HomeMy Public PortalAbout19901107 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Open Space
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
I
Meeting 90-27
SPECIAL MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
November 7 1990
MINUTES
I . ROLL CALL
President Nanette Hanko called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 p.m.
in the Cupertino Room of the Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N.
Stelling Road, Cupertino.
Members Present: Nanette Hanko, Richard Bishop, Robert McKibbin,
Ginny Babbitt , and Elizabeth Crowder.
Members Absent : Katherine Duffy and Teena Henshaw.
Personnel Present: Herbert Grench, David Hansen, Del Woods , John
Escobar, Sheryl Marioni Cochran, Annette Coleman, Phil Hearin,
Brenda Kaufman, and Kathleen Hart .
II . BOARD BUSINESS
A. Review of Comprehensive Use and Management Plan for Fremont
Older Open Space Preserve (Report R-90-130 dated October 31 ,
1990
D. Hansen reported that the last Use and Management Plan
review for this preserve was presented in July 1986 . He
noted that the 1. 22-acre former Harris property had been
added to the preserve since that time, making a total of 739
acres .
D. Woods reviewed the Comprehensive Use and Management Plan
report recommendations in conjunction with a slide
presentation of the preserve. He showed slides of the
popular Fremont Older house, and other areas of the preserve
to illustrate the effects of increased use on the trail
system, preserve access, and parking. He also discussed the
potential benefits from cooperative planning with the County
of Santa Clara and cities of Cupertino and Saratoga for
trail easements .
N. Hanko asked if staff had considered the use of fire
breaks for equestrian trail use to reduce trail use
conflicts. D. Hansen replied that equestrians can ride on
the disc lines . J. Escobar noted that some lines are too
steep for trail use.
Meeting 90-27 Page 2
N. Hanko asked if discing and seeding would be enough to
keep the baccharis at bay. D. Woods replied that discing
and haying had kept it at bay in Fremont Older Open Space
Preserve. D. Hansen noted the Resource Management Draft
Policies which should be ready early next year would
consider this problem further.
N. Hanko asked if the Board would be included in the review
committee for restoration plans of the adobe and surrounding
area. D. Hansen replied that K. Duffy served on the review
committee, with R. McKibbin as the alternate.
N. Hanko asked what unleashed dogs were attacking deer and
whether staff had any statistics . D. Hansen replied that
they are generally stray neighborhood dogs , not dogs taken
onto the preserve.
B. Crowder asked if the District could fence the road off
from the parking lot . D. Woods replied that the
configuration made the turning space too tight and the most
desirable solution would be for the Saratoga Country Club to
allow the District to use some of their green space . B .
Crowder commented that a tall golf-ball fence might be
required for safety. D. Woods said the District is
considering landscape screening, and D. Hansen added that
the District can work with the City of Saratoga for
appropriate protection and screening.
R. McKibbin asked if the District had looked into a land
exchange to alleviate the golf-ball. hazard. D. Woods said
C. Britton had some discussions about this . R. McKibbin
asked if the parking lot could be relocated. D. Woods
replied that the only alternatives , the ranger residence and
the hayfield, were undesirable.
Vince Garrod, 22600 Mt. Eden Road, Saratoga, suggested the
opening of a one hour loop trail , another trail to allow
preserve access through Stevens Creek County Park, and the
reopening of Fern Grotto Trail . He commented that ranger
presence has eliminated the problem of motor bikes on the
trails.
R. McKibbin clarified that Fern Grotto Trail was originally
closed by a slide.
Mr. Richard Childress , 11701 Regnant Canyon Drive,
Cupertino, did not see anything negative about a ten foot
wide trail . Mr. Childress suggested subsidizing a haying
operation. He encouraged the District to work with the City
of Cupertino and the County and encouraged the District to
keep the current bike and dog policies .
Earl Harris , 22802 Prospect Road, Saratoga, asked what had
happened to the coyotes and if they could be imported to
Meeting 90-27 Page 3
Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. R. McKibbin and D.
Hansen replied that cyclical. health problems had caused the
decline in coyotes and that they should return. Mr. Harris
also said that speed of bicyclists was becoming a major
problem, especially around the adobe .
