MINUTES

BTCSD Greenbelt Stewardship Plan

PUBLIC MEETING - October 15, 2005

Brooktrails Community Center - 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Presented by the Recreation, Greenbelt & Conservation Committee
Facilitated by Brian Weller

Brian Weller opened the meeting at 9:05 a.m. He polled the audience for their addresses; the entire audience consisted of Brooktrails residents. He presented a series of visual exercises for audience participation, which revealed to audience members how their minds selectively reviewed and processed information presented. He discussed the process of change and its associated discomfort and the importance of focusing on details. When it comes to a plan, he said, what matters is how it works in practice, and this means how the details work. Before addressing complexity, it is necessary to look first at the simpler level, from which principles can be derived. Then these principles can be applied to complexity.

Director Mary Ziady, Chair of the Recreation, Greenbelt & Conservation Committee, took the floor . She said the draft plan will be presented to the Board of Directors at its October 25, 2005 meeting and discussed at the November 8, 2005 Board meeting. She reviewed the details of the comprehensive plan as drafted to date. Components already covered in public meetings: watershed, recreation, fire, erosion. In today's meeting riparian issues and restoration would be covered. The public's input has been used throughout the multiple revisions of the draft plan to date.

Director Ziady continued that the purpose of the greenbelt plan is to protect and promote the ecosystem integrity and sustainability of the greenbelt, to maintain the resilience of that system to adapt to short-term stresses and long-term change. The long-term goal is to develop a mosaic of native redwood, conifer and hardwood forest, consisting of a mix of types and ages that promote a diverse natural forest. We have over 2,500 acres which was last logged in 1964. The developers mandated that this space be left open and not developed. Until now we have never developed a comprehensive plan. The greenbelt is our watershed, a source of recreation, a redwood forest; provides habitat for a variety of wildlife and plant life. It is open space and will become increasingly valuable to us as development comes to this County. It is a place of beauty, peace and spirituality and is the heart of Brooktrails. Finally, she said, it is a double-edged sword. You have the benefits of a forest/residential interface, but you balance it by the risk of fire. She said we want to bring that forest back to its health, as close as it can to its original pre-settlement times, and we also believe that will make it safer and protect our watershed. If we provide stewardship it will continue to give us recreation, beauty, open space and water and the risk of fire will be reduced.

Director Ziady reviewed that the Board of Directors had designated an ad hoc committee to develop this plan, after the community reaction to the Brooktrails Greenbelt Forest Management Plan presented in December 2004 and developed through the California Forest Improvement Plan (CFIP). Public reaction stimulated interest in the issue and provided a starting point for community dialogue. Three public meetings have continued this dialogue; the plan has also been placed on the BTCSD website. The plan has also utilized information and expertise from the California Department of Transportation, Brooktrails Fire Department, CDF, and the Department of Fish & Game.

The ad hoc committee believes that a comprehensive plan includes protection from fire and erosion and promotes species diversity and habitat. A zone approach is used to recognize that different greenbelt parcels have different needs and exposures to adjoining lots. The committee took a long environmental view in developing the plan, acknowledging that forest stewardship is a developing art and that actions must be considered and evaluated, and then changed or not. It is an ongoing process.

Director Ziady continued that education, interaction and involvement of the community is crucial to the plan. Involvement can range from hosting a neighborhood meeting, serving on a committee, doing abatement work in the Greenbelt or voting to support stewardship of the Greenbelt.

The committee believes that good stewardship promotes a strong, more fire-resistant watershed that is available for our use and enjoyment now and in the future. Due to public input, the stewardship plan will not include logging for profit or to subsidize costs, or herbicide usage. Ecological uses for the small wood resulting from abatement will be sought. Large trees resulting from shaded fuel break development or thinning may be milled. Part of the lumber will pay the milling costs; the rest will go to the District for community/district projects.



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