HomeMy Public PortalAbout19870211 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 87-03
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MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FEBRUARY 11, 1987
MINUTES
I. ROLL CALL:
President Richard Bishop called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 P.M.
Members Present: Daniel Wendin, Teena Henshaw, Edward Shelley, Nonette
Hanko, Gerry Andeen, and Richard Bishop. Katherine Duffy arrived at
7 : 35 P.M.
Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, David Hansen, Jean Fiddes , Mary Hale,
Stanley Norton, Del Woods, Mary Gundert, Alice Cummings, Carleen Bruins,
John Escobar, Dennis Danielson, Michael Foster, and Cecilia Cyrier.
II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES
January 28 , 1987
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the minutes of January
28 , 1987 . T. Henshaw seconded the motion.
Discussion: D. Wendin requested confirmation of the date set
for a tour of District lands for Santa Clara County officials.
H. Hale said that May 2 was the chosen date; D. Wendin stated
that he would not be able to attend. The motion to approve the
minutes passed 5 to 0 with E. Shelley abstaining because he was
absent from the meeting.
III. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
C. Cyrier stated that the Board had received the following written
communications:
1) a letter, dated January 27 , 1987 , from James Dozier, 180 Second
Street, Los Altos, written on behalf of LAROAR (Los Altos Residents
Opposed to Access Road) requesting District support, or indication
of no position, of LAROAR' S proposal to close St. Joseph Avenue under
Highway 280 to all but emergency, County and District staff vehicles.
2) a letter, dated January 27 , 1987 , from Dick Mallory, 2787 Moorpark
Avenue, San Jose, stating that allowing bicycles on the Jones Trail
will endanger runners and hikers.
D. Wendin recommended that the last paragraph in the draft response to
Mr. Dozier be modified to read: as I believe your proposal directly
affects their land and future plans . " The Directors concurred with
R. Bishop that the draft response expressed their views and should be sent.
R. Bishop stated the consensus that staff should respond to Mr. Mallory' s
letter.
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
There were no oral communications.
Meeting 87-03 Page two
V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
R. Bishop stated that the agenda was adopted by Board consensus.
VI. BOARD BUSINESS
A. Final Adoption of the Revised Use and Management Plan for Russian
Ridge Open Space Preserve, Except for Grazing Considerations (Report
R-87-30 of February 2 , 1987)
D. Hansen reveiwed the issues of access, circulation, and signing
that had been raised at the January 28 meeting and indicated the
changes to the new and revised Use and Management Plan recommendations.
K. Duffy stated that she considered the ridge an appropriate place
for dogs and that she would like to see the issue included in the
Use and Management Plan. D. Hansen stated that staff planned to
return to the Board during the summer with a report on dog use on
District preserves.
R. Bishop stated that he would like to see K. Duffy' s request con-
sidered by the Dog Committee within the overall dog program. E. Shelley
said that he did not believe it wise to consider dogs on the ridge
area until the grazing issue was resolved. N. Hanko said that as a
member of the Dog Committee she would see that the issue was discussed
when reviewing the overall dog program.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Use and Management Plan be amended
to include a sentence stating that the preserve may be con-
sidered for dog use. T. Henshaw seconded the motion.
Discussion: D. Wendin said that he thought it inappropriate
to raise the dog issue at this time, and E. Shelley said
that the recommendation should be referred to the Dog Com-
mittee. R. Bishop said that the issue should not be pre-
judged. N. Hanko asked that the Russian Ridge neighbors
be informed if the Dog Committee considers the Russian Ridge
Preserve for dog use so that they could provide input.
The motion failed to pass on the following vote:
Ayes: T. Henshaw, K. Duffy, and G. Andeen.
Noes: E. Shelley, R. Bishop, D. Wendin, and N. Hanko.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt the Revised Use and
Management Plan for Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve,
except for the grazing considerations as given in report
R-87-30. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed
7 to 0.
B. Final Adoption of the Revised Use and Management Plan for Long Ridge
Open Space Preserve (Report R-87-28 of February 3, 1987)
D. Hansen reviewed the staff report and discussed the issues that
had been raised by the Board and neighbors at the first meeting. He
said that he had met with Candace Stone on February 11 regarding the
Meeting 87-03 Page three
proposed electric gate at the intersection of Skyline Boulevard and
Portola Heights Road, and that it appears to be a workable project.
