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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 14OSC_Min_011405 3/6/20 1 Minutes - Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee January 14, 2005 Present: Patty Ciesla, Nancy Couperus, Mary Davey, Barbara Mordo, Elaine Nelson, Duffy Price, Roger Spreen, Jean Struthers, Susan Welch Regrets: None Guests: Ken Clifford (representing the American Cancer Society Relay for Life fundraiser) The meeting was called to order at 3:00 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room at Bullis School APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes from the 14 December 2004 meeting were approved as amended by Duffy Price. OLD BUSINESS Crozier Hogle Conservation Easement Nancy Couperus reported that on January 11, 2005 Lois Crozier Hogle signed the agreement establishing a voluntary conservation easement for the 10.9-acre parcel she owns on Old Page Mill Road. This donation is the first voluntary conservation easement negotiated by the Open Space Committee. The survey of record, which will be paid for by the Open Space Committee and the Town, will be done next week. The conservation easement agreement may be accepted and recorded by the Town as early as by next Thursday, January 13, 2005. Nancy Couperus reported that the final terms of the agreement regarding preservation of structures on the property were made somewhat less restrictive than originally proposed by the landowner. The final agreement allowed changes to be made to the pool and pool house and allowed an addition of up to 1500 square feet to be added to the main residence. The addition would have to be done in the style of the original house with the help of a preservation architect and would require approval by the Town. The terms for this voluntary conservation easement agreement illustrate how the agreement can be modified to suit the unique issues for each property and landowner. The issue of creating a program for conservation easement monitoring was raised again. Nancy Couperus has obtained a number of useful publications from the Land Trust Alliance that will be helpful in developing the program and other committee activities. Money will need to be allocated from the Committee budget to fund annual monitoring activities. Nancy Couperus distributed a list of all properties of five acres or more that lie within Los Altos Hills. Some of these properties may include lands that are appropriate for voluntary conservation easements. Nancy will send copies of the Land Trust Alliance Conservation Easement pamphlet to these landowners to make them aware of the potential benefits of voluntary conservation easements. Roger will include a letter in the mailing inviting residents to attend both the LAH Forum and the Woodside Symposium on conservation easements. Conservation Easement Information Brochure The subcommittee (Nancy Couperus, Duffy Price, Roger Spreen, and Sue Welch) formed to work on the brochure has made good progress and the brochure is nearly finished. Special thanks are OSC_Min_011405 3/6/20 2 offered to Nancy Couperus who did most of the organization and writing and to Duffy Price who did the layout and has been working with the printer. Members of the Committee will be sent drafts for comment and the final version of the booklet will be sent to the printer early in the week of January 17th, 2005. Maureen Cassingham (City Manager) and Carl Cahill (City Planner) have reviewed the recent drafts. This booklet, which introduces landowners to the concept of voluntary conservation easements and provides practical advice for negotiating an agreement, will be ready for distribution at the February conservation easement forum. Adobe Creek Watershed Group Meeting Nancy Couperus reported that the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) is applying for a grant from the Urban Streams Restoration Program at the California Department of Water Resources and has asked the Open Space Committee to provide a letter of support. The letter must be sent to Susan Mandle by Sunday January 9, 2005 and the grant application must be submitted to the Department of Water Resources on January 25, 2005. The proposed grant will cover restoration of Adobe Creek at Reach 5. Nancy Couperus read a prepared letter describing the importance of Adobe Creek watershed and the Committee’s support of the work of SCVWD and the Adobe Creek Watershed Group. Patty Ciesla moved that the Open Space Committee send the letter as read to the California Department of Water Resources in support of the SCVWD application for a grant from the Urban Streams Restoration Program. The motion was seconded and passes unanimously. League of Women Voters Forum on Conservation Easements The League of Women Voters of Los Altos and Mountain View will hold a forum on conservation easements from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday February 6, 2005. The forum, Conservation Easements: A Forum on Land Preservation Tools for Local Communities, will be held at Congregation Beth Am and Los Altos Hills participants include Carl Cahill, Planning Director for Los Altos Hills, and Mary Davey, President of Mid Peninsula Open Space District and member of the Open Space Committee. Dr. Rick Hopkins, a wildlife ecologist who studies mountain lions, will talk about habitat fragmentation. Jason Kibbey, Director of Defense of Place, David Mitchell, Board Director of Peninsula Open Space Trust, and several others will also speak. At the forum Lois Crozier Hogle will be presented with the Mary and Wallace Stegner Award for Environmental Stewardship for her commitment to preserving Open Space in the area. The Town will also present a plaque to Lois to acknowledge and thank her for her recent voluntary conservation easement donation. Duffy Price will solicit local wine makers for contributions of wine and cheese. Open Space Committee members are asked to bring refreshments and to arrive early to help with set-up. Attendees are encouraged to register by phone at (650)-941-4808 or vial email at couperus@mindspring.com. Conservation Easement Ordinance Nancy Couperus handed out background materials for discussion of the Los Altos Hills Conservation Easement Ordinance, including a draft of the proposed Open Space Easement ordinance and a summary of key regulations related to development excerpted from the Town Handbook. Distinctions between voluntary conservation easements that are granted voluntarily by the landowner