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Draft zoning language
fails to protect foothills
Posted November 20, 2002/ Updated
May 28, 2003
• What's happening
• What CGF is asking the
Supervisors to improve
• Read the Committee's May
28, 2003 letter to the Supervisors
• What you can do
What's happening
When the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
adopted the Stanford Community Plan and General Use Permit nearly two
years ago, they granted the University approval for some five million
square feet of development rights -- and in exchange, committed to measures
designed to protect open space and environmental resources. One of those
measures, the new zoning for the popular Stanford foothills, will determine
the location and scale of allowable development in these lands over the
course of this and future use permits.
The County recently
released the revised Draft Regulations for this zoning, and we're disappointed.
While we gained some improvements over the previous draft, the
draft zoning language does not provide the protections necessary to protect
the Stanford foothills.
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What CGF is asking the Supervisors to improve
Committee for Green Foothills, in our May
28, 2003 letter to the Board of Supervisors, is calling for stronger
zoning language that will protect the environmental resources and viewshed
of the foothills.
CGF has asked the Supervisors to provide stronger
protections for the views, habitat, and open space of the Stanford foothills
with the following changes in the draft OS/F zoning language:
1. Give the Planning Commission discretionary
review authority.
The proposed regulations give discretionary review authority to the ASA
Committee -- giving this committee discretion far beyond their ministerial
duties. These highly discretionary decisions belong more appropriately
with the Planning Commission.
2. Protect our viewshed.
The County has identified several important viewsheds from area roads in
order to guide development into the least visible areas of the foothills.
We are asking the Supervisors to add to their Viewshed Analysis the locations
of the new C-1 and S-1 trails (once their locations are determined), to
consider aggregated viewshed impacts (thus provide more protections to parts
of the foothills that are visible from many locations), and to add to the
analysis views from the popular Page Mill Road gateway, which is how many
people on the Peninsula experience the foothills.
3. Protect the foothills habitat.
The draft zoning language does not adequately protect the wildlife habitat and other biological resources of the foothills. We are asking the Supervisors to consider official studies of biological resources in any land use decisions so as to provide necessary protection for foothill habitat, flora, and fauna.
4. Prohibit commercial antennas in the foothills.
The Stanford Community Plan allows "specialized facilities and installations that by their nature require a remote or natural setting." Since this does not include commercial antennas, we are asking for language that prohibits them in the foothills.
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What you
can do
Let the Supervisors know that you'd like to see
some significant improvements in the draft zoning regulations before they
are finalized.
1. Write a letter.
Please write to the Board of Supervisors asking
them to ensure that the OS/F Regulations are revised so that they maintain
the open space character of this unique resource.
Urge the County to provide Planning Commission
Review, create strong viewshed protections, protect habitat, and prohibit
commerical anntenas.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
70 West Hedding
San Jose, CA 95110
Fax (408) 298-8460
liz.kniss@bos.co.scl.ca.us
don.gage@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us
james.beall@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us
peter.mchugh@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us
blanca.alvarado@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us
2. Speak up.
The
Board of Supervisors will be hearing this issue at their regular meeting
on Tuesday, June 3 at 2 pm. The meeting will be in the Board Chambers
of the Santa Clara County Government Building, 70 West Hedding Street
in San Jose. If you can, please attend and speak up for foothills protection.
3. Become informed.
Read the Committee's May
28, 2003 letter asking for more protective zoning.
Read the November 21, 2002 Palo
Alto Weekly article on this issue.
Read the Committee's earlier
action alert on this issue.
Sign up for CGF action alerts and we'll
keep you updated and let you know how you can get involved.
4. Support Committee for Green Foothills.
Become a CGF member
or make a donation.
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