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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinal Minutes February 22FinalPWC_Min_10-0221 2/12/20 1 Los Altos Hills Pathway Committee FINAL Minutes of Meeting February 22, 2010 1. ADMINISTRATIVE Co-Chairman Nick Dunckel called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM Members present: Anna Brunzell, Nick Dunckel, Ann Duwe, Eileen Gibbons, Nancy Ginzton, Bill Silver, Bob Stutz, Chris Vargas, Tim Warner, Sue Welch Members absent: None PWC Representative to VTA Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee: Nancy Ginzton LAH Council Members present: Breene Kerr Members of other committees present: Kathy Evans, LAH Parks and Recreation Members of the public presents: Linda Swan The agenda was approved as amended below. 2. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR A. VTA Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee. Nancy Ginzton, PWC representative to the San Jose Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee reported that she can continue to represent LAH at these meetings until the end of her tenure in July. There may be an opportunity for LAH to receive funding for improvements under the “complete streets” program, the goal of which is to provide access for cars, bikes, and pedestrians. Nancy will email Council Member Rich Larson, who has been working on bicycle issues, about this. B. Pedestrian Crossing Signs. Linda Swan requested that warning signs be placed along roads where the pathways cross from one side of the road to the other to alert drivers to pedestrians and equestrians. She will submit to the PWC for review a list of areas where these signs are needed. C. LAH Pathways Run. Council Member Breene Kerr reminded the PWC of the 9th Annual LAH Pathways Run to be held Saturday, May 8, starting at the West Wind Barn. Volunteers are needed to register runners on the day of the event. 2. NEW BUSINESS A. The following properties were reviewed for pathway recommendations: i. 14190 Amherst Court (Lands of Doty). The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. The property is on the east side of Amherst Ct., a cul-de-sac that serves about 12 lots. Although there has been historic interest in connecting to Page Mill road via Amherst, no off-road pathway is on the Master Path Plan. The PWC has not reviewed any properties on Amherst in the last 7 years and no roadside paths exist on this street. Although topography would probably allow roadside paths, landscaping plants extend all the way to the pavement edge on many properties. The PWC reviewed Town policy and ordinances regarding roadside paths on cul-de-sacs and discussed whether or not roadside paths were needed on this street, which is on the edge of town and is not heavily traveled. The general agreement was that the side of the road opposite 14190 would be the preferred side for a pathway. Anna Brunzell moved that the owners of 14190 Amherst Court be asked to pay a pathway in-lieu fee. Chris Vargas seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. FinalPWC_Min_10-0221 2/12/20 2 ii. 27270 Natoma Road (Lands of Homa Natoma). The PWC reviewed this property on April 28, 2008 (at the time of the initial proposed 5-lot subdivision) and again on August 25, 2008 (when the subdivision map was revised to include only 2 lots). The initial subdivision plan included a road through the property from Natoma to Almaden Court. The PWC recommended a roadside path and the owner agreed. The revised 2-lot subdivision plan did not include a road. Because the Master Path Plan did not include a connection through this subdivision and there is a nearby connection from Lucerne Lane to Almaden Court, the PWC recommended that the owners pay a pathway in-lieu fee. Town staff asked the PWC to review the site development plan for the subdivided lot. The general consensus was that although a connection between Natoma and Almaden Court would be useful, the MPP does not show an off-road path through this area and the PWC has little choice other than to recommend a pathway in-lieu fee. The PWC need take no action because an in-lieu fee has already been collected. iii. 24500 Voorhees Drive (Lands of Incerpi). The PWC discussed this property at the Jan 25, 2010 meeting. At that time, the committee agreed to defer action until the time of development. Town staff informed the PWC that the LAH ordinance 9-1.1112 requires that any pathway decision be done at the time of subdivision, so the property is being formally reviewed tonight. The Town holds easements on the southeast and southwest sides of 24595 Voorhees Drive and on the southeast side of 12585 Miraloma Way that could provide a connection between Voorhees and Miraloma, but this off-road pathway was removed from the Master Path Plan because of neighbor opposition. The Town will retain the easements. Courtenay Corrigan moved that the owners of 24500 Voorhees Drive be asked to pay a pathway in-lieu fee based on the full square footage of the subdivision. Anna Brunzell seconded. The vote was 9 in favor and one abstention (for proximity). 3. OLD BUSINESS A. Review of Capital Improvement Projects a. Arastradero Path. Town Engineer, Richard Chiu, asked the PWC to review their recommendation for the proposed Arastradero roadside pathway because it will not be possible to construct the path all the way from Purissima to Fremont as originally planned. Easements are not available on two properties near the sharp curve. The PWC agreed that a pathway along Arastradero should still be built, even if it runs only from Purissima to La Cresta. Chairman Dunckel will pass this recommendation on to City Council for a vote at their April meeting. b. Page Mill Roadside path at Paseo del Robles. This roadside path will improve safety for the connection from pathways on the east side of Page Mill (e.g., in the Matadero Creek Lane, Country Lane, Three Forks Lane area) to the west side of Page Mill. Currently pedestrians must walk about 100 yards on the shoulder of Page Mill. Richard Chiu reported to Chair Nick Dunckel that the design and construction of this both path and the Arastradero path will be done by the same firm. The shoulder will be widened as part of a project to repair erosion