HomeMy Public PortalAbout19981118 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Re�gfional Open ace
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Meeting 98-27
SPECIAL MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
November 18, 1998
MINUTES
I. ROLL CALL
B. Crowder called the meeting to order at 6:35 P.M.
Members Present: Betsy Crowder, Jed Cyr, Mary Davey, Pete Siemens, Deane Little, and
Ken Nitz.
Members Absent: Nonette Hanko
Staff Present: Craig Britton, Sue Schectman
11. CLOSED SESSION.
B. Crowder stated that the Board would adjourn to Closed Session for the purpose of
discussing Closed Session Agenda Items 1, 2, 3, and 4.
The Board recessed to Closed Session at 6:35 P.M. and the Closed Session commenced at
6:36 P.M. The Board concluded the Closed Session at 7:25 P.M. and B. Crowder called
the Regular Meeting to order at 7:32 P.M. She noted that no reportable actions had taken
place in Closed Session.
Additional Personnel Present: Randy Anderson, Matt Freeman, Jodi Isaacs, Del Woods,
Mary de Beauvieres, John Escobar, Malcolm Smith, Gordon Baillie, Carleen Bruins, Lisa
Zadek.
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Phil Hearin, District Ranger, stated that at an October Board meeting, he had made
statements alleging that there had been possible violations of the Family Medical Leave
Act. He said after doing some research he had learned there was no violation or any
illegal action. He apologized; said he had contacted the Department of Labor for their
advice, and outlined their opinion. He had learned that the Board had no power over the
Act unless it became a grievance or litigation. He talked about District policy regarding
investigation of complaints and said he was not asking the Board to respond publicly at
this time, but he asked them to direct staff as to how they would like the Family Medical
Leave Act implemented.
C. Britton stated he believed staff had acted legally and compassionately.
3 30 Distel Circle * Los Alto,,, ("A 94022-1404 Phone:650-691-1200
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Meeting 98-27 Page 2
IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Motion: J. Cyr moved that the Board adopt the agenda. P. Siemens seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
V. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including
approval of minutes of the October 14 Regular and Special Meetings, and
the October 19 Special Meeting; reply to a written communication from
Mr. Harry H. Haeussler, Jr., 1094 Highlands Circle,Los Altos; agenda
item 5, Authorization to Apply for Recreational Trails Program Grant
Funds for Construction of Bay Area Ridge Trail Stag Area and Trail
Improvements at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve and Determination that
the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act, including Adoption of Resolution Approving
the Application for Grant Funds,the Recreational Trails Program-Fiscal
Year 1998-1999• agenda item 6,Final Adoption of an Amendment to the
Comprehensive Use and Management Plan for Los Trancos Open Space
Preserve to Install a Bench and Memorial Plaque Commemorating Mr.
Stan Norton; agenda item 7, Cancellation of December 23, 1998, Regular
Meeting and Scheduling of December 16, 1998, Special Meeting; and
Revised Claims 98-20. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 6
to 0.
VI. BOARD BUSINESS
A. Agenda Item No. 1 - One Year Trial Dog Access on Hamm's Gulch Trail and
Dog Access Rules Compliance Study, Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, Adoption
of a Standard as to an Acceptable Level of Compliance with Dog Access
Regulations:Extension of theOne-Year Dog Access Trail on Hamm's Gulch Trail
and Study of Rules Compliance in the Preserve, for an Additional Year,Including
Monitoring and Reporting on Leash Compliance, but Not on Waste Clean-up;
Direct Staff to Take Measures, Including Signing, to Prevent Dogs from Impacting
Sausal Pond in Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.
a. Use and Management Committees Recommendations -(R�ort R-98-
142 .
b. General Manager's Alternative Recommended Actions- (Report R-
98-143).
Meeting 98-27 Page 3
R. Anderson presented the staff report. He said he did not want to focus directly
on the study results but to put them in context. He recapped the findings from
their overall dog study process, responded to N. Hanko's memo, and outlined
some of the recommendations and the reasons for them.
R. Anderson said there is a demand for dog access in the area, and dog access has
many important benefits. Most other agencies do not provide access and that puts
pressure on the District. He said dog access did not seem to have serious
environmental impacts, so it came down to an aesthetic and emotional issue. He
continued that it was important to consider that the issue had directly impacted
staffs ability to address perhaps more significant objectives, such as planning for
current use and future growth, better managing the resources and facilities, and
implementing access improvements that everyone can use.
With respect to N. Hanko's memo regarding Sausal Pond, he said that staff sees it
as a separate issue. He said he thought it needed to be signed and configured as
approved by the Use and Management Committee.
