July 2016 Advocacy Minutes
Advocacy Meeting
July 11, 2016 6:05 – 8:30 p.m.
4499 Ruffin Road, San Diego
Ben Stone – Advocacy Committee Chairperson/Vice-President SDMBA
Welcome and Introductions (Ben Stone)
Guest Speaker: Alexandra Stehl (CA State Parks) Roads and Trails Manager for 13 years, Ombudsman regarding trails (non-motorized trails), mapping trails, budget, planning layout and design of new trails, creates trail policy and regulations. Public Code of Regulations (PCO) and California Code of Regulations (CCR). Can’t do “road/trail management plan” until a general plan is approved. Statewide, Diablo Canyon GP is done, next likely to be Humboldt and Folsom. General plans good for 20-years. Any plan over 20 years old is on a prioritization list. According to Alexandra, many of their ideas have progressed in respect to campground evolution and “community” campgrounds.
-“Change in Use” process: a user looks at a trail and puts in a request to evaluate a trail for a change. Remove a use or add a use. Team that will assess if request is feasible or not feasible. (You just talk to district trail superintendent or district trail coodinator. There is not a form and some but not all info is online. Parks website: parks.gov.gov/trails. It’s a major bureaucratic process. Starts with district staff, do a trail inventory, safety assessment, budget breakdown, etc., etc. Then it finally goes to the public.)
-Steve Boland asking about Cuyamaca: Assessment in Progress. Is State Park adopting IMBA’s suggestions/methods? Wondering if Wilderness plans need to go thru more assessment. Wilderness border has been moved back instead of “cherry stemming.” We want to connect Cuyamaca SP to Anza SP.
Ben: “State wilderness and federal wilderness not the same.” Federal requires Act of Congress.
Alexandra: “Original handbook kind of secretive, not updated and reformulated. Now more available to public online.”
Laurel interjected: “Older General Plans don’t always take bikes into consideration, although Mt. Tam is an exception.”
Laurel Harkness (IMBA Regional Director for California and Hawaii) and formerly Pacific NW/works with 21 chapters in CA.
-Been working on a DEIS with State for 18 forests in California, she does more policy work that most regional directors, Sierra, Inyo and Sequoia plan revisions. No recommended wilderness in this plan as it stands. Public comments will be due on August 25. Laurel will provide talking points that SDMBA can share with members and the public if they would like to submit comments.
– After over 19 years of successful partnership, Subaru will no longer sponsor IMBA. Losing Subaru for Trail Care Crew which is now on hiatus.
-Talking with Alex at State Parks about a state-level agreement between IMBA and state parks. Formalizing certain partnerships ie. IMBA and Back-country horsemen.
Also works with “Outdoor Alliance.” (climbers, winter users, etc.) We have influence but sometimes some posturing because sometimes they are not too concerned if mountain bikers are excluded. Economics of mountain biking a big factor. NICA kids are prohibited from illegal trails or non-system trails in their high school athletic code of ethics. Laurel also works with congress people and CA Wilderness Coalition. We’ve come along way, now we are invited to the table whereas in the past we were notified after bills had been drafted or passed; we no longer have to claw our way to the table. Strategically, we need to really hold the line and not compromise in the early stages.
-IMBA position on opposition to wilderness: She thinks we are making incremental gains. CDFW: she will try to make some inroads with them. Pro-wilderness groups changing their focus to more recreation based classifications. Middle ground is shifting. New consideration is winter MTB use and ebikes.
Carlsbad/Calavera Improvements -Public meeting 7/19 at 6 p.m. at Calavera Community Center, 2997 Glasgow, Carlsbad. (Susie) Carlsbad beginning improvements to Calavera. $600,000 to improve popular area. Small meeting this Friday.
City of Santee Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update – Public Forum on Tuesday, July 12 at 6:30 pm located at Santee City Hall, Civic Center Bldg. 7, 10601 Magnolia Avenue (Susie Murphy) Focus group was tonight. Looking for good turnout from Santee peeps. Greenplay enlisted to help with MPU.
Boulder Oaks Recent Meeting and Trails Plan (Ben). Meeting in Ramona. Scoping for trails plan on County land. Original plan proposed about 8-10 miles road to be “trail” which SDMBA does not support. Cattle roam there and LDS owns a small parcel. No more “trails coordinator” at County but now they have a team since former person has been transferred. Ben Stone has drawn and submitted a new trails plan proposal. Neighbors are putting up fierce arguments about safety, congestion, etc. Ramona riders including NICA students and coaches were present. We need to hold county to their own new trails standards but BO does not necessarily fit that description.
