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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes June 4Los Altos Hills Pathway Committee FINAL Approved June 25, 2012 Minutes of Meeting of Monday, June 4, 2012 (DELAYED MAY Meeting) 1. ADMINISTRATIVE Chairman Eileen Gibbons called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM Members present: Courtenay Corrigan, Nick Dunckel, Ann Duwe, Eileen Gibbons, David Jessen, Breene Kerr, Joseph Kleitman, Bob Stutz, Tim Warner, Sue Welch, Denise Williams Members absent: None Council Members present: Ginger Summit Members of the public present: David Chan, 12060 Elsie Way Bill Maloney, 28060 Story Hill Lane Michael Chacon, 28060 Story Hill Lane Kambiz Hooshmand, 28060 Story Hill Lane Mahka Junaid, 26991 Taaffe Road Shawn Owen, 27729 Elena Road Buzz Bryan, architect for 12805 La Cresta The agenda was approved as amended. The minutes from the April 23, 2012 meeting were approved with minor amendments. 2. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR None 3. PROPERTY REVIEWS. The following properties was reviewed for pathway recommendations: A. 12060 Elsie Way (Lands of Chani The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. Mr. David Chan, the owner, was present. The property is on the northeast side of Elsie Way, which is a private cul-de-sac off Concepcion Road serving six residences. No roadside paths have been constructed on this road and the general consensus of the PWC was that none are needed. Courtenay Corrigan moved that the Town ask the owners of 12060 Elsie Way to pay a pathway in -lieu fee. Tim Warner seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. B. 28060 Story Hill Lane (Lands of Hooshman, Kambiz, and Attarzadeh Nazy). The reason for pathway review is construction of a basement addition. Mr. Hooshmand and Mr. Chacon were present representing the owners. The property is on the west side of Story Hill Lane, which is a public cul-de-sac off Page Mill Road that serves seven residences. An off-road path exits from Story Hill on the adjacent property (28138 Story Hill). No roadside paths have been constructed on Story Hill. Tim Warner moved that the Town ask the owners of 28060 Story Hill Lane to pay a pathway in -lieu fee. Courtenay Corrigan seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. C. 26991 Taaffe Road (Lands of Lowe, Donna and Yue, Keiftha. The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. Malik Junaid was present representing the owners. The property is on the west side of Taaffe Road, which is a public road. Roadside paths have been constructed on the opposite side of the road on this part of Taaffe. The off-road pathway running along the northern border of the property was removed from the Master Path Plan in 2005. Courtenay Corrigan moved that the Town ask the owners of 26991 Taaffe Road to pay a pathway in -lieu fee. Sue Welch seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. Fina1PWC_Min12-0604 7/18/12 D. 27729 Briones Court (Lands of Goodger). The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. The owner was not present. The property is on the north side of Briones Court, which private cul-de-sac off Briones Way that serves five residences. No roadside paths have been constructed along the road and no off-road paths exit from it. Courtenay Corrigan moved that the Town ask the owners of 27729 Briones Court to pay a pathway in -lieu fee. Tim Warner seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. E. 12805 La Cresta (Lands of Raj, Ravi and Raiakakshmi. The reason for pathway review is construction of an addition. Buzz Bryan, the architect, was present representing the owners. The property is on the west side of La Cresta, which is a public road. A roadside path exits along the La Cresta frontage. A proposed connection from La Cresta to Purissma along the north border of this property has been removed from the Master Path Plan and replaced by an off-road proposed connection to run along the north border of 12813 La Cresta (one lot to the north). The PWC discussed at length the importance of a connection from La Cresta to Purissima and possible route options, most of which require easements on multiple properties. An off-road pathway easement vital to this connection was granted along part of the eastern border of the Morrison subdivision (27641 Purissima Road) as part of the subdivision process. It was suggested that the owner of 12805 La Cresta might prefer to voluntarily grant an off-road easement for this connection rather than pay a pathway in -lieu fee. The Town would construct the pathway at a later date. Courtenay Corrigan moved that the Town give the homeowner at 12805 La Cresta the choice of either voluntarily giving an off-road