He referred to the staff report regarding monitoring of compliance, and said the
options presented were not the only two options. He said he thought that having
another year of study would not shed further light on the subject, and would use
additional staff time without acquiring additional useful information. He said there
were two potential logical options: 1. Close the preserve to dogs, at least for
now, because two-thirds compliance with the rules was not an acceptable level,
and staff must make the recommendation in order to be consistent with the
District's Mission Statement and policy that completing and planning the overall
greenbelt and protecting its resources must take priority over wholly satisfying
public access in the near term. 2. Keep it the way it is. Staff is concerned with this
second option because it implies that the two-thirds level of compliance is
acceptable.
R. Anderson said there had been a nationwide study regarding the environmental
impact from dogs, and there was no conclusive evidence that dogs would wipe out
any specific species. However, within the District's scale of concern about
environmental issues, he said it would be a significant issue.
Discussion followed regarding what would be an acceptable level of compliance,
and the original rating of Windy Hill for dog access against the criteria. R.
Anderson said Windy Hill was toward the higher end as being appropriate for dog
use. He added that hundreds of volunteer hours had gone into the study.
H. Hauessler said he rode his horse at Windy Hill and had yet to see where there
had been a problem with dogs on or off leash. He said he was in favor of letting
them go on as they were, since they were not causing problems and had no place
Meeting 98-27 Page 4
else to go.
Nancy Carter, 237 Canyon Drive, Portola Valley, said she was speaking for 12
people in her neighborhood who had dogs and could not be at the meeting. She
focused on the fact that dogs were there before the District was. She said people
take their dogs to obedience training and care about them being well managed and
well cared for. She said one of the ways to get compliance is making rules that
make sense. She said the District should look at community needs and it is not fair
to focus on compliance. She said we are in an urban area, and people will scare
wildlife.
Berry Stevens, 3265 Fair Oaks Avenue, Redwood City, said the statistics are
flawed in regard to the issue of waste piles. In addition, he said women were not
able to access preserves without a reasonable level of safety and the District was
denying access to a human group by denying access to dogs.
Theresa Gadbois, 941 Florence Lane, Menlo Park, described her experience of
watching wildlife with her dog. She said that even if they close the preserve,
people would take dogs there. She said she saw more compliance than non-
compliance. She said they are trying to educate people and maybe the signage
needed to be improved.
Suzanne Hanrahan, 924 Poplar Avenue, Sunnyvale, canine trail patrol volunteer,
said she believed the compliance level was fairly high and improving. She had
never seen a dog in Sausal Pond and had seen lots of wildlife. She didn't think
problems could be blamed specifically on dogs. In addition, she had never seen
dogs kill or injure any animal but had seen dead lizards with bicycle tire tread
marks. She said that more trail damage was caused by equestrians and bikers than
by dogs. She said that if she sees an offender she informs them of the District's
purpose and regulations and then would see them on leash the next time. She
thought it would help if there were more patrol and signage. Also, if the Rangers
think they need guns on preserves she thought it was legitimate that women have
dogs.
Kirt Williams, 185 Willowbrook Drive, Portola Valley, said that Windy Hill
borders a residential area, so there is a high demand for places to go with dogs.
Also, Hamm's Gulch and Spring Ridge make a nice loop. He said that East Bay
Regional Park District allows dogs either on leash or under voice control, and he
did not see a problem with that. He said that there had been a focus on dogs being
off leash, but he did not think it was a big deal. He agreed that there was a safety
issue.
John Carnes, 1755 La Honda Road#95, Woodside, PADS and volunteer trail
patrol member, said much of what staff had presented had hinged on the lack of
dog owners' willingness to comply with rules and the inability of groups to
Meeting 98-27 Page 5
increase compliance. He said statistics can be biased and he believed there was
another side to the statistics, in particular those regarding dog waste. He talked
about the compliance rate and said he believed it showed that people with dogs
were doing a great job of cleaning up.
Anne Macaulay, 1809 Higdon Avenue#2, Mountain View, talked about what
PADS has been doing since the April meeting concerning dog access at Windy
Hill. This included information stations at Windy Hill and in the community. She
said they had found strong support and handed over petitions containing 244
signatures of those supporting continued dog access. She said people are
receptive to the message and it is a question of getting the message to people.
She thought they were making progress but it was slow. She added that the
information station at Windy Hill was held in the new parking lot.
Dan Bernstein, PADS, described a group that had been formed, and said it was
discouraging to see how little appreciation there was from the District. He said
facts were ignored or distorted when not consistent with District Staff.
Marjorie Ottenberg, 12881 Foothill Lane, Saratoga, said some workers who
helped get the District started in the first place could not use the District land. She
said she could only hike with her dog and described her experiences. She said she
preferred to hike with her dog off leash and expected it to behave. She said dogs
do not necessarily threaten wildlife and said she thought Sierra Azul would be ideal
for dog access.
