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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 20Next meeting: March 20, 2007 9:00 am – Kitchen Conference Room Page 1 of 3 Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee Minutes of February 20, 2007 (Actions Items Printed in Bold) Present: Patty Ciesla, Nancy Couperus, Mary Davey, Karen Lemes, Barbara Mordo, Alice Sakamoto, Jean Struthers, Sue Welch Regrets: Roger Spreen Guests: JJ Harris and Craig Murray (the Garden) Staff: None 1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:10 am. The minutes of the January 16th meeting were approved as written. 2. Introductions/Presentations/Guests: Guest Craig Murray presented his ideas on how he would like to see the O’Keefe Open Space Preserve being used. Craig would like to develop a heritage garden and small production of vegetables on the O’Keefe site. He would like to get rid of both invasive and unnecessary plants. This would be a community-supported agricultural project that would be not-for-profit. It would have an educational component with internships, for example. Committee members had a number of questions for Craig, including watering, the degree of development and structures required. Sue Welch was particularly concerned about the definition of ‘open space’ and what is allowed in an open space preserve. Nancy cautioned as well that this might not be an appropriate site for even a relatively low-impact project. Craig offered to speak to committee members if they had any follow-up questions. Craig’s phone number is 941-1301 and his e-mail address is dig_it@myrealbox.com. Neighbor JJ Harris also weighed in on the discussion, as her property is directly across from the O’Keefe Preserve. JJ says that she is concerned about motorized bikes in the Preserve, particularly in the late evening. Members of the OSC suggested posting a sign that states that motorized vehicles are not permitted in this open space area or installing log barriers. JJ is concerned about the present state of the preserve and would like to see a plan developed that would discourage incompatible uses. 3. New Business: Next meeting: March 20, 2007 9:00 am – Kitchen Conference Room Page 2 of 3 O’Keefe Update & Future Plans – Covered under Guest Presentation Water Conservation: Planning Commissioner John Harpootlian contacted Nancy to ask if any individuals on the OSC would be interested in participating in a water conservation ad-hoc committee. Karen, Nancy, and Sue (time permitting) are interested. 4. Follow-up actions from previous meeting:  Wildlife Corridor Project Copies of the Final Wildlife Corridor Report (Live Oak Associates) have been sent to the Town. Nancy passed out copies to the members of the OSC. Work on the map is still continuing.  General Plan Open Space Element – Status Report A rewrite of the Wildlife Species and Habitat section of the Conservation Element was presented by Nancy and Sue to the Committee. This document was a response to the Planning Commission’s rejection of the General Plan Committee’s language for this section. The OSC voted to approve the rewrite, which is attached. Sue Welch suggested that we point out that policies 3.3 and 3.4 are recommended by the State of California General Plan Guidelines.  Byrne Preserve (Drainage project – Master Plan) Patty Ciesla brought her laptop to show areas in Byrne Preserve and on the Westwind Barn property that needed clean-up, refencing, and restoration. Patty again recommended that a Master Plan for Byrne Preserve and Westwind be undertaken. She also suggested including O’Keefe.  Water Retention Policies & Practices Nancy brought fliers on a “Watershed Management and Urban Ecology” seminar which will be held on Wednesday, March 21st (7-9 pm) at USGS in Menlo Park. Andy Lipkis, founder and president of TreePeople is the speaker.  Pathway Easements/Fencing issues The decision of the Planning Commission to allow fencing within the easement on Mr. Papp’s land was appealed by Councilman Mike O’Malley. This issue will be on the March 8th Council agenda. The OSC agrees with Councilman O’Malley that fencing within easements should not be permitted. The OSC would like to encourage the Pathways Committee to weigh in on vacation of pathway easements which are no longer on the Master Plan Map. Sue Welch will bring this subject up at the next Pathway Committee meeting.  Recreation issues – Bullis Soccer Field – no news to report  Herbicide Reduction – no news to report Next meeting: March 20, 2007 9:00 am – Kitchen Conference Room Page 3 of 3  Living with Wildlife Series Hidden Villa has expressed interest in collaborating with the OSC on future programs on wildlife. The forum at Hidden Villa on mountain lions on Feb. 12th was very well attended with well over 50% of the audience being LAH residents. There was insufficient time to discuss the”Strieter lites” – preventing deer collisions - and this will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. 5. Open Discussion The OSC felt that there were a number of matters (including O’Keefe, the updating of the General Plan – the OSC revision, vacation of easements) where staff could be helpful to the OSC. Nancy agreed to contact Town Manager Carl Cahill to see if a meeting could be set up with members of the Open Space Committee. Nancy will contact members after setting up a meeting time with Carl. The meeting was adjourned at 11:15 am. Submitted by: Nancy Couperus The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 20th at 9:00 am.