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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/04/2002 Minutes of a Special Meeting April 4, 2002 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Special Meeting Joint Meeting with the Pathways Committee Thursday,April 4, 2002, 5:00 p.m. Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Pro Tem Fenwick called the Special Meeting of the City Council to order at 5:05 p.m. at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Pro Tem Fenwick and Councilmembers Cheng, Finn and O'Malley Absent: Mayor Casey Staff: City Manager Maureen Cassingham, Planning Director Carl Cahill, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, City Engineer/ • Director of Public Works Mintze Cheng,Assistant Engineer John Chau and Planning Secretary Lani Smith Pathways Nancy Ewald, Co-Chairman; Charlene Geers, Mike Committee: Kamangar, DuBose Montgomery and Bob Stutz 2. STUDY SESSION ON THE INFORMATION OBTAINED BY TOWN STAFF ON OFF-ROAD PATHWAYS PATHS AND-EASEMENTS AND THE PROCESS THAT THE COUNCIL WILL IMPLEMENT TO OBTAIN PUBLIC IN PUT PRIOR TO ADOPTING AN UPDATED MAP Fenwick stated that he hoped everyone would focus on philosophy and process and on off-road paths only. He also wanted to get the opinions from Councilmembers and members of the Pathways Committee on the issue before them. Carol Gottlieb, 24290 Summerhill, presented some background information on the creation of the 1981 Master Path Plan. She noted that in the 1970s the Pathways Committee was charged with taking an inventory of all path easements in Town. The committee undertook this task noting that the pathway system was a part of the circulation element of the General Plan. There were different types of paths in Town and they • served as connectors throughout the Town. Mrs. Gottlieb urged Council April 4, 2002 Special City Council Meeting 1 • to not consider individual paths but to look at the big picture of the pathway system in the Town. Fenwick presented his proposal which included the following steps: 1) assemble all relevant data on off-road paths; 2) ask staff or the Pathways Committee to devise a system for naming the pathway segments; 3) form a Blue Ribbon Committee comprised of Sid Hubbard, Charlene Geers, Ginger Summit and DuBose Montgomery to determine a new off-road path master plan. This committee may include a professional pathway planner and/or professional mediator. The Blue Ribbon Committee would have two months to complete their task and their final off-road path master plan must be agreed to by all four members; 4) send the committee plan to the Pathways Committee for approval or denial (not revision) and return to the Blue Ribbon Committee if not approved; 5) send plan approved by the Pathways Committee to staff and the Planning Commission for review and comment (not revision); 6) hold public hearing(s); and 7) review and approve (not revise) by Council; go back to step one if not approved. Fenwick believed this approach was a fair one and not political. Finn.did not agree with the formation of a Blue Ribbon Committee. He believed there was already an excellent Planning Commission and Pathways Committee in place. He recommended holding a public hearing early on in this process to discuss potential impacts on the Town and to get • resident input. Cheng concurred with Finn. She commented that paths should be enjoyed but redundant paths were not necessary, nor was it entirely necessary that paths connect every area of Town. Cheng also suggested that perhaps the Town should pay residents for certain paths on their property. O'Malley recommended holding a public hearing and sending out a Town-wide postcard to get feedback from the residents. Then he suggested sending this input to the Pathways Committee for a recommendation to the Council. DuBose Montgomery also suggested sending a Town-wide questionnaire and holding a public hearing to get input. He recommended that a statement be put in the post card stating that the path map was available at Town Hall to review or better yet if the Town had the money send a map to each resident. He also believed there should be a set period of time for this process but believed that the Pathways Committee could continue with their discussion and review of specific paths. He noted that in the Pathway Element of the General Plan the Pathways Committee was charged with the review of the Master Path Plan. Bob Stutz stated his concerns about fire issues. He noted that the fire department used these off-road paths as additional accesses to properties in case of fire. Mr. Stutz also referred to the issue of safety on the paths. He noted that according to the Sheriff's Department there had been no safety related incidents on the paths. In conclusion Mr. Stutz did note that there were sections of the 1981 Master Path Plan that needed to be clarified. Mike April 4, 2002 Special City Council Meeting 2 • Kamangar noted that he was a new member of the Pathway Committee but he did support a survey of residents to get input. He also suggested highlighting the off-road paths on the map for clarification. Nancy Ewald thought that a Blue Ribbon Committee might be a good idea and might be a more objective approach. She was concerned about the Pathways Committee making the recommendations because there was now a majority on this committee that were not in favor of off-road paths. Ms. Ewald was also concerned about the public hearing process. She believed the public hearing should be held when clear options were available and she also suggested holding public hearings on certain sections of Town and not the entire Town all at once. Charlene Geers commented that she was not at all sure that this proposed Blue Ribbon Committee would reach agreement on any of the issues. She also commented that while everyone supported the Town's path system it was the issue of mandatory paths that was the issue. Ms. Geers noted that one did not necessarily know when they purchased a property in Town that a path easement was on the property but they did find out when they went to get a building permit. Fenwick shared the following comments from those members of the Pathways Committee who were unable to attend this meeting. Ginger Summit stated that the map currently before Council was not complete and she supported hiring an urban paths consultant to work on this project. Mrs. Summit did not believe individual paths should be decided upon until • the entire path map was reviewed and she did not support rushing this project. Jorge Fernandez supported pursuing outside funding for the maintenance of the Town's path system. He suggested tabling the entire off road path issue because there was not enough funding to maintain off- road paths. Fred Fallah supported hiring an outside off-road path consultant and he also supported pursuing funding for path maintenance. Ken Olcott believed the path master plan needed review but the Town did not need any more off-road paths. Everyone was thanked for their input and a general discussion followed on the public input process. It was suggested that a Town-wide notice be sent on this path issue with an emphasis that the focus of the hearing would be on the philosophy of the off-road path issue and not a discussion on someone's path in their backyard. In addition it was stressed that it was important to educate the public on this issue and the recommendation was made that each resident be sent a path map which would include a clear definition of the color code describing the various paths in Town. 3. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR 4 April 4, 2002 Special City Council Meeting 3 4. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd, City Clerk The minutes of the April 4, 2002 Special City Council Meeting were approved at the April 18,2002 Regular City Council Meeting. • April 4, 2002 Special City Council Meeting 4