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HomeMy WebLinkAboutP&R 10.07.1993 Minutes CITY OF CUPERTINO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA 10300 Tone Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014 PRC"lab Telephone (408) 252-4505 1 napproved MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Council Chambers October 7, 1993 CALL TO ORDER l Regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission called to order at 7 07 p in SALUTE TO THE FLAG call to Order 2. ROLL CALL Flag Salute 3 Commissioners present. Lohmiller, Throne, Hopkins, Hendrickson, Quinlan (7 16 p m ) Commissioners absent Staff present. Stephen Dowling, Director of Parks and Recreation Roll call Linda Lagergren, Recording Secretary INTRODUCTIONS 4 Director Dowling introduced Recreation Fall intern, Rob Zirzow Intn dti,i,n ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 5. None (Chair moved to agenda item number nine hecatue the ntyanty of the audience present µas here for that Item 1 NEW BUSINESS 9 Director stated, "The subject this evening is the area the General Plan calls J-1, 1-2. and K This is the area of town that is basicalh bound b% Miller Avenue, Bollinger, Stevens Creek and Lawrence Expressway Park neeaa J-I.J-2,1� Histoncalh, the 1984 General Plan specified that it would be an objective of the Cit% to acquire a 3 5 acre park in this neighborhood, that would have the Rpical components of a neighborhood park And most likeIN that acquisition would occur at what was then a closed school site. Sedgewick However, in the 1980s. when the Cupertino Union School District altered their strateg} about selling that site and chose to rebuild a new school on that site, that of course impacted the Citv's strategti The 1994 General Plan amendmLnt. ve which we ha just adopted, recognizes that there was still a need to rovide k land in neighborhood it was hoped initialh that we could possible be part of the master plan dear opment for the Sedgewick site and provide a neighborhood park component on the school grounds That idea was introduced to the master plan committee ver% earl% on in their planning and it slmph did not fly There were concerns about trying to integrate public neighborhood park features on a school ground The issue before the Commission is how do we go about providing neighborhood park land in this neighborhood " Director showed a diagram that illustrated all the neighborhoods identified in the General Plan and their subsequent park nLo.A Director also described the updated standards for neighborhood parks "The issues we are dealing with are the availabilm of park land within that area tii.,b(.. inlan am lt+pm) and that we don't have the funding allocated at this time to make that kind of acquisition Me most desirable thing ent to an existing school ground Another r alternative to be considered is would be to ha%c a small park adjac to go back and revisit with the school district scene sort of arnerlm on one of the three schools in that neighborhood Another consideration would be to provide a neighborhood element across Miller A%enuc at the cm-ownod Fremont Oleki proper Director turned it back to the chair. After a brief discussion by Commission it was opened for public Input Page 2 Nancy Burnett, resident (729 Stendhal Lartc j "We were hoping for a park in this area when we first Saw' Parieds td,K our house being built. When we first got together as neighbors we put together a list of norities of things `ancv that were important to us and neighborhood parks were on the top of the list." Nancy reviewed the wording 13u-ett of the park acquisition program in the General Plan. "In 1978, this area was annexed onto Cupertino. We had a meeting at Hyde School and there was a piece of paper that was distributed, and no one seems to be able to find it, and one of the advantages listed for joining the City of Cupertino was because we would be next in line for a neighborhood park Since then, I've heard that was Jollyman Park. It got our hopes up and we worked really hard to annex onto Cupertino. Part of the people came for that very reason." Nancy showed a slide of the Capital Improvement Program in 1989 and 1990. At that time things looked very encouraging with Sedgewick School or a possible high school purchase. Nancy then showed a slide of land with residential potential of possible park sites. George Gerner, resident (721 Stendhal Lane) "The main point I would like to make is that our neighborhood is getting younger and our needs are really small. What we really need is a jungle gyrn and a George-- place for barbecues and benches We are a community