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Home My WebLink About01-16-2024 PEBTAC Agenda Packet SARATOGA PEDESTRIAN, EQUESTRIAN & BICYCLE TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA January 16, 2024 DATE: January 16, 2024 TIME: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM LOCATION: Administrative Conference Room 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 Public Participation Information In accordance with Saratoga City Council’s Remote Public Participation Policy, members of the public may participate in this meeting in person at the location listed below or via remote attendance using the Zoom information below. Members of the public can view and participate in the meeting by: 1. Attending the meeting in person at the City Hall Linda Callon Conference Room, located at 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070; OR 2. Accessing the meeting through Zoom • Webinar URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84716778216 • Webinar ID: 847 1677 8216 • Call In: 1.408.638.0968 or 1.669.900.6833 (enter the Webinar ID provided above when prompted) Public Comment Members of the public may comment on any item for up to three (3) minutes. The amount of time for public comment may be reduced by the Chair or by action of the Traffic Safety Commission. Public Comment will begin with speakers attending in-person first followed by those attending via Zoom. As always, members of the public can send written comments to the Commission prior to the meeting by commenting online at www.saratoga.ca.us/pebtac prior to the start of the meeting. These emails will be provided to the members of the Commission and will become part of the official record of the meeting. During the meeting the Chair will explain the process for members of the public to be recognized to offer public comment. 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call: Stallman, Li, Miller, Swan, Waltonsmith; City Liaison Burkhalter 3. Report on Posting of the Agenda: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on January 12, 2024. 4. Accept Agenda Items and Order: No additional items may be added pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. 5. Approval of Minutes. 10-17-2023 PEBTAC Minutes – Draft Recommended Action: Approve October 2023 Minutes 6. Oral and Written Communication: Any member of the public may address the Committee about any matter not on the agenda for this meeting for up to three minutes. Committee Members may not comment on the matter but may choose to place the topic on a future agenda. 7. Staff Report A. Pending Trails Update B. Traffic Safety Update C. Blue Hills Elementary Pedestrian Crossing at Union Pacific Railroad Update D. Saratoga Village to Hakone Gardens Trail Update E. Hakone Gardens to Quarry Park Trail Gap Closure – Phase I Update F. Pierce Road Trail Update G. Upcoming CIP Projects 8. Old Business A. Trail Naming Process Recommended Action: Come up with a trail naming process. 9. New Business A. Mechanical and Non-Pesticide Weed Abatement Grant (DPR Alliance 2024 Grant Program Application) Draft Letter Recommended Action: Approve draft letter of support from PEBTAC for grant application. 10. Member Reports (information only, no actions to be taken) 11. Action Items Summary 12. Adjournment Certificate of Posting of Agenda: I, Emma Burkhalter, Associate Engineer for the City of Saratoga, declare that the foregoing agenda for the meeting of the Pedestrian, Equestrian and Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee of the City of Saratoga was posted on January 12, 2024, at the office of the City of Saratoga, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 and was available for public review at that location. The agenda is also available on the City’s website at www.saratoga.ca.us. In accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, copies of the staff reports and other materials provided to the Pedestrian, Equestrian and Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee by City staff in connection with this agenda are available at the office of the City Manager at 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, California 95070. Any materials distributed by staff after the posting of the agenda are made available for public review at the office of the City Manager at the time they are distributed to the Pedestrian, Equestrian and Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee. SARATOGA PEDESTRIAN, EQUESTRIAN & BICYCLE TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE DRAFT MINUTES October 17, 2023 DATE: October 17, 2023 TIME: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM LOCATION: Administrative Conference Room 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call: PRESENT: Jim Stallman, Ping Li, Howard Miller, Ann Waltonsmith ABSENT: Marianne Swan STAFF PRESENT: Emma Burkhalter 3. Report on Posting of the Agenda: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on October 12, 2023. 4. Accept Agenda Items and Order: No additional items may be added pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. 5. Approval of Minutes. 07-18-2023 PEBTAC Minutes – Draft Recommended Action: Approve July 2023 Minutes MILLER/WALTONSMITH MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. MOTION PASSED (4-0-0-1). AYES: STALLMAN, MILLER, LI, WALTONSMITH. NOES: NONE. ABSTAIN: NONE. ABSENT: SWAN. 6. Oral and Written Communication: Any member of the public may address the Committee about any matter not on the agenda for this meeting for up to three minutes. Committee Members may not comment on the matter but may choose to place the topic on a future agenda. 7. Staff Report A. Pending Trails Update None. B. Traffic Safety Update RRFBs being installed at four crosswalks in Saratoga. Early efforts to begin implementing Safe Routes to School Master Plan projects. C. Blue Hills Elementary Pedestrian Crossing at Union Pacific Railroad Update City to continue working with UPRR to get Phase I plans approved. D. Saratoga Village to Hakone Gardens Trail Update Staff submitted preliminary application to Caltrans and received “conditional approval”. The next step is for staff to submit the project to MTC and then back to Caltrans to request authorization to begin using the grant funds. E. Upcoming CIP Projects None. 8. Old Business A. Hakone Gardens to Quarry Park Trail Gap Closure – Phase I Recommended Action: None. 9. New Business B. Trail Naming Process Recommended Action: Come up with a trail naming process. Staff to look into existing naming processes, including Saratoga’s process for naming buildings and County Parks’s trail naming committee and process. C. Pierce Road Trail Recommended Action: None. Staff to ask County about the status of their parcel next to Quarry Park. 10. Member Reports (information only, no actions to be taken) Li: Odd Fellows Cemetery trail looks good. Miller: request for more doggy stations/trash cans on Joe’s Trail; suggests adding a sign at entrance to Quarry Park to explain lack of trash cans. Stallman: San Jose is implementing Safe Routes to School projects at a rate of three schools per year. 11. Action Items Summary 12. Adjournment – 5:13 pm Respectfully Submitted by Emma Burkhalter, Public Works staff for the City of Saratoga Incorporated October 22, 1956 CITY OF SARATOGA 13777 FRUITVALE AVENUE • SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA 95070 • (408) 868-1200 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Belal Aftab Kookie Fitzsimmons Chuck Page Tina Walia Yan Zhao January 16, 2024 Department of Pesticide Regulation Alliance Grant Committee 1001 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Subject: Support Letter for City of Saratoga DPR Alliance 2024 Grant Program Application Dear Grant Selection Committee, I am writing this letter to express enthusiastic support for the City of Saratoga’s application to the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) Alliance 2024 Grant Program. If awarded, these funds would allow Saratoga to test the feasibility of a mechanical and non-pesticide weed abatement pilot program to maintain its park trails. As an avid trail user and Chair of the City’s Pedestrian, Equestrian, and Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee (PEBTAC), I am aware that Saratoga’s park trails are frequently used by outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. I am pleased that Saratoga is exploring a non-pesticide weed abatement program to protect our natural environment and our trail users from exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. This grant funding removes the high-cost obstacle that has prevented small local municipalities from switching to non-pesticide and mechanical weed abatement alternatives. On behalf of the PEBTAC members, I strongly support the City’s proposed project and urge the grant selection committee to approve the City’s application to receive the DPR Alliance 2024 Grant Program. To help with community outreach, PEBTAC members will work with city staff to help educate our trail users either through signage installation or public meetings about the proposed non-pesticide method for weed abatement at its park trails. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Jim Stallman Chair, PEBTAC