Loading...
P&R 09-01-05 APPROVED PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CITY OF CUPERTINO REGULAR MEETING THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Jelinch called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL Commissioners present: Commissioners absent: Staff present: Jeanne Bradford, Frank Jelinch, Cary Chien, Rod Brown Roger Peng Therese Ambrosi Smith, Director; Don McCarthy, Recreation Supervisor; Marie Miller, Administrative Assistant 4. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING A. Regular meeting of July 7, 2005 ACTION: A motion was made, seconded and unanimously moved to approve the meeting minutes of July 7, 2005. 5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Deborah Hill, resident, expressed her concerns about drivers not stopping to let people cross the street, crowding the bikes lanes, and other road safety issues she has experienced. Chairman Jelinch asked staff to forward her written notes to the appropriate city division. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Field use policy update - Director Smith reported that the field use policy is working well, but one issue of Sunday play on city sports fields has come up. She reported that the current policy limits field use on Sundays. Joe Alfaro, president ofDYSL, asked the commission for an exception to the Field Use Policy for Sunday play. He reported that DYSL is looking for one or two fields, every Sunday from September through November, possibly at Creekside and for two Sundays at Jollyman. Bob Joyce, past DYSL president, stated that the DYSL league is assigned Sunday league games and asked the Commission's support for an exception to the policy. Parks and Recreation Commissions Meeting of September 1, 2005 Page 2 of 5 Mr. Alfaro stated that DYSL is not a 50 percent resident organization and he understood that the burden for field use should not be on Cupertino fields, so they have acquired a field in Saratoga that will take a lot of the burden off of Cupertino. DYSL is also currently waiting for the De Anza College field to be completed so they can use it for Sunday play. Public Comment Deborah Hill, resident, spoke in favor of allowing Sunday play for soccer and they should be given a permit to allow for the exception. Commission Comments Commissioner Bradford asked for further clarification of their request. Mr. Alfaro stated that the specific request was one or two fields on every Sunday, September 11 through November 13, at Creekside and for two Sundays at Jollyman on September 18 and October 16. The usage would be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. DYSL would be willing to trade a Saturday for a Sunday or start Sunday games at noon to minimize the impact to the neighbors. He said that four games are played from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Supervisor McCarthy gave a historical perspective on how the current field use policy came to be. He stated that on page 2 of the Field Use Policy it states, "Two Sunday permit dates/year/organizationlsite may be granted by staff to accommodate speciaI tournaments or events (not regularly scheduled league play)." He reported that DYSL's request is for regular scheduled play - not special tournaments. Commissioner Bradford asked Mr. Alfaro ifhe had made the league aware of the constraints he must follow. Mr. Alfaro stated that he had been told from the league that Sunday permits would be aIlowed, as they had been allowed in the past. Director Smith stated that the process to change the Field Use Policy was to return to the City Council and that the current policy was re-written 10 months ago. She believes that the policy is clear. She aIso reported that the organization has not gotten its residency rate up. The Council had made a commitment to the neighbors to reduce Sunday play and that there had been plenty of public discussion. She aIso stated that Cupertino cannot meet the needs of a regional organization and they will have to look elsewhere to meet their needs. Mr. Alfaro agreed that the policy is clear, but he was looking for an exception. Chairman Jelinch stated that they had a choice to make a motion to change the policy or not make any motion and take no action. He asked for a consensus from the other commiSSIOners. Parks and Recreation Commissions Meeting of September 1, 2005 Page 3 of 5 Commissioner Brown stated that at that time he saw no need to take any action. He believes that the policy is clear. Accommodations were made when the policy revisions were made to phase in some ofthe provisions and this demonstrates the city's flexibility. He understands the needs of the league to get more fields, but the needs of the neighbors also need to be considered. He recommended that the Commission take no action. Commissioner Bradford agreed with the recommendation that the Commission take no action. She had computed that if the request for an exception was granted, it would have represent an additional 60 games on a day ofthe week (Sunday) that the Council had committed to the neighbors that there would be nearly no games. Commissioner Chien stated he was sympathetic toward DYSL's concerns, but he supports the policy in place. He recommended no action by the Commission. Chairman Jelinch stated that the policy is clear and there had been a great deal of public input from DYSL, parents and neighbors. He would support no change to the policy. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. Review of Toll Bros., Inc. park dedication proposal for Calabazas Place and recommendation to City Council - Director Smith reported that the City is getting acreage dedicated at the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Finch, on the east side of town. She introduced Kelly Snyder, project manager for the Calabazas Place project. She gave a PowerPoint presentation that discussed how the work the commission did on the General Plan was coming to fruition in the development of this park acreage and described the general design of the space. She showed pictures of Eagle Park in Mountain View that is surrounded by attractive fencing that separates their open space from a busy street. She would like to keep the park space simple and would consider an artificial turf-type product so that the space could be used year round. Kelly Snyder, Toll Bros. Housing, gave details on the process they are following for the area's development. She noted that the site plan shown is a conceptual plan. They are working closely with the Planning Department, Housing Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, as well as with study sessions with the Planning Commission; they feel they are very close to a final concept. They are looking for approval later this year or early next calendar year. They are still trying to resolve the issue how the delta between the 2.2-acre requirement and the 3.5-acre provision is settled. She stated that they are open to working with the city of Cupertino, commissions, and citizens as far as programming in the park. Another area they are concerned about is the usage of the small triangle space next to the proposed park space. Parks and Recreation Commissions Meeting of September 1, 2005 Page 4 of5 Commission Comments Commissioner Bradford asked about the maintenance of the park. Director Smith answered that it will be public park space, while the park in the upper right -hand corner in the rendition is private. Commissioner Brown asked for the generaI timeframe for the project. Ms. Snyder said that the project would go before the City Council by mid January 2006, and then construction would be complete in 1 to 2 years after that time. Chairman Jelinch stated his excitement at having the opportunity to plan a new park. Director Smith asked the commission ifthey would like to recommend the plan to City Council. A motion was made to recommend approval of the concept and for the city to move forward on the park dedication. After some discussion, the commission dropped the motion and a consensus was expressed that it was too early to be making a recommendation on the plan, and that what was provided was information only. Chairman J elinch stated that the lack of a motion in no way reflected any negative view by the Commission of going forward on the project. 8. MISCELLANEOUS - NO ACTION REQUIRED A. Written Communications: none B. Staff Reports: a. Veterans Memorial Project - Director Smith reported that City Council had assigned the Parks and Recreation Commission the task of working with the community and the Fine Arts Commission to create a memorial to veterans and public safety personnel who gave their lives in the line of duty. The memorial is to be located in Memorial Park and it should have more of an impact than the current memorial. It should acknowledge all wars fought going back to the Spanish American War. The implementation process can be broken up, minimally in three categories: research, design, and fundraising. She stated that some research had been started; not all information is available, as a fire destroyed some Veterans Affairs records on those who died in battle. She said that the best source of information might be from the Cupertino Historical Society per the Cupertino Courier. Photos of the two Cupertino memoriaIs were displayed. She recommended the process: the Parks and Recreation Commission host a public-input session in November and ask people to talk about content, City Council approves the content, a community committee forms to talk with artists and begins a fundraising effort, Fine Arts Commission reviews and recommends the final art to the Parks and Recreation Commissions Meeting of September 1, 2005 Page50f5 City Council, fundraising is concluded, and the art piece is purchased and installed in Memorial Park. Chairman Jelinch spoke in support of the proposed process for the veterans' memorial and wants to move forward on the project. Deborah Hill, resident, spoke in support of the idea of installing a veterans' memorial at Memorial Park. Commissioners Chien, Bradford and Brown spoke in favor of the veterans' memoriaI. b. Cupertino's 50th Anniversary plans - Director Smith reminded the Commission ofthe September 24/25 Jubilee Celebration. She reported that volunteers are still needed. The city is also having their birthday party at Blackberry Farm Picnic Grounds on October 15. c. Website updates - Director Smith announced the city's newly installed website page of facility and park rental information. C. Community Contacts: a. Chairman Jelinch announced that the Natural Resources Protective Association, at www.nroa.com. could help people to make donations that assist restoring parks and recreation facilities devastated by the Katrina hurricane. On this website, there are other links related to hurricane assistance. He urged ail the residents of Cupertino to provide some assistance where they can. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted, M)r~M'11 A'd~A' arle I er, mlD1stratJve sSlstant Minutes approved at the October 6. 2005, meeting.