FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA ITEM #1
MEETING DATE August 6, 2025
PREPARED FOR Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY Christine Foster, Deputy Clerk/Assistant to the Town Manager SUBJECT Interview and consider appointment of applicant to the Open Space Committee
RECOMMENDATION
Interview applicant Michael Reeves for the Open Space Committee to fill a vacant term to August 2027 and make appointment as appropriate.
BACKGROUND
The Fairfax Open Space Committee (FOSC) assesses open space acquisition opportunities, raises funds and support within the community for such proposals. This Committee also serves as an advisory body in the consideration of long-term planning for the Town, and to review certain planning and development matters.
FOSC is an advisory body to the Town Council. The Council first established this committee in 2004, dedicated to preserving open space in and around Fairfax with a membership of seven citizens.
DISCUSSION
There is currently one vacancy for the Open Space Committee with a term of two (2) years. There is one applicant for the position, Fairfax resident Michael Reeves, who has attended a committee meeting. Mr.
Reeves has professional experience in land conservation work, having worked with Trust for Public Land, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and East Bay Regional Park District and would like to share his knowledge and expertise on behalf of the Fairfax Community.
ATTACHMENTS
Michael Reeves Application (Redacted)
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New submission from Boards and Commissions Application
Date
07/17/2025
Please select the board/committee/commission to which you are applying:
• Open Space Committee ("FOSC")
Name
Michael Reeves
Address
Mal2..!!
Phone
Email
[email protected]
Please explain your interest in serving on this Board, Commission, or Committee.
My fiancee and I are among the newest members of the Fairfax community, having purchased a home here this past May. I recently retired from a career in land conservation within the greater San Francisco Bay Area (a "professional tree hugger" as I like to refer to my career). My fiancee will also be retiring from her career in the health insurance industry at the end of this month. Our move to Fairfax is driven by our love of the outdoors and our desire to be closer to the trails and publicly accessible open spaces that are such a Bay Area treasure. I would like to lend my experience in land conservation to the work of the FOSC as this sort of work is in my blood. And now that I am retired from what was essentially a desk job, I am also looking for every opportunity to literally "get my hands dirty" with trail work, be it new trail construction, trail restoration and maintenance, or retiring road or trail segments that are not environmentally or operationally sustainable. I first learned of the FOSC during last month's Fairfax Festival when I stopped at their table, and had a very enjoyable conversation with two of the members. I attended my first FOSC meeting on June 24th and will be there at its next monthly meeting on July 22nd.
Please describe your relevant work/life experience or background for the board/commission you are applying for:
I have 27 years experience in land conservation transaction work in both the nonprofit land trust and public agency arenas, including ten years with The Trust for Public Land, six years with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, and eleven years with the East Bay Regional Park District, the final six years of which I served as Chief of Land Acquisition, leading a team of five staff. In that capacity I was responsible for overseeing EBRPD's land and property rights acquisitions to grow the agency's system of regional parks and trails. My expertise in real estate negotiations includes the acquisition or disposition of all manner of real property rights including fee title, trail and "EVMA" easements, conservation easements, leases and lease-backs, licenses, right of entry agreements, development agreements, grazing licenses, purchase of water rights, water share and maintenance agreements, road maintenance agreements, etc. I also have expertise in reviewing title and resolving title issues, resolving encroachments on public lands, and coordinating with other department heads on the process for determining a property's fitness and suitability for acquisition, addressing matters such as environmental site assessment, the utility of the site to furthering the agency's mission and land conservation objectives, and identifying and estimating upfront and ongoing property management costs.
What is your vision for the Town of Fairfax?
Allow me to rephrase the question as "what is my vision for being involved in the Fairfax community?" I think the short answer is that I want to have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the conservation and stewardship of the natural beauty that blesses this town!
Please describe possible areas of conflict of interest.
None
Meeting Attended
06/24/2025
Consent
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Electronic Signature
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Please type your full name here.
Michael D Reeves