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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 6OSC FINAL_Minutes17-0406.docx 1 Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Building FINAL Minutes of Regular Meeting April 6, 2016 2017 Members and Associates Present: George Clifford, Richard Contreras, Nancy Couperus, Kit Gordon, Alice Sakamoto, Sharen Schoendorf, Jean Struthers, Sue Welch (Members); Peter Brown, Karen Lemes (Associates) Members and Associates Absent: Wendie Ward (Member) Council Liaison Present: Roger Spreen Member of Public Present: Cathy Mueller (LAH resident) Kjell Karlsson (LAH Finance and Investment Committee) 1. Call to Order and Approval of Minutes A. Roll Call. NC called the meeting to order at 9:02 am. B. Acceptance of Meeting Minutes. NC moved to accept with minor amendments the minutes of the Mar 9, 2017 meeting. RC seconded and the vote was 7 in favor (GC, RC, NC, KG, AS, JS, SW) with one abstaining (SS; not present at that meeting). C. Announcements A. Schedule Change for Peninsula Watershed Forum Seminar. The meeting on Wildlife Connectivity featuring speakers from Pathways for Wildlife and Urban Wildlife Research has been rescheduled to April 24 (1-3 pm) at Peninsula Conservation Center, 321 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto. B. LAH Green Infrastructure. KG will meet with Planning Director Suzanne Avila to discuss the Town’s plans to meet requirements for the Green Infrastructure Program required by the Santa Clara County Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP). Objectives of the program are to reduce impacts of urban run-off, reduce flooding, and improve water quality and groundwater recharge. KG noted that LAH open space easements make an important contribution to Green Infrastructure. C. International Wildlife Conference. NC reported this interesting meeting hosted by San Diego State University and the Wildlife Society will be held Jun 4–7, 2017 in San Diego. D. Earth Day 2017. This annual event will be held at Westwind Community Barn on Sunday April 23 (1-4 pm). KG and others volunteered to bring materials and supplies and staff the OSC table. C. PGE Easements. JS reported that CNPS is petitioning for an EIR for the proposed PGE plans to run a new pipeline through an 80-ft wide easement in Edgewood Park. 2. New Business A. Coyotes. KG wrote an informative article about coyotes for the next Town Newsletter. She distributed a draft flyer for the Town seminar on coyotes scheduled for April 27, 2017 (7 pm at Town Hall). Edits included updating the speaker name and credentials (Ashley De Laup, a wildlife ecologist and environmental educator) and noting that the Town will record a video to post on the Town web site. 3. Continuing Business A. Byrne Preserve Grassroots Ecology Update. Grassroots continues invasive plant removal, native plantings, and restoration work on Moody Creek in Byrne OSP. Special group volunteer workdays were held and Byrne Brigade workdays will be held every Monday in March, April, and May. SW asked OSC to approve a recommendation to Director of Public Works Allen Chen and City Manager Carl Cahill to allocate $16,205 from FY 2017-18 budget to renew the one-year Maintenance and Education contract with Grassroots Ecology to assure that the popular educational events and the vegetation management outside the grant area will continue. This will supplement the $42,167 Council approved in 2016 for matching funds for the SCVWD grant to restore Moody Creek in Byrne Preserve (a 3-year CIP project), which does not include any educational events or work outside the Moody Creek area in Byrne. OSC discussed content of a recommendation and SW volunteered to write it for approval at the May OSC meeting. B. Tree Ordinance Proposed by EDPC. The proposed modification to the tree ordinance prepared by Environmental Design and Protection Committee and OSC will be considered at the April 20, 2017 Council meeting. The purpose of the ordinance is to protect significant trees other than Heritage oaks and other legally designated heritage trees, which are the only trees protected by LAH ordinances. The proposal includes hiring a Town arborist to review projects and represent the Town’s interests. OSC FINAL_Minutes17-0406.docx 2 C. Fence Guidelines Near Waterways. KG noted that the LAH General Plan has many references to the importance of protecting natural waterways. She will draft a recommendation for the specific site on Sherlock where a fence was recently installed across a waterway. NC will consult with Planning Commissioner Susan Mandle, who has expertise in this area. D. Subdivision Ordinance Update. KG sent OSC’s suggested edits to the proposed ordinance discussed last month to Planner Steve Padovan who is overseeing the update. Planning Commission will consider the current administrative draft at their meeting this week. E. Pest Plant Posting on Nextdoor. KG asked SW to send short info pieces on management of the major pest plants for posting on Nextdoor to encourage residents to removes these invasives before they go to seed this year. 4. Planning A. Fence Permit Reviews. AS reviewed fence plans for the following parcels: i) 27470 Black Mountain Road. The plans are for a new wrought iron perimeter fence. The steep wooded NE corner of the parcel is adjacent to a blind corner on Black Mountain Road, which has significant auto, pedestrian, and bike traffic. This area is also heavily used by wildlife (mainly deer) and there are concerns that the proposed perimeter fence will force deer onto the roadway. The fence proposal will be consider at the time the landscaping plan is reviewed. ii) 12882 Viscaino Road. No open space issues. B. OSC Site Reviews and Recommendations for Development Projects. i) 10728 Mora Drive (formerly 10730 Mora Drive; Lands of Linebarger; APN 331-15-061; #415-14- ZP-SD-GD-CDP-VAR). OSC reviewed both 10728 and 10758 Mora Drive as the single address 10730 Mora Drive at the OSC meeting of 1/26/15 with a recommendation that the steep area along the eastern border of all three parcels be placed in open space easement, starting at the 548 ft elevation top line and running down to the creek (for protection of slopes and heritage oaks). A riparian easement 25 feet from top of bank of the creek is also recommended. This lot (10728) is a substandard parcel (0.37 acres) on the east side of Mora Drive. ii) 10758 Mora Drive (formerly 10730 Mora Drive; Lands of Linebarger; APN 331-15-062; #413-14- ZP-SD-GD-CDP-VAR). This is a substandard parcel (0.40 acres) on the east side of Mora Drive. See review above for 10728 Mora Drive. See above. 5. Open Discussion. A. Gardening in O’Keefe. KL, an associate member of both OSC and LAH Parks and Recreation Committee, reported that Parks and Rec is still pursuing installation of an organic garden in O’Keefe Open Space Preserve (OSP), although this activity is inconsistent with OSP land use regulations. KG has sent Craig Murray contact numbers of two private parties who are willing to lease their private land for a garden. OSC should review ordinances regarding agriculture activities are permitted in OSPs. B. Weeding at 4H Pasture. KG, SW, and several other volunteers from 4H Program helped weed the 4H area of WWCB on Saturday April 1. NC expressed thanks from the program. 6. Communications from the Floor. Proposal to Name Trails in Byrne Preserve. Cathy Mueller, an LAH resident who is currently participating in the US California Naturalist Program through Grassroots Ecology with the objective to become a certified naturalist. She proposed a project to map paths in Byrne Preserve and name the pathways. She distributed a draft map and OSC discussed the proposal, which will be placed on the agenda for the May meeting. Ms Mueller will also present the proposal to the Pathways Committee. 7. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 11:10am. Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, May 11, 2017 9:00 AM at LAH Parks and Recreation Building Final minutes approved as amended (red text) at the Regular Open Space Committee meeting of May 11, 2017.