of 220 Eichler homes We have a neighborhood (i watch organized and we are in the process of organizing disaster preparedness In order to get this underway we have to get together socially We manage to do this on school grounds once a Near. It seems that Anderson property would be ideal for us We have an interview with Mrs. Pestonno in November." Herbert Knoesel, resident (633 Phil Court) "I like what I've heard so far. Lots of the points we have ifertert considered have been considered by you already You've done a thorough job Fremont Older is out of the Kn-1 question because of Miller traffic and the distance We like the Anderson property or the Pestanno property In our last neighborhood meeting, it was said that if we could get one of those areas, we would help in preparing that park If the City would provide the equipment and a supervisor, we in the neighborhood would get all together and build the park " Danielle Wilkinson, resident (889 Brookgrove Lane) "I've lived in the Fairgrove neighborhood since 1968 1 remember as a child, my Mom telling me I couldn't go to the schools after dark because it was dangerous We couldn't go to Calabazas creek because it was dangerous Now we have a church playground at the 'A 1ki Ir Presb%terian Church and they graciously let us in but it's small and could potenUalh be dangerous I think Ih n..,,„ a park like this would offer a lot more opportunity for children to play and neighbors to get together What this neighborhood has needed is a playground If you would see a way to do this it would be greatl appreciated by the children and the parents " Myke Smith, resident (903 Brookgrove Lane) "I'm here because I do want a park One of the comments that you have made is that we have school land but the problem with that is that there are no lights at night \t,Mr Smith and you can't be on it dunng the daytime I'm very interested in seeing a park 1 don't think we arc screaming for a new for 3 5 acres, something small, Anderson propem would fit very nicely,jungle and some other things for the kids to play on and a place for us to sit and meet would be quite enjoyable and useful for all of us " Manln Phillips, resident (632 Phil Court) "I saw you looking at the Fremont Older site The traffic just whizzes b% on miller A%cnue and the sperm limit has lust been raised to 35 miles per hour To cross that %ianhn street would be a real problem at certain times of the da% or at holidays " F'hilitP% Conrad Minshall, resident (6295 Shadygrove Court) "My house backs up to the baseball diamond at Hyde Junior High School (hie thing you can see through the fence is that there arc no picnic tables So when we have our %earl mating there, it is on the ground Basically, it is a lot of sports fields. and there isn't am �.,,,►,a facilities there that could be considered a park land Miller is four lanes wide. so it is not suitable for \dung people to go over b% thcrnscles I would sure lo%e it if\ou could find a park Phyllis Kaufman, resident (867 Hyde Avenue) "As you talk about money, I think you might want to shift Page 1 Paris needs some of the monev frum organized sports. There arc sports on every field. and you can't even walk across J-1,1-2•h the fields anvmore. Whv can't you take some of the money that vou've allocated for all of these organized "cd) sports and consider that the people on the east side of Cupertino are getting the shaft all the time. The lovely parks up in the Monta Vista area and the parks in the Seven Springs area are all lovely parks but we have a large population living down here that have nothing like that I think that it is time that we got it You've been promising it for a long time and there is always something else that comes up. If you had bought the school property on time we wouldn't have this problem We have more young people moving into our neighborhood and we do need a park. It's impossible to cross Miller Avenue. I would like you to recommend to council that they redirect some of these funds that thev are putting into organized sports Mavbe we need to tar some of these organized sports. We need to re-hunk some of the money that you are spending on those fields and it should be used to buy this property for us and give us a park. I think it's about time, it's a long time we have been waiting." Laura Winick, resident (706 Stendhal Lane) "I am also a Fairgrove neighbor and I want to thank you for %.aura \\lnick considering our need." Public comment %vas closed and it was brought back to the Commission for a brief discussion Director suggested a Commissioner work with staff and a Fairgrove representative to review options. OLD