easement along the northern border of the property OR paying a pathway in lieu fee. Joe Kleitman modified the motion and moved that the Town ask the owners of 12805 La Cresta Road to either pay a pathway in -lieu fee and restore the roadside pathway to IIB standards OR to grant an off-road easement to the Town to connect from La Cresta Road to the northwest corner of the property where 12805 La Cresta, 12827 La Cresta, and 12824 Canario Way meet so a connection from La Cresta to Purissima could be constructed by the Town when all required easements are obtained. Courtenay Corrigan seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. F. 12861 Alta Tierra Road (Lands of Kirk, Mikel. The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. The owner was not present. The property is on the west side of Alta Tierra, which is a public road off Robleda. Roadside paths have been constructed in some sections along the road. The PWC discussed when a pathway in -lieu fee was last paid for this property. Joe Kleitman requested that the committee review the policy for deciding when such a fee should be collected again for a property. The Master Path Plan indicates that the opposite side of the road is the preferred -'side for roadside paths, where paths could be placed on the bank above the road. Tim Warner moved that the Town ask the owners of 12861 Alt Tierra Road to pay a pathway in -lieu fee. Nick Dunckel seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. G. 14220 Wild Plum Lane (Lands of Harris, William and Dorothy). The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. The owner was not present. The property is at the end of Wild Plum Lane, a public cul-de-sac serving six residences. The only frontage on Wild Plum Lane is the driveway entrance. The eastern border of the property abuts Adobe Creek and the Foothill Expressway right-of-way. The Master Path Plan does not indicate any off-road paths on this property. Tim Warner moved that the Town ask the owners of 14220 Wild Plum Lane to pay a pathway in -lieu fee. Joe Kleitman seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Pathway Extension at Natoma and Elena. Rick McCauley, 27501 Elena Road, addressed the committee proposing an alternative plan for improving the safety of the roadside pathway at the Fina]PWC_Min12-0604 7/18/12 2 corner of Elena and Natoma. The existing path on the southeast side of Natoma drops down to the road about 120 feet southwest of the intersection and pedestrians and equestrians must cross the road there. Cars coming around the corner from Elena do not have a stop sign and are often speeding. The PWC briefly discussed this area at earlier meetings, but did not make a formal recommendation. Last month Town workers started constructing a roadside retaining wall on the southeast side of Natoma to extend the path to the stop sign. Richard Chiu, Director of Public Works, stopped this construction when Mr. McCauley requested that the PWC review the proposed plans and consider an alternative to this retaining wall, which would provide only about 3 feet of path width and would likely kill two oak trees. Mr. McCauley proposed continuing the pathway straight along the top of the bank close to the Poor Clare's brick wall (where a rough native path already exists) and then dropping it down (as a native path) to the stop sign at the corner. This is a safer location to cross where pedestrians and equestrians have better sight distance for cars coming up Elena. The PWC visited the site on June 2. The consensus of the PWC was that the McCauley proposal is preferable to the roadside retaining wall and appears feasible. Chair Eileen Gibbons will contact staff about the status of the pathway easements and the committee will discuss this again at the June meeting. The possibility of installing a stop sign for cars coming up to the intersection from Elena (from the northwest) was also discussed and will be addressed by the Traffic Safety Committee. B Draft Planning for West Loyola Neighborhood. Last month the PWC created a map of this newly annexed part of Town showing proposed routes for roadside paths. Because roads are narrow and winding in some areas, roadside pathways are not possible in all locations. Paths in this area are a relatively high priority and it was suggested that West Loyola be added to the list of potential projects to be considered for federal grant money. The Traffic Safety Committee has identified West Loyola as an area of special need with respect to public safety (roads lack shoulders) and roadside paths appear to have neighborhood support. There was some concern about targeting money to pathways that are not yet on the Master Path Plan and for which the Town does not yet hold