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P&R 03-05-09APPROVED MINUTES PARKS AND RECRE~.TION COMMISSION CITY OF C1:IPERTINO Regular P/Ieeting Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Community Hall ('ouncil Chamber 1. 2. 3. 4. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Lee called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. in the Community Hall Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, CA. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL Commissioners present: David Lee, Debbie Stephens Stauffer, David Greenstein, Darcy Paul, Jeanne Bradford Staff present: Mark Linder, Julia Lamy, Donna Henriques MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS A. Regular meeting of February 5, 2009 Action: Commissioner Greenstein made a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner l:ee made an amendment to correct the minutes to reflect the Ch:~irperson as Chairperson Lee. Commissioner Paul madf~ a motion to approve the minutes with the correction. Commissiioner Greenstein seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0-1 with Commissioner Bradford abstaining due to her absence at the February 5 meeting. 5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Happy Cohen said that he attended a block leaders/neighborhood leaders training class put on by the City of San Jose regarding how to input ideas to a city without having to attend a council meeting. He asked Director of Parks and Recreation, Mark Linder, if the City of Cupertino could also offer the same class. 6. OLD BUSINESS A. Discuss and recommend guidelines for creating an off-leash area in a park. Director Linder introduced Senior Supervisor Julia Lamy who gave a presentation on the process and brief history of this issue. The following people s poke in favor of off-leash areas or off-leash hours in parks: David Julian said that h.e supports Option B but is in favor of changing the misdemeanor for off-leash dogs to an infraction or fine, so as not to have a criminal record. He would like the Commission to choose off-leash hours especially since there is no cost involved. Claudette Miller quoted statistics from a study done on dog safety by the National Parks Service that said that off-leash dogs did not increase the incidents of dog bites. The study said that most dog bites occur in the home and involve children. She said that she supports off-leash hours in parks or a dog park. Betsy Dougherty said she feels that there is a citizen group ready to step forward but she said doesn't feel the group should do the "self-policing" of the d~~g park or that she should take responsibility for other peoples' dogs' behavior. Ruby Elbogen said that she supports off-leash hours and belongs to a group that runs their clogs on private property and everyone looks out for each other's dogs. She said that people who are afraid of dogs should not go to the park during designated off-leash hours. Eric Wilson said that tree Commission should select a citizen group comprised of those for and against off-leash hours and he suggested atwo-month trial period for off-leash designated hours in eight City parks. He said the designated hours should be in the early morning from 6:00 to 7:30 am and again in the evening from 7:00 to 9:00 pm when children aren't around. He said he thinks all dogs should be licensed and on-leash when entering or exiting the areas. He also said the misdemeanor for off-leash violations should be changed to a~i infraction. Sherry Fang presented information on dog parks in Portland, OR and said that Cupertino should find a balance for all park users. Carol Miller offered support for the staff recommendation of Option B and said she f:,els that a citizen group could work through the criteria sug;;ested by David Fung. She also agreed with Eric Wilson on the trial period and recommended a feedback loop like PDCA (Plan Do Check Act). As a second option, she said she also supports C-ption D because of the separate fenced dog park area with artificial turf especially during the winter months. Jim Black distributed a handout on Central Park in New York City and said that it has 23 off-leash areas. The following people spoke against off-leash hours in parks: Judy Klinger said she has no problem with a fenced dog park anywhere in the City bt~t thinks that for safety reasons there should not be off-leash hours. She also said that the survey didn't accurately capture the consensus of the residents. David Fung said there needs to be more focus on safety and best practices and that two dog bite injuries have been reported in Cupertino in the last three months. Also, he said he would like to see the penalty for unlicensed dogs off-leash in parks stay at a misdemeanor and not reduce it to an infraction. Judy Harrison said she is against off-leash hours because of safety issues in any City park and thinks that many dog owners would not follow the guidelines oi~ the designated hours and wonders who will be there to enforce the time limits. She said she supports a fenced dog park in the t~upertino. David Klinger said he i ~ mainly concerned about safety in City parks and how off-leash hours would be monitored and controlled. He said he supports Op-lion D so that dogs can get their exercise and not run loose in City parks. Tmina Koren said she lives near a Cupertino park and doesn't want off-leash hours in parks near residential areas. Runping Qi said the Commission should look closely at the costs involved and also look into the City's liability associated with Option B. Ardith West said that neighborhood parks in Cupertino are too small and that the City should work with the County. She offered her support for Option D. Chair Lee asked the Commissioners for their comments: Commissioner Bradford said that dog owners must demonstrate that they can control their dogs in order for the off-leash trial to work. She said that doh; owners must step up and take responsibility for their clogs and prove that they are willing and able to control them. Slae said she feels that there should be strict criteria and policy in pl;~ce to judge the success of Option B. Commissioner Greenstcsin also said he feels that dog owners need to step up and be responsible for their dogs. He said that he would like the citizen group to come forward with their criteria set high so that the neighbors feel comfortable and are not afraid of dogs. He said he supports Option B and feels that the citizen group must instill confidence in the rest of the community that they are taking responsibility for controlling their dogs. He also said he likes Option D and feels it could work. Commissioner Paul saki he likes Option B but feels that more detail and specific standards should be included. He also said that safety and sanitation arc: both very important. He asked that check points be in place to follow the progress of the park during the trial period. He said that off-leash hours should be limited to Cupertino residents only and that the specifics of a location should not be too close to residential areas. He