BUSINESS McClellan Ranch 6 Director stated, "At the last Commission meeting, the Comrrussion gave staff some general thoughts about Task Force possible composition of the McClellan Ranch Task Force Committee. As the Commission is aware the function of this committee will be to implement the Master Plan recommendations of the Master Plan Committee that presented the report to %ou last summer " Director reviewed staffs recommendation of the composition of the committee It included City Staff' (Dowling, Banfield), Parks and Recreation Commissioner (Hopkins), representative from Cupertino Union School District, representative from Audubon Society, representative from Historical Society, representative from Rolling Hills 4-H and representative from Community Gardeners Director also made a suggestion to Commission to reconsider someone from the Affordable Housing Committee be on the Task Force. He also stated that a number of people in the community have called expressing an interest in serving on this committer: Chairman Lohmiller opened it up for public comment Deborah Jamison, resident and member of McClellan Ranch Master Plan Committee (21346 Rumford) i*K,rah Deborah made suggestions for the composition of the Task Force "i like what has been presented so far This task force is going to have a tremendous amount of tasks I think this task force needs to be bigger than the 8 people that are proposed The people you might consider adding are the following representative f om Affordable Housing, representative from the school district, representatives from the high school Ieycl and Dc Anza College, one to two people representing businesses (Chamber of Commerce & corporations), other environmental representatives in addition to the Audubon, and to keep the continuity_ have two to three members from the Master Plan Committer " Lois Warburton, resident (11001 Luck Oak Street) A «ould like to sex somebod% from the Sierra Club and 'Aarhurim somebody on the Task Force who uses McClellan Ranch Park on a regular basis " Ho%%ard Johnson, resident (22560 Alcalde Road) "Gencralh, i like this list but rather than the Audubon. I it"%ard think perhaps we should say "tenants" should be a representative and staff should be cut back to one I„iyy„n person It was m% understanding in the Master Plan that there Here to be two groups formed, the one we arc talking alx)ut todas and the other was to be "i`hc Friends of McClellan Ranch Park' And ms understanding was that. that %%as going to be a volunteer organization that would be the machine in terms of g0ting sums of thcsc things dons that the i ask Force recommended It was also ms understanding that a rcprescntatise from the %oluntecr organization be on the Task Force I don't think we ncud thre rcprescntati%es from the %arious school levels " Catherine Sleight, resident and member of the McClellan Ranch Task Force(1 1074 La Paloma Drive) Page 4 I really feel strongly that it would be really helpful if there were people on this Task Force who were on 'i`[ieiian the Ad Hoc Committee. I feel that having a Commissioner on the Task Force would be a wonderful asset. I Ranch Task Force feel it would be an asset to have one or two people in the community that surround the park." (cont'd) It was brought back to the Commission and after discussion, Commissioner Hendrickson made a motion to accept the Task Force as presented, with one change, which would be the Cupertino Union School District %l°4on be changed to a representative of the school districts. Commissioner Quinlan seconded the motion. Motion unanimously approved. 7 Director stated, "After discussion at the last meeting, based upon some of your suggestions, staff is recommending the composition of the Stevens Creek Trail Route Committee be composed of Parks and Stevens Recreation staff (Dowling, O'Dowd), Parks and Recreation Commissioner, representative from Plannm Creek Trail Staff, representative from Traffic Staff, representative from "Friends of Stevens Creek Trail", Committee representative from Trail Center, one resident representing Phar Lap area, and representative from management of Deep Cliff Golf Course." After brief discussion, Commissioner Throne moved to accept the composition of the Stevens Creek Trail Route Committee as proposed, Commissioner Hopkins seconded the motion Motion unanimously Mmwn approved. R Director stated, "After discussion and your input at the last Commission meeting, staff is recommending Fremont that the composition of the Fremont Older Task Force be comprised of Parks and Recreation staff (icier razk (Dowling, McCarthy), Parks and Recreation Commissioners (Lohmiller, Hendrickson), Director of Public FOfCe Works, Director of Community Development, Youth Sports Groups (one representative from Soccer, one representative from Baseball and one representative from Basketball), Day Care/Pre-school program, representative from J-1, J-2, K neighborhood, representative from 1-2 neighborhood, representative from Baptist Church, and representative from Cupertino Union School District" After brief discussion, Comnussioner Throne moved to accept the composition of the Fremont Older Task Moor" Force as proposed with the deletion of neighborhood K. Commissioner Hopkins seconded the motion Motion unanimously approved NEW BUSINESS 10 Director said. "This is on your work plan for this Fall and that is the recommendation to City Council comIxsmon regarding future composition of the Parks and Recreation Commission 1 provided in your packet the °i P&R historical perspective on whN the Commission is at seven and I cited some reasons why I felt five members o"mmsa"on could function effectively " (First, a separate Fine Arts Commission has been formed by City Council that focuses on issues related to the arts Secondh. the Cupertino Historical Society has become very well organized and has opened a museum at the Quinlan Communit% Center to further the interest of historical preservation I %touon After discussion, Commissioner Hendrickson made a motion to recommend to Co Council that the ordinance regulating the size of the Parks and Recreation Commission be amended to a fi%c member bod% Commission Quinlan seconded the motion Motion unanimoush approved MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING I I Commissioner Hendnekson moved and Commissioner Hopkins seconded a motion to approve the minute% of the September 2, 1993 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting Motion unanimoush approve WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS 12 None MONTHLY REPORTS 13 Director reported that September was a very busy month with many special events. 14 Community Contact report by Commissioner Hopkins. He reported on the Stevens Creek Advisory Council meeting he attended. Commissioner Hendrickson reported that he would absent from the December Commission meeting. MISCELLANEOUS 15. There were no legislative updates. 16. Chairman Lohmiller reported on the Mayor's luncheon 17. Director reported that the N.R.P.A. Congress is coming to San Jose and he thanked Commissioner's Quinlan and Hendnckson for volunteering to help, but we have enough volunteers to staff the Registration area. ADJOURNMENT 18 Commissioner Throne moved and Comrrussioner Quinlan seconded the motion to adjourn at 9:40 p.m to mm"n the regularly scheduled meeting of Parks and Recreation Commission on November 4, 1993, 7:00 p m , Council Chambers Respectfulk submitted. 4in�da Lagergren. Recording re ATTEST: APPROVED City Clerk Chairperson Fairgrove Neighbors Newsletter October, 1993 *Next Meeting,Wednesday, October 27 (with For those who felt discouraged by the guest): by Nancy Burnett commission's non-committal attitude, please be The next Fairgrove Neighbors meeting will be aware that government moves exceedingly held at the home of Herbert and Gisela slowly when there is something we want done. Knoesel, at 633 Phil Court. The meeting time is Steve Dowling, Parks and Recreation Director, 7:00 P.M. said to me afterward, "Remember, it took three Bob Cowan, Community Development Director years to complete JoIlvman Park, and that was of the City of Cupertino, has requested the op- af= the City had aquired the property!" Mean- portunity to describe to us Cupertino,s plan for while, here are suggestions to help keep our in- the "Heart of the City" Design Charette, which terests visible: will take place on November 12 and 13. He will 1) Mr. Dowling suggests we attend the "Five- be with us for about one-half hour. Year Capital Improvement Program" hearings Of course, there will be time for informal chat- in January to help put our park back into the ting on whatever interests you. Also, we will forefront of City monetary needs. Money is have a short video cassette of City Council Can- ! tight right now, but it will not always be so. didates on hand for viewing by those of you who Let's make sure that a park for area "J1,J2, K" is do not have cable TV and the capacity to see the in print once again. "City Channel" 37A. Each of the five candidates 2) Write individual letters to include in the speaks for two minutes. This provides a quick public record. It is suggested that letters be ad- summary of the issues which were important to dressed to: Steve Dowling, Parks