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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 11OSC_Min_021105 3/6/20 1 Minutes - Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee February 11, 2005 Present: Patty Ciesla, Nancy Couperus, Mary Davey, Elaine Nelson, Duffy Price, Roger Spreen, Jean Struthers, Susan Welch Regrets: Barbara Mordo Guests: Larissa Keet, Art Lachenbruch The meeting was called to order at 3:05 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room at Bullis School APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes from the 14 January 2005 meeting were approved without amendment. OLD BUSINESS Crozier Hogle Conservation Easement Nancy Couperus provided the final status report on the Crozier Hogle conservation easement. This voluntary conservation easement covering the 10.9-acre parcel on Old Page Mill Road, was recorded by the Town of Los Altos Hills on Tuesday, March 8, 2005. A brief description of the easement will be posted on the Santa Clara County records web site. The easement was recorded after the formal survey of record was completed. The survey, which was done by Mark Thomas and Company, established and marked with monuments the boundaries between the lands of Crozier Hogle and the adjacent lands of Jarvis and of Stanford. A steep path on the southwest corner of the parcel has been determined to be on the lands of Crozier Hogle. The split-rail fence along the entry road is also on Crozier Hogle property, not on Stanford lands. Nancy Couperus reported that the Town Crier published a front-page article on January 26, 2005 and a highly favorable editorial encouraging others to follow Lois Crozier Hogle’s generous example in establishing this voluntary conservation easement. The San Francisco Chronicle also published a multipage article about conservation easements in the real estate section of the Sunday, February 6, 2005 edition. Nancy Couperus distributed a list of all properties of three acres or more that lie within Los Altos Hills. Some of these properties may include lands that are appropriate for voluntary conservation easements. Nancy Couperus has sent copies of the Land Trust Alliance ‘s brochure on conservation easements to landowners of parcels of five acres or more to make them aware of the potential benefits of voluntary conservation easements. Lands of Horton Nancy Couperus reported that the planned sale of the lands of Horton (on Chaparral Way) has fallen through. The buyer had planned to use the California Land Conservation (Williamson) Act, under which the owner receives a tax benefit for allowing the land to remain undeveloped for ten years. The conservation easement on the property put forth by the Hortons as part of the subdivision plans has been recorded and cannot be removed. The proposed road in the Horton development plan remains a concern because it climbs up steep terrain and crosses a large swale and hence, could potentially block water flow and wildlife movement. OSC_Min_021105 3/6/20 2 Conservation Easement Information Brochure Nancy Couperus reported that the booklet, which introduces landowners to the concept of voluntary conservation easements and provides practical advice for negotiating an agreement, has been completed. Copies were distributed at the conservation easement forums sponsored by the League of Women Voters (February 6, 2005) and by the Town of Woodside (February 10, 2005). The booklet was presented to the City Council at the meeting on Thursday, February 10, and copies are available at Town Hall. Feedback from people who have seen the booklet has has been very positive. Conservation Easement Forums The League of Women Voters of Los Altos and Mountain View held a forum titled Conservation Easements: A Forum on Land Preservation Tools for Local Communities, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday February 6, 2005 at Congregation Beth Am. About 70 people attended, some from as far away as Livermore. The program included presentation of awards and honors to Lois Crozier Hogle, who is the founder of the Committee for Green Foothills and recently donated a 10.9-acre conservation easement to Los Altos Hills. Lois was presented the Mary and Wallace Stegner Environmental Stewardship Award for her commitment to preserving Open Space in the area. Mayor Mike O’Malley also presented a plaque to Lois from the Town of Los Altos Hills to acknowledge and to thank her for her conservation easement donation. California State Assemblyman Ira Ruskin presented a certificate and Santa Clara County Supervisor, Liz Kniss thanked Lois for her longstanding commitment to open space. Los Altos Hills Councilmen Breene Kerr and Jean Mordo also attended the forum. The educational program included eight speakers and addressed many topics on conservation easements, including features of different types of easements, selection of a grantee organization, monitoring, and recent changes in tax laws for easements. Dr. Rick Hopkins, a wildlife ecologist who studies mountain lions, talked about documenting mountain lion habitat fragmentation in the Los Angeles basin. Mary Davey reported that the League of Women Voters is interested in drafting state legislation to make conservation easement contracts more open and accessible to the public and to address potential abuses of conservation easements. Key issues include more auditing of conservation values and better baseline documentation and monitoring. . Jason Kibbey of Defense of Place is preparing a first draft. Support and input from the Open Space Committee in this project would be welcome. The Town of Woodside held a symposium on conservation easements on Thursday, February 10, 2005 at the Woodside Town Hall. This event was also well attended and complemented the first forum by focusing on individual landowners’ experiences. Roger Spreen spoke on behalf of Lois Crozier Hogle and explained the process of donating a conservation easement in Los Altos Hills. Conservation Easement Ordinance Art Lachenbruch handed out a modified and annotated version of the draft Open Space Ordinance for review. The Committee discussed each of the proposed changes and his commentaries. Mr. Lachenbruch noted that a major problem with the existing version of the ordinance is that all six of the conditions (defined in the document) under which a conservation easement could be required are ambiguous. As a result the boundaries for the resulting conservation easement will also be ambiguous. He states in his notes: “Presumably the town