HomeMy Public PortalAbout19780222 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Regular Meeting
Board of Directors
M I N U T E S
February 22, 1978 375 Distel Circle, D-1
Los Altos, CA
I. ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by President Turner at 7 : 38 P.M.
Members Present: Nonette Hanko, Kay Duffy, Harry Turner and
Richard Bishop. Daniel Wendin arrived at 7 :50 P.M.
Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, ion Olson, Craig Britton,
Anne Crosley, Stanley Norton, Del Woods, Cynthia DiGiovanni,
Carroll Harrington and Phyllis Lee.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. January 25, 1978 Minutes
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the minutes be approved as presented.
H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unan-
imously.
B. February 8, 1978 Minutes
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the minutes of February 8 , 1978
be continued to the next regular Board meeting. R.
Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
P. Lee advised the Board that four written communications had
been received: 1) a letter dated February 14, 1978 from the
San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Commission thanking the
Board and staff for the joint meeting held on January 18, 1978;
2) a letter dated February 13 , 1978 from the City Clerk of
Redwood City requesting that the Board make its agenda avail-
able in time for distribution to their City Council on the
Friday prior to District Board meetings; 3) A letter dated
February 14, 1978 from Perusha Obluda regarding the Monte
Bello Open Space Preserve Page Mill Road Area, with additional
material hand-delivered to the Board: and 4) a letter and pro-
posal for use of the Picchetti Ranch winery dated February 3 ,1978
from John Rakich of Cupertino.
Meeting 78-5 Page two
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the draft response to the Clerk
of Redwood City include the offer to send minutes as
well as agendas if requested. R. Bishop seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the draft response to Mr. Rakich
acknowledge his letter and proposal, and advise him
of the Board' s intent to have a brief discussion on
planning for the Picchetti Ranch at the March 8 , 1978
Board meeting. H. Turner seconded the motion. The
motion passed unanimously.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the letter from Perusha Obluda
be referred to District Legal Counsel for a draft of
a reply. N. Hanko seconded the motion.
Amendment: R. Bishop amended the original motion to include
the following: "The draft response to Mr. Obluda' s
letter prepared by Legal Counsel will be presented
to the Board for review prior to mailing" . N. Hanko
accepted the amendment. The amended motion passed
on the following vote: AYES: R. Bishop, N. Hanko,
D. Wendin, K. Duffy; NO: H. Turner.
N. Hanko said she did not feel the Board' s policy on "confiden-
tiality" included written communications directed to the Board
from the public. She advised the Board that she would write
a memo explaining her interpretation of the Board policy in-
volving confidential matters.
H. Grench advised that the letter from P. Obluda had been re-
ceived during packet preparation on Friday. He further stated
that because he was leaving the office at the time he saw the
letter, he was able to give it only a cursory glance and could
not determine whether the writer had intended it for wide dis-
tribution. He said that due to the legal nature of some ques-
tions posed in the letter he made the decision to send it to
District Legal Counsel and Board members only until these
questions could be answered.
IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
H. Turner stated the consensus that the agenda be adopted as
presented; however, if the oral communications portion was
very lengthy, it might be postponed to consider agenda items.
V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Perusha Obluda, 31570 Page Mill Road, Los Altos, referred the
Board to his letter and hand-delivered materials regarding
Meeting 78-5 Page three
District acquisition of the former Burns-Eldridge properties
and related events. He said he did not accept H. Grench's
explanation of how his letter was handled by District staff.
He asked that the 12 "essential questions" he had given to
the Board this evening be answered immediately. He said
the Board should instruct staff to answer questions, without
evasion, regarding California relocation laws. He added that
he felt the District had wasted the taxpayers money through
delaying actions on relocation and through land negotiations
which he believed began two years prior to District acquisi-
tion of the land. He said that former residents were inter-
ested in the portion of State relocation law regarding help-
ing people to build substitute housing as a last resort. He
said there were four demands he felt the Board should consider:
1) Live up to assurances made in Mr. Norton' s letter that the
District would deal with the people remaining on the 150 acres
according to law and the District guidelines; 2) Those people
who were evicted should be reimbursed for expenses related to
court appearances and the evicted family should be compensa-
ted; 3) Formation of a committee made up of Board and staff
and former "Land" residents to begin a dialogue; 4) Instruct
staff to answer all questions openly.
D. Wendin said the Board had tried to approach the problems
of the land community with empathy. He said that it was im-
possible to answer all questions because answering them might
put into record a great deal that could potentially be used
against the District in pending lawsuits. In regard to
establishing a dialogue, he felt some ground rules would have
to be established, but it might be difficult due to the accu-
sations and insinuations that have been made against District
staff and Board.
S. Norton said that in reviewing many of the questions in the
letter, he found them to be argumentative and not necessarily
true. He said that if answering a question was not in the
best legal interest of the District, he would use his judg-
ment as to the extent to which the question should be answered.