and Recre- them at the beinning of the campaign. Video ation Department, Cupertino City Hall, 10300 viewing will be-saved-until the end of the meet- Torre Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95614. Ted Lav- ing, so that those of you who have already seen ine has already written a letter. There may be it may leave, if you wish. others. Let's not let them forget us at City Hall. *Welcoming Committee Report: by Susan Gerner *Newsletter Helper: The welcoming committee was busv this past ! I would like to express my appreciation to Mike month, welcoming 4 new families to'Fairgrove. Rupe, a relatively new neighbor on Willowgrove We have the Frazier and Jaarsma families on I who volunteered to take on the task of having Brookgrove, the Zhau/ Fans on Stendhal, and our newsletter photocopied. One less thing on the Wiebe family on Miller. Rocky Wiebe hap- my mind. Thanks Mike. pens to be a house painter and can be reached at eNeighborhood Park II (the sequel):byGwG 253-0470 if you are interested. Of the 25 + Fairgrove Neighbors attending the •New Neighbor: Parks and Recreation Committee hearing, 9 Sheri R Steve would like to announce the birth, chose to address the commission. Thev are, in on August 10, of their son "Buddy" who weighed order of appearance; Nancy Burnett, George in at 8 lbs 10 oz. Welcome to the neighborhood. Gerner, Herbert Knoesel, Danelle Wilkinson, •Neighborhood Park: by Nancy Burnett Mvke Smith, Marilyn Phillips, Conrad Minshall, Phvllis Kaufman, and Laura Winick. Some of All is not lost for a Neighborhood Park. On the points stressed by the speakers were: Thursday, October 7, more than 25 Fairgrove Fairgrove was promised a park when it was Neighbors turned out for th Parks and Recre- annexed to Cuppertino in 1978. ation Commission hearing to tell about our 1 Although Hvde JHS and Cupertino HS ath- needs for a future neighborhood park. All age letic fields are considered by the City to be part groups were represented. Many Neighbors of our park-lands, they are not really accessible spoke not only about picnic needs and tiny tot to us. The people participating in the organized plav areas, but about the neighborhood's history sports utilizing these play fields do not live in and long, patient waiting period. We asked the neighborhood. In fact, their parking habits good questions pertaining to finance, location are a handicap to Fairgrove residents. possibilities, etc. (What an eloquent bunch!) I More and more children are movingg into, and Several young children made themselves heard being born in our neighborhood. We need a as well, which was appropriate for the subject at place where we can take them. (Without having hand. to cross Miller Avenue.) 'Sonlr Of Ilfe 06111P wkitt ON rat"M will be popular uben Bads.BeHlw.ten and N agrrer are t..rRutten-but trot before" —%,4n oNnr Coup% 6niar Ql Laniut tar CWWrwn CA VAM4 ftw rr.;'e If the Citv were to buy a property, (we were *Hashed Bro11•n Potatoes :source:The Grand Central pushing for'the Andersen property) Fairgrove Oyster Bar d Restaurant Seafood Cookbook- Neighbors would probably volunteer to help 3 to 4 large potatoes Cooked, cooled and build, ma,ntain and watch over it. coarsely chopped. (boded and baked leftovers allowed) Speaker after speaker stressed that crossing 3 Tbsp all purpose flour the four lanes of traffic on Miller Avenue, to get 1/4 cup light cream to the Fremont Older site that the commission 1 tspn salt was pushing, was a hazardous undertaking, no fresh ground black pepper, generous sprinkling matter what the age. It is a challenge, even for 1 small onion (minced) adults. 3 Tbsp corn oil In order for Neighborhood community to organize pro- 1 Tbsp butter grams such as Neighborhood Watch and Disas- Lightly mix potatoes in a bowl with flour and ter Preparedness, it needs a place to gather. pour cream over them. Having to move all of the equipment required Season with salt and pepper and mix in onion for events such as our annual picnic is a major Heat 2 Tbsp of the corn oil in a 9 inch heavy undertaking. Our neighborhood park should skillet over medium heat. have BBQs and picnic tables. Other communi- Add potatoes and press them down with a spat- ties have such facilities. ula into a flat cake. The Andersen property is indeed for sale. Fry potatoes until crusty and nicely browned, The City should make a move while there is still shaking the skillet to keep them from sticking. land available. Lift potatoes carefully from the skillet with a *Helpful Hints, etc.: by SharonLopresto spatula onto a preheated plate. First, let me point out that I do not receive, nor Wipe any