HomeMy Public PortalAbout19880210 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) oe Meeting 88-04
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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
FEBRUARY 10, 1988
MINUTES
I . ROLL CALL
President Katherine Duffy called the meeting to order at 7 : 35 P.M.
Members Present: Richard Bishop, Katherine Duffy, Robert McKibbin,
Edward Shelley, Teena Henshaw, Nonette Hanko, and Gerry Andeen.
Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, Craig Britton, David Hansen, Jean
Fiddes, Stanley Norton, Del Woods, Mary Gundert, and Emma Johnson.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. January 27 , 1988
N. Hanko noted that Section II (Approval of Minutes for the
Meeting of January 13 , 1988) should be corrected to reflect that
the date for the minutes noted in the correction should be
December 23, 1987 rather than December 8 , 1987 .
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the minutes of
January 27 , 1988 as corrected. E. Shelley seconded the
motion. The motion passed 7 to 0 .
III . WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
E. Johnson stated that the Board had received:
1. A letter, dated February 1 , 1988 from Linda Fischman, 148 La
Honda Road, Woodside regarding the neighborhood meeting for the
La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve Use and Management Plan. She
requested that the second reading of the Plan be postponed until
more study and input could be gained from people involved.
K. Duffy stated the letter would be addressed by the Board during
the related agenda item.
2. A letter, dated February 3 , 1988 from Harriet Smith,
1621 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Sunnyvale requesting that joggers
and bicyclists be banned from Rancho San Antonio Open Space
Preserve since they startle walkers and frighten the wildlife.
With the consent of the Board, K. Duffy requested that the draft
response be sent to Ms. Smith.
3. Letters, dated January 26 and January 28 , 1988 from Clair and
John Jernick, 33 Grove Drive, Portola Valley noting that they had
observed smoking and heard shooting on Windy Hill Open Space
Preserve, and noting the excessive speed of motorcycles and
mountain bikes and the associated dangers of these activities.
They urged more patrol of the area and clearer rules concerning
Meeting 88-04 Page two
use of firearms and motor vehicles and the banning of all-terrain
vehicles and motorcycles. With the consent of the Board,
K. Duffy requested that the draft response be sent to the
Jernicks.
4. A letter, dated February 1, 1988 from Harry Haeussler,
1094 Highland Circle, Los Altos urging the Board to proceed with
"park, playgrounds, trails, pathways and other recreational
facilities" since he believes that the voters voted for a "park
district concept" in creating the District. K. Duffy noted that
no response was requested by the writer, and with the Board' s
concurrence, stated that none would be sent.
IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
There were no oral communications.
V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
K. Duffy stated the agenda was adopted by Board consensus.
VI. BOARD BUSINESS
A. Final Accounting for the 1987 Promissory Note Acquisition Fund
and Preliminary Accounting for the 1988 Note Project Fund {Report
R-88-16 of February 3, 1988)
H. Grench said that the pre-closing for the $12. 5 million note
issue had occurred earlier in the day. He said that the account-
ing of proceeds of the note issues is required.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the final
accounting for the 1987 Promissory Note Acquisition
Fund and the preliminary accounting for the 1988 Note
Project Fund. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The
motion passed 7 to 0.
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the withdrawal
of $6, 765, 683 from the 1988 Note Project Fund to
reimburse the District ' s General Fund for expenditures
attributable to the 1988 Note Project. E. Shelley
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
B. Interim Use and Management Plan for La Honda Creek Open Space
Preserve (Report R-88-21 of February 5, 1988)
D. Hansen said that the Interim Use and Management Plan empha-
sizes immediate planning needs , since public access is limited
and the site is ranked low on the Site Emphasis Plan. He said
that there have been four meetings with La Honda Creek Preserve
neighbors during the past two years.
D. Woods said that the level of use is low because the access is
difficult and that the permit system is working well. He noted
that staff will have a public workshop involving more people when
the Comprehensive Use and Management Plan is considered, but that
a workshop is premature at this time.