Mark Schneider, 1759 Woodside Road, Redwood City, said he
hoped the proposed dialogue could be used as a foundation to
build a relationship in which the District would continue to
preserve open space and the "Land" residents and others
have their rights protected. He said he would attempt to
set up an initial meeting. He said he felt there was much
distrust between staff and Board members. He said that for-
mer Assistant General Manager, Edward Jaynes, is a credit to
the Board who made an act of integrity which probably cost
him something in the public view. He added that Mr. Jaynes
had furnished what he felt to be much information and evi-
dence of wrongdoings. He said he believed original nego-
Meeting 78-5 Page four
tiations for purchase of the property had wasted about
$1, 000 ,000 of the taxpayers money in an attempt to avoid
relocation. He suggested that the current conflict resulted
from the way this acquisition had been handled and that the
Board should deal with past land acquisitions before acquiring
future properties.
Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Oral Communications section
of the meeting be tabled until the agenda item concern-
ing the acquisition of the Stanford property could be
discussed. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion
passed unanimously.
VI. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED
A. Proposed Addition to Monte Bello open Space Preserve
(Stanford Property)
H. Turner relinquished the Chair to K. Duffy for the duration
of discussion of this item and left the room, due to his asso-
ciation with Stanford University.
H. Grench introduced his report (R-78-7) to the Board dated
February 14, 1978 regarding a Proposed Addition to Monte
Bello Open Space Preserve (Stanford Property) . J. Olson
reviewed the use and management recommendations included
in the report. C. Britton presented the terms of the purchase
agreement. H. Grench advised the Board that acquisition of a
�-2 acre portion of the property which lies in San Mateo County
is in conformance with the San Mateo County General Plan.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt Resolution No.
78-7,a Resolution of the Board of Directors of
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Authorizing
Acceptance of Agreement to Purchase Real Property,
Authorizing Officer to Execute Certificate of Accep-
tance of Grant to District, and Authorizing General
Manager to Execute Any and All Other Documents Nec-
essary or Appropriate to Closing of the Transaction
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve Addition - Stanford
Property) . D. Wendin seconded the motion. The motion
passed on the following vote: Ayes: R. Bishop, D. Wendin,
K. Duffy and N. Hanko. Abstain: H. Turner.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt the use and manage-
ment recommendations and the name Monte Bello Open Space
Preserve, Black Mountain Area, contained in the report.
R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed on
the following vote: Ayes: R. Bishop, D. Wendin, K. Duffy,
and N. Hanko. Abstain: H. Turner.
The Board recessed at 9 : 05 P.M. and reconvened at 9 :15 P.M.
Meeting 78-5 Page five
V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (cont. )
Sally- Edgecomb, 21570 Page Mill Road, Los Altos asked why
questions posed by Mr. Obluda and others could not be answered
and why such answers could have legal ramifications for the
District.
S. Norton said that if the question required a factual answer
and did not include matters involved in pending litigation,
it could probably be answered. He said that since there is
pending litigation on the general question of relocation, and
it is not possible to anticipate the answer to those questions
which are still under investigation. He added that the facts
and the law are interpreted differently by the District and
the "Land" people.
H. Turner said it is the Board' s policy to be open, and when
a communication is received and legal matters are not involved,
the Board will respond as appropriate. He said that legal mat-
ters require fact finding. He said where there is more than
one point of view concerning the facts, these matters are usu-
ally decided in court. He said that discussing a particular
point of view regarding facts outside of court can alter the
outcome of a court decision.
William Obermayer, Star Route 2, Box 34119 La Honda, said he
was a neighbor to the "Land" community and witnessed the bull-
dozing of the structures. He expressed concern that the Dis-
trict had participated in the eviction of a family from their
home and the subsequent arrest of others involved. He said
he felt the District is responsible for these people. He
added that although the right of the people to be there was
in question, no one has the right to deal with others in
that manner.
S. Norton noted that the police made a determination that the
people evicted were trespassers.
Mr. Obermayer said it was his understanding that the District
paid for the bulldozers and made the determination that the
house was on the Burns property. He said the map which showed
the house as being on the Burns property was a map furnished
by the District. He added he didn't think the people evicted
were served with proper notice.
Patsy Gustafson said that she would like staff and Board to
explain why they were present for the bulldozing of most of
the other structures on the property, but were absent when
the house of the evicted family was bulldozed.
Meeting 78-5 Page six
N. Hanko said that she was on the property taking pictures
of the structures before they were demolished. She said that
she was at the top of the ridge and saw two police cars and
felt apprehensive about returning to the lower portion of
the property where the bulldozers were operating.