crumbs from the skillet and add the would I accept anything for recommending the remairung 1 Tbsp corn oil and the butter. people I do in this newsletter or in my business. Slide potato cake back into the skillet, browned I feel it is a pleasure to recommend someone side up . who does good work. Fry until the underside is crusty and brown, Homeowners Insurance: shaking the skillet and pressing down the edges It is a good idea to check and make sure that you of the potato cake with a spatula. have coverage on "sudden" damage from burst *Big Bird: by Nanov Burnett water pipes or other water damage. Last week, a large, multi-colored bird appeared While you have your agent on the phone, you in our back vard. George and Susan Gerner and may wish to discuss "Replacement" coverage. I grabbed cameras and photographed what Many policies may cover your home only as it turned out to be a male Ring-Necked Pheasant. presently exists, but if current code were to re- He was missing half of his long tail, which may quire double pane windows etc. the additional have been why he did not take to the air im- expense would be the responsibility of the mediately when we appeared. He spent that homeowner. night in the corner of our yard and ate many An insurance agent I have no hesitation in rec- cherry tomstoes. The next day he wandered ommending, is Don Soukup of State Farm. He around in the Andersen property. I saw him, off is located on the corner of Benton and Madison and on for three more days. The last time he in Santa Clara. He is a caring, responsible and was able to attain a bit of flight, so we hope he is knowledgeable person. He can be reached at now living wherever Ring-Decked Pheasants (408) 246-5666. like to be. Meanwhile, I am truly pleased that Garage Door Openers: one of God's beautiful creatures came to Our opener is 8 to 10 years old and works well. brighten several gray days in our back vard. However we lock it with a barrel type bolt at night. On more than one occasion we have REMEMBER TO VOTE ON NOVEMBER 2 found our garage door slightly open as far as the bolt permits (about an inch or so) in the morn- ing. Safeway a Lucky Receipts: ed note: Some of the newer garage door openers hate a If you shop at Safeway or Lucky Stores.your receipts can mean scramble mode which makes Them less susceptible to being computer software or sports equipment for our schools Also. of opened b1 another remote contml unit. you use anvv Campbell's food products(t e soups Prego sauces. I;'e ha►e'noted that someone has been tninz$to t into our Swanson$$t�rot asy1l. Consider Sharon's a QrOac t to a bolt produna etc ), the labels from thugs produce can tOtc/te►Yn OU dOn�t lea►Y an atttcNftOftf O�ene�On %vu pw`ide extras for our schoufs I am collecttns these receipts and rmi-ents them from being pned open enough or Vbel&(of Fremont older elementary school. You can drop them someone to slip In. in mr mallbos or call and I will pick them up' Even little bu can help our school' Thank You Terry Futrterald 862 Fern=rvve Dine 706 Stendhal Lane Cupertino,CA 95014 October 19, 1993 Steven G. Dowling Director of Parks and Recreation City of Cupertino 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino,CA 95014 Dear Mr. Dowling: We attended the meeting of the Parks and Recreation. Commission last Thursday, October 7, 1993, at which the topic of a neighborhood park for residents east of Miller Avenue and north of Bollinger Road was discussed. We are very interested in such a park becoming a reality in the near term since we purchased a home in the Fairgrove neighborhood of Cupertino (Zone J2)just 18 months ago and, like many of our neighbors, we have a small child,an 8-month-old daughter. We are active participants in the Fairgrove Neighbors Association. We would like to put our opinions in writing for the benefit of the Parks and Recreation Commission and, through its report, the City Council. The activities we would like our neighborhood park to support are: Play areas with play equipment for young children. Picnicing and barbequing. Neighborhood social gatherings, including neighborhood watch, disaster preparedness planning, etc. (Meetings of this type are presently held monthly in private homes which have limited capacity.) Among the options we heard discussed for a future neighborhood park were: Shared use of school fields at either Sedgwick Elementary, Hyde Junior High. or Cupertino High Schools. Shared use of recreation fields planned for the former Fremont Older school site, with access to residents east of Miller Avenue either by traffic light or by pedestrian overpass. New acquisition of