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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20020911 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD) Regional Open S. °ce MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT Meeting 02-18 SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETINGS BOARD OF DIRECTORS September It, 2002 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING I. ROLL CALL President Deane Little called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. Members Present: Jed Cyr, Mary Davey, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Ken Nitz, Pete Siemens, and Deane Little Members Absent: None Staff Present: Craig Britton and Sue Schectman H. CLOSED SESSION D. Little stated that the Board would adjourn to Closed Session to discuss Closed Sessi on Agen da a Item 1. 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 7:30 p.m. REGULAR MEETING III. D. Little called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. He announced that the Board had discussed Closed Session Agenda Item 1 in Closed Session and that no reportable actions had taken place. The Board would be reconvening the Special meeting Closed Session at the conclusion of the Regular meeting. Additional Staff Present: Cindy Roessler, Del Woods, Lisa Zadek, Kathleen Hart, Michael Newburn, and David Sanguinetti. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS—There were none. V. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion: K. Nitz moved that the Board adopt the agenda. P. Siemens seconded and the motion passed 7 to 0. 330 Distel Circle . Los Altos, CA 94022-1404 . Phone:650-691-1200 Fax: 650-691-0485 - E-mail: mrosd@openspace.org .Web site:www.openspace.org �' OF ��, Board of Directors:Fete Siemens,Mary C. Davey,led Cyr, Deane Little, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Kenneth C. Nitz +General Manager:L.Craig Britton Meeting 02-18 Page 2 VI. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR L. Hassett removed the draft response to an e-mail from Mr. Henry Pastorelli, Henry_yastorelli@MolDev.com. J. Cyr removed the minutes of the Special and Regular meeting of August 14, 2002. D. Little removed the minutes of the Special and Regular Meeting of July 24, 2002. K. Nitz had a question regarding Claim 4342, Coastal Commission meeting expenses for $1,400. C. Britton said he would get back to him with an answer. K. Nitz commented on the length of the reply to Mr. Dufort in the FYIs. C. Britton said they considered Mr. Dufort as a friend of Mt. Umunhurn so they gave him a broad response, hoping he would help the District. J. Cyr commended staff on the thoroughness of the reply. Regarding the draft response to Mr. Henry Pastorelli, L. Hassett expressed his apologies to the Board for any embarrassment it might bring to them, and thanked staff for the amount of time they have had to spend on this issue. He had attended a ROW meeting and the negative e-mails had stopped. He said he fully supported the"Hike With a Director" program and hoped there had been no negative impact on that. He stated that he appreciated the support he has received from the Board. D. Little asked if the letter could be reworded to remove the reference to inappropriate grabbing of the handlebars. P. Siemens agreed that it was a defensive action and thus not inappropriate. L. Hassett agreed to amend the letter. D. Little pointed out a spelling correction in the fourth paragraph on page 7 of the July 24 Minutes ("Canyon Duchet" should be spelled "Canyon de Chelly"). J. Cyr asked that the last paragraph on page 6 of the August 14 Minutes be changed to replace "homebuyers sold on rails" with"trails near houses are seen to increase in home value." N. Hanko said the last sentence of the third paragraph under Informational Reports, should be corrected to read, "She was pleased to see that none of the farmers spoke in favor of the advisory vote." Motion: M. Davey moved that the Board adopt the Consent Calendar, including the Minutes of the Special and Regular Meetings of July 24, 2002, and August 14, 2002 as corrected; draft response to an e-mail from Mr. Henry Pastorelli, Henry_yastorelli@MolDev.com as amended; Agenda Item 4, Authorize Staff to Solicit for Bids to Purchase One Tractor; and Revised Claims 02-14. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. VII. SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY A moment of silence was observed in commemoration of the events of September 11, 2001. Meeting 02-18 Page 3 VM. BOARD BUSINESS A. Agenda Item No. 1 —Update on Resource Management Program: Review Status of Resource Management Prop-ram,No Formal Board Action is Required - (Report R-02-102). C. Roessler gave a PowerPoint presentation reviewing the Resource Management program this year including rare species, invasive plant control, control of feral pigs, update on sudden oak death, native seed collection program, update on Russian Ridge grassland management, and the Pulgas Ridge project. She answered questions and noted directives from the Board. B. Agenda Item No. 2- Adopt the Attached Resolution to Honor the Committee for Green Foothills This Month, In Celebration of its 40th Anniversary—(Report R- 02-104). S. Jensen presented the staff report. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board adopt Resolution No. 02-29, Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Honoring the Committee for Green Foothills Upon the Occasion of its 40t" Anniversary. J. Cyr seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 to 0. C. Agenda Item No. 3—Application to Habitat Conservation Fund Program for the Arroyo Leon Property Addition to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve: Determine that the Recommended Actions are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) As Set Out in This Report: Adopt the Attached Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Approving the Application to the Habitat Conservation Fund Program for the Arroyo Leon Property Addition t Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve—(Report R-02-103). D. Woods presented the staff report and showed the property on a map. He noted that the property's highest value was its steelhead trout habitat. N. Hanko said this was a very exciting parcel, and talked about the importance of the connection to Purisima Creek Redwoods. Motion: N. Hanko moved that the Board determine that the recommended actions are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as set out in the staff report; and adopt Resolution No. 02-30; Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Approving the Application for Grant Funs for the Local Agency Grant Program— Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Under the Habitat Conservation Fund Program of the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 for the Meeting 02-18 Page 4 Following Project: Arroyo Leon Property Acquisition. M. Davey seconded the motion. Discussion: D. Woods said the property is owned by Walter Ferenze. D. Sanguinetti commented that Mr. Ferenze and the staff have a good relationship. C. Britton noted that the District is in exclusive discussions with the owners and he thinks they want to see it preserved as open space. D. Woods said the Ferenze's son, Tom, is pushing this project, and that he is a good friend of the District and the preserve. He added that this is a valuable addition to the preserve, with or without the grant. D. Woods explained that Walter Ferenze and his wife would like to stay on the property, so they are discussing a life estate with staff. He said the buildings consist of a small house and a barn which are completely hidden on the site. Regarding the dams which had been removed, they were farmers' dams located downstream from the property. The motion passed 7 to 0. IX. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS M. Davey: 1. She said the Bear Creek Redwoods thank you event last Friday was great, and staff did an excellent job. 2. She told Sempervirens that the Marble Murrelet was in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, and they did not believe her. She asked that staff send a digital photo of the Board to them. 3. She had the Resolution from the Committee for Green Foothills on the District's 30 year anniversary. 4. Ten percent of the sales of books sold on September 21 at Kepplers Bookstore in Menlo Park will go to the Committee for Green Foothills. 5. Gordon Earl, new vice president for communications at Stanford, will be the person to communicate with the community regarding the Stanford trails. K. Nitz said that L. Hassett, L. Zadek and he worked at the District's booth at the Art and Wine Festival in Palo Alto two weeks ago. N. Hanko said the Committee for Green Foothills event that M. Davey chaired was the best event she had been to that was sponsored by an environmental group. She agreed with M. Davey that the winery site was beautiful. She talked about valuable contacts made at the event. She hoped the District 30'h anniversary event would bring some of the same people together. P. Siemens attended the Bear Creek Redwoods event on Friday and agreed it was very well done. People who attended were appreciative of the fact that the District recognized their efforts in this difficult acquisition. Meeting 02-18 Page 5 J. Cyr went to the Mountain View Art and Wine Festival. The District did not have a booth there this year. L. Hassett: 1. The Mt. Umunhum event went superbly well and the tour was an eye- opener. He complimented staff. 2. The staff recognition event was also a classy event. 3. He said he would do something about the District's booth location at the Palo Alto Art and Wine Festival next year. 4. He also enjoyed the Committee for Green Foothills event and also was able to network with a lot of people. He talked about the items he had successfully bid on during the auction. 