Robin Wesley said that she had spoken with N. Hanko, D. Wendin
and J. Olson on the evening following the eviction. She said
that the three of them expressed concern that the actions
surrounding the eviction had gotten out of hand and that hope-
fully such an event would not occur again. She said that short-
ly thereafter the evicted family moved into a bus on the Eldridge
property and had their utilities turned off. She said it was her
understanding that District staff had approached the individual
who controlled the . water supply and told her that District in-
surance would not cover equestrians from her stables on District
property as long as people were living on the ridge. She said
she feels no one relly felt badly about the evicted family.
Marsha Fentress stated her concern was with the District' s
approach to open space acquisition and how the District spends
the taxpayer' s money. She said that her impression of District
employees in the field was that they acted in a manner similar
to cops. She felt the District should put more emphasis on
innovative education and how the rangers are interacting with
the people on the land.
Alan Bowers asked that the Board make an effort to assist the
evicted family.
William Wheatley asked J. Olson why he was not present when
the family was evicted.
J. Olson said that on three separate occasions he or Chilton
Lee had visited the evicted family and spoken with Dan Steinhagen
in an attempt to explain that the house was on the Burns property.
He said that on the morning of the bulldozing, they again visi-
ted Dan and showed him the location of the house on the map. He
added that the map used was the same map used as a court exhibit,
and both Mrs. Burns and Mr. Eldridge had accepted its validity.
He said that Dan did not believe him or the map so he remained in
the house. J. Olson said that he was not present because he did
not want to witness the eviction and the related chaos.
Steve Weisner, 135 Seale, Palo Alto said that a road had been
built by the bulldozers and a meadow area destroyed.
Michael Kenwood, 820 Palo Alto Avenue, Palo Alto expressed con-
cern over the money spent by the,District for the demolition
of the structures on the site. He said that the money spent
Meeting 78-5 Page seven
on the acquisition of new lands, such as the Stanford property,
could have been used to preserve the "Land" community or to
hire someone to live there as caretakers or gradual demolition
people, and would have been preferable to bulldozing. He stated
that the District should change procedures for acquiring land
so that the public could have more input into such decisions.
Patsy Gustafson asked why the District acquired land that had
structures on it that were serving a useful purpose rather
than acquiring open space with no structures.
H. Turner advised that the Board had recently adopted pol-
icies for land with such structures, which will serve as a
guideline.
Craig Steinhagen said that if someone could have proven to
his brother' s satisfaction that the house he lived in was
on the Burns property, he would have left before the demoli-
tion was to occur.
Dale Oderman said he worked for the Department of the Interior
on topo maps and that Dan Steinhagen had asked for his opinion
as to the location of his house.
J. Olson said he did not doubt the sincerity of Mr. Steinhagen
in regard to his belief that the house was not on the Burns
property. He said that in one discussion Mr. Steinhagen had
indicated someone had told him that the section line began in
Redwood City some 15 miles away. He added that a section did
not have to go back 15 miles to find a survey point to extend
it from.
Marion O'Conner said that during the past month, District Rangers
have on more than one occasion asked her and others the where-
abouts of people connected with the Eldridge property. She said
that she resented these questions and felt it is an invasion of
privacy and represents harassment by District Rangers. She
asked that the Rangers be instructed to discontinue speaking to
her.
M. Schneider said that in regard to the section line Mr. Stein-
hagen had referred to, he recalled that the information had
been supplied to him by D. Wendin at one of the District meet-
ings.
William Wheatly informed the Board that the land where demoli-
tion had been done is eroding. J. Olson said the District had
begun seeding this area to mitigate the erosion.
Meeting 78-5 Page eight
David McConnell said the California Division of Forestry had
told him that the District had an agreement with them that
when the District purchased property all buildings had to be
removed. H. Turner said that there was no such agreement with
CDF and the District.
Rio Burns said that she felt the District staff and Board had
been hypocritical in dealing with the "Land" residents.
Iris Moore said that she wanted the District to admit that there
had been error in dealing with the "Land" community and also that
the District should change its policies regarding the manner in
which the District handles errors. She expressed concern that
the District would buy land and sell it in the future.
S. Norton said that the enabling legislation under which the
District was formed would not allow a sale of land without a
vote of the people.
H. Turner said that the role of the District was a balance of
acquisition and stewardship of the land.
M. Schneider quoted from the Government Code of the State of
California, Section 54950, et. seq. , regarding the role of
a public agency in implementing the wishes of the people whom
they represent.
N. Hanko expressed the feeling that the minutes include remarks
of the public members who had spoken.
H. Turner said that because every District Board meeting was
taped in its entirety, absent Board members would be able to
listen to the tapes and hear the Oral Communications portion
of the meeting verbatim.
VI. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED (cont. )
B. Progress Report on Use and Management of the Los Trancos
Open Space Preserve
J. Olson introduced his report (R-78-4) dated February 15, 1978
to the General Manager regarding Progress Report on Use and Man-
agement of the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve.
