HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/20/1990, C-6 - SAN LUIS MOUNTAIN GRAZING LEASE MEETING DATE:
city of San Luis OBISpo J Februar 20 1990
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITEM NUMBER:
FROM: David Romero, Public Works Director n�
SUBJECT: San Luis Mountain Grazing Lease
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
By motion approve form of lease, authorize staff
to advertise for bids, and authorize CAO to sign
a lease with the presenter of the best bid
BACKGROUND:
Since 1982, the City has leased approximately 43 acres on the
shoulder of San Luis Mountain with access from the southwest end
of Hill Street. This property was dedicated as open space as a
condition of Tract 939, which extended and developed Hill Street.
Although the property is excellent for open space, it is marginal
for grazing and the City has realized less than $300 per year on
the lease. The primary benefit of the lease is that it places on
the lease holder the responsibility to keep the property free of
fire hazard, thereby relieving the City of this responsibility
and cost.
This lease is due to expire July 1, 1990, therefore, it is
appropriate for the City to take steps to readvertise for the
next 8 year lease increment at this time, so as to have all items
of the lease completed prior to the July 1 date.
Council may review the terms of the lease, which is substantially
the same as the previous lease, make changes as the Council feels
are desirable and authorize staff to proceed.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The previous lease required a significant amount of fencing
construction which was balanced against the monthly rental, thus
the City received only about $300 per year in lease payment.
Staff anticipates that this figure will be more than double under
the terms of the new lease.
ALTERNATIVES:
The City could choose not to lease the property, therefore,
foregoing the marginal revenue but requiring the expenditure of
manpower and cost on behalf of the City to keep the property
clear of debris and safe from fire.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff feels that City interests are best served by leasing
properties such as this in order to achieve at least some revenue
and minimize City maintenance.
slmtn/dfr#19 RECEIVED
JAN 3 1 1990
CITY CLERK
SAN LUIS OBISPO.CA
San Luis Mountain Lease
IN WITNESS THEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this
lease, in duplicate, on the date first above written.
LESSEE:
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
CITY ADMIN S TIVE F CER
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FINANCE DIRECTO
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
ATTACHMENTS :
Notice to Bidders
Form of Agreement
slmtnagr/dfr#19
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CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
NOTICE IS HEREBY_GIVEN that the City Clerk of the City of San
Luis Obispo, California, will receive sealed bids at the City
Clerk's Office, City Hall, 990 Palm Street on
at 3:00 p.m. , at which time they
will be publicly opened and read aloud, for leasing 43 acres of
pasture on San Luis Mountain off the end of Hill Street.
Bids received after said time will not be considered.
A copy of the documents may be obtained at the City Clerk's
Office. Each bid shall be submitted in a s_ealed, envelope plainly
marked:
SAN LUIS MOUNTAIN GRAZING LEASE
EXHIBIT 'W'
FORM OF AGREEMENT
LEASE
THIS AGREEMENT, made and executed this day of
1990, by and between the CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, a Municipal
Corporation, hereinafter called "City" and - -
hereinafter called "Lessee".
WITNESSETH:
The City hereby leases to Lessee and Lessee hereby hires from
the City the hereinafter described real property, on the
following terms and conditions:
1. TERM
The lease shall be for a term of eight (8) years, from
July 1, 1990 through June 30, 1998. Approximately 43 acres will
be available.
2. RENT
The rental shall be per acre per
month, payable in advance the first of each month, commencing
July 1, 1990, on which date the last month's rent shall also be
due and payable in advance. City may withdraw the lease on a
thirty (30) days notice in case of non-payment or non-compliance
with the provisions of this lease, or from time to time may
withdraw all or any portion of the acreage on a prorate basis by
giving ninety (90) days notice.
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San Luis Mountain Lease
3 . USE
The herein described real property shall be used by
Lessee solely for grazing purposes, except that no sheep or rams
shall be pastured on the premises. Calf bulls and a limited
number of bulls will be permitted.
4. PUBLIC ACCESS
Lessee agrees that the public shall at all times have
the right for pedestrians to enter upon the real property
described herein. City shall have no responsibility to prevent
members of the public from damaging Lessee's property, including
fences and gates.
5. DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY
The real property which is the subject of this lease is
described on that certain map entitled "San Luis Mountain Grazing
Lease", showing that the concerned property contains
approximately 43 acres. A copy of said map is on file in the
Office of the City Clerk and another copy is appended hereto as
Exhibit "A" and by such reference incorporated herein and made a
part hereof as fully as if set forth below.
6. NON-LIABILITY OF LESSOR
Lessee hereby waives all claims against City for
damages to either persons or property, including injury to
animals, Lessee, his agents, or third persons in or about said
premises, from any cause arising at any time, and Lessee further
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San Luis Mountain Lease
agrees to indemnify and hold City harmless from any damages or -'
injuries to any person or property arising from the use of the
premises by Lessee.
7. FENCES
Lessee agrees to repair and maintain in good condition
existing and new fences along the full exterior boundary of said
parcel as necessary for grazing purposes. Lessee further agrees
to furnish the City with three (3) keys for each lock, for use by
the City Police Department, Fire Department and Public Works
Department, to provide access to the property through a locked
twelve (12) foot wide gate. Lessee further agrees to post the
property at intervals approved by the Public Works Department
with signs captioned "Animals Grazing - Enter at Own Risk".
Lessee shall bear all expense of maintaining fencing and gates in
good condition to the satisfaction of the Director of Public
Works.
OTHER FENCES
In the event Lessee desires to erect additional fences, then
upon the approval of the. Public Works Department, Lessee, at
Lessee's sole expense, may install such approved additional
fences and, upon termination of this lease, Lessee agrees to
remove such fences if the- City, at its. option, requests Lessee to
so remove.
8. ASSIGNMENT OR SUBLETTING
Lessee agrees that this lease will not be assigned nor
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the property subleased without the prior written approval of the
San Luis 'Mountain Lease
City Council. The City Council may attach any reasonable
conditions to any such approval.
9. WEED ABATEMENT CONTROL
Lessee is aware that one of the considerations of City
in leasing said property is to control growth of vegetation on
the property, thereby reducing fire hazard, and Lessee agrees to
use good grazing practices and to move his animals to designated
portions of the premises if requested to do so by the City.
Lessee further agrees to eradicate and control weeds on the land,
especially spiny clot burr, thistles, cactus, chickweed, teasel,
cudweed or other type of plant that is not appropriate for
pasture land. In the event Lessee fails to eradicate said weeds,
. then upon ten (10) days written notice by the Director of Public
Works, City may eradicate or remove the weeds by contract or with
City forces, and Lessee shall pay all costs thereof within ten
(10) days after receiving notice of such cost from the City.
10. GRAZING CONTROL
In order to prevent overgrazing, the City may from
time-to-time impose a limit upon the number of animals which may
be upon the premises and Lessee agrees to abide by said.
limitation. In order to minimize erosion, a minimum of
11000 lbs. of dry matter per acre shall remain at the start of
the rainy season (November 1) .
11. WATER SUPPLY
Lessee agrees to maintain at all times an adequate,
potable water supply suitable for grazing needs.
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RECEIVED
To: Members of the City Council FES 2 0 1990
CITY CLERW
From: John Chesnut ) SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA
RE: Item C-6, Consideration of Grazing Lease on San Luis Mountain
I have serious reservations regarding commiting the city to a lease of this
parcel until concerns regarding the impact to sensitive spring and wetlands
are resolved.
When I spoke to Dave Romero regarding this lease and an earlier one
concluded for land adjacent to Laguna Lake, he professed ignorance of any
springs or other sensitive habitat. Ignorance is not basis on whicKto
proceed with lease agreements) I
I recommend this item be removed from the consent agenda until concerns
expressed regarding sensitive natural resources can be addressed by the
city's open space planner and the leasehold properly inventoried.
' *Brnotes action by Lead Person
Respo by:
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To: Dave Romero
From: John Chesnut, Judy Neuhauser
RE: Proposed language for modifying lease agreements in order to protect
sensitive natural resources.
C' We have developed specific language to protect the important spring and
wetland habitat for the lease in question. Additionally, we propose some
policy admentments for the consideration of all future leases and
"renegotiations.
