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P&R 05-03-01 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CITY OF CUPERTINO REGULAR MEETING THURSDAY, MAY 3,2001 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Jelinch called the regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission to order at 7 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLLCALL Commissioners present: Jeanne Bradford, Frank Jelinch, Roger Peng, Edye Stein, Kris Wang Commissioners absent: None Staff present: Therese Ambrosi Smith, Director Julia Lamy, Recreation Supervisor Marie Preston, Administrative Secretary CEREMONIAL MATTERS - PRESENTATIONS 1. Dr. Ghi~Hsiu Weng, coach to the co-sponsored Kung Fu Club, showed slides of their participation in a Kung Fu international competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The club won seven gold and three silver medals; there were 800 competitors from eight countries. They have been a co-sponsored club with Cupertino for 10 years. An article will be placed in the Cupertino Scene. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING 2. The minutes of April 5 were approved as drafted. COMMUNICATIONS NOT ON THE AGENDA Oral: Steve Allemandi, 920 Chelan Drive, Sunnyvale, believes there are safety problems at the Monta Vista Recreation Center handicapped ramp and a nearby wall where skateboarders perform tricks. Skateboarders are interfering with people using the snack shack and drinking fountain. He stated that their skateboards and young people get out of control during tricks, and the skateboarders use foul language in front of young children. He described an incident involving a skateboarder and a 10-year-old girl where a skateboarder ran into a girl. The skateboarder thought the girl had tripped him and punched the girl in the arm. Parents at the Bobby Sox game had to mediate the situation. Mr. Allemandi asked that skateboarding not be allowed at the Monta Vista Recreation Center. Cupertino Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting of May 3, 2001 Page 2 of 5 Therese Ambrosi Smith stated that there is a City Ordinance banning skateboarding only at the Civic Center. Ms. Smith said she would investigate this issue and develop a recommendation for the next meeting. Written - None UNFINISHED BUSINESS 3. Sports Center Rebuild - Recreational Option Therese Ambrosi Smith stated the goal is to get the neighbors' input, and eventually the pass holders' and community's input, on the rebuilding of a new Sports Center with the idea of including teen activities. Mark Schatz, from Field Paoli Architects, described three schemes that incorporate a new teen center and skate park. Concern was raised regarding parking being able to accommodate the community's future needs. An idea for increasing parking needs in the future would be to build parking under elevated tennis courts. Another approach is that at another site, an off-site parking structure be built that could serve this site. Public Input Christine Wallis, 21152 Patriot Way, expressed her approval at revising the use of the Center to include teens. She does not prefer the proposal that places a two-story building directly on the other side of her unit, as she believes her privacy would be compromised. She can see the benefit of having the main entrance to the park from Anton Way. Elena Herrera, 10093 Senate Way, spoke on behalf of the Commons Homeowners' Association. She stated that the united consensus of the association was to support the teen center. On the skate park issue, there is no general consensus to support this idea, but people did see a need. The residents do not feel well informed yet to form an opinion. Liability issues are a concern, as well as a possible increase in varied elements coming into the area, an increase in vandalism, and trespassing onto private property. Would the Commission consider a sand-based sport such as volleyball? Stated that Anton Way is a small road that doesn't really provide enough room for two cars to go by comfortably. She also submitted that there is a considerable amount of foot traffic in the Anton Way area due to the small children's playground. Also, during major festivals at Memorial Park, Anton Way is closed. She stated that Plan C had the most support as it mimics the current layout and maintains the same buffer that it has currently. Her personal point of view regarding parking was to see if the City might use De Anza parking, also she would like to see the City consider a footbridge across Stevens Creek Blvd. that connects the Memorial Park area to parking at De Anza. Charlene Dugan, 10446 Vista Drive, is the current president of the Cupertino Bobby Sox. She strongly supports City funds being used to construct a skate facility. Moved to Cupertino in part because of the phenomenal facilities that would be available for her children. It has been a pleasure in her tenure with the Bobby Sox organization, to work with Joe Moore who does field maintenance. The Cupertino Bobby Sox Cupertino Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting of May 3, 2001 Page 3 of 5 organization is the envy of every other Bobby Sox organization in Northern California because we have the nicest fields, cleanest bathrooms, and we have grade- A facilities. Skateboarding is not a fad - it has been around for several decades. Young people are entitled to have a facility that will meet their needs in the same way that other athletes have facilities available to them. Sherm Waldman, lives on Bollinger Road, asked if a skateboard park and a teen center would generate revenue? Therese Ambrosi Smith answered that this would be a policy called for by Council. In the preliminary discussions so far, the facilities would be available to Cupertino youths free of charge. Mr. Waldman is in favor of both the teen center and skate park with none or minimal cost to users. Believes that the Council may need to take another look at the project and its ability to generate revenue to offset operating costs. Lastly, bear in mind that 1,600 sq. ft would need to be reserved for racquetball. Chairman Jelinch stated that Cupertino has one of the highest percentages of revenue- generating programs in California. Unnamed speaker from the audience - If the Commission says that a site has been located, does a search for secondary sites stop? Chairman Jelinch answered that other sites had been considered, as well as donations of