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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19800910 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Y -.ing 80-19 A. WL Aff ,WL 'moor J=is MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT 375 DISTEL CIRCLE,SUITE D-1,LOS ALTOS,CALIFORNIA 94022 (415) 965-4717 Regular Meeting Board of Directors M I N U T E S September 10 , 1980 I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by President Barbara Green at 7 :31 P.M. Members Present: Katherine Duffy, Daniel Wendin, Barbara Green, Edward Shelley, Nonette Hanko, and Richard Bishop. Member Absent: Harry Turner. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, Steven Sessions, Charlotte MacDonald, Del Woods, Jean Fiddes, and Stanley Norton. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. August 27—, 1980 Motion: N. Hanko moved the adoption of the minutes of August 27 , 1980. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS J. Fiddes indicated there were no written communications. IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA H. Grench requested the addition of Special Orders of the Day and an item, Change in Picchetti Lease Parameters, under Old Business with Action Requested. B. Green stated the revised agenda was adopted by consensus. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no oral communications. VI. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY Ellie Huggins from the Peninsula Open Space Trust (P.O.S.T) showed DeWitt Jones ' slideshow featuring P.O.S.T. ' s Windy Hill area. VII. OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Location of Parking Lot at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve S. Sessions reviewed report R-80-50, dated September 4 , 1980 , re- garding an alternate location, Area L, for the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve parking lot. He noted that staff was recommending that the District proceed with Area G as the location of the parking lot until a determination was made by the Palo Alto City Council, and if the Council did not approve Area G, then staff should return to the Board for approval to locate the parking lot in Area L. He stated that Area L was on the Monte Bello side of Page Mill Road,and the entire parking lot, as laid out at this time, was in San Mateo County, but an expansion of the proposed 30 car parking area would cross over into Palo Alto and Santa Clara County jurisdictions. He added that, although Area L' s visual impacts from Monte Bello Ridge were not favorable, its location on the Monte Bello side of Page Mill Road and its potential for good surveillance made it an acceptable location. Herbert A.Grench,General Manager Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Barbara Green,Nonette G.Hanko,Richard S.Bishop,Edward G.Shelley,Harry A.Turner,Daniel G.Wendin Meeting 80-19 ge Two E. Shelley asked if plans for a parking lot at location L would have to be submitted to the Palo Alto Planning Commission. S. Sessions responded that plans did not have to be submitted to the Commission . N. Hanko stated she had previously suggested that the District follow the course recommended by the Palo Alto Planning Commission and locate the parking lot in the riding ring area of the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve. She questioned why a new parking lot location, which had not been considered previously, was being discussed. D. Wendin responded that he still wanted to have the parking lot located in Area G, but he felt the political realities with the City of Palo Alto would not allow the District to locate the parking lot in Area G. He said the parking lot should be on the Monte Bello side of Page Mill Road,and therefore, he favored Area L over the riding ring area. He stated his intent to move later in the discussion that if the Palo Alto City Council did not approve location G for the parking lot, the Board favored location L, subject to official adoption by the Board, and he noted it was not the intent of the Board to have the Monte Bello parking lot located in the riding ring area. N. Hanko stated the District should pursue the parking lot plan recommended by the Palo Alto Planning Commission and noted that the Planning Commission' s two major objections to Area G, visual intrusion on a natural scenic area and scarring of an undisturbed area, were not resolved by -the new proposed location. She said that,if the District proceeded with the new location for the parking lot, Palo Alto would conclude that the District was trying to circumvent the City' s site and design controls. She requested that staff be directed to prepare a schematic plan for a parking lot in the riding ring area and submit the plan to the Palo Alto City Council for consideration and indicate that Area L was sug- gested as an alternate parking lot location. D. Wendin stated he would continue to support the Monte Bello development plan only if the parking lot was located on the Monte Bello side of Page Mill Road. Motion: D. Wendin