He said that new or revised recommendations include consideration
of a road maintenance agreement with residents of Allen Road,
realignment of the north patrol easement, additional boundary and
Meeting 88-04 Page three
trail connection signing, roadside fencing and gate along the
Sheffield property line bordering La Honda Road, and finalization
of a caretaker agreement for the former Dyer ranch.
M. Gundert showed slides of the property showing where signs are
located to indicate areas that are accessible or off limits to
Preserve users .
Kathy Kennedy, 16222 Skyline Boulevard, Woodside asked how many
permits per day are allowed to be issued. D. Woods responded
that the permit system restricts access to twenty public vehicles
per day, but a total of only sixty permits have been issued
during the past year.
Ms . Kennedy also noted that, independent of the fact that the
District is involved, the sentiments of the Allen Road residents
regarding the road maintenance agreement are strong, both for and
against it.
Linda Fischman, 148 La Honda Road, Woodside said that the
neighbors are concerned about problems that could exist. She
said that only eight neighbors attended the meeting to which 40
were invited and that a greater effort should be made to contact
those landowners who live out of the area in order to elicit
their input. She requested that the Board delay its second
reading of the Use and Management Plan so more neighbors could
attend another meeting and suggested that the meeting be sched-
uled during a weekend day. She said she would be happy to work
with staff to contact other property owners, noting that she had
already started to contact the neighbors .
K. Duffy explained that the first and second readings have been
scheduled so that individuals have the opportunity to be aware of
Use and Management Plans being considered. She said she has no
problem with delaying the second reading for a reasonable time.
R. Bishop said the proposed Plan will benefit the residents by
deterring trespass and that he favors adoption of the plan
immediately.
T. Henshaw said she is willing to support Mrs . Fischman' s
requests for a delay in the second reading and for a weekend
meeting. She volunteered to attend the neighborhood meeting.
R. McKibbin expressed his agreement with this approach.
E. Shelley reiterated that the purpose of the Plan is to imple-
ment recommendations that are beneficial to the neighbors, and
that until they are approved, staff cannot act on them.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board tentatively adopt the
Interim Use and Management Plan for La Honda Creek
Open Space Preserve. N. Hanko seconded the motion.
Motion to Amend: G. Andeen moved that No. 1 under New or Revised
Use and Management Recommendations in the Structures
and Improvement Section on page six concerning roadside
fencing be changed to the effect that a judgement be
Meeting 88-04 Page four
made whether there is a need for a fence after the
demolition of the buildings .
Discussion: Discussion centered on the type of fence,
its permanency, and the need for it. D. Woods said
that the fence would allow limited parking and access
off La Honda Road without opening an additional area to
parking on the Preserve before a proposed trail was
installed.
The motion died for lack of a second.
G. Andeen stated his objections to not opening the
Preserve to active public use and to not putting in a
trail until 1994. He said that the property should not
be closed off by installing a fence.
The motion to tentatively adopt the Interim Use and
Management Plan passed 7 to 0.
K. Duffy stated the consensus of the Board that the second
reading of the Use and Management Plan will be delayed for two
weeks and will be on the March 9 agenda.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that copies of the report be made
available to Mrs . Fischman so she may distribute it to
interested neighbors. R. Bishop seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7 to 0.
Board members also indicated that copies of the report should be
made available to Ms. Kennedy if she requested them.
C. Amended Guidelines Regarding Distribution of Brochures From Other
Organizations on the District' s Preserves (Report R-88-18 dated
February 3_, I_988)
M. Hale stated that staff would like guidelines in the policy
regarding minimum dollar amounts for contributions to projects.
H. Grench read a letter to him from David Sutton of the Trail
Center proposing the requirement be either $10, 000 or 1000 hours
of volunteer labor, adding that under those criteria the Trail
Center would probably qualify for placement of a brochure at
Purisima Creek Open Space Preserve.
E. Shelley and R. Bishop stated they would approve adding the
wording regarding 1000 hours of volunteer labor.
K. Duffy expressed her concern about multiple brochures on one
site.
H. Grench suggested that Peninsula Open Space Trust be asked to
coordinate a single brochure and to ensure that the Trail Center
is recognized in that brochure.