sites, and everything has fallen through so far. Action: The Commission unanimously agreed to recommend to the City Council to go ahead with the next level of consideration for a teen center at the Sports Center Complex, and a skate park either at this site or another appropriate spot at Memorial Park. NEW BUSINESS Memorial Park Usage - Therese Ambrosi Smith explained that event organizers feel that some of our requirements are onerous, and at the same time, we hear from owners of businesses and neighbors that we are not strict enough in allowing these events. To date, we have been able to accommodate every request for a festival or special event, but with increasing requests for use of the park, which would mean increase stress on the grounds, we are starting to investigate the carrying capacity of Memorial Park for large events. The maintenance staff would like a three-week interval between events. This could cause difficulties with scheduling because timing is important for some events, such as in the case of the Moon Festival. Also with the De Anza Flea Market, we try not to schedule events on these weekends, which also limits availability. With the Town Center in re-development, in a couple of years, this will create another venue for some festivals/activities. The immediate neighbors were invited to provide input. We will use this input in revamping a Special Events Usage. The draft policy will be brought to the May 24 meeting for the Commission's review and recommendation to the City Council. Cupertino Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting of May 3, 2001 Page 4 of 5 Public Input Dara Pearlman, 21063 Christensen Drive, has lived on Christensen Drive for 18 years and has worked on and off as a liaison between the neighborhood and the Parks and Recreation Department. She stated that additional signage along the streets that have access from Stelling notifying that there was no festival parking has been helpful. Having contact with organizers of the Art and Wine Festival has been helpful regarding noise issues. Putting a limit on the number of festivals would allay fears from neighbors "that there seems to be a festival every weekend." Dennis Low, works at 10340 Bubb Road, Home of Christ Church, English Pastor. He thanked Parks and Recreation for use of Memorial Park the Sunday before Easter for their Easter Egg Hunt. Found that there were many requirements to use the park, but none of them were difficult to abide by. He has sought to provide adequate parking directions, and recommended those events that are successful and abide by the policies be allowed to do them annually without having to go through the renewal process every year or use a shortened reapplication process. Charlie MacCue, producing director of Free Shakespeare in the Park program, presented by the San Francisco and Silicon Valley Shakespeare Festivals. He stated that they bring about 10,000 people to Memorial Park over the three performing weekends, and supports the idea of a pedestrian walkway from De Anza. Gwendolyn Anderson, 21255 Stevens Creek blvd., store manager of the Shane Company, also gave a letter from Reed Bennet, general manager of the Oaks Shopping Center. He explained that their parking lot is inundated with cars from festivalgoers. There have been increasing problems in the parking lot, such as fights breaking out, customers who can't come to the store, and employees who can't go to lunch because they will loose their parking spot. Suggested that sponsors of the events might be required to offset some of the expenses of security in their parking lot. Elena Herrera, 10093 Senate Way, said that Commons residents enjoy the activities at the park and acknowledged that the City takes a lot of care in providing someone at an entrance to their community to monitor traffic, but in the last event there was no coverage until about noon. She agrees with limiting the number of festivals. Supports the encouragement to use De Anza College for event parking. Dick Lohmiller, has been general chair of the Rotary's Oktoberfest, has worked several Cupertino festivals, and has worked on the Parks and Recreation Commission. He stated that the park benefits and serves the community as a whole. He suggested that perhaps removal of some of the red-painted curbs around Memorial Park would help, and he acknowledged there was a need to protect all neighbors' rights. Lucille Honig, President of the Sister City Organization, which produces the Cherry Blossom Festival, likes the idea of spacing out events as this would cause less wear Cupertino Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting of May 3, 2001 Page 5 of 5 and tear on grounds. She believes consideration should be given to where the events come from - they should be City-based organizations. Therese Ambrosi Smith read an e-mail she received from Luther Banderman, Garden Gate area, stated that he does not support the City forbidding parking on key streets; believes the signs are unfriendly. Chairman Jelinch read a written comment from Milton and Dorothy Levintan, 21035 Freedom Drive. They believe that the number of events should be limited and a minimum amount of time between events should be scheduled. Also, special events should not be scheduled on the day of the De Anza Flea Market. Chairman Jelinch reiterated that the Commission was only taking public comment for information only; no vote would be taken because this topic will be covered again at the May 24 meeting. In preparation for the next meeting, the Commission requested staff to: · Investigate a procedure to calendar current scheduled events · Discover if what the minimum requirement for maintenance of the turf is · Find out if the De Anza parking lots are generally open to the public Dennis Low commented that the Easter egg hunt has occurred twice on the first Saturday of the month twice that coincided with the Flea Market, and there weren't any parking problems for their venue. ACTION: Parks & Recreation Commission meetings scheduled for May, June and July. Following discussion, the Commission unanimously agreed to add a meeting on May 24, and cancel the June 7 meeting, and rescheduled the July 5 meeting to July 12. MISCELLANEOUS ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned to May 24, 2001. Respectfully submitted Marie Preston, Recording Secretary Approved at the duly 12, 2001, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting.