The installation of radar facility. A new hightech facility radar facility on top of Montara Mountain which is a regional effort were taking part in with other water and floodcontrol agencies in the bay area called the advanced quantitative precipitative information system, aqpi is the acronym for short. But the whole concept is to establish a Radar Network that can provide much better accuracy in terms of predictions of prescription in various parts of the bay area. What weve seen historically and recently is more extreme evens s and those are going to be significant for us to deal with as well as other agencies. Weve got a cooperative effort being largely funded from a grant to acquire radar facilities and then operate them in cooperation with National Oceananic and Atmospheric Administration and folks from Colorado State university. There are various agencies involved in the east bay for radar facility there. So these are being located at Strategic Points around the bay area. This is the Strategic Point in our system is on top of Montara Mountain. So we expect to be able to make use of this. Hopefully this will turn into a real longterm viable project. The initial funding coming from the state is really to get us to the installations and starting to make the system work. We have great confidence its going to produce really important results for us in terms of operation of our reservoirs and we also think there will be benefit for the wastewater system in terms of being able to predict highintensity rainfall patterns that may show up at any given time. Thats the Overall Program and all youre doing is approving the ceqa document. The radar equipment has already been paid for. So the installation that will take place on Montara Mountain will be by our staff. There wont be a contractor hired to do that. I want to take up one particular set of issues. This is not part of the wisup its inhouse . No, this is a different project. No, this is not a wisup project. This is inhouse . Yes, this will be performed inhouse, yes. So the slide here shows the upper lefthand corner the aqpi and radio installation where that will be located on Montara Mountain. We had to deal with some issues here, and i wanted to make sure the commission was aware of those issues. In doing the biological surveys for the project we found near Montara Mountain a habitat for particular endangered butterflies. So one of the things that we have done as part of our normal watershed management activities something that had fallen into disarray there was the security fence on the lefthand border there, that black line with the hashing mark on it, that is the watershed boundary. The other side is ggnra land. So that has fallen into disarray and, in fact, no trespassing signs have been removed from it which had already been there. We wanted to make sure we controlled access into the area because it is restricted area up there in terms of all of our watershed. We only have certain trails that are open. So this shows we will be constructing a new road to get up to the site and eliminating the old road there where that yellow box is in the corner talks about ripping the ground and allowing it to revegetate there. So the access will only be on a lower road and the access to the site on that pink road there. That gray area and building is a communications installation that is on our property as well. One of the things that folks have expressed concern about being cut off from access to the watershed there, well they were already cut off from access to the watershed. They had been illegally entering our property at that point. So one of the things we wanted to do was make sure that we made it very clear that that access was not allowable there. Going to the next slide, this gives a bit of where we are on Public Access. This is actually a slide that we produced several years ago when we talked about Public Access on our property in the watershed back in 2001. The commission put in tremendous effort over a couple of years to develop a watershed Management Plan. In that, the commission committed to a certain amount of Public Access in the watershed which had already been closed completely prior to that. So what we have in there are the black dashed lines which are existing trails there. There is one, the Crystal Springs regional trail which is on the Eastern Shore of Crystal Springs reservoir. Then there is the fivehill cahill ridge trail. That ends about halfway down the watershed. The red line there shows the extension of that trail that we are working on right now. We are working on the environmental document. Hope to have it out next year so we can construct that segment of trail. Those are the trails that were committed to in the watershed Management Plan. Theres also way up in the top there a little san andreas connection trail. Those were in the watershed Management Plan that were not trails in the watershed Management Plan. On the left, the red lotted line, that is the trail that would come to this area that was proposed by the Golden Gate NationalRecreational Association a couple of years ago. We have talked to them and are looking with interest about establishing a connector there, but that would be a new action by the commission that is not currently anticipated. So we would have to do Environmental Review of that along with any other proposals to change access. This is a fish and game refuge that we manage there and there are a lot of important considerations that we have to deal with in terms of protection of our watershed and protection of the native species there. I would be happy to answer any questions about the project. Im