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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-22-14 PRC Minutes Special Mtg�1rY �A ccrs, o Meeting Minutes Parks and Recreation Commission Council Chambers 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Davis called the special meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. ROLL CALL: Chair Davis and Commissioners Craig Kincaid, Michael Parolini, Ron Regier and Jeff Whitener ABSENT: Ryan Baker, Susan Updegrove COUNCIL: John Ashbaugh STAFF: Shelly Stanwyck, Melissa Mudgett, Dave Setterlund, Brian Leveille, Peggy Mandeville Public Comment Councilmember John Ashbaugh thanked staff for their hard work on the Laguna Lake Nature Reserve Master Plan and reminded the Commission that Council approved the Master Plan at its meeting last week. Commissioner Parolini echoed these sentiments and stated that most of the hard work came from City staff Bob Hill, Natural Resources Manager. 1. Proposed Donation for Community Gardens at the Laguna Lake Golf Course. Director Stanwyck introduced Recreation Supervisor (Dave Setterlund) who serves as the Department's supervisor for the Community Services program he provided the Commissioners with a little history about the Community Garden program. Begun in 1974 the program has grown to four locations over 177 garden plots and a waiting list of 100 +. In 2010, the newest Community Garden, the Rotary Garden at Meadow Park was opened thanks to a donation by the City's three rotary clubs Recently Parks and Recreation has been approached be two local non - profit organizations, Monday Kiwanis Club and One Cool Earth, with the desire to plan and construct a new Community Garden. Dave Setterlund summarized the staff report contained in the PRC's Agenda Packet. cS�v z�x ^5 Q4 One Cool Earth representative (Victoria Carranza, OCE Fellow) provided the Commission with a brief presentation about the proposed donation of a community garden and some options that the donor and grantee could pursue. She also noted the Kiwanis Club representatives were in the audience as the co- donors of the proposed project. Public Comment Meg Gleeson, resident on Pref nno Canyon and complex neighbor stated that the proposed community garden would be right under her bedroom window and that she is not in favor of the new community garden. . Commission Comments Commissioner Parolini recalled a similar One Cool Earth project at Sinsheimer Park where trees were planted and died as the required watering did not occur as promised. He had concerns about the location adjacent to LOVR would like to see a suitable buffer between the garden and the road similar to that of the Rotary garden. He was very concerned about supporting this project without a solution of the water issue. He asked if there was precedent of Council waiving Water Impact Fees. Director Stanwyck responded that staff a waiver of Impact Fees would require a funding subsidy from the General Fund to offset these costs. Commissioner Regier commended the donors' for their hard work and for providing a valuable asset to the community. He asked if this was the only site that was looked at for a community garden. He also expressed concerns relating to neighbors acceptance of this project. Director Stanwyck responded that currently there is no Community Garden Master Plans that defines potential new locations for community gardens. Director Stanwyck said that the Department sought neighborhood outreach by mailing 1,000 postcards to residents inviting them to the Commission meeting to learn about the project and to provide public comment. She indicated that our Department has received several phone calls from the mobile home neighbors who are delighted about this new opportunity. Commissioner Regier expressed that the neighbor opposition was a concern. He stated that this also seems like a "natural use" for this area so he can see both sides of the discussion. He would like to see the donors and staff find a solution for water. Commissioner Kincaid expressed his concerns that a lot of the project is contingent upon water and felt that this should be the priority over grant deadlines. He remains troubled by the inability to provide water to the gardens and the impact to neighbors. a Commissioner Kincaid said he was surprised that there weren't any concerns about the impact to parking. Director Stanwyck responded that the Golf Supervisor (Todd Bunte) didn't feel that there would be an impact to the daily parking needs and that parking could be accommodated throughout the day. Vice Chair Whitener stated he did not want to rush to a decision without a solution to water and before this project. He encouraged the community to share their concerns or support with Council. Chair Davis was concerned about the pressure to meet the grant deadline of December 31s` He stated he was in favor of the project but needed more time to determine the water source and provide for additional community outreach. He would like to see if The Community Foundation grant deadline could be extended. MOTION. (Whitener /Kincaid) The Parks and Recreation Commission to make a recommendation to continue this item to the October 1, 2014 meeting to allow time to analyze water source options and provide for additional community outreach. Approved: 5 yes: 0 no: 2 absent 2. Review, Comment and Make Recommendations to City Council on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Land Use Conservation Element (LUCE) Brian Leveille, Associate Planner, presented to the Commission the Draft EIR for the LUCE and noted that City staff, Peggy Mandeville (Senior Transportation Planner), and the LUCE Special Committee Chair (Eric Meyer) were also available in the audience to answer any questions as well. Progress continues in the City's focused update of its General Plan Land Use and Circulation Elements. In August 2013 the PRC reviewed proposed policy changes related to Parks and Recreation and provided feedback. Now the Draft EIR for the LUCE has been released for public review and comment. There is a 45 -day public review and comment period which will end on July 28, 2014. Staff Leveille noted that tonight's discussion allows the Commission and the public to comment about the recreation facilities portion of the report. He further added that any Parks and Recreation Commission comments during the public review period for the Draft FIR will be included in and responded to as part of the Final EIR and reviewed as part of the adoption of the LUCE. Staff Leveille presented that the Draft EIR identified only Class 3 impacts to existing recreation facilities as part of the LUCE. The report noted that an increase in parkland reflects the desires of the community but is not defined as a mitigation measure. Staff Leveille recapped for the Commission of the continuing review process. • July 28, 2014 — Public Comment/Review Period closes • July 28, 2014 — Cultural Heritage Committee review • August/September— various Planning Commission meetings • November 2014 — City Council, adoption of LUCE update Commission Comments Commissioner Parolini asked