He said that power would probably be brought in via an underground
cable from a pole directly across Skyline Boulevard and that C. Stone
would show him the final plans when available.
In response to E. Shelley' s inquiry as to how long the permit system
would be in effect for the former Panighetti property, D. Hansen said
that the lease-back of the building area would expire August 1987 .
K. Duffy stated that the map distributed to members of the public
needed to identify clearly the exact location of parking at Grizzley
Flat parking area and that a trail is not directly across from Char-
coal Road. D. Hansen responded that the map given to the public
properly identifies the parking area and that a trail crossing will
be built this spring and then reflected on the map.
D. Wendin requested that staff notify Santa Cruz County that the
District is interested in the hearings related to road name changes
within the Portola Park Heights subdivision.
Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board adopt the Revised Use and
Management Plan for the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve as
given in report R-87-28 . N. Hanko seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7 to 0 .
Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board adopt the Policy Regarding
Private Use of Emergency Access Road Over the Long Ridge
Open Space Preserve as given in report R-87-28 . T. Henshaw
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
C. Final Adoption of the Interim Use and Management Plan for the Scho-
field, Howatt and Miller Property Additions to the Sierra Azul Open
Preserve, Mt. Umunhum Area (Report R-87-29 of February 3 , 1987)
D. Hansen stated that no public comment had been received on the pro-
posed Interim Use and Management Plan since the Board considered the
acquisition.
E. Shelley asked for a ruling by District Counsel on the rights of
Board members and their specific guests to access over private roads
to lands such as the ones in this acquisition. R. Bishop stated,
after Board discussion, that Legal Counsel should provide a written
response in the form of an agenda item.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt the Interim Use and
Management Plan as outlined in report R-86-131 , including
naming the properties as additions to the Sierra Azul Open
Space Preserve, Mt. Umunhum Area, and indicate its intention
to withhold the properties from dedication as public open
space at this time. T. Henshaw seconded the motion. The
motion passed 7 to 0.
Meeting 87-03 Page four
D. Open Space Acquisition Policies as Lands Relate to Sphere of Influence
and Annexation Policies (Report R-87-30 of February 4 , 1987)
D. Wendin said that the Committee was recommending additional wording
at the end of the last sentence in the Sphere of Influence section
of the Committee report reading with notification of affected
landowners to be considered on a case-by-case basis. " He called the
Board' s attention to a memorandum dated February 3 , 1987 from
H. Grench to the Committee regarding Public Notification Procedures
for Changes in Sphere of Influence, which gave some notification
options. He said that the issue remaining for Board approval was how
to handle acquisitions wholly outside the Sphere of Influence, for
which there had been no previous Board consensus , and that five
options were presented for consideration. He noted an additional
option could be no restrictions whatsoever.
T. Henshaw said that the fifth option presented a loophole
for her, and asked for an example for the fourth option. N. Hanko
said that an example could be a trail connection between a State Park
and District lands.
D. Wendin explained the Committee' s reasoning on the wording of each
of the five options.
R. Bishop asked if staff had any comments relating to option 5 , and
H. Grench responded that an example could be a piece of land of sig-
nificant importance to the District that no other agency was going
to acquire.
T. Henshaw asked if the Committee had considered including a state-
ment in the policy that an attempt would be made to acquire an ease-
ment over the land first before initiating the purchase of the land.
N. Hanko responded that the word "interests" was meant to include
easements. R. Bishop said using the word "interests" would not limit
options since it is difficult to forsee opportunities that may arise.
In response to E. Shelley's question as to how the options would
apply to land purchased for purposes of an exchange, D. Wendin said
that such an arrangement would fall under option 4 .
G. Andeen said that he believed that annexation of the land should
come prior to acquisition, that he favored options one through five,
that the proposed annexation policy was too restrictive, and that he
opposed the 50% ownership criteria.
Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board adopt both policies as
presented with the addition of the language, under the Sphere
of Influence, previously presented and with the deletion of
option 5 . E. Shelley seconded the motion.
Discussion: Kathy Kennedy-Miller, 16222 Skyline Boulevard,
Woodside, stated that the Kings Mountain Association would
oppose any expansion of the District or annexations into
areas where the District was not invited by the voters of
the community.
Meeting 87-03 Page five
G. Andeen said that he favored the way the large San Mateo
County area had been annexed to the District, that the
District should not buy land and then annex it, and that the
Board should go to the communities where it wants to acquire
land and ask the landowners if they would favor becoming
part of the District. He requested that the motion be with-
drawn and that each item be voted upon separately.
