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Mayor Howard said it was imperative to include the Park and Recreation Commission in any plans for City Parks. She said she looked forward to the Commission's recommendations to the Council on this issue. MEMO 7/7/98 The following people also expressed their support for the proposed off-leash dog park in Redwood City: Cathy Jennings, D.V.M., Woodside Veterinary Clinic, Redwood City; Michelle Mascher, 550 King Street, Redwood City; Alan Smith, 2084 Oregon Avenue, Redwood City; John Larson, Peninsula Humane Society, San Mateo; Mayor Howard announced that Redwood City's first off-leash dog park run is being constructed in Redwood Shores near the SBSA facility, and will open in October of this year. She said the Council supported off-leash dog parks and looked forward to hearing more from the Redwood City Responsible Dog Owners. MEMO 7/7/98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. CONSENT CALENDAR 3.B. MORATORIUM ON STREET TREE REMOVALS AND HIRING A CONSULTANT; COUNCIL MEMBER LEIPZIG ASKED FOR DISCUSSION WITHOUT REMOVING ITEM FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR. (304) In response to Council Member Leipzig's questions regarding Consent Calendar Item 3.B. and the need for consultants, Vice Mayor Ruskin, Chair of the Council Task Force on Tree Preservation, explained that a moratorium on tree removal was instituted by the Council in response to the City's policy "that seemed to be saving more sidewalks than trees." He said that City staff and the Task Force had studied the issue of a comprehensive sidewalk repair and tree preservation policy and decided that staff was not able to move quickly enough and "was not looking outside the box." Vice Mayor Ruskin said, "I wanted to be certain that while we didn't necessarily adopt any and every option to the current tree policy, that we really looked at this in a very broad way, and we asked ourselves, 'what new policies could we possibly establish that would be better for the City.' I was concerned that as we were moving towards the end of our six-month moratorium that this wasn't being done to my satisfaction. At that point, Director of Public Works Ingram came to me, and I was very pleased that he did... He said that he had come to two conclusions, that the Task Force wasn't moving fast enough, and that staff wasn't really examining this from a really new perspective.... He suggested that what would work very well would be to bring on an Arborist Consultant who would be responsible to the Task Force rather than to the staff, and this could result in a really fresh, new look at the problem, and it could move the process along more quickly." Vice Mayor Ruskin said he understood Council Member's concern about spending $10,000 for REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 57 JULY6,1998 MINUTES Page No. 038 PAGE 4