N. Hanko, referring to guideline 11 , stated her concern about the
three year period, noting that there would be no opportunity to
decide if the program is not satisfactory or to get out of it if
Meeting 88-04 Page five
it was not working. H. Grench responded that since it is
intended to be interim guidelines, it could be reviewed sooner
than three years if necessary.
Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board approve the adoption of
the amended Interim Guidelines presented in the staff
report with the inclusion of : " . . .or approximately 1000
hours of volunteer labor" in the first guideline as a
three year pilot program, with the program and Interim
Guidelines to be reviewed at the end of three years, or
sooner, if necessary. R. Bishop seconded the
motion. The motion passed on the following vote:
Ayes: K. Duffy, R. McKibbin, E. Shelley, G. Andeen, and
R. Bishop
Noes: N. Hanko
Abstain: T. Henshaw
N. Hanko explained that she voted against the motion
because distribution of brochures other than District
brochures will be confusing to people as to who is
responsible for acquiring and maintaining the land for
the public trust. T. Henshaw abstained since she had
not been present for the majority of the discussion.
K. Duffy, with the Board' s consent, announced that agenda item
No. 4 would be considered after item No. 6.
D. Director Attendance at Special Park District Forum (Report R-88-
17 of February 2, 1988)
H. Grench reported that the budget includes $1000 to cover the
projected expenses of one Board member attending the Forum and if
a second Director were authorized to attend, necessary funds
would be available based on projected yearly expenditures in the
conferences and training and seminars budget categories .
T. Henshaw stated she had attended a past forum and strongly
urged attendance by a Director because it is the only one of its
kind that benefits a District such as MROSD.
E. Shelley and R. McKibbin said they would like to attend.
Motion: K. Duffy moved that the Board approve necessary
expenditures for E. Shelley and R. McKibbin to attend
the 1988 Special Park District Forum. R. Bishop
seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0.
E. City of Mountain View Recreation Department Letter Regarding
Impacts on Deer Hollow Farm (Report R-88-20 dated February 4 ,
1988)
D. Hansen said that the Board had received a letter from the
staff of the Parks and Recreation Department of Mountain View
regarding trail use at Deer Hollow Farm. He said that staff
understands their concerns and proposes several steps that could
be taken to mitigate trail use conflicts in the interim period
before the regular Use and Management Plan for Rancho San Antonio
Open Space Preserve is reviewed. He said the date for the Trail
Meeting 88-04 0 40 Page six
Use Needs Assessment workshop has been scheduled for March 7 ,
1988 , rather than the date indicated in the staff report.
Paula Bettencourt, Recreation Director for the City of Mountain
View, said that the letter had been written as input for the Use
and Management Plan which Mountain View staff thought was going
to be reviewed in January.
T. Henshaw asked how the workshop will be publicized. D. Hansen
responded that notification will be mailed to the District' s
trails list and may be advertised in the newspapers , as well as
posted on site.
K. Duffy said that the site will always have problems because it
has so many visitors and that the District will have to educate
Preserve users every year. She said that an alternate route must
be found around Deer Hollow Farm and that the nature education
area in Wildcat Canyon should be closed to joggers .
N. Hanko and R. Bishop agreed that an alternate trail around the
farm area would help solve the problem. R. Bishop requested that
staff analyze alternate trails to present to the Board when doing
the Use and Management study.
Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board endorse the interim
recommendations in the staff report. R. McKibbin
seconded the motion.
Discussion: R. McKibbin stated that he felt that
Rancho San Antonio was at a crisis point that needed to
be addressed; that he would like to see a spring usage
monitoring program with a report back to the Board and
that the docent program should be tied into Deer Hollow
Farm' s docent program. The motion passed 7 to 0.
F. Basic Policy Workshop Follow-Up Process (Report R-88-19 of
February 3 , 1988)
R. Bishop suggested leaving the Policy as it stands, noting that
it does not prevent the Board from doing what is required and
that a great amount of Board and staff time would be required to
amend the Policy.
