The regular meeting of the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association Board of Directors was held Thursday, November 18, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium with President Jim Spears presiding over the meeting.

1.1 CALL TO ORDER - President Jim Spears called the meeting to order.

1.2 SALUTE TO THE FLAG - President Jim Spears led the Board and the audience in the pledge of allegiance.

1.3 ROLL CALL - Directors Jim Spears, Dorothy Partridge, Jim Sherman, and David Sloan were present, Director Millie Arieta was ill.

2.0 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

2.1 Approval of Minutes of Meeting No. 1028, Thursday, October 21, 1999 - Director Sherman made motion to approve the minutes, with a second by Director Partridge, motion passes unanimously.

3.0 COMMENTS FROM PUBLIC AGENCIES

3.1 Alameda Co, Sheriff's Department - Deputy Terry Bartholomew stated that Deputy Shindelus has been temporarily reassigned until January 2000. Bartholomew said that he is currently the new connnander for an Explorer Post for youth in the area. This program takes youth ages l4 to 21 and gets them involved in various activities with the Sheriff's department including showing them the Coroner's office, the jail and seeing what there interests are. Each of the participants is active with a Deputy out in the field and gets experience in what it is like to be an officer. Any interested persons should contact Bartholomew.

Bartholomew stated that the graffifi abatement in San Lorenzo has been very effective and encouraged anyone who finds a problem to contact him at 5l0-667-3642. Resident Mrak asked if he could take care of the section of Hesperian near the freeway which has graffiti on it. Bartholomew stated that he would get someone out there.

The Administrator asked whether the Sheriff's Department had received any complaints regarding the new Karaoke Bar on Bockman. She has received complaints of beer bottles being left outside of the bar. Bartholomew stated that he had talked to some neighbors regarding noise but had no complaints regarding beer bottles and would look into this.

3.2 CHP Department - Officer Rob Tuazon reported that the statistics for the month of October were 20 traffic accidents, 245 speeding tickets (most of these are from Bockman, Channel and Via Alamitos). There were 105 DUI arrests for the total unincorporated area of the county, and 29 parking complaints for the San Lorenzo area. There were 853 verbal warnings and 653 written warnings for a total of 1506 tickets for the unincorporated area.

Officer Tuazon stated that he had received a letter from residents in the Via Alamitos area who had written about a car that was continually speeding on that street. The license plate and make of car were included in the letter so that the CHP was able to catch the young man who was doing the speeding. Tuazon encouraged anyone who has a complaint to try and get the license plate of the vehicle so that the CHP may track down the person responsible. Tuazon introduced Officer Greg Schmidt who is a new officer to the area. Officer Schmidt stated that he has been in Hayward since December of last year. He encouraged residents to call in if they have any complaints or questions.

Director Partridge questioned whether the CHP has had any complaints regarding illegal parking near the Bohannon School. She constantly has parents blocking her driveway. Tuazon stated that the department tries to deal with these calls but by the time the officer gets to the site the car(s) in question have moved. He would talk to Partridge after the meeting and see what his department could do.

Tuazon stated that the CHP has a magazine that they have published and he left copies for any residents who were interested.

3.3 Supervisor Gail Steele - The Administrator stated that the Supervisor was out of town and had nothing new to report.

Director Partridge asked the Board whether she could introduce the new appointee from the Youth Commission who be representing the group at the Association Board meetings. The consensus of the Board was to introduce the new member. Lorelei Francisco was introduced as the new member who would be taking over for Emmanuel Santigen. Francisco stated that she was a senior at Arroyo and was excited about participating at the Association Board meetings.

The Administrator questioned whether the youth surveys were completed for the Village Square. Santigen stated that they had been distributed and were very successful in getting responses. The Administrator suggested the Board get a report from the Youth Commission on the results of this survey at its December meeting.

4.0 FINANCIAL REPORT

4.1 Approval of October 1999 Expenditures - Director Sherman moved with a second by Director Sloan, that the Board approve the expenditures for October 1999. The motion was passed unanimously.

4.2 Discussion of Significant Variances - The Administrator said that there were no significant variances to report.

5.0 LIEN AND VIOLATION REPORT - The Administrator reported that there have been no liens released, and currently there are 240 cases open.