Amended
Motion: D. Wendin amended his motion on the table to adopt only the
Sphere of Influence policy, including the additional language
presented, and with the deletion of option 5 . E. Shelley
agreed to the amendment.
Motion to
Amend: N. Hanko moved that the Board amend the Sphere of Influence
section by removing options 2 , 3 , and 5 and adopt options
1 and 4 . T. Henshaw seconded the motion.
Discussion: T. Henshaw*said that she opposed all five
options and therefore could not support N. Hanko 's motion.
She said that she was concerned in hearing that the District
would consider acquiring land because it was not going to be
acquired by another agency and that the District would
acquire land in areas where residents could not vote for a
Director.
R. Bishop said he supported retaining options one through
four and opposed N. Hanko 's amendment. K. Duffy said that
she agreed with R. Bishop. D. Wendin said he did not favor
deleting options 2 and 3 , although he did not support the
third option as strongly as the others .
N. Hanko stated that the second option does not say the
acquisition has to be of benefit to the District.
E. Shelley called the question.
The motion to amend failed to pass by the following vote:
Ayes: N. Hanko and T. Henshaw.
Noes: E. Shelley, K. Duffy, R. Bishop, G. Andeen, and
D. Wendin.
The amended motion to adopt the Sphere of Influence policy,
including the additional language presented and option 5
deleted, passed 6 to 1 with T. Henshaw voting against the
motion.
G. Andeen asked that the Board reconsider the stated annexation policy
so as to differentiate between small and large annexations. He said
that the Board should not restrict the District from being active in
pursuing annexations, and that annexations should precede acquisi-
tions, acquisitions that are then annexed.*-
Meeting 87-03 Page six
Board discussion centered on the idea that the moving force behind
a large area annexation needing to be initiated by the citizens and
not the District, whether the District should take the initiative
on large annexations, the need to revise current acquisition policies
if the annexation method was changed, and actual restraints the pro-
posed annexation policy put on the District.
Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board adopt the annexation policy
as stated in the report. E. Shelley seconded the motion.
Discussion: Eric Thompson, Star Route 2 , Box 415 , La Honda,
said that he was happy that San Mateo County was part of the
District and that he thought the Board should go to the
public in areas of recent purchases that are not annexed
and ask if they would like to become part of the District,
and that he opposed piecemeal annexations.
Kathy Kennedy-Miller said that she did not oppose annexation
in general but feared creeping annexations and a creeping
Sphere of Influence.
D. Wendin said that the policy on annexation would really
protect the landowners from this creeping annexation and
that there seemed to be misunderstanding between District
acquisition of land and annexation of land into the District.
The motion passed 7 to 0.
E. Mid-Year Program Evaluation for 1986-1987 and Tentative Setting of
Priorities for 1987-1988 Action Plan (Report R-87-17 of January 21,
1987 and Report R-87-26 of January 29 , 1987)
H. Grench said that a new general program emphasis statement for
each program was included for the first time in the program evalua-
tion report. He reviewed each statement for each Program. R. Bishop
said that he was pleased to see that Open Space Management's emphasis
was the completion of existing projects so as to make the lands more
accessible to the public.
G. Andeen suggested that the word "allowing" in the Basic Policy
Objective for the Open Space Management Program be changed to
"encouraging" so that the objective stated encouraging public
access appropriate to the nature of the land and consistent with
ecological values. " Discussion centered on the word change, the
impact on the District' s Basic Policy, and the manner in which the
Open Space Management Program implemented this Basic Policy statement.
H. Grench reviewed progress in the Open Space Acquisition Program,
noting funds had already been expended for this fiscal year and the
first half of the next fiscal year and that a new note issue is
currently being anticipated. He said there were no major changes
in proposed 1987-1988 key projects and activities.
Meeting 87-03 Page seven
D. Hansen said the emphasis statement for the Open Space Management
Program was the resolution and consolidation of existing projects.
Board discussion centered on the meaning of this statement and the
impact it would have on some current projects. H. Grench suggested
that the wording of the emphasis statement be changed to "The intent
of the entire program is to refrain from initiating further major
capital improvement projects until the implementation of projects
currently under consideration is well in hand. "
D. Hansen said that some scheduled Use and Management Plan reviews
for 1986-1987 had been delayed due to staff work on acquisition
planning and report matters , that the key project and activity to
update the District Master Plan was dropped as a proposed 1987-1988
key project since major work would be completed prior to the end of
the fiscal year, and that a new key project providing for Board
field trip meetings to review planning for specific preserves had been
added.