N. Hanko said that policies should change with the times and that
it is time to update the Basic Policy. She said that she would
like to have a committee make recommendations to remove language
that is not pertinent.
G. Andeen said that he would like to see changes in the Policy
because there is a whole different set of problems, issues and
concerns now facing the District. He said that the District is
conspicuous because of the amount of land it owns and the
visibility and public perception of the District has changed.
T. Henshaw recommended reevaluation of the Relative Emphasis of
Use , Development, and Publicity of District Sites Policy by a
committee or on its own. She added that she would not be adverse
Meeting 88-04 Page seven
to having a committee meet to recommend to the Board substantive
changes to the Basic Policy.
R. McKibbin said the written policies have evolved into unwritten
policies. He proposed that a committee could analyze the
unwritten policies and change the wording in the Basic Policy to
include them.
E. Shelley said the large number of specific policies needed to
be reviewed, combining them and eliminating duplicate policies as
necessary. He said that the policies that implement the Basic
Policy need further clarification.
K. Duffy said the Basic Policy is the foundation of the District
and should not be changed because of changing pressures from
individuals.
R. Bishop said the ratio of land management to land acquisition
expenditures and what the Board does in the future are already
covered in the Policy. R. McKibbin agreed that there is no need
to change the Policy itself, except that its language should be
modernized.
T. Henshaw said she would have no problem with leaving the Policy
as it stands.
Motion: N. Hanko moved that a committee be formed to return to
the Board with updated language that follows current
Board philosophy. The motion died for lack of a
second.
Motion: G. Andeen moved that a straw vote be taken to determine
whether there is a need for minor changes in the Basic
Policy and a review of the implementation policies for
the Basic Policy. N. Hanko seconded the motion.
Discussion: Discussion centered on the content of
G. Andeen' s motion combining changes in the Basic
Policy and a review of implementing policies.
Motion to Amend: R. McKibbin moved that the item be postponed
and put on the agenda for the next Board meeting. The
motion died for lack of a second.
E. Shelley called the question on the straw vote. G. Andeen
objected to the consideration of the motion. K. Duffy, E.
Shelley, R. Bishop, R. McKibbin, and T. Henshaw indicated
approval for the calling of the question. N. Hanko and G. Andeen
objected to voting on the straw vote motion without further
discussion.
The motion on the straw vote failed to pass on the following
vote:
Ayes: N. Hanko and G. Andeen
Noes: K. Duffy, R. McKibbin, T. Henshaw, E.
Shelley, and R. Bishop.
Meeting 88-04 1 Page eight
T. Henshaw requested that a discussion of the Policy and Plan for
Relative Emphasis of Use, Development, and Publicity of District
Sites be put on a future agenda.
VII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
D. Hansen reported that there have been no new cases of Lyme disease
in the past six months. He said that trees were being harvested at El
Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve. He added that the preserves
have been busy the past two weekends.
H. Grench reported that he observed full parking lots on several
preserves over the past weekend. He showed the Sunrise Winery segment
from the Bay Area Backroads television program that recently aired on
Channel 4.
VIII.REVISED CLAIMS
Motion: R. Bishop moved that the Board approve the Revised Claims
88-03. E. Shelley seconded the motion. The motion passed
7 to 0.
IX. CLOSED SESSION
S. Norton announced that litigation matters to be discussed in Closed
Session fell under Subdivision (a) of Government Code Section
54956.9, and noted it concerned litigation for the Stanford property.
The Board recessed to Closed Session at 9. 55 P.M.
X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 11.10 P.M.
Emma Johnson
Secretary
The minutes of the meeting
were approved as corrected.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
February 10, 1988
Motion: E. Shelley moved that the Board approve the
minutes of February 10, 1988 . R. Bishop seconded
the motion.
Discussion: With the concurrence of G. Andeen, K.
Duffy said that the second sentence in the last
paragraph of page 7 should be changed from, "G.
Andeen objected to the consideration of the
motion, " to "G. Andeen insisted that there be a
vote on the question. " The motion to approve the
minutes as corrected passed 5 to 0 .