HomeMy Public PortalAbout19871028 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting 87-25
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MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
OLD MILL OFFICE CENTER,BUILDING C,SUITE 135
201 SAN ANTONIO CIRCLE,MOUNTAIN VIEW,CALIFORNIA 94040
(415)949.5500
REGULAR MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
October 287-1-90
MINUTES
I . ROLL CALL
President Richard Bishop called the meeting to order at 7 : 32 P .M.
Members Present : Katherine Duffy, Robert McKibbin, Teena
Henshaw, Nonette Hanko, Gerry Andeen, and Richard Bishop.
Members Absent : Edward Shelley.
Personnel Present : Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, David Hansen,
Jean Fiddes , Jim Boland, Mary Hale , Del Woods , Mary Gundert , Greg
Grimm, Stanley Norton, and Cecilia Cyrier .
II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES
October 14 , 1987
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the minutes of
October 14 , 1987 . K. Duffy seconded the motion.
Discussion : D. Hansen stated that the first sentence
in the second paragraph of item D on page four should
read " . . . the acquisition would provide District
vehicular access and would allow installation of new
restrooms . . . , " rather than " . . , the acquisition would
provide vehicular access and ten parking spaces , would
require installation of new restrooms . . . " . R. Bishop
and K. Duffy agreed to include the changes in their
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 .
III . WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
C . Cyrier reported that the Board had received the following
written communications :
1) a letter dated October 14 , 1987 from Marianne Swan, 20300 La
Paloma Avenue , Saratoga, Board Member of the Youth Science
Institute , stating the Institute ' s interest in pursuing a
lease of a portion of the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve
for their Garden Program. She noted that a draft response
prepared by staff was attached to Ms . Swan ' s letter for
Board consideration.
2) a letter received October 15 , 1987 , from Elizabeth Duveneck
Dana, and her sister and brothers , discussing the Trust for
Hidden Villa and expressing their support for the Trust and
its management of Hidden Villa.
Herbert Grench,General Manager;Board of Directors:Katherine Duffy,Robert McKibbin,Teena Henshaw,Edward Shelley,Nonette Hanko,Gerry Andeen,Richard Bishop
Meeting 87-25 Page two
R. Bishop stated the Board ' s consensus that the response to Ms .
Swan should be sent and that no response was needed for the
letter from the Duveneck family.
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
There were no oral. communications .
V. ADOPTION OF _AGENDA
R. Bishop stated that the agenda was adopted by Board consensus .
VI . PUBLIC HEARING
A. Completion-of-- A-nnexation of Certain District-Owned Lands in
San Mateo County (Report R-87-158 of October 16 , 1987)
H. Grench, using the wall map, pointed out the lands to be
annexed that were part of the Long Ridge , Skyline Ridge , and
Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves . He noted that all the
land was owned in fee by the District and was within the
District ' s Sphere of Influence . He said that the San Mateo
County and Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation
Commissions had both approved the annexation and that the
final step was a District Public Hearing and adoption of the
annexation resolution by the Board, the designated
conducting authority. He also stated that the District ' s
request for waiver of fees had been denied .
In response to N. Hanko ' s question as to the amount of the
fee , H. Grench replied that LAFCO fees would probably be
within a few hundred dollars .
R. Bishop opened the Public Hearing at 7 : 40 P.M.
There were no comments or questions from the public .
R. Bishop closed the Public Hearing at 7 : 41 P .M.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board adopt Resolution 87-
37 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Annexing
Certain Property to the Midpeninsula Regional Open
Space District (Midpeninsula Preserves - 1987A) .
T. Henshaw seconded the motion. The motion passed
6 to 0 .
VII . BOARD BUSINESS
A. Appointment of Peace Officer (Re-port R-87-161 of October 21 ,
1987 .
J . Boland introduced Greg Grimm, the newest member of the
Ranger staff .
Meeting 87-25 Page three
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board adopt Resolution
87-38 , a Resolution of the Board of Directors of
the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Appointing Peace Officer . G. Andeen seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 .
B . Final Adoption--of- t a a-he Preliminary Use and Management Plan
_j_
for the Lin Property ition to the Sierra Azul n-S-P a c e
Pre- erve , Mt . Umunhur Area (Report R-87-159 of October 15 ,
D . Hansen stated that escrow had closed on September 25 ,
1987 and that no additional comments had been received from
members of the public on the Preliminary Use and Management
Plan for the 40 acre property. He said that the Preliminary
Use and Management Plan called for the gate blocking Mt .
Umunhum Road to be replaced with a standard District gate as
part of an interim land management solution until the issue
of final gate placement and the nature of public use in the
area had been resolved through the upcoming master plan
process .