and open space easements that are exacted non-voluntarily as a requirement for subdivision were discussed. The two types of easements are clearly defined in different parts of California Civil Code. OSC_Min_011405 3/6/20 3 A draft of the ordinance from October 24, 2003 was reviewed paragraph by paragraph and amendments noted. Several committee members suggested that a preamble is needed to describe the rationale for the ordinance. The issue of slope development limits was again discussed, including the rationale for setting the threshold for development at 30% slope. Art Lachenbruch reviewed for the Committee the definition of slope (vertical rise over distance), and explained the errors in the description of slope that appears on the Los Alto Hills Civic Association web site. He also explained the importance of scale (i.e., the length over which the vertical rise is measured), in determining slope. At very small scales (i.e., short lengths), slope becomes very large because small differences in vertical rise become significant relative to the length. For example, at very small scale, grains of sand on a concrete floor would yield a large slope measurement. Patty Ciesla stated that the Town currently uses contour intervals of 5 feet for measuring slope on sloped lands and 2 feet for measuring slope on flat land (slope less than 10%). The committee discussed the history of slope development limits in Los Altos Hills, including the historical use of 30% as an upper limit for development. Art Lachenbruch suggested that Committee should more broadly define the goal of the proposed ordinance (i.e., what the proposed ordinance is designed to accomplish) and to define more completely the rationale for slope development limits (i.e., what the problem is with development on slopes). Art Lachenbruch agreed to review the proposed ordinance for Los Altos Hills in detail; he will also review the slope development ordinances from Woodside and Portola Valley for comparison. Mr. Lachenbruch suggested that it would be valuable to obtain consultation from a planning professional, such as George Mader, who has been Town Planner for Portola Valley for many years and has extensive experience in preparing general plans, zoning, and site development regulations for communities in California. The discussion of these important issues was curtailed because of time and will be taken up at the next meeting. Supporters of Westwind Community Barn Elaine Nelson reported that the City Council, at John Mordo’s initiative, unanimously voted to provide an additional $13,100 for the barn door project at the Westwind Community Barn. These funds will be combined the $20,000 from Supporters of Westwind Community Barn to purchase the badly needed new doors. Elaine noted that the Supporters are pleased to see this public- private partnership as well as the recognition of the Westwind Barn as a valuable community asset. Elaine Nelson also 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 and a number of environmental and community groups will participate. Ray Collins agreed to plan a community hike in association with the event (e.g., an Apricots to Mountaintops hike ending at the barn or a hike around Byrne Preserve). Duffy Price will ask the fire department to bring the fire trucks for display. Elaine is still seeking an educational program for school children and a community service project for Junior High School youth. A notice of the Earth Day celebration will be put in the March 2005 Los Altos Hills Quarterly Newsletter and banners and posters will be distributed locally. Restoration Work at Byrne Preserve Patty Ciesla reports that she has been clearing Scotch broom from trails in Byrne Preserve. The winter rains have made soil conditions ideal for pulling out this highly invasive non-native shrub. OSC_Min_011405 3/6/20 4 NEW BUSINESS Roadside Vegetation Management Jean Struthers raised concerns about recent 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 annually in December and January when many native plants are 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 into local streams and about the potential health hazards of herbicides. A motion was made to review the roadside spray policies of the Town and determine if acceptable alternative methods (e.g., mowing) are available that may preserve native wildflowers and grasses along the edges of the Town’s wild and scenic roads (e.g., Robleda, Altamont, and Page Mill Roads). Jean Struthers and Sue Welch will talk with Dave Ross, the City Engineer, about the current policies in Los Altos Hills and review methods for controlling roadside vegetation. They will report back to the Open Space Committee for further discussion and a memo will be drafted to the City Council with the committee’s recommendations. Nancy Couperus noted that Karen Lemes, as a representative of the Moody Road Association (a local citizens group) had sent a letter to the Town last year requesting a change in herbicide spraying; she will send copies of the letter to Committee members. Woodside Conservation Easement Symposium The Open Space Committee of the Town of Woodside is sponsoring a symposium, The Big Beautiful Picture of Conservation Easements, on Thursday, February 10, 2005. The goal of the symposium is to help the public learn how conservation easements work, what they can do for the landowner, and how they are treated under tax law. Featured speakers include Antonia Adezio of the Garden Conservatory and Greg Hendrickson, an attorney specializing in conservation easements. Local residents who have granted conservation easements will also speak. Attendees are encouraged to register at (650) 851-6790. The symposium will be held at the Woodside Town Hall from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Changes in Committee Duffy Price announced her resignation as a full member of the Open Space Committee; she will continue to make valuable contributions to the Committee as an Associate Member. The Committee acknowledged Duffy’s consistent hard work, diplomacy, and knowledge with a cake and chocolate. Roger Spreen, the Committee chair since September of 2004 was officially presented with key to the Multi-Purpose Room and personalized open space “business” cards. The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 PM. The next meeting will be held on Friday, February 11 at 3:00 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room at Bullis School Respectively submitted, Susan Welch