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2004/11/15 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes ROHNERT PARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES November 15, 2004 The Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission met this date at 7:30 p.m. for a regular meeting at the Rohnert.Park city offices, 6750 Commerce Boulevard, Rohnert Park. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with Chair Carlson presiding. ROLL CALL Present: (5) Commissioners Bird,Butler,Griffin,Hansen, and Rogers Absent: (2) Commissioners Carlson and Stevens Also present for the meeting was Recreation Services Manager, Guy Miller, and Senior Planner, Ron Bendorff. APPROVAL OF MINUTES—Upon motion by Commissioner Griffin and second by Commissioner Hansen, the minutes for the meeting of October 18th were unanimously approved as submitted. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT None SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE/PUBLIC COMMENT Bonnie Black, 1065 Hawthorne Circle,representing Best Friends Canine Club, thanked the commission for their support of the construction of the dog park at Robert's Lake, which was approved at the last City Council meeting. She said club members are very excited and have been discussing raising funds for amenities at the new park. She reported they have looked at some kind of engraved bricks with dog prints to be installed at the park and have also looked at including some kind of memorial park where people could buy some kind of plaque to memorialize their pets. She submitted two new club membership forms and reported there were three new puppies at the park today. She also submitted an incident report and gave a brief report on the incident. Commissioner Butler said he had heard about someone who was looking for a way to memorialize a pet and he thinks the bricks may be a good way to do that. Mrs. Black said this is something the club is looking to do and not having the city do for them. Recreation Services Manager Miller asked if there is anyone in the club who could help with community input to set the rules for use of the new dog park. Mrs. Black said her Page 1 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes November 15, 2004 group would be very interested in helping. She also suggested meeting with Trish King, the Director of Behavior and Training for the Marin County Humane Society, to learn how to avoid problems that have happened at other dog parks. OLD BUSINESS Community Center Floor Renovation—Recreation Services Manager Miller reported that this project is underway now and is about 75% completed. He said the floor should be finished by Thursday,November 18th, and encouraged the commissioners to come look at the floor after it has been installed. Dog Park Update—Manager Miller reported the dog park project at Robert's Lake was approved at the last City Council meeting and budgeted$35,000. He said the Council was very enthused and approved the preliminary plans with few comments. He said he believes the project will go out to bid in January and hopefully will be completed by next summer. Commissioner Rogers asked when it would be appropriate to discuss the details of the park, and Manager Miller suggested that the Dog Park Committee get together with some of the members of the Best Friends Canine Club to visit other dog parks in the area and meet with Trish King. He offered to schedule a committee meeting. NEW BUSINESS .� Specific Park Plan Site Plans—Ron Bendorff, Senior Planner for the City of Rohnert Park, informed the Commission that there are several areas outside of the city limits where parks are being planned and three specific plan areas being reviewed at this time. He presented a power point presentation of these three plans. (Copy of which is attached to the original copy of these minutes.)After the presentation, he asked if any of the commissioners had questions. Commissioner Griffin asked about a buffer area on Petaluma Hill Road on the Southeast Specific Plan. Mr. Bendorff said no buffer is planned that the area is designed as rural/estate residential. Commissioner Griffin asked if the Commission has any input on this and Mr. Bendorff said it would require changing the City's General Plan. Commissioner Griffin asked about the Northeast Plan and whether lots can be built right up to the edge of the creek. Mr. Bendorff said there would be about 100 feet of green belt along the creeks. Commissioner Griffin also asked about the oak trees on Keiser and whether they would be saved. Mr. Bendorff said they would be saving several of the trees and the developer could be asked about specifics. Commissioner Hansen asked about the definition of park land and whether that includes buffer areas. Mr. Bendorff said there are a number of ways of coming up with the park land areas and they can look at other ways to achieve the five acres per 1000 people. Commissioner Hansen questioned calling creek access areas and the plaza areas in the University District park areas and the in-lieu fees since the park land is below 5%. Mr. Page 2 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes November 15, 2004 Bendorff said that is why they are opening dialogue now and he will be back before the Commission in the future. Commissioner Hansen said he would like to have another month to look at the proposals to give his input. Mr. Bendorff said he understood and assured him that there is time to do that. Commissioner Rogers