Cambria Forest Committee
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF February 25, 2009
Cambria CSD Suite #204
1316 Tamson Drive Cambria, CA 93428
DIRECTORS PRESENT: Pat Bouldin, Bryan Bode, Tim O’Keefe, Mark Miller, Muril Clift, Rick Hawley, Galen Rathbun, Bill Schassberger, Brad Seek.
GUESTS PRESENT:Bob Putney, Howard Vallens, Mike Walsh
1.0 Called to order at 7:07 pm.
2.0 Welcome to new CCSD representative liaison Muril Clift
3.0 Approved the minutes of February 25th (Rathbun/Hawley) with the following corrections: Greg Sanchez was voted in as a Director. Rick Hawley was voted in as Co- Chairman instead of JoEllen Butler. Each Sub Committee will have it’s own separate goals. Bryan Bode as an employee will carry out CCSD wishes but will express his personal views to CFC as a private citizen.
4.0 Treasurer reported Dir. Trask was not present to report.
5.0 PG&E Grant: Rick Hawley sent in the grant application and was notified that it was well received. The grant is for $500. It will be used to defray costs for the vegetation workers certification program. The money (pending approval) will be used entirely in 2009. Dir. Miller suggested having Certification material online. Information would be available at CCSD website (or through a link) for workers to study and then take a test to pass and receive certification. This could reduce the amount of training time dir. Hawley would have to spend training workers.
6.0 Sub Committee Reports
6.1- Cambria Forest Management Plan: (Hawley) A power point program has been set up to explain the Forest Mgt. Plan. An abbreviated version was developed as a starting point to introduce groups to the plan.
One option considered to funding the plan is to do an initiative. Mr. Clift found a code section that allows designated initiative funds for particular purposes. It allows a community to tax itself without adding to taxation at large. Voter approval would be needed in the community only. He will provide more information in the next meeting.
The hiring of a Forester is needed to implement the plan. Dir. Rathbun suggested a one page summary on the total cost for employing a Forrester at least on a part time basis. Mr. Clift suggested that any steps taken to ask the community for money should be done incrementally and be clearly defined. Dir. Hawley stated that the plan could be implemented for a specific project such as the Urban Reserve Line or Sheffield Dr.
Howard Vallens stated that an ordinance needs to be passed to provide the forester with enforcement powers.
6.2 Annual Lot Clearing (Miller)
a. An APN list will be generated.
b. There is a list of approved contractors based on 2006 certification.
c. CCSD guidelines: The fire hazard fuel reduction program will continue. The proposed ordinance is no longer an issue. The “declaration of a nuisance” action will be presented the March CCSD Board for approval.
The goal is to get an early jump on this year’s fuel reduction program to avoid careless clearing and the use of heavy equipment. The July 31st requirement to get the assessments on the tax roles creates a time constraint problem. The fire dept. is looking for ways to provide more time for quality work. Dir. Miller stated that new lots will be added as it becomes necessary.
Mr. Vallens expressed concern over clearing large lots that have no dwelling within100 ‘ of its property line’.
Dir. Rathbun asked if the fire dept. was abiding by CCSD directive that the number of lots to be cleared was not increasing and if any lots were being taken off the list. Mr. Putney stated that the number of lots cleared in 2008 were the same as 2007. Dir. Miller stated that it would be possible to take some lots off the list that were no longer a threat. Total number of lots on the list is 2049.
Dir. Schassberger stated that his concern was in the way lots were recently being cleared. Some of the contractors were not allowing for any regeneration and that would kill the forest. Dir Miller agreed and said that some of these problems were also the result of property owners doing their own work or hiring unapproved contractors.
All directors agreed that including a forester in the lot clearing program would be beneficial.
6.3 Tree planting and education. Dir. Hawley stated that Greenspace planted 500 pine seedlings on San Simeon Creek rd. across from CCSD well field (Clyde Warren property)
Dir. Schassberger complimented Dir. Seek on leading a pine tree walk at the Fiscalini Ranch. Schassberger and Dir. Butler discussed educating the public by putting regular articles in the newspaper.
a. Speaker series. Dir. Hawley has two talks planned: one to discuss the Forest Mgt. Plan and another to address the diseases that affect the forest. He asked the board if Nancy Anderson could come to the next meeting to give a 10 minute presentation. The subject would include Wild Land/Urban interface and how to fund a plan through the initiative process. The board informally agreed.
b. Seedling funding. Dir Schassberger requested a fund of $100-$200 to pay for seedlings to be planted at the Grammar School. Dir. Hawley offered to furnish seedlings for sale or trade. All transactions would be reported to CFC. Approved (Schassberger/Rathbun).
6.4 Dir. Rathbun and Bouldin provided a list of organizations that should be reached to obtain an email address and a contact person. These organizations would be informed of CFC activities and encouraged to participate ( Participant list attached).
7.0 Old business.
7.1. Follow up on letter to CCSD of October 24, 2008.
Dir. Miller addressed the jurisdictions between Cambria fire dept. and Cal. Fire at the last CCSD board meeting.
Cal fire has jurisdiction over improved parcels through the LE100 program(resource code 4291), and Cambria fire uses the local ordinance (fuel reduction) that covers the vacant lots. The two have agreed to communicate to identify homes that can meet defensible space requirements. Cambria fire has identified a number of steep sloped properties where they can assist in defensible space such as the rodeo grounds and Air Force housing. Most homes cannot technically meet defensible space requirements because the lots are too small. Vacant lots that are beyond 100′ of a home will not be cleared unless it is CCSD property. The reason for clearing these lots is in anticipation of the public complaining that CCSD is not maintaining their own. Dir. Hawley objected to the way some of these lots were cleared and expressed a need for guidelines in dealing with these lots.
Dir. Rathbun suggested that the fire chief develop protocols to insure that his policies were being carried out.
7.2 Nothing to report on 501-C3 with the state.
8.0 No public comment.
Meeting adjourned 9:00 pm (Rathbun/Bode)
Respectfully submitted by Brad Seek
