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02.13.13 OSBT Draft minutes January 9, 2013 OPEN SPACE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes Meeting Date January 9, 2013 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT John PutnamAllyn FeinbergShelley DunbarFrances Hartogh STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Mike PattonMark GershmanSteve ArmsteadJim ReederRonda Romero Annie McFarlandDean PaschallLeah CaseMichele Gonzales CALL TO ORDER . The meeting was called to order at 6:06 p.mJohn Putnam announced that Tom Isaacsonwas not able to attend this meeting. AGENDA ITEM 1 –Approval of the Minutes There were no amendmentsto the December 12, 2012 meeting minutes. Allyn Feinberg moved toapprove the minutes from December 12, 2012. FrancesHartogh secondedthe motion.Shelley Dunbar abstained as she was not present for the December 12, 2012 meeting. The motion passed3-1 with Shelley abstaining.Tom Isaacson was not present. AGENDA ITEM 2 –Public Participationfor Items not on the Agenda Kent Young, Boulder, thanked the Board for making the Chapman Drive projecthappen.Mr. Young said he recently visited Chapman Drive on foot,beginning from BoulderCanyonand ending on Flagstaff; he said hewanted toexperience this trail as a pedestrian. He said it is scary being on the highway,and expressed his concern for safety when crossing these roads. He hopes the city can be diligent in pursuing safety for all user groups in this area. Hesaid cars are not anticipating pedestrians to be crossing the road at Highway 119. He encouraged staff and the Board to take an active role in this process concerning safety. Regarding the property on the north side of Highway119,to allow for more parking, Mr. Young saidpedestrians will still have to cross the road; staff will need to find asolution for this. He said the sooner this area can be safe the better. John Putnam said safety in this areais something the Board has been discussing; however,working with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)and the county will take sometime. The culvert to the new trail is a safe way to go underneaththe highway, but at the end of Boulder Creek a pedestrian would stillbestuck; staff is looking at this right now. Kent Young said with uphill only bike traffic, bikers will have to cross Highway 119. Bikes going downhill can go straight to the Boulder Creek Path and do notneed to cross the road.Mike Pattonsaid staff is looking at extending the bike path an additional distance past the Red Lion Inn to the Betasso Trail.He said staff is working with thecounty and the state; however,the plan will go on the shelf until the state has the money to pay for it. He said the state and county think that making Boulder Canyonsafer for bicycles is a priority. Shelley Dunbar asked if thesignage alonghighway 119will change to alert vehiclesofcrossing traffic. Mikesaid the county and the state are part of this conversationas Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP)cannotput up those signs; however,that is the intent. AGENDA ITEM 3 –Director’s Updates Overarching Issues AGENDA ITEM 1APAGE 1 Steve Armstead, EnvironmentalPlanner, presented on the remaining Overarching Issues (OAI) concerning the long-term sustainability (carrying capacity) of OSMPresources and service delivery. The programs identified for 2012 were:the Voice and Sight Tag Program(V&S), the Commercial Use Programand the Pilot Parking Program. An OSBT study session has been scheduled for January 31, 2013 to discuss staff’s recommendations on how to address the V&S details. Staff will thenreturn to the OSBT for its final recommendations to City Council. The council will consider the recommendation as its schedule allows.Staff anticipates having the necessary materials prepared for City Council by the end of the first quarter of 2013. Steve’spresentation is saved in S:OSMP\admin\OSBT\Minutes 2013\January. John Putnam asked why long-term sustainability (carrying capacity) wasintheinformation category versusevaluation.Steve said staff wantedto outline thepracticescurrently in place fundamentallyand felt this wasbetter suited for theinformation piece. Allyn Feinberg said this is an issue for further discussion;however,hearing from the public first would be useful. Frances Hartogh asked whythe integration of science and Trail Study Area (TSA) planning wereunder the informationcategory.Steve said the intentwas to provide informationand context to the current process, but still wanted to allow for questions, adding that with an evaluation there is a defined policy. Mike said science is a substantial factor in developingpolicies; however,staff wantsto ensure that the communityand theBoard be clear on what staff is doing, as well as provide input to make sure staff is on the right track. Frances wanted to knowthedifference betweeninformation and evaluation. Mike said information is providing the Board with what staff is doing and evaluation is asking whether or not staff is doing it correctly. John said with evaluation staffknew something needed to be done and with information staff has the needed information and may or may not move forward. Steve said staffstarts withtheinformation and then seeswhat else needs to happen in order to move forward. Shelley asked how the OAIsincorporate the need for future TSA planning. Steve said the OAIscan help inform the TSA as it looks at the system as a whole, not as a quadrant. Mike added that council is also looking at the system as a whole and not by TSA. They have acknowledged that addressing the system by TSAsmay not be the best way,and where there are OAIs,thosewill apply system-wide. John said the OAIsdo not include for TSA planning, andwhile that is something thatneeds to be dealt with, it needs to be handled as a separate topic. Allyn said an issuethattheBoard dealswith isfindingabalancing point between uses and preservation on OSMP.She saidit becomes difficult to listen to all the voices so everyone issatisfied; staff needsto look at the nature of the resource and how to preserve it in the face of increased use. She said the question becomes how to keep the system sustainable in public viewand how to have