Update on meeting with new Laguna Recreation Officer (Susie Murphy/Kevin Loomis). Kevin, Susie, Sean and Bill Herald had meeting with Lindsey (Recreation Officer) There are some redundant lines she wants to rehab. Looking toward planning a working camping weekend in a NFS cabin.
Fanita Ranch Update (Ben Stone). Evan hand drew in alignments on a giant map. We are working on being included on advising on trails but we’d rather have them leave it completely alone. Castle Rock is grading on west side of water treatment facility. Fuel management zone is our possible trail network.
San Diego River Park Foundation- (Ben Stone) update
-Overall Alignment
-Trails Plan Forest Service (Meeting July FS)
Temescal Creek covered in PO. Out by Heise Park. Looking to link two existing trails. Cutting required. One of our best partners (Rob Hutsel). SDRP has some financial credibility. Raised $1.3 in 90 days for parcel acquisition.
MCAS/Stowe Trail update – (Ben Stone/Kevin Loomis) . Base commander attended board meeting last month. Ben and Kevin assigned to community outreach committee. Will have public comment in a couple months.
CDFW issues. They don’t budge. Traditionally very uncooperative. City tried to get $800,000 grant for enforcement but got denied. Coming up for reconsideration. Ben looking for a volunteer who wants to work with a politician willing to lean on CDFW.
-Foster Truck Trail
-Del Mar Mesa
-Calaveras
-Teds
Black Mountain/Black Widow (Matt Bartelt & Susie Timeline). Matt B. on vacay. Ed working with city to persuade city to adopt Black Widow plan. November (hopefully rainy season) will continue work on area. Park storage container on Sun Devil Way to store tools using funds from recent REI Grant.
State Park Preserve/Reserve Off Trail Rule Change Recap (Kevin Loomis). Meeting last week. Lots of user groups represented. State parks compiling public comments and formulating replies. Probably be another public forum. A lot of user groups came together in a unified manner.
Castlerock project date June 2016 grading has begun. Will be grading for one year. Just a DG 12’ pathway that will end at Marine Base.
May Valley (Idyllwild) Trail Plan EA Released. Comments due July 15. See post on FB for details. (Minette)
Change to Advocacy Meeting Dates: August 8 and Sept 12. Will be the second Mondays of both Months. Please RSVP on FB or meetup if you want food and bevs.
San Marcos Trail Update (Mike Quijada, San Marcos Trails Committee) Fireroad, links not really MTB-worthy. Include SDMBA to help SM improve their singletrack. California gnatcatcher issue. Illegal trails built out of frustration and then city closes the legit trails. City working with a 3rd party consulting agency on their plan. Mike to gather info including name of consulting agency and other contacts and then consult with Ben.
Ben also said E county communities have developer funds that can be spent on trails if we have their endorsement. We need people to go to their meetings (quarterly) and let needs be known for more legal trails and bike parks.
Updates (Non-discussion items)
Tecolote Trails plan – (Evan) – (In progress 2016 build 2017)
Open Volunteer positions List (Ben Stone)
San Diego County Bike Park (Jason Showalter Meeting Pending)
Del Mar Mesa Surrounding Development
Rock House / San Diego Wildlife Refuge- update (Jose/Jason)
Otay Valley Regional Park – public comment update (Jose/Susie)
Tijuana River Valley (Bell Program in Progress)
Palm Canyon Update (in Progress Decision September)
San Diego County PLDO Funds
Village 13 Projected Date?
Mission Trails Master Plan (Summer 2016)
Next meeting August 8, 2016
Attendees (total 37):
Cyndi Denny
Marissa Villanueva
Joseph Hernandez
Phillip Villanueva
Michael Quejada
Stephen Boland
Sean Murphy
Mark Webb
Mike Lowry
Jeff Tanzola
Julie Adams
Tina Yapelli
Philip Erdelsky
Casey Goodge
Domingo Dias
Mike White
Andy Darragh
Minette Ozaki
Walt Devine
John Durkin
Julie Warner
Ben Stone
Kevin Loomis
Mike Jennings
Laurel Harkness (IMBA Rep for California)
Seth Hanson
Evan Solberger
Barry Vollmer
Doug Johnson
Dustin Sharp
Steve Sands
Rob Aaronson
David Hekel
Bob Ponting
Daniel Pitard
Skii Fleeton-Essenfeld
Larry Posenberry
July 11, 2016 6:05 – 8:30 p.m.
