HomeMy Public PortalAbout20140129 - Agenda Packet - Board of Directors (BOD) - 14-04
SPECIAL MEETING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
Hillview Community Center –Multi Purpose Room
97 Hillview Avenue
Los Altos, CA 94022
Wednesday January 29, 2014
SPECIAL MEETING BEGINS AT 6:00 P.M.
A G E N D A
6:00 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL
OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
ROLL CALL
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
1. Vision Plan Priority Actions (R-14-25) – K. Lenington
ADJOURNMENT
Items may appear earlier or later than listed. Agenda is subject to change of order.
TO ADDRESS THE BOARD: The President will invite public comment on agenda items at the time each item is considered by the Board of
Directors. You may address the Board concerning other matters during Oral Communications. Each speaker will ordinarily be limited
to three minutes. Alternately, you may comment to the Board by a written communication, which the Board appreciates.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the District Clerk at (650) 691-
1200. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the District to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.
Written materials relating to an item on this Agenda that are considered to be a public record and are distributed to Board members less than 72 hours prior to
the meeting, will be available for public inspection at the District’s Administrative Office located at 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos, California 94022.
CERTIFICATION OF POSTING OF AGENDA
I, Jennifer Woodworth, District Clerk for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD), declare that the foregoing agenda for the Special
Meeting of the MROSD Board of Directors was posted and available for review on January 24, 2014, at the Administrative Offices of MROSD, 330 Distel
Circle, Los Altos California, 94022. The agenda is also available on the District’s web site at http://www.openspace.org.
Signed this 24th day of January, 2014 at Los Altos, California.
District Clerk
Meeting 14-04
R-14-25
Midpeninsula Regional
Open Space District
Meeting 14-04
January 29, 2014
AGENDA ITEM
Vision Plan Pri ority Actions
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION &t!!!"
AGENDA ITEM 1
Approve a two tier grouping of the Vision Plan Priority Actions as provided in Attachment 1.
SUMMARY
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (District) initiated the Vision Plan Project in August
2012 to engage the District's partners, stakeholders, and the public in a process to determine a
District-wide 40 year vision for land preservation, resource management, public recreation, and
working lands. With the completion of the Deliberation phase of the Vision Plan process, the
District is now entering the Deciding phase whereby the Board will consider prioritizing the fifty
four (54) projects that emerged from the Vision Plan process into two "tiers". The first tier includes
twenty-three (23) top priority (nearer-term) projects and the second tier includes thirty-one (31)
lower priority (longer-term) projects. Of the lower priority 31 projects, the Board asked to review an
addition six (6) second tier projects for possible inclusion in the first tier. The rationale and
recommendations for placement in the tiers is discussed below. The two tiers capture the priorities
expressed through the public engagement process and will inform the General Manager's annual
Action Plan and Budget recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Implementation of the recommended Vision Plan Priority Actions will occur over the next 30-40
years and the pace of implementation will be determined by available funding. In the event that the
District pursues a public funding measure to accelerate the pace of implementation, it is anticipated
that such additional funding would be directed at the 23 first tier projects. A variety of other
generally smaller projects, in addition to selected Vision Plan Priority Actions, will comprise each
annual Action Plan. Conditions and opportunities present in any given year will influence how those
annual Action Plan priorities are set by the Board of Directors.
DISCUSSION
The District's Vision Plan Project, entitled 'Imagine the Future of Open Space,' is a multidisciplinary
effort combining scientific analysis with broad public engagement to create a shared vision for the
future of the District and the region's open space. The project has been structured around a strategic
five-phase public engagement process represented by the acronym SHEDD: Getting .s.tarted, Hearing
the voices, .Enriching the conversation, Deliberating, and Deciding. The District is now poised to
complete the final phase of this process, Deciding. The resources and effort that has been dedicated
to the Vision Plan project, including consultations with District staff, outreach to partners, the public
at large, and the Community Advisory Committee, and exhaustive review of resource data has
R-14-25 Page 2
culminated in a list of high priority actions. The priority actions are spread across the District and
represent a 40 year vision for land preservation, resource management, public recreation, and
working lands on the Peninsula, San Mateo Coast, and South Bay regions within the District’s
boundaries. On January 14, 2014, the Board reviewed the public input received on the Vision Plan
Goals and Priority Actions as well as the analysis conducted by District staff and technical
consultants on how well the Priority Actions deliver the Vision Plan Goals.