a small parcel of private land. Specifically, the Andersen property(one acre)or the Pestarino property (1.5 acres), both fronting onto Phil Lane. The Andersen house is vacant and the property is pesently available. The Pestarino house is occupied and the property 6 not available. We note that the 1993 General Plan, in Policy 5-47, designates a park for our neighborhood (and for all of Zones J 1,J2,and K)to be a moderate-priority objective, since the neighborhood already contains several "recreation areas" consisting of school yards. However, we consider the development of a neighborhood park for Zones J1, J2, and K to be of greater than moderate priority, because we do not consider shared park use with school or recreational sports fields to satisfy the need for a neighborhood park. Shared use of school land precludes day-time park use by pre-school children and their care-takers. Shared use of recreation fields mitigates in favor of organized sports and against the park- use activites we have identified above. Our Fairgrove Neighbors association has had difficulty reserving the use of the Hyde Junior High School field for our neighborhood Spring picnic each of the past two years due to the heavy demand on that field for organized sports activities. Since there are no picnic tables in the sports fields, we had to carry chairs and tables to the school fields, which is very inconvenient. Our most recent social gathering, a neighborhood brunch with 60 attendees, was held on the Phil Court cul- de-sac roadbed, which was more convenient than the school field. However, a real park, such as those that exist in other Cupertino neighborhoods, would be a great improvement. Safe access for young children is an essential requirement for a neighborhood park. We do not consider any park west of Miller Avenue to be safely accessible from the neighborhoods east of Miller Avenue. We do not think it is desirable to rely on a traffic light or an overcrossing at Miller Avenue to protect unaccompanied children when a potential park site is already available within the boundaries of the neighborhood the park is supposed to serve. Our opinion is consistent with Policy 5-46 of the 1993 General Plan (page ER17). We think the city should acquire the Andersen site now, while it is available, and convert it to a small neighborhood park. There seems to be room enough for a full or partial perimeter security road. Mature trees and landscaping are already in place. The property owners bordering on the park seem to be amenable, based on the testimony of our neighbors, Nancy Burnett and George Gerner, both of whom spoke at the Commission meeting we attended. Finally, we share in the offer made at your meeting by our neighbor, Herbert Knoesel, of Phil Court, that we would he delighted to help personally in on-site preparations of a park on the Andersen site. Thank you for your attention to our opinion. Simxrely, f N � lheodory Lavine and !aura Winick October 13, 1993 Ms. Christine Hanel City of Cupertino Parks and Recreation 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 Cupertino, CA 95014 Many thanks to you for helping us find a place to tie-dye T-shirts (on short notice) in order to create the theme for our entry in the Cupertino Community Parade. Thanks also for trusting us to leave the Monte Vista Recreation Center clean despite the messy project undertaken. Jim McFadzean is fastidious by nature and left no stone untumed ensuring the care of the rec. center. The theme of our entry, Grateful DACA, was chosen by our senior swimmers (for the first time ever!) and we thoroughly enjoyed the process of preparation as well as our ma ch n September and created 1�;h. It was , sat to see our older swimmers lead the younger on s in this c eavo more team spirit among all involved. We are appreciative also to the City of Cupertino,which supports organizations such as DACA. It is really nice to experience "community"through participation in the parade, as one of many worthwhile groups in this city. Thank you once again for your willingness and accessibility- your help ensured us a fun-filled day. Sincerely, Sandra Caldwell I* Anza ( uWlrlirx) Aquatics • f',O. Box 436 • Cupertino, CA 95015-0436 9 (408) 253-SWIM 872 Hyde Ave. Cupertino, CA 95014 Oct - 30, 1993 Steve Dowling Parks and Recreation Deot. Cupertino City Hall 10300 Torre Ave. Cupertino, CA 95014 Dear Mr . Dowling, Re have lived in this nou gq for 25 years and raised our four children here, and now entertain six grandchildren here. Where do you suggest I take them to play? Hyde Junior High 19 covered with dow, excrement - even though you 've had a sign up for 25 years. (:Maybe the sign needs rgnaintina. . .orenlargIng.. .or needs to be -)laced wnere the opening is in the fence???) 