said he likes Options B and D but feels that more cost analysis is needed from the County for Option D. Commissioner Stauffer said that the citizen/community group needs to be responsible for their dogs and hopes that with specific locations for designated off-leash hours, people will be better about not letting their dogs off-leash at non-designated hours at other locations. She said she also thinks that there should be more than one trial site at a time and that the citizen group should have a plan, feedback, and an evaluation process. She said she also agrees with the suggestion by resident David Fung that it should remain a misdemeanor for having an unlicensed dog off-leash in a City park. Commissioner Stauffer said she likes Option B with a few additions from Options A and D. Commissioner Lee said that he would like more detail in the plan regarding noise, safety and sanitation criteria and control points for Option B. He said he ~clso thinks that Option D is a viable choice but that more planning, feedback, and evaluation is needed. Director Linder said th~it the 6-month trial period would begin after the City Council approval and that there would be a defined period of time for the trial. Hey also said that the Council would have to exempt the trial locatio~l from the City Ordinance for dogs off- leash. Action: Commissioner Stauffer moved to accept Option B: to create a citizen gro~ip to work with the City staff for site identification and usa;;e plan for an off-leash dog area in a City park. This could be a fenced or unfenced area. The citizen group would gather park users' support, assist with fundraising, conduct << 6-month trial period, assist with ongoing housekeeping, and monitor behavior in area. Commissioner Stauffer included the following additions to her motion: 1) to increasE~ the dog license fee by $11.00 for Cupertino residents, t~ provide funds for construction of a fenced dog area, on-going maintenance, and enforcement; 2) to include, from Option A, that community education about dog laws, fines, and safety would be produced by the City; 3) that the activity with the citizen group specifically include the creation of a plan, feedback and evaluation of success; 4) and active exploration of Option D, where the City staff would work with the County of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation to construct a dog park :it Stevens Creek County Park. Commissioner Green~:tein seconded the motion. Commissioner Paul made a motion to amend Commissioner Stauffer's motion to add criteria that includes the following language: Create a citizen gr~~up to work with City staff for site identification and to create a proposed usage plan for an off- leash dog area in a City park. This proposed off-leash dog area could be a fenced or unfenced area. Prior to presentation to City Council for consideration, the citizen group and City staff would create a proposal for consideration by the Parks and Recreation Comnnission, for an off-leash dog area within a City park. The propo:~al would include the following: 1) identification of a sufficient space available within a specified City park which would allow for concurrent usage of the park by non-dog owners and dog owners; 2) establishment of a sufficient setbacl~: between the boundaries of the proposed off-leash area and residences or streets, so as to minimize impact due to the effects of potentially increased park usage; and 3) for an unfenced area, usage data to demonstrate that the proposed off-leash dog area could be implemented with a minimization of impact upon current users of the park. The citizen group would gather park users' support, assist with fundraising, conduct a 6-month trial period, assist with ongoing housekeeping, and monitor behavior in the area. After further discussion by the Commission, Commissioner Lee seconded the amended motion. The motion failed 2 - 3. Commissioners Bradf~~rd, Stauffer and Greenstein voted no because they said they didn't feel that the additional verbiage was necessary. Chair Lee called for a vote on Commissioner Stauffer's original motion. The emotion carried 3 - 2, with Commissioners Lee acid Paul voting no. Both Commissioners said they are not opposed in principle to Options B and D. Commissioner Paul said he voted no because he wanted more "meat" added to the l:~nguage of the motion in order to reflect what the community concerns are and felt that it is the Commission's task to reflect what the community has been feeding back to the Commission. Commissioner Lee said that he voted no because h~z felt that the Commission should express more of the concerns from the public that they have heard so far. Director Linder said the; next step would be to discuss the recommendation with t11e Senior Advisory Council on March 16, 2009 and with the Teen Commission on March 25, 2009, for any feedback they may have: and also inform them of the criteria for the Commission's decision. The recommendation will be presented to the City Council on Apri17, 2009. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. Update the Parks and Recreation Commission 2008 - 2009 Work Plan. Commissioners Stauffer and Greenstein said they would like to add to the work plan to discuss changing the dogs off- leash misdemeanor to an infraction. Director Linder said that he would incorporate it in the stai'f report on the off-leash recommendation to the City Council in ~.pril. Director Linder said th~it he met with the Simms Property Task Force and they will be meeting again on March 23, 2009 to continue the discussion on the future use of the Simms property. Commissioner Bradford is the Commission representative for this task force. Director Linder will give an update on the progress at the Apri12 Commission meeting, in addition to an update on the Stocklmeir property. The Commission will have another work plan session in July, 2009. B. Director Linder presented several overheads on the Community survey that was done in November 2008. This survey is available on the City's website. 8. MISCELLANEOUS - NO ACTION REQUIRED A. Staff oral reports Director Linder, as previously mentioned, said that he met with the Simms Property Task Force and that triey had discussed adding a member from the Santa Clara Valley Water L-istrict, a land developer, a member from the Community Gardens, and 4H. The next meeting is on March 23, 2009. Director Linder said he met with the SterlingBarnhart area Block Leaders and the architects who designed the plan regarding the new plan for a future park design, and that the restrooms will be removed from the park design because they were too expensive to include. The property has been purchased from San Jose Water Company. The next meeting will be on March 24, 2009. B. Commissioner contacts Chairperson Lee said he attended the Mayor's meeting last month and had nothing to report. 9. ADJOURNMENT -Chairperson Lee adjourned the meeting at 9:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Donna Henriques, Administrative Assistant Minutes approved at the ~ 2(7t~regular meeting