G. Andeen questioned whether the public can hike to the top
of Ht . Umunhum; the effect the gate has on public hikers ;
and what information is being provided to the public at this
time about access to the area .
D . Hansen said that the summit areas of Mt . Umunhum and Mt .
Thayer are closed to members of the public . He said that
-members of the public are not encouraged to use that area .
He said that in response to questions , members of the public
are told that they can drive up to the first Mt . Umunhum
road gate , park. on District land on the side of the road,
and hike or ride a bike to Bald Mountain or up the road to
the first yellow gate that marks Mr . McQueen ' s private
property . He noted that the gate installation might only be
a temporary measure until the 2,t).aster plan for the, area was
completed.
In response to K. Duffy ' s question as to the status of the
master plan for the area, H. Grench responded that San Jose
State University ' s feasibility study has been delayed due to
the study being conducted by the Federal government on the
potential toxics in the area and their subsequent removal ;
he noted this latter study could take six months to one year
to complete . He said that a positive factor occurring
during this period of time is that the District continues to
have the opportunity to purchase more lands in the area
prior to preparing the master plan .
Meeting 87-25 Page four
R. McKibbin questioned if the National Weather Service was
still. interested in the use of the site . H. Grench
responded that the Service was still interested and that
their environmental study would soon be completed and
Presented to staff for review.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board adopt the Prelimi-
nary Use and Management Plan for the Lin property
addition to the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve ,
Mt . Umunhum Area , including the naming , as con--
tained in report R-87-140 and withhold the
property from dedication as public open space at
this time . T. Henshaw seconded the motion.
Discussion: G. Andeen said that the Board should
vote against this Preliminary Use and Management
Plan since it did not have a time schedule , it did
not move fast enough to improve public access in
the area , and since the plan did not distinguish
between proper and good use of the land by the
public to further the goals of the District . R.
Bishop responded that a Preliminary Use and
Management Plan was needed even if i-t was not as
specific and complete as desired and that patience
in achieving the best use of the land in this area
was needed.
The motion passed on the following vote :
Ayes : T. Hen haw, F. Duffy, R . Bishop,
R . McKibbin, and N. Hanks .
Nc, : G. Andeen
C . Review of the Com 'ehens� ve Use and Management Plan for the
Thor n_ew_ood _0,pen Space: Preserve {Report R-87-153 of October
16 , 1987 )
D . Hansen , using the wall map , pointed out the three new
acquisitions to the Preserve since the last review of the
Use and Management Plan in July 1985 and reported on the
first public tour of the Thornewood House in April 1987 .
D. Woods reviewed the report in detail enphasizing that
the site remains low on the Site Emphasis Plan, that there
is no parking on the site at this time , and. that the area is
used occasionally by local hikers and equestrians . fie
showed slides to explain the proposed public access
improvements and said that the design phase of the proi-ect
along with a projected timetable for developnient and revised
cost estimates would be presented to the Board for final
approval .
Meeting 87-25 Page five
D . Hansen reported on the recent Thornewood Restoration
Review Committee meeting that he and Director Andeen had
attend,'.-,d . He stated that the areas need-; nci the most
attention to fulfill the lease requirements are the grounds
and gardens . G. Andeen reported that the Ganos expressed
their concerns about public access to the property and said
that the Gano ' s representative should attend future commit-
tee Ynneetings .
T. Henshaw encouraged staff to proceed as quickly as pos---
sible in providing for parking and other public access
improvements on the site .
Discussion followed on use of buses for the public tour of
the house , use of the permit system for barbecue area , and
the difficulty in hiking from Wunderlich County Park to
Thornewood Open Space Preserve because of the difficulty in
finding a safe trail. crossing across La Hondi Road .
Eric Thompson, Star Route 2 , Box 415 , La Honda asked why the
area around Schilling Lake was undedicated . D. Hansen said
that the flexibility for trail_ development in the area
necessitated this undedicated status at the present time .
D . Hansen, referring to Marc Zand ' s letter of October 27 ,
which was distributed at the cieeting, said that it was Mr .
'hand ' s understanding that no public access or use is allowed
on his ten acre open space easement and that it is not sub-
ject to dedication by the District . D. Hansen said that Mr .
Zand had also requested that the map be corrected to
accurately reflect the status of the open space easement
prior to being distributed to the public . D . Hansen said
that staff would resolve these issues with Mr . Zand and
incorporate them in the Use and Managerrient Plan. prior to its
return to the Board for final approval .
Mot-ion: R. Bishop moved that the Board tentz'itively adopt
the revised Comprehensive Use and Management Plan
for Thornewood Open Space Preserve as contained in
thEk report . G. Andeen seconded the motion. The
motion passed 6 to 0 .
