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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19970723 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open Space MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 97--.20 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF DIRECTORS July,23, 1997 MINUTES I. ROLL CALL President Mary Davey called the Special Meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. Members Present: Mary Davey, Betsy Crowder, Ken Nitz, Jed Cyr, David Smemoff, and Pete Siemens. Members Absent: Nonette Hanko. Personnel Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman, Mike Williams, and Diane Blackman 11. CLOSED SESSION M. Davey stated that the Board would adjourn to Closed Session for the purpose of discussing Closed Session Agenda Item 1. The Board recessed to Closed Session at 6:32 P.M. and the Closed Session commenced at 6:34 P.M. The Board concluded the Closed Session at 7:00 P.M. and M. Davey called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. Additional Personnel Present: Malcolm Smith, Randy Anderson, Del Woods, and David Sanguinetti. III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Al Bell, 12130 Skyline Blvd., Woodside, encouraged the District to acquire the Russian Orthodox Church property. He quoted from an article in the San Mateo Times stating that protecting the coastline could only be done if the open space distri& acquired the property. He described what had happened when the Church had done fire suppression work and showed slides and photographs of the property before and after the bulldozing took place. Dave Perrone, 316 Ridge Road, Woodside, expressed concerns regarding development on the Church property. He enumerated three points: 1. There have been bulldozers on the Mill Creek Watershed. 2. The letter of intent filed with the County by the church included clearing of the building site without permits. If not U'4 Utu 5�1 Celebrate 25 Years of Open Space Preservation. 330 Distel Circle * Los Altos,CA 94022-1404 - Phone:415-691-1200 • 1972-1997 - FAX:415-691-0485 - E-mail:mrosd@openspace.org o web site:www.openspace.org Board of Directors:Pete Siemens,Mary C.Davey,Jed Cyr, David T.Smernoff, Nonette Hanko,Betsy Crowder,Kenneth C.Nitz o General Manager:L.Craig Britton Meeting 97-20 Page 2 for alert neighbors it would have been cleared with the bulldozers; and 3. Damage is occurring now and anybody who wants to preserve the property needs to act quickly. Julia Bott, 3921 E. Bayshore, Palo Alto, Loma Prieta Chapter of Sierra Club, said support for acquisition of the church property is strong. She thanked the District for their efforts and urged them to work swiftly. Colleen Doherty, 70 Ellsworth, San Francisco, attorney for the Russian Convent, responded, stating that the Convent went out of its way to do things properly. She said what was done was for fire protection and has been inspected and approved by the county. The work was performed by a contractor who has done fire protection work in undeveloped areas for thirty years and who had been retained because of his experience. She said he informed her that in some cases he cleared less than had been cleared before. The work had been inspected and deemed proper and appropriate by the county inspector, the county planning department, and the California Department of Forestry said the work was done properly and was appropriate for the property. She said chain saws had been used to remove large piles of brush and explained that the road had been moved with the approval of the county. She said Mother Isihia had appeared before the Board to try to find a way to work with them and there was no intent to do anything without the approval of the county. In answer to questions from Board members, Ms. Doherty said the bulldozing had been done to protect homes adjoining the Church property from fire. She said there is no subdivision proposed on the property at this time, though some discussion had occurred about the one density credit outside the coastal zone. Lennie Roberts, 339 La Cuesta, Portola Valley, Committee for Green Foothills, stated that grading a road is not fire suppression and it appears it is opening up access to property to get to the center of the property where development is proposed. She said the Church obtained permits for the grading after the fact. With respect to subdividing the property, the original submittal to the county included a 40 acre parcel to be subdivided for residential development. She said they are asking that the total amount of development on the property, including future residential development, be evaluated. She said one density credit is reserved for a future subdivision. Elise Jacque, 112 Ware Road, Woodside, 94062, volunteer member of the Skyline Committee to Save Open Space, said this is world class open space and should be added to the District. She said the proposed building is on the only part of the property amenable to humans, and that the Committee's two goals are to stop the development and get the property preserved as open space for posterity. Patty Ciesla, Palo Alto, outlined a proposed change of alignment for part of segment B8 in