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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19800109 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 80-1 dA. MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT 375 DISTEL CIRCLE,SUITE D-1,LOS ALTOS,CALIFORNIA 94022 (415) 965-4717 Regular Meeting Board of Directors January 9, 1980 375 Distel Circle, Suite D-1 Los Altos, California I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Edward Shelley at 8: 35 P.M. Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Daniel Wendin, Barbara Green, Edward Shelley, Nonette Hanko, Harry Turner, and Richard Bishop. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, Steve Sessions, Charlotte MacDonald, Bill Upson, Stanley Morton, Del Woods, Eric Mart, Kathy Blackburn, and Jean Fiddes. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. November 28, 1979 E. Shelley stated the Board' s consensus that the minutes of November 28 , 1979 be approved as presented. B. December 12 , 1979 E. Shelley stated the Board's consensus that the minutes of December 12 , 1979 be approved as presented. III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS J. Fiddes noted the Board had received a letter, dated January 7, 1980, and supplemental material from Dexter and Valerie Ahlgren of Ahlgren Vineyard, 20320 Highway 9, Boulder Creek, regarding the proposed expansion of Castle Rock State Park and urging the Board of Directors not to support the park's expansion proposed at the November 29, 1979 California Department of Parks and Recreation meeting held in Saratoga. J. Fiddes informed the Board that the District ' s auditors, Deloitte Haskins and Sells, had recommended improvements for the District' s internal financial controls in a letter, dated December 31, 1979. The letter was accompanied by a cover memorandum M-80-5, dated January 7 , 1980, from M. Foster. Herbert A.Grench,General Manager Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Barbara Green,NonetteG.Hanko,RichardS.Bishop,EdwardG.Shelley,Harry A.Turner,Daniel G.Wendin Meeting 80-1 age Two S. Sessions stated that staff had reveiwed the January 2, 1980 letter from The California Native Plant Society regarding the use of invasive exotics in Kaiser Cement Corporation's Revegetation Project and noted that staff would offer sug- gestions and assistance to Kaiser. E. Shelley stated the Board's consensus that the letter be handled at the staff level unless questions or problems should arise that should be addressed by the Board. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA H. Grench requested the addition of an introduction to Special Orders of the Day and an Item 6, Authorization to Fill Vacant Staff Positions, to New Business with Action Requested. E. Shelley stated the Board's consensus that the revised agenda be adopted. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Robert Mark, 724 Cowper, Palo Alto, informed the Board of the current status of the Parks and Renewable Resources Bond Act bill and hoped that the Board would consider and support the bill. R. Mark complimented the staff on the latest issue of Openspace and suggested that future issues focus more directly on the District's land. VI. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY A. Introduction C. Britton introduced Bill Upson who will serve for one year as the District' s Land Acquisition Representative. B. Election of Officers The Board elected the following Directors to serve as officers during 1980 : B. Green, President; R. Bishop, Vice President; N. Hanko, Secretary; and D. Wendin, Treasurer. VII . OLD BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve Access Update S. Sessions provided an update on the access and traffic congestion problem at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve and reviewed report R-80-1, dated Janaury 2, 1980. He noted that the County was currently in the engineering/ environmental impact phase of its park project with plans for the first phase of the park facility, including access from Cristo Rey Drive and two to three parking areas, to be completed by October, 1980. He also stated that staff Meeting 80-1 ge Three was in the process of discussing with the County the use of a small area that would provide parking for six vehicles, as well as reviewing the question of bicycle access at the Preserve. He noted that S. Norton had been working with the Catholic Church on solving the parking problem , and efforts included the possibility of a lease-type arrangement with the Church for parking until the County park facility was constructed. D. Wendin asked for clarification on the question of bicycle access to the Preserve, and S. Norton responded that the signs leading to the Preserve were ambiguous from the point of bike access. R. Bishop suggested that the District install bike racks in the permit parking area or near the Ranger office. D. Wendin noted that he had been opposed to additional signing at the freeway entrance in the past, but that he was now willing to support signing at the freeway entrance stating that pedestrian and bicycle access to the Preserve was permitted. Motion: N. Hanko moved that staff be directed to return to the Board at staff ' s earliest convenience with a recommended sign approach for opening the Preserve. R. Bishop seconded the motion. Discussion: N. Hanko