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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19750122 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) r � Meeting 75-2 MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S January 22, 1975 745 Distel Drive Los Altos, CA I. ROLL CALL President Duffy called the meeting to order at 7 : 33 P.M. 4 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 four persons. II. 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. III . ADOPTION OF AGENDA H. Grench asked that Urban Service Area Boundaries be discussed under Old Business Not Requiring Action. K. Duffy stated the consensus that this was acceptable. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no oral communications at this time. V. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS There were no written communications. VI . PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Black Mountain Open Space Preserve H. Grench referred the Board to his memorandum (M-75-16) dated January 15, 1975, which recommends adoption of a resolution Meeting 75-2 Page two to authorize the District' s legal counsel to take whatever ac- tions might be necessary to acquire the remaining interests in the Black Mountain Open Space Preserve, including the use of the power of eminent domain. He said he believed the acquisi- tion of the remaining interests was key to the District' s open space program. He added that negotiations would continue in the hope of reaching an agreement. S. Norton advised that a demurrer had been filed on behalf of the District in the suit entitled Alan S. Ligda, et al. v. Mid- peninsula Regional Park District, a Public District, et al. He said there was no decision at this time as to whether a con- demnation action would be filed as a separate action. D. Wendin said the adoption of the proposed resolution would be the final step of the Board in its efforts to acquire the Black Mountain Open Space Preserve. K. Duffy opened the public hearing at 7 : 45 P .M. Mr. Robert Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto, said he supported the adoption of the resolution by the Board in order to acquire the remaining interests in the Black Mountain Open Space Preserve. K. Duffy closed the public hearing at 7 : 47 P.M. Motion: N. Hanko moved adoption of Resolution No. 75-1, a Reso- lution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District, Finding and Requiring that the Public Interest and Necessity Require the Acquisition of Certain Properties for Public Use, to Wit, for Pub- lic Park, Recreation and Open Space Purposes, Describ- ing the Properties Necessary Therefor and Authorizing and Directing its Retained Legal Counsel to Do Every- thing Necessary to Acquire All Interests Therein (Black Mountain Open Space Preserve) . K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. VII. OLD BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION A. Agenda for Goals Workshop K. Duffy suggested the Board consider items of special interest they might want discussed under the five main categories to be covered at the February 2, 1975 Goals Workshop, and then choose moderators for each of the categories. It was agreed that par- ticipants at the Workshop would bring their own lunches and that the District would supply beverages. Following discussion, the Board members agreed on the following agenda: Meeting 75-2 Page three (9:45) Coffee (10: 00) Introduction - H. Grench (10: 05) Land Acquisition Review Short-term Financial Management Acquisition Policies (11: 00) Governmental Liaison Review Future Directions Board Involvement (12: 00) Lunch (1: 00) Land Management Land Use Maintenance and Patrol Trails Relationship to Overall District Program Recess (3: 00) Public Communications District Visibility Newspaper Advertising of Elections and Meetings Two Term Limit Conflicts of Interest Fundings of Candidates ' Statements Future Directions (4 : 00) Administration Board-Staff Relations Long-term Financial Strategies (5: 00) Adjournment The following discussion leaders were chosen by lot: Land Acquisition - Daniel Wendin Governmental Liaison - Katherine Duffy Land Management - Nonette Hanko Public Communications - Barbara Green Administration - Edward Shelley VIII. OLD BUSINESS NOT REQUIRING ACTION A. Master Plan of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District H. Grench introduced his memorandum (M-75-13) dated January 14 , 1975, regarding the revised Draft of the Master Plan Policy Statements submitted by the Board' s Subcommittee. The memo advised that some policy statements, particularly trails and agriculture, might be discussed further at the upcoming Febru- ary 2, 1975 Goals Workshop. N. Hanko said she was impressed with the excellent work of the Subcommittee, and suggested the Trails Task Force might be interested in reviewing the policies regarding trails. Meeting 75-2 Page four Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Master Plan Policy Statements Draft, as amended, be referred to the Trails Task Force for comments. D. Wendin seconded the motion. Motion to Amend: D. Wendin moved to amend the motion to add "recognizing that Acquisition Policy No. 1, under Trails, was not recommended by the Subcommittee to be the policy of the Board, but was put forth for discussion purposes only. " N. Hanko said the amend- ment to her motion was acceptable. The motion, as amended, passed unanimously. Following discussion by Board and staff members and L. Anderson, the following changes in the Master Plan Policy Statements Draft were adopted by consensus of the Board: Outline of Acquisition Policies, Page 1: Under V. OPEN SPACE FOR SCENIC PRESERVATION, item B should be changed from "VIEW FROM SCENIC HIGHWAYS" to "VIEW FROM SCENIC ROADS AND HIGHWAYS" Under IX. OPEN