HomeMy Public PortalAbout19961030 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open S,r re
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MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
SPECIAL MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
October 30, 1996
MINUTES
I. ROLL CALL
President Nonette Hanko called the Special Meeting to order at 7:04 P.M.
Members Present: Pete Siemens, Mary Davey, Teena Henshaw, David Smernoff,
Nonette Hanko, Betsy Crowder, and Wim de Wit.
Personnel Present: Craig Britton, John Escobar, Sue Schectman, Malcolm Smith,
Randy Anderson, Jean Fiddes, Mary de Beauvieres, Julie McCullough, Jodi Isaacs,
Lisa Zadek, and Patrick Congdon.
II. BOARD BUSINESS - PUBLIC WORKSHOP FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A
REGIONAL OPEN SPACE PLAN
N. Hanko asked if any members of the public wished to address the Board on any
item not related to the Regional Open Space Plan. No one addressed the Board.
Approximately 25 members of the public were in attendance at the workshop.
C. Britton stated that the purpose of the workshop meeting was to review the draft
revised Basic Policies prepared by staff in response to the ideas generated at the initial
January 1996 public workshop on the Regional Open Space Plan and staff workshops
on the material. He reviewed the objectives and benefits of the Regional Open Space
Plan project.
R. Anderson, who facilitated the workshop, reviewed the end products expected from
the Regional Open Space Plan, the process to be followed, and the steps and
timeframe for completing the project.
It was noted that the Board had received written input from Linda V. Elkind, 14
Hawk View, Portola Valley, on the proposed wording of the mission statement and
the Basic Policies and from Bob Kain, President, ROMP, on the Regional Open Space
Plan and the needs of mountain cyclists.
Introduction
Discussion focused on whether the full text of the Stegner quote or the edited version
printed in the introduction should be used. The Board agreed that N. Hanko should
check with Mary Stegner to determine what Mrs. Stegner thinks about the quote bein
330 Distel Circle . Los Altos, CA 94022-1404 . Phone:415-691-1200 . FAX:415-691-0485 . E-mail:mrosd@netcom.com 6,0
Board of Directors:Pete Siemens,Mary C.Davey,Teena Henshaw,David T.Smernoff,Nonette Hanko,Betsy Crowder,Wim de Wit
General Manager:L.Craig Britton
Meeting 96-22 Page 2
edited and if she might want to recommend another quote. Staff is also to look for
alternate quotes that could be used in the introduction.
The first bullet under open space was amended by Board consensus to read "Is land
area that is allowed to remain in or return to its natural state. Open space lands may
include compatible agriculture uses".
The word "improves" was changed to "enhances" in the fourth bullet by Board
consensus after discussion of whether the statement needed to be included in the
Introduction.
Mission Statement
There was Board consensus on version 2 of the Mission Statement with no wording
changes.
Objective 1 - Opn Space Land Preservation
The wording of the goal of "preserving a regional greenbelt of open space lands,
linking District lands with federal, state, county, and city parklands and watershed
lands" to be reworded by staff to better reflect goal of linking the District's greenbelt
to other jurisdictions' lands.
The combination of existing and proposed wording for District Purpose was
discussed to provide a clearer statement. The word "use-intensive" to be changed to
"high intensity". Discussion focused on the whether the intent of the statement was to
state what the District is as opposed to statingwhat the District is not. There was
Board consensus to switch the first two sentences, to retain the second sentence of the
initial text, and to use the present tense rather than the future tense throughout the
document.
The Board agreed with a suggestion that page numbers for documents referred to not
be included in the text since pages numbers could change when policies are revised.
C. Britton suggested that footnotes be used; only the footnote page would need to be
revised when changes were necessary. B. Crowder requested that there be a
compilation of all District policies at the end of the document.
O.ptn Space Acquisition
In section c, the Board agreed that the word "will" should be changed to "may" in the
fourth, sixth, and eighth lines as decisions each Board will need to make are being
referenced.
In section d, the Board agreed that the second sentence regarding eminent domain
should be changed to read "Eminent domain will ordinarily be used within the
District's boundaries and sphere of influence and only in those instances where all
reasonable attempts at voluntary negotiations have failed, the property in question is
w
Meeting 96-22 Page 3
necessary to the District's open space program, and where there are no feasible
alternate acquisitions that would achieve the District's objectives in a timely manner."
