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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinal Minutes April 23Los Altos Hills Pathway Committee Minutes of Meeting April 23, 2007 1. ADMINSTRATIVE Chairman Ginger Summit called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM Members present: Anna Brunzell, Courtenay Corrigan, Nick Dunckel, Nancy Ginzton, Ginger Summit, Bill Silver, Bob Stutz, and Sue Welch Members absent: Chris Vargas and Jolon Wagner Members of public present: Carol Gottlieb Les Earnest Brian Mastin, project architect for 26326 Esperanza Drive (Lands of Lin) Peter Duxbury, project architect for 12170 Dawn lane (Lands of Renski) The agenda was approved as amended below. 2. NEW BUSINESS A. The following properties were reviewed for pathway recommendations: i. 26326 Esperanza Drive (Lands of Lin). The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. Brian Mastin, project architect, was present. He said he had met with LAH Planning staff who told him that the pathway was on the opposite side of the street form the property under review and hence an in-lieu fee would be the likely recommendation. Esperanza is a circular road off Fremont close to Town Hall and 26326 is on the inside of the circle. The current PWC roadside path map (September 5, 2006) recommends the roadside path be on the opposite side of the road from this property (i.e., on the outside of the circular road). Several properties on the opposite side of the road have existing IIB pathways. Anna Brunzell moved that the Town collect a pathway in-lieu fee from the owners of 26326 Esperanza Drive. Bob Stutz seconded. The vote was unanimously in favor. ii. 12170 Dawn Lane (Lands of Renski). The reason for pathway review is construction of a new residence. Peter Duxbury, the architect for the project reported his clients' preference not to have a pathway easement through the property. Dawn Lane is a cul-de-sac off Elena Road. The property is a flag lot off the end of Dawn lane; access is via a private drive that serves on other residence. The PWC has long considered a connector from Natoma Road to Elena Road important and this connection is shown on the approved Master Path Plan. The Town holds an easement along the southern border of 27288 Elena and the Master Path Plan shows the path continuing along the border of the adjacent property (27200 Dawn Lane) to the Poor Clare's property (28210 Natoma). Although an easement on 12170 Dawn Lane near the northeast corner of the lot could provide connectivity, Mr. Duxbury says that the house is sited only 30 feet from the property line here and thus a 10-foot easement would place the path very close to the house. The Ginzton family donated easements along the southern borders of their properties at 28010 and 28012 Natoma. Neighbors on Natoma adjacent to the Ginzton's and to Poor Clare's (28210 Natoma) apparently do not oppose a pathway through the area if the easement is not on their property. The logical and most direct route for the pathway is on the edge of Poor Clare's Monastery property (i.e., along the south edge and a short distance along the east edge). For reasons of privacy, Poor Clare's has strongly opposed these easements on their property. The PWC will continue to seek an appropriate route for this important connecting pathway. Courtenay Corrigan moved that the Town ask for an in-lieu fee from the property owners at 12170 Dawn Lane instead of a pathway easement. Anna Brunzell seconded. The vote was four in favor and two abstentions. Nancy Ginzton recused herself because she lives less than 500 feet from the property under review. iii. 27355 Sherlock (Lands of Ramberg). This property (PWC member Anna Brunzell's home) was added to the review late last week and no members of the committee have had a chance to make a site visit. Review was delayed until the May meeting. 3. OLD BUSINESS A. Earth Day School Pathway Clean Up. Chris Vargas again organized pathway cleanup projects for Bullis Charter School Pinewood School and LAH residents. Sixty-five Pinewood students picked up trash along roadside pathway routes on Wednesday, April 18. The county sheriff helped by managing traffic around the group that worked along Page Mill Road. The Bullis School event unfortunately was rained out and will be rescheduled sometime in May. Nick Dunckel reported that two residents braved the poor weather on Saturday and showed up at Town Hall for the PWC- sponsored pathway clean up. Thanks to Anna Brunzell, Courtenay Corrigan, Nick Dunckel, and Chris Vargas for their help in these projects. A. Earth Day Celebration at West Wind Barn. Bill Silver, Anna Brunzell, Courtenay Corrigan, and Nick Dunckel manned the PWC information table at the Earth Day celebration at West Wind Barn on Sunday, April 22. Many visitors asked when they could expect to get a copy of the walking map. Others wanted information about which pathways are best for off-leash dogs, for horses, and for strollers. Thanks to all who helped with this event. B. Additions and Changes to the Walking Map. Many people at the Earth Day exhibit asked about the Walking Map. This map is intended to show walkable routes through the Town; it will be printed and available from Town Hall. Chairman Summit asked PWC members to continue reviewing the draft version (dated November 22, 2006) for inaccuracies in their quadrants and to submit corrections to her via email. The issue of printing costs was again discussed and Bill Silver suggested making the walking map available for downloading from the Town web site. C. San Jose Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee. Anna Brunzell, PWC representative to the San Jose Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee reported that she missed the previous meeting because of an emergency. D. Locations of trash cans at trailheads. Chris Vargas will continue to work with Henry Louie to place 4 to 6 trashcans along roadsides at trailheads to major off-road paths. Consistent pick-up has been a problem with the can at Byrne Preserve. E. Westwind Community Barn Standing Committee Report. Nick Dunckel, the PWC representative to West Wind Barn and a member of the West Wind Barn Board, reported that during recent discussions about the pathway from the stables to the arena, he informed the Board that the PWC had completed its obligations. Further work on this path will have to fall under the aegis of the WWB. G. Reports from PWC members who attended City Council or Planning Commission PWC members volunteered to attend Planning Commission and City Council Meetings on the following dates: April 26 City Council Courtenay Corrigan, Sue Welch 4. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR A. Carol Gottlieb, member of the former Ad Hoc Committee, which created a database of pathway easements in LAH will arrange to meet with Chairman Summit and Nancy Ginzton to work on the easement maps. B. Pathway Maintenance Issues. Nick Dunckel suggested that it might be easier for the PWC to track pathway maintenance work if the requests came to the PWC before they are submitted to the Town Engineer, Henry Louie. Nick volunteered to create a database of requests and to meet with Henry Louie once very few months to review the requests and the status of the work. The PWC approved the idea and Nick will begin this project in August. Chairman Summit reminded PWC members to watch for and report pathway signs that are missing or obscured by shrubbery so they can be replaced or cleared. The committee expressed hope that some of the long-standing maintenance problems will be addressed during the next few months now that the rain has stopped. C. Items for May PWC meeting agenda. Chairman Summit requested that the PWC review its standards for native paths at the May meeting. Apparently, no formal standards exist. Nancy Ginzton requested that the PWC review its recommendation for the location of the roadside path on Dezahara at the May meeting. The current recommendation is to place the path on the inside of the circle. Easements have been granted on both sides of the road and pathways on the outside of the circle may be less intrusive to property owners. This road will be added to the May site visits. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of March 26, 2007 were approved as amended. Meeting was adjourned at 8:47 PM. 6. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETINGS The PWC will not meet in July or December of 2007 Note that the next meetings will be one week early because of the Memorial Day holiday Next pathway walk: Saturday, May 19, 2007 at 8:30 AM at Town Hall Next regular meeting: Monday, May 21, 2007 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall Respectfully submitted, Sue Welch April 24, 2007