HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 8OSC Final_Minutes15-1008.docx 1
Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee
Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Building
FINAL Minutes of Regular Meeting October 08, 2015
Members Present: George Clifford, Nancy Couperus, Karen Lemes, Alice Sakamoto, Roger Spreen,
Jean Struthers, Wendie Ward, Sue Welch
Members Absent: Sharen Schoendorf, Kit Gordon (Associate Member)
City Council Members Present: Gary Waldeck (OSC Council Liaison)
Member of Public Present: Heather Knight (Deer Springs Way)
Kjell Karlsson (9:20 am; Traffic Safety Committee)
1. Call to Order and Approval of Minutes
A. Roll Call. RS called meeting to order at 9:05 am. The agenda was approved as amended to
move Item 3B(v) to the top. NC moved, SW seconded and the vote was unanimously in favor.
B. Acceptance of Meeting Minutes. Minutes of the September 10, 2015 Special Meeting were
approved with minor amendments. NC moved; KL seconded; GC, NC, KL, AS, JS, RS, WW,
voted in favor; SW abstained.
2. New Business
A. Election of OSC officers. JS nominated George Clifford and Nancy Couperus to serve as co-
chairs. WW seconded and the vote was six in favor (NC, KL, AS, JS, WW, SW) with RS and
GC abstaining. KL nominated SW and WW to share responsibilities of secretary. AS seconded
and the vote was five in favor (GC, NC, KL, AS, JS,) with RS, WW, and SW abstaining.
B. Open OSC Member Positions. OSC discussed advertising and recruitment of two potential new
members. RS has been appointed to City Council and KL’s term has ended and she will now
serve on the Los Altos/LAH Senior Commission. Heather Knight, who worked with KL last
year to develop the tree policy, agreed to serve as Associate Member. GC nominated Heather
Knight to Associate Member. NC seconded and the vote was unanimously in favor. OSC will
request Council Member Gary Waldeck to continue as Council Liaison.
3. Continuing Business
A. SOD Meeting. On Sept 24, 2015 in Portola Valley, Dr. Garbelotto presented results of the 2015
SOD Blitz survey, updates on SOD preventive treatment, and information about how to care for
oaks during drought. About 70 attended, including 7-8 from LAH.
B. Byrne Preserve
i) Open Space Stewardship/Acterra. Acterra is continuing to lead volunteer groups to remove
invasive weeds from Town preserves. Their second quartery report to the Town will be next
month.
ii) Conservation Grazing Management. Larry Ford (Rangeland Conservation Sciences) will
visit Byrne Preserves for a site visit and assessment of the grassland on Nov 10, 2015 at
9:00 am. Meet in the Byrne picnic area.
iii) Creek Erosion: SCVWD Grant. Nothing to report.
iv) SOD Prevention and Bay Removal. SW distributed a summary of information from the
Garbelotto lab about bay removal to help prevent SOD infection in oaks (Attachment A).
OSC discussed Bay removal and AgriFos spraying for Byrne. OSC will recommend the
following to Richard Chiu: 1) Agri-Fos spraying of the same trees sprayed last year, to be
done by the same company if possible; 2) OSC will identify 5-10 major oaks and mark bays
within 30 ft of trunk to be removed by Town work crew. SW will check on appropriate
timing for bay removal.
v) Limiting Biking in Byrne Preserve. The OSC proposal to limit biking in Byrne Preserve
and allow it only on the fire road connecting Central Drive to Moody Court will be
presented at the Council meeting of October 14, 2015. OSC communicated to City Clerk,
OSC Final_Minutes15-1008.docx 2
Deborah Padovan, that the OSC chair will make a brief presentation at the CC meeting.
OSC members were encouraged to write letters of support to the Council, Planning
Director, and City Clerk.
C. Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Update). The Planning Commission reviewed the
proposed ordinance on 9/15/15 and recommended the subcommittee simplify it. OSC discussed
the ordinance and how open space easements (OSEs) would be taken into account in
calculating the parcel water budgets. There is a concern that the current proposal may create a
disincentive for OSEs, which are typically not irrigated. No action was taken. Council will
approve the ordinance in November or December to meet the state deadline for submitting an
alternative to the state Model Ordinance.