Two Tier Recommendation
The Vision Plan process identified 54 Priority Actions in all. The General Manager recommends
categorizing the 54 Priority Actions into two tiers (Attachment 1). Tier 1 Priority Actions would
provide the District with a more defined, nearer-term focus (during this next 20 years), while Tier 2
would consist of longer-term priorities.
The Vision Plan establishes a long-term, publicly-vetted path to guide the District into the future to
fulfill its overarching mission. Even with this Vision Plan in place, the District will remain flexible
so that it can respond to new opportunities as they arise. The Board of Directors has the discretion
during annual Action Plan and Budget review to revise project priorities or add new projects for the
next fiscal year in response to change conditions and opportunities.
Of the 54 Priority Actions, the General Manager is recommending 23 Priority Actions for Tier 1.
These projects have received the greatest level of public support and meet the largest number of
Vision Plan goals based on the planning and scientific analysis work (Attachments 1 and 2).
The recommended Tier 1 Priority Actions were determined by evaluating all 54 of the Priority
Actions across the following four metrics:
1) Level of public support given through the public deliberation meetings;
2) Level of public support given through Mindmixer;
3) Level of support given by the Community Advisory Committee; and/or
4) Level of success and beneficial impact in implementing the Goals for the Vision Plan.
A Priority Action was identified as Tier 1 if it rated highly by three of these four metrics (in the
upper quartile of the rated results). Also, in order to ensure a wide distribution of Tier 1 projects
across the District’s jurisdiction, Priority Actions that were rated the highest in any one of these
metrics, in each subregion, were also included in the Tier 1 list.
Evaluation of Board Identified Priority Actions
During the January 14, 2014 Board workshop on the Vision Plan project, the Board identified six (6)
additional Priority Actions beyond the original 23 for their potential inclusion into Tier 1. The rating
results for these 6 Priority Actions is presented in Attachments 1 and 2.
Staff did not include these six Priority Actions in Tier 1 because they did not meet the evaluation
standards outlined above of having been rated highly by three of the four metrics (in the upper
quartile of the rated results) or rated highest in any one of the metrics in the subregion where it is
located. There are a few additional points for the Board to consider in reviewing these Priority
Actions:
• Priority Actions 08 (Sierra Azul: Fire Management), 25 (Major Roadway Signage), 30 (Rancho
San Antonio: Interpretive Improvements, Refurbishing, and Transit Solutions), and 40 (Skyline
Subregion: Fire Management and Forest Restoration Projects) were not rated by the Community
Advisory Committee (CAC) because of time limits for the meeting during which the CAC was
R-14-25 Page 3
rating the Priority Actions. However, even if these Priority Actions were rated by the CAC and
rated highly, this would not have resulted in any of these Priority Actions accumulating at least 3
high ratings in the Public Deliberation Process. These Priority Actions did not rate high in the
technical analysis because of their limited ability to deliver the goals for the Vision Plan.
• Priority Action 25 (Major Roadway Signage) was not included in the Priority Actions taken to
the Public Deliberation Meetings or the CAC, again because of time limits for these meetings.
However, this Priority Action was rated online, where it received a low score.
• Priority Actions 18 (South Bay Foothills: Saratoga-to-Sea Trail and Wildlife Corridor) and 30
(Rancho San Antonio: Interpretive Improvements, Refurbishing, and Transit Solutions) received
relatively high point values for their online rating.
Although none of these six priority actions meets the Tier 1 evaluation standards as described above,
Priority Actions 18 and 30 (South Bay Foothills: Saratoga-to-Sea Trail and Wildlife Corridor and
Rancho San Antonio: Interpretive Improvements, Refurbishing, and Transit Solutions) could be
considered for Tier 1 based on other factors or policy considerations such as geographic distribution,
proximity to urban centers, and usage, in addition to their relatively high point values for their online
rating.
FISCAL IMPACT
The project is well within budget, having expended $184,000 of the $282,900 budgeted for the
planning and analysis tasks and $155,000 of the $180,000 budgeted for the public engagement tasks.
No increase to the FY2013-14 budget is anticipated.
Budget approval for implementing Priority Actions will be considered during the annual Action Plan
and Budget development. The estimated order of magnitude cost of implementing the twenty three
(23) Vision Plan Tier 1 Priority Actions is approximately $312 Million.