5. The Bear Creek Redwoods event was wonderful. D. Little: 1. He attended the staff appreciation lunch and thought it was a nice event and was held in a beautiful area. 2. The Committee for Green Foothills dinner was a beautiful event. He said that he and C. Britton received a commendation. He said the District should consider that site for own events in the future. 3. He noted for field staff that there is an illegal bicyclist who has been coming down Black Mountain Trail and down Rhus Ridge Road. C. Britton: 1. He pointed out the flyer on Proposition 50 in the FyIs which stated that that the San Mateo Coast was the most used coastline in Northern California. 2. There was a letter in the FYIs to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on their proposed lot line adjustment ordinance as the result of Byron Sher's bill. It is important to the District and staff is following it closely. 3. He talked about the solar shade ordinance that came before Santa Clara County as a result of state law where people are not allowed to grow plants that shade more than 10 percent of a person's existing solar system. They are processing an exemption for the District. J. Cyr said his attorney was of the opinion that the ordinance was not enforceable. C. Britton said this applied to pre- existing panels. 4. He met with Mary Burns of San Mateo County Parks and is working with her and Santa Clara County on the population overlaps from Proposition 40. 5. He was on a panel last week which interviewed four finalists for the job of Director of Parks for Santa Clara County. 6. There was a going-away picnic for John Kowaleski. 7. He went to both field offices for a second time regarding the EIR on the coastal annexation to answer questions and clarify the program. 8. The press conference at Mt. Umunhum was August 27. He said this is the farthest they have gotten in terms of federal recognition. 9. On August 28, the staff recognition day was held at Rancho de Guadalupe. He talked about the speakers at the event. He said he thought it was important for staff members to see District properties. 10. The great thing about the September 6 Bear Creek event was the fine partners that the District has. He said he has learned that it is important to thank people, especially the politicians. 11. He talked about the Committee for Green Foothills event. 12. There was a clipping in the FyIs regarding Stanford's refusal to pay for the EIR to analyze the trails. He said he thinks the matter is headed for court, as Stanford is not in compliance with the GUP. He hoped that the county would stand their ground. 13. This Friday at Saratoga Springs is the staff evening event. All Board Members will be attending. 14. He asked which Board Members would be attending the Bay Area Open Space Council Conference on September 27 at the Presidio from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. 15. He had an invitation to the Pony Tracks Ranch fundraiser on September 22. 16. Board Members are invited to the Deer Hollow Farm annual celebration on October 6. 17. M. Davey is one of the Meeting 02-18 Page 6 nominees for the Tom Ford award that will be presented on October 24. 18. Sepi Richardson of the City of Brisbane (and LAFCo) has invited him to give a presentation about the District and the annexation at the San Mateo County Council of Cities dinner in Woodside on September 27. 19. There is money in the budget for the Board President to go to the Special District Forum which will be held in British Columbia June 9-13, 2003. S. Schectman: 1. The comment period closed on the coastal EIR. The comments have been collated and will be distributed to the Board. Taped comments are being summarized as well. Staff and the consultants have begun the process of preparing the final EIR. The Coastal Ad Hoc Committee will meet tomorrow to begin to talk about that phase of the project. The team of consultants and staff met today to begin focusing on the key public comment issues. 2. She will be coming to the Board with a request to file an Amicus brief in a case involving Sonoma County Agriculture and Open Space District. Other agencies may be joining them. N. Hanko added that she enjoyed being with staff this morning as the flag was being raised and lowered to half-staff in commemoration of the September 11 event. D. Sanguinetti said he was pleased that the District completed the Jack Paulin purchase. Mr. Paulin left the property in very good shape. Staff is in the process of securing the property at this time. President D. Little announced that the Board would reconvene in Closed Session and continue discussion of Closed Session Agenda Item No. 1. X. ADJOURNMENT At 9:40 p.m., the meeting was adjourned to Special Meeting Closed Session. The Special Meeting Closed Session was reconvened at 9:48 p.m. and concluded at 10:34 p.m. No reportable action was taken. Roberta Wolfe Recording Secretary