Open Space and Ecology Committee

October 10, 2007

Page 2

OPEN SPACE AND ECOLOGY COMMITTEE

October 10, 2007

MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL

140 VALLEY DRIVE, BRISBANE, CA

CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

Committee Chairperson Bouscal called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.

Committee Members Present: Gutekanst, Miller, Liu, Whitten-Greenlee, and Chairperson Bouscal

Staff Members Present: City Manager Holstine, Special Counsel Leiter, Community Development Director Prince, Open Space and Ecology Analyst Pontecorvo, Assistant to the City Manager Smith

Others Present: Mike Pacelli

* MC = Member of Committee

ADOPTION OF AGENDA

MC Miller said he had two items to add to “Other Committee Matters”: information on wind power potential for the Baylands and the new LEED standards for residential buildings.

MC Miller made a motion, seconded by MC Gutekanst, to adopt the agenda as amended. The motion was carried unanimously.

HCP AMENDMENT UPDATE

Assistant to the City Manager Smith noted that a copy of the Habitat Management Plan, an appendix to the revised Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), was provided to committee members in the meeting packet. He said release of the amended HCP and environmental assessment documents need to be posted on the federal register before being released, and he estimated that these documents will be ready for distribution sometime in January of 2008.

City Manager Holstine stated that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will internally review the amended HCP and environmental documents before they appear on the Federal Register, a process likely to take six to eight weeks. He said the documents will then be posted on the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period.

MC Miller noted that 60 days is not a great deal of time to review and comment on the documents.

Special Counsel Leiter advised that she had seen a draft version of the documents. She added that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been collaborating with the City of Brisbane and the County.

City Manager Holstine reported that the HCP trustees met on September 19, 2007 to conduct an annual review of the work program and budget. He said the trustees approved the work plan, but not the budget. He explained that because the County will be taking the lead role in HCP management rather than Thomas Reid Associates, the trustees wanted to make sure the budget covered the anticipated costs of County administration. He indicated that the trustees will meet again on October 16, 2007 to approve the budget and review the Habitat Management Plan.

Chairperson Bouscal asked if the trustees discussed the role of the Technical Advisory Committee. City Manager Holstine responded that the trustees did have some discussion on the composition of the committee and frequency of meetings. He added that he was pleased that the Technical Advisory Committee was being reactivated and looked forward to having broader input from stakeholders.

Chairperson Bouscal asked if the trustees had talked about outreach to groups that have not been active participants in the process, like PG&E, the City of Colma, and the Public Utilities Commission. City Manager Holstine said the trustees did not address that topic. He pointed out that the HCP Trustees can become involved if and when development affecting San Bruno Mountain is being proposed. Chairperson Bouscal recommended expanding efforts to facilitate restoration, regardless of development. He noted that the activities of neighboring jurisdictions are having an impact on vegetation. Chairperson Bouscal added that HCP funds have not paid for much of the restoration work that has been done. City Manager Holstine noted that the new Habitat Management Plan calls for establishment of a volunteer coordinator position, which could be very beneficial in coordinating restoration efforts.

Chairperson Bouscal suggested finding someone from the County to take over HCP management, with advice and consultation from the participating city managers. City Manager Holstine explained that the trust is governed by a board of directors who oversee the activities of the plan operator, and the County will be assuming the role of plan operator instead of contracting those services out to Thomas Reid Associates.

MC Gutekanst commented that the new County Parks Director, Dave Holland, who was previously employed by the U.S. Forest Service, has a scientific background and is focusing on measurable results, an approach reflected in the Habitat Management Plan. She said County Superintendent of Parks Dave Moore will be responsible for overseeing the actual work done on the Mountain.

City Manager Holstine advised that the staff is planning a City Council workshop before the end of the year with the County and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to review and discuss the various management plans and environmental documents pertaining to San Bruno Mountain.

Assistant to the City Manager Smith noted that the committee had questions at a previous meeting about how the environment impact report (EIR) for the Northeast Ridge fit in with the HCP environmental assessment, so a discussion on the relationships between these documents would be helpful.

MC Miller proposed that committee members make some preliminary comments about the Habitat Management Plan.

MC Gutekanst observed that the Habitat Management Plan includes a number of assessments about butterfly habitat, invasive species, and other conditions on San Bruno Mountain, and she questioned the evidentiary basis for these statements. She noted the plan tends to place a great deal of emphasis on grazing, but the results of the one grazing experiment done in the past were inconclusive about its effectiveness. She recommended further study to determine if and under what conditions grazing could be a useful part of an integrated management plan.

City Manager Holstine referred to Item 2, talking about testing the effectiveness of grazing, and then implementing a program if the results are positive.

Chairperson Bouscal commented that providing adequate water and fencing in remote locations were obstacles to grazing.

MC Miller agreed with MC Gutekanst’s observations about the plan and noted there were many inconsistencies; he acknowledged that there were numerous caveats, but also many assertive statements that appear to contradict those.

MC Gutekanst cited some example of inconsistencies. She noted the descriptions for each unit are focused on using a combination of techniques to manage invasive species, but there is also a statement that grazing is the primary tool to change these conditions. She questioned the creation of habitat islands without treating seed banks and areas from which invasive plants have been removed. She said experts know better than to try to plant grasslands in riparian areas, but Thomas Reid ignored this experience. MC Gutekanst commented that the Habitat Management Plan also distorts some of the ideas that came from the Technical Advisory Committee.