sorry, just to clarify. So that proposed connector is not part of the action . That is not part of the action, no. That is something im trying to remember when exactly we presented this slide to the commission. It was several years ago when we started work on that trail extension in the middle of the watershed. Thats where weve been focusing our attention because that was the original commission. That trail showed up as a suggestion that we should consider. We think its a worthy suggestion, but we want to deal with it in the proper manner in due course. So thats because i did hear that there were some i do have some speaker cards so we will be hearing, but i do hear that there were some members of the public that had some questions or concerned about this project. So is that proposed connector one way that might appeal to some of the members of the public, at the idea . Yes, that connector, if we do that connector, would establish for the first time what really shouldnt have been used as a trail by the public. Thats one of the things were dealing with here, is that the trail had been the gates had been ignored basically. That was something we felt we needed to protect once we found particularly the endangered species habitat there. Okay. So maybe well hear from some members of the public. Thank you for the presentation and then we can hear from commissioners after that. I have a card here for lee watts. Good afternoon, commissioners. What im talking about is the sudden closure of the north peak of Montara Mountain to hikers. This is something ive been hiking for 15 or 20 years. Hundreds of people have been hiking there based on what ive seen over the years. Were not crossing any gates that ive been aware of or not going on any land that were not supposed to. I wanted to point out this is a prominent destination for hikers. These books i pulled off my shelf at home. These are 101 hikes in northern california. This is one of the destinations in this book. Peninsula trails, again, its one of the destinations. I have california hiking and it has two different routes to get up to the top of the north peak of Montara Mountain. From scenic value he rates one of them as a 9 and one as a 10, two different routes. You go to the website. I worked with the r. I. A. Trail project, to the top of the north peak of Montara Mountain is rated as a 5. Thats the highest we give. All of the websites that list trails in this area are going to list the hike to the top of Montara Mountain. I guess what happens is you have to understand this is a really difficult hike. I mean, its a very steep climb. So youre hiking for an hour and a half, two hours until you get to the north peak. And if you meet a gate you cant actually get to the top. You have the watershed fence that blocks off all assets that way. You have no view towards the bay. You have this sudden blockage. You cant make it to the top or make it to the other side, it really spoils the hike of so i hope i mean, if they absolutely have to build whatever youre building on the very top of this mountain, it seems like there ought to be some way you can walk around what you build to get a viewpoint so they feel like theyve climbed to the top of the mountain as weve been doing for the last decades. For decades people have been climbing this mountain. There ought to be some way you can allow us to get to the top of the mountain and see off to the other side. Thank you. Next i have a card for shaun handel. Can i use the overhead, please . Ive got this set of documents that id like to show. So first ive been a longtime resident of heparin bay and montara. Like the previous gentleman, i dont think the Current Situation around Recreational Use has been represented well in the document that was submitted to you. I would respectfully ask you to reconsider before you approve this project and absolutely do an analysis of Recreational Use thats been long standing. I have some pictures to show. First in the document itself it says the project site is on sfpuc watershed land is not open to the public. It has been open to the public for 20plus years since ive lived there. Theres never been a sign prohibiting access. Im up there two to three times a week running, hiking, biking, never seen a sign. Number two, Golden Gate National rec center has signs pointing to north peak as a destination. There are signs at the peak and at the bottom. County of san mateo lists this. Same thing with this north peak. Sf chronicle date book from june of this year, just a couple of weeks ago, Montara Mountain north peak. I as a member of this community did not know about this project until a couple of weeks ago as i was running up on my tuesday night run with some buddies and encountered the gate. There is a new fence put up in front of the peak with barbed wire at the top and nothing explaining the project. Theres been no community input. We need to do that before proceeding. Theres some pictures. Weekly running club every tuesday night we run to the peak. Been doing this for a long time. My kids, First Mountain they peaked, theres my son. Hands up in the air. They loved it. We cannot take this away. From the document analyzing the open butterfly, it specifically mentions public construction and improvement projects probably represent the greatest threat to this butterfly habitat. Its not hikers. Its putting a concrete pad at the top of the mountain and fencing it off. As a result, san bruno butterfly and their associated habitats have been surveyed from 2001 to 2007. So the question is if you had this information for this project since then, how come we just put up a fence last week . Its a little suspicious. Let him go. If you have a question, you can ask a question. We have to then allow for the rest of the public to have full amount of time. Well, let me ask what he has in mind. I would like do you have a question . Can you display that slide again . I have two things in mind. One is respect the open space. Mount tam is open to the public, mount diablo open to the public. Were talking about closing Montara Mountain. Thats going backwards. What i ask is that we respect Montara Mountain for what it is. Consider putting up the signs, warning people to stay off the sensitive habitat. People have coexisted for years. Remove the chainlink fence and restore Public Access. If possible, find a different location for this project. There have to be other locations suitable for this. Thank you and i respect your work on this. Thank you very much. Matthew blane. Im not sure if ill use it or not. Im a resident here in San Francisco and a member of various hiking and biking advocacy groups. When i first learned about this project a couple of weeks ago, i wasnt sure. It sounds like a reasonable and important project. We need the radar facility. Its extremely strong in scope, things like that. I went up there this weekend to just look at it and decided i should come here and speak up to many of the concerns the previous speakers have said. I met a runnerup there. This runner has been running and lost weight and this is something he accomplished. The butterfly habitat has been there for decades. Its mentioned in surveys. If you look at the report that has just been mentioned. Hilltops are also important for certain other species. The map which was just shown of the road is interesting because a new road is shown here but the old one is there. The reason im showing this particular map is you can see these lines here. There was an intentional line placed. This is the access you take to go to the top. This is not a surprise to the watershed management because that black fence has been there for many years allowing you to get to the peak but not to the rest of the interior watershed roads, such as the perimeter road. Im going to ask that you reject this simply because of this lack of access to recreation, but with the understanding that the project is super important. Perhaps it could be located slightly further east or taller. Perhaps it needs to be on the peak for radar, but limiting access wouldnt allow for an important recreational resource. Thank you. Thank you. I have another card here for mr. Ron little. Hi, thank you. So i lived in montara for 20 years and im in the coast Side Running Club and on the board of directors for that running club. So we have about 150 members. Our president paulaluisy drafted the letter and we concurred. Dear commission members. We represent a group of runners on the coast side who have enjoyed summiting Montara Mountains north peak weekly, oftentimes more than once in a week. So when we first saw the locked fence you placed to block the access to the peak it was both surprising and upsetting. The peak means a lot to our club and im sure residents who have hiked and ran to this summit, we cannot say enough in this letter about the emotional connection we all have to montara and the summit. Many of us have stories and memories of training runs, group gatherings, and personal triumphs that theyve had on this mountain. Its not just about a running club. There are residents who have emotional connection to the mountain for different reasons, loved ones lost and family members moved away and are often the reason for the hike to the top of Montara Mountain. Closing it off with no feedback or announcement to the public feels wrong. While the weather station, the weather radar, and the Communications Tower and the butterfly habitat are important, some of the claims including hikers and injuring the habitat make no sense to us at all. Theres never been reports of people trampling on the grounds the butterflies need likely because everyone sticks to the trail that leads to the summit and its hardpacked dirt and you can just walk there. So the purpose of this letter is to remind you the impact this enclosure will have on the community and the people who have enjoyed that summit for so long. Were hoping you reconsider the proposal to block it off and perhaps find a way for visitors to continue to enjoy the summit without interfering with the habitat or the weather station. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other additional Public Comments at this time . Commissioners, any thoughts or comments on this . Commissioner maxwell. Id like to hear from steve. Youve heard the comments. So im sure then with all of this you must have we must have not heard everything from you that we need to hear to say that this should be closed permanently. I need to hear some other things. Sure. Id like to introduce deb craven green from our infrastructure staff. She worked with the fish and Wildlife Services and others on the permitting of the project. Good afternoon, commissioners. Im Debbie Craven green and work with the bureau of Environmental Management and permitting manager. Im happy to provide some Additional Information for you as part of the project to install the radar conducted coordination with the u. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conducted informal consultation where we identified for them that as part of installing the infrastructure we would be fully avoiding the habitat associated with butterflies found in the area, which would be the host plants as well as nectar plants in the area. There was the informal consultation was issued i