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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19750108 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) ?ting 75-1 'Moor i MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S January 8 , 1975 745 Distel Drive Los Altos, CA I. ROLL CALL Vice-President Duffy called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 P .M. Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Barbara Green, Nonette Hanko, Edward Shelley and Daniel Wendin. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Edward Jaynes, Jon Olson, Anne Crosley, Stanley Norton, Carroll Harrington and John Melton. Audience of three persons. II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Board agreed to postpone approval of the minutes of Decem- ber 11, 1974 until later in the meeting. III. ADOPTION OF AGENDA In response to a question from D. Wendin, K. Duffy advised that the matter of costs of advertising Board agendas, which had originally been scheduled for this meeting, had been post- poned to a future meeting since it tied in with two other pend- ing items, relating to election costs and two-term limits. K. Duffy stated the consensus that the agenda be adopted as pre- sented. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS II� Mr. Jeff Barnes, 2025 Fallen Leaf Lane, Los Altos, said he had some questions regarding the route and costs of the proposed Stevens Creek Park Chain. D. Wendin advised that the Board had recently appointed a study committee from the Trails Task Force to look into possible trail routes along Stevens Creek as well as projected costs of implementation. K. Duffy added that Tony Look, the Chairman of that committee, could answer Mr. Barnes ' questions. A. Crosley advised that she would place Mr. Barnes on the Stevens Creek mailing list. i ZI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Board agreed to amend the minutes of January 8, 1975, on page four, paragraphs 2 and 3, by inserting the sentence "S. Norton said this was unclear. " at the end of the second paragraph, and eliminating the third paragraph. K. Duffy stated the consensus that the minutes of January 8, 1975 were approved as amended. I -- i Meeting 75-1 Page two V. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS H. Grench advised the Board that copies of a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Don LaPierre, dated January 1, 1975 , with a petition signed by persons opposing a Stevens Creek Park Chain, had been placed in the Board members ' meeting folders . IV. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY A. Election of Officers The following Board members were elected as officers for 1975: Katherine Duffy - President Edward Shelley - Vice President Barbara Green - Secretary Nonette Hanko - Treasurer VII. OLD BUSINESS NOT REQUIRING ACTION A. Urban Service Area Boundaries H. Grench advised the Board of the action taken by LAFCo at its meeting of January 2 , 1975 , when it considered requests from cities for changes in Urban Service Area boundaries. The changes requested by Los Altos Hills were approved. He said it did not appear that the Los Altos Hills' request conflicted with the District' s program. LAFCo also approved the "adjust- ment" requested by Cupertino which added an approximately 50 acres (owned by Kaiser-Permanente) to the Urban Service Area. LAFCo considered the addition "logical" , he said. He stated that it did not seem advisable to oppose the change, particu- larly because the area was already incorporated. He said that Cupertino has expressed interest in receiving District input on its hillside planning. He said it appeared that much of the undeveloped land in the hillside areas belonged to the Catholic Church, and other land is located near the Stevens Creek Reser- voir. He suggested he and K. Duffy keep track of the hillside planning of Cupertino and report to the Board accordingly. K. Duffy said she had taken a tour of the hillside areas, and was gratified to see the lower densities suggested in the pro- posed ordinances. She added that the hillside plans were now being studied by the Planning Commission. In answer to a question from E. Shelley, S . Norton advised that LAFCo could reduce an Urban Service Area if it chose to. Meeting 75-1 Page three H. Grench said the City of Mountain View had asked for a sub- stantial change in its Urban Service Area boundary of about 1,075 acres. Approximately 1,050 acres of this lies north of Bayshore. The City of Mountain View maintained it would have better control over development if the land were located in its Urban Service Area. It plans to zone the area commercial open space, with uses compatible with Shoreline Park. H. Grench said it did not appear that Mountain View's plans for the land would be incompatible with the District' s program. LAFCo approved the request. H. Grench advised that Los Gatos ' request to expand its Urban Service Area by approximately 5, 000 acres was continued by LAFCo to its February 5, 1975 meeting. Los Gatos said it wanted to exercise greater control over the use of this land, since it felt the County had approved some development which Los Gatos did not like. LAFCo also suggested there be further meetings between the County Planning Department and Los Gatos. The County Planning Department suggested that LAFCo designate some of the area which Los Gatos is concerned with as Non- Urban Reserve Area, that LAFCo continue the matter to its Feb- ruary 5, 1975 meeting while the County and Los Gatos continue discussions. H. Grench suggested that he and K. Duffy continue monitoring the progress of this matter. He said it appeared that LAFCo was not willing to grant Los Gatos its full request. In response to a question from N. Hanko, H. Grench said he understood that the Non-Urban Reserve Area designation meant