Parks and Recreation Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes Parks and Recreation Commission Wednesday, November 11, 2015 7:00 PM Council Chambers, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Chair Pasqua called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. in the Council Chambers. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Pasqua led the salute to the flag. ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Chair Craig Pasqua Vice Chair Ralph Kenton Commissioner Henry Alexander III Commissioner Robert Pochowski Council Liaison Davis (present) PRESENTATION 15-0846 Teen Advisory Committee Presentation President Kevin Chan and Vice President Anjuli Corzine of the Teen Advisory Committee reported on their goals of increasing committee visibility; recruiting for the fall committee vacancies; and conducting nine special events. They answered Commissioners' questions regarding publicity; the schools with which they work; the number of hours volunteered by teens; and the challenges to recruiting new members. 15-0955 Friends of Stevens Creek Trail Annual Report Vice President of Friends of Stevens Creek Trail (FOSCT), Garth Williams reported on their activities during the year. During the last year FOSCT partnered with Acterra for Greenfingers (a habitat restoration program); conducted work days on the trail; held the 31st Trailblazer Race; provided Creekopedia (an education tool) to DeAnza students; and conducted community outreach. Additionally, four members participated on the Joint Cities Working Team Feasibility Study. He City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes November 11, 2015 shared a video showing Mountain View residents who support the Stevens Creek Trail. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1A 15-0981 Draft Minutes of September 9, 2015. Vice Chair Kenton moved and Commissioner Pochowski seconded the motion to approve the consent calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Chair Pasqua Vice Chair Kenton Commissioner Pochowski No: 0 Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Alexander III PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 15-0900 Support the Preferred Alignment of the Stevens Creek Trail as Recommended by the Joint Cities Working Team Assistant City Manager Kent Steffens presented the staff report. He noted that this is the beginning of a process. If approved, it will require permits and difficult construction along the creek. To complete parts of the trail could take another 5-10 years. He responded to the Commissioners' questions. In response to Commissioner Pochowski's question about alternatives to Segment 2, he explained that the Working Team needs more information to consider further alternatives. In response to Commissioner Alexander's questions about effects on the environment, he explained CEQA requirements will be met in any future studies, including environmental impacts such as additional carbon emissions from idling cars due to increased congestion. He addressed Vice Chair Kenton's question about the feasibility of an elevated path. He answered Commissioner Alexander's question about the types of support the City, which has no financial obligation, can offer. He answered Chair Pasqua's questions regarding public safety on the trail. He also addressed how the City is working with partners to expedite the process. He indicated that there was no attempt to summarize Appendix C - Summary of Public Comments. Chair Pasqua opened Public Comments. City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes November 11, 2015 Vivian Euzent spoke in opposition to alignment on Bernardo Avenue due to traffic issues, and provided pictures of the current congestion. She is opposed to disrupting the neighborhood when there is no alignment beyond Homestead Road. She also expressed disappointment that emails were not categorized. She uses the Stevens Creek Trail and supports the recommendations in Segment 1. Angela Huang spoke in opposition to the proposed path on Bernardo Avenue due to safety concerns, traffic, limited parking, and her opinion that users of the path would not experience a connection with nature, like they can on the trail in Mt. View. Anne Ng spoke in support of the Stevens Creek Trail. She is a board member of Friends of Stevens Creek Trail and was in a citizens work group on the Joint Cities Working Team. She shared her own informal categorization of the public comments. She also thanked the City for being the lead City for the study, and expressed hope that residents could see it differently and that it might simplify the traffic flow. Bruce Euzent spoke in opposition to the proposed path on Bernardo Avenue because the school district boundaries end at Fremont Avenue and students don't need to connect Bernardo Avenue across West Fremont Avenue. He attended both the Cupertino and Sunnyvale Joint Cities Work Group public meetings and observed that local residents were supportive of the path on public property but opposed to a trail on streets. He said the consultant also expressed that building a trail on the road is not preferred. Kathleen Cordova spoke in response to the video shown by FOSCT, about the sense of community that already exists in the neighborhood around the proposed path on Bernardo Avenue. She expressed concern that the path would not solve traffic problems and explained that students living on the north side of Bernardo do not cross West Fremont Avenue to attend school, and therefore, do not benefit from a bridge over West Fremont Avenue. There were no further speakers and Chair Pasqua closed Public Comments. Vice Chair Kenton moved and Commissioner Pochowski seconded the motion to approve staff's recommendation: Alternatives 1, 2(a), 3, 4, and 5: 1. Support the recommended alignment of the JCWT in Study Segment 1 (Dale Avenue/Heatherstone Way to Fremont Avenue). This includes an off-street trail City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes November 11, 2015 along the 22 acres of open space along State Route (SR) 85 from Dale Avenue/Heatherstone Way to Fremont Avenue, and connections at Fremont Avenue, on both sides of SR 85. Collaborate with Mountain View to seek out grant funding for the master planning, environment review, and potential construction. 