WE PROPOSE:
In order to protect sesitive wetland habitat, before any lease agreement is
completed city staff shall develop a resource protection plan. First, the
public works director, the leasee, the open space planner, and any interested
citizens will tour the property in order to assess areas needing protection
from grazing, trampling and disturbance. Secondly, after areas ate
identified and agreed upon, any fencing or watering tanks required.will be
installed before any grazing will be permitted. Thirdly, fencing or other
improvements will be inspected, biannually, spring and fall, to ensure they
remain in functional condition.
Fencing and stock tanks will be the responsibility of the city to install. Once
installed they become the responsiblity of the leasee to maintain is proper
functional order. Negligent maintenance shall be considered cause for lease
termination.
We would hasten to point out that the CCC or the CMC work crews both have
expertise in installing barbed or mesh fencing required to protect the
springs on this parcel. Additionally Cal Poly students and faculty in Natural
Resource Management are a valuable resource which could be used to
inventory needs and design.appropriate protections.
We would recommend both springs on this parcel be fenced as a block to
include the sedge wetlands and running springs below them. Five strand
barbed wire on steel T posts with wooden corner posts and stretcher rails
would likely be adequate fencing. The fence should have several wooded
stiles and a wire gate to permit access by humans. The numerous deer
which use the area should clear a fence of this dimension easily.
On the larger issue of'how the issue of sesitive resource protection can be
acheived on future leases, we make the following recommendations which
we would suggest the City Council adopt as a policy guideline.
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WE PROPOSE:
All leases and renewals of leases of city property for grazing purposes shall
be reviewed by the city's open space planner in order to ensure sensitive
habitats will not be impacted. The city open space planner will develop
guidelines for the specific protection of springs, wetlands, and stream
courses from trampling and erosion. Treatment methods may include
fencing, required annual fallow periods, and other methods developed with
the assistance of professional advice.
Required mitigation measures will be written into the lease, and compliance
with these measures will be monitored by the city. Non-compliance will
terminate the lease.
All current and recently concluded leases will be reviewed by the open j
space planner, and efforts will be made to negotiate steps necessary to
mitigate unacceptable trampling and erosion on these properties. This
proviso draws special attention to recently concluded (Dec. 1989) lease of the
serpentine hillside above Laguna-Lake where unacceptable trampling of a
perenially spring and associated wetland is occuring in full view of park
visitors.
Finally, the city will publicize this policy change by press notice, and letters
to local representative of Farm Bureau, Cattlemen's Association, California
Native Plant Society, the California State Department of Fish and Game, and
the Natural Resources Management Department of Cal Poly.. j
We trust you find these recomendations useful, we feel they will go a long
way towards preserving the important natural featurwsurrounding our
growing city. These measures are no more restrictive than the guidelines
currently used by the US Forest Service and other prudent land stewards,
public and private.
Sincerely
u�y jGrau�t�
Jo Chesnut
Judy Neuhauser
CC: City council, Randy Rossi, Steve Tetmeir
C
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January 25, 1990
Dear Randy,
C' This letter is in reference to the springs on the serpentine hill behind Laguna .
Lake of which I spoke to you earlier. I found that Dave Romero is ultimately
in charge of them. He had no reference to springs being present on'the
property in any of his documents. There is also no mention of springs in the
lease agreement that was signed with Mr. Madonna late in 1989.
This situation brings to mind a problem that the City apparently has in the
managing of the open space resources that it presently owns. One wonders if
this absence of note of viable springs is just a fluke or whether it represents
a more generalized lack of a thorough inventory of sensitive natural
resources on City property. It is heartening that you noted the rare and
endangered plants are noted and that the management plans were adjusted
accordingly, but, as I know you are well aware, there are other sensitive
resources that may exist on other City parcels: exceptional specimen trees
(especially natives), wetlands of all types (springs, marshes, vernal pools,
creeks, ponds), habitat and nesting areas for faunal species noted as
sensitive by the Fish and Wildlife Reports, and archaeological sites.
Areas that are degraded should have a restoration plan submitted. There is
quite a bit of community support for this type of project and I suspect that
much of the labor for the implementation could be volunteer or CCC labor
with a bit of organizing from the City.
Perhaps you find it too early to embark on such projects. I would find it
distressing, though, if the City were to enter into any other leasing
agreements on any of its other property without adequately addressing all of
these resources. Any thoughts as to how to avoid a repeat of the Laguna hill
scenario?
Sincerely,
la'all,
)PAJfa 64-
Judy Neuhauser
cc: Bill Roalman