City Manager Holstine noted that the 11-point plan described on Page 4 forms the core of the Habitat Management Plan and will determine how funds are allocated in the future. MC Gutekanst commented that the 11-point plan was a good starting point, but said she still had concerns about the descriptive and historical characterizations in the document.

Chairperson Bouscal agreed. He expressed his opinion that the 11-point plan was not thorough enough or comprehensive enough. He advocated a more detailed study of the Mountain, now that the County has taken over management. He proposed using HCP funds to pay for a new study.

City Manager Holstine cautioned that funds are limited, and money used for studies is money that does not go to controlling invasive species. He said all parties agree that more needs to be done to control invasive species. He noted that once some of the programs in the plan are implemented, they will yield better information on which to base future decisions. He added that the Habitat Management Plan should be viewed as a working document that will constantly be evolving.

MC Miller said he thought the Habitat Management Plan overall was a good effort that included many thoughtful recommendations. He recommended making the document as accurate and consistent as possible, noting it will probably be quoted and used for various purposes in the future.

MC Miller drew attention to a statement in the plan indicating that the HCP has not relied on volunteers for meeting management or monitoring goals in the past and recommending not relying on volunteers in the future. He questioned how that statement could be reconciled with the recommendation to establish a volunteer coordinator position. He observed that this statement sounds contradictory and could easily be misinterpreted.

MC Miller expressed his opinion that an implementation plan will be ineffective without a budgetary commitment associated with it. City Manager Holstine agreed. He said that although the HCP’s funding goal was based on the analysis of what was needed, the priorities should be tied to more definite cost estimates.

MC Liu asked how much funding the County expects to provide. City Manager Holstine said the County will charge the HCP for the services the County provides, estimated at about $20,000, an amount roughly equivalent to what Thomas Reid charged. Assistant to the City Manager Smith clarified that the County will not be contributing money, and all funds will come from assessments to property owners. MC Miller added that the County might actually spend more time than what the $20,000 covers.

MC Miller recommended clarifying the relationship between the HCP’s management and Brisbane’s management of the Brisbane Acres. He observed that the lines of jurisdiction are not clear from the maps included in the plan, and Brisbane’s definition of Brisbane Acres differs from the HCP’s. He emphasized the need for better coordination of vegetation management efforts between the County and the City of Brisbane to ensure that both jurisdictions understand and agree on the priorities and direct their efforts accordingly. MC Miller noted that the Brisbane City Council has not yet decided how the 40 percent open space set-aside for Brisbane Acres should be applied, and this issue also needs to be resolved because it overlaps jurisdictions.

MC Miller suggested pursuing the idea of a habitat overlay to help manage invasive species on private property within the HCP. He said Daly City has a gorse control ordinance for fire protection purposes, and this approach might be the best way to address both habitat and fire protection.

MC Liu noted the timeframe for the Habitat Management Plan was unclear. MC Miller advised that all previous plans were for five years. City Manager Holstine agreed that the timeframe should be addressed.

MC Gutekanst observed that the plan refers to the plan operator taking over conserved habitat from developers, and she expressed concern about enforcement of vegetation management requirements included in development agreements. She said there have been problems implementing these agreements in South San Francisco, and it has been a problem at the Northeast Ridge as well. City Manager Holstine indicated that he was unsure of the HCP’s power to enforce development conditions. Special Counsel Leiter advised that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was the enforcement arm for the HCP. She recalled an incident where PG&E enforced vegetation management conditions. City Manager Holstine noted that the City of Brisbane has enforcement authority through conditions of approval.

MC Gutekanst said many homeowners at the Northeast Ridge have a distorted view about how much they are contributing to the HCP because their homeowner associations tell them a substantial portion of their dues go to habitat preservation activities. Special Counsel Leiter noted that Northeast Ridge residents actually pay $82.32 per year.

Committee members expressed hope that the County taking the lead would result in improvements in HCP management.

Chairperson Bouscal advised that Dave Holland has agreed to serve on the board of the new San Bruno Mountain Conservancy. He said this organization will solicit donations and could become an important force in habitat preservation.

MC Gutekanst indicated that she was pleased the Technical Advisory Committee was being reactivated.

Chairperson Bouscal said the Open Space and Ecology Committee’s subcommittee will be reviewing the document more thoroughly and formulating additional comments.

City Manager Holstine thanked committee members for their comments and said he would convey these points to the trustees.

Committee members thanked City Manager Holstine for his report and commended him for his efforts as a trustee.

MC Miller recommended discussing the process for reviewing and commenting on the HCP documents. Assistant to the City Manager Smith noted that there will be three documents to consider, the Habitat Management Plan, the amended HCP, and the environmental assessment, and the committee’s comments need to be presented to the City Council before being submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the City. MC Miller suggested that the subcommittee review the Habitat Management Plan and bring some recommended comments for the committee’s discussion at the next meeting.

MC Gutekanst remarked that commenting on Habitat Management Plan will not be as important as commenting on the amended HCP and the environmental assessment. She questioned the need for the subcommittee to conduct a detailed review of the plan and proposed focusing most of the subcommittee’s time and effort on the remaining two documents once they are disseminated.