Inoperable/Unlicensed vehicle in front or side yard area           13
Recreational vehicle in front or side yard area                    19
General Maintenance of property                                    57
Vehicle parked on lawn or other unpaved area                       15
Others                                                              7
Total Number of Letters Sent in October 1999                      1ll

6.0 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPORTS

6.1 Business Development Committee (BDC)/appointments - Newly elected Chair Kathie Ready reported that at the last meeting county representative Lou Andrade presented the four architectural drawings drafted for the Specific Plan for the Village Square. The group discussed these plans and was encouraged to give its input as to what it liked and did not like with respect to the four outlines.

The three subcommittees for the BDC had given reports and updates as to their progress. The subcommittee for redevelopment reported that the county had finished its study and would be going before the Board of Supervisors to continue in its next step with the various communities involved. The subcommittee for other problem commercial areas in San Lorenzo reported that it is still in the process of going out to locate potential problem areas and the subconunittee for highlighting businesses in the Village Briefs stated that it would be submitting an article for publication for the next Association newsletter.

Resident Ann Marie Mrak reported for Harry Gin regarding his plan to target blighted properties in San Lorenzo. The group decided to invite Castro Valley Chamber member Jim Pacheco to its next meeting as he has been active in Castro Valley's Christmas in April program.

Ready reported that Chairperson Travis Thoms stepped down from his term as chair and that she was elected as Chair for the 99/00 year.

6.2 Task force for Village Square - The Administrator stated that informafion regarding the four plans would be going out in the Association's next newsletter at the first of December. In.us newsletter members of the Association would be asked to call or write in about what they thought about the various ideas. The Administrator stated that the Task Force meetings have gone by so fast that some people are not sure what they are agreeing or not agreeing to with respect to the Specific Plan. The Administrator stated that the four plans were available for the audience to review on the back wall and encouraged all to give input to various ideas/plans.

She noted that the summary of the Business Development minutes was incorrect in that not 20K was slated for possible housing, but 280K or 7 acres was being considered for housing. She encouraged all to attend the next Task Force meeting which would be Tuesday, November 23, 1999 in the Community Hall at 6:30 p.m. She also announced a Web Site where interested persons could review the minutes and ongoing progress of the Task Force: www.participation.com .

It was questioned as to whether the property owner was actively involved in the process and Scott Bohannon spoke on behalf of the organization, stating that the Bohannon Organization is actively involved in the process.

7.0 ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT

7.1 Street Sweeping Program - The Administrator reported that most of the streets are being swept weekly and when they are not being done it is due to the County trucks having mechanical problems. The Administrator stated that she is still waiting to hear back from the county regarding the street sweeping signs.

Director Partridge noted that the Association has been trying to get the county street sweeping personnel to comply with the signs in San Lorenzo since they were put up, but has not been successful.

Resident Kathie Ready stated that the street sweeper the Association has contracted out with is doing a good job, however, she feels that the signs need to be obeyed by the residents. She feels that the main problem is due to the residents not moving their respective cars and that is why the streets are not being swept effectively.

Resident Fred Michael stated that the street sweeper we have contracted with does not have the right type of sweeper for the leaves in the area. This firm's sweeper is designed for construction debris and not leaves and has a back dump. If the Association got a sweeper that was designed for leaves with a front end dump, it would be able to empty the leaves in the Association parking lot area versus the end of Grant Avenue, which takes an additional 25 minutes to do, wasting sweeping time. The Administrator stated that this firm is only charging the Association $60 per hour versus the normal $120 per hour that most firms contract out at. The Association traded its old sweeper to this firm in lieu of this reduced fee.

Resident Harry Curlett noted that the county sweeper is a vacuum truck and has a crew that can sweep the leaves out from under the cars should they be parked in the street. He stated that with the "no parking" street sweeping signs the Association is paying double of what is needed. He said it would be more effective if the signs were not in the area so that the sweeper could get to an entire street (both sides) during the same time of day, rather than sweeping one side in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Curlett said the signs create more of an expense to the Association; double the gas mileage and wear and tear on the vehicle and it is not an effective use of personnel.

