Loading...
P&R 09-04-03 APPROVED PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CITY OF CUPERTiNO REGULAR MEETING THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER4, 2003 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Bradford called the regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission to order at 7 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL Commissioners present: Commissioners absent: Staff present: Others present: Jeanne Bradford, Rod Brown (arrived at 7:03), Frank Jelinch, Roger Peng Kris Wang Therese Ambrosi Smith, Director; Michael O'Dowd, Recreation Supervisor; Rebecca Shaffer, Senior Office Assistant Jana Sokale, Environmental Planner MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING A. Minutes of the Special Meeting of August 5, 2003, were unanimously approved as written. B. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 7, 2003, were unanimously approved as written. PRESENTATION: A. Linda Yelavich, Recreation Coordinator for the Cupertino Senior Center's Volunteer Program, reported on the success of this core program. Due to the increased membership at the Senior Center, which is over 3,000, the volunteer program thrives with 235 individuals volunteering 18,785 during the last fiscal year (2,500 hours more than the previous fiscal year). ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: A. Rhoda Fry, 10351 San Fernando Avenue, spoke on the unsanitary conditions at the Blackberry Farm Picnic Grounds. She requested that the city clean up this site. Marylin McCarthy spoke on the health hazards of the unsanitary conditions at Blackberry Farm Picnic Grounds. 4. WRITTEN: None Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 2 of 10 UNFiNISHED BUSINESS A. Stevens Creek Corridor - Director Smith gave a PowerPoint presentation summarizing recommended elements for the parkland. The presentation also listed community input of a preliminary plan distributed in August. From that input, six more refined alternatives were generated: 1,000 picnic and golf, 1,500 picnic and reconfigured golf, 1,000 picnic with reconfigured golf, 2,000 picnic with no golf, 1,000 picnic with no golf, and no fee picnic and golf. All refined alternatives included restoration opportunities for the creek. Director Smith stated that this would be the last scheduled presentation before the project moves to the City Council. With that goal in mind, the Commission would be asked to: · Reaffirm (or not) consensus items to be recommended to the City Council for inclusion in the master plan · Recommend the appropriate size of the picnic grounds · Address the issue of admission fees at the picnic sites · Discuss the balance of restoration versus active recreation area · Recommend a relative square footage to be dedicated to the riparian zone · Recommend a preferred trail alignment (east, west, or both) · Comment on which of the alternatives presented best represents the Commission's consensus, or recommend that more than one alternative be forwarded to the City Council for consideration Ms. Sokale discussed the two matrices she developed that gave summarized comparisons of the alternatives. One was titled "Alternatives Summary" and the other one was "Council Goals Summary". Mr. O'Dowd illustrated a spreadsheet that showed direct operating revenue and expenses, giving a breakdown of picnic grounds, pools, and snack bar. He also displayed a reservation model comparison between Blackberry Farm and Memorial Park. Other financial analyses information he provided was the Blackberry Farm weekend admission and expenditures, as well as weekday admission and expenditures; these gave detailed expenditure breakdowns by the number of reservations. He displayed bar charts that showed average group size per reservation and average reservation attendance. Mr. O'Dowd and Director Smith answered clarifying questions from the Commission regarding the financial analyses. Public Comments: Rhoda Fry, 10351 San Femando Avenue, spoke in favor of reducing impacts of park operations on the neighborhood. She would like to see the entrance to the park on Stevens Creek Blvd. with a walkway into the park. She would like less picnicking. Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 3 of 10 Charles Cheng, 10392 Scenic Blvd., spoke of his concerns about having the trail on the west side of the creek and near Scenic Boulevard, which was not the stated alignment discussed at the Stevens Creek Trail Task Force. Anne Ng, 6031 Bollinger Road, spoke in favor of a multi-use trail through the Stevens Creek Corridor. Max Bokelman, 10432 Scenic Circle, stated that the mailed preliminary, work in progress map proposed a western trail alignment, which xvas counter to what the Stevens Creek Trail Task Force had recommended. He does not support a western alignment of the trail near his neighborhood. Bill Hawkes, 10454 Scenic Court, spoke against a western alignment of the trail near his neighborhood. Don Bautista, 10434 Scenic Court, spoke against a western alignment of the trail near his neighborhood. He does not want the trail to be visible from any of the homes in the Scenic Cimle area, that there not be any connecting bridges, and that no cars be allowed to park on Scenic Circle to access the trail. He does not want any existing trees or shrubbery next to their properties removed. Jill Moody, 10422 Scenic Circle, stated that she supports an entry fee to the park. She is concerned about the park's impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods. She would support an eastern trail alignment. She also stated that an orchard would require maintenance and would also