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'.' . . I . I - suggested a bicycle path be built along that same area so that it could double as an emergency access road. He said BCDC might approve such a plan. Mr. Mace said a path - over the freeway would help bicyclists who commute from Redwood City into the Redwood Shores Neighborhood. Mr. Mace urged Council to explore transportation alternatives and suggested that the Coalition and the City work together to convince BCDC to approve the bike path. He said C/CAG had money available to fund worthy bike pathways and said working together they could apply for grant funds and find other creative ways to solve the problem. Nita Spangler, 970 Edgewood Road, expressed her concern that the Task Force would even think about supporting a connector road. She described the history of Bair Island and the election in 1978 that denied developer's plans to build housing there. Mrs. Spangler said she was the fU"st person to urge the Council to approve the Bay Trail. She said that the City's elected officials had not shown much interest in Bair Island until POST announced plans to buy it and preserve it as a Wildlife Preserve. Mrs. Spangler said Redwood City was extremely fortunate that "a lot of our neighbors got together and said this would make a great wildlife preserve." She described the tortuous road POST had to take to gain approval to buy Bair Island. Mrs. Spangler said she was amazed that the Council wasn't grateful to POST for doing the City such a big favor. She said it would be appropriate for the Council to thank POST and Congress and others, for the opportunity to make the City's waterfront a wildlife preserve complimenting the western edge of the City that is part of a National Park. - Council Member Claire said he had represented the Council at Regional Planning Commission meetings early on, and had supported the Bay Trail from the beginning. Ralph Nobles, 3720 Country Club Drive, member of the Bair Island Task Force, explained that Mr. Travis, Executive Director of BCDC, had correctly presented to the Task Force the legal requirements mandated by the State when dealing with Bay lands. He said it was important for everyone to educate themselves about BCDC's role, its support around the state and its mission. Mr. Nobles said, "Mr. Travis is an extremely skillful man who has the respect of the development community and the environmental community, the regulators, elected people and business people, universally" Mr. Nobles said that Mr. Travis did not make policy, he communicated the Board's policy which is specifically governed by state law. He said it was untrue and inappropriate to assume that neighboring communities and environmentalists outside the City forced the purchase of Bair Island. Mr. Nobles said, "It has not been proven by any means that safety will be improved by (a connector) road." He said he would argue before BCDC against that hypothesis, but he would not argue against the road. He said, "As a matter of fact, it wouldn't upset me at all if BCDC did find some way to permit this road because I think the mitigations for the wetland impacts that would be required would be a net benefit." Manuel Sotomayor, 12 Riviera Circle, said he had mixed emotions about this issue, but had been a consistent advocate for security for the Redwood Shores community. He said - counting everyone in Redwood Shores including residents, hotel guests in Redwood City, REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 56 MAY 18, 1998 MINUTES Page No. 489 PAGE II