moved that the District withdraw its application as currently before the City of Palo Alto and direct staff to prepare an application which has a trail network designed around lot L and submit as much of the application as necessary to the City for approval. E. Shelley seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Wendin stated his reasons for making the motion noting that, since the Palo Alto representative on the Board, N. Hanko, and Mary Gordon did not support location G, the lot would never be approved by the City of Palo Alto, and because of limited staff time, the District should proceed with the development plan. E. Shelley agreed with D. Wendin' s assessment of the political reality of the situation, and K. Duffy stated she could not support locating a parking lot in the riding ring area or on the McNiel pro- perty, and therefore favored the alternative location L. The motion passed by the following vote: AYES: K. Duffy, D. Wendin, B. Green, E. Shelley, and R. Bishop. NOES: N. Hanko. Meeting 80-19 Page Three B. Change in Picche -i Lease Parameters S. Sessions MUM Unaz Lne or Picchetti Ranch use pro- posals which were adopted by the Board on August 27 , 1980 needed to be changed to indicate that the minimum leasehold area to be consi- dered would be 5- acres, rather than 40± acres, and that the 60± acres for possible vineyard land or compatible agricultural use should be increased to 100± acres. He noted this was a technical correc- tion in terms of acreage. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board concur with the change to be made in the parameters for the Picchetti Ranch proposals. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed unani- mously. S. Sessions reported the District had received good press coverage on the lease of the Picchetti Ranch area and said staff had received approximately eight calls from individuals interested in leasing the area. VIII . NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Renewal of Contract with Coordinator of Volunteer Programs S. Sessions reviewed memorandum M-80-65, dated September 4 , 1980, regarding the renewal of an employment agreement with the District' s Coordinator of Volunteer Programs, Kathy Blackburn. He noted the only substantive changes from last year' s contract were a change in the Coordinator ' s title and a flat monthly compensation schedule of $733. 00 for services rendered. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board authorize the General Manager to enter into the contract agreement with the Coordinator of Volunteer Programs for the 1980-1981 fiscal year. K. Duffy seconded the motion. Discussion: R. Bishop said he was very pleased with the way K. Blackburn had completed her job during her first year with the District. H. Grench stated that K. Blackburn had been unable to attend the evening' s meeting, but would be reporting to the Board in the near future on the various volunteer activities during the past fiscal year. The motion passed unanimously. B. Date for Program Evaluation Workshop H. Grench reviewed memorandum M-80-64 , dated August 29 , 1980, and requested that the Board officially set the date and time for the Program Evaluation Workshop. Motion: B. Green moved that the Board schedule the Program Evaluation Workshop for Saturday, September 20, 1980 from 9: 00 A.M. to 12 :00 P.M. at the District office. D. Wendin seconded the motion. Discussion: N. Hanko noted that if there were items intro- duced at the workshop which needed further discussion, they could be placed on the agenda of a regular Board meeting. The motion passed unanimously. IX. NEW BUSINESS WITH NO ACTION REQUESTED A. Signing Along Skyline Boulevard S. sessions reviewed report R-80-49, dated August 28 , 1980, regarding the types and proliferation of traffic signs along Skyline Boulevard. He noted that Cal Trans was the agency responsible for signing along Highway 35, that District staff had been working with Cal Trans and the Counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo to reduce the number of signs, to replace some "No Parking" signs with time-restricted parking signs, and to replace larger "No Parking" signs with smaller signs, and that Cal Trans had reported that it might take Meeting 80-19 Page Four several years to have a sign more aesthetically suited for a scenic corridor approved by the State. He added that residents along Skyline Boulevard had successfully lobbied to have the "No Parking" signs installed and that he did not know if the State had ever considered the placement of "No Parking" signs on a scenic corridor highway. N. Hanko suggested that it might be helpful to refer to the plans adopted by Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties for the scenic corridor when discussing the sign issue. D. Wendin stated he did not feel that it was completely infeasible for the matter to be addressed quickly at the State level by making appropriate contacts. H. Grench suggested the involvement of the District's Legislative Consultant