BOARD COMMITTEE REVIEW
The Board waived Committee review of this project in lieu of full Board engagement.
Over the course of the Project, the General Manager has provided the Board of Directors with regular
Vision Plan progress updates, as summarized below:
Board Meeting Date Topic Board Report(s)
January 15, 2013
February 27, 2013
Phase 1: “Getting Started” R-13-08, R-13-09
R-13-10, R-13-32
March 13, 2013
June 12, 2013
Phase 2: “Hearing the Voices” R-13-33, R-13-57
July 24, 2013 Phase 3: “Enriching the Conversation” R-13-66, R-13-70
October 2, 2013
January 14, 2014
Phase 4: “Deliberating” R-13-89, R-14-18
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice was provided pursuant to the Brown Act. Notice was also sent to the interested parties list
for this project.
R-14-25 Page 4
CEQA COMPLIANCE
The Vision Plan does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA). Any necessary environmental review required by CEQA shall be completed before any
specific project is commenced.
NEXT STEPS
February 5, 2014
The Board’s decision on Tier 1 Priority Actions at the January 29, 2014 meeting will form the basis
for an Expenditure Plan which the Board will consider in tandem with the possibility of placing a
Funding Measure on the June 2014 ballot.
February 26, 2014
The Board will make a final decision on placing a Funding Measure on the June 2014 ballot.
Following Board’s decision on the action recommended by the General Manager in this Board
Report, staff will prepare a current status summary report of the Vision Planning process that
describes the methodology used and final tiering results. During the remainder of FY2013-14, work
on completing the final Vision Plan deliverables will continue, but at a reduced pace, as key staff
members will be focused on completing other Action Plan items as well as supporting the District’s
informational role related to a potential funding measure, if approved by the Board (Attachment 3 –
Vision Plan Timeline).
In addition to the summary report, written materials based on the Vision Plan will be prepared to
inform partners, stakeholders, and the public. The Community Advisory Committee will also hold at
least one additional meeting to review the status of the Vision Plan and future tasks required to
complete the project.
As the District moves into Vision Plan implementation, most Priority Actions will require detailed
planning and design work. For many of the Actions, the detailed project level work will require
development and/or refinement of applicable Board policies. The Board’s deliberation on policy
issues (such as types of multi-use trails in specific preserves, camping, or types of partnerships with
cities and other agencies) is expected to occur in the context of specific projects where the Board’s
deliberation will be informed by the best available science and data. The final Vision Plan document
will describe the need for future Board policy development as part of the implementation of specific
Priority Actions.
Attachment
1. Priority Action List with Associated Tiers and Potential Tier Categories
2. Map of Tier 1 and 2 Priority Actions with Associated Ratings
3. Vision Plan Timeline with June 2014 Funding Measure
Responsible Department Head:
Kirk Lenington, Natural Resources Manager
Prepared by:
Same
Contact person:
Same
Attachment 1: Priority Action List with Associated Tiers and Ratings
Underlined items indicate top scores in each region
yes = top in subregion and highly rated in > 3 categories; yes = top in subregion and highly rated in < 3 categories.
