CGF News Alert: Success and progress in Palo Alto, San Jose, and the Water District

(The following News Alert went out today to our Action Alert subscribers. -Brian)

Dear

We want to let CGF supporters know about recent advances in local environmental protection: protecting Palo Alto foothills from sprawl, the takeout bag ban in San Jose, and increasing Water District support for environmental protection. We thank all of you for your generous help with your time and your donations, and we'll be sure to keep you informed about next steps where we can use your help.

In Palo Alto, the City Council reviewed extensive revisions to zoning which controls development in the foothills that extend from Page Mill Rd. all the way up to Skyline Drive. CGF Advocate Brian Schmidt was the only environmental group representative on the advisory committee and while city staff made certain improvements over an outdated ordinance, Brian encouraged them to go further. By decisive votes, the City Council rejected the proposal for inappropriate second residences on these parcels, directed planners to develop maximum house size limits, and even started considering the issues of giant basement developments that are the latest aspects of monster mansions. CGF will continue to work on these improvements that have been suggested.

In San Jose, the City Council took the first definitive step for the strongest take-out bag ban for any major city in the US, banning plastic and requiring paper bags be made from 40% recycled content. Contrary to media reports, a fee on paper bags isn't required but will be considered in the future. They will consider other options in an EIR, which actually gives us a chance to push for a few improvements. Councilmember Liccardo, one of the two leaders on the issue along with Kansen Chu, thanked CGF and other groups from the dais for our work on the issue.

Finally Santa Clara Valley Water District considered recommendations for environmental enhancements and erosion control from the District's Environmental Advisory Committee, where CGF Advocate Brian Schmidt is the chair of the committee. While they didn't take final action on the recommendations, the Board of Directors were very receptive and appreciative of the recommendations and will return to consider them further at a later date.

Thanks again for all your help and support of our work. Each of these advances requires that CGF be present for follow-up work, so we'll keep active and keep you informed.

Thanks for speaking up for environmental protections! Your voice does make a difference!

- The folks at Committee for Green Foothills

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Action Alert - Support San Jose's plastic bag ban

(The Action Alert below went out to our San Jose members. -Brian)

Dear Friend,

This Tuesday, September 22, San Jose's City Council will decide whether to have the best control of plastic bag litter and paper bag pollution of any major city. Seven of eleven voting City Council members have already supported a ban on plastic take-out bags and a requirement that paper bags be at least partially-recycled content. Please contact the City Council to help get us to the finish line on this groundbreaking proposal, and make it even better!

What's Happening

A County Commission proposed a fee on both plastic and paper take-out bags to reduce pollution and fund cleanup of bag pollution. While fees have the advantage of giving customers a choice, they are controversial in some circles, so many local cities are considering bans on plastic bags with some limited exceptions. Because paper bags also have environmental liabilities, San Jose has proposed requiring they have at least 40%-50% recycled content. Other Santa Clara County cities will soon be making their own decisions on these issues.

Why this is Important

Litter from plastic bags defaces our streets, lines our streams, and smothers both the San Francisco Bay and a significant part of the Pacific Ocean. Many local streams, including Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek, have so much trash that they have been listed or are considered for listing under the Clean Water Act as "impaired" waters due to trash. Paper bags are little better with even greater energy costs and the economic support they support for destructive logging projects like the recent San Jose Water Company proposal to log the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The proposal will increase education about reusable bags, the real solution to the bag problem.

While over a dozen local cities will make their own decisions about bags, San Jose has half of the County population and can solve half of the problem at one stroke. Its proposal is even better than San Francisco's because of the recycled paper requirement and could be a model for the country.

What you can do

Tell the City Council you support the plastic bag ban and recycled content for paper bags. Please also tell them you want them to consider either a fee on paper bags or higher recycled content now, or by reviewing the issue two years in the future.

Please email your support to the Mayor and City Council (just copy and paste the emails below):

mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov; district1@sanjoseca.gov; district2@sanjoseca.gov;

district3@sanjoseca.gov; district4@sanjoseca.gov; district5@sanjoseca.gov;

District6@sanjoseca.gov; district7@sanjoseca.gov; district8@sanjoseca.gov;

district9@sanjoseca.gov; district10@sanjoseca.gov

by this Tuesday, September 22 at 9:00 a.m. Attending the meeting to voice your support is even better, if you can go.

Please let us know that you have written or fax us a copy (650) 968-843

For more information, see the Committee for Green Foothills letter, Coyote Creek as the #2 Litter Hot Spot according to Save the Bay, and San Jose City Council Agenda Item 7.2.

Thanks!

- The Folks at Green Foothills

________________________________________________

Committee for Green Foothills

Our mission is to protect the open space, farmlands, and natural resources of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties through advocacy, education, and grassroots action.

Shopping online? Visit the portal www.Maatiam.com, click on the link to CGF, and then to one of over 80 online retailers. At no additional cost to you, these retailers make a 2 – 5% donation to CGF, an easy way to support our work!

You have received this action alert because you are subscribed to Committee for Green Foothills' email alert list. To be removed from this list, please reply to this message with REMOVE in the subject line. To be added to this list and receive alerts about local open space issues, just send your name, address, and email address to info@GreenFoothills.org.

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Palo Alto keeps partial ban on plastic bags

Palo Alto settled a lawsuit over its plastic bag ban. From the PA Weekly:

Under the settlement, the city will be able to maintain its ban. But any expansion of its scope would have to be accompanied by a complete environmental review.

The city's current ban applies to seven supermarkets, three of which had voluntarily stopped using plastic bags before the ban was adopted. Only Safeway, JJ&F Food Store, Andronico's and Mollie Stone's were required to stop using plastic check-out bags.

Stephen Joseph, the attorney representing SaveThePlasticBag.com, said the group is pleased with the settlement because it ensures that the city's ban on bags will not expand without a full review.

The City Council and staff have consistently indicated that they would like to ban plastic check-out bags from local pharmacies and other stores. The settlement essentially guarantees that the city's quest to expand its bag ban will take longer than officials had hoped.

Save the Plastic Bag is a paper-thin disguise for plastic manufacturers. This is an example of using environmental laws for the purpose of delaying environmental reforms. While this problem is exaggerated, it does happen.

CGF hasn't taken a position on plastic bag bans, but we do support a fee on both paper and plastic bags, both of which harm the environment. Local streams are littered with plastic, and we don't want to see forests cut for unnecessary paper bags either.

-Brian

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Good news - County commission proposes fee on paper bags, and a ban on plastic

From the Mercury News:

In a surprising reversal of a decision made less than two months ago, a
Santa Clara County commission is recommending an all-out ban on plastic shopping
bags and a fee on paper bags.

The Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission, made up of elected leaders
from around the county, plans to ask county supervisors and all 15 cities to
adopt the proposal for grocers and other retailers, with an exemption for
nonprofit "reuse" stores such as Goodwill.

I attended the previous meeting and was disappointed at the slow pace, so this is an excellent step. The Committee has supported a fee on both paper and plastic bags - we haven't called for a ban on plastic, but we don't oppose one either.

As the article says, this is just advisory, but let's hope the cities move forward. As always, San Jose is the 800-pound gorilla in terms of impact, so we'll be watching carefully.

-Brian

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