7.2 Other Informational items - The Administrator introduced Art Carrera from the Alameda County Public Works Agency regarding the proposed bike lanes for Grant Avenue in San Lorenzo.

Carrera stated that his Department plans to extend the bike lane from Via Seco to the end of Grant Avenue. Grants are available such as Livable Community (TLC) which takes a blighted area and creates a road design that will benefit the community better. The application for this funding is due December 16, 1999. There are three (3) designs which Carrera presented. One option would be to add curb and gutters, pedestrian walkways and left turn lanes. Another alternative would be to create a landscape median in the center of Grant Avenue with additional landscaping at the sides. The third alternative would shift the road so that there is a narrow sidewalk on one side and a bike lane and possible par course on the other. In this way the bike lane would be separate from the street. Carrera stated that as part of the application-for this grant, the applicant must show that the area has a great need for the funding and that there is a connection to transit. Both of these things can be shown with the proposed bike lane designs on Grant Avenue. Carrera stated that he has come before the Board to request a letter in support of this application which will further help it get approved.

Partridge questioned how the project would connect with the Shoreline Trail but yet the project ends at railroad avenue. Carrera stated that the TLC funding would allow the trail to be extended to the Shoreline Trail area. It was discussed whether traffic would be affected by the installation of additional left turn lanes and as to how the additional trees and/or landscaping proposed would be maintained. Carrera stated that a grant to plant additional trees along Grant Avenue has already been approved and this grant would include the cost of maintaining the trees for two years. After that period, most of the trees are already established and need very little maintenance. Any landscaping along that area would be low-maintenance landscaping.

Resident Howard Beckman stated that he felt that the entire community should be involved in approving the plans. He stated that there are large plots of property that are still vacant at the end of Grant and that a pedestrian type of atmosphere is not consistent with the way in which the area is currently zoned. Resident Ron Groves stated that the area being considered is very dangerous for bicyclists and does not provide adequate distance between traffic and bikers. He stated that he felt more public input was needed. Resident Mrak said that many of the residents in the area would support this project and would be glad to draft a letter in support of it. Mrak pointed out that many people who bike regularly in the area would like the bike lane in the street versus separate from it. This is because the street sweeper can get to the glass and debris left in the roadway and prevent the bicyclists from having problems when they travel.

The Administrator asked Carrera if the Board could support the idea of funding this project, with the specifics of the design to be considered at a later date. This would enable Carrera to get a letter of support from the Board which is needed in the application. Carrera stated that this would be acceptable. The consensus of the Board was to send a letter stating its approval of the bike lane project. The Board's consensus was not to consider the median landscaping design due to the impact it could have on the traffic in the area and to get a definite answer as to who would maintain the landscaping in the long-term.

A motion was made by Director Sloan and seconded by Director Sherman to approve the Administrator's Report. The motion carried unanimously.

8.0 OTHER BUSINESS

8.1 Update of Master Plan for the Hayward Airport - Brent Shiner/Howard Beckman - Brent Shiner spoke on behalf of the Master Plan for the Hayward Airport. He stated that the Airport is working with the long term design and that they have finalized some projects. Currently they have determined that they will extend the end of the main runway 28 left which will widen the taxiway and allow air craft using this runway to make a turn prior to flying over houses in San Lorenzo, thus reducing the impact of noise to the area.

The airport will also construct a sound wall for the San Lorenzo area which abuts the airport, thus helping to minimize the sound caused by the airport. Shiner stated that the greatest impact of the noise is when the wind changes and aircrafts must come into land from the San Lorenzo side. The sound wall will also help reduce the noise of aircrafts revving their engines prior to take off. Shiner stated that the Air National Guard has a lease on part of the airport's land until the year 2014. If they were to vacate the area after that time there is a potential for industrial and non-industrial use for the land. Shiner stated that the airport will be finalizing its plan and will need to have an EIR conducted which will take over a year to get full approval. He stated that the airport does have approval and will definitely extend the runway to help with the reduction of planes flying over the San Lorenzo area on take-off.