caused by drainage pipes in the area. c. La Paloma-Atherton Court-Robleda connection. Routing of this off-road pathway has been discussed at numerous meetings during the past six months. At the Jan 23, 2010 meeting the PWC agreed to seek an alternative to the proposed route along the creek, which would require over 500 feet of retaining walls and cost more than $400,000. This pathway is currently being proposed to the Santa Clara Valley Water District for funding. Members of the PWC suggested that if this path is not funded by the water district, residents of Atherton should be contacted for feedback on a path using existing (or FinalPWC_Min_10-0221 2/12/20 3 alternative) easements in the neighborhood. The PWC reiterated the recommendation for the less expensive alternative route. B. Earth Day Community Project. Chris Vargas described the planned program and requested volunteers to contact local schools to encourage them to participate. Schools can do any type of community service project (e.g., pathway clean-up, planting, or invasive weed removal) that is compatible with the goals of Earth Day. The PWC discussed whether to include all Los Altos schools or only schools with students living in LAH. Chris will provide a script for volunteers and criteria for the Mayor’s Award. PWC members Courtenay Corrigan, Ann Duwe, Eileen Gibbons, Bill Silver, and Tim Warner volunteered to contact local schools and other organizations. Kathy Evans will contact the LAH Parks and Recreation and the LAH Youth Commission. Anna Brunzell will investigate organizing visits to Hidden Villa again this year. C. Proposed Pathways Walk and Horse Ride in May. Carol Gottlieb, who described the event at the Jan 23, 2010 meeting, has requested help from the PWC. Additional information is needed. D. Promoting the Pathway System in LAH. Chair Nick Dunckel asked for ideas for raising awareness of pathways and encouraging their use. Suggestions include 1) featuring a “Path of the Month” (or quarter) in the Town newsletter or web site; 2) offering guided pathway walks (similar to the one Nick led in January); 3) offering recognition or an award for walking the entire 80 miles of the system. E. Discussion of Corrections/Upgrades to Master Path Plan (MPP). At the Jan 22, 2010 meeting, Chair Nick Dunckel provided a spreadsheet describing some apparent discrepancies between the MPP of March 2005 and the map printed by the town in December 20009. A lengthy discussion transpired of how best to move forward on changes to the MPP. The following were discussed: 1. Changes to map formatting : i.. Paths designated for removal from the March 2005 MPP map. All paths shown in red, which are to be removed from the MPP, should be excluded from future maps ; ii. « Bubbles » indicating areas of active discussion should be removed ; iii. Three types of roads should be designated : 1) public roads ; 2) private roads with pathway easements ; and 3) private roads without pathway easements 2. Changes to specific paths i. New path on 11990 Page Mill. A roadside path should be added to the MPP and the Public Path Map (i.e., the « walking map ») ; ii. Byrne Park Lane at Artemis Ginzton Trail. Chair Nick Dunckel has reviewed Town records and clarified that the Town already holds an easement on 27296 Byrne Park Lane for this path ; MPP should reflect this ; iii. Consideration of Elena as a two-sided road. This was discussed and generally not supported because the topography in many places along Elena does not allow a path on both sides of the road. Although Elena is heavily travelled, roadside paths in other areas are considered higher priority at this time. iv. Stonebrook. Extend the blue line to meet Stonebrook. v. E Sunset Drive. This public road should be added to the MPP. vi. Quail Lane. This item will be continued to the next meeting. vii. Dawson Road to Oak Knoll. This path is on the MPP, but is currently blocked. viii. Easements in Sector D3 (active areas D3.9a and D3.9d) need to be modified to reflect the actual easements held by the Town. Chair Nick Dunckel will do this. ix. Toyonita Road. PWC is considering adding this private road to the MPP. This will require public hearings. FinalPWC_Min_10-0221 2/12/20 4 3. Cul-de-sacs. A note describing Town policy for roadside pathways on cul-de-sacs should be added to the legend of the map so owners will be aware that a roadside path may be added. The text will read : In addition to the paths identified as future paths, paths may be required on cul-de-sacs that could serve more than 8 lots and shall be required where the cul-de-sac connects to an off-road path. 4. Roadside paths on some public roads need to be shown on the maps. These include Stanford Court, Vogue Court, Alto Verde Lane ; Roble Venedo Lane, Leander Drive, Windsor Court, La Vida Real, Rancho Manuella Lane, De Bell Road, Saltemontes Way, Estacada Way, Miranda Way, Alicante Lane, Bentley Court, and Fremont Pines Lane. 5. Scenic loops should be marked on the MPP. A lengthy discussion ensued about how best to move forward on the correction and upgrade of the MPP. Corrections to make the map reflect existing policy (e.g., removal of red marks, adding text to legend describing cul-de-sac policy) do not require public hearings, whereas other changes (e.g., addition of new routes) will require public hearings. A two-phase process was suggested: 1. A clean map clearly identifying minor corrections not requiring public hearings (e.g., shown in a different color) will be prepared, reviewed by the PWC, and presented to City Council for approval. 2. At the same time, changes to the MPP that are substantively different from the MPP map approved by Council in March 2005 (e.g., addition of Toyonita) will be discussed at a series of public hearings and presented to Council. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the January 23, 2010 meeting were approved as amended. Meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM. 4. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETINGS Next pathway walk: Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 8:30 AM at Town Hall Next regular meeting: Monday, March 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall Respectfully submitted, Sue Welch March 18, 2010