N. Hanko stated that the Board would like to see the grazing
plan for the site before a decision is made to graze cattle.
J. Olson referred the Board to a letter from Harry Aine to
the Palo Alto City Council regarding fire protection for the
Palo Alto foothills in which reference is made to grazing.
He said grazing is a fire hazard mitigation measure.
Meeting 78-5 Page nine
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board approve the recommenda-
tion contained in the report regarding establishment
of a perimeter equestrian trail with associated direc-
tional signing and stiles. R. Bishop seconded the mo-
tion. The motion passed unanimously.
C. Progress Report on Use and Management of Costanoan Way
Open Space Preserve
J. Olson introduced his report (R-78-5) dated February 16, 1978
to the General Manager regarding the Progress Report on Use and
Management of the Costanoan Way Open Space Preserve. He reviewed
the use and management recommendations contained in the report.
He said that at this time it is recommended that all policy,
improvement and management recommendations remain as included
in the Use and Management Plan adopted by the Board in 1976.
H. Turner expressed the consensus of the Board that the use and
management recommendations for Costanoan Way Open Space Preserve
continue without change.
D. Addition to Policies Regarding Improvements on District Lands
J. Olson referred the Board to his memorandum (M-78-34) dated
February 16, 1978 to the General Manager regarding Addition
to Policies Regarding Improvements on District Lands. He said
that attached to the memorandum is the Policy on Improvements
approved by the Board on January 11, 1978. He said the recommen-
ded addition to the policy had been added under (4) Improvements
as Income Sources, and dealt specifically with the leasing of
improvements.
N. Hanko said the Committee had determined that the use of the
word "structure" had been appropriate in some cases, and the
word "improvement" in others.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board adopt the recommended
addition to the Policy on Improvements on District
Lands with the following addition: "Generally the
decision to lease an improvement will be made to
optimize special factors related to managing District
lands. . . " K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion
passed unanimously.
E. ABAG Draft Environmental Management Plan
A. Crosley introduced her report (R-78-6) dated February 15, 1978
to the General Manager regarding ABAG Draft Environmental Manage-
ment Plan. She said that the recommendation contained in the
report was that the Board authorize the President to send a let-
ter to ABAG expressing the District' s support for the overall
concepts set forth in the Draft Environmental Management Plan
Meeting 78-5 Page ten
and encouraging ABAG to continue working with local agencies
to prepare a final Plan that is both effective and reasonable
for those who will be affected by it.
R. Mark, 720 Cowper Avenue, Palo Alto, said that the most con-
troversial portion of the plan was the section that deals with
land use controls. He said that land use is probably an area
where the District has expertise regarding the effects of urban
sprawl and perhaps the District should include a discussion re-
lated to land use in the District' s commnets to ABAG.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the President of the Board be
authorized to send a letter to ABAG expressing the
District' s support for the overall concept of the
Draft Environmental Management Plan and further ex-
pressing encouragement to ABAG to continue working
with local agencies to prepare a final plan that is
both effective and reasonable for those who will be
affected by it. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The
motion passed unanimously.
VII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
A. Office Space Requirements
H. Grench reminded the Board that they had requested a staff
report on proposed permanent District office space to be con-
sidered some time in March. He said that this project had
been delayed until after the June election when the outcome
of the "Jarvis-Gann" Initiative would be known.
B. Open Space Conference
C. Harrington told the Board that she had attended the Open
Space Conference held on February 4 and sponsored by People
for Open Space, Sierra Club and Peninsula Conservation Center.
She said that some issues discussed at the conference were:
the Open Space Lands Act, long range plannin, citizen support,
and the importance of regional agencies. She suggested that the
District consider some of these topics as discussion items at
the Annual Goals Workshop.
C. County Trails Subcommittee
N. Hanko said that the trails plan formulated by the County
Trails Subcommittee would be presented to the Planning Policy
Committee for Santa Clara County on February 23. She said that
this plan incorporates the District trail plan adopted as a pre-
liminary plan for the Santa Clara County portion of the District.
She said that the PPC would probably present the plan to the
Board at the next regular meeting.
Meeting 78-5 Page eleven
D. Jarvis-Gann Initiative
S. Norton said that some material had been obtained from East
Bay Regional Park District regarding ramifications of the Jar-
vis-Gann Initiative, which would be made available to Board
members.
E. Wildcat Canyon Trail
J. Olson announced that the Wildcat Canyon Trail at Rancho de
San Antonio Open Space Preserve had been completed.
VIII. CLAIMS
Motion: N. Hanko moved approval of the revised claims (C-78-4)
dated February 22, 1978 , as presented. R. Bishop se-
conded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION
H. Turner said that it was the consensus of the Board to cancel
the Executive Session.
X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 11:15 P.M.
Phyllis Lee
Recording Secretary