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SCTF 07-24-01 City of Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study Aproved Minutes of Meeting Stevens Creek Trail Task Force Study Area D - Trail Alignment Meeting Tuesday, July 24, 2001 ATTENDANCE: Task Force Members Present Susie Brain, Friends of Stevens Creek Trail John Buenz, Meadows Home Owners Association John Giovanola, Hanson Permanente Cement David Greenstein, Cupertino Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Mary Jo Gunderson, Linda Vista Neighborhood (late arrival) Ann Cleaver, Meadows Home Owners Association Dave Constant, Cupertino Swim & Racquet Club Scott Hathaway, Deep Cliff Golf Course (late arrival) Beez Jones, Stevens Creek Canyon Homeowners Richard Lowenthal, Cupertino City Council Chuck Noble, Scenic Circle Neighborhood Task Force Members Absent Jeanne Bradford, Cupertino Parks and Recreation Commission Craig Breon, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society Steve Haze, Cupertino Historical Society John Kolski, Stevens Creek Quarry Staff Members Therese Ambrosi Smith, Director, Parks and Recreation Mike O'Dowd, Recreation Supervisor, Blackberry Farm Marie Preston, Parks and Recreation Admin. Secretary Consultant Jana Sokale, Environmental Planner II. III. Call to Order David Greenstein, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. June 26 Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved 10 -0 -1 (Lowenthal abstaining due to absence at the June meeting). Oral Communications (items not on the agenda) - None Page 1 City of Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study IV. Old Business Study Area D - Selection of Trail Alignments Jana Sokale gave an overview of the proposed Study Area Trail Alignments, and touched on the Trail Alignment Recommendations and correspondence received. Public Comments Charles Varian stated his private land is incorrectly marked as public property on the maps. Steve Paterson, 10106 Crescent Court, questioned the need to have the trail going through neighborhoods, does not like the idea of a traffic light at Phar Lap, has concerns with tunnel, and concerned about level of water during rainy season. Robina Vandersteen, 10401 Phar Lap Drive opposed to Varian Spur and brought flood photos from 1955. Lynn Bonnicelli, 10191 Phar Lap Drive opposed to Varian Spur, not in favor of signal at Phar Lap. Paul Metz is in favor of an off-street trail alignment with grade-separations. Max Bokelman opposed to Scenic Circle neighborhood connection that he believes would provide open, direct access and result in Scenic Circle functioning as a staging area. He turned in a declaration by 26 residents against neighborhood access provided by the pedestrian/bicycle bridge. Michael Ludwig, 10472 Scenic Circle is in favor of trail, wants way to get around without a car. Cornelia Woodworth, Linda Vista neighbor in favor of the trail if done correctly. Kevin Jackson, 1557 Fraser Drive, Sunnyvale is in favor of trails, especially those that are off-street. Ann Ng, 6031 Bollinger Road is an advocate of off-street trails on public land. Art Robert, Phar Lap Drive resident is opposed to Varian Spur. Page 2 City of Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study Key Reis, 22065 Clearwood Court is opposed to any trail and wants to change General Plan. Theresa Horng is fearful 'that trail will bring strangers, transients, trash, increased traffic to Phar Lap neighborhood. She noted that Sunnyvale and Los Altos excluded trail through their cities. Lyman Black, 10338 Scenic Boulevard is opposed to trail and concerned about trails in backyards. He believes the trail is an incompatible use. Tom Frankum, 1613 Montalto Drive, Mountain View spoke of the trail as a community and neighborhood asset in Mountain View. He noted that the Stevens creek trail is now highlighted in real estate ads. Greg Anderson, 10022 Scenic Boulevard is the secretary of the Oak Meadows Homeowners Association. He spoke as an individual and representative of HOA mostly in favor of trail and Task Force. He gave some recommendations. Joe Walton, 21721 Columbus Avenue, member of Cupertino Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the Valley Transportation Bicycle Advisory Committee. He is in favor of non-motorized transportation benefits provided by trails. He believes the Task Force needs to work smart to build an effective system. Larry Loo, Scenic Circle is opposed to trail and deferred to Max Bokelman. Steve Moody questioned what type of gate might be installed on the pedestrian/bicycle bridge proposed as the Scenic Circle neighborhood access point. He also asked if the pedestrian/bicycle bridge would preclude use of the existing access gate to Blackberry Farm. Don Bautista asked why the trail couldn't go through the Hanson- Permanente quarry to connect the two county parks. Tim Isbell, 10372 Scenic Circle likes the gate at Scenic Circle and supportive of trail. Timothy Misko, 10332 Scenic Circle is opposed to trail but not the current Scenic Circle access gate. Page 3 City of Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study Skip Shepard, 10010 Scenic Boulevard shared concerns about the tunnel at Stevens Creek, trail near the golf course, habitat and homeowner privacy. Ross Finlayson, 397 Hope St., Mountain View talked about the asset of the trail to Mountain View residents and the increased home values. Patty Ciesla, resident of Los Altos Hills is a supporter of trails for individuals, residents, and the community. Mrs. Middleton, 22044 Creekside Court is concerned about the great blue heron and egrets that currently reside in area, and about users of the trail getting into the creek. Jay Tucker, 10364 Creston Drive is opposed to the trail today and feels it should have been done 40 years ago. Hamid Ghafari, Phar Lap resident has been robbed twice. He is concerned with annual flooding of area, especially near Blue Pheasant and has an additional petition of 130 signatures opposing