HomeMy Public PortalAbout20131002 - Minutes - Board of Directors (BOD)
October 2, 2013
Board Meeting 13-24
*Approved by the Board of Directors on November 13, 2013
SPECIAL MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Administrative Office
330 Distel Circle
Los Altos, CA 94022
October 2, 2013
APPROVED MINUTES*
SPECIAL MEETING – STUDY SESSION
I. CALL TO ORDER
President Cyr called the Special Meeting of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Board of Directors to order at 6:00 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present: Jed Cyr, Nonette Hanko, Larry Hassett, Yoriko Kishimoto, and Curt Riffle
Members Absent: Cecily Harris and Pete Siemens
Staff Present: General Manager Steve Abbors, Assistant General Manager Ana Ruiz,
Assistant General Manager Kevin Woodhouse, General Counsel Sheryl
Schaffner, Natural Resources Manager Kirk Lenington, GIS Administrator
Casey Hiatt, Senior Real Property Planner Sandy Sommer, Acting
Planning Co-Manager Tina Hugg, Real Property Manager Michael
Williams, Public Affairs Manager Shelly Lewis, Operations Manager
David Sanguinetti, Administrative Services Manager Kate Drayson,
Docent Program Manager Renee Fitzsimmons, GIS Technician Michelle
Childs, and District Clerk Jennifer Woodworth
III. Vision Plan Board Workshop on the Desired Outcomes and Priority Actions from
Phase 3, “Enriching the Conversation” (R-13-89)
Director Cecily Harris arrived at 6:03 p.m.
Director Pete Siemens arrived at 6:04 p.m.
Meeting 13-24 Page 2
Natural Resources Manager Kirk Lenington provided an overview of the scheduled presentations
and discussions for the meeting as well as the process used by the Vision Plan Team to develop
the Desired Outcomes and initial priority actions.
Sean Spano of the Public Dialogue Consortium facilitated a discussion of the five categories of
Desired Outcomes and how these outcomes will further the mission of the District.
Extensive discussion ensued regarding suggested modifications and additions to the list of
Desired Outcomes, including increasing partnerships with cities and the academic and scientific
communities, preserving ecosystems through remediation and protection, and connecting with
partner organizations to further the District’s mission.
Public hearing opened at 6:34 p.m.
Shani Kleinhaus, of the Silicon Valley Audubon Society, spoke in favor of securing open space
within city limits.
Director Hanko responded that when the District was formed, the Founders determined that cities
would be responsible for open spaces within their boundaries, but the Board may examine this
policy again in the future and form partnerships with cities.
Public hearing closed at 6:40 p.m.
Director Riffle inquired if the Vision Plan team considered land acquisition as they formed the
list of Desired Outcomes.
Natural Resources Manager Kirk Lenington responded that land acquisition is an underlying
theme throughout all of the Desired Outcome categories. The Desired Outcomes include
associated priority actions, such as acquisition of key properties, and the Vision Plan team
worked under the assumption that land acquisition is a process that will continue.
Marc Landgraff, of the Peninsula Open Space Trust, commented that if the current Board defines
its desired properties for land acquisitions, then these decisions may constrain future Board
actions related to land acquisition.
The Board recessed at 8:10 p.m.
The Board reconvened at 8:17 p.m. with all Directors present.
GIS Administrator Casey Hiatt provided an informational presentation describing the process
used by the Vision Plan Team to develop the list of priority actions, including the creation of
Theme Teams composed of District staff and consultants who worked together to create priority
actions centered on nine sub-regions within the District. Ms. Hiatt described the Conservation
Value Map used by staff for this process, which map included various factors to help determine
landscape connectivity, erosion potential, rare species, watersheds, streams, and vegetation of
District land.
Meeting 13-24 Page 3
Senior Real Property Planner Sandy Sommer provided a description of how the desired
outcomes relate to each of the nine sub-regions and the specific aspects of each of the sub-
regions that helped contribute to the development of the focused priority actions.
Extensive discussion ensued related to potential priority actions that are administrative in nature,
including permitting dogs on preserves and protecting urban open space. The Board determined
that these policy decisions can be discussed separately from the Vision Plan priority actions in
order to allow the Vision Plan process to move forward.
Director Hassett left at 9:42 p.m.
IV. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:48 p.m. President Cyr continued the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to 6:00 p.m. on October 9, 2013.
__________________________________
Jennifer Woodworth
District Clerk