clarified that staff should meet with the Catholic Church prior to returning to the Board with sign recommendations. K. Duffy encouraged a cooperative effort with the Church on the possibility of setting aside a parking area. The motion passed unanimously. VIII. NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. State ' s Plans for Castle Rock and Big Basin Redwoods State Parks H. Grench reviewed memorandum M-80-1, dated Janaury 2 , 1980, and stated that he had asked Mr. Tony Look, Executive Director of the Sempervirens Fund, to review the current plans for Castle Rock State Park. Mr. Look stated his presentation would focus on the Sempervirens Fund' s plans, which originated in 1968, for Castle Rock State Park and noted he could not address the topic of the zone of interest for the park that was developed by the Sacramento planning unit of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. He said the Fund' s goal for 1980 and 1981 for Castle Rock State Park was to acquire the remaining parcels within the park's original boundaries and to move the trail 1/2 to 3/4 miles so it would be in an wilderness area. He re- viewed the map of Castle Rock State Park developed for the Mountain Shadows project, noting that with the exception of Mountain Shadows, the Sempervirens Fund had not changed its priorities in the Castle Rock area and that the Fund was firm in its conviction that the boundary shown on the map was the boundary for which acquisition money would be raised. Meeting 80-1 P, , Four Mr. Look requested that the Board of Directors inform Mr. Russell Cahill of their desire to see the completion of Castle Rock State Park as originally conceived by the State and the Sempervirens Fund. Mr. Look added that a study had been conducted in conjunction with FORUM on Community and the Environment on the areas of difference that had developed between the Sempervirens Fund and citizens living in the Castle Rock area. He noted that differences were intensified when an article was printed stating the San Lorenzo Water District was planning to sell its property to the State for the expansion of Castle Rock State Park and when a zone of interest map, with a numbered priority system, appeared for the Castle Rock State Park area. He stated that this map was an internal planning map developed in Sacramento and not an acquisition map. Marjorie J. Sutton, Executive Director of FORUM, reviewed the study that had been completed during the summer and noted she would send copies of the study to the members of the Board. She noted that some parcels with homes, not just parcels for sale, had been assigned priority numbers on the zone of interest map R. Mark, Chairman of the Sierra Club' s State Park Committee for Northern California, outlined the planning process for State parks and noted that the zone of interest is generally a planning tool and represents a region where external events are expected to impact a park. He distributed copies of Marjorie Sutton' s letter of December 20, 1979 to Mr. Russell Cahill, Director, Department of Parks and Recreation. He noted the Sierra Club supported the suggestions in the letter and stated that the Board of Directors might want to take a similar position of support. Eric Isacson, 15717 Skyline Boulevard, Los Gatos, asked if there was a motion before the Board on the Castle Rock State Park issue. B. Green stated the Board' s consensus that more information was needed before the Board could consider any motion on the support of plans for Castle Rock State Park. Mr. Isacson, speaking on behalf of the South Skyline Association, stated that he was concerned about the District' s involvement in a Santa Cruz County problem and noted that citizens, especially in the Castle Rock area, have had little opportunity to work with State park representatives on the matter of planning for park acquisition, development, and use. He said that citizens were concerned about the traffic overload on Highway 9, the growing accident rate, the need for volunteers to provide emergency services, and the preservation of their community in the face of all the recreationists who were frequenting the area. Meeting 80-1 age Five R. Mark asked the Board to consider having Castle Rock State Park designated as a State wilderness area and suggested that the Board request that the State Department of Parks and Recreation give priority to the Castle Rock State Park planning process. Ronald Chandik, 1697 Orr Court, Los Altos, a property owner in the Skyline area, distributed a letter from Russell W. Cahill to Edward Steffani, Manager, San Lorenzo Water District re- garding the Department of Parks and Recreation's interest in acquiring land owned by the San Lorenzo Water District and a copy of the zone of interest map for Castle Rock State Park. He expressed his concern about the way the State purchases land and the lack of information regarding the State' s plans for Castle Rock State Park. Phillippa Siersema, 141 Aspen Lane, Boulder Creek, noted the differences between the map presented by Mr. Look and the map presented and discussed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation at the November 29 meeting in Saratoga. John Gee, P. O. Box 963 Boulder Creek, President of the San Lorenzo Water District, noted that the water district had never passed a resolution regarding the sale