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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19850828 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 85-23 IV MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT 375 DISTEL CIRCLE,SUITE D-1,LOS ALTOS,CALIFORNIA 94022 (415)965-4717 REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS August 28 , 1985 I. ROLL CALL President Teena Henshaw called the meeting to order at 7 :34 p.m. Members Present : Teena Henshaw, Edward Shelley, Nonette Hanko, and Harry Turner. Members Absent: Katherine Duffy, Daniel Wendin, and Richard Bishop. Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, David Hansen, Stanley Norton, Jean Fiddes , Del Woods , James Boland, and Doris Smith. II . ADOPTION OF AGENDA H. Turner requested the addition of an item to discuss the sched- uling of a meeting of the Eminent Domain Committee , and H. Grench requested the addition of an urgency item, Amendment to Resolution 85-40 (Provides for Issuance of the Notes for the Hosking Acquisi- tion) , which was necessary in order for escrow to close on the Hosking property. T. Henshaw stated the agenda with the two addi- tions noted was adopted by Board consensus . III . OLD BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED (Items continued from August 14 Regular Meeting) A. Final Adoption of the Revised Use and Management Plan for Thorne- wood Open Space Preserve (Memorandum M-85-118 of August 5 , 1985 and Memorandum M-85-129 of August 20 , 1985) D. Woods reviewed the staff report, and Tom Gano concurred with staff 's current recommendation regarding the parking area. He said Mr. Gano 's concerns regarding drainage would be taken into consideration during design studies for the parking area. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board adopt the revised Use and Management Plan for Thornewood Open Space Preserve in report R-85-36 , with the understanding that staff will return to the Board at the time a suitable road agreement is completed. E. Shelley seconded the mo- tion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . B. Final Adoption of the Use and Management Plan for Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (Memorandum M-85-117 of August 6 , 1985 and Report R-85-40 of July 18 , 1985) To date , only one comment was received from the public, a letter expressing concern over a backpack camp on the Preserve Herbert A.Grench,General Manager Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Nonette G.Hanko,Teena Henshaw,Richard S.Bishop,Edward G.Shelley,Harry ner,A.Tur ,Daniel G.Wendin Meeting 85-23 Page Two and the possibility of fire. D. Woods stated that his response to the letter was that all necessary precautions would be taken, as had been the case for the backpack camp at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, and he made the suggestion that "cold camping" might be used in lieu of camp stoves . E. Shelley asked if the County required permits for camping and D. Woods responded that he had checked with the County at the time the Elkus 4-H Club had asked permission to camp at Purisima and was told that no permits were required by the County. E. Shelley asked if there would be any review by the County before the implementation of the plan. D. Woods responded that there may or may not be, and the necessity for the issuance of a permit would probably be contingent upon the grading plans for the parking area. D. Woods said that it will have to be determined if the Coastal Zone re- quirements will require a permit. He said no major upgrading is being done in the area, and trail construction does not require a permit. E. Shelley responded that the letter writer 's concerns should be taken into account but that there is no one with grea- ter concern for the risk of fire danger than the District. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board adopt the Use and Manage- ment Plan as contained in report R-85-40 and as amended in memorandum M-85-117 . E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . C. Program Evaluation for 1984-1985 Fiscal Year and Proposed Changes to 1985-1986 Action Plan (Memorandum M-85-124 of August 9 , 1985) H. Grench introduced the Program Evaluation report and said that good progress had been made in projects and activities of the various sub-programs . Under the Open Space Acquisition Program, he stated that over 300 acres had been acquired by the District in the second half of the 1984-1985 fiscal year. He noted the District was stalled in the Mt. Umunhum project due to federal procedures. He said there were no substantive changes being recommended for the current Action Plan for Open Space Acquisi- tion. D. Hansen discussed the Open Space Management Program and noted the completion of the Hassler buildings demolition. He said one item had been omitted from paragraph 3 on page 2 of the report and said the following wording should be added to the last sen- tence of the paragraph: " . . .and in overseeing the fence con- struction and site preparation at Los Gatos Creek Park. " He noted that the redeployment of the ranger staff into three sep- arate groups has proved to be both cost and time effective. D. Hansen called attention to the 1985-1986 Key Projects and Activities section on pages 11 and 12 , noted that some addi- tional wording had been added, and discussed the changes . N. Hanko referred to Item 6 of Key Projects and Activities on page 12 and asked when a plan for prescribed burns, particu- larly for baccharis control. D. Hansen responded that staff has been investigating various methods of dealing with the baccharis problem and that consideration is being given to a possible prescribed burn in the spring next year. Meeting 85-23 Page Three D. Hansen reported on the fire the previous evening on the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve near Page Mill Road. Jean Fiddes presented the Public Communications and Governmen- tal Liaison Program report. She said the proposed press tour had been postponed due to the departure of the Public Communi- cations Coordinator in March. She noted there were no proposed changes in the Action Plan. H. Grench reported on progress in filling the Coordinator 's position. H. Grench, reporting on General Management and Program Support, discussed delays in trying to locate new office space and that this item would be a high priority for the remainder of the year. