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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19790314 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) AA_ MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S March 14, 1979 7 : 30 P.M. I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Shelley at 7 : 35 P.M. Members Present: Edward Shelley, Katherine Duffy, Harry Turner, Richard Bishop and Barbara Green. Members Absent: Nonette Hanko and Daniel Wendin. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Jon Olson, Anne Crosley, Craig Britton, Charlotte MacDonald, Del Woods, Cynthia DiGiovanni, Stanley Norton and Phyllis Lee. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes of February 28, 1979 B. Green referred the Board to a motion on page two regarding an amendment to the Land Use and Management Planning Process. She said that on line 3 of the motion, the Resolution No. 79-14 should be changed to "Resolution 79-12" . E. Shelley stated the consensus of the Board that the minutes be approved with this correction. III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS There were no Written Communications at this time. N. Hanko arrived at 7 : 40 P.M. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA E. Shelley stated the consensus of the Board that an item be added to the agenda for consideration of "Cancellation of Regular Meeting, March 28 and Rescheduling of Special Meeting to discuss the Proposed Lease for the Picchetti Ranch Area". V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Robert Mark, 720 Cowper Avenue, Palo Alto expressed concern about Cal Trans no-parking signs posted along Skyline Boulevard near the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve, He said he felt it was the responsibility of the Board to work to protect and improve the natural integrity of such scenic corridors. He added that the chain link fence installed by the City of Palo Alto along Page Mill Road also detracted from the scenic attraction of the area. Meeting 79-6 Page Two J. Olson said District staff has discussed the no parking signs along Skyline Boulevard with Cal Trans staff, and Cal Trans has agreed to remove the signs in front of the Long Ridge property. He said these signs were installed as a result of complaints from area resi- dents about problems associated with roadside parking. He said that in the case of the City of Palo Alto chain link fence, it was the feeling of City staff that the fence is necessary to pre- vent people from entering Foothills park without the knowledge of park personnel and to prevent problem associated with such entry such as illegal camping and fires. He added that District ranger staff does not have the capability to police these areas if the signs on Skyline and the fence along Page Mill were removed, B. Green suggested that District staff contact Cal Trans to find out whether they had specifications for installation of signs along scenic corridors. VI. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY H. Grench introduced Charlotte MacDonald, the District's new Public Communications Coordinator. VII. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED -A. Status of Hassler Health Home Property and Edgewood State College Site. H. Grench introduced Report No. R-79-10 , dated March 9 , 1979 regarding the Status of Hassler Health Home Property and Edgewood State College Site. He recommended that the Board 1) continue to delay signing an agreement for State Land and Water Conserva- tion Funds for the Hassler property until the results of the assess- ment District petition drive are known, and 2) approve the sources of funding in Section 2 of the report and the attached detailed funding plan for the Edgewood State college site and forward these, under the President' s signature, to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and Parks and Recreation Commission for their consider- ation. H. Turner told the Board he had met with San Mateo County Super- visors Lyon and Bacciocco and Parks and Recreation Commissioner, Jo Schreck. He said that both supervisors although favorable about the acquisition of the Edgewood property, did not feel they could support the use of County General Fund money for this acquisition. He said the Supervisors plan to discuss with the Director of the Park and Recreation Department the possibility that the major portion of funds for acquisition could come from the proposed public golf course on the site. He suggested that if the Board approves the recommendations contained in the report, that the word "General" be struck from "San Mateo County General Fund" at the bottom of page two. R. Bishop told the Board that the citizens group for the assess- ment district had met and the petitions are being circulated. Meeting 79-6 Page Three He told the Board that in order to look at the western portion of the Hassler property, he would conduct a tour of the site on Saturday morning, March 17. He urged Board members, staff and public to attend. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the recommenda- tion to 1) continue to delay signing an agreement for State Land and Water Conservation Funds for the Hassler property until the results of the assessment District petition drive are known, and 2) approve the sources of funding in Section 2 of the report and the attached detailed funding plan for the Edgewood State college site and forward these under the President's signature, to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and Parks and Recreation Commission for their consideration. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unani- mously. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve striking the word "General" from "San Mateo County General Fund" listed as a source of funds in Section 2 of report No. R-79-10. B. Green seconded the motion. The mo- tion passed unanimously. B. Approval of Lease Agreement with the Investment Corporation of Philadelphia and Allen and Company for Christmas Tree Farming on Monte Bello Open Space Preserve . C. Britton reviewed report No. R-79-8 dated March 8 , 1979 regarding Approval of Lease Agreement with the Investment Corporation of Philadelphia and Allen and Company for Christmas Tree Farming on Monte Bello Open Space Preserve. He told the Board that as a con- dition of the sale of this property, the District must lease back to the Seller approximately 20 acres for a Christmas tree farm. He said that a proposed agricultural lease agreement and corres- ponding resolution must be approved by the Board ; however, several areas of the lease are still being discussed with the Seller, so that Board approval would have to be delayed until such time as an agreement could be reached. He said that escrow on this parcel is scheduled to close on March 22, 1979. He added that if details of the lease could not be resolved, he would recommend that escrow be extended. Some of the points still under consideration by the Seller and the District include: 1) Seller wishes to add sentence on page 2 , item 4b to indicate that current Christmas tree farm operation complies with approved agricultural practices. 2) Seller wishes to combine item Db. 5 on page 3 with item 7a on page 4 , which regard the condition of the property at the end of the lease term. 3) Seller wishes to have more specific outline of pro- posed recreational trail discussed in No. 9d on page 3. Meeting 79-6 Page Four 4) Page 8 item No. llb is blank due to Seller' s uncertainty regarding "public trail" liability. 5) Seller wishes to further consider insurance require- ments outlined on Page 9 item No. 12 . B. Mark said he felt the public should have access across the lease area from Skyline Boulevard unless some sort of perimeter access is available. J. Olson pointed out two alternate trail routes on the lower por- tion of the property. C. Britton added that public use of this area would raise the question of increased liability. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board give staff the authority to negotiate with the Seller on the lease items discussed. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimous- ly. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board schedule a Special Meeting for Tuesday, March 20 at 7: 30 p.m. for the purpose of considering the negotiated agricultural lease agreement; further giving the President of the Board the authority to cancel the meeting if the lease has not been final- ized at that time and giving the General Manager the authority to approve the lease agreement at a later date if a Board quorum is not available. B. Green seconded the motion. Discussion: S. Norton said that the proposed Resolution attached to the report could be adopted by the Board at this time, to become effective at the time the lease docu- ment is approved. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board adopt Resolution No. 79-15, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Approving Lease Agreement for Christmas Tree Farming (Monte Bello Open Space Preserve/ Philadelphia Investment Property) . N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board approve the interim use and management recommendations contained in the report. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. VITT. NEW BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Review of Use and Management of Planning Area III (Los Trancos and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves and Thornewood. ) J. Olson introduced report No. R-79-9 dated March 9 , 1979 regarding Review of Use and Management of Planning Area III (Los Trancos and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves and Thornewood) . He recommended Meeting 79-6 Page Five that the Board approve the supplemental use and management recom- mendations included in the report for each of the sites in Planning Area III. He told the Board that concurrence with the recommenda- tions in the report did not imply a Board decision to allocate funds for plan implementation at this time. He said that higher priority projects would probably be included in the budget for the coming fiscal year. Bob Mark said he felt the signing system at Los Trancos Open Space Preserve is confusing. He said that equestrians often use trails marked for .hiking. He added that the trails at the site are fun to hike in spite of the signing problem. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board approve the supplemental use and management recommendations included in report no. R-79-9 for Los Trancos and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves and Thornewood. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Not-So-Annual Regional Park and Open Space District Conference. H. Grench introduced memorandum No. M-79-47 dated March 7 regarding the Not-So-Annual Regional Park and Open Space District Conference. He recommended that the Board schedule a Special Meeting on April 7 in Marin County to enable Board members to attend the conference. He said that the primary discussion topic would be legislation and other responses to problems created by Proposition 13. He add- ed that the conference time and location would be announced at a later date. Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board schedule a Special Meeting for April 7, 1979 in Marin County for the Not-So-Annual Regional Park and Open Space District Conference. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unani- mously. C. Cancellation of Regular Meeting, March 28/Scheduling of Special Meeting to Discuss the Proposed Lease for the Picchetti Ranch Area. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board cancel the Regular meeting scheduled for March 28 and schedule a Special Meeting for March 31 at 9 : 30 A.M. at the Picchetti Ranch Area. K. Duffy seconded the motion. Discussion: E. Shelley told the Board that the purpose of this Special Meeting is to review the proposed lease for the winery at the Picchetti Ranch and to obtain further public input regarding its use. He added that the Board would not approve the lease at this meeting. The motion passed unanimously. IX. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. District's Volunteer Program H. Grench referred the Board to memorandum No. M-79-49 dated Meeting 79-6 Page Six March 9 , 1979 regarding the District 's Volunteer Program. He explained that this item was a continuation of Board discussion following the approval of the Volunteer Coordinator Contract ap- proved at the meeting of February 14 . E. Huggins told the Board that as a result of an article which appeared in the March 4 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle regarding the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, use of this site had increased significantly. She told the Board that currently there are 30 to 35 docents in class who will be leading hikes on District sites this spring and summer. She suggested that these docents could represent District "presence" on sites such as Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve and Los Trancos to give the District a higher level of visibility and to monitor how much use a particular site is receiving. She further suggested that docents could ask questions of site users and other volunteers could compile data on District constituents who use these sites. R. Mark suggested that the Board attempt to identify current site users who may be willing to aid the District in evaluating use levels and problems on District sites. X. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS A. H. Grench told the Board that as a result of passage of SB 31 the District could receive up to $603,500 in State surplus funds in the current fiscal year. He added that he had attended the Senate Local Government Committee where SB 186 ( the new "bail-out" bill) had been considered. He said the committee had voted to increase the overall allocation of funds for enterprise and non-enterprise districts from $200 to $300 million. B. H. Grench told the Board he recently attended the Environmental Fair held at Fort Mason in San Francisco. He said the local Environmental Volunteers had an exhibit at the fair and sug- gested that the District might contribute to the fair next year. C. J. Olson told the Board that the Picchetti Ranch Area has been nominated by the State Department of Parks and Recreation for National Register designation. D. J. Olson told the Board that a fence is being constructed at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve by the St. Josephs Seminary staff, He said the fence will extend from the underpass at 280 to the bridge at the Preserve and is expec- ted to be completed in approximately one month. E. J. Olson told the Board that one rare and one endangered vegetative specie had been discovered on the Edgewood State college site, He said this discovery may preempt certain types of development on the site, Meeting 79-6 Page Seven F. E. Shelley told the Board that he recently attended a showing of the slide presentation entitled "The Wheeled Locusts" . He said the presentation provided an objective view regarding effects of off-road vehicles and their environmental impact. He said that the show was impressive because of the photogra- phic expertise of its producers and accompanying music. He urged anyone who has an opportunity to see it and suggested that perhaps the District might want to co-sponsor the slide presentation for the benefit of more of its constituents. G. J. Olson advised the Board that staff had been contacted by City of Cupertino staff regarding fencing required to enclose the Voss Pond area. He said that District staff had previously offered to recomrend donation of 400 feet of surplus chain link fence to the Evergreen Resource Conservation District for this purpose. He told the Board that when the Conservation District and the City of Cupertino finalize the plans for this area District staff will return to the Board for authorization to donate the fencing. XI. CLAIMS Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board approve the revised claims list (C-79-05) dated March 14 , 1979 . H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 10 :45 P.M. to discuss Land Negotiations. XIII. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11 :55 P.M. Phyllis Lee Recording Secretary i I i A. Minutes of March 14 , 1979 D. Wendin reminded the clerk of Bob Mark's requested addition of a sentence to be reflected- in the March 14 minutes which was recorded in the April 11 minutes. B. Green stated the consensus that the minutes of March 14 be approved as corrected. _ I I I