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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 13Minutes - Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee August 13, 2004 Present: Patty Ciesla, Ray Collins, Nancy Couperus, Mary Davey, Barbara Mordo, Duffy Price Jean Struthers, Susan Welch Regrets: Elaine Nelson, Roger Spreen Guests: Jack Davey Meeting convened at 3:00 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room at Bullis School APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes from the 19 July 2004 meeting were approved after two spelling errors were corrected. The landscape designer is Tom Klopes, not Cloakes and Artemas is spelled with an a rather than an i as appeared in the notes. OLD BUSINESS Edith Park Parks and Recreation will take the lead in upgrading and managing this park. Jean Struthers, absent from the discussion at the meeting of 19 July 2004, iterated previous suggestions for a landscape design based on California natives. She suggested that the Open Space Committee could assist Parks and Recreation with plant selection to include drought-tolerant natives and to help make the park more natural. Jean also pointed out the need for a post in the driveway where the park appears to be an extension of Robleda. Joint Meeting with Portola Valley and Woodside Open Space Committees Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee will hold a joint meeting with the Open Space Committees of Portola Valley and Woodside from 4:00 to 6:00 PM on Thursday 26 August 2004 at Independence Hall in Woodside. Caroll Ann Hodges of the Woodside OSC will send an agenda to Nancy Couperus who will distribute it to LAH OSC members. Los Altos Hills attendees will meet at Bullis School at 3:40 PM and carpool to Woodside. Duffy Price suggested that a brief summary report of Open Space Committee activities during the past year be presented at the joint meeting. Because this is the end of the first year for the Committee, the report could also serve as a year-end report and could be distributed to the Town Council and other committees. Activities include drafting a conservation easement ordinance; facilitating donation of a voluntary conservation easement for the Horton subdivision; habitat restoration at Byrne Preserve; site visits to town Open Space areas; providing an information booth at Earth Day Celebration at Westwind Community Barn; ordering a memorial bench. Nancy Couperus will prepare the report. Conservation Easement, Lands of Horton On 19 August 2004 the Town Council will consider the Horton subdivision request for a one-year extension of their tentative map. The issue of whether it is legal to add the requirement for a conservation easement at the time of an extension in order to make the proposed plans consistent with the updated General Plan was raised at the Council meeting on 15 July 2004. The city attorney, Dave Warner, said that it could not be done at this time. Because this is an important issue and the Horton case will set a precedent, a memo was sent to Dean Warshawsky, the OSC Council liaison, asking for written clarification of the legal opinion for why conditions (of open space) could not be imposed at the time of the extension request in the Horton subdivision. Nancy Couperus received a written copy of the justification, which is available for members to review. Because the plan has already been approved it is not possible to make changes at the time an extension is requested. On 19 July 2004, Nancy Couperus attended the meeting with the Hortons, their engineer, and the Town Planner. The Hortons appeared open to placing a voluntary conservation easement on their property. Carl Cahill subsequently advised Nancy Couperus that he had received a signed and notarized agreement, including a map, designating boundaries of a proposed voluntary conservation easement. The Committee reviewed the map of the Horton’s proposed conservation easement and found it to be in substantial agreement with the original conservation easement diagram proposed. This will go to the Town Council on 19 August 2004 for approval. Some committee members expressed concern that the design of the road crossing the large swale on the property would block water flow as well as wildlife movement. Details of the crossing design were not available and the plan has been approved and cannot be changed at this time. A suggestion was made that the Open Space Committee attempt to be proactive in monitoring planned development within the Town and to encourage acquisition of conservation easements where appropriate and use of designs that protect where possible natural features and wildlife corridors. Memorial Bench Nancy Couperus contacted Cypress Granite and Memorials and found that the bench has not yet been completed. When it is finished and delivered to the Westwind Community Barn, the bench will be moved to the site with a tractor and installed on a bed of crushed