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board accept the program evaluation for the 1984-1985 fiscal year and adopt the proposed changes in the 1985-1986 Action Plan. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . D. Legal Status of Long Ridge Road (Memorandum M-85-121 of Au- gust 8 , 1985) T. Henshaw discussed the history of this agenda item, noting that on April 24 the Board had requested 1) that staff report back to the Board on the use of Portola Heights Road and the District 's responsibility regarding the road; 2) that Legal Coun- sel prepare a legal opinion for the Board on the matter; and 3) that the information be presented to the Board in public session for consideration. S. Norton reviewed the contents of memorandum M-85-121 of August 8 , 1985 . He stated that the question was two-fold: the right of the District to use of the road and the issue of co- insurance. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board accept Legal Counsel 's report. E. Shelley seconded the motion. Discussion: N. Hanko, referring to page 2 , para- graph 1, said the law provides that no unnecessary bur- den be imposed and stated that the Board should be working with residents who have easement to assure a satisfactory agreement. Sandra Touchatt said there had been a misunderstanding and said she did not ask for co-insurance from the Dis- trict, rather for the issuance of a certificate of insurance. Candace Stone, 22400 Skyline Boulevard, La Honda, ques- tioned the content of Mr. Norton 's memorandum, stated that trails on or near the road presented an overbur- dening of the easement, and said that the Portola Heights Property Owners Association would have to hold the District responsible for any accidents on the road. She said that the Association feels that there is strong evidence the District does not own the road and therefore the question of ownership needs to be estab- lished. She added that fire protection is needed and quoted from the Property Owners easement document regarding the Long Ridge Road. Meeting 85-23 Page Four T. Henshaw said that Mr. Norton 's report, should the Board vote to adopt it, will state the position of the Board on the matter and if the Association does not agree with the Board 's position, they could contact their own legal counsel. Mr. Norton stated that he would be willing to discuss the matter with another mem- ber of the bar retained by the Association or one of its members. William Obermayer, 3200 Long Ridge Road, La Honda, said that he felt that the problem of changing the use of the road was not addressed in Mr. Norton 's memorandum. He quoted from an 1891 law regarding change of easement use and from a letter sent by the District to the Prop- erty Owners Association regarding use of the easement. Mark Schneider, 1355 Circle Drive, San Marino, stated he did not see a conclusion in Mr. Norton's memorandum and questioned whether the road could be used as a public trail. Referring to the law quoted by Mr. Ober- mayer, he said that both parties have right to insist that use of an easement remain the same, and said there had been a substantial change when the private road was opened to public use. Mary Steers stated her objection to the Board accepting Legal Counsel 's advice without listening to input from the public. Mr. Norton, responding to Mr. Schneider 's remarks , said his conclusion was stated on page 2 , paragraph 3 : "Thus the District, both as fee owner of the servient tenement and as a governmental authority empowered to regulate the use of its lands , may use and allow the public to use the road in any way 'that does not interfere unrea- sonably with the easement. ' " N. Hanko said she was willing to accept Mr. Norton 's report as it was her conclusion that the Board would not use the road as a trail. W. Obermayer asked if the Board 's acceptance of Mr. Norton 's report included the subject of the liability insurance. T. Henshaw said that the insurance matter would be included in the vote to accept Mr. Norton 's report. The motion passed 4 to 0 . E. Proposed Amendment to Long Ridge Open Space Preserve Use and Management Plan Trail Alignment and Signing (Memorandum M-85-182 of August 22 , 1985) D. Hansen introduced the report and said that staff wanted to continue to make as many portions of the Preserve as possible freely accessible to the public and to sharply reduce conflicts on the use of the road. D. Woods said the preliminary trails plan, which had been out- lined at the previous Board meeing, had generated much discus- sion and had resulted in a trails workshop held August 17 . He Meeting 85-23 Page Five used a wall map to show a revised trails plan, as outlined in memorandum M-85-182 of August 22 , and he stated that a trails contractor is currently in the area and could do a portion of the work within the next month. D. Woods said the old skid road portion of the trail could be opened as part of the volunteer Trail Days program