Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2023 03 08

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Open Space Advisory Board Minutes February 8, 2023 Page 2 of 7 Ember felt it went well. There was a lot of discussion of striking a balance between managing open space for wildfire vs managing the land for habitat and recreation. There was discussion about fencing. There was also discussion about how some parcels of undeveloped land that look like open space are actually privately -owned lands. Ember reported that the Planning Department intends to try to work with private landowners on fire mitigation. Ember added that she thought it was very helpful and interesting to hear what concerns the residents had on this topic. For example, attendees were curious about the role underpasses had played in the spread of the Marshal Fire. Ember felt like attendees were relieved to hear that the City had been busy, as there had been some perception that the City wasn't doing anything pro -active after the Marshall Fire. Ember said that the City's consultants would visit an OSAB meeting to discuss their report on fire mitigation in May. It will include maps, newly collected data, and mitigation recommendations. Another public open house will follow the OSAB meeting in early summer. After receiving feedback from public and boards, the report will go to City Council. OSAB will also receive the final version of the report at a meeting near the end of summer. Ember has reviewed the newly published city council annual workplan and noted topics that may overlap with open space for the board. She flagged a few items that might be of interest to OSAB, including: The Wildfire Hazard & Risk Assessment work, the Open Space & Parks Sales and Use Tax renewal work, and the City Comprehensive Plan, which includes the Transportation Master Plan (TMP). The TMP discusses the Future Highway 42 Improvement plan, which might include a proposed trail on Harney Lastoka Open Space. She added that the board might be curious about work on a dark skies initiative. David added that council is planning to discuss improving communication between advisory boards and council in March, and he will be keeping an eye on that topic on behalf of the board. Michiko asked David for more information about this issue. She wondered if OSAB is recommending making presentations to council. David answered that council is considering re -appointing council liaisons who would come to board meetings. However, he thought the most helpful thing might be a re -appraisal of how written memos from the board get communicated to council, but he agreed that sending board members to speak to council directly might be helpful. Helen commented that the board's memos should show up in the public record, whereas now they don't seem to, using the board's recent memo to council about paving a section of Coal Creek Trail as an example. She remarked upon how strange this is, considering that individual emails from residents do show up in the city council public packets. Helen reminded David that Jeff Durbin (the City Manager) said he wanted to have a committee of open space chairs to discuss these issues. David said it hasn't happened yet, but he is also curious about it. The Louisville Citizen Action Council, a grassroots citizen group that is interested in city government issues, met on February 4th. Ember reported that Adam gave them a presentation about the City's open space program, the staff's vision, current statutes, and land management priorities. Helen asked for the board to be given a copy of Adam's presentation.