D. Creek Signage. First sign has been installed along Deer Creek at Purissima Road near Rhoda.
E. Creek Setback Staking. Deferred.
F. Our Town articles. Deferred.
G. Wildlife Seminar on Snakes. Deferred until spring.
H. Town Study Session on Small lots on 9/15/15. OSC discussed the Planning Commission
meeting on this topic held 9/15/15. No action was taken.
5. Planning
A. Fence Permits. Not reviewed.
B. Site Plan Reviews. No site plans were reviewed.
5. Communications from the Floor.
6. Open Discussion.
A. Coyotes in Byrne. NC and GC reported coyote sightings in Byrne, one involving an off-leash
dog. NC reported that City Clerk, Deborah Padovan, has not received any recent calls or
complaints about coyotes.
B. Presentation to Outgoing Chair. OSC presented to outgoing Chair, RS, who has been appointed
to Council, a card and photo depicting the OSC crossing the Delaware with RS leading the way
(Attachment B). Members expressed their gratitude to RS for his years of visionary leadership
for the OSC.
C. Comment on Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for Sterling Subdivision. SW
recused herself from OSC discussion and left the room. (someone needs to add text describing
discussion)
7. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 am.
Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, November 12, 2015
9:00 AM at LAH Parks and Recreation Building
Attachment A: Selective Bay Removal Recommendations
Attachment B: OSC Crossing the Delaware
Final minutes approved without amendments at the OSC meeting of Jan 14, 2016.
Oak Infection vs Distance to an Infected Bay Laurel
Oak Tree DBH
Distance From an Infected Bay Laurel (m)Probability of Infecting Oak Tree
AttachmentA2_OSC15-1008BayRemoval
Recommendations for Selective Bay Removal
Summary from Garbelotto Lab, UC Berkeley
OSC 10/09/15
Selective removal and pruning of California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica)
trees as a strategy to protect oaks and tanoaks from SOD infection:
• Managing the presence of bays, the primary carrier of the SOD pathogen, P.
ramorum, around high-value oaks and tanoaks can reduce the number of
infectious spores in the environment. However, bays are important species in
their own right and care must be taken not to disrupt their role in the
environment, especially along streams where they are particularly important.
• GENERAL RULE OF THUMB FOR BAY REMOVAL. For oaks between 3” (8
cm) and 32″ (80 cm) in diameter at breast height (DBH), remove small and
medium sized bay laurels for a distance of 30 ft (10 m) around the oak trunk.
Measure the distance from the trunk of the oak to the outer leaf canopy of the
Bay tree. For oaks larger than 32” (70 cm) in diameter, increase the bay-free
buffer to 50-65 feet.
• ALTERNATIVE DETAILED RULES FOR BAY REMOVAL. Garbelotto also
provides a detailed chart (next page) showing the distance for bay removal for
oaks with trunks of different diameters. Larger oaks require a larger bay-free
buffer than smaller oaks. As a general rule, clear bays to a distance that
reduces the probability of SOD infection below 20% (0.20 on the vertical axis
of the graph).
• If large bays are growing in the vicinity of a high-value oak, it may be useful to
prune large branches that fall within the 30-ft (10 m) buffer zone of the oak.
• Which bays should NOT be removed?
— Bays 20”or more in diameter should be left in place. Pruning selected
branches that are close to oaks may help reduce risk to the oak.
— Bays located on slopes should be left in place. Their removal can cause
slope instability and erosion.
— Bays in riparian areas should not be removed. Leave all bays that grow
within at 30 feet from a creek, stream, or other watercourse. These bays
stabilize the banks and riparian zone and have an important
environmental role.
Bays in riparian areas (within 30 feet of a stream bank), on steep slopes, and
bays over 20” in diameter should never be removed solely to mitigate SOD.
—2015 Treatment Recommendations
• Bay laurels that are cut generally need to be treated with systemic herbicides
to minimize resprouting. The exception is in areas where heavy deer browse
may control regrowth. Instructions can be found at www.sodblitz.org
SOD Blitz Map and Database
www.sodblitz.org
SOD Blitz Map and Database
www.sodblitz.org
This area may benefit from
selective bay removal
This area is unlikely to benefit from
selective bay removal