in October. He said another section of trail could be completed next summer when the contractor returns , and this project could also util- ize volunteer work. He said the signing was not addressed at the workshop meeting but was essentially the same as proposed in memorandum M-85-122 . N. Hanko asked if the section of trail proposed on the map for construction in fall 1985 was funded in the current fiscal year 's budget. H. Grench advised that it is not specifically funded in the budget but it could be incorporated into the bud- get. N. Hanko stated that the road is not a good trail , and she proposed that work on the section shown on the map in orange be done this fall and that later trail work avoid use of the road. E. Shelley stated his first concern was safety and he recommended that the section of trail shown on the map in blue be done imme- diately. He said time should be permitted for survey work to be completed and for budget implications to be considered. He said he was comfortable from the safety point of view for temporary use of the road as shown by the red section on the map. Motion: E. Shelley moved the adoption of the modified version of an amendment to the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve Use and Management Plan as reflected on the map attached to the staff report. H. Turner seconded the motion. 7i� Discussion: C. Touchatt said he contacted Portola Heights residents and said that the consensus was that they would like to offer volunteer help to assist the District in building the orange section of trail in or- der to keep people off the road. He asked that the section marked in blue be done at the same time in order to resolve the use conflicts . Joel Hawks of the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Associ- ation said the members of the Association would prefer trails off of the road and said he would write to the members asking that they not use any portion of the paved road. Steve Wolf, Box 322A, Star Route 2 , La Honda, compli- mented staff on listening to the public 's comments at the workshop and asked that the fall Trail Days also include cleaning up downed trees along the old skid road. C. Lekburg, 1509 Mallard Way, Sunnyvale, stated she does not feel Long Ridge Road is unsafe and she objec- ted to the interim closure of the orange section of trail to equestrian use. Pat Chambers, Box 332 , Star Route 2 , La Honda, said the Meeting 85-23 Page Six problem of Devils Canyon needed to be addressed , ques- tioned the safety of trails for equestrian use , and suggested alternative trail routes . He proposed that Griz- zly Flat be posted as the parking spot for Long Ridge Preserve . T. Henshaw asked staff to return with suggestions for signing and the types of action the District could le- gally do to discourage entry into Devil ' s Canyon. Motion to Amend: N. Hanko moved that Item 3 of staff 's report be omitted and that the words "long term" in Item 5 be changed to read "short term (fall) " . T. Henshaw seconded the motion to amend. Discussion: E. Shelley stated he would like to see the orange section completed as soon as possible, but there was no basis as yet to determine if it is feasible. He stated he could perhaps support such an amendment if it were a second priority and contingent upon the availa- bility of resources . N. Hanko asked for a report from staff as to the availability of resources when the re- port returns to the Board. D. Hansen said staff planned to do the blue section in about one month but did not know whether or not the contractor could do the orange section at this time . N. Hanko said she could not sup- port the blue section unless the orange section received adequate priority. She asked that agreement be reached to support both the blue and orange sections and that staff be directed to come back in one month to let the Board know how soon they could implement the orange section, in addition to the blue section. E. Shelley responded that the blue section was a ques- tion of safety where the orange section was not. He suggested that the motion to amend be withdrawn to be replaced with directions to staff to return at the next reading of the proposed amendments to the Use and Management Plan with the feasibility of implementing the orange section this fall. T. Henshaw said she could support the motion to amend provided that the road stays closed until the matter comes back to the Board. She said that she felt the road was not safe from a stability standpoint. E. Shelley called the question on the motion to amend. The motion to amend failed to pass on the following vote ; Ayes - T. Henshaw, N. Hanko Noes - H. Turner , E. Shelley Motion to Amend : H. Turner moved that an eighth item be added to staff 's recommendations in memorandum M-85-182 stating that staff is to investigate the feasibility of implementing the orange section of the trail prior to the second reading of the report. E. Shelley secon- ded the motion. The amendment passed 4 to 0 . T. Henshaw and N. Hanko stated they did not support use road as a public trail. 