in Sacramento. Robert Mark, 725 Cowper, Palo Alto, stated Cal Trans had been lobbied from only one side to install the "No Parking" signs, that he felt it would be efficient to work through the District' s legislative advocate, and that he felt the Sierra Club would probably support the District in this endeavor. Motion: D. Wendin moved that staff be directed to make appropriate contact in Sacramento to determine if the State will at- tempt to solve the problem of replacement of existing "No Parking" signs with signs appropriate to a scenic corridor. R. Bishop requested that D. Wendin include in his motion that staff also be directed to work toward a very substantial reduction of the total number of signs along Skyline Boulevard and the substitution, if space allowed, of "Limited Parking" signs for "No Parking" signs. D. Wendin stated he would not include R. Bishop' s request in his motion. The motion was not seconded. Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board direct staff to work through appropriate avenues in Sacramento to attempt to obtain a reduction in the total number of signs along Skyline Boulevard, to replace "No Parking" signs, where appropriate, with "Limited Parking" signs stating the hours when people could park, and to get a better looking sign. N. Hanko seconded the motion. Discussion: R. Mark stated he was encouraged by R. Bishop' s motion and that he felt the District should be involved in the issue of signing along a scenic corridor. Discussion centered on the priorities involved in R. Bishop's motion and to the portions of the scenic corridor involved. R. Bishop stated the priority for action was : 1) to reduce the number of signs; 2) to install time-limitation parking signs where appropriate; and 3) to work toward a sign more fitting for a scenic corridor. He stated that the area of concern for the reduction of signs and the new sign design was the Skylonda to Saratoga Gap portion of the scenic corridor and that the area of concern for the replacement of "No Parking" signs with "Limited Parking" signs was portions of the scenic corridor adjacent to District property. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting 80-19 Page Five R. Bishop stated staff members should use their own discretion on timing of appropriate action, and D. Wendin requested that staff report on the matter' s progress in approximately two months. X. INFORMATIONAI REPORTS N. Hanko reported on possible gift of land from Cal Trans that could provide for a bike path between Dumbarton Bridge and Marsh Road. C. Britton stated he would be meeting with Cal Trans of- ficials to discuss the gift and related District responsibilities. S. Sessions stated work was progressing on the construction for the Rancho San Antonio County Park. S. Sessions noted staff had not yet received authorization from Santa Clara County to place a directional sign on Prospect Road to direct people to the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. K. Duffy noted directional signs were needed after the entrance to the golf course and near the last green, and the Board agreed by consensus with K. Duffy' s statement that staff should place two signs in appropriate places to direct members of the public to the Preserve. E. Shelley stated he had taken the bus tour, organized by the Committee for Green Foothills, as a review of the proposed Santa Clara County General Plan and asked if District representatives had been asked to comment on the open space element of the plan . H. Grench responded that he had information on the plan and asked if any Board members were interested in reviewing the plan. E. Shelley and N. Hanko volunteered to review the plan, and B. Green appointed them as an ad hoc committee with the concurrence of the Board. S. Sessions, in response to a request made by N. Hanko at the August 27 , 1980 Board meeting during the discussion of the Picchetti Ranch parameters, reported that a section of barbed wire fence had been installed at the start of the trail leading from the pull-off parking area on Stevens Canyon Road just prior to the August 27 meeting to prevent off-road vehicles from entering the property. He added the fencing was a temporary solution until a hiking stile was installed. XI. CLAIMS Motion: N. Hanko moved the approval of the Revised Claims , C-80-16 , dated September 10, 1980. B. Green seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board recessed to Executive Session at 9 :00 P.M. XIII. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11:35 P.M. Jean H. Fiddes District Clerk t 1 CORRECTIONS TO MINUTES OFF I II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. September 10, 1980 D. wendin requested that the word "application" in his motion he ide a was ed t 0 "Plan" since t i at the bottom of Page Two be Chang P i to create a trail network plan around parking lot L and submit as much of the plan as required to the City of Palo Alto. B. Gree n st ated d thF,, revised minutes of September 10, 1980 were approved by consensus. i