City Council Minutes 2024 02 13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes February 20, 2024 Page 3 of 4 wildfire mitigation; and a sustainable grazing program. He also reviewed suggestions for capital projects for 2025. Blankinship stated the Board would like feedback on if the Board should continue in a quasi-judicial role for land use applications and how best to communicate with Council. Councilmember Kern stated she would like to see more in the work plan about open space management and wildfire mitigation. Board members stated they feel acquisition has been short-changed in recent years and they want to be sure there is a good long-term plan for the new 2C acquisition money becoming available. Councilmember Hamlington would like to see the board work plan better differentiate between what is a board role and that of staff. Many of the items listed appear to be staff duties. Public Comments Cathern Smith, Louisville, stated the division of the parks and open space funds needs citizen input to be sure to represent what residents want. She stated citizens do want more acquisition. Sherry Sommer, Louisville, stated we should look at the big picture of how to do both acquisition and fire mitigation. Find a way to do both. She wants to see the knowledge provided by the board members incorporated in decisions. Cynthia Come, Louisville, stated the City needs to hire experts and write an open space management plan. The City should hire a consultant to help better determine the organization of the parks and open space divisions. Mayor Leh noted that serving in a quasi-judicial capacity is challenging as you can't speak freely on land use cases. He feels this role is important for OSAB and PPLAB. Councilmembers agreed they want the OSAB and PPLAB to continue in their current quasi-judicial roles. They feel getting that quasi-judicial input on land use items from the boards is critical in their decision making. Staff will arrange for more quasi-judicial training for the boards. Everyone agreed to continue work on a better acquisition policy. Someone on staff should be tasked with making contacts with the owners of parcels that are a high priority so the City can request first right of refusal. Members encouraged the Board to continue to communicate with the Council through the established staff liaison channels.