3edgwick has been a mess and left to vandal s since 1975. Now it ' s still a me ss, but tnanicfully to reconstruction. Our Ichler tract was -promised a oark when annexed to Cu-)9rtino. Tr4gt wag in 1978: : Fifteen years Is a long time to wait . Please consider the ,Anderson property qs q good place for a ,vnall nark where we could wo with our families for picnic -, and barbeques. . Nqw, young fa.,1111e3 are -novina in here and L ney need a place for their youngsters to pl qy, too. It. isn't a large piece of land, but enough for a few tables and toddler- sized equipment. It would give us gr andmot hers a r)l ace to go to wnen taking our g7andczildren out for a stroll - other than do!-zing our gteos qt Hyde. 3incerely, Luckv Oak Homeowners Association October 18, 1993 Dick Lohmiller, Chairperson City of Cupertino Parks & Recreation Commission 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 Dear Chairperson Lohmiller: I am the President of Lucky Oak Homeowners Association, which is the Association of 8 property owners with property on Lucky Oak Court, at the end of Lucky Oak Street, which is off Homestead Road, in Cupertino. We are east and adjacent to the Glen Oaks residential community. The common area owned in fee by our 8 homeowners is adjacent to Stevens Creek, and our property ownership generally goes to the center of the creek. Our 8 homes and landscaped common area has Stevens Creek on all sides of our property except for the Luckv Oak Court entrance. All 8 private homes look upon the creek side. It has been reported in the local press that the City of Cupertino, other government entities and groups of citizens are considering a new trail system to be adjacent to Stevens Creek, wherever feasible. Some property owners next to or near the creek have been reported as voicing strong concerns. The Lucky Oak Homeowners Association certainly understands the appeal of having access to Stevens Creek and even the concept of a "14 - Mile Stevens Creek Trail" to include Cupertino. There are several areas where a creek side trail can be constructed or creek access can be provided, where the property adjacent to the creek is already in public ownership and no private property owners or neighborhoods would be negatively impacted or the purchase of private property right required. The Lucky Oak Homeowners Association, by this letter, request that there be no taking of our property for a trail or for access to Stevens Creek. Either a trail passing through our property or access being encouraged onto our property will cause negative impact and damage to our property as follows: - security. People entering on our property will make our homes and property vulnerable to theft and a threat to our safety Our property is secluded. - Privacy. Our homes now enjoy a very private creek side setting and our homes are designed with windows looking out to the nearby creek and open space. We certainly do not want people entering or passing through our yard and looking in our windows. - Property Damage. Opening our yard and common area to the public would likely cause damage to our common area and our individual homes. Public parks and recreational facilities are being damaged and vandalized all the time, and the problems seem to be increasing. We see no way our property could be protected to prevent damage if the trail were to pass through our property or access permitted to our property. - Property Value Loss. Our homes are designed and constructed to utilize a unique site with a creek side setting. The land was expensive to develop and the homes were more costly to construct and commanded a premium price when they were originally sold. When the homes have resold, the new owners paid a premium price because of the location, the creek side setting, the unique design, the privacy and good security, in coordination with our neighbors in the Lucky Oak Homeowners Association and the adjacent Glen Oaks Park Villas Association. In conclusion, if consideration of a Stevens Creek Trail is to continue, please design and locate the trail to circumvent the creek area adjacent to property of Lucky Oak Homeowners Association and our 8 homeowners. Charles E. Newman, President Lucky Oak Homeowners Association 10960 Lucky Oak Ct. Cupertino, CA 95014 Residence (408) 737-0612 Office (408) 446-0693 copy: Board of Directors Glen Oaks Park Villas Association PARKS and RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING Date: DY � 4,-- 5 NAME ADDRESS b• 3• 5 q