D. Woods reported that staff is formulating guidelines on
trail use, including speed limit signs and that he will
suggest to the guidelines committee that a schedule be part
of the guidelines . Sites identified as having serious
problems would be scheduled for review first . N. Hanko
noted that the Fremont Older neighbors would be notified if
major changes were being considered.
Jennifer Lyn, 22700 W. Prospect Road, Saratoga , said she
lives in the adobe and sees and hears the bicyclists. She
said she knows that they travel sometimes in excess of 20
miles an hour, and she has had close calls with speeding
bicyclists . Ms. Lyn reported that people tend to respect
District signs , and she thinks more signing would help. She
said that another issue is that bicyclists are sometimes
excited and yell to each other; a sign saying this is a
quiet residential area would help.
Kathy Nellis , 22322 Regnart Road, Cupertino, said she walks
her dogs daily on the preserve, and her experience has been
that other dog users also keep their dogs on leash. She
said she hopes the privilege of using the preserve will not
be taken away from responsible dog owners . She said that
she has also ridden a horse on District lands, and in her
experience, bikers have been very courteous. She named
education as the key to resolving many trail use conflicts .
She stated she has not found the trails to be too wide,
adding that more space makes it easier for users to pass
each other. She said she would like to see the hayfield
maintained and hopes the District can find an agricultural
tenant.
Donna Harris , 22802 Prospect Road, Saratoga, described the
involvement of Cora Older in the history of the preserve .
Mrs . Harris said that she would like the District to
consider calling the preserve the Cora and Fremont Older
Open Space Preserve.
Jeffry Harris , 22700 Prospect Road, Saratoga , said that he
finds used toilet tissue in his garden and on the roads,
adding that the District needs to think about installing
another toilet facility within the preserve.
Vince Garrod, addressing the hayfield issue, said a soil
analysis will show some soil will support native brushland
and some soil will support native grassland.. He said, if
left alone, both these areas will revert to their native
vegetative states , and that in the right soils the native
grasses will stop the baccharis . D. Woods asked what
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Meeting 90-27 Page 4
percentage of the hayfield Mr. Garrod thought would be
natural grassland. Mr. Garrod replied he estimated about
70%. D. Woods said that any long term management proposals
for a hayfield at Fremont Older would be based on a resource
inventory similar to the Russian Ridge management project .
Mr. Garrod also discussed the incompatibility of farming
with nesting quail and with public use of the preserve.
Doris Edwards , 22525 Rolling Hills Road, Saratoga, asked if
fire breaks would still be disced if changes under
discussions were implemented. R. McKibbin replied that fire
control would continue to be important; only changes to
resource management discing were being considered.
R. McKibbin, referring to pages 8 to 9, suggested an
amendment to incorporate Vince Garrod' s comments . D. Woods
asked if the intent was for staff to examine all methods of
managing the hayfield as an open grassland and to address
recommendations in the context of the resource management
element of the Plan.
Motion: R. McKibbin moved that staff return to the Board
with an amendment incorporating Vince Garrod ' s
comments , for Board consideration. R. Bishop
seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 to 1 ,
with N. Hanko voting against the motion.
Motion: R. Bishop moved to tentatively adopt the revised
Comprehensive Use and Management Plan for Fremont
Older Open Space Preserve, as contained in report
R-90-130. B. Crowder seconded the motion. The
motion passed 5 to 0.
III . INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
N. Hanko reported that staff will be invited to a December 1.9
potluck buffet to introduce the new Board member, Ginny Babbitt .
She said that D. Hansen will give his slide presentation from the
conference, and a tape of Wangari Maathai ' s presentation will be
shown.
H. Grench congratulated Cupertino voters on the passage of
Measure T. He reported that two new open space districts were
voted in elsewhere, one in Sonoma County and one in Riverside
County.
IV. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9: 45 p.m.
Kathleen Hart
Recording Secretary
CORRECTIONS TO MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 7, 1990
II . APPROVAL OF MINUTES
November 7 , 1990
N. Hanko stated that paragraph 2 , page 2 of the minutes should be
corrected to read "N. Hanko asked if the Board committee would be
of
included in the review for restoration plans . . .
Motion: R . Bishop moved that the Board accept the minutes of
November 7 , as corrected. B. Crowder seconded the motion.
The motion passed 6 to 0 .