A Great Day! Lennie Roberts Awarded
Cox Conserves Hero's Award

We are delighted to announce that CGF Advocate Lennie Roberts was awarded the Cox Conserves Hero’s Award on Thursday, December 17.

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!

The Trust for Public Land has an article about Lennie, with links to the award website, in the current issue of its online journal. Read more >>

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

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Coastal Commission Snubs County over Midcoast LCP Update
County must decide to resist or comply with commission

By Greg Thomas [ greg@hmbreview.com ]
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, Dec 16, 2009 - 12:01:51 pm PST

The California Coastal Commission rejected several of the county’s proposed changes to the Midcoast Local Coastal Program at a meeting on Thursday, December 10, in San Francisco. Instead, the statewide commission approved a host of its own policies to guide Midcoast development in the long term.

The final verdict is still up in the air. The action kicks off a lengthy review process, and the ball is in the County’s court to respond to the commission’s decision. Read more>>

Read CGF's specific recommendations to the Coastal Commission.  

You can read the Coastal Commission's Staff Report at:   http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2009/12/Th18a-12-2009.pdf

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Good News for the Environment

Green Foothills has much to celebrate this season, thanks to the painstaking work of CGF's legislative advocates, the diligence of its members and Board, and the efforts of many other groups and individuals in our communities.

Here's a selection of recent "good news" from San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Progress in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Water District, and Gilroy

Among the recent advances in local environmental protection: 

• Protecting Palo Alto foothills;
• Plastic bag ban in San Jose;
• Protection for San Jose streamside riparian corridors;
• Santa Clara Valley Water District support for environmental protection;
• Containing sprawl in Gilroy.

Palo Alto

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.

San Jose

Ban on Plastic Bags
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. 

Streamside Riparian Corridor Protection
Also in San Jose, the Envision 2040 Task Force has supported a strong policy for protecting streamside riparian corridors from inappropriate development and for closing loopholes in the current policy.  For the first time after years of CGF efforts, the City of San Jose agreed to examine whether to continue the current practice of letting developers write the initial version of environmental documents that the City uses for examining streams.

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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. 

Gilroy: Sprawl Contained - for Now

All four sprawl proposals in Gilroy that we've been fighting have now been defeated or withdrawn!  Since 2008, Committee for Green Foothills fought the proposals for over 1,000 acres of sprawl and inappropriate development that would move the City of Gilroy’s current boundaries outward.

Thanks for Your Support

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!

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Mission Statement

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

Protecting Bay Area Open Space Since 1962
Committee for Green Foothills has a long history of advocacy and citizen action from the coast to the bay. Learn more about our history or about our current projects. Read our Strategic Plan for 2007-2012. View areas that CGF considers most at risk of development.


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