4499 Ruffin Road, San Diego
Ben Stone – Advocacy Committee Chairperson/Vice-President SDMBA
Welcome and Introductions (Ben Stone)
Guest Speaker: Alexandra Stehl (CA State Parks) Roads and Trails Manager for 13 years, Ombudsman regarding trails (non-motorized trails), mapping trails, budget, planning layout and design of new trails, creates trail policy and regulations. Public Code of Regulations (PCO) and California Code of Regulations (CCR). Can’t do “road/trail management plan” until a general plan is approved. Statewide, Diablo Canyon GP is done, next likely to be Humboldt and Folsom. General plans good for 20-years. Any plan over 20 years old is on a prioritization list. According to Alexandra, many of their ideas have progressed in respect to campground evolution and “community” campgrounds.
-“Change in Use” process: a user looks at a trail and puts in a request to evaluate a trail for a change. Remove a use or add a use. Team that will assess if request is feasible or not feasible. (You just talk to district trail superintendent or district trail coodinator. There is not a form and some but not all info is online. Parks website: parks.gov.gov/trails. It’s a major bureaucratic process. Starts with district staff, do a trail inventory, safety assessment, budget breakdown, etc., etc. Then it finally goes to the public.)
-Steve Boland asking about Cuyamaca: Assessment in Progress. Is State Park adopting IMBA’s suggestions/methods? Wondering if Wilderness plans need to go thru more assessment. Wilderness border has been moved back instead of “cherry stemming.” We want to connect Cuyamaca SP to Anza SP.
Ben: “State wilderness and federal wilderness not the same.” Federal requires Act of Congress.
Alexandra: “Original handbook kind of secretive, not updated and reformulated. Now more available to public online.”
Laurel interjected: “Older General Plans don’t always take bikes into consideration, although Mt. Tam is an exception.”
Laurel Harkness (IMBA Regional Director for California and Hawaii) and formerly Pacific NW/works with 21 chapters in CA.
-Been working on a DEIS with State for 18 forests in California, she does more policy work that most regional directors, Sierra, Inyo and Sequoia plan revisions. No recommended wilderness in this plan as it stands. Public comments will be due on August 25. Laurel will provide talking points that SDMBA can share with members and the public if they would like to submit comments.
– After over 19 years of successful partnership, Subaru will no longer sponsor IMBA. Losing Subaru for Trail Care Crew which is now on hiatus.
-Talking with Alex at State Parks about a state-level agreement between IMBA and state parks. Formalizing certain partnerships ie. IMBA and Back-country horsemen.
Also works with “Outdoor Alliance.” (climbers, winter users, etc.) We have influence but sometimes some posturing because sometimes they are not too concerned if mountain bikers are excluded. Economics of mountain biking a big factor. NICA kids are prohibited from illegal trails or non-system trails in their high school athletic code of ethics. Laurel also works with congress people and CA Wilderness Coalition. We’ve come along way, now we are invited to the table whereas in the past we were notified after bills had been drafted or passed; we no longer have to claw our way to the table. Strategically, we need to really hold the line and not compromise in the early stages.
-IMBA position on opposition to wilderness: She thinks we are making incremental gains. CDFW: she will try to make some inroads with them. Pro-wilderness groups changing their focus to more recreation based classifications. Middle ground is shifting. New consideration is winter MTB use and ebikes.
Carlsbad/Calavera Improvements -Public meeting 7/19 at 6 p.m. at Calavera Community Center, 2997 Glasgow, Carlsbad. (Susie) Carlsbad beginning improvements to Calavera. $600,000 to improve popular area. Small meeting this Friday.
City of Santee Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update – Public Forum on Tuesday, July 12 at 6:30 pm located at Santee City Hall, Civic Center Bldg. 7, 10601 Magnolia Avenue (Susie Murphy) Focus group was tonight. Looking for good turnout from Santee peeps. Greenplay enlisted to help with MPU.
Boulder Oaks Recent Meeting and Trails Plan (Ben). Meeting in Ramona. Scoping for trails plan on County land. Original plan proposed about 8-10 miles road to be “trail” which SDMBA does not support. Cattle roam there and LDS owns a small parcel. No more “trails coordinator” at County but now they have a team since former person has been transferred. Ben Stone has drawn and submitted a new trails plan proposal. Neighbors are putting up fierce arguments about safety, congestion, etc. Ramona riders including NICA students and coaches were present. We need to hold county to their own new trails standards but BO does not necessarily fit that description.
Update on meeting with new Laguna Recreation Officer (Susie Murphy/Kevin Loomis). Kevin, Susie, Sean and Bill Herald had meeting with Lindsey (Recreation Officer) There are some redundant lines she wants to rehab. Looking toward planning a working camping weekend in a NFS cabin.
Fanita Ranch Update (Ben Stone). Evan hand drew in alignments on a giant map. We are working on being included on advising on trails but we’d rather have them leave it completely alone. Castle Rock is grading on west side of water treatment facility. Fuel management zone is our possible trail network.
San Diego River Park Foundation- (Ben Stone) update
-Overall Alignment
-Trails Plan Forest Service (Meeting July FS)
Temescal Creek covered in PO. Out by Heise Park. Looking to link two existing trails. Cutting required. One of our best partners (Rob Hutsel). SDRP has some financial credibility. Raised $1.3 in 90 days for parcel acquisition.
MCAS/Stowe Trail update – (Ben Stone/Kevin Loomis) . Base commander attended board meeting last month. Ben and Kevin assigned to community outreach committee. Will have public comment in a couple months.
CDFW issues. They don’t budge. Traditionally very uncooperative. City tried to get $800,000 grant for enforcement but got denied. Coming up for reconsideration. Ben looking for a volunteer who wants to work with a politician willing to lean on CDFW.
-Foster Truck Trail
-Del Mar Mesa
-Calaveras
-Teds
Black Mountain/Black Widow (Matt Bartelt & Susie Timeline). Matt B. on vacay. Ed working with city to persuade city to adopt Black Widow plan. November (hopefully rainy season) will continue work on area. Park storage container on Sun Devil Way to store tools using funds from recent REI Grant.
State Park Preserve/Reserve Off Trail Rule Change Recap (Kevin Loomis). Meeting last week. Lots of user groups represented. State parks compiling public comments and formulating replies. Probably be another public forum. A lot of user groups came together in a unified manner.
Castlerock project date June 2016 grading has begun. Will be grading for one year. Just a DG 12’ pathway that will end at Marine Base.
May Valley (Idyllwild) Trail Plan EA Released. Comments due July 15. See post on FB for details. (Minette)
Change to Advocacy Meeting Dates: August 8 and Sept 12. Will be the second Mondays of both Months. Please RSVP on FB or meetup if you want food and bevs.
San Marcos Trail Update (Mike Quijada, San Marcos Trails Committee) Fireroad, links not really MTB-worthy. Include SDMBA to help SM improve their singletrack. California gnatcatcher issue. Illegal trails built out of frustration and then city closes the legit trails. City working with a 3rd party consulting agency on their plan. Mike to gather info including name of consulting agency and other contacts and then consult with Ben.
Ben also said E county communities have developer funds that can be spent on trails if we have their endorsement. We need people to go to their meetings (quarterly) and let needs be known for more legal trails and bike parks.
Updates (Non-discussion items)
Tecolote Trails plan – (Evan) – (In progress 2016 build 2017)
Open Volunteer positions List (Ben Stone)
San Diego County Bike Park (Jason Showalter Meeting Pending)
Del Mar Mesa Surrounding Development
Rock House / San Diego Wildlife Refuge- update (Jose/Jason)
Otay Valley Regional Park – public comment update (Jose/Susie)
Tijuana River Valley (Bell Program in Progress)
Palm Canyon Update (in Progress Decision September)
San Diego County PLDO Funds
Village 13 Projected Date?
Mission Trails Master Plan (Summer 2016)
Next meeting August 8, 2016
Attendees (total 37):
Cyndi Denny
Marissa Villanueva
Joseph Hernandez
Phillip Villanueva
Michael Quejada
Stephen Boland
Sean Murphy
Mark Webb
Mike Lowry
Jeff Tanzola
Julie Adams
Tina Yapelli
Philip Erdelsky
Casey Goodge
Domingo Dias
Mike White
Andy Darragh
Minette Ozaki
Walt Devine
John Durkin
Julie Warner
Ben Stone
Kevin Loomis
Mike Jennings
Laurel Harkness (IMBA Rep for California)
Seth Hanson
Evan Solberger
Barry Vollmer
Doug Johnson
Dustin Sharp
Steve Sands
Rob Aaronson
David Hekel
Bob Ponting
Daniel Pitard
Skii Fleeton-Essenfeld
Larry Posenberry