P&R 09-07-2017CITY OF CUPERTINO
CUPERTINO
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
Community Hall
CALL TO ORDER
10350 Torre Ave, Cupertino, CA
Thursday, September 7, 2017
7:00 PM
MEETING
AMENDED MINUTES
Chair Davis called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Hall, at 10350
Torre Ave, Cupertino, CA .
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
Commissioners present:
Commissioners absent:
Staff present:
Helene Davis, Meenakshi Biyani, Neesha Tambe
Judy Wilson, Carol Stanek
Jeff Milkes, Gail Seeds, Kevin Khuu, Katy Nomura, Alex
Acenas
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Regular Meeting of August 3, 2017 -Vice Chair Tambe moved to approve the
minutes of August 3, 2017. Commissioner Biyani seconded. Motion carried with 3
yes and 2 absent.
2. Special Meeting of August 23, 2017 -Vice Chair Tambe moved to approve the
minutes of August 23, 2017. Commissioner Biyani seconded. Motion carried with
3 yes and 2 absent.
CEREMONIAL MATTERS AND PRESENTATIONS
3. Godbe Survey Results
Katy Nomura presented to the Commission about the Biannual Research Survey
from Godbe. Top issues ranged from traffic, to controlling the City's growth, and
affordable housing. Based on a total of about 582 response, this year was the first
to include online surveys.
Chair Davis moved the McClellan Ranch Parking Lot Improvement item to next on the
agenda.
NEW BUSINESS
4. McClellan Ranch Parking Lot Improvement
Alex Acenas, the Public Works CIP Manager, presented to the Commission the
current and alternate designs for the McClellan Ranch West Parking Lot.
Anne Ng, a resident of Cupertino, had sent an email to the Commission and
asked them to consider her email in their deliberation.
The Commission reviewed the notes from the stakeholder meeting on September
5th and emails from the public that were presented before the meeting. Inquired
and stresssed the importance of an environmental study performed on the
designs.
Director Jeff Milkes confirmed that the environmental study was performed only
for the current design.
The Commission showed more support for the alternative plan, as the grassy
area was placed closer to the creek. However, before making a decision, asked to
see the environmental impact part of the study for both designs. Requested to
have this item be brought to the Commission again to the October meeting, when
the environmental impacts report are completed for the alternate plan and so
they can review the results more thoughtfully.
POSTPONEMENTS
None
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
None
OLD BUSINESS
5. Citywide Parks and Recreation System Master Plan -Vision & Goals, the
Prioritzation Criteria, and the Preliminiary Opportunities Analysis
Cindy Mendoza, from MIG, presented to the Commission an update on the Parks
Master Plan. Reviewed the vision and goals questionnaire results and the feedback
taken from the advisory board and asked for feedback on the draft document.
Whitney Berry, from the Midpenninsula Regional Open Space District, expressed
support for conections to currently existing open spaces near Cupertino (i.e .
Rancho San Antonio)
Discussion followed. The Commission supported the first mission statement, but
suggested adding the words "restore", "connectivity", and "wildlife". Director
Milkes mentioned that the department tagline would be revisited in a future
meeting.
Cindy then reviewed the draft prioritization criteria, introducing a 2 step process
to the Commission to prioritize projects for the Master Plan/CIP Projects. Asked
for Commission feedback on this process.
Discussion followed. The Commission requested to see the previous prioritization
criteria created for the CIP projects. Staff will review the previous method and
report back to the Commission on a future date. Vice Chair Tambe asked to add
"diversity" and" connectivity" into the criterias. Cindy recommended to not focus
on weighting and points and instead separate and focus on the critical criteria first.
Cindy moved on to the preliminary opportunities analysis of the Master Plan,
highlighting 4 specific opportunities and the current findings, to expand, connect,
and foster natural systems and to diversify recreation facilities. Requested
feedback from the Commission on the 4 subjects.
Vice Chair Tambe suggested to add in the foster natural systems map to highlight
areas where Cupertino's ability to create parks end and where it'll begin for
surrounding cities.
Jane Mark, from the Midpenninsula Regional Open Space Disctrict, suggested that
the Master Plan should also focus on finding new parking areas near the county
parks and open space (for those that can't bike/walk there) and pointed out that in
regards to connectivity, county parks often lead to regional open space as well.
In response to the Park Land subject, Chair Davis agreed with General Plan to
reach the 5 acres/1000 residents. Vice Chair Tambe also supported the increased
acreage. Commissioner Biyani suggested to at least maintain the 3.6 acres/1000
residents, but to focus on filling the gap areas first.
For the Connecting Trails question, the Commission agreed that the plan should
emphasize more off-street paths in the maps that connect the trails and parks,
For Natural Systems, the Commission agreed to protect nature but still have it
accessible to the Community.
In the subject of the Recreation Facilities, the Commission expressed the need for
another park like Memorial Park. Vice Chair Tambe suggested greyspace, spaces
that can be used for multiple things, and use of rooftops. Commissioner Biyani
suggested to focus on flexible activities that can be relocated to different areas in
Cupertino. Chair Davis agreed with the greyspace, but emphasized the idea of
better utilizing current properties.
6. 2017-2018 Commission Work Plan
The Commission reviewed the work plan and asked to revisit the McClellan Ranch
Parking Lot item in the October meeting. The date is still to be determined.
STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS
7. Director's Report
Jeff Milk es reported to the Commission on the following:
The youth theatre program with San Francisco Shakespeare will be
showcasing Ramayana from October 13th to 15th.
In the recent heat wave, the Quinlan and Senior Center became cooling
centers over the weekend and had about 50 visitors per day.
On the Library Field, a cricket cage was built at a cost of $40,000.
Update to the Commission:
o Age Friendly City -will have that presentation in the future. Mayor
had sent a letter and haven't heard back yet.
o Joint Meeting with Bike and Pedestrian Commission-scheduling in
progress.
o Teen Hack -promises to contact Vice Chair Tambe about the planning
process.
Commissioner Biyani attended the mayor's meeting and discussed the following:
The Fine Arts Commission had expressed interest in producing the City
Signs .
Was introduced to Brian B., the City Public Informations Officer, who is
responsible for the marketing of the City. Also responsible for the
publications and the liaison for the sister and friendship cities.
Fine Arts Commission is emphasizing their Young Artists and contacting
local business to promote Art in Unexpected Places. Vice Chair Tambe
suggested creating art for the parks.
Bicycle Pedestrian Commission is creating more wayfinding signs so people
can see how far things are.
Library Commission is looking to find more ways to advertise to the
community about their resources .
ADJOURNMENT-Chair Davis adjourned the meeting at 9:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
K~Kh· )Ad~ A . evm uu, mm1strative ss1stant
Recreation and Community Services Department
Minutes approved at the 11.02 .17 regular meeting