01-04-1999 Parks & Recreation Agenda packetSaratoga Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
Administrative Offices, City Hall
13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga
Monday, January 4, 1999
7:30pm
AGENDA
Organization
A) Roll Call: Alberts, Clabeaux, Friedrich, Ioannou, Olsen, Swan,
Whitney
B) Report on Posting of the Agenda:
Pursuant to Government Code 54954.2 the agenda was properly posted on
December 30, 1998 L l
c) Approval of November 2, 1998 Minutes �}D► G�YLt,1fIOl I(,V(Ti�
II. Administration
A) Introduction of New Commissioner - Judy Alberts
B) Former Commissioner Crotty Recognition - Arrangements ?
C) Tour of Parks & Recreation Facilities —VOW WWAAM vtad W U-k
D) Park Development Fund - Monthly Financial Repo t
E) City Council - 1999 Meeting Calendar
III. Oral & Written Communication
This section is for the public to speak on any item Not on the
�Q agenda
IV. Old Business
A) Restrooms at Wildwood Park- Approve vendor
B) Kevin Moran & Gardiner Parks/ Play Equipment - Select vendor
Q Trail Related Issues- Update from Trail Sub - committee
D) Grant Request for Trail Improvements- Terri Baron
V. New Business
None
VI. Commissioner & Staff Reports
A) Commissioner Reports
B) City Hall Update - Irene Jacobs 5tfiokm Skt&
c) Recreation Department Status Report - Joan Pisani
VII. Adjournment
MEMORANDUM
Date: October 19, 1998
To: Lisa Payne
From: Marianne Swan, Subcommitty Cha6for City Trails, Saratoga Parks &
Recreation Commission /Roj
Re: Memo from Irene Jacobs, staff liaison to Parks & Recreation Commission, dated
October 13, 1998, Payne Property, 21789 Villa Oaks Lane - Lot 18
As per our conversation last night, October 18, 1998, regarding the above mentioned
memo and your letter to James Walgren, the following has been agreed upon between us:
1. Improve the easement along the left side of the driveway from where the trail leaves
the driveway (see site plan) with asphaltic chips firmly pressed into place or
decomposed granite, and wood headers at a width of four feet (see master plan).
2. Beginning at the first front left corner, increase the 4 foot width gradually to an eight
foot width by the first set of trees and continue to the end of the trail easement along
the north property line. There shall be a curb cut at the point where the trail meets the
driveway, if a curb is used.
3. Trail has to be put in place within the trail easement and not encroached upon by
bushes or trees.
4. Trail marker can be as unobtrusive as the ones used on Mt Eden Road.
5. Regarding headers, asphaltic chips and shavings; headers and asphaltic chips are
necessary in regards to Master Plan Guidelines.
6. The City may provide materials as available. Please contact John Cherbone at 868-
2443
cc: James Walgren
Irene Jacobs
Parks & Recreation Commission
Terri Baron
MEMORANDUM
Date: November 17, 1998
To: Ed Cornell
From: Marianne Swan, Subcommittee Chair for City Trails, Saratoga Parks &
Recreation Commission � ,
Re: November 15, 1998 site visit to Cornell Property, Deer Creek Court — Lot 23
After reviewing correspondence between trail users and the City of Saratoga dating as far
back as 1980 regarding Mt. Eden Estates and discussing the surfacing of the trail with
current users and James Walgren, Director of Community Development, the following is
required:
1. Improve an eight ft wide, all weather trail section within the 15 ft trail easement
recorded on your site plan with decomposed granite or asphaltic chips firmly pressed
into place, and wood headers at a width of eight feet (see Master Plan). This is
required by the Master Plan due to the adobe clay environment.
2. No encroachment of bushes or trees within the eight ft wide improved trail.
3. The bridge to be put in to place can be of similar construction as on the Teerlink
Property (I can show you 741 - 0322).
4. We encourage you to work together with the Douglas family, so that you can share
costs. James Walgren will place a phone call to the Douglas family.
You may begin these improvements immediately. Prior to occupancy, members of the
Trail Committee will review your adherence to the above required trail improvements.
cc: James Walgren
Irene Jacobs
Parks & Recreation Commission
Terri Baron
1OD
Creekside trail plan
unveiled to public
0 TRAIL
1Om Page 12D
end, the trail would connect to ti
Bay Trail,
Trail.