the area was close to the Urban Service Area, although not within it, and was thought to be appropriate for future rural development, i.e. , 2 1/2-acre-minimum residential. S. Norton advised that LAFCo may be concerned that Los Gatos would plan no better than the County, and therefore is reluc- tant to relinquish its control over the 5,000 acre area. K. Duffy stated the consensus that the District continue its interest in monitoring the Urban Service Area boundary change requests. B. Conflicts of Interest Legislation N. Hanko referred the Board to a memorandum (M-75-4) dated January 6 , 1975, from S . Norton regarding the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Prop.9), and said she would like to have an opportunity to study the memorandum before placing it on the agenda for Board action. She also said she had been in touch with the Fair Political Practices Commission and was expecting a return call from a staff member. She suggested it would be beneficial to receive input from a League of Women Voters study scheduled for completion in March. Meetin Meeting 75-1 Page four S. Norton suggested the District might want to review the policies adopted by other agencies before adopting its own. D. Wendin said it appeared to him that special districts can adopt policies more or less stringent than other agencies , according to Proposition 9 . S. Norton said this was unclear, and that it did not appear that either the Board of Supervisors or the Fair Political Practices Commission could approve or disapprove whatever policies the District adopted. K. Duffy stated the consensus that this item be agendized for a future meeting. N. Hanko asked that Mr. Robert Debs' letter of December 11, 1974 be summarized for the minutes of this meeting. Mr. Debs urged the Board of Directors to take whatever action neces- sary to amend Proposition 9 so that special districts are included in its provisions. He suggested that the District' s Legal counsel be asked for an opinion regarding special dis- trict responsibilities under the Proposition 9 legislation. He praised the District for its accomplishments to date in its efforts to preserve open space land for the residents of Santa Clara Valley. VIII . NEW BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION A. Educational Assistance Program H. Grench referred to his memorandum (M-74-174) dated November 25, 1974 , which outlines the proposed administrative policies for educational assistance for District employees. He noted the Basic Policy of the District states that "the District will employ a highly capable and professional staff and provide them with the facilities and resouces needed to run an effi- cient and responsible organization. " In keeping with this phil- osophy, he recommended adoption of the Educational Assistance Program, and authorization of a $500 allocation from the "mis- cellaneous" budget category for this purpose. He emphasized that this budgeted amount would not cover situations in which the employee was required to take a course by the District for the proper execution of his or her duties as an employee of the District. In the event an employee is required to take a course, the expenses involved in that kind of a situation would auto- matically be reimbursed and could come from the "miscellaneous" budget category. A. Crosley said examples of courses which benefit the Adminis- trative Secretary would include - Principles of Public Admin- istration, State and Local Government, and environmental courses. Courses which a Land Manager might take include Management of Natural Resources, Natural History, etc. Meeting 75-1 Page five J. Melton said assistance under this program would be consid- ered educational assistance; any course that is required by the District would be considered job training. Motion: D. Wendin moved that $500 be allocated from the "miscellaneous" budget category for the 1974-75 fiscal year for educational assistance, and that the policies for administration of Educational Assistance Program contained in M-74-174 be adopted by the Board. N. Hanko seconded the motion. Discussion: K. Duffy suggested policy No. 10 be clarified. D. Wendin said he would include the words "the budget allocation is distinct from that for required courses" in his motion. N. Hanko said she would accept the change. The motion passed unanimously. E. Shelley asked if the work "voluntarily" could be placed after the words "if he or she leaves . . . " in policy No. 8 . H. Grench said that would be a good idea. The Board agreed to the change. IX. CLAIMS D. Wendin moved adoption of the revised claims (C-75-1) attached as presented. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed on the following vote: AYES - K. Duffy, N. Hanko, E . Shelley and D. Wendin. ABSTAIN - B. Green, because of claim No. 858 . D. Wendin asked if the Rules of Procedure would be on the next Board meeting agenda. K. Duffy advised that W. Peters was presumably preparing a report for the Board on this subject. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (continued) Mr. Roger Haynes of Leslie Salt Co. introduced Mr. Lloyd Hans- burger, his replacement as Leslie Salt' s representative to the District. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (continued) K. Duffy asked that the sixth paragraph on page five of the minutes of December 11, 1974 be amended to read as follows : K. Duffy noted there was much land in that area in the Urban Service Area boundaries which would probably not be developed within five years. " K. Duffy stated the consensus that the minutes be accepted as amended. Meeting 75-1 Page six X. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 9 :30 P. M. to discuss land negotiations. XI. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11:50 P.M. Anne Cathcart Crosley Administrative Secretary