SPACE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, items A through E should reflect the following order: A. AIR QUALITY B. WATER QUALITY C. GEOLOGIC HAZARDS D. FIRE RISK E. FLOODING (I.) OPEN SPACE FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURAL VEGETATION, Page 2 : In paragraph two, line three, the phrase "by unregulated logging and grading" should be changed to "by logging, grading, " . (II.) OPEN SPACE FOR THE PROTECTION OF WILDLIFE, Page 3: In paragraph one, line one, the word "inestimable" should be changed to "intrinsic" . ( III.) OPEN SPACE FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION, subcategory C. WILDER- NESS EXERIENCE, Page 7: Under Acquisition Policy No. 1, the policy should read "THE DISTRICT WILL ACQUIRE, THROUGH PURCHASE AND DONA- TION, LAND OR RIGHTS IN LAND TO PROVIDE FOR THE WILDER- NESS EXPERIENCE. " ( IV.) OPEN SPACE FOR GUIDING URBAN FORM, Page 9: In paragraph one, line ten, an "s" should be added to the word "regulation" to change it to "regulations" . Meeting 75-2 Page five In paragraph one, line six, the phrase "by careful plan- ning, proper land use regulations and the phased exten- sion" should be changed to read "by careful planning and proper land use regulations, and by the phased ex- tension" . (V. ) OPEN SPACE FOR SCENIC PRESERVATION, subcategory B. VIEW FROM SCENIC HIGHWAYS, Page 11: The subcategory heading should be changed from "VIEW FROM SCENIC HIGHWAYS" to "VIEW FROM SCENIC ROADS AND HIGHWAYS" . In paragraph one, line five, the words "against deface- ment" should be eliminated. In paragraph three, line three, the word "billboards" should be changed to "roadside advertising" . Under Acquisition Policies No. 1, line one, the words "ACQUISITION OF" should be changed to "ACQUIRING" . Under Acquisition Policies No. 1, line three, the words "ROADS AND" should be inserted between "SCENIC" and "HIGHWAYS" . Under Acquisition Policies No. 2, line three, the words "ROADS AND" should be inserted between "SCENIC" and "HIGHWAYS" . (VII . ) OPEN SPACE FOR THE PROTECTION OF AGRICULTURE, Page 14 : In paragraph two, lines one and two, the phrase "that agricultural areas with prime qualities for production should be identified" should be changed to read "that lands with value for agriculture should be identified" . In paragraph three, line two, the words "and other agri- cultural lands" should be inserted between the words "orchards" and "within" . Under Acquisition Policies No. 1, line one, the words "ACQUIRE, THROUGH PURCHASE AND DONATION, " should be changed to read "CONSIDER ACQUIRING" . (VIII. ) OPEN SPACE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MINERALS, page 15 : It was noted that a typographical error made it appear that this category was numbered "III" . The category is "VIII" . Meeting 75-2 Page six (IX. ) OPEN SPACE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, Page 16 : It was noted that a typographical error made it appear that this category was numbered "VIII" . The category is "IX" . It was decided that the five subcategories under this heading should be regrouped as follows: A. AIR QUALITY B. WATER QUALITY C. GEOLOGIC HAZARDS D. FIRE RISK E. FLOODING It was agreed that the heading "Summary" should precede the final paragraph before the Acquisition Policy to clearly separate it from the previous five subcategories. The Board agreed that trails and agriculture should be discussed in greater detail at the Goals Workshop on February 2. K. Duffy suggested the Board reconsider a previous report on urban open space of regional significance at that time. The Board also agreed to give further attention to the question of whether or not there are many orchards left which are economically viable. E. Shelly said he thought salt ponds should be considered a type of farm as far as open space value was concerned. L. Anderson and D. Weden verified that the County and other agencies defined "highway" to, -include rural -roads. H. Grench said he thought it was important to stress the District' s willingness to accept gifts of land in a few categories such as "View from Scenic Highways" and "Geological and Topographical Features" , even when they did not have other significant open space values. D. Wendin disagreed, stating he would prefer that all categories repeat the same language as in the first acquisition policy statement. H. Grench showed the Board members several maps which had been colored in to reflect information contained on computer printouts regarding the importance of lands within the District under the different open space categories. He explained that staff had experimented with three-color and six-color maps to determine which would be more readily understood. D. Weden advised that the District' s Master Plan brochure would use three shades of green. The Board agreed that the use of three colors was appro- priate. Meeting 75-2 Page seven H. Grench distributed to the Board a Master Plan Composite Survey sheet to be filled out by assigning points to different open space categories in order of their importance in the directors' opinions. He explained the information would be helpful to the Master Plan consultants in determining how much weight should be given to the open space categories. The Board was asked to .return the composite survey no later than Wednesday, January 29, to the District office. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (continued) Ms. Diana Miller, Los Altos Hills Councilwoman, distributed a questionnaire to the Board which she said had been circulated to Los Altos Hills residents for their opinions on possible actions by the Los Altos Hills Town Council, including a 62-acre parcel of land owned by the Palo Alto Unified S&hool District. N. Hanko suggested the Town of Los Altos Hills consider a study on the costs of development versus the cost of maintaining property for open space use. VIII . OLD BUSINESS NOT REQUIRING ACTION (continued) B. Costs for Newspaper Advertising of Board Meeting Agendas H. Grench referred to his memorandum (M-74-185) dated December 19, 1974, which listed the costs of advertising Board meeting agendas in various newspapers. K. Duffy stated the consensus that this matter be considered at the February 2, 1975 Goals Workshop. C. Changes in Rules of Procedure H. Grench advised the Board that the next regularly scheduled Board meeting was February 12, 1975, also a day when the Dis- trict office was officially closed. He suggested the Board might want to consider a policy for the scheduling of Board meetings when such meetings occurred on holidays. He noted that the public and press might be unable to obtain informa- tion on the day of a meeting if it were an official District holiday. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the meeting of the Board of Direc- tors which was regularly scheduled for Wednesday, February 12, 1975 be cancelled. E. Shelley seconded the motion. Discussion: The Board agreed to decide whether or not to cancel the February 12, 1975 Board meeting at the Goals Workshop on February 2, 1975. The motion was withdrawn. Meeting 75-2 Page eight H. Grench advised the Board that Mr. Peters ' proposed changes in the Rules of Procedure were in the Board members' meeting folders. He referred to his memorandum (M-74-19) dated Janu- ary 17, 1975, which suggests the Board study the proposed changes and form a subcommittee to draft the details of the changes. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the proposed changes in the Rules of Procedure be studied and placed on the agenda of a future Board meeting at the discretion of the President. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. D. Urban Service Area Boundaries H. Grench said it appeared that a compromise was being worked out as the result of meetings between Los Gatos and the County regarding Los Gatos' request for an extension in its Urban Service Area boundary. He said the County had hoped Los Gatos would withdraw its request to have a large piece of remote, in- corporated area included in the Urban Service Area request, but it did not appear that Los Gatos would do so. H. Grench said it L was his opinion that the compromise was not enough, and that the Urban Service Area boundary extension should only include those areas near Los Gatos which are already urbanized. He said he would like direction from the Board whether to urge LAFCo to approve extension to the urbanized areas only, and asking Los Gatos to return to LAFCo next year for any further requests. i N. Hanko said it was important that Los Gatos realize that by including this land in their Urban Service Area, the District' s interest in the area was substantially reduced. K. Duffy said LAFCo should be encouraged to act on the basis of the five-year growth definition of an Urban Service Area. Action: K. Duffy stated the consensus that H. Grench be direc- ted to continue discussions with LAFCo, Los Gatos and Santa Clara County to explain the concerns of the Dis- trict, and that any further action be taken at H. Grench' s discretion. IX. NEW BUSINESS REQUIRING ACTION A. Resolution Authorizing Signing and Endorsing Checks and Other Instruments (Wells Fargo Bank) Motion: D. Wendin moved adoption of Resolution No. 75-2, a Resolution Authorizing and Endorsing Checks and Other Instruments (Wells Fargo Bank) . B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting 75-2 Page nine B. Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District Establishing Financial Instrument Signatories of the District for Santa Clara County Accounts Motion: D. Wendin moved adoption of Resolution No. 75-3 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpenin- sula Regional Park District Establishing Financial Instrument Signatories of the District for Santa Clara County Accounts. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. N. Hanko advised that, as a result of her presentation to the League of Women Voters on what made the Midpeninsula Regional Park District a "special" special district, Mr. Diridon had stated that he would probably not include the District in his plans to consolidate special districts within Santa Clara County. She said the League indicated it would strongly sup- port the Midpeninsula Regional Park District from being con- solidated. X. CLAIMS Motion: N. Hanko moved acceptance of the revised claims (C- 75-2) dated January 22, 1975. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed on the following vote: AYES - K. Duffy, N. Hanko, E. Shelley and D. Wendin; ABSTAIN - B. Green. XI. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 11: 55 P.M. to discuss land negotiations. XII. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 12: 05 A.M. Anne Cathcart Crosley Administrative Secretary II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of January 22, 1975 Motion: N. Hanko moved approval of the minutes of January 22 , 1975, with the following change on page nine in the paragraph beginning "N. Hanko advised. . . " : . "N. Hanko advised that, as a result of her presentation to the League of Women Voters on what made the Midpeninsula Regional Park District a "special" special District, Mr. Diridon had stated that he was not intending to include the District in his plans to consolidate special districts within Santa Clara County because of the Dis- trict' s truly regional nature and po- tential of extending across County boundaries into San Mateo County. She said League members indicated support of the Midpeninsula Regional Park District. " K. Duffy stated the consensus that the minutes of January 22 , 1975 be approved as amended.