suggested getting together to tour these three areas to get a conceptual picture of the proposed park lands. Mr. Bendorff said these plans would not be approved until they get input from the Parks and Recreation Commission. Commissioner Hansen suggested that the sooner they give their input the sooner the project can move forward. Commissioner Bird asked about private park land and Mr. Bendorff said those areas would be swimming pools,etc. at specific complexes that can be credited towards park land. He stated it is important to have both kinds of areas as selling points and they need to achieve a perfect mix. Since there were no further questions, Mr. Bendorff thanked the Commission and stated that representatives of each specific plan area were present to give information and answer questions. Kevin Pohlson.,Brookfield Homes,referred to the Brookfield plans for homes being planned in the University Park area. He explained that some of the oak trees on Keiser Road are ill and that they worked with an arborist and a Fish and Game representative about relocating two of the trees since Keiser will have to be widened. They will keep as many of the trees as possible. He explained that the City's General Plan requires a setback of 50' from the center of a creek although the area can contain trails,but the City wants the trail to be outside of the 50' area so they have allowed wider corridors. He said they are also allowing a wetlands area and are working with the Regional Water Control Board to maintain the creeks. They are proposing building a pedestrian bridge to emphasize the trails for pedestrians and bicyclists, and people will be able to get to Petaluma Hill Road. He explained they incorporated emphasis of the General Plan in their design and to allow scenic vistas. He reported that the University District is comprised of 297 acres and Brookfield Homes owns 87% of that land. They are allowing 14.74 dedicated acres of parkland and are also creating private recreational areas and referred to the map to show specific areas.He stated that the University District will include high density and mixed use homes.Facilities will be private so the city will not be burdened with maintenance of pools and recreation areas. He stated that they want people to be able to enjoy the creek areas but to keep them out of the creeks. He explained that the city wants a linear park that unites areas in the city. Commissioner Griffin asked how many acres would be required for parks, and Mr. Pohlson replied 21.38. He said they are providing 14.74 acres, private areas of 6 acres and will take 50% in credits. He said they would donate 7 acres to the city, which puts them way over the requirement. He explained they would have an association that everyone will be part of and will enable them to use all the private park areas. Brookfield Page 3 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes November 15, 2004 Homes will be putting in a pool, water areas and tot lots. The association will be taking care of the maintenance for these facilities and not the city. Commissioner Bird asked what would be in the plaza. Mr. Pohlson said it would include areas for shows and a plaza park area, which would be adjacent to a ball field and tennis courts. The informal area will move into a more formal park area. Van Logan stated he is the representative of the Northeast specific plan area property owners comprising one half of the owners in the area. He stated that most of the park lands will be contributed by this group. He pointed out the park areas on his plans that will be developed first. He stated that the setback from Five Creeks is 50 feet from the creek except for a bicycle path that will be included. The Crane Creek setback is 100 feet from the top of the bank and the north shore will include a bicycle path. Commissioner Griffin asked about the setback on Snyder Lane and Mr. Logan said it would be similar to Snyder Lane in the G Section. Commissioner Griffin asked if the 32 feet would be a linear park and Mr. Logan said that is what is specified in the City's General Plan. It is considered a linear park but it's not really a park. Mr. Logan referred to a park on the plans for the Northeast area and said they are suggesting this would be a great location for a skate park and teen center. He pointed out that it would be a central location in the city, and if they get enough allotments,his group is willing to pay for the skate park. Commissioner Butler asked about private park areas, and Mr. Logan said theirs would be a more traditional park and they aren't looking for private park credits. He said they are required to provide 15 acres of parkland but they would have over 17 acres. Commissioner Hansen said the Commission needs to get more clarification because of open space areas. Since the General Plan has several ways to designate open space and park areas, they will need to get clarification of these terms and the required park areas. Mr. Logan said the Commission will need to decide how to interpret those terms and then the group can come back to address those specific concerns. Ken Blackman said he is representing the Southeast area property owners but had not brought any plans with him. He said this area does not include any creeks or trees and is just a hayfield at this time.They are proposing a five-acre park and he would bring in a complete plan for the park and be prepared to answer questions at that time. He said the homes would have larger backyards for the estate parcels on Petaluma Hill Road and would have a variety of ways to deal with any noise issues. Commissioner Hansen referred to the General Plan and the desire to have open space on Petaluma Hill Road. Mr. Blackman said he does not think there would be a problem that can't be addressed. Commissioner Griffin clarified that there would be private property .