D . Review of the__Cp-Comprehensive Use and Mana e-mg for the_,n_p_ q_
El Serino SpIce Pr es ry e ( -__ -87-163 of October
;� -__-Fep_ori P,
22 , '1987 )
D . Hansen, using the wall map, pointed out the three addi-
tions to the Preserve since the last Use and Management Plan
review in December 1983 .
D . Woods used the wall map and slides to e.:,�plain the five
potential. access points to the Preserve . D . Hansen said
that since the BohIman Road site provides the c9reatest
flexibility for access development that it will become th,-_--,
Meeting 87-25 Page six
main entrance to the Preserve and that people would access
it from Saratoga . He noted that Linda Vista , Overlook,
Sheldon , and Oak Knoll Roads are private roads .
Gibson Anderson, 19571 Farwell Avenue , Saratoga said he and
some fellow mountain bikers have received permission to ride
their bikes from landowners in the Sheldon Road area . He
asked that the Board put a priority on development of ease-
ments for mountain hikers and hikers to allow access to the
Preserve .
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board tentatively adopt
the revised Comprehensive Use and Management Plan
for El Sereno Open Space Preserve as contained in
the report. T. Henshaw seconded the motion. The
motion passed 6 to 0 .
E . Particiration in "Ring Ar_o._und the Bay" Study (Report R-87--
port,
H . Grench reported that a District representative needed to
be appointed to the Citizens Advisory Committee for this
study to be conducted by the Association of Bay Area Govern-
ments . He said that the Committee would meet every other
month with sub-committee meetings as needed and that the
first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 3 . He
said that D . Woods would principally represent the District
on the Technical Advisory Panel .
T. Hen5haw vclunteered to serve on the Citizens Advisory
Committee with the understanding that she would have to see
how her time was impacted .
R. Bishop appointed Director Henshaw as the District repre-
sentative on the Advisory Committee with Board consensus .
Motion: R. Bishop moved that T. Henshaw ' s cormittee
appointment be compensable . N. Hanko seconded the
motion . The motion passed 6 to O
F . November Meetipa_Sche-Aqle___(R -T -160 of October c __qr�t RT-871-
19 8 7)_
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board schedule to Special
Meeting for 7 : 30 P .M. Wednesday, November 4 for
the purpose of holding a Closed Session to discuss
land negotiation matters ; that the Board resched-
ule the November 11 Regular Meeting to 7 : 30 P .M .
Tuesday, November 10 ; that the Board reschedule
the November 25 Regular Meeting to 7 : 30 P .M.
Tuesday, November 24 ; and that all meetings would
be at the District Offices . K. Duffy seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0 .
Meeting 87-25 Page seven
VIII . INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
H. Grench said that extra announcements for the November 7
fifteenth anniversary hike had been distributed to the Board. He
reported that Californians for Parks and Wildlife , sponsors of
the California Wildlife , Coastal , and Park Land Conservation Bond
Act Initiative , had achieved its goal of 600 , 000 signatures in
preparation for being included on the June 1988 ballot . He
reported on his recent meeting with Ralph Heim, the District ' s
Legislative Advocate , and with Ross Henry, head of Grants and
Local. Assistance for State Parks , to discuss possible funding
sources for the underpass connection from Russian Ridge Open
Space Preserve to the Alpine Pond area of Skyline Ridge Open
Space Preserve . He noted that funding suggestions included
placing a line item in the new budget for $150 , 000 ; sponsoring a
special bill to fund the project ; trying to use the environmental
license plate fund; and seeking foundation funding. He said that
another topic discussed at the meetings was the best method to be
used in working with CalTrans .
N. Hanko reported that the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara
County had voted unanimously to adopt the Report of the Preser-
vation 2020 Task Force and that the Committee members had been
asked to reconvene to discuss how to implement the plan. She
said that she would be happy to continue on the committee if the
Board concurred. R. Bishop stated the Board ' s concurrence that
she should continue to serve on the Task Force .
G. Andeen showed a book Day__qikin H Near Sun Valley in loose-leaf
�i n
notebook format , noting the format might be used at the District .
H. Grench showed a video tape recording of Channel 36 ' s Left ,
Right and Center Program, Summer Park Time , that aired in May and
in which he and J. Boland were interviewed.
Ix. CLAIMS
Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board approve Revised Claims
87-24 . R. Bishop seconded the motion. The motion
passed 6 to 0 .
X. CLOSED SESSION
S . Norton announced that potential litigation matters to be
discussed in Closed Session fell under Government Code Sections
54956 . 9 (a) and (b) (1) . The Board recessed to Closed Session at
10 : 05 P .M.
XI . ADJOURNMENT
The public meeting reconvened to adjourn at 11 : 30 P .M.
Cecilia A. Cyrier
Secretary