Study Area 2 of El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve. The mountain bike community had flagged the alternate alignment which they believed would avoid potential problems due to cross traffic; avoid root areas of old-growth Douglas Fir trees; and use a greater length of existing trail, reducing the amount of Meeting 97-20 Page 3 +� new trail to be constructed. She asked that this proposal be added to a future Board agenda. D. Smernoff said he thought the proposed changes were reasonable and asked if these were minor changes that could be done in the field. C. Britton responded that the matter would have to be brought back as an agenda item because the changes did not appear to be minor and there had already been adequate opportunity for public input on this alignment including two Board discussions and a field trip with the Use and Management Committee to flag the alignment. Motion: D. Smernoff moved that the Board put the proposal on an agenda at a future Board meeting. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-2 (Directors Siemens, Smernoff, Nitz and Davey voted yes, Directors Cyr and Crowder voted no). IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board adopt the agenda. D. Smernoff seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. V. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR P. Siemens removed the reply to a written communication from Mr. Kenneth Broome. Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board approve the Consent Calendar including the minutes of the June 25, 1997 Special and Regular Meeting; responses to written communications from Mr. David Oare, oare@gene.com; Mr. John J. Gardiner, 304 Pine Street, Millbrae; Mr. Hugh Vanderford, 11145 Loma Rica Road, Loma Rica; and Mr. Richard Treakle, 510 Pine Lane, Los Altos; agenda item 4, Authorize Cleanup of an Old Ranch Dumpat t Skyline Ridge Qpgn Space Preserve and Authorization for Staff to Spend up to $15 000 to Improve Access to the TW of the Dump Site and ReveQetate the Site Upon Completion of the Cleanup Project: agenda item 5. Final Adoption of the Amendment to the Use and Management Plan for Monte Bello Open Space Preserve to Establish a Public Permit Parking, Area Near the Southern End of Monte Bello Road: and Revised Claims 97-14. D. Smernoff seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. C. Britton noted that there were new employees in the audience to be introduced. D. Sanguinetti introduced Grant Kern and Scott Cotterel, Open Space Technicians, and described their backgrounds and qualifications. The Board welcomed the new employees, and D. Smernoff added that he had worked with Grant during a work day at El Corte de Madera Creek. Meeting 97-20 Page 4 R. Anderson introduced Joanne Swirsding, Planning Secretary and the Board welcomed her. VI. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS P. Siemens expressed concerns about the wording of the section of the letter to Mr. Broome headed "Acquisition of development rights from landowners." Staff indicated they would work with Director Siemens to amend the response. The Board approved the letter on that basis on a vote of 6 to 0. VII. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. 1 - Informational Report on Proposal for Hang-gliding and PPr gliding at Bald Mountain in the Mt Umunhum Area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve - (Report R-97-108). D. Woods pointed out the area on a map and presented the staff report including primary elements of the proposal. He showed slides of the area in question and described issues and concerns. He noted that staff feels the area should not be open to hang-gliding as staff cannot be there to monitor the activity. He said emergency response was a concern and summarized the staff recommendation. He noted that the operations program review is beingundertaken and said it is hopeful that the Pe District will acquire some of the of the properties in the area which would accelerate the comprehensive Use and Management process and provide opportunities for increased public use, including the possibility of this one. He showed the Twin Creeks area on the map. B. Crowder said that she is an advocate of hang-gliding. It has been a success at Windy Hill and she would like to see it here but understood the difficulties and agreed with staff s conclusions. D. Woods said he didn't know if the group had contacted the county regarding an alternate landing site, but the District had recommended that they do so. He described the notification process. B. Crowder said she agreed with staff's conclusions. D. Woods described the notification process. Dan O'Day, 23960 Alamitos Road, San Jose, thanked the District for notifying him and said he lived across the road from the proposed landing site. He said he was in agreement with the staff recommendation. There is inadequate parking on a very narrow road, and fences might be broken down by people carrying their gear out. He handed out letters he had sent to the Santa Clara Valley Water District and said that he was in favor of paragliding and hang- gliding remaining in established areas such as Windy Hill. 4 Meeting 97-20 40 Page 5 John