1�1 � Moti on: H. Turner moved that the Board instruct the President to write a letter of response to the Portola Heights Property Owners Association. The motion was seconded by E. Shelley. The motion passed 4 to 0 . Meeting 85-23 Page Seven T. Henshaw called a recess at 9 :45 P.M. and the meeting recon- vened at 9 :55 P.M. E. Revised Legislative Program for 1985-1986 (memorandum M-85-116 of July 24 , 1985) H. Grench reported on the status of the District 's legislative program. He said the item of most importance was Item 1, AB 13 , which protected the District 's share of property tax rev- enues. He noted that Assembly Bill 2253 , sponsored by the Dis- trict and carried by Assemblyman Byron Sher, has been signed by the Governor. H. Grench discussed the suggested four additions to the legis- lative program which were noted in Items 11 through 15 of the staff memorandum. He said SB 805 and SB 806 were proposed bond acts, noting SB 806 was particularly important because the Dis- trict would receive almost one million dollars under its current provisions . Referring to AB 2020 , N. Hanko said there should be at least a 10 cent per bottle deposit. H. Grench reported on the Urban Greenbelt Bond Act Advisory Task Force that had been set up by the Planning and Conservation League. He said he has attended the Advisory Committee meetings and noted the League is going ahead with plans for a Statewide bond act to protect open space and agricultural lands. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board adopt additions 11 through 15 to the District 's Legislative Program for 1985-1986 . The motion was seconded by N. Hanko. The motion passed 4 to 0 . IV. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS D. Smith stated that the Board had received the following written communications : 1) a letter, dated August 23 , 1985 , from Santa Clara Valley Water District regarding District acreage burned in Los Gatos fire and inviting a $10 ,000 District contribution for the supplemen- tal reseeding program; 2) a press release from Environmental Protection Agency regarding contamination of ground water in the Mountain View area; 3) a letter., dated August 14 , 1985 , from David C. Bomberger of Belmont urging the Board not to limit its right to use of eminent domain; 4) a letter, dated August 15 , 1985 , from Mary Childress of Palo Alto urging the Board to retain its power of eminent domain; discussing work the District has done; addressing regulators on time and density of land use; discussing avoidance of tres- pass and awareness of District land boundaries , and commenting on use of private roads on public land. T. Henshaw directed that the letter from the Santa Clara Valley Water District be placed on a future agenda for Board consideration. Staff was directed to acknowledge the Bomberger and Childress letters. Meeting 85-23 Page Eight H. Turner, referring to the July 24 written communication from Peninsula Open Space Trust regarding Skyline Master Plan implemen- tation, asked what the District 's response had been to the letter. T. Henshaw stated that a sub-committee of the Board had met twice with representatives of Peninsula Open Space Trust, and the contents of the letter had been discussed at length during the second meeting. She said there was no written response to the letter; however, they had received verbal assurance of the District 's commitments . E. Shelley stated that as a matter of policy such letters should re- ceive a written response. V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS C. Touchatt , P.O. Box 254 , Redwood City, suggested that another public workshop be held to discuss the feasibility of the orange section of the proposed Long Ridge trail. D. Woods said that a meeting had just been scheduled to meet the contractor in the area the following morning at ten o 'clock, and members of the public could attend if interested. VI . NEW BUSINESS WITH ACTION REQUESTED A. Resolution of Appreciation to Assemblyman Byron Sher (Memoran- dum M-85-130 of August 21, 1985) Motion: H. Turner moved the adoption of Resolution 85-42 , a Resolution of Appreciation to Byron Sher for his Contin- uing Service to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and its Constituents . E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . B. Proposed Additions to Coal Creek and La Honda Creek Open Space Preserves (Lands of Peninsula Open Space Trust) Report R-85-47 of August 23 , 1985) C. Britton stated that these two parcels had been considered by the Board at the previous meeting when the SB 124 grant appli- cation report was presented. He said that Peninsula Open Space Trust would sell these parcels to the District for the grant amount of $193 ,825 . Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt Resolution 85-43 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpen- insula Regional Open Space District Authorizing Accep- tance of Agreement to Purchase Real Property, Author- izing Officer to Execute Certificate of Acceptance of Grant to District, and Authorizing General Manager to Execute Any and All Other Documents Necessary to Closing of the Transaction (Coal Creek and La Honda Creek Open Space Preserves - Lands of Peninsula Open Space Trust) . H. Turner seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Hansen reviewed the proposed interim use and management recommendations for the two parcels . The motion passed 4 to 0 . Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board tentatively adopt the Interim Use and Management Plan recommendations for Meeting 85-23 Page Nine the Coal Creek Open Space Preserve parcel contained in this report, including naming the property as an addition to the Coal Creek Open Space Preserve, and indicate its intention to dedicate the property as open space. H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . Motion: Hanko moved that the Board tentativ 1 a opt the Int Use and Management Plan ommendations for the La a Creek Open S e Preserve parcel con- '4 tained in thi o , including naming the property as an addition a Honda Creek Open Space Pre- serve, an ndicate its i tion to dedicate this prop y as open space. H. Turne"��seconnded the motion. T motion passed 4 to 0 . , Robert Augsberger of Peninsula Open Space Trust asked for veri- fication that Dr. Weber 's request for recognition be honored in the Use and Management Plan for La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve; D. Hansen answered that it would be. C. Revised Target Schedule for Use and Management Plan Review (Memorandum M-85-181 of August 20 , 1985) D. Hansen discussed some of the projects which have occupied the planning staff ' s time , noting that a significant number of workshops had been held. He noted that some use and management plan reviews would be carried over into 1986. Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board adopt the revised Use and Management Plan Target Review Schedule as contained in the attached chart to memorandum M-85-181. N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0. H. Grench called attention to the fact that these are now called "target" schedules and should be considered as such. D. Proposed Daley Property Addition to the El Sereno Open Space Preserve (Report R-85-45 of August 22 , 1985) C. Britton used the wall map to designate the Daley property, noting it was adjacent to the El Sereno Open Space Preserve. He said the proposed purchase agreement called for a cash pay- ment of $80 ,000 for the 1.22 acre property. D. Hansen stated that staff had done planning studies in the El Sereno area and concluded that Bohlman Road would be one of the better access points to the Preserve for the public . He reviewed the Use and Management recommendations and said acqui- sition of the property would provide the District the potential for expanding public access at the Bohlman Road entrance to the Preserve. He said staff was recommending the property be with- held from dedication at this time. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board adopt Resolution 85-44 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpen- insula Regional Open Space District Authorizing Acceptance of Purchase Agreement, Authorizing Officer to Execute Certificate of Acceptance of Grant to Dis- trict, and Authorizing General Manager to Execute Any and All Other Documents Necessary to Closing of the Meeting 85-23 Page Ten Transaction (El Sereno Open Space Preserve - Daley Property) . E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board tentatively adopt the Interim Use and Management Plan recommendations con- tained in report R-85-45 , including naming the property as an addition to the El Sereno Open Space Preserve , and indicate its intention to withhold the property from dedication. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . E. Setting of Eminent Domain Committee Meeting Date T. Henshaw stated that the consensus of the Board at the Au- gust 14 Regular Meeting was that the next eminent domain discus- sion would be scheduled for Board consideration when a full Board would be present and would be the sole agenda item. T. Henshaw asked N. Hanko to be responsible for establishing a date for next Committee meeting. T. Henshaw said the first date of a Regular Meeting when the full Board would be present was Septem- ber 25 . F. Amendment to Resolution 85-40 (Provides for Issuance of the Notes for the Hosking Resolution (Report R-85-48 of August 28 , 1985) C. Britton stated that some of the notes in the Hosking trans- action were to be assigned to third parties and noted that Bond Counsel had requested that two areas of Resolution 85-40 required clarification. The areas were inclusion of a tax set-aside pro- vision, and clarification of the section of fractionalization and serialization. Motion: H. Turner moved that the Board adopt Resolution 85-45 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Amending Resolution 85-40 Relating to the "Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District 1985 Installment Promissory Notes " (Hosking Ranch Acquisition) . E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . VII . INFORMATIONAL REPORTS D. Hansen stated that two District Rangers had responded to a rescue in Devil 's Canyon on the weekend. T. Henshaw reported that in preparation for the joint meeting on September 18 with the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors , she and H. Turner would be meeting with Supervisor Spier on September 3 to discuss agenda topics for the joint meeting. She stated that the September 11 agenda should include an item in which the Board could discuss subjects it would like included on the September 18 agenda. VII . CLAIMS Motion: E. Shelley moved the approval of revised claims 85-18 . H. Turner seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0 . Meeting 85-23 Page Eleven VIII . CLOSED SESSION The Board recessed to Closed Session at 10 :30 P.M. to discuss land negotiation matters . S. Norton stated that the litigation matters to be discussed fell under subdivisions (b) (1) and (b) (2) of Government Code Section 54956 . 9 . IX. ADJOURNMENT The Board reconvened to adjourn at 11: 10 P.M. Doris Smith Secretary CORRECTIONS TO MINUTES OF AUGUST 28 , 1985 August 28 , 1985 E. Shelley indicated there was no record of a vote for the motion begun on page five and continued onto page six. The Board affirmed the vote had been 4 to 0 . He also stated that the motion begun at the bottom of page 8 and continued on page 9 was repeated in its entirety at the top of page 9 . Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board approve the minutes of August 28 , 1985 as amended. H. Turner seconded the motion. Discussion: K. Duffy questioned the meaning of Candace Stone' s statement in the discussion section of the motion on page three and the Board concurred that it did not refer to multi-car accidents. The motion passed 4 to 0 with K. Duffy and D. Wendin abstaining because they were not present at that meeting.