Director Sloan asked whether the plan is making way for more air traffic at the airport. Shiner stated that traffic is due to increase and there is a demand for aircrafts that the airport wishes to accommodate. However, the number of operations may not increase due to the fact that many of the planes will be housed in hangers and not moved for several years. Shiner noted that there are currently 185,000 operations per year from the Hayward Airport, which is not even half of what was occurring in the 1970's when the airport was at the height of its operations. The master plan is planning ahead to meet the demands of increased needs for air traffic in the coming years. Resident Ready asked about the extension of runway 28 left. If 90% of the aircrafts take off and land on this runway, how will extending it reduce the noise level? Shiner stated that the airport is educating pilots to make a turn prior to flying over the housing at the end of that runway. This turn will make it safer for the pilot and the residents and reduce the noise incurred by the flight to the housing below. The extension of the runway will allow the pilots to make this turn effectively and safely.

Resident Mrak asked what direction do most of the flights come from when they land? Shiner stated that 95% are coming from the Southland Mall area. Mrak stated that she is confused about the smaller aircrafts which she has had complaints about. Are they headed to Oakland or Hayward airports? Shiner stated that if the aircrafts are flying low they are most likely landing or coming from Hayward. He encouraged residents to notify Hayward right away if they have a complaint. The sooner that the airport gets the iiifon-nation, the sooner they can educate the pilots.

Howard Beckman stated that it was unclear to him as to why this item was a separate item on the agenda, and not merely a report from the airport committee which has been a regular item for quite some time. He stated that he has questioned two of the developments proposed in the master plan for the airport. The first is why the noise wall, which will reduce the noise to the San Lorenzo area, is not due to be built until the year 2025, and secondly why the helicopters which are currently to the south side of the airport are being moved with the master plan to the north side of the airport. This will exasperate the noise already incurred by the airport by the residents in San Lorenzo. Beckman stated that he realizes that noise will be part of the EIR process, however, he hopes that public hearings related to the EIR and the master plan will address the negative impacts this plan will have on San Lorenzo residents.

Shiner stated that Beckman had a valid point about moving the timing of the construction of the sound wall and he will look at this seriously and work with the community in moving the timing of this construction. He pointed out that the helicopter operations will not be moved to the north side, but rather an additional pad will be added to the north to provide more space for the helicopters to be serviced.

8.2 Lorenzo Theater Update - Zoning Administrator Daryl Gray reported on the most recent hearing with the prospective buyer of the Lorenzo Theater. Gray stated that at the last hearing there were 24 conditions that were outlined by staff that the applicant was told to agree to prior to approval of the use permit. In addition, staff had some issues with the plans for the renovation of the theater that were questioned by the historical architect they hired with respect to retaining the historical status of the theater.

At the last public hearing the applicant had some compliance with the 24 conditions, however, there was still a need for clarification in some areas. The matter was continued until 12/15/99 wherein the applicant will have his,architect prepare new plans which interested parties will have one to two weeks to review to see that all conditions are being addressed. After this, staff will be in a position to finalize the plans. Gray stated that most of the interested parties will get a copy of these plans, including the San Lorenzo Association's Board and the Lorenzo Theater group's board and consultant. The deadline for these plans is December 1, 1999, however Gray stated that if he receives them by December 6, 1999 they will still have enough time to review them and get copies to the appropriate parties involved.

8.3 Board of Directors Election Information - The Administrator reported that the ballots have been prepared and the election and sample ballot information will go out to all homeowners in the Association's next newsletter. Mr. Beckman had concerns with using the candidates' names in order to show correct versus incorrect voting procedures. The Administrator had consulted with the Association's attorney who stated that using candidates names in sample ballot information was fine, however, he suggested that she use generic candidates in order to make all parties comfortable. The newsletter will be using generic "candidate 1, candidate 2 , etc." for the sample ballot information.

The Administrator announced that there will be a candidates forum on December 15, 1999, prior to the Board meeting, from 7:00-7:45 p.m. She stated that the judges will be contacted to count the ballots sometime after February 1, 2000 and reminded the residents that the process is totally open to the public and conducted in the Community Hall.

8.4 Final Approval of the 2000 Delinquent Assessment & Foreclosure Policy - The Administrator stated that she had the Association's attorney review the 2000 Delinquent Assessment and Foreclosure Policy and he stated that there were no changes in the law and recommended approval of the policy for the coming year.

