Cambria Forest Committee
TO CONSERVE AND MANAGE THE NATIVE FOREST OF CAMBRIA
Meeting Minutes
November 9, 2016, 6:30 PM
Cambria Rabobank, 1070 Main Street
A Quorum was established by directors Crosby and Laura Swartz, JoEllen Butler, Connie Gannon and Christine Heinrichs. Amanda Rice of CCSD, Nancy Anderson of Greenspace, and Tony Church of NCAC also attended.
Minutes of the October 12 meeting were approved as amended to correct the date of the Cambria Community Council meeting.
Treasurer’s report: Laura Swartz reported $2,149.98 in the account, $495.13 of which is the remains of the 2016 CCC grant. A small bill of $20 to the state is pending.
Sub-Committee Reports
Education/Planting/Mitigation/Operations
Community Council Grant Meeting: Laura and Christine will attend the November 14 Cambria Community Council meeting and make a three-minute presentation of the Invasive Weed brochure to support the application for a $1,500 grant to publish it in Spanish and in English.
Website report: Amanda Rice made the transition from GoDaddy and the web site migration is now complete.
County Referral Packages: Crosby is still not receiving them but Laurel Stewart of the NCAC Land Use Committee is sharing them with him. Two applications have been submitted:
DRC2016-00024 VAN BEURDEN – Proposed minor use permit for the remodel of an addition to existing single family residence at 5223 Hillcrest Drive.
DRC2016-00022 FISKE – Proposed minor use permit for the construction of an ADA accessible guest house at 2130 Wilton Drive in Cambria.
Discussion raised issues of damage to trees and merging parcels on Hillcrest Drive.
The Wilton Drive guest house will impact an old oak tree that is on the easement between two properties. Tony Church, who sits on the NCAC LUC, offered to share the LUC’s minutes with the Forest Committee. Crosby will write letters sharing the LUC’s recommendations and circulate to Forest Committee directors.
Two other developments of interest to the Forest Committee are the major renovation of Ragged Point and the construction of 25 campsites at the old Air Force base south of Cambria. The site has three wells but also have a pipeline to the Fiscalini water tank. Amanda Rice, newly re-elected to the CSD Board, said she would research water commitments to the site.
Forest Management
Sudden Oak Death Seminar: UC Extension presented a workshop on Sudden Oak Death earlier in the day. Citizen Science is being used to gather samples for testing. SOD can only be diagnosed by lab tests. The SOD Blitz will be scheduled in the Spring and the public invited to participate. SOD has been identified in bay laurel trees along San Simeon Creek north of Cambria but not in any oak trees yet. Connie Gannon felt her question regarding boot and equipment cleaning was not adequately answered in the meeting, so she will contact Kim Corella, Cal Fire Forest Health Specialist for further details.
Endangered Species Status for Monterey Pines: Julie Jorgenson did not attend the meeting. Connie Gannon has not pursued the issue.
Connie looked into the Cal Fire Urban Forestry grants Dan Turner suggested. One must be administered by a district, so she has a call in to District Engineer Bob Gresens. Laura Swartz said that the Buildout Reduction Committee is exploring the possibility of creating an Open Space District. “We are in the beginning stages of trying to find some tools to use,” Laura said.
Free Chipping days will be held December 1st and 2nd. The SOD workshop said that chips that are spread out and dried do not pose any threat of spreading SOD.
Report from Fire Safe Focus Group: The first Local Hazard Mitigation Plan planning meeting will be held at 10 am Monday, November 14, at the Fire Station. The LHMP will address fire. It is relying on questionable data in the Cambria Community Wildfire Protection Plan regarding the forest, see below. Bruce Fosdike will attend the County Fire Safe Council meeting next week. Contact him if you have anything you would like him to address.
New Business
State Responsibility Area Grant Application: Connie reported that this grant is germane to Fire Safe Council. Dan Turner wants to schedule a meeting with the Forest Committee.
Unfinished Business
Comment Letter on Draft EIR for Water Supply Project: The Forest Committee did not send comments as a group, but individual directors wrote their own. Laura noted that the EIR takes account only of the few tees on the Emergency Water Plant site, not the effects of the 750 houses to be built if the plant is approved for growth. At least 450 of the 750 houses are on forested lots. “Mitigation measures are needed to offset the loss of trees and native vegetation in these environmentally sensitive areas,” they wrote in their comments. Crosby will scan and circulate the map Laura made showing where lots to be developed are.
Discussion about Cambria Community Wildfire Protection Plan: Connie will write up a critique of the plan, which was done as a Cal Poly class project. Student visited only Liemert, did a drone flyover and used computer modeling to generate theoretical data. Sarah Bisbing is now collecting data on site. The Plan was never presented in Cambria for comment. The Plan is posted on the Forest Committee web site.
Date and Agenda Items for Next Meeting: December 14. Amanda Rice asked the Forest Committee whether the CSD should appoint a CSD director to the Forest Committee. The CSD will make assignments at its December 15 meeting. The Fire Department could also be asked to send a representative.
The meeting was adjourned at 8 pm.