community acceptance with limitations on use. She said there are alot of resources in the community that are not usually drawn into OSMP issues. She saidhaving information on how we do things is good start; however staff needsto bring in resources from the community that can give an outsidersview. She said staff should anticipate this kind of processand integratethe science into future TSA planning. John asked Allyn where she sees the carrying capacity and long-term sustainability issue headingand what the product wouldbe.Allyn said staff needsto focus more on what is key to preserveandhow much is too much.Frances said Boulder has excellent experts on climate and natural resources. She said she would like an expert to tell OSMPclimate wise what Open Spacewilllook likein the future. She said she would like to see staff using assets from outside of Open Space as part ofthis process. Shelley said she would like to have abetter understanding of the end goalregarding carrying capacity. She said the OSMP charter lists the goals and what they should beand staff could bringin community experts or scientific datathat is relevant to help withtheend goal. She asked about planning management practicesand what sustainability really means. John said the perception is there is a gapregarding AGENDA ITEM 1APAGE 2 carrying capacityand the sense is at some point something will need to happen. He said there is alot to be determinedandunderstandsit will take a few stepsto get there. He said it is important that the Board understands,as well as the public and council,where this isheading.He said the questionis how to convey this is heading somewhere,but show it is still intheearly stages. Steve said staff struggled on which category to put carrying capacityin.As it stands,it does not fit neatly into one of the existing categories. Staff wanted to hear input from the Board first,butagreethat it needs more clarity. John said this could be its own category. Steve agreed and said a lot will happen in order to define those steps. John said this issue needs to be bumped upin terms of it being flagged for action. Frances asked if, in regards to carrying capacity, staff has the data to show the impact people have had on Open Space. She asked what the baseline is for carrying capacity andwhen was Open Space at its healthiest. She said it is hard to define carrying capacity without knowing the starting point. Steve said this will be part of the conversation. He said staff will work with the Grassland or EcosystemPlanto showwhat current knowledge is and what is trying tobemaintained.He said Open Space might be beyond aplace awhere itcan be managedto pristinecondition, givensystem changes, but itcan still be sustainable/functioning. John asked if this is the sort of thing that would be contemplated before March. Steve said the initial intent was to draw from the Grassland Plan, and to collectwhatis already known. Mark Gershman saidstaff has beenlooking at ways other agencies have addressed carrying capacityand sustainability;staff hasused literature over the years that speaksto this.He said staff can incorporate their findingsinto the background informationand explain why theyadopted certain practices over others. Shelley said itwould be useful. John agreed and said it is helpful to have apreview of what staff seesin an information gathering session. He said other land managers andthe academic communityhave questions with how oneaddressesthis in an ever changing climate; how to get back to somethingin history when everything around it has changed.John said it isgood to know where to start and then sketchout apath to findthe baseline information. Mark said by the time there is another meetingstaff willbe able to describe the contours.Frances said this would be helpfuland to tweak the programs to limit the impact.She said she would hate to take this as asnapshot in timebecause hopefully the work that is being done will leave a healthier open space; for example areas around Chapman Drive are healthier now. Mike added that the Eco System and Grassland Plan give indication of where staffwantsto goandarun through of these would give perspectiveand an idea of what has been used in the past. Public Process for Chapman Drive Dean Paschall, Communication and Public Process Manager, gave a presentationon the public process for Chapman Drive. On Jan. 7, 2013, OSMP opened the lower portion of Chapman Drive Trail to equestrian, pedestrian and uphill-only bike travel. Throughout the months of January and February OSMP will conduct a public engagement process to explore the issues of visitors with dogs and multidirectional bicycle access. Staff will return to the Board in March with the result of community input and staff recommendations addressing these issues.This presentation is saved at S:OSMP\admin\minutes 2013\ January. Frances Hartogh asked if theface to face meetings were with individual groupsor all groups together. Dean said staff will meet with individual groups as itis less confrontational and more productive;staff can focus on individual items.He said there will be a larger open house in February. Frances asked if groups other than just Friends Interested in Dogs on Open Space(FIDOS) and Friends of Boulder Open Space (FOBOS) havebeen invited. Dean said staff is reaching out to the National Audubon Society and other conservation groups. Frances wanted to ensure that allmeetings would be equal. Mike Patton asked Dean to make sure staff reached out to Boulder County Nature Association (BCNA)and the National AudubonSociety. Frances said this may be worth doing like theCommunity Collaborative Group (CCG) did;bring in all the voices. AGENDA ITEM 1APAGE 3 ShelleyDunbarasked about the designation forChapman Drive, and isthis trail the boundary for a Habitat Conservation Area (HCA) and a natural area.Dean saidyes, fortheupper section. Shelley wanted to knowwhat happened with the lower section.She said she recalls the discussion saying the restof Chapman Drive was going to be part ofthetrail systemand thought it was understood thatwould be the boundary. Mike said staff and the Board recommended thisto councilhowever,when the motion was made,council left