rock. Byrne Open Space Patty Ciesla expressed interest in improving access to the preserve for the disabled and seniors. She suggested creating an ADA path in the preserve. Possible routes and materials for the path were discussed. A new ADA path will require surveying and approval from the Town and maintenance of the trail must also be arranged. It was suggested that the Mid-Peninsula Open Space specs for ADA trails be reviewed and that the Committee communicate our interest in this project to the Pathways Committee. Presentation to the Pathways Committee will be deferred until their scheduled pathway hearings are finished. The possibility of funding this project with a grant was raised. Adobe Creek Watershed Meeting The Adobe Creek Watershed Steering Committee and the few families who have not yet granted easements are reviewing and working though the agreements. It was noted that this type of agreement would be precedent setting for Santa Clara Valley Water District. It will be the first time that a community-based group (spearheaded by Susan Mandle) initiated and implemented a program to address issues of flooding, erosion and habitat loss on a local creek. Supporters of Westwind Community Barn Supporters of Westwind Community Barn met on Monday 19 July 2004. The group has raised about $100,000. A $20,000 grant has been given by the supporters to the Town (the owners of the barn) to replace the exterior doors on the barn to make them more watertight. The tight seals on the doors will also help protect the barn from an external fire (e.g., in the adjacent open pasture). The upstairs hay doors also need to be expanded to make hay delivery more efficient. Bids received to date for the new doors are significantly higher than the allotted $20, 000. The group will continue to solicit bids. Habitat Restoration Patty Ciesla continues to remove seedpods from Scotch broom and teasel in Byrne Preserve. A suggestion was made to hire day workers from the Calvary Church in Mountain View or make use of the free laborers from the Department of Corrections for larger scale removal of invasive species. Patty suggests waiting until December when she will have time to resume more active and coordinated restoration projects. Dogwoods can also be planted at that time. Illegal Dumping at Byrne Preserve Yard waste and manure have been illegally dumped adjacent to Adobe Creek on Moody Court. Homeowners have been asked to stop this activity and to remove the dumped materials. The dumped manure has been buried rather than removed. The yard waste was apparently dumped in the creek by an unknown yard service. Steve Garcia will send a crew to remove the yard waste from the creek and follow up with homeowners on the manure removal. Conservation Easement Ordinance The draft conservation easement ordinance presented by Nancy Couperus at the meeting of 16 July 2004 was sent to past Commissioner Art Lachenbruch for review. He has conveyed comments on the first paragraphs to Nancy Couperus as well as his intent to continue his review. A suggestion was made that because of his expertise he be invited to join or to serve as a consultant to the Open Space Committee. He will be invited to attend the September committee meeting. The Horton voluntary conservation easement provides an opportunity to educate the public about the potential benefits of this type of donation. A suggestion was made to form a sub-committee to prepare exhibits to accompany the draft conservation easement ordinance. Examples of possible exhibits (already prepared by Nancy Couperus) include: 1) CA government code 51075 2) Formal definitions explaining the difference between conservation easements and open space easement. (A conservation easement is offered voluntarily whereas an open space easement is extracted as a condition for approval of a development plan. Per state law, a conservation easement is given in perpetuity, whereas an open space agreement can be termed.) 3) Excerpts from USGS Land Use Planning report describing Planning with Slope 4) USGS slope map of Los Altos Hills and histogram of slope percent range versus occurrence 5) Results of survey of LAH favoring conservation easements on lands with slopes of 30% or more Rhus Ridge Site Visit On Friday 30 July 2004 members of the committee met at 9:30 AM to walk part of Rhus Ridge Open Space. Findings included blackberries, a natural spring, and a broken water pipe (of which the water district is aware). Lack of parking is a problem at this site; neighbors have complained that visitors often disregard signs and park at the switchback. Discussions have been held with neighbors and potential solutions are still being sought. NEW BUSINESS Annual Election of Officers The committee unanimously voted the following officers: Roger Spreen, Chairperson; Nancy Couperus, Vice Chairperson; Susan Welch, Secretary (pending affirmation by the Town Council). The meeting was adjourned at 4:40 PM.