encourage more wild animal activity. Bob Murphy, 10402 Scenic Circle, is opposed to a western trail alignment. Lyman Black, Scenic Boulevard, is opposed to a westem trail alignment. He supports saving heritage trees in the park. Patty Ciesla, 11990 Page Mill Road, Los Altos, is a member of the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Commission and praised the Commission for their hard work. She commended the variety of park designs that incorporated visions. She encouraged the Commission to consider the long view in the park's planning. She stated that the Stevens Creek Trail is a regional trail and that the County supports the planning efforts to make it a contiguous link through Cupertino. She strongly encouraged a multi-use trail that can accommodate a wide variety of users. She suggested minimizing the number of bridges over the creek and moving the trail as far away from the neighbors as feasibly possible. She offered the County's support in the planning efforts. Christine Jeffers, Cupertino Historical Society and Museum and participant of the Natural and Historical Preservation Committee, spoke on the design that was mailed in August. Her organization liked the following: commitment to creek restoration, the incorporation of the McClellan Ranch Park Master Plan, acceptance of the Cupertino Historical Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 4 of 10 Society's proposal for a Center for Living History, maintaining the golf course that takes up part of the parking lot and advocate for more native plant restoration within the golf course design, supports reduction of the picnic ground footprint, retaining the Stocklmeir orchard, and restoring the McClellan Ranch orchard. Lonnie Toensfeldt, 21640 Fitzgerald Drive, member of the Natural and Historical Preservation Committee and manager of the Rolling Hills 4-H Club, spoke in favor of adding classroom space at McClellan Ranch to expand programming. She spoke against having a multi-use trail alignment behind the 4-H Club pens. Marylin McCarthy, member of the Natural and Historical Preservation Committee, supports: creek and riparian corridor restoration, moving picnic and parking from the west side of the creek; the preservation of the Stocklmeir house and associated buildings for the Cupertino Center for Living History. Deborah Jamison, 21346 Rumford Drive, participant of the Natural and Historical Preservation Committee, wants a discussion of the kind of trail being considered. She does not support a wide multi-use trail, but would support a six-foot wide footpath. She would like to see the Stevens Creek Trail take the De Anza Trail alignment as discussed in the County's master plan for trails. She would support dropping the entry fee at Blackberry Fam~ and greater picnic and parking reductions. Robert Levy, 10802 Wilkinson Avenue, spoke in support of a Stevens Creek Blvd. entry. Jack Goodman, 10374 San Fernando Avenue, spoke about his concerns with the San Fernando entry. He supports a Stevens Creek Blvd. entry. Mike Sanchez, 10362 San Femando Avenue, supports a Stevens Creek Blvd. entry. He supports a wider (more than 25 feet) riparian setback and the Center for Living History at Stocklmeir. He is supportive of Map 4. Craig Breon, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, supports not having any picnicking on the west side of the creek for restoration purposes. With increased programming at McClellan, the Simms property should hold overflow parking. He would like the barn restored and some new construction at McClellan Ranch. He would urge a 6 to 8-foot pedestrian trail through the parkland. Tom Carroll, 7558 Erin Way, supports the trail and parking being away from residents. He would support access to the park from Stevens Creek Blvd. Mike Vroman, 10681 Johnson Avenue, on the Board of the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail, supports a multi-use trail with an eastern alignment. He liked Map 4 most of all. Joe Walton, chair of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Commission, spoke in support of a multi-use trail through the park and believes it can be designed to control speed. Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 5 of 10 John Brazil, Cupertino citizen, spoke in favor of keeping the trail away from residents. He supports a multi-use trail and stated that trails can be designed to control speed. He stated that the County standard for a multi-use trail is only eight feet. Dale Compton, 22123 Stocklmeir Court, distributed his remarks to the Commission. He came representing the Meadows homeowners. His remarks pertain to the mailed preliminary map. The group supports keeping the corridor in as natural a state as' possible. They support restoration of the creek, use of a setback, reduced picnicking and parking at Blackberry Farm to no more than 25 percent of the current amount, supports building on the historical context of the Stocklmeir property and have foot access to that property, supports retention and maintenance of the orange omhard with low-density picnicking. They would like to see the Blue Pheasant kept as a restaurant, but eliminate the late-night bar. If the trail becomes multi-use, they would like it designed for low speed with a soft surface. David Greenstein, 10066 Byme Avenue, and participant of the Natural and Historical Preservation Committee, supports the Center for Living History. He supports design option Map 4. He believes the Commission should consider the concerns of the immediate neighbors. He would like to see a good neighbor policy established. He supports an immediate clean up of debris from the picnic grounds. He supports