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CllY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA PARKS, RECREATION & COMMUNllY SERVICES REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL January 8, 2007 AGENDA ITEM Report Regarding Ihe Citywide Trail Master Planning Process (1) Motion to Approve the multi-purpose (pedestnan, bicycle, equeslnan) trail master plan lor Ihe San Rafael Hills, the San Gabnel Mounlains (Deukmejian Wildemess), and the Verdugo Mountains. COUNCIL ACTION Public Hearing [ 1 Ordinance [ Approved for~J:JIr' 6 1 Qtt.tl Consent Calendar [1 Action Item [X 1 Report Only [ I calendar. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION Signal Submitted George Chapjian, Director of Parks, Recreation & Community serv'~ic.:es~~~~Ll.~,j..~~~r Prepared Jeff Weinstein, Trails and Open Space SPeCiaIiSI. Approved James E. Starbird, City Manager Reviewed Scott Howard, City Attorney Marc Stirdivant, Sr. Administrative Analyst ; ~~~~do~~~~;""''-'-\---'~''''"'''- _ :"~ .. .,..~:;~~:...:"'':::.,~==~ ~.. =-;l;~te.4&....;,t,.~-;:;f-.-- RECOMMENDATION It is respectfully recommended that Ihe City Council adopl a motion to approve Ihe mulli-purpose (pedestnan, bicycle, equestnan) trail master plan for the San Rafael Hills, the San Gabnel Mountains (Deukmejian Wildemess), and the Verdugo Mountains. 8 A SUMMARY The Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department has completed a review of the existing trail systems within Glendale's three major open space areas: the San Rafael Hills, the San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness Park) and the Verdugo Mountains. The City currently has over 5,000 acres of open space available to Glendale residents. Eight Public Workshops were conducted to gather input from the trail community. Discussions centered on new trail alignments, the evaluation of existing routes and priorities for repair and development. The main focus for future development is to create loop systems with local and regional connections and the establishment of destination points. Several funding sources available for trail development require that applicants have an adopted master plan prior to grant submittal. Adoption of these revised trail plans will help the city procure future trails related grant funding and establish the city as a leader in the local trait community. FISCAL IMPACT There is no net fiscal impact to the general fund from the proposed program. Support for this planning phase of the trails system is available in Parks CIP Account 51200 401 601 508851201 (Deukmejian Trails Repair Grant). These funds were awarded from the State of California's Proposition 12, Per Capita II Grant in 2002. Future development and maintenance costs associated with the trail system will be presented in the next phase of this project. BACKGROUND The City of Glendale is unique in its varied geography, topography, and vegetation communities (from mixed chaparral to mountain riparian woodlands). The city has ownership of more than 5,000 acres of open space that function in the role as our own "big backyard". One way to access these ·wild" areas is through the use of trails. These paths can be used by hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians. The open space and related trails are not only available for recreation, but serve as alternate routes for transportation, provide an outdoor classroom for environmental education, preserve habitat for wildlife diversity and allow for the public to experience peace and solitude. A well defined and maintained open space park and trail system can add to an area's quality of life and increase property values for adjacent lands. The Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department is responsible for the development and operation of the City's Trail System. Existing recreation trails have been established in the San Rafael Hills, the San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness Park) and the Verdugo Mountains. Future trails will consist of paved and natural surtace trails. The City Park Rangers currently patrol some of these trails and coordinate volunteer efforts for trail building and maintenance. Comments gathered at the Public Workshops and details obtained from site visits were used to prepare draft trail maps. Several meetings were held with park staff, trail builders, neighboring juriSdictions, and trail user groups to review these maps. Three meelings were held at the Sparr Heights Community Center to review the Verdugo Mountains trail system. These workshops were held on March 29, April 26 and July 12, 2007. The San Rafael Hills public workshops occurred on August 30 and September 27, 2007 at the Sports Complex. The San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness Park) trail system was reviewed on August 23 and September 20, 2007 at the Sparr Heights Community Center. A final meeting to review all three areas and to present Staffs recommendations was held on October 25, 