easements. It was suggested that the PWC recommend that the Town hire a consultant to review potential routes in the West Loyola area. Joe Kleitman moved that the City Council approve a study of roadside paths along West Loyola including 1) exploration of feasibility of routes within the road right-of-way; 2) exploration of safety issues; 3) review of range of costs for various options; 4) review of specific grant requirements to be sure the proposed paths can be built in a way consistent with the rural character of the Town. Eileen Gibbons seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. In addition recommending the study, the PWC recommended a notice be mailed to all residents in the area. C. Budget Review. Chair Eileen Gibbons reviewed the status of the budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The Town collected $178,000 in pathway in -lieu fees in the previous fiscal year and LAH ordinances require that all of it must go to pathway projects. The proposed budget for pathways is $250,000 total; $150,000 has been designated for the Fremont Road project assuming the grant request is approved. The PWC discussed priorities for the remaining $100,000, including projects that might be candidates for federal funding (e.g., Safe Routes to School; Bay Area Air Quality; regional connectors). Specifically mentioned were the new roadside paths on West Loyola, extension of the Fremont Road project from Town Hall to Arastradero, and the Nicholson pathway. A subcommittee was formed to review potential projects and determine which is the best fit for the available grants. CII' projects from the past five years will be reviewed. Tim Fina1PWC_Min12-0604 7/18/12 3 Warner again volunteered to facilitate projects that would make it easier for kids to safely bike to school. D. Nicholson Pathway. The owners changed the angle of the switchbacks so that only two switchbacks and no retaining walls were needed. The owners agreed to add steps to these switchbacks to improve footing for horses. PWC visited the site on June 2. The pathway entry route from Dawson needs clarification and it was recommended that the path run below the first oak tree near the entrance rather than above it. Eileen Gibbons moved that these changes be accepted and that Tim Warner work with the homeowner as the representative of the PWC to make the final changes, including reducing the slope of the switchbacks to reduce the potential for future maintenance problems. David Jessen seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. E. Tree Removal at Chaparral and Moody. Construction has begun on the access stair for equestrians at Chaparral and Moody. PWC members were concerned that in spite of assuring the PWC that trees would not be removed, workers cut down two large trees along Moody Road for this project. It was moved that the Town replant landscaping at this site and inform the committee of the species to be used before planting. Sue Welch seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. F. Rail Fence Near Baleri Ranch Road. The proposed split rail fence to protect riparian vegetation along Matadero Creek at Baleri Ranch Road (along part of the Stanford path) will not be installed because neighbors objected to it. The fence may be added later if the riparian area appears to be degrading. G. Complaint from Residents about New Pathway Along Saddle Mountain Road. Residents of Saddle Mountain Road reported to Town staff that a new pathway is unsafe because it has a large drop-off from the curb and a large PG&E utility box in the middle of it. PWC will make a site visit and discuss next month. H. Off -Leash Dogs on Paths. A resident has complained to staff about off -leash dogs on pathways. LAH leash laws require dogs to be on -leash when they leave their owner's property. The PWC discussed options to encourage residents to follow this ordinance. The general consensus was that "leash law" signs are not needed at every pathway entrance. An article in the town newsletter and a large note of the Town Walking Map may help. 5. REPORTS FROM OTHER MEETINGS A. Ad Hoc Fence Committee. The committee is preparing a presentation summarizing their work for the City Council to be presented June 21, 2102. 6. GENERAL DISCUSSION A. Election of new PWC officers will be done at the June 25, 2012 meeting. 7. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 PM 8. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETINGS Fina1PWC_Min12-0604 7/18/12 4 Next Pathway Walls: Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 8:30 AM at Town Hall Next Regular Meeting: Monday, June 25, 2012 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall Respectfully submitted, Sue Welch June 25, 2012 Fina1PWC_Min12-0604 7/18/12