� right up to Petaluma Hill Road, and Mr. Blackman agreed. He discussed the mixed use Page 4 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes November 15, 2004 areas and the reasons for including it. He said they would be doing market studies to see what kind of uses will do well in that area. Senior Planner, Ron Bendorff, asked if the Commission had any other questions. Commissioner Butler asked about the linear park, and Mr. Bendorff discussed the reasons for the 32 linear feet of open space on Snyder Lane,which is to preserve existing views. Commissioner Butler asked about fire protection for the planned areas. Mr. Bendorff said he would be coming back to the Commission as they get further along in the planning process. Recreation and Parks Master Plan—Manager Miller reported that the Park Master Plan has never been completed and suggested making this one of the Commission's top goals for 2005 so that they can begin formulating the master plan and what kind of amenities should be included in the city's parks. Also, decisions need to be made on renovation, replacement and upkeep of the city's current parks since they are beginning to age. Manager Miller recommended sending this to the Master Plan Committee to begin working on this plan. Committee members discussed scheduling a meeting date and agreed to meet on December 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center. STAFF REPORTS Department Highlights—Commissioner Bird asked if a meeting had been scheduled with the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District. Manager Miller reported he has a couple of things to work out on the Reciprocal Use Agreement before he sends it back to the district. A meeting will be scheduled after that. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS Bicycle Committee—Manager Miller reported he attended the Bicycle Committee meeting and he doesn't think it is necessary to have a Recreation Dept. representative on the committee because the City Engineer already is the staff representative. He said he could provide a copy of the minutes for them. He reported that the Bicycle Committee does have an ambitious plan and he will continue to report information to the Commission. Golf Course Committee—Manager Miller reported this committee will be meeting again in December. MATTERS FROM/FOR COMMISSIONERS Veteran's Day—Commissioner Butler said he wanted to commend Wendy Audiss from the Recreation Department on the good job she did on the Veteran's Day ceremony. Manager Miller stated the ceremony had been moved from the Community Center to the Sports Center due to the floor replacement work being done in the multi-use room. Cardio Equipment-Commissioner Rogers asked if the new cardio equipment has had any impact on Sports &Fitness Center memberships. Manager Miller replied they did have Page 5 Rohnert Park Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes November 15, 2004 an increase in memberships in October,but it is difficult to know if this was due to the new equipment. He said staff hopes to step up marketing to encourage new members. Teen Center—Commissioner Hansen reported that at the last City Council meeting there were a couple of people who spoke about the importance of having a teen center. He said he thinks it is important to include a center in the Park Master Plan and asked if there is a facility that could be used now. Manager Miller said he spoke to one of the people who appeared at the Council meeting, and she is very interested in finding a place to start a homework club, which she is willing to supervise. Manager Miller said he is working with Recreation Supervisor,Wendy Audiss, to see if there is a room where they could meet. He said the person he had spoken to also asked about teen dances similar to those previously held at the Vision Teen Center. He informed her that Recreation Department is now offering dances at the Burton Recreation Center, which she was glad to hear about. Field Trip—Commissioner Bird asked if the field trip to look at the field in Redding had happened. Manager Miller reported about four people went but he hasn't heard how the trip turned out., He said this was a proposal that the City had received and is looking into the possibility of building a similar facility. Manager Miller reported the City Manager had told him that the Parks and Recreation Commission will be the lead commission when this project starts and advised he will keep the Commission informed. Specific Plan Areas—Manager Miller asked if the Commission wanted to scheduled a group trip to look at the specific plan areas discussed tonight or if they would rather visit them on their own. Commission Roger said he likes the idea of doing a group trip and the other commissioners agreed. Manager Miller said he will talk to Senior Planner Bendorff to see about scheduling the tour although it may not be until January since this would be considered a formal meeting. ADJO ;$ NT -'There being no further business before the Commission,the meeting was ;rimed reed . . 9:15 p.m. Chair Carls n Gu ller Recreation Services Manager Secretary Page 6