for a clarification on Impact Rec -1 as to why the goal of 10 acres /1,000 residents was not required. Staff Leveille responded that the Parks and Recreation Element identifies a goal of 10 acres /1,000 residents. The LUCE update would result in 3.44 acres /1,000 residents. The current data shows 3.14 acres /1,000 residents. As the LUCE update would result in a slight increase over current, it was not considered to worsen existing conditions and therefore categorized as a Class III impact. Commissioner Parolini asked if an evaluation of current policy was needed to help attain that goal. Commissioner Kincaid asked about the difference between parkland and open space. Director Stanwyck responded that parkland and open space are different in their definitions of active and passive recreation. Parkland implies active recreation use such as sports, picnicking, playgrounds, field usage, etc. Open Space implies passive recreational use such as hiking, mountain biking or bird watching and the protection of natural resources. Parkland and Open Space are different and their acreages are not combined in calculating park acres per resident. Commissioner Kincaid offered that the two defined acreages could be combined to help attain the goal of 10 acres /1,000 residents. Commissioner Regier asked about the impact analysis on page 2 -39 of the agenda report for sustaining the condition of current parks and enhance usage. Commissioner Regier asked if this statement presumed that additional resources would be dedicated when park acreage is increased. Commissioner Regier noted that resources for ongoing maintenance continue to be stretched further. Staff Leveille responded that the EIR reports on the ratio of available parkland per resident and details about maintenance needs and financing are not included in this higher level evaluation. Commissioner Regier said that there should be a conscious effort to include additional resources for parks maintenance as part of the planning process. Vice Chair Whitener questioned a conflict in acreage data between 52.4 and 29. Page 2.2 states additional 52.4 acres of parkland while page 2.39 states additional 29 acres as part of the Margarita Specific Plan Area. Staff Leveille provided the Commission with a table specifying acreage totals. Vice Chair Whitener continued that the EIR report only discusses impacts related to the increase in population however; there is an increase in day -time population from the workforce that is not accounted for in the draft report. He continued that additional workforce population who wish to recreate here (such as MindBody) are not addressed in the potential impacts. San Luis Obispo is the County seat and attracts daytime recreational use as well. Chair Davis said the report shows a population increase of 20 %. With that he noted that the City is already "behind" on additional sports fields and that there are lots of impacts from workers that want league play during the work -day. Chair Davis expressed that the demand will be there and that the increased usage will further deteriorate sports facilities if the City does not plan to meet this demand. Staff Leveille commented that the LUCE doesn't breakdown use of each park but serves as a guidance document from a higher, more general level overview of parkland. Public Comment Eugene Jud, resident on Leff Street, shared with the Commission his thoughts about the Prado Road alignment as presented in the LUCE. His recommended realignment that would instead connect to Tank Farm Road to avoid having to go through the sports field and historic land. Eric Myer, Chair of the LUCE Update Committee, but speaking as an individual said the existing Land Use describes the build out of our community. While he agreed that the City could use more park space, he reminded the Commission that its role was to review and comment on the "updated" portion of the LUCE (not the entire Element). Commission Discussion Commissioner Kincaid commented that he would like to include the desire for more parkland (Community Parks). Commissioner Parolini stated he did not feel that the Draft EIR had acknowledged the impacts of daytime workers to existing parkland shortage. Staff, Peggy Mandeville, mentioned that a Parks and Recreation Commission representative would be welcomed at the Planning Commission meetings to further express and share the Commissions' desires. She will email meeting dates to be forwarded to the Commissioners. MOTION. (Regier /Whitener) The Parks and Recreation Commission have identified the following concerns and comments to be included as part of the official record of the review of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE); The Parks and Recreation Commission finds that the City does not have sufficient community parks (active recreation areas for uses that include turf sports, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, diamond sports, and lit tennis courts) and locations to meet these community needs should be identified to address this insufficiency given the anticipated a increase in needed recreational facilities and their use with the increase in population associated with the adoption of the LUCE; Gti r� Off, � 4 2. The Parks and Recreation Commission finds that the LUCE Draft EIR does not acknowledge the impacts of daytime workers and visitors to the City's existing and future parkland; 3. The Parks and Recreation Commission finds that Cal Poly should be defined as a specific agency to negotiate with for joint use agreements for shared recreation uses of Cal Poly's facilities; 4. The Parks and Recreation Commission recommends that the Council in the context of the LUCE and in future planning documents address the impacts to ongoing maintenance of existing parks facilities (from neighborhood parks to community parks, to facilities to paths to open space) and the need to remodel, refresh, and maintain the same. Approved: 5 yes: 0 no: 2 absent 3. Cancellation of August 6, 2014 Meeting MOTION. (Regier/Parolini) The Parks and Recreation Commission recommendation for the cancellation of the August 6, 2014 meeting; Approved: 5 yes: 0 no: 2 absent 4. Communications Chair Davis asked to add discussions about the Damon Garcia Sports Field maintenance and renovation to the September 3, 2014 agenda. Commissioner Parolini mentioned he saw a group of people out on the field last week that should have been on the field and contacted staff to let them know. Director Stanwyck added that the fields will open up on August 1 st with two tournament weekends. Unfortunately the fields have not bounced back from the renovation period. Recreation staff is in communications with Public Works staff about this issue. Commissioner Parolini said he will try and get some aerial photos of the fields prior to this meeting. Adjourned to Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting on September 3, 2014 Meeting adjourned at 7:12 pm to Wednesday, September 3, 2014 Meeting in the Council Hearing Room, 990 Palm Street, 5:30pm. � � O Approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission on September 3, 2014.