will be responsible for identifying and (defending?) the (often arguable) mapped location of these configurations and monitoring compliance. Will the results be worth the time and cost?” He OSC_Min_021105 3/6/20 3 suggested that the Committee seek to identify the most important problems that the ordinance is intended to solve and then focus the wording of the ordinance to address those issues. Specific problems with each of the six conditions that could lead to requirement of a conservation easement were discussed. Mr. Lachenbruch argued these conditions should be made as specific and objective as possible and that refinement and careful definitions of terms and conditions are needed. The ordinance should also establish that the approving body will be the Town Planning Commission. Mr. Lachenbruch noted that in considering slope development limits, the methods by which slope is measured should be defined. Mr. Lachenbruch suggested talking further with the Towns of Woodside and Portola Valley, who have experience in enforcing conservation easements to help with refinement of the document. Mr. Lachenbruch requested the Committee members review the proposed ordinance again, keeping in mind that the goal is to develop a document that is workable, enforceable, will not be expensive to implement, and will not lead to litigation. Mr. Lachenbruch again suggested that it would be valuable to obtain consultation from a planning professional who has experience in preparing general plans, zoning, and site development regulations. Roger Spreen will meet with Carl Cahill and suggested setting up a subcommittee to continue working on the ordinance. The discussion of these important issues will be taken up at the next meeting. Supporters of Westwind Community Barn Elaine Nelson reported that plans for Earth Day Celebration (Sunday April 24, 2005) are continuing. The event, which is co-sponsored by Supporters of the Westwind Barn and the Open Space Committee, will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the Westwind Barn. Leopards, Etc. will again perform. To date, seven environmental and community groups have agreed to participate, and three have declined. Patty Ciesla has kindly agreed to prepare and lead an educational activity for school children and/or a community service project for Junior High School youth. Elaine solicited suggestions for inexpensive advertising for the event. Notice of the Earth Day celebration will be put in the March 2005 Los Altos Hills Quarterly Newsletter. Fliers and posters to be distributed in Downtown Los Altos were also suggested. Larissa Keet said that she will contact the Los Altos Town Crier and other local newspapers about an article and/or advertisement. Adobe Creek Watershed Group Nancy Couperus reported that the Open Space Committee provided a letter of support for the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD), which has applied for a grant from the Urban Streams Restoration Program at the California Department of Water Resources to restore Adobe Creek at Reach 5. The letter described the importance of Adobe Creek watershed and the Committee’s support of the work of SCVWD and the Adobe Creek Watershed Group. The El Monte-Moody Road Traffic Corridor Plan, a proposal to create a pedestrian, bicycle, and horse path from Rhus Road through Foothill College to downtown Los Altos was briefly discussed. The plan was presented at the Town Council Meeting on Thursday, February 10, 2005. NEW BUSINESS Roadside Vegetation Management Jean Struthers raised concerns about spraying of herbicide along Robleda and other roads in the Town. Native wildflowers can be found along roadsides of many of the wild and scenic roads in Town (e.g., Robleda, Moody, Altamont, and Page Mill Roads) and continued use of herbicides, particularly if applied in annually in December and January when many native plants are OSC_Min_021105 3/6/20 4 actively growing, will almost certainly eventually kill these natives. Established native wildflowers and grasses can help control invasive weeds, prevent erosion, and provide an attractive natural landscape for roadside easements. Members of the community have also expressed concerns about herbicides flowing onto local streams and about the potential health hazards of herbicides. Sue Welch reported that she is trying to obtain from the Town a document describing the weed spraying program in Los Altos Hills and has begun researching alternative methods for managing roadside vegetation. Roger Spreen and Nancy Couperus have supplied documents from Karen Lemes, a representative of the Moody Road Association (a local citizens group) who supports banning use of herbicides in the Town and presented a proposal to the Town in 2003. Sue Welch and Jean Struthers will prepare a proposal for a modified spraying plan to present to the Committee for review and a memo will be drafted to the City Council with the committee’s recommendations. Fencing Regulations Larissa Keet raised concerns about the impact of the many new fences being erected in the Town; her concerns include aesthetics and obstruction of the movement of wildlife. She is especially concerned about smaller lots that are completely fenced and hence may block long established wildlife corridors. She is seeking input and support from the Open Space Committee on this issue. A copy of the new (April 2004) Los Altos Hills ordinance regulating fences was handed out for review (i.e., Ordinance 434, Section 10.1.507). Art Lachenbruch suggested that the Committee review the current fencing regulations for the Town; regulations cover both fence height and the degree to which the fence obstructs views. Allowable fence height varies with the distance from the property line. The maximum height allowable is six feet for open fences located between the property line and the setback line; closed fences must be lower. An “open” fence obstructs nor more than 50% of the view, whereas a “closed” fence obstructs more than 50% of the view through the fence. Open space/conservation easement perimeter fences must allow for free passage of wildlife through the easement. It was suggested that fence regulations may be more appropriately handled by the Environmental Design Committee than the Open Space Committee. The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 PM. The next meeting will be held on Friday, March 11, 2005 at 3:00 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room at Bullis School Respectively submitted, Susan Welch OSC_Min_021105 3/6/20 5