a proposede loo
Fi om there, users could
connect 1 trail Proponent Kevin the Guadalupe Inver , which i
�`r connects
Moore also epointed out that both
to the Los Gatos Cree
In-
tel and 3Com have their he Among destinations close G
an the San Tomas Aquino trail
jers along the trail "I'd
la are Grea
that they're both o' Y money America, the Santa Clara Golf Club
to make some
donations," he said
After the public comment
the Mercado movie complex anc
Sunnyvale Baylands Park
ends next week, the mod Shriber determined that the miti-
be incorporated into thesponses will gation measures
and the "negative declaration P�
proposed would
significant effect on
the environment
he environment,
quired under the California
mental Quality Act. Thean al docu-
final docu-
e requiring
requiring the prep
aration of the document known as a
menu will be
m and the Presented to the coun-
three cities,
negative declaration but not of a full
environmental impact report
Probably in
the spring, Shriber said
Among the larger effects for which
The concept of such a streamside
rnside
the draft Plan Proposes mitigation
trail has been in Santa Clara's
al Plan since the 1950s, Moore
are erosion, change in surface water
and impact on wetland habi-
said.
In 1992, some Santa Clara residents
tarsty
and that city's parks
urged the county to begin commission
Of special concern to planners
was the burrowing owl, which has
ing the idea, and the bo d of suit-
visors appointed
been seen near San Tom Aquino
Creek though not
a 15irnember
Streamside Park Committee.
on the specific
Path of the traiL If owls move into
In 1996, during the feasibility
rtudY, the water district and the
would take corridor, constriction
wool Place outside breeding
city
>f Santa Clara opened for recreation
he levees of San Tomas
season, and the birds may also have
to moved.
Aquino
%reek between Highway 237 and the
Plan also considers the nest- I
ing
seasons of swallows at the north-
The Expressway ern end of the trail and
The plan envisions the trail as who I
one may settle in 20 Monterey
tarrd in a large network of non -mo- scheduled to be removed
travel routes.
north near Mon-
At its north roe Avenue in Santa Clara i
14,trG(Ar54 F14LJZ) i2.0SVi 3
Rec reation trail
moves from paper
to public forum
�'rapased
Sm umas
MERCURY NEWS
GETTING HEARD
BY SUSAN STEADE
Mercury News Staff Writer
After six years of work, a plan
for a 121/4 mile bike-and-foot trail
from West San Jose to the bay -
lands is being put before the pub-
lic.
A hearing Monday evening will
solicit responses to the proposal
for the San Tomas Aquino/Sarato-
ga Creek Trail. Comments can al-
so be mailed or faxed by next
Thursday to the project manager.
The mute starts at the Westgate
area of San Jose, rums roughly par-
allel to Lawrence Expressway,
then cuts over to San Tomas Aqui-
no Creek at Cabrillo Avenue. The
northern section follows the creek
to Highway 237 near Great Ameri-
ca Parkway. A little more than five
miles is on a pathway separated
from motor traffic; the rest of it
follows city streets.
The estimated project cost of al-
most $17 million covers not only
the trail — 12-foot-wide asphalt,
with soft shoulders — but bridges
and underpasses, improvement of
six "staging areas," and measures
to reduce the trail's effect on near-
by residents and the environment.
Santa Clara County has paid for
the feasibility study, finished in
1996, and the newly completed
master plan and environmental re-
port. "It's expected that the re-
spective jurisdictions" — San Jo-
se, Cupertino and Santa Clara —
"will pay for the building of the
trail," said project manager Ruth
Shriber, a park planner with the
county's Parks and Recreation De-
partment.
Shriber pointed to the Stevens
Creek Trail as a model of fundrais-
ing. Its supporters have aggres-
sively pursued grants as well as
raising money through a non -profit
group, Fiiends of Stevens Creek
See TRAIL, Page 10D
• Monday's public hearing is from 7 to 9 p.m. in the clubhouse of
Lick Mill Paris, 4759 Lick Mill Blvd., between Tasman Drive and
Montague Expressway in Santa Clara.
• Written comments will by accepted until 5 p.m. next Thursday
by Project Manager Ruth Shiber, Santa Clara County Parks
Department, 298 Garden Hill Drive, Los Gatos, Calif., 95032;
fax (408) 358 -3245.
• The draft master plan is available for review at the reference
sections of Santa Clara's central and Mission libraries, San Jo-
se's main library, Santa Clara's Department of Public Works,
and the Santa Clara County parks department in Los Gatos.
Not all Marshall Lane
residents want _fields
The misleading .headline ".Parents,
sports leaguers voice support for play field
plans," in the Dec. 9 issue of the.SARATO-
GA NEWS is biased.
The people who spoke at the Dec. 2 City
Council meeting were mostly from other
cities, not Saratoga. Your -story neglected
to mention that 60 immediate neighbors
to Marshall Lane School signed a petition
against sports fields at Marshall Lane for
good reasons. Your reporter was at the.
Marshall Lane meeting and knew the facts.