He said that although a portion of the Operations , Maintenance, and
Volunteer Subprogram' s objective pertaining to public education for
the sites had been deleted, this deletion did not mean that such
issues as trail conflicts and public education through the Docent
Program would be dropped, but rather would be incorporated within
the Subprogram' s other typical projects and activities .
M. Hale said that projects and activities completed in the Communi-
cations Program to date included dedication of the Los Gatos Creek
Park in October and completion of the All-Site brochure and the
Annual Report. She said that the first draft of the Acquisition
Policy brochure should be available for Board review in March, and
that the proposed emphasis and key projects and activities for
1987-1988 focused on completing projects currently underway in the
Communications Program. She said that the trail courtesy
information could be incorporated in the Visitor' s Guide, if it
wasn't a separate item.
Mark Winitz , 1638 Corte Via, Los Altos , said that a separate guide
was needed to discuss trail etiquette purposes so that it could
be placed at the various trailheads. H. Grench said staff would
review the recommendations made at the meeting before returning with
the proposed 1987-1988 Action Plan.
N. Hanko said she would be away in May and requested that presenta-
tion of the report on the Good Neighbor Program be scheduled for a
later date.
Kathy Kennedy-Miller requested that the publication of the Brown Act
be listed as a Key Project and Activity of the Open Space Acquisition
Program.
T. Henshaw questioned whether it was a good idea to initiate an
"Outstanding Public Service Award" as a 1987-1988 key project.
H. Grench said that if the Board felt it was not worth spending
Meeting 87-03 Page eight
time on, it should be dropped as soon as possible. R. Bishop stated
Board consensus that a proposal should be developed and presented
for Board evaluation.
J. Fiddes reviewed progress on 1986-1987 key projects in General
Management and Program Support and said part of the focus for
1987-1988 was better communications between office and field staff
members and to get office staff out into the field more often.
Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board accept the Action Plan
program evaluation for the first part of fiscal year 1986-
1987 and that the Board tentatively adopt the proposed
emphases, objective statements, and key projects and
activities for 1987-1988 Action Plan as amended during the
meeting. T. Henshaw seconded the motion. The motion
passed 7 to 0.
F. Revised Open Space Use and Management Planning Process (Report R-87-34
of February 5, 1987)
D. Hansen said that the last review of the Use and Management Planning
Process was in 1983. He said that new aspects presented for Board
consideration included the addition of the Conservation Management
Units (CMUs) concept and the extension of the maximum time between
reviews of sites.
D. Woods explained in detail what would be included in each of the
first three plans; namely, the 1) Preliminary Use and Management
Plan, 2) Interim Use and Management Plan, and 3) Comprehensive Use
and Management Plan and used Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Pre-
serve as an example of the Planning Process . He said that staff is
recommending that the Use and Management Plan reviews would be done
over a maximum three year cycle, instead of two years, so that,
instead of trying to have up to 15 reviews in a year, there would
be 9 or 10 reviews in a year.
T. Henshaw asked that consideration be given to provide for site
visits by a committee of the Board and staff prior to the time of
the Use and Management Plan reviews.
D. Wendin expressed his concern that neighborhood meetings might
potentially not occur as often as needed if Use and Management Plan
reviews are extended over a longer period of time. E. Shelley said
that neighborhood meetings were not solely tied to Use and Management
Plans and that other matters to be resolved could call for a neigh-
borhood meeting. D. Woods said that public workshops were addressed
in the third paragraph of Item J, Public Review. N. Hanko said that
she would like neighborhood meetings addressed as a separate section.
T. Henshaw suggested that neighborhood meetings be included under
the Good Neighbor Policy.
R. Bishop said that neighborhood meetings were of value for input
on planning and changes and not just to resolve problems. Staff
indicated that they would amend Section J to address neighborhood
meetings specifically.
Meeting 87-03 Page nine
Kathy Kennedy-Miller stated that she felt the notification policy
in Item J, Public Reviews, should be the same as the District ' s
regular notification policies. H. Grench responded that the state-
ment on page seven reflects the Board' s current policy.
D. Woods discussed the concept and criteria for Conservation Manage-
ment Units, noting they primarily would be managed for conservation
and viewshed.
