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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19880210 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) oe Meeting 88-04 1 m 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 .