Phil Hearin commended those who had come to support dog access and
commended R. Anderson regarding the study. In regard to declining wildlife, he
said there had been no conclusive studies done but there had been a decline. He
did not think it was because of one use. The number of visitors would have
impacts.
Ken Byk, 1015 Mallet Court, Menlo Park, went on record as supporting access by
dogs. He said trails are closed for those who don't care to be around dogs and he
thought there were other options.
Linda Cohen, 935 Scott Street, Palo Alto, talked about walking alone on
preserves and said there needed to be more trails. She was worried about banning
dogs from all preserves and thought dog owners would use the trails anyway. The
problem with enforcement would be greater.
Barbara Judge, Coastside Dog Club, asked about complaints. She thought that as
word got out more and more will comply. She said those on the coast did not
want to see further restriction of what they currently have. They want dog owners
to be more responsible and must get the message out.
Meeting 98-27 Page 6
Denise Williams, 25462 Altamont Road, Los Altos Hills, said she was concerned
that they would lose one of the few preserves that we had. She said as a taxpayer
she didn't mind paying if she got value.
H. Haeussler asked what is more important- humans or the environment?
Dan Bernstein said they had been working on this issue for a long time and asked if
they were interested in making dog access work or in shutting it down.
I Cyr responded to H. Haeussler stating that the District's primary objective was
to acquire and preserve land and secondarily, to allow access to the land. He
thanked people for coming and said this was an important issue. He thought it
was easy to pick apart any survey but this was a generalized snapshot. He said
they needed to move towards improving compliance and this was a highly charged
issue. He suggested that if they proceeded as a committee they needed to address
the demand on staff time. He said he was willing to stand with the Committee's
recommendation to continue the trial for one more year.
D. Little said he would far rather see a mountain lion than a person and said he had
hiked Windy Hill. He described the hike and said he did not think they had a
problem with dogs. However, he had seen horse damage. He saw wildlife while
hiking and said he could not see a reason to close the preserve to dog use.
Regarding compliance with rules, he was concerned that the District had a problem
with enforcing them.
K. Nitz said the matrix shows Windy Hill ranks high for dog access. He agreed
with D. Little regarding the compliance level being an enforcement issue and said
they should increase enforcement and signage or other education. He said he did
not think they needed to close it. However, there will be more people visiting and
maybe the District should not be opening or making more trails until we figure out
everything that is going on.
M. Davey said she didn't think they ought to spend any more staff time on this
issue. She thought the study alerted users that it was in their interest to abide by
the rules. She thought it was important to open trails and work with PADS to
educate users.
P. Siemens said he did not believe dogs should be allowed to be off leash. He said
if they could have a responsible level of compliance, he would support extension of
the trial.
B. Crowder thanked those who spoke and the PADS members who had been
operating the information stations. She said MROSD is an open space district and
Meeting 98-27 Page 7
its purpose is to keep land from being developed. Recreation is secondary. She
said San Mateo County does not allow dogs in any parks, and Santa Clara County
has very limited access, so those people come to District preserves. She said she
thought the criteria(if one trail in a preserve is open/closed, they should all be
opened/closed) needed to be reviewed and she was in favor of continuing access
for a year. She was also in favor of recommendation 4.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board determine that the proposed
actions are categorically exempt under the California Environmental
Quality Act(CEQA)based on the findings contained in the report.
M. Davey seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board refer the matter back to the Use
and Management Committee to develop a standard as to an
acceptable level of compliance with dog access regulations. (There
was no second or vote on this motion.)
Discussion: Regarding monitoring compliance, C. Britton said he thought
PADS would further work with the District. He said the level of
compliance might affect opening other preserves to dogs. There
was further discussion of monitoring compliance.
Motion: M. Davey moved that Hamm's Gulch trail be open indefinitely and
work cooperatively with PADS to continue its education program
for the use of the trail; and that gathering of information on rules
compliance be continued for a year without further formal study,
and the compliance information be brought back to committee or
Board for review at the end of the year. K. Nitz seconded the
motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board direct staff to take measures,
including signing, to prevent dogs from impacting Sausal Pond in
Windy p P Hill Open Space Preserve. K. Nitz seconded the motion.
The motion passed 5 to 0(M. Davey abstained).
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board refer the"all or nothing" poli
cy
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on dog access to the Use and Management Committee.
Discussion: R. Anderson clarified it was a guideline,
not a rule.
Second and Vote:
K. Nitz seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
Meeting 98-27 Page 8
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board urge the Use and Management
Committee to consider the addition of pooper scooper dispensers
and other options at trail heads. K. Nitz seconded the motion. The
motion passed 5 to 1 (B. Crowder voted no).