Director Partridge made a motion to approve the 2000 Delinquent Assessment and Foreclosure Policy, Sherman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

8.5 Final Reading of By-Law Change for the Quorum from 4 members to 3 members - Administrator indicated the final reading of the change for the quorum of the Association's by-law's as follows: Page eight of the by-laws, article 16, section 5 currently states: "A quorum of this board shall consist of four (4) directors no action can be taken except by the affirmative vote of three (3) directors." The proposed change would read as follows: "A quorum of this board shall consist of three (3) directors, no action can be taken except by the affirmative vote of three (3) directors. The only word change would be from four (4) to three (3).

Resident Reynolds questioned why the Board was changing this part of the by-laws. Director Partridge stated that with the current wording of the by-laws, the Board needs to have three(3) members present to conduct a meeting and this would mean that a scheduled meeting would have to be canceled if only three Directors were present. Partridge pointed out that there is no change as to how many votes are needed to approve an item -- three(3) affirmative votes are still necessary.

Director Sherman moves to approve the final reading of the by-law change for the quorum of members, Partridge seconds.

Roll call vote as follows:

Spears: Aye
Partridge: Aye
Sherman: Aye
Sloan: Aye

The motion carries unanimously.

9.0 PUBLIC COMMENT

Resident Ron Groves pointed out that with respect to the bike lane on Grant Avenue, the county should consider possibly widening the walkway in the one design so that the bike lane could be wide enough so the sweeper could sweep debris from it. This would separate bicyclists from traffic and maintain the path.

Groves also stated that Davy Trees who maintains the trees for PG&E has been cutting the trees wrong and thus creating more leaves and debris every year. Groves suggested that the Board draft a letter to PG&E stating that if the trees were cut properly to begin with, it would help both PG&E and the Association. Groves also recommended that the street signs reflect what the sweeper can do.

Resident Mrak stated that she would like to have the Board follow through with a letter to PG&E regarding this issue. Resident Ready stated that several years ago she asked Davy Tree to trim her tree correctly and she stayed at home when they came out to make sure that they did. She pointed out that it is hard for most working residents to do this.

The Administrator stated that she would try and get a PG&E representative to a Board meeting to address this issue. It was pointed out that PG&E may not be trimming the trees any more due to its budget.

Resident Harry Curlett suggested that the Association investigate whether utilities in San Lorenzo could be put underground. He stated that the ftmding could be handled by a bond issue if most residents were in favor of doing this. By removing the power lines it would drastically improve the look of San Lorenzo.

Dr. Sanchez from the San Lorenzo Rotary stated that his group is very interested in having a center for youth in the San Lorenzo area. His group has spoken with Richard Soares who runs the Boys and Girls club in San Leandro about how that program is run. Sanchez stated that he would like to see youth activities incorporated in the plan for the Village Square and his group will be updating its progress at the next Youth Resources meeting in January.

President Jim Spears presented outgoing Chair Travis Thoms from the Business Development Committee with a plaque in appreciation for his service to the committee, the Association's Board and the community.

10.0 COMMITTEE REPORTS

10.1 Youth Resources Committee - Dorothy Partridge thanked the Bohannon Organization for its donation of $500.00 to the committee. She announced that February 11, 2000 the group will be hosting its first Valentines day dinner-dance fundraiser with music by Lime Rickey. She encouraged homeowners to get tickets now as seating is limited.

10.2 Airport Committees - None.

10.3 Council on the Prevention of Drinking and Driving - Director Spears reported that the committee is hosting a contest for students of all ages to write essays about why you should not drink and drive. The contest will be judged in February and there will be monetary prizes for the winners.

11.0 COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS

Director Spears stated that at last month's meeting he was rude to resident Ann Marie Mrak and stated that although he had personally apologized to her, he wanted to further extend his apology to the audience as well.

12.0 ADJOURNMENT - President Spears adjourned the meeting at 10:05 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Dorothy Partridge
Secretary-Treasurer

Recorded & Transcribed By: Kathleen Harrigan, Sr. Admin. Assistant
Reviewed By: Nancy Van Huffel, Administrator