Title
Wkshp Results
(>7.5)
Online (Top
25%)
CAC Results
(>7.5)
Highly
Rated
Goals
Sum Top in
Region N Avg Div
Online
Points N Avg Div
01 - Sierra Azul: Loma Prieta Area Public Access, Regional Trails, and Habitat Projects 1 1 1 1 4 yes 69 8.2 27 158 21 8.2 8
04 - Sierra Azul: Mt. Umunhum Public Access and Interpretation Projects 1 1 1 1 4 yes 68 8 23 159 21 8.9 9
07 - Sierra Azul: Rancho de Guadalupe Family Recreation and Interpretive Projects 1 1 2 yes 70 6.8 20 83 21 8.5 8
10 - Sierra Azul: Cathedral Oaks Public Access and Conserva8on Projects 1 1 1 1 4 70 7.6 22 124 21 7.8 11
11 - Bear Creek Redwoods: Public Recrea8on and Interpre8ve Projects 1 1 1 3 yes 65 8.1 22 76 21 8 15
16 - South Bay Foothills: Wildlife Passage and Ridge Trail Improvements 1 1 2 yes 64 8.6 18 94 21 8.6 14
17 - El Sereno: Dog Trails & Connections 1 1 yes 66 6.8 31 193 21 6.6 26
23 - Peninsula/South Bay Ci8es: Partner to Complete Middle Stevens Creek Trail 1 1 2 yes 34 6.7 41 133 21 8 18
27 - Regional: Complete Upper Stevens Creek Trail 1 1 1 1 4 yes 97 8.1 29 141 21 8.1 13
32 - Windy Hill: Trail Improvements - Preserva8on - and Hawthorns Area Historic Partnership 1 1 1 1 4 yes 102 7.7 36 107 21 8.1 17
34 - Regional: Bayfront Habitat Protec8on and Public Access Partnerships 1 1 1 1 4 yes 34 7.6 38 109 21 9.1 5
38 - Long Ridge: Trail, Conservation, and Habitat Restoration Projects 1 1 1 1 4 83 7.7 20 114 21 8 13
46 - Russian Ridge: Public Recrea8on - Grazing - and Wildlife Protec8on Projects 1 1 1 3 yes 83 8 19 96 21 8.7 11
47 - Coal Creek: Reopen Alpine Road for Trail Use 1 1 1 3 yes 85 7.8 27 127 #21 6.9 17
48 - La Honda Creek/Russian Ridge: Preserva8on of Upper San Gregorio Watershed & Ridge Trail Comple8on 1 1 2 yes 82 8 25 82 21 8.3 10
51 - La Honda Creek: Upper Area Recrea8on - Habitat Restora8on and Conserva8on Grazing Projects 1 1 1 3 yes 84 8 23 97 21 9.1 9
52 - El Corte de Madera Creek: Bike Trail and Water Quality Projects 1 1 1 1 4 85 7.5 28 138 21 7.4 14
55 - Regional: Redwood Protec8on and Salmon Fishery Conserva8on 1 1 1 3 yes 24 7.5 19 52 21 8.3 12
56 - Regional: Trail Connec8ons and Campgrounds 1 1 2 yes 24 8.4 15 69 21 8.3 16
58 - Cloverdale Ranch: Wildlife Protec8on, Grazing, and Trail Connec8ons 1 1 2 yes 30 7.8 29 52 19 7.4 21
64 - La Honda Creek: Driscoll Ranch Public Access, Endangered Wildlife Protection, & Conservation Grazing 1 1 1 3 yes 28 9 10 86 19 8.1 25
67 - Purisima Creek Redwoods: Purisima-to-Sea Trail Watershed Protection & Conservation Grazing 1 1 1 3 yes 30 8.3 30 98 19 8.7 7
74 - Miramontes Ridge: Gateway to the Coast Public Access, Stream Restoration, & Agriculture Enhancement 1 1 1 3 31 7.6 30 65
19 7.6 21
Title
Wkshp Results
(>7.5)
Online (Top
25%)
CAC Results
(>7.5)
Highly
Rated
Goals
Sum Top in
Region N Avg Div
Online
Points N Avg Div
08 - Sierra Azul: Fire Management 1 1 70 7.5 18 68
18 - South Bay Foothills: Saratoga-to-Sea Trail and Wildlife Corridor 1 1 2 65 7.4 32 101 21 8.1 10
25 - Major Roadway Signage**0 16
30- Rancho San Antonio: Intrepretive Improvements - Refurbishing - and Transit Solutions 1 1 101 5.6 40 130
39 - Skyline Ridge: Educa8on Facili8es - Trailsand Wildlife Conserva8on Projects 1 1 2 84 6.4 33 51 21 7.9 16
40 - Skyline Subregion: Fire Management and Forest Restora8on Projects 0 84 6.5 30 48
Workshop Results CAC Results
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Workshop Results CAC Results
Attachment 1: Priority Action List with Associated Tiers and Ratings
Title
Wkshp Results
(>7.5)
Online (Top
25%)
CAC Results
(>7.5)
Highly
Rated
Goals
Sum Top in
Region N Avg Div
Online
Points N Avg Div
19 - Fremont Older: Historic Woodhills Restora8on & Overall Parking Improvements 0 66 5.8 23 60
21 - PiccheD Ranch: Family Nature Play Program 1 1 66 6.1 15 39 21 6.8 25
