Lennie wins the Cox Conserves Hero’s Award!

(Below is a wonderful email we got to send out last week to folks signed up on our Action Alert list. -Brian)

Dear Friends!

We are so very delighted to announce CGF Advocate Lennie Roberts was awarded the Cox Conserves Hero’s Award today!!!

CGF is honored to have Lennie’s support, dedication, perseverance and generosity working on behalf of the open space, farmlands and natural resources of San Mateo County. All of us and the Bay Area itself would be a poorer place without her.

Without your support Lennie would not have been given this award. Thank you for your vote and for passing on the voting request to your friends and families.

Lennie, has generously donated the $5,000 winner’s check to CGF. Thank you, Lennie!

We have been told that clips of the award luncheon can be seen tonight on the Channel 2 10 o’clock news. Tune in!

Again, we thank you for all the ways you support CGF!

- The folks at Green Foothills

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"the citizen-based Committee for Green Foothills and the Sierra Club fought development of open space, project by project, to preserve the land."

Great to have quotes like that one above even in articles that aren't about us, but rather about long-time journalist Marion Softky:

The scale of open space from the valley to the coast is unmatched in a large metropolitan area, she says.

The "Freeway Revolt" stopped the extension of Willow Road to the coast; the proposed outer Bayshore Freeway was never built; and a plan was scuttled to "level" the top of San Bruno Mountain to provide fill for proposed development in and around San Francisco Bay.

Incorporation of Woodside in 1955, followed by Portola Valley in 1964, further contributed to preserving the rural atmosphere, undeveloped hillsides and forests. Voters wanted to take control of their future rather than let the county continue to make their land-use decisions.

While these incorporations tended to slow growth in the two towns, the citizen-based Committee for Green Foothills and the Sierra Club fought development of open space, project by project, to preserve the land.

Ms. Softky says environmentalists such as Olive Mayer, Claire Dedrick and Lennie Roberts followed the motto: "Victories are temporary; defeats are permanent. To save open space, you have to buy land fee simple."

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Some very good news to update

First, we had a wonderful Nature's Inspiration event on Sunday, celebrating Lennie Roberts' 30 years of service. Lots of people, beautiful setting, very nice things that were said - it couldn't be better.

More at the link....


In addition, last week the Santa Clara County Supervisors told County staff to begin a residential Green Building ordinance that will promote water conservation, native plants, energy savings, a lot of other approaches that fall in line with CGF's mandate of protecting open space and natural resources. The Supervisors supported CGF's position of requiring increasing amounts of "Build It Green" requirements for larger residences starting at 3,000 square feet, an incentive for reducing the number of monster mansions blighting our hillsides. We'll be closely watching the ultimate zoning ordinance.

Onward!

-Brian

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