out that designation.When staff comes back to this, the designationwill need to be revisited.Staffconfirmed that the lower section; The TenderfootTrailand below,isanHCAand Tenderfoot up to Chapman Road is a boundary with HCA and natural area on both sides. The one exception is onthe new Schnell property, which is still undecided. Mike said when Schnell was bought, staff recommended it asanHCA, but council did not include it. Shelley said maps showing the current situation would be helpful.Mike said in Marchstaff will bring the recommendation on designationback to the Board. FrancesHartoghconfirmed that at the lastmeeting,failure to designate was not discussed. Mike said no,it was so clear that OSMPneeded to buythis property,councilstepped over this designation. Allyn Feinberg said this is a reasonable processand staff shouldencourage other organizations to come to a one-on-one meeting. Shelleyasked Dean ifthe open house in Ferbruarywould be advertised. He said yes, staff is looking for broad participation. John Putnam asked if thedepartment can provide all groups the same informationaswhat staff is looking at. Dean said staff hasalreadyresponded to these requests. Mikesaid staff willpackage information so everyone is getting the same information. Other Updates Dean Paschall updated the Board onchanges to the trail conditionand reportingpage on the OSMP website.He said starting soon there will be a new display on the web, as well asmore frequent and current trail conditions. Staff will be partaking in an “adopt a trail”program;reporting on the condition of key areas/trails.Staff thanked the Board for their interestin this topicand said they will see a change in the near future. John Putnam asked ifQuick Response (QR)codescould be used. Mike Patton said yes, some are up andstaff islooking at itfurther. He said this is a good way to get information; staff is also lookinginto social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Mike noted that QR codes would soon link to the OSMP art program. Shelley Dunbar asked if QR codes will link to the web pageand will theybe for educationas well as trail conditions.Dean said yes, QR codes can link directly to a specific page, they could link straight to the trail conditions page. Dean said Facebook is another way to manage the trail conditions page. He said OSMP has applied through the city to use Facebook, and aftera trial period linking with the city Facebook page, OSMP will have their ownpage.Dean said Facebook also allows for comments which can be helpful for trail conditions. Shelley said it would be a good idea to do some public relations (PR)around thissothe community is aware of the changes.Dean said this will happen when the projectbegins. Mike said he does notanticipate Facebook will be available in the near future. Mike gave an update on Longs Gardenand said council will be talking about this during their retreat process.He said council initially decided after aconversation that this was not anOpen Space project. Mikeis working with Doug Newcomb, withdirection from the city manager, to havethis property appraised. Mike said they have found an appraiser,but he is very busy. Staff has met with the Long family, who is interested in a Conservation Easement (CE). He said the requirements of who can appraise when dealing with a CE are stricter, which is making things take longer. Staff will meet with the Long family again on February 16and hopefully canpresentanofferby the middle of February. John asked if this is something that will be coming out of other budgets within the city. Mike said it looks as though it willnotbe funded through Open Space. Mike previewed the topicspertaining to Open Spacethatwill appear on the agenda for the CityCouncil study session:sustainable agriculture, regional trail connections, Longs Gardenand oil and gas issues. AGENDA ITEM 1APAGE 4 Mike also mentioned Xcel Energy is putting a new power line along Highway 72 to Eldorado Springs; staff will provide more details to the Board in March. Public Comment None Matters from the Board AGENDA ITEM 4 – Frances Hartogh asked if staff isconcerned about the oil and gas clause regarding not developing. Mike Patton saidhebelievesstaff is in good shape, but will find out and bring an answer back to the Board. Shelley Dunbar asked for an update on the coyote issue. Mike said staff is working with the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW)and the urban wildlife coordinator. He said the problem is people arefeeding the coyotes; last year CPWdealtwith this issueby hazing and education. Mike saidstaff, working with CPW, would like to try this process again. CPW may direct staff to haze more coyotes than last yearwith the intent to keep themaway from the trails. Shelley asked if staff would be involved ifa coyote neededto be destroyed.Mike said no, but the CPW should notify staff when this happens. Frances asked if there was signagewhere the coyotes are on the Boulder Creek Path.Dean Paschall said coyote information is on astandalone sign, and is very clear and includes hazards.He said staff has done what theycan to educatethe public.Shelley asked if Val Matheson is compiling urban interactions; she thinks that staff and the Boardshouldbe aware of all interactions.Mike said so far there have been roughly twelveinstances over a twoyear period; each with different levels or degrees ofinteraction.He said there were enough circumstances to warrant the same approach this year as last. Shelley asked aboutthenext steps and the Board schedule for remainingTSAs.Mike said some of this will be informed by OAIprocess.He said there are a lot of things with the OAI that could affect the TSA processsuch as regional trail connections and theproperty purchaseat Joder Arabian Ranch. He said staff will need to get a feeling from council as well as gather information from the public process. Shelley requestedthat there be a time frame. John Putnam said there should be a logical place after the OAI for this to happen. Mike said staff will add this. Public Comment None ADJOURNMENT –The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. These draft minutes were prepared by Leah Case. AGENDA ITEM 1APAGE 5