22 - Peninsula/South Bay Ci8es: Los Gatos Creek Trail Connec8ons 1 1 34 4.4 32 120 21 7.2 21
24 - Peninsula/South Bay Ci8es: San Francisquito Creek Restora8on Partnership 0 34 4.9 34 58
28 - Collaborate to Restore San Francisquito Creek Fish Habitat**0 67
29 - Teague Hill: West Union Crk Watershed Restoration Partnership**0 39
31- Rancho San Antonio: Hidden Villa Access and Preserva8on Projects 1 1 102 5.6 46 73 21 8 15
35 - Ravenswood: Cooley Landing Nature Center Partnership 1 1 2 34 6.2 42 37 21 8.8 18
37 - Saratoga Gap: Stevens Canyon Ranch Family Food Educa8on Projects 1 1 83 4.9 25 22 21 6.8 22
43 - Monte Bello: Campfire Talks & Habitat Projects**0 27
44 - Regional: San Andreas Fault Interpre8ve Trail Program 0 102 5.8 36 61 21 6.9 17
53 - Purisima Creek Redwoods: Parking and Repair Projects 0 86 5.8 32 63
57 - Gazos Creek Watershed: Preserve Redwoods, Fish & Add Trails**0 68 21 7.4 25
59 - Lower Pescadero Creek: Watershed Preserva8on & Conserva8on Grazing 1 1 30 7.1 36 39 19 6.9 28
60 - Lower Pomponio Creek: Watershed Preservation and Grazing**0 38
61 - Advocate to Protect Coastal Vistas**0 44
62 - La Honda Creek/El Corte Madera Creek: San Gregorio Watershed and Agriculture Preservation Projects 1 1 30 7.4 26 41 21 6.9 26
66 - Tunitas Creek: Addi8onal Watershed Preserva8on & Conserva8on Grazing 1 1 30 7.2 28 32 20 6.8 25
70 - Miramontes Ridge/Purisima Creek Redwoods: Fire Management and Risk Reductions 0 30 6.6 30 41
71 - Advocate to Protect Coastal Vistas**0 40
72 - Miramontes Ridge/Purisima Creek Redwoods: Coastside Environmental Education Partnerships 0 31 5.6 40 26
73 - Miramontes Ridge/Purisima Crk Rdwds: Mills Creek/Arroyo Leon Watershed, Stream Restoration, & Trails 1 1 2 31 7.1 29 59 19 7.5 12
75 - Regional: Support CA Coastal Trail 1 1 31 6.9 43 74 19 7.4 23
76 - Pulgas Ridge: Regional and Neighborhood Trail Extensions 0 102 6.7 38 98
20 6.9 19
**: Not rated at the public workshops
***: CAC did not rate all actions on 12/18/13
#: Same participant generated action also received 119 points
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Workshop Results CAC Results
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Peninsula
Cities
Peninsula
Foothills
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0 52.5Miles I
M AGI NE the Fu tu re of Op en Spa ceI
G a z o s C re ek
ButanoCreek
P esc a d er o C r e e k
SanGregorioCreek
PurisimaCreek SanFrancisquit o C re e k
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PomponioCreek
District Boundary
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A tta chment 2:
Pr i or ity A c tion T iers and R atings
Pu b li c M e e t ing
On l i n e R a t i ng
C om m u n i t y A dv i s o r y C o m m i t t e e
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H i g h l y R a t e d Pr i o r i t y A c tions
Pot e n t i a l Ti e r 1
Go a l s A c c om p li s h e d
Ti e r 1 Pr i o r i t y Act ions!!!#!!!#
Ti e r 1 a n d Po t e n t i a l A c t i o n s
Vision Plan Document Development
January February March
Vision
Plan
Project
Funding
Measure
Board Workshop
April - November
Current
Status
Summary
Report
Jan 14, 2014
Public Process Results
Board Workshop
Jan 29, 2014
Priority Action Adoption
Board Workshop
Feb 5, 2014
Tracking Poll Results
Draft Expenditure Plan
Board Meeting
Feb 12, 2014
Reading of Ordinance #1
(includes Expenditure Plan)
Tax Rate Statement
Last Board Action
Feb 26, 2014
Reading of Ordinance #2
(includes Expenditure Plan)
Tax Rate Statement
Special Meeting
March 5, 2014
(Meeting will be held
if needed)
Deliverables to
County
March 7, 2014
Board Meeting
November 2014
Final Vision Plan
Document
A ttachme nt 3:
V ision Pl an Ti mel ine wi th June 2014 Fundi ng Me asure
June 2014
Election