Paul McKowan, Volunteer Coordinator, in response to comments by the public,
said volunteers could modify their logs to show compliance as well as non-
compliance. He described how volunteers, including high school and senior citizen
groups, were recognized by the District.
There was a recess from 9:45 P.M. - 9:55 P.M.
B. Agenda Item No. 2-Parking Alternative Study-Fremont Older Open Space
Preserve:Determination the Study of Parking;Alternatives is Statutorily Exempt
from the California Environmental Quality Act; and Review of the Parking
Alternatives and Direct Staff as to the Preferred Alternative for Further Study-
(Report R-98-136).
R. Anderson presented the staff report and showed slides of the area. He
answered questions about the cost per parking space.
S. Schectman talked about liability and said staff believes that the golf course has a
responsibility for golf balls. She said that whatever option is pursued Staff can
renew dialogue with the country club regarding how they might participate. C.
Britton said they hoped to solve the issue through negotiations.
Regarding the condition of the road, R. Anderson said Prospect did not meet
current county road standards and it is a matter of opinion as to whether it must.
He said the county maintains the road to the parking lot.
H. Haeussler commented that there are equestrian trails but no horse trailer
parking.
Charles Pierce 88 Mercy Street, Mountain
t ou tam View, said he was ha about the
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development of Rancho San Antonio reserve. He agreed that there were safe
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concerns.
Steve Stuckey, 22600 Pro
spect, Saratoga, said the road is belo
w standard and
there was zero gain with any of the suggested options. He said demand will
increase and that the public has to have safe access and adequate parking. He
asked why they were proposing a parking lot that would generate the equivalent
traffic of 80 houses.
Phil Hearin, District Ranger, commented on the recommendations.
Meeting 98-27 Page 9
Earl Harris said he lived on Prospect Road and commended the District for being
good neighbors regarding changing of signs. He said proposal 1 was the only
logical way to preserve open space.
Joe Kalin, General Manager of Saratoga Country Club, said their concern has been
the safety of the area. He said the land swap had no benefit except increased
safety and that the parking lot was put in a poor location. He asked to see a
safety study if one had been done.
Discussion followed regarding responsibility and expense of maintaining or
improving the road.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board determine that the study of
parking alternatives is statutorily exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)based on the findings
contained in the report. D. Little seconded the motion. The
motion passed 6 to 0.
Motion: P. Siemens moved that the Board direct staff to pursue option 1 for
the basic construction and modification of the existing parking lot
and hold fencing and gating in abeyance. J. Cyr seconded the
motion.
Discussion: P. Siemens suggested that a permeable surface be considered
around the trees. J. Cyr said he appreciated staff's thorough
analysis. Regarding h i f the issue o whether there were permits or a
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safety study, S. Schectman said she did not believe that was
determinative of the potential liability of the golf course or the
District. She thought it would be productive to start the dialogue
with the golf course again.
I
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Vote: The motion passed 6 to 0.
C. Agenda Item No. 3 -Final Adoption of an Amendment to the Use and
Management Plan for Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve and Award of Contract for
Removal of Structures from the Former Sink, Barlow, and Young Properties:
Acceptance of the Lowest Responsible Bid of$40,300 from Mike Tobar
Excavation of Morgan Hill, California; and Authorization for the General Manger
to Enter into a Contract for Performance of this Work and to Create an Additional
10% Contingency Fund in the Amount of$4,030 to Cover any Unforeseen
Expenses-(Report R-98-141).
i
M. Freeman reviewed staff's recommendations.
Meeting 98-27 Page 10
Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Amendment to the Use
and Management Plan for Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve to
remove the structures from the former Sink, Barlow and Young
properties; accept the lowest responsible bid of$40,300 from Mike
Tobar Excavation of Morgan Hill, California, for structures and
debris removal at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve; and authorize
the General Manager to enter into a contract for performance of
this work and to create an additional 10% contingency fund in the
amount of$4,030 to cover any unforeseen expenses. P. Siemens
seconded the motion. The motion passed 6 to 0.
D. Agenda Item No. 4 - Acceptance of Progress Report on the Resource
Management Program- (Report R-98-145 .
J. Isaacs and M. Freeman presented the report.
W INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
M. Davey said she had had a call from the Humane Society Wildlife Rescue project which
returned rehabilitated animals back to natural areas. J. Isaacs responded that District
policy states that the District not accept those animals.
D. Little said he had done a ride along with Ranger L. Patterson on Skyline. In addition,
he was impressed with staff s work on the Resource Management Plan.
VM. ADJ
OURNMENT
At 11:57 P.M., the meeting was adjourned.
Roberta Wolfe
Recording Secretary
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