Mauer Plan, Regional Opn Space Plan
There was Board consensus to change to word "publish" to "produce" in the first
sentence and to substitute the words "desirability of" for "priorities for" in the second
sentence. D. Smernoff stated that a clearer definition of the Regional Open Space
Plan was needed in the text, and the Board concurred.
Objective 2 - Inter-Agency Relationship
Participation
Based on suggestions from Legal Counsel related to the District's role as a public
agency, there was Board consensus to rephrase the Participation statement to read
"The District will participate in the public process of formulation of land use plans of
other agencies that affect the District's mission" with staff to work on eliminating
some of the "ofs".
Advocacv
R. Anderson showed a revised paragraph for the Advocacy section proposed by
District Legal Counsel. The Board concurred with the proposed wording with the
following changes: the first sentence was changed to read "to better plan, acquire,
and operate..." and "will" was changed to "may" in the first and second sentences.
Objective 3 Open Space Management
The Board agreed to change the objective statement to read "The District will follow
management policies the ensure proper care of the land, that provide public access
appropriate to the nature of the land, and that are consistent with ecological values
and public safety."
Resource Management
The word "natural" was added before the word diversity.
Public Access and Constraints
Discussion focused on how to clarify the statement so that it is clear that open spare
acquisition is the District's highest priority and that, because of the District's fixed
amount of funding, the development of facilities would divert funding for acquisition.
Staff was directed to redraft this Public Access and Constraints section for the Board's
review on November 20.
Meeting 96-22 Page 4
Discussion also focused on why the statement 'Areas found to be vital wildlife or
plant habitats will be designated as refuge areas, and in these areas access will be
severely restricted" had not been included in the revised text. The Board concurred
that this wording should be included.
The Board concurred that the Resource Management Policies should be referenced
after the second paragraph of Public Access and Constraints.
Recreational Use and Improvements
The Board agreed with the public comment that nature study should be the first item
listed under low intensity recreational uses and that the words "but not limited to"
should be included in the statement since not all possible uses were listed. The words
"or designation of areas exclusively for one use" should be deleted since this
statement would preclude hiker-only trails.
At Legal Counsel's recommendation, "exposure to liability" was added to the factors
that "may", rather than "will", be considered in deciding whether to permit certain
facilities and activities on District lands.
It was recommended that the Board's budget guidelines be referenced at the end of
the third paragraph of section d.
The word "community" to be added before organizations in the first sentence of the
fourth paragraph.
Cultural Resources
The Board agreed that the word "will" should be changed to "may" in the first
sentence.
Asicultural and Enterprise Use
Since "enterprise" was an internal District-used word and not commonly known to
everyone, it was agreed to use "limited revenue producing" instead. The Board
agreed that timber harvesting should be deleted from the list of agricultural uses of
District land and that the word "will" should be changed to "may" in the last sentence
of the section.
OWective 4 Public Involvement
Public Information and Meeting Procedures
There was Board consensus to change the second sentence in the first paragraph to
read "This information shall be disseminated as widely as possible throughout the
District" and to change "its constituency" to "the public" at the end of the second
paragraph.
Meeting 96-22 Page 5
Partici as tion
The Board agreed to add "ecological and" before the words "environmental
education" in the last sentence of section d.
The Board discussed making the recruitment and training of volunteers more
prominent in the document as discussed at the January 1996 workshop, and M. Davey
stated that there should be a separate section on volunteerism.
Objective 5 Administration
The Board agreed to add the words "and objectives" after the word "goals" in the
Administration objective statement.
It was noted that the Administration section did not include any information on the
Board of Directors. The Board agreed that a section should be added on the Board's
role.
S. Schectman stated that the final document should include a disclaimer similar to that
in other documents stating that failure to adhere to a specific statement or policy shall
not affect the validity of any action taken.
B. Crowder reiterated that she would like to see a central document where one could
find all of the District's policies.
The Board scheduled a follow-up Special Meeting to continue its review of the
mission statement and revision of the Basic Policies on Wednesday, November 20,
beginning at 7:30 P.M.
III. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 P.M.
Jean H. Fiddes
District Clerk