Minkel, 209 Palisades Dr., Daly City, said he was one of the owners of Twin Creeks Properties. He said there would be no parking at his property line and no parking signs are posted from Almaden to Hicks Road. He outlined the dangers, including barbed wire around their pool, and the disturbance to the environment which would be affected by deer drinking at the springs and disturb the horned toads on Bald Mountain. I P. Siemens said he was concerned with the lack of ability to patrol the area and said he agreed with staffs recommendations and thought the report was well written. It was noted that none of the interested hang-gliding advocates were in attendance at the meeting. Motion: B. Crowder moved that the Board confirm that development of a hang-gliding and paragliding program at Bald Mountain in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve is premature based on the need to integrate any request for special use with a comprehensive study of the preserve. D. Smemoff seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. B. Agenda Item No. 2. - Proposed Acceptance of an Offer to Purchase Fee Determinable Estate, Jacob and Tamara Guenther. for the Sale of Su lus Parcel at Skyline Ridge Owen Space Preserve - (Report R-97-109). M. Williams summarized the staff report and provided background information. He said the transaction was not viewed as a money-making venture but as a means to improve control of the property and surrounding open space lands, specifically to improve patrol access, to eliminate illegal structures such as the pond house, to eliminate use conflicts, and to reserve future trail rights for the public. He outlined the terms of the agreement. He said both parties who had bid were present at the meeting and answered questions regarding roads and potential trail alignments. In answer to questions regarding why the District is not demolishing the improvements, M. Williams said there is a significant investment in the property and the road would have to be repaired to allow demolition. C. Britton outlined the Board's policy regarding purchase of structures, stating that if there is no future recreational or management use for the structures or L the District is not trying to recapture a substantial investment in structures, they would be recommended for demolition. He said if they demolished the structures, they would still have the costs of removing the gas tank and fixing the road, in addition to the purchase price and the cost of demolition. He said this is seen as a long-term patrol and maintenance road to get to Old Page t± Road and it is hoped that the entire amount for road repair can be obtained from FEMA. He said the Board had approved a standard agreement which was used by all bidders Meeting 97-20 Page 6 Gerald Cain, 6311 N. O'Connor, Irving, Texas, said he felt it was an unfair process. He suggested that the District have an exact formula in the future and said this was a very demanding contract. He believed there was a more equitable and friendly way to handle the process. He said he would be willing to purchase the property at $500,000 and grant access for patrol and future trail easements. C. Britton outlined the reasons for the bidding process, stating it was driven by policy which came out of the sale of the Thornewood surplus parcel. He said he thought it was a fair method and the only way it could be done. M. Williams clarified what had occurred, stating it was not just a matter of money and that they had tried to make it a fair process. He explained why they went with the bid process, stating they tried to be more objective. C. Britton clarified why staff could not promise that the standard terms and conditions for all bidders would be used in the future, noting that staff had learned something from the process but in a lot of cases there might be no one who is interested in bidding. He said every situation is unique and if staff could do it in every case it would be ideal Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board Adopt Resolution 97-27, a Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Declaring Property Surplus to the District's Needs, Approving and Authorizing Entering Into an Offer to Purchase Fee Determinable Estate for the Sale of the Surplus Property, and Authorizing General Manager to Execute Any and All Other Documents Necessary or Appropriate to the Transaction (Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve - Former Lands of Bach); accept the Offer from Jacob and Tamara Guenther to Purchase Fee Determinable Estate, through the proposed sale of a 50 year interest in 10-acre surplus parcel adjoining Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve; and to adopt the Interim Use and Management Plan amendments contained in report R-97-99. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0. M. Williams introduced the Guenthers. C. Agenda Item No. 3 - Acceptance of the Lowest Responsible Bid for the Driveway Roair Project at Former Bach Property on Skyline Ridge Q= Space Preserve: (Due to the Accelerated Schedule for this Project, this Report was prepared Prior to Bid Opening of Tuesday. July 22. Staff will ROM on Bid Results and Final Staff Recommendation at your July 23 Meeting): and. Authorize the General Manager to Enter into a Contract for Performance o the Work - (Report R-97-102) Meeting 97-20 Page 7 Agenda Item No. 3A - Award of Contract for Driveway Landslide Project at Former Bach Property on Skyline Ridge Open Space pace Preserve: Determination that the Bid Received from T.K,O. Construction is Non-responsive for Failure to Conform to Bid Specifications Due to Failure to Submit a Bid Guarantee of the Type Required Prior to the Deadline for Bid Submittal and Failure to Submit the Required Three References as Required by the Bid Specification: and Authorization for the General Manner to Enter into a Contract for the Bach Driveway Landslide Repair Project with George Bianchi Construction. as Lowest Responsive Bidder. in the Amount of $63,913 (Report R-97-112). R. Anderson presented the staff report and said they felt the cost is justified given the value of residential property. Tim Odin, T.K.0 Construction, who had bid on the project, described what happened regarding the bid bond and during the bid opening. He said he had supplied two references. S. Schectman spelled out the options open to the Board, including rejecting any or all bids or determining that there was a failure to strictly conform to specifications. She said it was the Board's discretion to determine whether they thought the failure to conform to the specifications was trivial or not. R. Anderson told Board members the project was advertised on June 27 and the bid was opened yesterday, giving them about a month including an opportunity to look at the site or ask questions of staff. He said references provided by bidders were checked, including the two provided by T.K.O. C. Britton said the other four bidders did provide a certified check and three references. He said he thought staff had a responsibility to make sure everyone is conforming to the same set of rules. There were no significant differences in the three low bids. Staff has tried to come up with the best solution given the circumstances. Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board determine that the bid received from T.K.O. Construction is non-responsive for failure to conform to bid specifications due to failure to submit a bid guarantee of the type required prior to the deadline for bid submittal and failure to submit the required three references as required by the bid specification; and authorize the General Manager to enter into a contract for the Bach Driveway Landslide Repair Project with George Bianchi Construction, as lowest responsive bidder, in the amount of$63,913. P. Siemens seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 to 1 (Director Smernoff voted no). VIII. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS B. Crowder pointed out a letter from the Alaska Conservation District in the FYIs and said she thought the Board should note their philosophy. Meeting 97-20 Page 8 P. Siemens described what is happening in Europe as to policies regarding open space. K. Nitz said he had given Board members the newsletter from the Palo Alto Humane Society. J. Cyr said he had spent the day with the trail building crew at El Corte de Madera Creek near the Leaf Trail and described his experience. D. Smernoff said he and Ranger B. Downing and Open Space Technician G. Kern, worked with about 25 volunteers Saturday building about 100 ft. of the Leaf Trail extension. He said he thought they were about half-way done. C. Britton reported as follows: 1. Agenda items will be numbered in the future as they were at this meeting. 2. He had received an official letter which was included in the FYIs regarding the NASA open house on Sept. 20. 3. He referred to the letter to Linda Elkind in the FYIs. 4. The FYIs included a notice of a meeting Elaine Alquist is hosting next Wednesday. 5. He announced the dates of upcoming joint meetings (the main focus would be discussion of the District's Regional Open Space Plan); September 17 with San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Commission; October 15 with Santa Clara County Open Space Authority; and November 5 with Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Commission. 6. A copy of the type of report staff posts indicating coming planning and trail construction projects was included in the FYIs. 7. A revised map of EL Corte de Madera showing more precisely where B-8 and B10 are in accordance with flagging was included in FYIs. 8. He reported on the executive search for a new Administrative Services Manager. He said it is expected that someone should be hired by October. In answer to K. Nitz's questions regarding the necessity of the budget committee meeting due to budget increases, C. Britton said the La Honda Creek bridges might be put off and they haven't seen the bid on the Windy Hill parking lot. The budget committee will meet at the halfway point of the fiscal year in any event. M. Smith shared an e-mail from a mountain biker and showed a short video tape of three different pieces of news-coverage on El Corte de Madera trail issues. VIEI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m. Roberta Wolfe Recording Secretary