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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 13 1 TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes, Friday May 13, 2005 Preparer: Roger Spreen Attendance Committee Members: Patty Ciesla, Nancy Couperus, Karen Lemes, Barbara Mordo, Roger Spreen, Susan Welch Council Liaison: Mike O’Malley Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 3:05PM. Earth Day ’05 Wrap-up Feeling was that this year’s Earth Day was quite successful. Attendance at Earth Day ’05 almost doubled that of last year! This is partly due to having moved it back to Sunday, which is a more convenient day. There were also compliments for the greater number of interactive exhibits, such as the reptiles and birds. One problem to address for next year is preventing people wandering through the barn. Herbicide Policies Karen Lemes was active at Earth Day with an informal poll to see if people would sign up to express interest in maintaining their own portion of roadside without herbicide. An interesting result was that many people claimed they lived on private roads, and thus wouldn’t be affected since the Town wouldn’t be spraying along their roads. Karen has obtained a map of private roads and is transferring that to her town map so we can see what portion of roads are actually Town responsibility. Wildlife Corridor Easement Plan We reported the current status, which is that we have submitted a budget request to get a consultant who is credible and unbiased to put together a town-wide map of significant wildlife corridor areas, to be used to assure proper protection during development. Roger had met with Carl about this and had gotten a list of the materials that would be needed to provide to such a consultant once this project is approved/funded. Anza Regional Trail Route Planning Our Committee has officially been asked by the Pathways Committee to offer our opinion on the various route proposed. The major decision appears to be “offroad through Byrne Preserve” versus “onroad”. The major issues are (a) how much new traffic would be caused by such a route designation, and (b) how advantageous is such a designation for generating funding that could be used for maintaining our paths? Our concern with newly generated traffic is due to the fact that our open spaces (and the pathways) are intended for neighborhood use, not as an attraction for the outside public. So far, there is little data to provide any answers to these questions. Susan Welch has 2 requested some information from the Park Service, and has recently received a response, but it requires research and calling the referrals to try to produce any actionable data from the responses. It is felt that further research is needed before any committee decision/opinion can be generated. Byrne Preserve Long Term Planning Patty Ciesla has created a marvelous photographic presentation on the state of disrepair in and around Byrne Preserve. Its intention is to raise the visibility of the situation so that appropriate long term planning and prioritization can begin, rather than addressing issues in a piecemeal fashion. Response to the presentation was excellent, as it was felt to be very illuminating. It was felt that the next step for this presentation is to be prepared to be given at Council, with some slight changes: (a) the presentation combines both Byrne Preserve issues and Westwind Barn issues, and they should be separated where possible, and (b) a first prioritization in terms of short (1-year), medium (3-year), and long (5 year) term. As an example, it was suggested that short-term projects could include signage and bridge repair, medium term projects could include an interpretive trail, and long-term projects could include moving trails and creating new ones. Roger will work with Patty to edit a version for a Council presentation. Hogle Easement Update Nancy Couperus reported that the final report of the “Record Survey” has been provided by the surveying firm (Mark Thomas). There has been concern about an adjacent 5-acre parcel that Lois had donated years ago with a covenant that prevented any future development; the concern was that that convenant, which is not actually attached to the title, might be forgotten as the parcel changed hands. Nancy had a real estate company run a title report (for free!) to confirm that, indeed, the convenant does get reported. She also attended a workshop/conference where the value of the initial baseline documentation was emphasized, leading her to recognize that we need to go take more photographs of all the structures, and then those records need to be signed off by Lois to confirm that they represent the state at the time of the easement. Open Space Easement Ordinance A status update was presented on the latest version. Roger had met with Carl to try to pare it down to only its intended purpose, and to remove ancillary issues. It was stressed that the intention of this ordinance proposal is twofold: (1) to articulate and authorize the planners to require easements over areas that would typically not be developable, and (2) to provide permanent protection to those areas deemed not developable, rather than risking future iterative development which threatens these areas incrementally. It is important to note that it is not intended to provide any new restrictions on development, and thus should not be seen as an alteration of development rules. It was felt that some of the terms needed to be defined in the document (such as “Open Space Conservation Area”) to reflect that they have specific meaning. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 5:05 PM.