Good, reporting demands that you state
all sides of -the issue. -
ELLEN.MARSHALt:_
Saratoga
rl
LE MRS
1 RS
Heritage.Park would
make good playfield
If we can't look back to the good old
days when we picked prunes and such,
as the editorial in the Dec. 9 issue of
the SARATOGA NEWS points out, then
we should be able to take a portion of
Heritage Orchard and make it. into
playing fields.
According to the editorial, we must act
in today's world. So, if playing fields are a
greater need', put them at that site, not into
an already congested neighborhood such
as Marshall Lane.
GERRY BARRETT.
Marilyn Lane
Vol. 45, No. ednesday, Decembei23;�1998
/ /MARSHALL LANE
RESIDENTS MOUNT
OPPOSITION TO
PLAYFIELDS PLAN
tell City Council,
.............. . Debate . .. heats . ...:.. u p . over issue
............................... ........is.....................
By SARAH LOMBARDO
Marshall Lane –area residents
opposed to playfields at Marshall
Lane School were out in full force
at the Saratoga:City Council meeting Dec .16..
The group voiced opposition to pro-
posed plans for the school playfields and
gave councilmembers information pack-
ets that included letters from residents and
a petition signed by almost 65 Marshall
Lane neighbors opposed to the plan.
Residents said the city's proposal to make
improvements and construct sports fields
on the grassy playground behind Marshall
Lane School would:add to an already dan-
gerous situation in the neighborhood.
"We already have a traffic problem," one
woman said. "That needs to be addressed.."
Marshall Lane dead -ends at Marshall
Lane School. Streets leading into the area
are narrow and do not -have sidewalks. As it.
is, another neighbor said,. the streets are too
small to accommodate the trafiicAlready in.
the neighborhood; much. less more.
The protest comes two weeks after a
small group of sports league volunteers and
parents sought support .,from. the City
Council for the construction of the fields.
Those parents pointed out the desperate -
need for more and improved playing fields.
Initial ideas proposed for the site by the
city Parks Development Task Force
include reconfiguring the present infields,
adding restrooms and a concession stand,
Please turn to page 11
Marshall Lane
Continued from page l
replacing a dirt area with a hard court
and planting trees.
The plans for Marshall Lane School,
which is one of three school sites pro-
posed to get new fields, touched on an
ongoing -and - often bitter— debate
between sports league officials who need
more fields _to accommodate ever -
increasing rosters and residents in the
Marshall Lane area who say the school
can't take any increase in use._
In .March 1997, neighbors mounted
strong opposition to a- proposal from
Quito Little :League and the. Campbell
Union School District to build two base-
ball fields at Marshall Lane School.
'Now, residents told councilmembers
last week, the idea for sports facilities at
Marshall Lane has returned, albeit from
the city. The neighbors, one woman said,
feel betrayed.
Proposals for all three school sites —
Marshall Lane, Foothill and Blue Hills= .
have yet to go back before the Parks and
Recreation .Commission. Once revised,
the plans in concept must win the
approval of the commission and ulti-
mately the City Council.
--, r% lk A-IL KVILTrp fA Dv
Vol. 45, No. 49 Wednesday,.December 9,1998
PARENTS, SPORTS
LEAGUERS VOICE
SUPPORT FOR
PLAYFIELD PLANS
Marshall Lane residents
seek support for the site
Council stays out of battle
.By SARAH LOMBARDO
group of about 15 Marshall Lane=
area residents sought support from
the Saratoga City Council Dec. 2 for
proposed plans to make improvements_ to
playfields at the school site.
The council stopped short of entering the
debate between residents regarding the
playfield plans. Newly elected mayor Jim
Shaw did offer words of encouragement:
"I appreciate the fact that people came and
spoke [on the issue], and really hope every-
one is listening," Shaw said. "If we work
together, I'm certain that we can -bring
together something_the residents and the
city can be proud of."
The groups of parents and Little League.
volunteers said they had heard that a peti-
tion from neighbors against the plan was in
the works and asked councilmembers to
back plans put forth by the city's Park
Development Task Force, made up of
members of area sports leagues, schools,
and Parks and Recreation commissioners.
Initial ideas for the school fields put
forth at a public meeting Oct. 27 included
changing the configuration of the current
infields, adding restrooms.and a conces-
sion stand, replacing a dirt area with hard
court, and planting trees along the perime-
ter of the site. Jay Beals, -of Beals Land -,
scape Architecture, told residents the new
fields would be used for farm'and:T-ball:
Please turn to page 9
ME
News . ..........9 . Dining ............30
Speak Out ........16 Calendar ..........32
Education .........20 Sport .............37
Style .............23 Legal Notices .....41
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