less asphalt. Alex Tsai, 21975 San Femando Avenue, is concerned about designing parking so close to his home (map lA). He supports restoration of the parkland and minimizing the impacts to the neighborhoods. He would like the entry to the park to be at Stevens Creek Blvd. Bill Fry, 10351 San Femando Avenue, spoke in favor of protecting the riparian corridor in Blackberry Farm. He showed slides of restoration at San Antonio Park. He supports fewer cars and foot access to the pools. Larry Loo, Scenic Cimle, spoke opposing Map IA. He would support a smaller trail for foot traffic, as long as impacts to the neighborhoods are reduced. Mr. Yuen, 10463 Scenic Court, shared his concerns with the trail on the west side and a multi-use trail through the parkland. He would like to see a financial statement showing how much money has been spent studying this project. He referred to an article on the hazards of the Stevens Creek Trail in Mountain View. Linda Wegner, 10200 Hillcrest Road, spoke in favor of a multi-use trail. Director Smith read the written comments from Nadine Grant, 10463 Heney Creek Place, who wrote in support of a rustic trail allowing for no fast-moving vehicles, maintaining the golf course while keeping creek restoration in mind, and asked for data on sales tax revenue from the Blue Pheasant Bar. Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 6 of 10 Mike Phillips, Wildlife Specialist, County of Santa Clara Environmental Health Department, spoke on the over-abundant wildlife at Blackberry Farm, that it is migrating into residential homes, and causing damage. He reported that his department would like to be kept in the loop of the development of the parkland, creek restoration, golf course redesign, etc. so that a game plan can be developed for the displaced wildlife. Director Smith reported that at this point only the program is being decided. Once this phase is completed, a master plan and environmental review will begin and all necessary agencies will be called in. The seven consensus elements for the parkland were reviewed. Commission Comments Commissioner Jelinch believes that the consensus items are too general and believes they should be refined instead of being reaffirmed. He would like to see: · Concerns of the Scenic Drive area residents addressed · Move the trail to the east side · Minimum alteration of the natural state of the creek with the minimum number of bridges · Develop a further refined map using the best features for a new design · Reservation fee-base only, no entry fee required · Reduced picnicking and parking · Return park to a natural state as far as it can be done given the history and use of the area · Limit the multi-use trail to no skating, no bicycling · Does not support a paved road through the park · More study on the access to the park needs to be done Commissioner Peng stated that he heard the concerns from the residents of the Scenic Drive area. He is in favor of: · Keeping golf · Keeping group picnicking · No-fee picnicking · Reduced picnic area · Moving the trail to the east side of the creek · Favors alternative Map 4 with possible more refinement Commissioner Brown stated that alternative Map 4 is closest to his vision and he would like to see further refinements: · Move trail to the east side of the creek · Reduce the neighborhood park size to be about the size of Linda Vista Park or other neighborhood parks Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 7 of 10 · Eliminate parking near volleyball/softball area · Eliminate volleyball/softball once paid picnic use goes away · Preserve some of the Stocklmeir orchard and restore the rest to a more natural feet to reduce maintenance · Supports a multi-use trail with a design that encourages lower speeds Commissioner Bradford stated that alternative Map 4 made the most sense to her with some changes: · Expanded parking on Stevens Creek Blvd. · Picnicking in Stocklmeir · Acknowledged that the financial aspects of taking out the fee-based usage needs to be analyzed · Expanded parking on the Simms property to accommodate the activities at the south end of the park · Supports the trail going through the Stocklmeir property with a crossover at the comer of the Meadows · Supports an eastern trail alignment · Supports the trail going along the southeast corner (behind the 4-H) with an alternative of having the trail pop over on the Scenic Circle side - she would be amenable to looking at the pros and cons of both ideas; she believes that a Simms property trail exit might offer a safer exit point Once enticement is removed for large groups, the volleyball/baseball area could be eliminated and the area restored She would support keeping the San Femando Avenue access Commissioner Bradford stated that much of the public believes that the Commission would be making the decisions regarding the parkland, and she wanted them to know that nothing the Commission recommends is a decision; it is the City Council that makes the decisions. She also stated that she is a proponent of a multi-use trail and they can be designed to be slow; she fully agrees that a fast trail is not wanted. She reported that she had heard people comment that this park was a neighborhood park, which makes her think of smaller parks, such as Wilson, Portal, and Linda Vista Parks, that are tucked into neighborhoods. Her view is that this 60-acre parkland will be a community park like Memorial Park and doesn't believe that the park should be designed for the sole use of the immediate neighbors. Director Smith reiterated comments she had heard from the Commission. Commission Jelinch asked to vote on the alternatives separately. Chairperson Bradford asked about revenue generation; Ms. Sokale provided clarifying answers regarding relative capital costs and provided some corrections to the matrixes regarding alternative Map 4. Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 8 of 10 When asked what the maximum capacity of alternative Map 4 was, Ms. Sokale stated that the Commission would need to know what the largest size group they would want to accommodate and how it relates to all the other picnicking capacities within the City. Commission Recommendations Reaffirm (or not) consensus items to be recommended to the City Council for inclusion in the master plan. Commissioner Jelinch made a motion that the Commission reaffirm the consensus items to be recommended to the City Council for inclusion in the master plan and that it is their opinion at that time that alternative Map 4 best represents caring out those consensus items. Commissioner Peng seconded the motion. Commissioner Brown proposed amending the motion with the following modifications to Map 4: · Expanded parking on Stevens Creek Blvd. and at the Simms property · Stocklmeir site picnic area · Continue to reduce the parking in the center, specifically by eliminating the parking next to the volleyball and softball area · Moving the trail to the east side of the creek in the Blackberry Farm area Commissioner Jelinch accepted the amendments to his motion. ACTION: The motion, with amendments, unanimously passed 4 to 0. Recommend the appropriate size of the picnic grounds. Commissioner Jelinch made a motion that it be no less (minimum) than 500 for planning purposes. Commissioner Peng seconded the motion. ACTION: The motion failed 1 to 3. Commissioner Brown made a motion to limit the permanent capacity of the picnic grounds to less than 500, the exact number to be determined through follow-on processes, yet accommodate, via temporary facilities, significant community events such as CCS, etc. Commissioner Peng seconded the motion. ACTION: The motion passed 3 to 1. Address the issue of admission fees at the picnic sites. Commissioner Peng stated that a motion had already passed to recommend Map 4, which is designed for no-fee picnicking, so a motion on this item would not need to be made. There was consensus on this point. Parks and Recreation Commission September 4, 2003 Page 9 of i0 Discuss the balance of restoration versus active recreation area. Chairperson Bradford stated that this had been adequately addressed via the recommendation of Map 4. Recommend a relative square footage to be dedicated to the riparian zone. Chairperson Bradford stated that this item is covered in the recommendation of Map 4. Recommend a preferred trail alignment. Though no vote was taken, there was the following consensus: Chairperson Bradford stated that the motion modifying Map 4 has a greater portion of the trail on the east side. Commissioner Brown stated that the trail alignment through McClellan Ranch had not been specifically addressed. The Commission requested that Ms. Sokale address the McClellan Ranch in the master plan study. Chairperson Bradford reiterated that the trail alignment through Blackberry Farm stay on the east side of the creek. Comment on which of the alternatives presented best represents the Commission's consensus or recommend that more than one alternative be forwarded to the City Council for consideration. Chairperson Bradford summarized the recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Commission that will be taken to the City Council on September 15 is Map 4 with recommended modifications. Vector control issues at Blackberry Farm: Mr. O'Dowd reported that Mike Phillips, County of Santa Clara Vector Control, had sent a letter, but had not been received it at the time of the meeting. He reported that Mr. Phillips had individually met with him and Director Smith. Mr. O'Dowd reported that he had implemented the following: · Starting that coming weekend, a contracted service will pick up trash and empty garbage after the park closes · Dumpsters will be enclosed and these will be supplied by Los Altos Garbage by the following week · Soap dispensers without sinks will be removed this week · Mr. O'Dowd will continue to work with Mr. Phillips to meet his requests, especially with the ground squirrel issue. He will know more fully what other things will need to be done when he gets his letter. · 200-250 new garbage cans with lids will be purchased Chairperson Bradford thanked the public for their continued participation and interest in the Stevens Creek Corridor Master Plan project. She invited them to the September 15 City Council meeting where this topic will be discussed further. Parks and Recreation Commission §eptember 4, 2003 Page 10 ofl0 6. NEW BUSINESS - None MISCELLANEOUS - NO ACTION REQUIRED A. Staff Oral Reports: (1) Portal and Wilson Parks: Director Smith reported that the contractor should be completing Portal within a week. There has been a delay in delivering of the modular/pre-fabricated mst room and some of the play equipment at Wilson. Wilson should be completed in October. Neighborhood celebrations are being planned for the springtime. B. Community Contacts: None ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Bradford adjourned the meeting. Respectfully submitted Marie Preston, Administrative Secretary Televised Council meetings may be viewed live on Cable Channel 26, and may also be viewed live or on demand at www. cupertino, orgr. Videotapes of the televised meetings are available at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364. Minutes approved at the October 2, 2003, regular meeting.