2007 at Sparr Heights. An average of twenty people attended each 2 workshop and attendees included hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians, trail runners, interested citizens and representatives from neighboring jurisdictions. The final products are three revised maps which identify trail corridors for future study and prioritize areas for trail repair. The proposed improvements are presented below. San Rafael Hills Proposed improvements for the San Rafael Hills include: • Trail routes from the Sports Complex to the existing fire roads; • Development of an accessible trail around the Sports Complex soccer fields ('Mountain Do Trail"); • An east - west connector across Chevy Chase Canyon; • Construction of "bike only" trails parallel to the fire roads at points of possible conflict; • A trail linking City owned open space properties; • Construction of a "Mountain Bike Skills Course". San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness Park) Trail priorities for the Wilderness Park are: • Aconnection from the Crescenta View Trail to the Dunsmore Canyon Trail; • Rehabilitation of the "Lost Bridge Trail" (old alignment for Rim of the Valley Trail); • A trail link from Dunsmore Canyon to the Rim of the Valley Trail; • An accessible trail from the main parking lot to the "Meadow"; • Establishment of a connector trail and new park entrance on Boston Avenue. Verdugo Mountains Fourteen trail improvements are proposed for future study in the three thousand acres of the Verdugo Mountains under Glendate's jurisdiction. These projects include trail repair/rehabilitation, development of public access points and the construction of connector and loop trails. Three of these improvements have been identified as high priority and labeled for immediate study: • Rehabilitation of the Brand Park trail system; • A Lower Woodland Trail through the Verdugo Mountains Open Space Preserve; • Development of a trail head at the end of Sunshine Drive. Fallowing the review and adoption of the revised maps a comprehensive plan establishing development standards, public access points, trail head facilities, connections to surrounding trail systems and trail side amenities will be prepared. The effort to provide consistency for signage and development specifications will continue with trail user groups and adjacent jurisdictions. MOTION Motion to approve the multi-purpose (pedestrian, bicycle, equestrian) trail master plan for the San Rafael Hills, the San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness), and the Verdugo Mountains. EXHIBITS Exhibit 1 Exhibit 2 Exhibit 3 Revised Trail Map for the San Rafael Hills Revised Trail Map for the San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness Park) Revised Trail Map for the Verdugo Mountains J MOTION Moved by Council Member , seconded by Council Member , thai the Council of the City ot Glendale approve the multi- purpose (pedestrian, bicycle, equestrian) trail master plan for the San Rafael Hills, the San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness), and the Verdugo Mounlains. Vote as follows: Ayes: Noes: Absent: Abstain: 4 8 A1 • 118"13'O'W -:- -I- I "- I • 118'12'O"W 118"11'aV, --- l' San Rafael Hills ~"":.. <, I c·r~5p~R~Q'PQSO"E"Di:TRAlm;"I.E·~IM~;~R<o~YE~M"E.NT>mil - - --; ,I -----j ,-- A. Bike Sldlls Course 8. Bil<e Only ~II C. N. Sports ~"" Coonector ilail D. 'Mountain 00' Aae5slble T'lI~ [. s. Sport> Comple< Coro-1ect<r ila~ F. [·W Cont1ector 0Ievy O1ase CaIlyon G. Open Space CorTIttor TraJl I T- , ' I I ,', r :-:"1 L ,- __,,_ ----- --,-.,t --• .. - ----_... -,"'......, .. 0 ~ - ~ • ~ • m ~w_ "-1IIi.II T ~- 0----. 0_ -_r-) 6_~ ~, ~- ay Otone:l 0- <;poa= ,~- 0_ -·_1 '--- ',1 ", --~ ." , ~ ,. I '. . ~ M ~::'_-"'-~===~'-- "'~o::.. "C" ;:;: ~ 118'13'O"W l1S'12"(l'W • • • 11S",6'O"W • 11S",S'O"W 118"'4'O'W San Gabriel Mountains PROPOSED TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS Connect<>r Trail &. PlI"" Entrance A. Boston Av~. rh I 0">., . , ;! ." . , B. "last BrIdge Trall" D. Cr!'scenta Vrew to Dunsmore Connector '.I !. , E. Meadow ADA nail - £;:'0..<-.+, ---.. - _._-...----,-, T _T_ 6 __ O- -~ 118"'6'O"W (Reh~on;tatlonJ C. Rim of the valley to DlInsmore COnnector 0_ " 11S"15'O"'N -~--- . -~ ----. 0 . - _ 1 ,~- 11S"14'O'W N .....,... ....L... .....,... """"... ,! ~ o' '!/' ! !i! i! ~ Oa= -== Q I ~ ..= - ;:;.: 0 , ." ~ > ! ~ . ,0' f , " " '. 0·00 . . . . , , / < ..."... !:!Q:!.!Q!! Moved by Council Member seconded by Council Member _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , that the Council of the City of Glendale finds and determines that the multipurpose (pedestrian, bicycle, equestrian) trail master plan for the San Rafael Hills, the San Gabriel Mountains (Deukmejian Wilderness area), and the verdugo Mountains, is a reasonable plan and is hereby approved. Vote as follows: Ayes: Noes: Absent: APPROVED AS TO FORM <~~~-=>--.---/ nATE - CITY ATTORNEY /2- -/7 -07 J:\FILES\OOCrlLES\FAC7FlND\P~rk$multi use tr~1l master plan mtn.wpd