D. Wendin said that the wording sounded as if CMUs were areas that
would be ignored and not managed and that it was his understanding
that CMUs would be areas that had management problems and that, by
placing the area within a CMU, public access would be curtailed.
D. Woods said that site maps would identify the CMU areas and explain
that they are inaccessible to the public, as well as identifying the
accessible areas.
R. Bishop stated the Board' s consensus that the words "as time per-
mits and" in the third sentence of Item F ' s second paragraph should
be deleted. Staff was also directed to reword number 3 , Remoteness
causes management constraints in Item F and to revise the wording
that incorporated the word "detract" in item H.
Eric Thompson said he did not see anything on page 3, item D-5, per-
taining to removal of litter and sanitation facilities . D. Hansen
said this document was only an outline for staff reports and did
not address all aspects of an actual report. He noted that site
clean-up could be included in item 5-e.
Motion: T. Henshaw moved that the Board tentatively adopt the
revised Open Space Use and Management Planning Process as
contained in the report and as amended at the meeting.
N. Hanko seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 .
Due to the lateness of the hour, N. Hanko asked President Bishop if Item
10, Possible Scheduling of a Special Meeting, could be considered next
since she had to be at the 2020 Task Force meeting on Thursday and she
wished to leave the meeting at this time. H. Grench said that he felt
there was no need for a Special Meeting.
T. Henshaw asked President Bishop if there were any remaining agenda
items that could be tabled until the next meeting.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that agenda items 8 and 9 on the Process for
Evaluating Proposed Redevelopment Projects and The Effect of
AB 2674 on MROSD be continued to the next meeting. E. Shelley
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
N. Hanko was not present for the remainder of the meeting.
Meeting 87-03 Page ten
G. Land and Water Conservation Fund Applications for Additions to Coal
Creek and Sierra Azul Open Space Preserves (Report R-87-35 of February
6, 1987)
C. Bruins reviewed the portion of the staff report for the addition
of the former Thomas property, now owned by Peninsula Open Space Trust
to Coal Creek Open Space Preserve, noting this addition would enable
the District to work with San Mateo County on reopening the closed
portion of Alpine Road as a recreational route.
E. Shelley asked if the District had the authority to reopen Alpine
Road, a San Mateo County road, and make it a paved bicycle trail.
H. Grench said he had explored with David Christy the possibility of
a cooperative project with the County in which the County would build
and maintain the bicycle path, but added that this type of project
would not happen quickly. He said, the District could provide a
hiking and equestrian trail.
A. Cummings reviewed the portion of the report dealing with the pro-
posed addition of the Hogan property to the Sierra Azul Open Space
Preserve and showed slides of the property.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board adopt Resolution 87-07 , a
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District Approving the Application for
Land and Water Conservation Funds for the Coal Creek Open
Space Preserve Addition Project. T. Henshaw seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board adopt Resolution 87-08 , a
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District Approving the Application for
Land and 'Water Conservation Funds for the Sierra Azul Open
Space Preserve Addition Project. T. Henshaw seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 .
VII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
D. Wendin stated that he could not attend the next Land Acquisition Policy
Committee Meeting tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, March 10 . He and
R. Bishop rescheduled the meeting to Monday, March 9 if N. Hanko could
attend. Otherwise, they would find a new date.
VIII. CLAIMS
Motion: T. Henshaw moved that the Board approve the Revised Claims 87-03 .
R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
IX. CLOSED SESSION
S. Norton announced that litigation matters relating to the Dyer property
to be discussed in Closed Session fell under Subdivision (a) of Government
Code 54956. 9 and that other pending litigation matters to be discussed
fell under Subdivision (c) of Government Code Section 54956 . 9 . The Board
recessed to Closed Session at 11 : 30 P.M.
X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 12: 34 A.M. , Thursday, February 12 , 1987 .
Cecilia A. Cyrier
Secretary
CORRECTION (S) TO THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 11, 1987
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
February 11, 1987
N. Hanko stated that the motion referenced in the first sentence of the
discussion section for the Motion to Amend on page 5 was made by
D. Wendin. She further stated that the last sentence on page 5
required clarification. G. Andeen noted that the final phrase
"acquisitions that are then annexed" should be deleted for clarity.
Motion: D. Wendin moved that the Board approve the minutes of
February 11, 1987 as corrected. T. Henshaw seconded the
motion. The motion passed 5 to 0 .