of its land to the State and that representatives from the Department of Parks and Recreation had denied that there was a zone of interest map for Castle Rock State Park, thus creating a feeling of distrust among Castle Rock area residents. Carol Krakauer, 26204 Highway, Los Gatos, informed the Board that she had requested information from the State regarding Castle Rock State Park and its expansion, and the zone of interest map was never included in the material she received. N. Hanko asked if members of the public had any concerns with the original plan for the creation of Castle Rock State Park. E. Isacson responded that a full Environmental Impact Report was needed and that the first point of Marjorie Sutton's letter of December 20, 1979 to Russell Cahill on alternatives to fee simple acquisition should be taken into consideration. T. Look stated that the Sempervirens Fund had not and would not endorse the zone of interest map for Castle Rock State Park. D. Wendin, noting that extensive staff and Board work was needed to handle this issue properly, suggested that staff continue to monitor the issue and that K. Duffy continue to attend meetings relating to Castle Rock State Park. Meeting 80-1 2age Six Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board take no action with regard to either the zone of interest plan or any other plan relating to Castle Rock State Park at this time and that staff be directed to continue to monitor the activities of the State as relating to Castle Rock State Park. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. T. Look stated that the current controversy over Castle Rock State Park could cause matching funds for acquisitions to be withdrawn, and such action could effect the proposed trail system that included parts of Castle Rock State Park. H. Turner requested that staff also report on the effect the Castle Rock State Park issue has on trail links the District has proposed. The Board recessed at 10 :00 P.M. The Board reconvened at 10 : 10 P.M. B. Appointment of Peace officer S. Sessions reviewed memorandum M-80-2 ,dated January 3 , 1980 , regarding the appointment of Robert J. McKibben as a peace officer. Motion: R. Bishop moved the adoption of Resolution 80-1 of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Appointing Peace Officer. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. C. Status of Undedicated District Lands H. Grench reviewed report R-79-39, dated December 27, 1979, and noted that the Fairweather and Bridgeman properties had been recorded on January 4 , 1980. He requested that the Board receive and accept the status report and stated that no further dedication was being recommended at this time. R. Mark asked whether the Board of Directors was prohibited by law from dedicating land and then transferring it to another agency as dedicated park land. S. Norton stated that the Public Resources Code does not make any exception for transfer of land to other agencies, and the Board should assume that a public vote is needed to make a transfer. H. Grench noted that the dedication of land that might be transferred could perhaps have an effect on the land value and not allow an equitable trade. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board of Directors receive and accept the status report, Lands Withheld from Open Space Dedication, attached to report R-79-39. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting 80-1 age Seven D. Authorization to Fill Vacant Positions H. Grench stated that the Budget Committee had been asked to determine current policy regarding the authorization needed to fill vacant staff position. Since the policy question was not resolved, he requested that the Board authorize him to fill the positions of Land Management Secretary and Accounting Specialist and to extend the Drafting Technician position for an additional three months. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board of Directors concur with the recommendations of the General Manager on the authorization to fill vacant positions. K. Duffy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. IX. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS C. Britton announced that P.O.S .T. had received a gift of 525 acres of land that included Windy Hill. C. MacDonald reported on the distribution of the second issue of Openspace and provided the Board with various statistics for the first Openspace issue. S. Norton stated that the case of Agins v. Tiburon which dealt with inverse condemnation had been granted a Supreme Court hearing. He noted that the case was very important for local agencies with zoning powers. X. CLAIMS E. Shelley questioned Claim 535, and S. Norton responded that the claim represented extraordinary litigation services for the past thirteen months. Motion: H. Turner moved the adoption of the Revised Claims C-80-1, dated January 9, 1980. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Xi. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 10 :25 P.M. Xii. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11:45 P.M. Jean H. Fiddes District Clerk CORRECTIONS TO MINUTES OF ICI. ! d - e A. January 9j 1980 B. Green stated the Board' s consensus that the minutes of January 9, 1980 be approved as presented, with the addition of the Revised Claims, C-80-1, which had been inadvertently deleted.