog access and said she knows the necessity for on-leash use. She asked the Board to enlarge the area for dog users around the Sears Ranch access and said it would be beneficial for everyone because it will be a well used area. She said she was also in favor of the alternate day use idea. She said it works well in Washington state and Oregon. i Board Comments: Director Hassett asked about the albino redwood area and asked if there was going to be any additional protection. A. Ruiz said that there would not be any identification of the location on preserve maps and that the area was off road and trail access. The only way to access the site would be by a docent led hike. Director Cyr asked about access to the preserve and if there would only be on-trail access allowed or if people could hike off trails. A. Ruiz said that hiking only can occur on trails. Director Riffle asked if there will be opportunities to update the Master Plan once it is adopted. A. Ruiz said that there will be periodic reviews if new data or information becomes available and modifications are needed. She said she anticipated the review of the plan to be in ten to fifteen years. President Hanko asked if another question and answer sheet would be compiled as a result of this meeting, similar to the May 19 meeting. A. Ruiz replied affirmatively. President Hanko asked staff to look at the trail alignment to have a route to o down to � g v it for hiking only so there would the Driscoll Ranch area and if it is possible to have a trail g y � not be any encounters with bicycles. Director Riffle asked what the difference in cost was between Option 1 and Option 2. A. Ruiz said that the main difference is the operational costs and that the majority of the costs for either option are the up-front costs. There would need to be additional patrol and maintenance costs,but basically the two options cost about the same. Director Riffle asked about wildlife corridors and commented on plans to connect areas and allow wildlife passage. K. Lenington said that there were no large issues regarding connectivity to other preserves and that the master plan does not create a barrier. Director Riffle asked if the trail layout causes a problem regarding corridors and K. Lenington said it does not at this time. Director Hassett asked if there were any problems in switching the order of phase 1 and phase 2, other than cost. K. Lenington said that they would need to look into that to give an adequate answer. Meeting 09-19 Page 5 Director Siemens asked if there was evidence of salmon and steelhead trout. K. Lenington said that steelhead trout were located in all three water sheds and that salmon was located in one. Director Siemens asked if there was low fish population and K. Lenington said there was. Director Siemens asked if it was possible to increase the fish population to historic levels. K. Lenington said that it is a monumental task to restore fisheries to historic levels, but they would look at ways to keep sediment out and look at habitat in creeks and increase habitat components in ponds. Director Siemens asked if the District is constrained by what happens down stream. K. Lenington replied yes, and that it is a very large watershed area with lots of complicating factors. The District cannot do the work alone and will need to develop partnerships with land owners and local groups. Director Davey asked about the possibility of a trail connection between El Corte de Madera and La Honda Creek and if it were possible to have a multi-use trail. A. Ruiz said that currently it was not possible because there was private land separating the two preserves. She said the District will need to work with neighbors to either purchase land or create trail easements and without that happening it would be impossible to connect the two preserves. Director Davey clarified and asked if there was no connection at present. A. Ruiz said that Bear Gulch Road did connect,but it is a very narrow and windy road with steep slopes. Director Davey said it was important to find an easement and asked if there were any willing owners. S. Schectman replied that the Real Property Department staff is actively working with two property owners,but there was no definite timeline. President Hanko commented on the permit parking lot and asked if it were possible for bikes to be driven in and then the cars parked at the Allen Road parking lot to allow access for bicycles in the upper area of the preserve. A. Ruiz said that there were no "bicycles allowed"trails connecting to the permit lot. She said the neighbors along Allen Road are concerned about bikes riding down the road. She did remind the Board that there would be a new parking lot off Skyline Boulevard for El Corte de Madera. Director Hassett said it was the committee's intent to identify a ridge trail connection and its desire to have multi-use trail function. However, it was originally not intended to open the trail to multi-use until there is a connection on both sides. He asked if they could amend that to allow for multi-use if only one end was open. Director Davey asked if there were any prospects to connect trails at the Red Barn. A. Ruiz said that there could be a one-way trail,but no connections were anticipated beyond that at this time. She said the eventual goal was to connect to Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, but that would be a longer-term project. IV. ADJOURNMENT At 8:20pm, President Hanko adjourned the Special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Lisa Zadek, Recording Secretary