2. (a) Upon completing environmental review and securing funding for potential construction of Study Segment 1, initiate a comprehensive traffic and parking study for an off-street bicycle/pedestrian trail on Bernardo Avenue for Study Segment 2 (Fremont Avenue to Homestead Road). If the traffic study indicates that an off-street facility is desirable as determined by the Sunnyvale City Council, then proceed to seek grant funding for trail master planning, environment review and potential construction of Study Segment 2. 3. Collaborate with Cupertino and Los Altos to seek out grant funding for the master planning, environmental review, and construction of Study Segment 3 (Homestead Road to Stevens Creek Boulevard) improvements at Homestead Road (i.e., the Homestead Road bridge widening or Homestead Road pedestrian/bike bridge). 4. Support our regional partners as they pursue funding for closing the gap for the Stevens Creek Trail between Mountain View and Cupertino. 5. In an effort to achieve the regional goal of extending the Stevens Creek Trail the City will support and adopt the following policies as identified in the JCWT recommendation summary: a. All trail projects should try to improve habitat values in and around the Creek. b. Existing public lands near Stevens Creek should be maintained as public land to preserve habitat and future trail opportunities. c. The City will continue collaboration with regional partners for extension of the Stevens Creek Trail. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Pasqua Vice Chair Kenton Commissioner Alexander III Commissioner Pochowski No: 0 Commissioners expressed their support of Alternative 1. While they had some concerns about Alternative 2(a), they were in favor of further study as recommended. They also were in favor of Alternatives 3, 4 and 5 so that the efforts towards the trail could continue to move forward. The Commission would like to advise Council that Alternative 2(a) [comprehensive City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes November 11, 2015 traffic and parking study] should take into account the traffic patterns involved on Bernardo to make it friendlier to traffic and the environment. 3 15-1011 Review and Rank Study Issues Superintendent of Parks and Golf James Stark provided the staff report on study issue DPW 16-07, Golf Course Land Use Options and Opportunities. He answered Commissioners' questions about what the study would include, and the current efforts to increase revenue. Chair Pasqua opened the public hearing. There were no public comments and he closed the public hearing. Commissioner Pochowski moved and Vice Chair Kenton seconded the motion to Rank Study Issue DPW 16-07 number one. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4 - Chair Pasqua Vice Chair Kenton Commissioner Alexander III Commissioner Pochowski No: 0 Commissioners expressed interest in keeping a golf course in Sunnyvale, and did not support selling the land. They supported a study to identify additional options for the land. 4 15-0886 Annual Review of Code of Ethics and Conduct for Elected and Appointed Officials Superintendent of Community Services Daniel Wax provided an overview of the Code of Ethics and Conduct. Commissioners had no questions. Chair Pasqua opened the public hearing. There were no public comments and he closed the public hearing. Vice Chair Kenton moved and Commissioner Alexander III seconded the motion to approve passing the Code of Ethics and Conduct on to Council and supporting it. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes November 11, 2015 Yes: 4 - Chair Pasqua Vice Chair Kenton Commissioner Alexander III Commissioner Pochowski No: 0 5 STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES None. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Commissioner Alexander III suggested the Commissioners conduct outreach at neighborhood associations. Superintendent Wax committed to providing Commissioners with information about the neighborhood associations and their meetings. Commissioner Pochowski announced that AYSO has been permitted to use the fields for their tournament in December. He thanked staff. -Staff Comments Superintendent Wax provided information about upcoming events: - Evenings of Cultural Arts will present LoveNotes on 11/28 in the Sunnyvale Theatre - Sunnyvale Community Players presents Evita from 11/7-11/22 in the Sunnyvale Theatre - The Creative Arts Center is hosting a Pottery Sale from 12/4-12/5, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. - The Senior Center will host Breakfast with Santa on 12/5 ADJOURNMENT Chair Pasqua adjourned the meeting at 9:19 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 6