Varian Park spur. Alex Tsai, 21975 San Fernando Avenue opposes trail for family security reasons. John Brazil, Mountain View resident is in favor of trails. He encouraged Cupertino residents to come and see the many homes along Mountain View's Stevens Creek Trail. He believes the trail has decreased litter and crime along the creek corridor. Steve Beard, 10012 Scenic Boulevard is concerned about trail impacts to the Stocklmeir estate and arboretum, impacts on wildlife and is against the ramp and tunnel beneath Stevens Creek Boulevard. Dan Martin, 22035 Creekside Court is opposed to the Varian Park spur. He asked the Task Force to get the Cupertino Union School District involved in the trail planning process. John Wetzel, 22323 Bahl Street is supportive of the Varian Park spur and the trail in general. He believes his children would use the trail to get to Kennedy Junior High School. He would like to see a police bike patrol on the trail. Gary Beach, Stocklmeir Court is concerned with privacy issues and trail going through orange orchard. Page 4 City of Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study Responses to Public Comments from |ana Sokale · Proposed Stocklmeir pedestrian/bicycle bridge is within golf course. · Underpass below Stevens Creek Boulevard was rejected due to engineering infeasibilities such as bridge structure, abutment placement, and curvature of creek, location of the Meadows neighborhood; regular flooding was not an issue. · There are concerns about the Stocklmeir arboretum and estate, which will be addressed in feasibility report. · Concern over preventing people from walking north once they got to Stevens Creek Blvd. - creek bed site offers a huge drop with tons of trashing offering no way for pedestrian traffic to go. Regarding the herons and egrets, data is being collected to address this sensitive habitat. · Regarding a way to connect Rancho San Antonio County Park to Stevens Creek County Park, it was not in the Task Force's scope of work to evaluate this trail connection. However, the vast majority of the land is in quarry operations and there is no public ownership of the land. It would be difficult to put a trail through that area even with trail easements. Ms. Sokale is waiting for additional input from the County on this matter. · The proposed Scenic Circle neighborhood access point could be a gated pedestrian/bicycle bridge. There is a possibility this would create open, public access, which would potentially provide a parking problem in that area. A possible solution is a cardkey access or combination lock. · Task Force process is to make recommendations for a written feasibility report and develop an environmental assessment report. These will go forward to the Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, and eventually the City Council. · The redwoods will not be automatically sacrificed for the alignment through McClellan Ranch. · The Byrne Road alignment option has been reviewed. This would be a street experience and not a creekside experience. Public parkland is a better opportunity for the trail. · Crossing at Stevens Creek Boulevard will be necessary even if the Varian Park spur is eliminated in order to safely position bicyclists in the proper travel lanes on the street. · The Task Force is well aware of the flooding along the Stevens Creek. Any trail underpass would be closed temporarily during flooding. · The property that was stated as being owned by Charles Varian will be investigated. · There are ways to build a trail that would allow the trail to flood without expensive repairs, and the Water District will be involved in the process. Page 5 City of Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study · Concreting the creek bed in flood areas will not happen. Jana Sokale responded to various clarifying questions by the Task Force. Action: A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed to: 1. Have a bridge from the golf course across to the Stocklmeir orchard, which would be no closer than 100 feet from the property line of the Meadows of Cupertino 2. That the alignment of the trail move between the orange grove and the creek emerging at the Stocklmeir home 3. That the tunnel option under Stevens Creek Blvd. be eliminated from consideration 4. An alternative to the signal light at Phar Lap be studied Action: A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed to table discussions on the Varian Park spur until the property ownership issue is resolved. Action: A motion was made, second, and passed 6 to 5 (no abstentions) in favor of eliminating the Scenic Circle neighborhood access pedestrian/bicycle bridge from further discussion. Action Reaffirmation: A motion was made, Seconded and unanimously passed to reaffirm the motion made to pursue the east bank alignment to Blackberry Farm. Jana Sokale did a recap of the actions. New Business 1. Trail Funding Report - tabled VI. Next Steps 1. August mailing to Linda Vista neighborhood and SCT Task Force: Jana reported that a Frequently Asked Questions mailing that addresses concerns by the Linda Vista neighborhood will go out in August. 2. On September 19, the Task Force will be meeting with the Linda Vista neighborhood. 3~. October 2, the Task Force meets to discuss Area C. 4. October 30, the Task Force will meet to review the trail funding report, the habitat restoration report and the proposed trail maintenance and operations plan. Page 6 City of Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Study VII. Announcements - Jana $okale announced that each Task Force member received a copy of the California Trails and Greenwavs Conference brochure being held September $ and 9. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m. The next trail meeting will be September 19 with the Linda Vista neighborhood regarding Study Area C. The next Task Force Meeting will be held Octobers. ~espectfully submitted, Marie Preston, Recording Secretary Approved at the October 2, 2001 meeting Page 7